EL MAYORAL SLAVE DRIVER
(Wilfredo Franco Laguna) (Wilfredo Franco Laguna)
Qué dolor siento en mi pecho I feel such pain in my chest
cuando está de madrugá when dawn approaches
el mayoral con su reto It's the slave driver, with his threats
no no’ deja descansar He doesn't let us rest.
A las cuatro e’ la mañana At four in the morning
cuando el sol se va asoma’ when the sun's ready to shine
el mayoral con su reto the slave driver with his scolding
no no’ deja descansar doesn't let us rest.
¡Ay! mayoral, ¡ay! mayoral Oh slave driver! Oh, slave driver!
¡ay! mayoral, ¡ay! mayoral Oh, slave driver! Oh, slave driver!
Saca tu machete Cipriano (saca tu machete) Take out your machete, Cipriano
afila tu lampa José (afila tu lampa) (take out your machete)
Sharpen your shovel, Jose
(sharpen your shovel)
Portuguese colonies
in Africa:
•Angola
•Cabo Verde
•Guinea-Bissau
•Mozambique
Traditional
PANALIVIO/ZANCUDITO PANALIVIO/ZANCUDITO
Ya salió mi caporal Here comes the slavedriver
con su chicote en la mano With a whip in his hand
Afro- panalivio malivio san. Panalivio malivio san
Peruvian Se parece al mal ladrón
capitán de bandoleros
He looks like a thief
Captain of bandits
Christmas panalivio malivio san. Panalivio malivio san
Song Yo me corté con la hoz
ya me sale mucha sangre
I’ve cut myself with a sickle
And I'm bleeding profusely
panalivio malivio san. Panalivio malivio san
Artist: Susana Baca
Album: Eco de Sombras No es la sangre que me sale It's not blood that pours out of me
sino que me mata el hambre It's the hunger that's killing me
panalivio malivio san. Panalivio malivio san
Zancudito me picó The mosquito stung me
(salamanqueja me mordió) (the salamander bit me)
Malhaya sea ese zancudo Cursed be that mosquito
(malhaya sea que me pico) (cursed for biting me)
Zancudito por aquí Mosquito over here
(zancudito por allá) (mosquito over there)
Malhaya sea este zancudo (malhaya Cursed be that mosquito (cursed
sea que me picó) for biting me)
Que me picó, que me picó It stung me
(en la punta el corazón) (on the tip of my heart)
Chutney soca: the hybrid music
of Trinidad and Tobago
Soca is a modern form of calypso
with a fast beat. It originated as a
fusion of calypso with Indian
rhythms, combining the musical
traditions of the two major ethnic
groups of Trinidad and Tobago,
descended from African slaves and
indentured laborers from India.
NLCB Chutney Soca Monarch finals 2004, photo by Jeffrey Chock.
http://www.visittnt.com/carnival2004/fetesevents/photos/csmfinals/imag
epages/image7.htm
BOUKMAN EKSPERYANS PEYE POU PEYE (PAY UP)
- Children, what shall we call this
This Haitian band takes its name dog?
from Boukman, a Vodou priest - Let’s call it “Keep doing it to me”
who helped unify slaves for the A vagabond passed by, he annoyed
1791 slave revolution against the dog
France. The songs are in Creole, The dog was mean, it bit him
and draw heavily on Vodou (a I let the dog loose so it could watch
diasporic form of the Yoruban the yard
religion). In the aftermath of the Everybody has problems
the September 1991 army coup Yoruba Haiti, look at all your problems
against the Aristide government, Political problems are our problems
Boukman Eksperyans was Selfishness is our problem
banned by the military authorities Ask the army
as "too violent". In June 1994, Ask the people
their bassist and drummer Olicha The crooks pay the Baron
died for lack of medication Politi“chiens” pay the Baron
during to the US Profiteers pay the Baron
embargo on Haiti. Left and Right pay the Baron
Yes we will overcome
Haiti Aye! Let thunder strike me
Pray for the children
Nothing is greater than God
We will overcome
Pray for Haiti
Pray for Haiti
Pray for the Kongos
Pray for Rwanda, for Sarajevo
Our problem, the tribulations of
others
Pay! Pay! Pay!
Les Misérables
The musical is based on a novel written by
French writer Victor Hugo in 1862.
Jean Valjean, a poor man, is sentenced 19
years for stealing a loaf of bread for his
starving family.
Saved by an act of kindness in 1815, he
rebuilds his life. He becomes an
industrialist, and even becomes mayor
because of his good works and enterprise.
He helps Fantine, a female factory worker
who is struggling to support her illegitimate
child Cosette. Eventually, Fantine dies of
illness, and Valjean takes care of Cosette.
Marius and Cosette marry, but
Cosette grows older and falls in love with a Cosette’s “father” Valjean refuses to
law student, Marius. By this time (1832), the live with them, because he fears that
poor are getting restless, and there are his criminal past will become known to
revolts in the streets of Paris against the them and ruin their happiness.
monarchy’s policies. Marius is injured
while protesting, and does not realize that
Valjean saved his life, or that he has a If you want to know how the story ends,
criminal past. read the book!
Excerpt from Haile Selassie’s speech to the UN
New York City, October 4, 1963
On the question of racial discrimination, the Addis Ababa Conference taught, to those who will
learn, this further lesson: That until the philosophy which holds one race superior and another
inferior is finally and permanently discredited and abandoned: That until there are no longer
first-class and second class citizens of any nation; That until the color of a man's skin is of no
more significance than the color of his eyes; That until the basic human rights are equally
guaranteed to all without regard to race; That until that day, the dream of lasting peace and
world citizenship and the rule of international morality will remain but a fleeting illusion, to be
pursued but never attained; And until the ignoble and unhappy regimes that hold our brothers
in Angola, in Mozambique and in South Africa in subhuman bondage have been toppled and
destroyed; Until bigotry and prejudice and malicious and inhuman self-interest have been
replaced by understanding and tolerance and good-will; Until all Africans stand and speak as
free beings, equal in the eyes of all men, as they are in the eyes of Heaven; Until that day, the
African continent will not know peace. We Africans will fight, if necessary, and we know that we
shall win, as we are confident in the victory of good over evil.
The United Nations has done much, both directly and indirectly to speed the disappearance of
discrimination and oppression from the earth. Without the opportunity to focus world opinion on
Africa and Asia which this Organization provides, the goal, for many, might still lie ahead, and the
struggle would have taken far longer. For this, we are truly grateful. But more can be done. The basis
of racial discrimination and colonialism has been economic, and it is with economic weapons that
these evils have been and can be overcome. In pursuance of resolutions adopted at the Addis Ababa
Summit Conference, African States have undertaken certain measures in the economic field, which, if
adopted by all member states of the United Nations, would soon reduce intransigence to reason. I ask,
today, for adherence to these measures by every nation represented here that is truly devoted to the
principles enunciated in the Charter. I do not believe that Portugal and South Africa are prepared to
commit economic or physical suicide if honorable and reasonable alternatives exist. I believe that such
alternatives can be found.
Excerpted from Important Utterances Of H.I.M., Imperial Ethiopian Ministry Of Information, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Cited at http://www.bobmarley.com/life/rastafari/war_speech.html
What’s a “dreadlock rasta”?
The Rastafarian religion became popular
among descendants of African slaves in
Jamaica in the 1930s. Among other
things, they saw hope for the African
diaspora in the resistance of Ethiopian
emperor Ras Tafari (after coronation,
His Imperial Majesty, Emperor Haile
Selassie I, Conquering Lion of the Tribe
of Judah, Elect of God, King of Kings of
Ethiopia) to imperialist attacks by
Mussolini’s Italy. Ras Tafari’s father had
been an important military leader during
Ethiopia’s previous (and successful)
resistance to Italian imperialism, in 1896.
Rastafarians regard Haile Selassie
(pictured on the poster with Bob Marley)
as a living incarnation of Jah, or God
(hence the line “Almighty God is a living
man”). Some Rastas identify with
Judaism, others with Eastern
Christianity, and yet others with Islam.
This is hardly surprising, considering that
Christianity and Judaism had followers in
Ethiopia since ancient times, and Islam
spread widely through much of Africa.
http://www.postershop.com/Marley-Bob/Marley-Bob-Selassie-5001145.html
MUSIC FROM
GREAT BRITAIN
Apache Indian (his real
name is Steven Kapur)
was born and raised in
Birmingham, England.
This is a working-class
city with a large
immigrant population,
especially of Jamaican
and Indian origin.
Birmingham is also a
center of the UK reggae
scene, and the place
where bands like UB40,
Steel Pulse, and Musical
Youth got their first
break.
Apache Indian sings in
Jamaican patois and
Punjabi. His music fuses
Reggae, Ragamuffin,
and Dancehall with
“Bollywood” (Bombay’s
film music) and a popular
South Asian folk dance
music called Bhangra.
The legendary Fairuz
and her music
The Beirut-born Fairuz became
extremely popular in the 1950s and
’60s in Lebanon. Her repertoire
encompasses several traditions
popular in the Middle East: secular
Arabic and European popular and folk,
as well as Christian liturgical traditions.
In the decades after WW2, many
Middle Eastern cities, and especially
Beirut, grew into highly cosmopolitan
communities. A large part of Beirut’s
population was of non-Lebanese and
http://www.fairouz.com/ even non-Arab background. Modern
entertainment media – radio, TV,
Eastern Christianity concert halls, public theatres – helped
create an urban mass audience.
Greece, North Africa, Near East
Since 1st century CE As in many other Third World
countries, early nationalistic sentiment
Most Lebanese Christians belong to the Maronite Church, prompted the government to promote a
named after the 4th century Syrian saint Maroun.
new folk-inspired artistic idiom.
http://almashriq.hiof.no/lebanon/700/780/fairuz/
RAÏ: POPULAR MUSIC OF ALGERIA
With a name that literally means "opinion”, raï began as
wedding music in coastal Algeria in the 1960s, featuring
singers crooning about partying, girls and the news of
the day.
With its dance-floor beats and incendiary lyrics, raï soon
became the voice of rebellious North African youth
culture and was eventually banned from Algerian state
radio. That didn't stop the music; it developed in to a
massive industry boasting superstars and cultural icons
like Cheb Hasni, Cheb Mami and Khaled.
KHALED
The rapid development of raï mirrored
Khaled's own progression from a singer
who churned out rough basement-recorded
tracks to the star of slick African fusion
records produced by names like Don Was
and Steve Hillage.
His massive 1992 single, Didi, was an
explosive, string-drenched funk track that
turned up on Europe's hippest dance floors
and featured North African elements as well
as the strong influence of western club
culture, jazz and reggae.
http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2002-02-14/cover_story.php