More Critical Latinidad....

...courtesy of Planet Grenada. This time on the race, gender and sexuality matrix in the music:

The classic merengue tune [El Africano by Wilfrido Vargas] is about a "rabioso" (angry, literally "rabid") black man uncovering the innocent girl who has little experience with "lo que quiere el negro" (what the black man wants). On one level it is a festive party anthem, but on another it pretty clearly perpetuates certain alarmist attitudes towards Black sexuality. (e.g. see race and sex)

DJ Laz made heavy use of a Vargas sample and updated the song musically, if not lyrically. While more recently, Cuban-American rapper Pitbull came out with "The Anthem" featuring Lil' John as an homage to the original. Miraculously, he manages to make the lyrics more lascivious (the girl is certainly not calling her daddy for protection) and racist (adding typical Latin stereotypes of Black female/"morena" sexuality to stereotypes of Black male sexuality)...

We must, we must, we MUST critique the racism in the Latina/o community and the (hetero)sexism. We must challenge the dangerous stereotypes we perpetuate in our music, whether that is hip hop, reggaeton, or merengue. Because these stereotypes give life to things like the Da'Niyah's rape and murder + Al Sharpton's proposed defense of the Dunbar Village rapists + Juanita Bynum's return to her abusive husband Thomas Weeks III + The women who keep going missing in Juarez. Those are just examples. Those are just the (barely) publicized examples.

It's not a game. People are dying. People are scared. And critical thought leading to critical action (theory + praxis) is so key. Work change into the world from whichever direction you choose--at the moment, I choose the master's tools. Which is why I love La Chola's 1, 2, 3, and 4-part take on academe--and respect the change being worked from all kinds of directions. Which is why I love her and her and the things they are doing for the communities they live in.

It is painful and frustrating to have to think so hard about the world. To be engaged in everything around you when what you really want to say is

COME ON!
AT LEAST LEAVE US ALONE IN OUR FAMILY ROOMS
LET ME HAVE MY MICROWAVE
AND
FLATSCREEN
AND MY
20 INCH RIMS
AND I WON'T SAY ANYTHING!

When what you want to do is twinkle along your way....or be go-go gadget lost in space...

But imagine if we did. Imagine if "every n*gga was a Master Teacher?" How FUNDAMENTALLY would our entire worldview change if we treated every man and woman, every child, ever bum on the corner or professor at Oxford as though ALL of them had something to teach us? As though ALL of them had something we could learn from, experiences we could learn through? My Gawd....

(I'm still thinking through these thoughts. More to come. Thanks for the inspiration, Abdul-Halim V....)