Day 4
The workshop was absolutely incredible. I loved seeing the interactions between the two brothers. They were so in-sync they could finish each others sentences, praised each other throughout, and knew when to start and stop so the other person could talk. I also loved the way they got us to interact with them to create a better understanding of how New York kicked out different marginalized groups. It was fun, helpful and a good way to move around a little bit. I expected the workshop to be more political than it was due to how hyper-political their music and Twitter are. However, I still loved the way they taught us about the different factors that led to the birth of hip-hop as well as details about life in the Bronx (especially the bit about using light posts to hook up their equipment). I also loved the concert because it was fun seeing people get into the music but also listen to songs in person without all of the videos in the background. It gave me a sense of what it is like to listen to them on the streets.
The workshop and concert also helped with my understanding of memory and hegemony. I think I am still trying to get a handle of how to understand and talk about these concepts so having more examples helped a lot. An example that stands out is when he talked about the dance aspect of Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop brings up the memory of different heritage's that may have been lost post-immigration to the U.S. and transforms them into a new memory that is passed down to every generation who lives in the Bronx or in other parts of the country where Hip-Hop is popular. RodStarz's tattoo of Victor Jara is its own form of cultural memory in that it keeps the memory of the first 9/11 as well as the culture surrounding La Nueva Canción alive. When they talked about the beat boys and beat girls, I felt like that was a great example of communicative memory because it is something lives in everyday interactions such as going to the park every Saturday because you know the music will be good and your community is there.
Almost every aspect of Rebel Diaz is counter-hegemonic. During the concert, they made a point to talk about how Republicans and Democrats don't actually work for the people because of the influence of greed, capitalism, imperialism and super-PACS. Instead, they talked about the power of the people, getting people at the concert to chant about unity in our country and using the American population to create change. During the workshop, they talked about all of the community outreach they did during the 2010's. They said that they didn't use outside help (grants, etc.), rather people in their community helped with things such as electrical work, plumbing, etc. This was seen as the better route than getting handouts from big organizations.
After the concert, I popped in my new CD I got from them when I bought a t shirt and listened to it throughout the weekend with my friends as we drove around town. It definitely inspired us to make a positive change in our communities which reminded me of the effects of La Nueva Canción in countries all over Latin America. The concert and workshop were a great way to end the first week so I am very excited for what's to come. I'm also so happy that they came because I feel like it was a great way to add diversity to campus and bring people together to learn about various issues most of us don't know about while bringing a voice to Latinos on campus.
The workshop and concert also helped with my understanding of memory and hegemony. I think I am still trying to get a handle of how to understand and talk about these concepts so having more examples helped a lot. An example that stands out is when he talked about the dance aspect of Hip-Hop. Hip-Hop brings up the memory of different heritage's that may have been lost post-immigration to the U.S. and transforms them into a new memory that is passed down to every generation who lives in the Bronx or in other parts of the country where Hip-Hop is popular. RodStarz's tattoo of Victor Jara is its own form of cultural memory in that it keeps the memory of the first 9/11 as well as the culture surrounding La Nueva Canción alive. When they talked about the beat boys and beat girls, I felt like that was a great example of communicative memory because it is something lives in everyday interactions such as going to the park every Saturday because you know the music will be good and your community is there.
Almost every aspect of Rebel Diaz is counter-hegemonic. During the concert, they made a point to talk about how Republicans and Democrats don't actually work for the people because of the influence of greed, capitalism, imperialism and super-PACS. Instead, they talked about the power of the people, getting people at the concert to chant about unity in our country and using the American population to create change. During the workshop, they talked about all of the community outreach they did during the 2010's. They said that they didn't use outside help (grants, etc.), rather people in their community helped with things such as electrical work, plumbing, etc. This was seen as the better route than getting handouts from big organizations.
After the concert, I popped in my new CD I got from them when I bought a t shirt and listened to it throughout the weekend with my friends as we drove around town. It definitely inspired us to make a positive change in our communities which reminded me of the effects of La Nueva Canción in countries all over Latin America. The concert and workshop were a great way to end the first week so I am very excited for what's to come. I'm also so happy that they came because I feel like it was a great way to add diversity to campus and bring people together to learn about various issues most of us don't know about while bringing a voice to Latinos on campus.
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