Atlanta Journal Constitution: Pro & Con: Should Congress pass the DREAM Act for immigrant children? | ajc.com

Sharing an opinion pro-con from Atlanta on the DREAM Act, Sam

Pro & Con: Should Congress pass the DREAM Act for immigrant children?  | ajc.com

Back in NYC

So as you might have guessed from my lack of posts, I'm back in New York City, hard at work writing my dissertation and applying for funding so I can "write my dissertation," or at least pay myself back for the expenses incurred on this money pit of a project. Chapters have been written: an Introduction; an overview of Charlotte's Latin music scene. And now I'm working on a chapter that talks about several bands and their audiences- how they form communities and how important where they play is, whether it's Kalipso on North Tryon or the Neighborhood Theatre, Cosmo's Cafe or A Piece of Havana.

Here are some pictures to keep it interesting.

Welcome-back cakes for the return party.



Daliz with her friend Sabine who came all the way from Belgium to run the NYC marathon.



My archives (newspaper clippings from Charlotte)



My tree nut and legume collection; if I'm hibernating, might as well eat like a squirrel (I like to snack when I write).



My work space.




Again, to all the folks in Charlotte, THANKS! and keep in touch, I'll be back to visit soon.

Latin American Festival

Boricua!



The 20th Annual Latin American Festival/ Festival Latinoamericano took place on October 10 at Symphony Park in Charlotte. Once again, I was involved as part of the organizing group at the Latin American Coalition and I spent most of the day backstage at the Main Stage which featured live music. Unlike last year, when I mostly got in the way and mucked things up, this go-round I actually felt useful; tapping into my experience working several other live music events, I queued up artists, helped arrange the backline during band changeovers, and gave the MCs cues when the bands were and were not ready to start.

The stage show went off without any major hitches, and the crowd grew from nobody to a large and enthusiastic gathering as each musical act finished their set with sweat on their brows and smiles on their faces. Beautiful weather and good publicity meant that the festival brought out more people than last year (they even sold out of beer!).

But numbers aren't everything, this festival also marked the (more or less) official closing date of my field study. Sure, I'll come back to visit and follow up with people, but I am no longer working at the Latin American Coalition and by next week I'll be back in New York writing my dissertation.

So, here are some observations from the festival and beyond:

1. Although as an anthropologist the first theoretical framework that might come to mind for a festival is Clifford Geertz's study of the Balinese cockfight, I can attest to the inadequacy of this idea. Behind the facade of a self-contained event that embodies a culture is total chaos that festival organizers must try to manage with a smirk and a calm demeanor. As the festival approaches, it becomes a runaway train with no brakes, you hurl labor and equipment at it, hoping something will land on a boxcar and not underneath the wheels, while months and months of planning go into making the tracks straight so the beast won't derail midday. At the end, you are left with a silence of empty fairgrounds and a distant hum in your ears from standing too close to reverbrating speakers; sort of like a Doppler effect tailing from a just-passed freight train.

While sometimes the repartee between artist, MC, or audience might seem well-grooved and rehearsed, as someone asks, "Donde estan las mujeres?" and the ladies cheer and men grin, it is impossible to choreograph that moment in a concert when you get chills realizing 15 thousand people are shouting the same synchopated gutteral syllable in response to a plea from a singer on stage. You can't force these moments, only observe the common parameters for when they happen and try to create fertile soil for their blossoming.

2. Ethics are important, and so are aesthetics. During my year in Charlotte, I had a chance to see many shows, concerts and festivals, some of which were organized ethically, others not. What I mean by this is that the organizers paid musicians fairly, provided quality sound and stage equipment, and offered a fair exchange to the audience attending the show (the concert started on time, had the advertised bands performing, no unneccesary delays between acts, etc.). In almost ever case, the shows where the organizers acted ethically turned out to be better shows, aesthetically than those where organizers acted unethically. I base this assertion on my own observations and subjective taste, but also on the opinions of musicians and friends in attendance at these shows. All organizers make compromises in the process of putting on a show, especially in tough economic times, but there is a difference between cutting costs and cutting corners. I had the privledge to work with musicians and event planners who have scruples, and it shows in the quality of their music.

3. Throughout my study, I have attempted to gather information on the 'political economy" of the Latin music scene in Charlotte. This doesn't just mean an accounting of the living expenses and pay of musicians, although that is part of it. Nor does it mean looking at whether musicians are political activists or write political songs. Rather, a political economy of musicians means looking at the power relations among musicians, audience members, club and restaurant owners, concert organizers and their ilk. It refers to their daily lives, the practice and preparation for brief moments on stage, the day jobs that musicians work to support their dream or hobby- to be in a band. It requires looking at the institutions that support musicians and channel their talents, often profiting more than the musicians themselves: clubs, restaurants, festivals, non-profits, etc. And it means placing the entire Latin music scene in larger context...Charlotte's music scene, Charlotte as a city proper, the South, the United States, Latin America, the World... while realizing that only by being local is this scene special and distinct from anywhere else. Festivals are usually just showcases of what is going on already in clubs and other venues; they are necessary but cannot support a scene by themselves. Understanding a local scene requires tracing the veins of music that lead to this showcase and understanding that many artists do not make it to the big stage.

Onwards to some photos from the festival:

The emcees for the main stage showing their Puerto Rican pride...



The opening band was a local Latin jazz group, Rhythm +



Local group Bakalao Stars played next, rocking out with afro wigs and matching t-shirts in the hot sun...







From Durham, NC, Orquesta GarDel played some old school salsa classics...



Elastic Bond, a band from Miami, played some funk and electronic music with Latin-inspired beats...



Charlotte's Soul Brazil worked the crowd with samba, while Iya from Movimentos de Samba danced in front...





Locos Por Juana, also from Miami, rocked the stage with some stirring cumbia...





Direct from la isla del encanto, Puerto Rican group Plena Libre tore through a set of bomba y plena, as the crowd gravitated to the singers shaking hips and call and response vocals. Africa is alive and well in the Caribbean...

Tropic Culture with Bakalao Stars

Let's take a further look at Tropic Culture. I've seen this Charlotte band play several times over the past year, and what I saw this past Friday at the Visulite was a step up from their previous concerts. They have augmented their horn section, adding an incredible saxaphone player, Adrian, who in many ways stole the show.



He played an autotune machine during a couple of songs, seducing the women in the crowd with distorted growlings of the song's melody. He ventured out into the crowd during that time during the show when all but the most dedicated dancers grow weary, and engaged the audience directly, even climbing the stairs to the bar to get the barflies moving and grooving. Along with the rest of the horn section, he massacred a cover of Chick Corea's "Spain," so much so that a fellow saxophonist in the crowd was by the stage clapping and cheering. Tropic Culture is developing new songs, which are not perfected yet, but showcase some improved ideas for the band. Overall, I was intrigued and the concert had me anticipating what these guys might do next.

I've heard Tropic Culture described as a "festival band" or jam band, the type of group that most in its element at fairs, festivals, and outdoor celebrations. I think this is an accurate description, if you take this label to mean that the band is a "big tent" affair, where various styles and genres exist side by side, and are imperfectly and messily mixed together. At times, Tropic Culture brings the funk of Tower of Power, the throwback disco of Jamiroquai, or the breaks common in lite, smooth and acid jazz, all with a side of tropical rhythm. When I interviewed the group this past July, they hinted that they were in the process of changing their sound, and they appear to have made that change. They call what they are doing a "Dance Revolution," again this is festival music, not "serious" rock you stand around contemplating (for better or worse).

Tropic Culture has always had a certain socio-political stance, in the feel-good, spread-the-love vein of listeners of Bob Marley who adhere to his pop songs and sidebar his Garveyite lyrics (War, Burnin' and Lootin'). In songs like "Eliminate the Hate" and "The Train," they advocate a pleasant social activism, never threatening or controversial. In this concert, they dedicated a song to the people of Ecuador, after a chaotic week when the Ecuadorian president was attacked by striking police. This song included the lyrics, "the revolution must begin." Without reading too much into it, we can at least say Tropic Culture want us not to forget the troubles of the world, but at least be aware of them while we dance to their music.

With Bakalao Stars opening, the crowd got warmed up, and, as always, there were some Bakalao fans in attendance.





Tropic Culture headlined the show



Bakalao Stars joined them onstage for a Manu Chao medley.



The crowd was excitable and excited-



Some lady fans join them onstage

Bakalao Stars at Smokey Joe's

Last Friday night I went to see Bakalao Stars play at Smokey Joe's in Charlotte. Smokey Joe's is a dive bar/music venue, walls covered with old concert posters and beer signs. Bakalao Stars came dressed Hawaiian style to match the sandy beach- themed outdoors patio of the bar (although they played inside).







The crowd was small but enthusiastic-



The lead singer from Tropic Culture joined them onstage for a couple of numbers:

Tax Breaks and Wage Theft

If you've been paying attention to the news lately, you may have noticed there has been a lot of discussion about taxes, specifically regarding what to do about the Bush-era tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year. President Obama wants to keep the tax cuts in place for what he terms the 'middle-class,' families making $250,000/year or less, and revert to pre-2001 tax levels for those making more than $250,000/year. Republicans, on the other hand, argue that 'raising' taxes on this upper income bracket above $250,000 would hurt the economy because many of these people are small business owners who, if taxed at a higher rate, would not expand their businesses or hire new employees, thus exacerbating high unemployment levels. Moreover, Republicans argue that small business owners aren't hiring now because of a lingering uncertainty about whether their taxes will climb. The Obama administration has countered with proposals targeting small businesses with incentives and funds that would supposedly offset the coming rise in tax rates. And so we would appear to have a political debate about tax policy.

Sidebar: Does anybody really think that someone making $240,000 is middle-class? That's a hell of a lot of money to me.

John Boehner plays working man...



According to the US Government's Small Business Administration's Office of Advocacy, small businesses employ about half of US workers (at least of those not working on farms or for the government)and, between 1993-2009, created about 65 percent of new jobs (http://www.sba.gov/advo/stats/sbfaq.pdf). The same source classifies small businesses as firms employing 500 people of less.

Yet, I would like to take a step back here and ask, what makes small business owners so special? I believe both sides of this debate have attached themselves to a romanticized figure of the small businessman, who, as a rugged and entreprenuerial individual, if only were it not for the other side's thick-headed policies, would be able to overcome great obstacles and gladly behave with munificience towards his employees and their familes. This Guy who put the pop in Mom and Pop, needs help, whether its government assistance or the desire that the government should just leave him alone. He (in my observation, this is pretty clear-cut gendered figure) and his unwavering work ethic harken back to those early days of American history when frontiersmen set off into the woods and made something of themselves with their bare hands.



In reality, there is nothing inherently good or bad about a small business owner, just as there is nothing inherently good or bad about a large corporation. Rather, it is their actions and relationships, their position in relation to political and economic structures, that determine this. Gigantic corporations might be evil (they often are) say, because they pollute the Gulf of Mexico, but internal HR policies and a history of lawsuits might mean that they actually fairly compensate and insure workers and attempt to give back to the community. Small businesses, while they surely can't release destruction like a Hallibuton or BP, can fail to provide health insurance to workers or discriminate against certain classes of workers. Bigger, or smaller, is not always better (or worse).

I suppose someone could make a counterargument here along the lines of, "Hey, big corporations get tax breaks all the time, so why shouldn't small businesses owners get relief?" Touche!



Which brings me to the second theme- wage theft. A few days ago, I was talking with two undocumented Mexican men who work in the construction industry. These men are hard workers and they give back to the community, a fact I can attest to because they have volunteered to help move heavy furniture, carry supplies out in the hot sun, and paint walls for a local non-profit in Charlotte. They also are struggling to make ends meet. At the same time they aren't taking jobs away from "hard-working Americans" because no jobs in construction are to be had, they are owed significant sums of money from contractors who hired them to work jobs and then never paid up. This means they can't pay their rent and bills in a house they share with their families, including several children. One contractor owes these two men, and several of their coworkers, over $7000 each for a painting gig near Charlotte. Another contractor neglected to pay them over $11,000 each after they traveled to Boston to work on houses there. When I spoke with a person who advises clients at the Latin American Coalition on wage theft issues, she remarked that these two gentlemen are not alone. My conversation was just the tip of the iceberg of hundreds of cases of wage theft they see yearly. Contractors at job sites subcontract to other businesses who hire workers, then underpay or abscond with these workers' wages. It is left to the worker to sift through the multiple layers of contractors, to pursue legal action in small claims court, or to hire a lawyer to file a lawsuit, all the more difficult if you are here illegally, don't speak English as your first language, and are broke and falling into debt.



Who are these contractors perpetuating wage theft? Why, small business owners, of course! (Corporations engage in wage theft too; Wal-Mart come to mind.) So while politicians lionize the small business owner, we should keep in mind the explotation, the paternalism, and the off-the-books nature of many small businesses. If small businesses are given a tax break or incentives, maybe there should be a provision that they won't receive money until they can prove they have paid all their employees all their wages for the past year. Or that they have to comply with OSHA standards in the workplace and provide health insurance for all employees to be eligible?

Last Weekend

This past weekend I managed to go see several bands play, although there were also several performances I ended up missing. On Friday night I went uptown to Chima to listen Reinaldo Brahm and his group play Brazilian music (Sorry, no pictures this time). I didn't stay too late, because I had already planned to wake up early and go see the band Dorian Gris play at a festival, "Rock the Block," in Winston-Salem. It was a bright sunny day, but unfortunately no one was out and about at 12 noon for the show. Here are some photos, including of the empty amphitheatre.







Later in the day, Baco played and few more folks were listening.



On Sunday, I attended the Club Dominicano de Charlotte's annual end of summer party at Park Road Park. After some difficulties with the sound system, Miami band Los Reyes Tipicos played some perico ripiao. They were energetic, but please, it's comical when you spend 20 minutes telling the sound guy to keep turning up the mics to max level- and then when you play every note sounds distorted and tinny.



DS Evolution played next. These guys are on tour around the US and abroad and on the cusp of making it big. They spit rhymes while mixing in bachata and merengue. Their promotor, correcting me, said their style is musica urbana, not reggaeton...



Bachata Flow came on stage next. These guys continue to impress, especially the drummer and lead guitar player.





Leydy Bonilla joined Bachata Flow for a set on songs.



All in all an entertaining musical weekend.

Leydy Bonilla article

Last Sunday, the Charlotte Observer published an article on Charlotte-based merengue singer Leydy Bonilla. Mark Kemp, who has written extensively on Southern music, rock, and other things (often for Rolling Stone), wrote the article.
Here's the link:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/09/12/1677116/a-voice-that-carries.html

El Grito in Charlotte

On Sunday, I went to McAlpine Creek Park in Charlotte for an event organized by the local Spanish radio stations. "El Grito" is modeled after ceremonies and festivities that happen across Mexico on the evening of September 15. Around midnight on this day in 1810 the priest Miguel Hidalgo gave the cry that started the movement that eventually led to Mexico's independence from Spain. 200 years later, Mexican immigrants in North Carolina celebrate this legacy with music, dance, food, and a bit of pagaentry. Here are some photos with commentary.

Grupo Apasionado opened up the day. They were passable.



Alejandro Galvez brings handmade toys for kids of all ages to play with in his Juguetelandia.



Local dance group Cielito Lindo performed some folkloric dances.





Salazar Band played a competent set. They kept up the energy and sang a few extra to fill time for a band that cancelled.



Afterwards they posed backstage:



Rey Norteno took the stage and played some corridos. I think these guys show potential.





A local mariachi band waiting backstage...



And then onstage-



Local promotor Alex Ruiz lipsynched his way through a set. Enough said.



By late afternoon, the crowd was filed in...





Mexican Consul Carlos Flores Vizcarra gave the grito and raised the flag



Lalo Mora (formerly of Los Invasores de Nuevo Leon) was the headliner. He has a voice Janis Joplin would have killed for- gritty with undertones of tequila. He worked the crowd and any women he could find nearby.





La Raza