Mexico vs. Iceland Soccer Game

For weeks leading up to last Wednesday, one question was on everybody's lips, "Are you going to the game?" "Did you get tickets?" On the Spanish-language radio, the DJs talked up the soccer game between the Mexican national team and Iceland. And finally on Wednesday, the day arrived. I won't say it was anticlimactic, because, despite all the hype, and the fact that only the Mexican bench and junior players trying to make the last spots on the World Cup squad showed up, or that the match ended in a 0-0 tie, it was still one of the most exciting sporting events I've ever attended.

Why? Well, first off, outside the stadium before the game, there was an ocean of green jerseys, of fans with their faces painted, of flags and banners showing pride in Mexico and the provinces where people come from, of adults and kids, for many of whom this was their first opportunity to see the Mexican national team play in person. Second, both outside and inside the stadium, this mass of people translated into a wall of sound, with noisemakers, cheers, dancers dressed in Aztec headdresses and beating drums, noise sticks, etc. It was the loudest Panthers Stadium has probably ever been. Third, although Mexico was highly favored to win, Iceland's team made it a close game and held Mexico to a tie. Finally, the folks I went with had tremedous seats, three rows back from the field.

For those of you who don't care for sports (here's looking at you, mom) and might remark that this was just a soccer game, I would tend to agree that it really doesn't change the grand scheme of things, except for one nagging detail. In the Charlotte Observer on Thursday, an article by Scott Fowler described the match. The article is mainly positive, a write up in the typical vein of, "Look at the non-Americans, so crazy for soccer which we think is a boring sport here." But if you look below at the comments, suddenly coverage of the game becomes a stalking horse for the slow destruction of America by immigrants. If it's just a game, then why does it provoke such hatred and vitrol?

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/03/25/1334846/el-tri-sends-mexicos-fans-into.html?pageNum=10&&&&&&&&&&&mi_pluck_action=page_nav#Comments_Container

Maybe it's the symbolism of Mexicans taking over space downtown for one night, disrupting traffic patterns, showing that they (and soccer) deserve a place in Charlotte? Or is it that Mexicans too can engage in mass sports consumerism, having corporate "fun zones" and ads in Spanish on the giant stadium television screen?

Franco Ordonez, a reporter who write a blog on Latino issues for the Charlotte Observer, wrote about the Fowler story and the backlash. Here is his blog entry:

http://obsthisland.blogspot.com/2010/03/how-did-article-about-soccer-turn-in-to.html

And finally here are some pictures of the game:

Fans of "el Tri" gather in front of the stadium-





Ruben passing out stickers for Immigration Reform prior to the game (with Tony):



There were a few Iceland fans in attendence:



Aniel, Tony, me and Isaac, by our seats:


A true fan:



A free kick:



No trip to see Mexican soccer would be complete without a visit to the taco truck afterwards.

Music at Sunday's Immigration March

When I went to Washington DC this past Sunday, I went to support the cause of immigration reform. I wasn't expecting to see much that directly related to the music part of my research, but in fact I did. There was music everywhere, from a mariachi group to people singing and banging on plastic buckets. Here are some of the groups I encountered:

This group had a small marching band.



After I got tired of all the speakers' pontificating, I walked around and found this mariachi group singing and playing "Cielito Lindo." Everybody within shouting distance joined in. Then they called forth the dancers and performed "La Negra" another traditional folkloric tune.





These merengueros were playing a little perico ripiao in support of immigration reform.



These kids were marching and playing drums.



This guy was playing songs as people marched by.



A group sang Jose Alfredo Jimenez's "El Rey."



Here is a video taken by the Georgia Association of Elected Officials (GALEO) delegation of a drum group, Cakalak Thunder from Greensboro, North Carolina.

Immigration March on Washington DC

Yesterday, I joined a group from North Carolina who participated in a march for comprehensive immigration reform in Washington DC. After a mostly sleepless bus ride, we gathered along with hundreds of other busloads from around the country at RFK Stadium and headed down to the National Mall. It turned into a warm, dusty day with bright sunshine. When the North Carolina Contingent arrived, we were one of the first to gather at the mall. But it quickly began to fill up, with union groups from New York, with student groups from California, with farmworkers from Texas, with a Georgia human rights group. And the people kept filling in, from Florida, New Mexico, Arizona, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, Colorado, and even Montana. I'm not a good judge of crowd numbers, but the organizers said around 200,000 people. While stood around and listened to hours and hours of speeches, the crowd would spontaneously burst into chants, "Si Se Puede!, Yes We Can," or "Obama Escucha, Estamos en la Lucha (Listen up Obama, we are fighting)." Then we marched, past the US Capitol building, through the streets of the Capital Heights neighborhood and back to our buses. Then, after a long bus ride, we arrived exhausted in Charlotte at 3am Monday morning. Here are some pictures and commentary:


Our group gathers at RFK Stadium to head to the National Mall-



Charlotte Presente!



This guy is doing the calvary for Immigration Reform, while the guy in front, well he's just the coolest guy at the march-



Various groups march into the National Mall



Notice the Polish flags, it truly was a multicultural march-




The Mall starts to fill up, by 2:30 pm it was so crowded I couldn't get back to where I took this picture.



Some mariachis played Cielito Lindo and people gathered around to sing...



A huge American flag was passed over the crowd-



Bolivians making their voices heard-



One of my favorite signs, simple and to the point



Folk and electronic reprentations of President Obama-




Other great signs:




Some hippie anarchist types (they were "dancing" to Dead Prez, probably fellow Obies)-



This guy was yelling Si Se Puede! at the top of his lungs in front of the Capitol, I hope Congess heard him...



The North Carolina marchers plant thier flag and claim the US Capitol as their own-

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Around Town- Wilkinson Blvd

The other day I took some photos of one of the most intersting streets in Charlotte, Wilkinson Boulevard. Wilkinson Blvd is the local way out from downtown to the airport, but most people, except the taxis and public bus, take the highway. It's one of those old main drags that has seen better days, but just for that reason retains some of the old character: run-down motels, a Dairy Queen with an Eskimo girl sign (ah, the golden days of racialized stereotypes in advertising), a drive-in BBQ restaurant, an abandoned 1950's-era supermarket, car repair shops, and honky-tonk bars. Where else can you find a public school bus depot next to a strip club?

There's also a Wal-Mart and a newish shopping center that looks out of place, and the airport is enroaching on Wilkinson as they continually expand parking lots. If you take the bus out to the airport, there is a bus driver who is probably the most pleasant person I've even seen driving public transportation, she always says hello to everybody and even wishes you a good day when you get off at your stop. On the bus you'll see down-on-their-luck men carrying garbage bags with their belongings from SRO to shelter, or to an appointment downtown. Contrast this with the banking highrises uptown or the glitzy Lake Norman suburbs and you get a sense of the juxtaposed wealth and poverty of the city.

My Musical Family

I guess I get my interest in studying, listening and playing music from my family. There are musicians on both sides of my family, as I was reminded this past weekend when I went to visit my dad and younger brothers in Virginia. They live in Ferrum, which is about as country as you can get on the East Coast. It's home to an agricultural school, where my dad teaches and occasionally looks after farm animals.




Nathan playing my uncle Kyle's guitar



Graham taking a turn



My dad messing around on a mandolin with Nathan looking on.

Vos Sabes...Review of Tribute to Los Fabulosos Cadillacs

This week in one of the local Spanish papers in Charlotte, Mi Gente, Tony Arreaza and I wrote a review of a new tribute album to Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. The album is called Vos Sabes…Como te esperaba, un tributo a Los Fabulosos Cadillacs. For those of you who read Spanish, a copy of the review in in the online edition on page 32:

http://flipflashpages.uniflip.com/2/28973/52228/pub/