CFP: Cumbia(s) transnacional(es)

Este correo me llegó del doctor Héctor Fernández L'Hoeste de Georgia State University.
This email is from Héctor Fernández L'Hoeste of Georgia State.

***

Estimados colegas:

Reciban un cordial saludo desde Atlanta, Georgia.

Les escribo con el fin de solicitar propuestas para una compilación de artículos sobre cumbia. En vez de circular una convocatoria general, he optado por circular este llamado entre colegas cuyo trabajo ha estado relacionado —de una u otra manera— con el tema de la cumbia. De ser necesario, circularía luego una convocatoria de manera más amplia. En caso de que sepan de alguien más cuyo trabajo sugiera puntos de contacto con el tema de la cumbia, les agradezco servir de enlace.

El proyecto busca textos que versen sobre la experiencia nacional/transnacional de la cumbia (Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, EE.UU., etc.) y su influencia en asuntos de raza, clase o género. Las propuestas iniciales deberán incluir un resumen breve (300 palabras) de la argumentación y el contexto del artículo a seguir. Las versiones finales serán en el formato de la U. de Chicago (notas al final del capítulo, texto exento de citas en paréntesis), de 20-25 páginas de longitud y deberán estar listas hacia abril de 2008.

Agradezco su interés en esta colección de artículos. A mi parecer, el tema de la cumbia amerita un estudio más detallado desde hace rato. Mil gracias por su atención al presente mensaje y una pronta respuesta.

Atentamente,

Héctor Fernández L'Hoeste

Dear colleagues,

Greetings from Atlanta, GA.

I'm writing you to request proposals for a volume on cumbia and transnationalism. Rather than circulate a general call for papers, I've compiled a list of e-mail addresses of individuals with solid academic and/or musical credentials, whose work has—at one point or another—touched upon matter related to cumbia; initially, I will rely on your response. In case you know of someone whose work sounds appealing for this project, I'd appreciate it greatly if you could serve as contact.

The project seeks to include texts that verse on the transnational experience of cumbia (Mexico, Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, the United States, etc.) and its influence on issues of race, class, and gender. Initial proposals should include a brief statement (300 words) delineating the general argument and context of the suggested text. Final versions should follow the U. of Chicago style; manuscripts should be double-spaced, between 20-25 pages in length, and would be due in late winter/early spring 2008.

I hope that you're interested in this project. I believe that a volume on the cultural implications of cumbia within national and transnational contexts is long overdue. I appreciate your attention to this message and look forward to a prompt response.

Best,

Héctor Fernández L'Hoeste

Héctor D. Fernández L'Hoeste, Ph.D.

Associate professor, Latin American culture

Department of Modern & Classical Languages

Georgia State University

38 Peachtree Center Ave # 873

Atlanta, GA 30303

Phone: 404.413.6593; fax: 404.413.5982

E-mail: fernandez@gsu.edu; Skype: bubusdad

URL: http://www.gsu.edu/~forhdf/

Otro blog musicológico

El blog es del maestro Egberto Bermúdez, uno de los originales musicólogos colombianos.
Enlace

simposio: conocimientos de lo musical. sociedad, cultura y política

Este simposio se va a hacer en el Congreso Nacional de Antropología Colombiana, el 10-14 de
Octubre. Ahí nos vemos!
Enlace

Joe Zawinul, RIP

Link

House Resolution supports Afro-Colombians

Call your representative today! Ask them to support House Resolution 618, which brings attention to the situation of Afro-Colombians and calls on the U.S. to actively consult with these communities. Click here to read the resolution.

Afro-Colombians are harshly affected daily by extreme poverty, racial discrimination, and ongoing violence in regions with large Afro-descendant populations. Whether they are "caught in the crossfire" or specifically targeted, Afro-Colombians are often forced to leave their communities and ancestral lands behind. As a result, Afro-Colombians now constitute 40 percent of Colombia's 3.8 million internally displaced. Meanwhile, aerial spraying is destroying many of the food crops traditionally grown by Afro-Colombians, leading to further displacement and insecurity.

The resolution, which was introduced by Rep. Donald Payne during the August recess, calls on the Colombian government to combat racial discrimination and protect Afro-Colombians from human rights violations. H. Res. 618 also rightly urges the U.S. and Colombian governments to consult with Afro-Colombians while developing policies that will affect their communities.

Take Action! Call your representative today, or anytime in the next three weeks, to urge them to support Afro-Colombians as they strive for dignity and security. Follow this link to find out if your representative is already on board. Dial the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 to be connected. Ask to speak with the foreign policy aide. If they are unable to take your call, leave a message. (You can even follow up with an email).

If your representative is on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, your call is especially important. Click here to find out who is on the committee.

Premio nacional a las escuelas de música

El 7 de septeimbre abrió la convocatoria del Premio Nacional a las Escuelas de Música. Cierra el 16 de noviemnre.

Formulario de participación Premio Nal. a Escuelas Municipales de Música.doc
Texto Premio Nal a Escuelas Municipales de Música 2007- DEFINITIVO.doc

Peter Wade Interview on Música Costeña

Afropop.org has discovered Colombian music - it's been a long time coming but there seems to be a critical mass building around Colombian music in New York, so they went and sought out the expert - English anthropologist Peter Wade. The interview can be found at
http://www.afropop.org/multi/interview/ID/114/

Funky notations exhibit

This from Artforum magazine... "Between Thought and Sound: Graphic Notation in Contemporary Music" THE KITCHEN 512 West 19th Street September 7–October 20

In Western classical composition, the musical score is too often demoted to purely functional mediation between a composer’s intention and a performer’s interpretation. This vibrant multimedia exhibition, however, presents the score, in what Umberto Eco has termed “open works,” as both compositional map and performative image—not only evocative of sound but a visual object as well. Further, “Between Thought and Sound,” curated by Alex Waterman, Debra Singer, and Matthew Lyons, offers an invaluable archive of some of the most influential developments in contemporary music. Whereas many of the scores presented are already profound visual objects—such as Wadada Leo Smith’s Calder-like Multiamerica, 1999, and Alison Knowles’s richly textured (and aptly titled) Song #1 of the Three Songs: Onion Skin Song, 1975, and Notation Improvisation: Rice Paper Song, Lentil Song, String Song, 2007—it is those that hint at their musical realization, via reference to more traditional notation or accompanying text, that prove most satisfying. One could easily follow Meredith Monk’s vocal imaginings through her pen-on-paper Our Lady of Late, 1972–73, and one could even perform, if quietly, Jon Gibson’s ink-on–graph paper Rhythm Study for Voice, Hands, Feet, 1974, in the gallery. Alvin Lucier’s simple note-card drawings that compose Resonant Things, 1991, make it the most successful work—the visual juxtaposition of mundane objects as suggestive and interpretive as the sounds that might emerge from the random but not arbitrary graphic compendium. The exhibition is accompanied by three concerts during its run, which will include works by many of the composers shown on the walls. Hopefully, these performances will reawaken the dormant sounds locked in what otherwise could become static visual representations—making the exhibition as fabulously cacophonous as the sounds it begets. —T. Nikki Cesare

Cae el cartel de N. Valle - ahora qué para el Pacífico?

La noticia de las caídas de los traquetos del cartel del Norte del Valle, primero "Chupeta" y ahora "Don Diego" es seguramente buena. (Me gusta la idea de la legalización como utopía, pero las utopías no pueden ser sino puntos de partida para la construcción de proyectos aquí en este mundo - legalizar la droga convertiría en Colombia en un paria para el Norte casi a nivel de Sudan, y Colombia ya tiene suficientes problemas así como está para estar metiéndose en semejante bochinche.)

La pregunta ahora es qué va a pasar con el muy jugoso guiso del trato de ese cartel. Parece que mucha de su infraestructura, tanto a nivel de cultivos como de transportación, se ubica en el Pacífico. Dentro de la teoría política, se tiene la idea del "vacío de poder," es decir, cuando no hay una autoridad centralizada, salen actores de todos los rincones para disputar el poder. Yo creo que eso no es muy alentador para el Pacífico, ya que este vacío coincide con la disputa entre los nuevos grupos paramilitares como "Águilas Negras" y los milicianos guerrilleros urbanos en lugares como Buenaventura. Agregemos a los aspirantes al poder entre los narcos de rango mediano en la organización del Norte del Valle y a lo mejor vamos a ver unas confrontaciones serias para disputar como repartir la torta. Sólo el tiempo puede encargarse del resultado, pero a mí me parece que los paramilitares llevan la ventaja, por lo menos en Buenaventura, aunque Nariño parece ser de los otros...

Sonidos en juego - nuevo blog sobre las músicas tradicionales colombianas

Ya se ha creado un blog por y para los estudiosos y funcionarios de políticas culturales sobre las músicas tradicionales colombianas - bienvenido al ciberespacio! Organizado con informaciones sobre las músicas de las varias regiones que forman ejes del Plan de Música para la Convivencia del Ministerio de Cultura, y con comentarios de los sectores de sus funcionarios y dolientes, el blog pretende llevar los varios debates en torno a las músicas tradicionales. Véalo en la siguiente dirección: http://sonidosenjuego.blogspot.com/

EMP Pop Music Conference: Shake, Rattle: Music, Conflict, and Change

Call for Proposals
2008 Pop Conference at Experience Music Project|Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame

Shake, Rattle: Music, Conflict, and Change

April 10-13, 2008, Seattle, Washington
How does music resist, negate, struggle? Can pop music intensify vital confrontations, as well as ameliorating and concealing them? What happens when people are angry and silly love songs aren't enough? The migrations and global flows of peoples and cultures; the imbalanced struggles between groups, classes, and nations: what has music’s role been in these ongoing dramas? We invite presentations on any era, sound, or geographic region. Topics might include:

• In conjunction with the new EMP|SFM exhibition, American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music, how Latino musics have shaped the American soundscape and challenge black and white rock-pop paradigms, or more broadly, the unsettling effects of immigration, internal migration, displacement, assimilation, and colonization
• How music enters politics: social movements and activist responses to crises such as New Orleans; entertainment's connection to ideology and propaganda; music within "cultural policy" and as part of the public sphere; debates over copyright, corporate power, and cultural democracy; performing dissent
• Social and musical fragmentation: segregation and constructions of whiteness, divisions of class and gender, versus musical categorization and niche marketing, from big genres to smaller forms such as "freak folk"
• "Revolution" as a recurrent theme in popular music, a social or technological reality it confronts, or an association with particular genres and decades of music
• Clashes between communal, local, identity -- tradition, faith, nativism -- and cosmopolitan, global, modernization
• Music in times of war, economic crisis, adolescence, and other intense stress
• Agents of change: tipping points, latent historical shifts, carnivalesque subversions, and accidents or failures of consequence
• The sound of combative pop: what sets it apart?

Send proposals to Eric Weisbard at EricW@empsfm.org by December 17, 2007; please keep them to 250 words and a 50 word bio. Full panel proposals, bilingual submissions, and unusual approaches are welcome. For questions, contact the organizer or program committee members: Joshua Clover (UC Davis), Kandia Crazy Horse (editor, Rip it Up: The Black Experience in Rock 'n' Roll), Simon Frith (University of Edinburgh) Holly George-Warren (author, Public Cowboy No. 1: The Life and Times of Gene Autry), Michelle Habell-Pallan (University of Washington), Michele Myers (KEXP), Ann Powers (LA Times), Joe Schloss (NYU), RJ Smith (Los Angeles magazine), Ned Sublette (author, Cuba and its Music), and Sam Vance (EMP|SFM).

The Pop Conference at EMP|SFM, now in its seventh year, joins academics, critics, writers of all kinds, and performers in a rare common discussion. Our second collection, Listen Again: A Momentary History of Pop Music, will be published by Duke University Press in November: email Laura Sell (Lsell@dukeupress.edu) for a review copy. The conference is sponsored by the Seattle Partnership for American Popular Music (Experience Music Project, the University of Washington School of Music, and KEXP 90.3 FM), through a grant from the Allen Foundation for Music.

Academic arrested as terrorist for his research/Académico arrestado por su trabajo "terrorista."

Prominent German academic Andrej Holm was arrested three weeks ago on terrorism charges. According to the arrest warrant, Professor Holm was linked to a militant group because of his research into "gentrification."

Link
Link The Guardian
Link NPR

El académico alemán Andrej Holm fue arrestado hace 3 semanas por supuesto terrorismo. Según el orden, fue vinculado a un grupo militante por sus investigaciones sobre la "gentrificacion."

Enlace

"Infinite Island" Caribbean art in B/klyn

There's a new exhibit of contemporary art from the Caribbean at the Brooklyn Museum. From the Times review (link):

"If identity-based art was just a passing fad for the New York art establishment, it necessarily remains of considerable interest to a wider world.

How such art can be persuasively presented is, of course, the question. The thematic categories Mr. Mosaka applies to the show — religion, politics, memory, popular culture — have been used in countless shows. They are clichés by now, perceptual straitjackets rather than enlightening guides. As conceptual models, they require rethinking, as does the model some of the art follows."

Scientific freedom vs. biopiracy legislation

More sticky stuff about intellectual property, or really, how to enforce it without being draconian - link

Gualajo in NY?

The Afro-Colombian master marimba player, Maestro Gualajo, is currently in the United States, in Florida, more specifically, and is mulling over the idea of coming to NY to give some marimba classes. For those of you who do not know him, the Maestro is the maximum exponent of the Afro-Colombian marimba used in currulao music. He has toured Latin America, Europe, and the US, played with a number of groups, and has been awarded prizes as best marimba-player numerous times in Colombia and even in an international competition in France. He is also one of the few remaining traditional artisans who makes and tunes marimba in the old scales.

Gualajo will only come to NY if there are enough people willing to pay a small amount to take group or private classes with him. So, if you are in NY and interested in this very rare opportunity, please leave a comment on this blog and I will pass the word on to him.

More reasons to be paranoid

British police use remote-controlled drone to spy on crowd at music festival - the first time the
technology has been used at a major public event. Bristling with sensors, cameras and even
infra-red night vision the  70cm-wide flying robot was used by police to keep an eye on suspicious-
looking revellers at this year's music festival. The battery-operated drone's rotors are so quiet that it
cannot beheard from the ground once it is 50 metres up in the air. The drone, which has been
dubbed "The Spy In The Sky", was used to gather intelligence on individuals and to monitor the
car parks at Weston Park to catch people breaking into vehicles.
Link (with cool photo)

Acueducto en Quibdó?

El períodico quibdoseño Siglo 21 lo cuenta así.

Festival Petronio Alvarez 2007

He tenido mis críticas sobre la organización del Festival Petronio Álvarez, pero sigue siendo la muestra más importante de las tendencias tradicionales y modernas de la músicas afropacíficas (de hecho, podría ser el escenario más importante para el reconocimiento de las raíces culturales afrocolombianas en la construcción de la cultura colombiana, de pronto al lado de las festividades del Día de la Afrocolombianidad en Bogotá) y un proceso cultural impresionante gracias al empeño y amor de los artistas y públicos. Aquí algunos links a información e imágenes del Petronio.

• Participación de la Ministra de Cultura (por primera vez.) Enlace y otro enlace
  
• Información sobre el Festival. Enlace
• Sobre la apertura del evento. Enlace

Además, alguien colocó sus fotos del evento en Flickr, y otra persona colcó el siguiente video en Youtube - me parece que es el grupo de Esteban Copete, el cual dizque ganó en la modalidad de grupo libre. (Corrección - no es el grupo de Copete - ve los comentos abajo...)

Todavía, no tengo confirmación de los ganadores - he oído que el grupo de Esteban Copete ganó en libre, como acabo de decir, y que el grupo del hijo del Maestro Gualajo, el joven Hayer Torres, ganó tercer puesto en marimba, y que por poco gana el primer puesto (que fue dado a un grupo de Buenaventura) pero tuvo un problema de personal. No sé nada de chirimía, ni de los otros puestos, y como por alguna extraña razón los periodicos no publican nada acerca de los ganadores del evento todavía, no tengo confirmación de nada. Pero si es verdad que han ganado Copete y Hayer Torres, es importantísimo notar que los dos son jóvenes urbanos y de segunda generación, no marimberos veteranos del entorno rural. Eso indica que la marimba sigue viva entre los jóvenes, aunque sea en medio de las transformaciones culturales que implica la urbanización de las comunidades negras. De todas maneras, felicidades a ellos, a sus músicos, y a todos los participantes - tanto en el público como en la tarima - en este último Petronio.

Atentado en Tumaco

Hace unos años estaba bastante caliente la ciudad de Tumaco. Había calmado mucho, pero parece que de nuevo hay actividad violenta por parte de los grupos ilegales. Ojalá no se trate del principio de una ola de violencia tal como hemos visto en Buenaventura...

Dice El Tiempo:

Agosto 18 de 2007
Un muerto y siete heridos dejó ataque con cilindro bomba a vehículo militar en Tumaco (Nariño)

El hecho se produjo este sábado, y entre los lesionados se encuentran un oficial y un soldado, confirmó el gobernador de Nariño, Eduardo Zúñiga.

De acuerdo con al mandatario seccional, el ataque contra el vehículo del Ejército ocurrió cuando circulaba en el sitio conocido como la Guayacana.

Zúñiga agregó que los heridos están siendo atendidos en el hospital de Tumaco.

De acuerdo con el reporte, al parecer el cilindro bomba fue lanzado por guerrilleros de las Farc contra la tanqueta del ejército, pero al explotar impactó también contra un vehículo de servicio público que transitaba por el lugar.

Con AFP

Bling!

The Times, quoting Forbes magazine, lists the richest hip hop moguls. Who's #1 - Jay-Z? Puffy? Eminem? 50? See the article to find out...