Here at "Making the Same Difference", I'm kicking off the new year by finally revealing my top 10 most read blogs of 2010. VOILA!!! Here are 2010's best of the best....
As beautiful as Buenos Aires may seem, it is a little hard to believe that it once served as a slave capital. African slaves were brought to Buenos Aires and with them, their distinctive rhythm. Today, the slaves may be gone but the beat of Murga still resounds through the air day and nite without end.
Murga consists a set of both musicians and dancers. Drawing from it's African roots, the instruments used in Murga are drums and percussionist type instruments. During neighbourhood events or cultural gatherings, Murga dancers come with a mission and a message. There is a very distinctive set that is played that lasts about 45 mins. The beauty and mystery of this dance is that depending on how it is done, along with the combination of the music, the dance can seem unrehearsed. It is and it isn't. Murga dancers do practice and rehearse very well and thus when it is performed in public, it looks polished & suave yet somehow spontaneous at the same time.
The barrio and the event that the Murga set is being done in greatly influences and affects the style of Murga, it's message and it's purpose. One can travel from one end of Buenos Aires and see an example of Murga and hop to another barrio and see another example of Murga and it would be worlds apart. A great example of this is the trailer of a documentary done by filmmaker Alison Murray about the Caprichosos of San Telmo. The style of Murga there reflects the barrio of San Telmo, it's history, culture, distinctive flavor as well as the message of that particular Murga to the people.
There are modern day uses for Murga as well. I shot a video of Murga being used to promote "Rock & Vida", a rock concert to promote the awareness of AIDS. You can view the video simply by clicking the title of this blogpost. It will take you straight to my video on YouTube. As you can see from both videos, the look and feel of Murga diversifies tremendously depending on the purpose it is being used for. But no matter what flavor it comes in, Murga always comes with a mission and a message....
If you had one adjective to describe your New Years resolutions, what would it be? enjoyable? inspirational? impossible? LOL How about "unthinkable"? Which also happens to also be the title of Alicia Key's latest video "Unthinkable" (I'm Ready). The video shows two people who have fallen in love but are caught between a rock and a hard place as the music video is set during a time period where inter-racial relationships are forbidden.
I find this video and the message to be an inspiring New Years resolution for this year 2011 to try and raise the bar and do what previously was thought to be "unthinkable". I have no doubt in my mind that this is already Lady Gaga's new years resolutions and she's already come up with some wacky plan on how she's gonna execute it! And I'm imagining that when she does, it's a guarantee that there will be plenty of press and media people to make it a kodak moment :O
Let's make 2011 a year where we challenge ourselves to do not just the "believeable" or "commendable" or even the "unforgettable". But let's make this a year where we push the buck and do the "un-thinkable"! I'm ready....
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