That also applies to the elder ones! We're not sitting around knitting and playing Canasta. You've read about my new musical venture in a previous article. The short version is that we've started a new chorus for Q+ Elders and Allies: the Portland Sage Singers. We only started last February. But, off we went, faster than any of our aging legs could carry us.
“Racist as you're full of hate, why don't you go straight to hell, goes the chorus. The song, La Cumbia de la Migra, belongs to Los Jornaleros del Norte, a group of migrant musicians who for 30 years have accompanied marches and strikes in Los Angeles with guitars, drums, and an unwavering conviction: to sing in order to survive. Omar Leon (Michoacan, 1976), the group's keyboardist, accordionist, and composer, doesn't consider himself a star.”
The word "revolution" tends to conjure images of protests, rage, bloodshed, reshaped borders or toppled despots. But a look at the history of revolutions sometimes reveals a "mellower" aftermath: songs birthed in turmoil, which have stood the test of time. Across centuries and continents, political and social upheaval have seen songs being composed either during an uprising or repurposed from folk traditions into tunes of resistance.
One of the Arab world's most influential contemporary artists is coming to Campbell's Heritage Theatre on Sept. 7. Hamza Namira is an Egyptian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music rose to prominence during the 25 January revolution in 2011, a day of nonviolent protests against increasing police brutality during the last few years of Hosni Mubarak's presidency. Namira participated in the demonstrations and was considered the Voice of the Revolution. His music is marked by sociopolitical themes.