Neighbors Angela and her little brother Adrian
For my sixth grade graduation, I was given a small, rectangular camera. It used a sort of film (now extinct) that created photos with no sharp edges.
These are some of the photos I took on my last day in elementary school.
clockwise: Norman, Leanne, Nicole and Christine, Jacky. Hillcrest Elementary, Monterey Park
Post inspired by Wendy. 
Gold Chains - I Come From San Francisco
Ah, the Bay Area! When I first saw this video, I couldn’t help thinking, “This is so San Francisco, kinda lame but sorta cool.” You’ll know what I mean when you watch it.
Cheers to the Bay Area and the folks who live there, I sure never could! (okay, I tried in the East Bay but I lasted less than a year…)
One of my favorite photos!
I’m not certain about the exact identity of this family. It’s possible they are related to my grandfather Atanasio…more investigation needed.
Jean Claude Vannier - L’Enfant La Mouche Et Les Allumettes
I’ve enjoyed this clip for quite awhile now but with passing of Yves Saint Laurent, I thought this week would be an appropriate time to share it.
Bonus + favor
I’ve included as a bonus my favorite Jean Claude Vannier song, Danse des Mouches noires Gardes du Roi. Like a lot of other music of this genre and time period (the early 70’s) the song features a sort of honky tonk piano playing style. This style of piano showed up again, 20 years later in a lot of house music. Does anyone know if this kind of playing has a particular name?
Danse des Mouches Noires Gardes
El Sereno, circa 1949
These past few weeks I’ve spent most of my free time sorting, scanning and editing old family photos. I’ve been trying to get copies to various family members, while at the same time researching the stories behind the pictures.
The photo above was taken in El Sereno and is of my great aunt Doris (who recently passed away) and her daughter Suzie. Suzie says this picture made it into the newspaper and I can see why. Snow in El Sereno?
I hope kids in Baldwin Park were able to get pictures of themselves playing in the ice/snow that unexpectedly covered their neighborhood today.
Video describing the history of the “Amen Break”, a sample used in everything from NWA to Jungle to car commercials. Fascinating stuff for music geeks like me!
From the Youtube description:
This fascinating, brilliant 20-minute video narrates the history of the “Amen Break,” a six-second drum sample from the b-side of a chart-topping single from 1969. This sample was used extensively in early hiphop and sample-based music, and became the basis for drum-and-bass and jungle music — a six-second clip that spawned several entire subcultures. Nate Harrison’s 2004 video is a meditation on the ownership of culture, the nature of art and creativity, and the history of a remarkable music clip.
Some claim the popularity of the drum break can be attributed to the Golden Ratio.
from Teen Angels Magazine
See here for more info.
By the way, I spotted reproductions of old Teen Angels magazines for sale at a Downtown Broadway magazine kiosk just last week.
The Knife-Like a Pen
No need for me to go on about how much I like the Knife so sit back and enjoy the videos. (Although, I would like to know why/how Sweden and Norway are creating such good music?)
The Knife-Pass It On
Matt beat me to this one!
Found a few years ago on my street. A plaza somewhere in Mexico.
A series of objects, photographs, letters and other items found on the streets of Lincoln Heights.
Huasteca Region, Mexico
[note: this post was written many months ago]
As mentioned previously, I had hoped to write a little on my recent trip to Mexico but I’ve been having trouble finding a place to start. So much has changed since my last visit there seven years earlier. I can’t tell if Mexico is more American, the US is more Mexican or if it’s just that I’m finally beginning to understand both cultures. In any case, there’s too much to wrap my head around, there are race and class issues I simply do not have the skills to write about. (Like what’s up with all the vendors and ambulantes calling me “huera” when I have the same morena skin as them?) Then there’s the commercialization of El Chopo, the high prices of La Lagunilla and the intensity of Mercado Merced, all of these subjects are coincidentally being covered by Los Angeles journalist Daniel Hernandez who has been sharing his cultural observations of Mexico DF on his excellent blog: Intersections. I’ll leave the good writing and the insightful analysis to him. Instead, I’ll focus on two subjects that partly inspired this visit to Mexico: Son Huasteco music and Filigree jewelry.
Son Huasteco
My initial far fetched itinerary to Mexico had me trekking up to the Huasteca region to search out authentic Son Huasteco but unfortunately my visit was short and my lack of planning kept me relegated to the bits of Mexico I’m familiar with: Mexico DF and Oaxaca. Not that I’m complaining, these places have their charms and I was fortunate enough to enjoy live music and dancing almost every night. I was able to find some great Son Huasteco CDs at the fabulous Gandhi Bookstore in Mexico DF and at Librería Grañen Porrúa bookstore in Oaxaca. I’ve included some examples of Son Huasteco tunes from these CDs, so keep reading below!
Son Huasteco is one of my favorite musical genres. It is representative of what makes Mexican culture so beautiful, a cross cultural blend of musical elements strongly rooted in indigenous traditions and garnished by the successive immigrant and ethnic groups that have left their legacy in this Mexican region. There’s the violin: melodious, sometimes frantic and other times meandering, with influences of Eastern European styles. Equally compelling are the vocals with their characteristic bits of falsetto and the undeniable echoes of Africa that reverberate throughout their singing. The driving rhythm that accompanies Son Huasteco is called Huapango, a type of dancing partly inspired by Spanish Flamenco.
More from the National Geographic website:
Son huasteco is the term associated with the huapango rhythm and features violin and guitar instrumentation with highly improvisational text, often structured around the Spanish décima form. The word “huapango” is derived from the Náhuatl term cuauh-panco, which means “to dance on a wooden platform,” demonstrating links to its Aztec past. Huapangos are also used in competitive form, such as the huapango arribeño, where dueling poets improvise complex décimas around topical events.
Los Camperos del Valle are one of the more internationally known Son Huasteco groups and are extremely talented musicians. Here’s a clip to give you an idea:
El Gusto-Los Camperos de Valles
Another version of the same song:
This energetic live clip really gives you the feel for how the dancer’s percussive footwork enhances the rhythm of this kind of Son. Also notice how each violin player brings their own style to the song. The violin in Son Huasteco is what makes this music characteristically unique, much in the way the harp is for Son Jarocho.
There are national and regional dance competitions for Huapango, this video excerpt gives you some idea of the structure of the dance.
Concurso Nacional de Huapango
Son Huasteco has also made it’s way across the border and a derivative style is often performed by various Tejano musicians.
Tex Maniacs - Huapango
I’ve included some Son Huasteco music examples that best exemplify, in my opinion, this musical mixture of influences.
From Son Anthologia de Mexico: Son Huasteco, Discos Corason 1985, Mexico.
Los Chiles Verdes-Abacum Fernandez y Reveriano Soto
One of my favorites. A very traditional indigenous Son Huasteco arrangement, unusual for it’s lack of violin and for the raw but completely engaging vocals.
El Gusto-Trio Los Camalotes
When I mentioned voices with echoes of Africa earlier in this post, it was this song I had in mind. Exceptional violin on this song and an all around amazing example of rootsy Son Huasteco.
From El Caiman, Caiman:Sones Huastecos, Discos Corason, 1996
El Llorar-Los Hermanos Perez Maya
It’s hard to describe how I felt when I first heard this song, it caused a small revolution in my musical life and inspired an emotional attachment that continues with repeated listenings. It is from this song that I developed my love for Son Huasteco. A few of the distinguishing elements of El Llorar are the falsetto vocals and the fantastic violin runs. There are many different versions, each one just as remarkable as the next.
I’ve had some difficulty researching Son Huasteco. I imagine more materials and references can be found in Mexico. One other CD I purchased on my trip was Huapango! Grabciones de campo de Thomas Stanford , 1970 which includes extensive liner notes from his field recordings. Highly recommended.
Next up (okay, someday…) joyeria filigrana/filigree jewelry!
little and lots
