There is no denying that the musical contribution of Latins is enormous and varied. I was fortunate to first see this special exhibit while on a day trip to Sacramento and was happy to see that it was scheduled next for the main library in San Francisco, where it will be until Nov. 13. Hopefully, it will continue touring around the country, so that others can experience this wonderful inter-active delight:
The exhibit covers the early days, strongly focusing on the 40's, '50s and on through the present. All genres are covered...from Tex-Mex (Freddy Fender - "King of Tex-Mex")
to doo-wop, where many groups had Latin members...such as The Crests:
to '60s groups, which also included girl-groups such as The Sisters (all Chicana):
to Rock, with groups like Santana:
and it goes on and on....big bands, present day hip-hop & rap and everything in between.
The exhibit points out that while some Latins tried to remain mainstream by blending in, hiding their heritage in the process...there are also many examples where well-known pop singers such as Linda Ronstadt went the other direction, recording several albums devoted to their roots:
I could go on and on about this enlightening and fun exhibit, complete with sound clips you can listen to, video segments, trivia games, etc. Not only does this exhibit highlight the music, but also the fashions and cultures built around it...often beginning in the Latin neighborhoods but eventually branching out, becoming permanently cemented in American culture.
In addition to the main exhibit, there are other locales & venues contributing toward this showing by having separate events such as small film festivals, local artists performing, etc.
For more information about this fantastic exhibit, please go to the following site. There is a list of scheduled cities and tour dates for this event, sponsored by The Smithsonian. While it appears limited at this point, perhaps there is a way to get in a request to have it continued and add more cities to the schedule.
This site includes some of the photos, videos, trivia that are part of the touring exhibit: Website for "American Sabor"
This past weekend the unveiling of our major new artwork happened!
Had been reading about this proposed sculpture, here and there, but didn't quite know what to expect. This video I shot a few days ago will give you an overview of what we saw. It was absolutely astounding and I am so proud of Oakland for giving this masterpiece a permanent home here.
We are a often-beleaguered city that needs all the good P.R. that we can get. It's very hard to explain to most people that the horrible shootings we read about so often, usually take place over 10 miles away, in an area known as East Oakland - usually occurring late at night/early morning hours and gang or drug related. Only those who also live in large cities have some understanding of this....the rest of the world just has a very dark image of us that they hold of the entire city.
This bronze sculpture, the work of artist Mario Chiodo, will do much toward helping to focus on the Oakland that rivals other great metropolitan cities. More importantly, it is a sculpture that has tremendous depth and meaning for all people....many of the faces carved into the bronze are of people we all grew up with, hearing and seeing them in history books, on TV, etc. It is a tribute to these wonderful champions of humanity, showing the very best of people....those who have made it a goal to help others!
Already we are seeing people show up continuously to admire this wonderful piece. It is located in our newly revitalized downtown area. When we moved here about 9 years ago they were in the process of tearing down many of the old buildings in the area. Problem was that it remained desolate looking for too many years (at least 5) and often gave the impression of being dangerous, especially at night. Were it not for the nearby Sears store and the shoppers coming in and out, the entire area would have appeared as a no-man's land.
Then began the complete renovation of the old dilapidated Fox Theater, restoring it to its former glory.................
after that.......the entire empty one-block area next to it was converted into wonderful condos ..........
.......and the whole neighborhood was now known as "Uptown Oakland", soon bringing in new restaurants, nightclubs, etc. converting a once-dead area into one of the most vibrant and now oft-visited areas of Oakland. And it continues to grow in stature.....
Can't begin to tell you how proud I am of our city now. It's total transformation of the downtown area, one that will now bring more people into the area, including out-of- towner's, tourists from nearby San Francisco (15 miles away).
Here is a very short video I shot of the art piece, which includes still photos as well. At the beginning is the video overview, then the still photos. For those of you that don't know this, if you click on the "You Tube" logo when it begins to play...it will open up the video on the You Tube page, increasing its size 3 times what you see here....it's really the best way to view it, to capture the beauty of it all:
There is so much more I want to say about this sculpture, but their website gives all of the details about the creation of it, listing all of the distinct heroes that are included in it, etc. : Remember Them - the website
There are certain TV shows that come along that grab you in every way imaginable. They stand out from all of your other favorites, and when they come to an end...you really do feel lost in many ways. The HBO series "Six Feet Under" was one of those. The funny thing is that I didn't begin to watch it until it had reached the end of its second season on HBO. When I saw the previews, originally, for some reason I was not motivated to watch.
The fact that it is about death and a family who run a mortuary didn't help win me over. I can't recall exactly what finally nudged me to watch it; I suppose eventually curiosity got the better of me. Watch I did...and that was all she wrote!! I became fanatical about this show, finding the break between seasons unbearable. Some of the best acting and writing made this series so memorable and I sorely missed that after it went off the air.
I'm not ashamed to admit that I was sobbing continuously during the last 10 minutes of the season finale....I really did feel I was losing some of the best friends I'd ever known, that I had been part of this wonderful family...with all their quirks, major problems, but also fun.
Here is a segment of the this finale set to music (Sia - "Breathe Me") and it captures the emotions so well. If you've seen the series, you'll recall this bittersweet moment...for all others: Claire, the youngest daughter, is leaving to move away and everything fast forwards in time as we see her & her family as they age and then pass on..in keeping with the overall theme of what the show as about for so many seasons:
....the tears come again...haven't seen this in ages.
Thank you HBO for a most excellent series! If you want to learn more about this great series which is still available in reruns on HBO, as well as a DVD compilation, go to:
One of the main leads in the show, Michael C. Hall, has gone on to star in yet another memorable series (on Showtime) - "Dexter", which is also a hallmark of excellent writing and acting.
I love New Orleans!! Often felt like home away from home and I almost moved there in the '70s.
It was also the place where I had my one and only encounter with a profound deja vu experience.
I was then living in the extreme northern region of Louisiana and was not fond of it at all. Had moved into the area when I was around 13 and it never felt like home to me. It was family, some of the friendships I had developed over the years, as well as being in a long-term relationship, that kept me tied there.
One of my friends, Jimmy, eventually moved to New Orleans giving me an open invitation to visit whenever I felt like it. I took him up on it and often. I fell in love with New Orleans the moment I set foot in the wonderful French Quarter (where Jimmy was living). Having always been a very imaginative person, everything about the place appealed to me immediately - it was like stepping into another place and time. Years later I understood why novelist Ann Rice moved there for inspiration - walking about at night would get you lost in your mind with your imagination working overtime.
This is an old postcard I kept for sentimental reasons, instead of mailing to someone...it most reflects what I often experienced or felt on some of my strolls - the moody atmosphere:
Bourbon Street certainly was a lot of fun, but there was so much else to the Quarter - whenever I hear Bobbie Gentry sing "Courtyard" I immediately go back in my mind and recall the gorgeous courtyards that are
everywhere:
The first visit there was also my most memorable in other ways. (I should backtrack and point out that I had been there once before, with someone else, but it was a quickly aborted trip because Hurricane Camille was approaching and we had to leave the city in a hurry, actually within hours of arriving there. I barely remember anything except the exodus of people leaving ...so this first visit on my own was truly my "first visit there")
My friend Jimmy had given me instructions as to how to find my way back to his apartment if I got lost and then left me on my own the first day, as he had to go into work for most of the day - he would join me later and then spend the weekend showing me about. I was never concerned about getting lost, since there were some prominent landmarks there that helped me in keeping my sense of direction, and I was only interested in exploring the French Quarter at this point....I also had the bravado that most of us have at age 20. My curiosity about the place knew no bounds and I was off wandering around taking in the sights, the sounds, the smells from the cafes - the wonderful chicory coffee and beignets...
the fantastic architecture.....
This was the age of "flower power" and hippies were coming into New Orleans in droves. I remember seeing a line of young people and asking what they were waiting for & was informed that a local merchant was known for having pity on the low-on-money and was selling huge plates of a popular local fare - red beans and rice, with some sausage for 75 cents...it looked wonderful and was absolutely delicious.
I recall this first visit to New Orleans as being one of my happiest experiences ever - I wanted it to never end...I could have strolled about forever, getting enraptured by this magical city.
Then it happened!
I was totally lost in admiring the unique architecture of some of the homes/doorways in the French Quarter:
I was standing in front of one particular door when I was suddenly overwhelmed with an incredibly powerful sensation that just went right to the core of me and all I could think in my mind was: "I've been here before". I had heard of "deja vu" and realized that this was what I was experiencing. I just never knew it could feel so strong, so profound and just envelop you that way. It was not frightening, but definitely caught me completely off guard. The thought that I had been standing here before, at this exact spot, some other time and place would not leave me. I eventually moved on, but the experience was swirling about in my head and I found myself trying to analyze it. When I later related what had happened to my friend Jimmy he told me he wanted to see the spot with me when we went out sightseeing again the next day.
A couple of his friends had joined us as we did our strolling. When we got to the house where my experience had occurred, Jimmy and his friends looked at each other with knowing smiles and then told me that locals maintain that the voodoo priestess Marie Laveau (sometimes spelled Marie LaVeau) had once lived in this house. At this point I had never heard of her, but it began a lifelong fascination with her. (I was to go back to New Orleans countless times over the years, but I'll never forget that special one-of-a-kind encounter.)
There has been much written about the fascinating woman known as Marie Laveau - much of it shrouded in mystery, speculation, half-truths, growing myth...and she continues to fascinate to this day. She has been the topic of plays, movies, art, and song.
If you want to know more about this woman of mystery, Wikipedia is actually the best place to start - there are links to other resources, such as fan sites, websites, songs, etc. etc. Marie LaVeau information on Wikipedia
While checking out the Wikipedia site, give a listen to this classic song, penned by Shel SilversteinLaveau":
Like many before and after me, I left trinkets at her tomb to show my appreciation for all I've learned about her:
I kept very quiet about my encounter, except for telling a few close friends about it. I no longer tried to analyze it, simply accepting that strange things do happen, things we can't explain. All I need to know is that I felt it & it profoundly affected me in many ways. So glad I got to know Marie LaVeau.
There are certain things that will make me laugh just thinking about them...they leave a lasting impression on my mind and I can conjure them up and begin laughing all over again. Here is one of my favorites - what are some of yours?
I first heard this one on an old vinyl LP way back & glad to see it has finally made You Tube - many of us recall him from that period as playing James Dean's father in "Rebel Without A Cause" as well as the wonderful "Mr. Magoo" cartoons; then years later as Mr. Thurston Howell III on "Gilligan's Island" - this is just as memorable:
While I was learning how to become a video director and working closely with Artie Wayne who was the executive producer, I was also learning more and more about him and his work in the music industry, hearing many fascinating stories about the various artists he had worked with. Beginning as a songwriter, singer he moved into production and also branched out into record promotion in later years.
He has recently written a detailed, humorous and fascinating account of those years in the business in a book entitled "I Did It For A Song", which you can purchase here:
The above video was responsible for starting it all. Little did I know at the time that it would lead to meeting various singers/songwriters/producers on You Tube and my actually working with them on the creation of special videos.
I love collecting vinyl, particularly LP's and when I find something that I like I want to share that on You Tube, so I end up creating video slide shows for select songs that I usually pick off albums. Because I live in an area where used LP places are abundant and often dirt cheap, I was more willing to take chances on artists I knew little or nothing about. Shortly after uploading "Emotion" by Patti Dahlstrom, I found one of her used LP's "Livin' It Thru" and uploaded 4 tracks from that a few weeks later. About a month or so later, I received a personal message from Patti thanking me for uploading the tracks and informing me of a possible CD release of her music, in the near future. It was wonderful hearing from an artist whom I had begun to admire and hoping to find more used LP's by - I was glad to hear of the potential CD release, as well.
At some later date I received another message from Patti asking me if I'd be interested in helping her to put together a special video in conjunction with the soon-to-be released CD she had mentioned before. I was pretty flabbergasted (and nervous) but immediately agreed. I need to point out the primary reasons for my nervousness: first of all, I'd never done this before...working with a recognizable artist. All of my You Tube videos up this point, about a year's worth, had been done strictly in fun. Though I took some pride in my work, it was also very basic and not really that creative, as the "Emotion" video makes very plain. I wanted to mainly to share the music...I felt the sound came across very well on You Tube. I usually added basic photos to the accompanying slides show, often to give those who were unfamiliar with the artist an image to enjoy while listening to their music. Other than that, it really was just very basic.
Patti helped to change that - in an effort to look more professional and to honor her music and help make an impact for the promotion of the CD, I began to look more into using effects, changing the style, etc. Patti was instrumental in helping me to choose a new way of presenting the opening title, the fonts and style used, etc. She supplied the photographs to be used, made suggestions about how to slow or fast to display them, the fade-ins, overlapping, etc. It involved a lot of trial and error on my part but I was learning as I went and was truly enjoying all of that. Though I still harbored tension about wanting to do a perfect video, Patti was very supportive in her praise and making it all come together. All I wanted was to make a video worthy of her talents and showcasing the music that was to be featured in the upcoming CD - it was way overdue, this appreciation of her music and I wanted to do what I could to help make this a success all around.
The video featured the song "Sending My Good Thoughts To You" which was co-written with friend and long-time writing partner Artie Wayne. She brought Artie in on the making of this video to get his feedback as well; until this stage, I only knew vaguely of Artie from some of his postings at the Yahoo Spectropop group and learned of his talents as singer/songwriter/producer via some of his posting and those of others who spoke of his work., though I also knew of one of his best hits "Midnight Mary", as well as producing records by The Shirelles, The Kingsmen, Guess Who & others. As I got to know him better, I also learned of his talents as a record promoter, helping to make such songs as "I Honestly Love You" by Olivia Newton-John big hits.
Artie was most helpful and supportive with his encouragement in what I was doing with the video. I had now become an official video director and what you see here is the result of my very first professional effort:
More importantly, I've maintained an ongoing online friendship with Patti and Artie that I also treasure.
Not long after the video made it to You Tube I got a call from Artie asking me if I'd be interested in working with him on some upcoming projects. I agreed, but also pointed out to him that I was an amateur who would be learning my craft along the way; for the time being I was relying mainly on simple/basic programs in helping me put videos together and was approaching it all as a fun, in training, and a potential resume builder to work with others. I've learned much from Artie along the way and continue to do so.
Artie, in turn has paved the way in my working with other artists as well, most noticeably writer/producer Joel Diamond ("I Am What I Am" - Gloria Gaynor, "Move In A Little Closer" - Mama Cass, etc.) and writer/producer Jerry Ross ("Sunny" - Bobby Hebb, "Venus" - Shocking Blue, as well as many girl groups). I'm currently in negotiations with two others, as well. It has been a fun experience so far and I look forward to what may come my way in the future.
Here is a sampling of some of the videos I've helped to create as video director:
I've disliked spiders as far back as I can remember. That is, until fairly recently when I noticed myself becoming more tolerant and accepting of them. Whereas when I was younger, I often stepped on one simply out of fear, I now do my best to avoid hurting them. They are everywhere, it seems, doing what they are driven to do. I often find myself getting a piece of cardboard, scooping them and gently moving them outside the house if I find them indoors.
In the case of garden spiders, my acceptance has grown into downright admiration for them. I still don't want to touch them or pick them up, but I've gotten to where I now look forward to them each year as they create their webs in my backyard. There are certain plants they seem to like and I can always count on them to be there year after year. For the most part they are of a brown color such as the one in the photo. I have seen brilliant green and other colors but they don't seem to be as abundant and also seem to be in more secretive or hidden places. I keep hoping to find more of these so that I can capture them in a photo.
What's really interesting though is how some of them will also create webs in unlikely places, such as our recycle bin or green waste containers, also creating a problem in the process. We keep the containers near our old garage/storage room in the back. It's not unusual to get up one morning and see that the spider has created a brilliant huge web, overnight, and attached one end to the garbage container, the other to the wall of the garage. When it comes time for putting the containers outside, it really bothers me to have to detach the web from the container, basically destroying it in the process. You'd think the spiders would learn not to do the webs on the containers after I repeatedly damage their webs this way, but they are determined.
As soon as the container is returned to the backyard after the garbage day pickup, the same thing happens again: the next morning there is a brand new brilliant web attached to the container and the garage wall. I've tried moving the container further and further away from the garage wall, but it rarely deters the spider(s). They simply then connect one end of the web from one container to another container nearby. This is where my admiration for them grows more and more....the determination they have, simply to survive! There is beauty in that.
I often have trouble putting into words what it means to have been born German, living there until I turned 10 years of age and then only learning about Hitler, The Holocaust and other dark chapters of German history after arriving in the U.S. Being called a "Nazi" by an American schoolmate was my very first introduction to the word and it was only the beginning of the floodgates being opened, revealing to me the horrors that had occurred.
In the past when I've tried to explain this to some people, I was mostly met with disbelief and it remained that way for too many years. Thank God for this book that finally was written on this subject and can explain it better than I ever could. It helps to explain an important part of who I am and what I've had to deal with during my younger years. The impact has been great, finally making me realize that although I had felt very much alone with dealing with my thoughts and feelings, this was not the case....there were others like myself who had also grappled with these revelations.
Below is the Kirkus Book Review giving a detailed synopsis of what the book is about. Their term "split identity" hits it right on the head when referring to what most of us have experienced as a result of the discoveries we eventually made:
TEARING THE SILENCE (reviewed on May 1, 1997)
Americans of German birth, children of the war and immediate postwar era, reflect on the experience and meaning of their split identity. German-born novelist Hegi (Salt Dancers, 1995, etc.), who has herself wrestled with the meaning of her German identity, interviewed 15 fellow immigrants. All were born in Germany between 1939 and 1946. Some came to America as children, some came as late as the 1960s. The central issue, of course, is whether, or in what way, or to what degree this post-Auschwitz generation deals with German war guilt. Surprisingly, these people recognize in themselves what most people take for granted about Germans: that they are orderly, hardworking, sometimes cold, but above all efficient. ``I did well in seminary,'' says one, ``because I'm a German. You do well. You make the trains run on time.'' Some see these features as virtues, some see them as impediments to be overcome, but in the end these character traits set them apart from other Americans. Authoritarian, harsh parents are a motif among Hegi's interlocutors, as is a strong feeling of alienation and resentment among the children. They feel a natural affection toward their parents and elders (though not always), yet remain in a state of shock (again, not always) over the deeds of that generation. In general, any kind of talk about the Holocaust was forbidden in these homes on both sides of the Atlantic. Most learn about the Holocaust outside the home and are troubled by complex feelings of shame. It is the habit of silence about these feelings and about history that Hegi aims to shatter. She gathered her material in interviews but has rewritten the conversations as monologues. Her ventriloquist act works well, at least insofar as each of the voices is highly individual. A somber, joyless book that does not lay claim to any catharsis. These personal narratives leave the impression of a ``tremendous sense of loss'' that is permanently yoked to moral bewilderment.
To read other editorial reviews as well as the reviews of customers who purchased this book:
This video/song happens to be one of my first ever You Tube uploads that I created (wally1435 is my You Tube I.D.), but it goes much, much deeper than that. This song was literally a lifesaver to me when I needed help and I'll be forever grateful for what the power of music can do to people in times of need.
The number of viewings for this clip has surpassed 100,000 viewings, but...more important to me is the emotional comments and responses it has generated among those viewing it. There is a major story behind why this song is so special to me:
I arrived in the U.S. from Germany as a 10 year old kid; we first settled in El Paso because it was home to a huge Army base. My dad was American and in the service; my mother was German. She and I had to adapt very quickly to American ways and learn the language, but overall we loved being in El Paso. I have mostly warm memories of my time there, though it was only about 3 years.
Since my dad had to return to Germany to finish his tour of duty, he felt it best that he take us to his hometown so his relatives could watch over us. There was very little culture shock to me in El Paso because it was a very diverse large city and had quite a few other foreign kids in my class - I knew of at least 10 other kids who were German in my school. It made the transition pretty easy for us in adjusting to American ways.
Arriving in my dad's hometown in Louisiana was a totally different story and absolute culture shock of the worst kind. A small town with quite a few backward people with equally backward ideas. In school I had one kid throw a rock at me, one of the older girls (who happened to be the reigning High School beauty queen) called me the racist derogatory name usually reserved for "Cajun" people in the south. simply because I "talked funny" (still had my heavy German accent then). My dad was furious when he heard what I'd been called...I had never heard the expression before and was unaware I had been grossly insulted until I saw the rage he went into, threatening to go to school and "blow her head off" (had never heard him talk this way before). The name I was called, "coonass".... is still considered an ethnic slur of the worst kind by Cajuns, though the younger ones now wear the term with pride among themselves.
To make a long story short, my dad had to return to Germany to finish his tour of duty. I felt more isolated than ever now that he was not there to give us strength to deal with some of this. My mother was of no help to me, she was barely coping herself...most people we interacted with came across as very condescending in just about everything, being polite simply because that's the way they should be. Where I had been a pretty happy go lucky kid in El Paso, I was sinking into a deep depression rapidly. It didn't help that my aunt decided I needed to go to church, an Apostolic Pentecostal church that never let me forget I was not good enough, would never be good enough and it was actually a sin if you tried to be better ("false pride"). It was too much.
One day I happened to turn on the radio and a familiar language suddenly permeated the room. It was the song "Sailor (Your Home Is The Sea)" aka "Seeman, deine Heimat ist das Meer" by Austrian singer Lolita Ditta, known simply as Lolita. I had not heard the German language in ages...my mother simply refused to speak it anymore, saying we had to do things differently in America (more on that later, in future postings) and as a result I was losing the ability to speak it with no one to interact with anymore. Had we stayed in El Paso, it is very likely I would have remained connected to fellow Germans and kept my heritage alive.
At any rate, I recall being overcome with joy upon hearing the song.....I had begun to feel tremendous home sickness because of the feelings of isolation and despair I was going through. It was as if a lifeline was being tossed to me to help me remember who I was, where I was from and to be proud of that. I understood the German lyrics perfectly. The nearest big city was about 30 miles away, but might as well have been 100 since we never went due to no transportation or reason for going there; someone at a local station must have taken a liking to the song because they played it for about 3 weeks and I tried to catch it is often as I could. And, they were also stating that it was a nationwide hit (it made the Billboard Top Ten, going to number 5 in very late 1960).
I felt such happiness - it brought much needed sunshine into my dismal life for that period. And not long after my father wrote to tell us he was finally coming back home, finishing his tour of duty in Germany. Once he got back home, he lost no time in moving us to another home, away from his relatives. Apparently he'd heard some stories (from other relatives and a friend) of how some of them had treated us, he severed ties with them. I was only about 13 then, so I guess I had been shielded from some of what had transpired.
I finally gave in & decided to start a blog. I held off blogging for the longest time, thinking it would be too time consuming, but now have had a change of heart about the matter and see it's the best way to go.
The photo you see here was a birthday card I received in 1985....inside it read "Happy Birthday To One Of The Most Interesting Persons I Know". What was equally interesting about that is that I got the card from a co-worker whom I always felt was somewhat aloof toward me/didn't particularly care for me, so it was a total (and pleasant) surprise to receive this from her.
I felt I had somehow been validated & someone else had also noticed that I was anything but boring or predictable. I may bore occasionally by being stuck on one topic for too long, but I also have been called a walking trivia encyclopedia because I'm constantly relating things that I've read, heard or observed throughout the day and now I've found the perfect way to share the diverse things I enjoy: travel, music, film, trivia, nature walks, vinyl collecting, gardening and everything in between.
