New Address

In what could be considered a magnanimous effort to make readers' lives just a bit easier, or possibly a sign that my ego has truly spun out of control, I've moved the blog to a new web address:

www.discoshawn.com

We promise to keep everything else intact, including the high level of snarkiness and
numerous complaints about the world.

Shamless Self-Promotion

This Thursday I'll be spinning at the launch party for a new magazine, Wicked Buenos Aires. Wicked covers art, culture, music and everything that's great (and not so great) about living in Buenos Aires. It's also bilingual, with both Spanish and English articles. That's why they've enlisted a few extranjeros (like myself) to do some writing alongside a crack team of Porteño scribes.

The first issue of Wicked has just been released and they're throwing a big swanky party to celebrate. The party is this Thursday, April 26th at the Ciudad Cultural Konex, located at Sarmiento 3131. Villa Diamante will be joining me in the DJ booth and local electronic tango group Tangeto will be playing live. Click the flyer for all the details and make sure to RSVP if you want to come down and mingle with the coolest kids in town (or maybe just the people who work for Wicked and their friends).

Snacks

This is just a quick post to celebrate the greatness of sandwiches de miga. Whoever dreamed up these little bundles of goodness deserves some kind of award for excellence in snackiness. There are no crusts and two layers to enjoy! There's no frills - just meat, cheese and good times. It's like some kind of wet dream involving my lunches from elementary school. Even better, miga sandwiches are everywhere in Buenos Aires. Bakeries and delis make these things by the sheet. The cost? Usually a little more than a peso.

So cheap and so good!

Who wants chips when you can get a delicious jamón y queso sandwich de miga? Not me.

Religious Fun in Argentina

Yesterday I took a day trip to Luján, a city northwest of Buenos Aires. Known as La Capital de la Fe (The Capital of Faith), the city is best known for its Basilica, built in honor of the Virgen de Luján, a small statue of the Virgin Mary. The statue was made in Brazil and transported to Argentina as part of a caravan in 1630. Legend says that during the trip, a miracle took place at the Luján River when the cart carrying the statue stopped and could not be moved again until the statue was removed. The statue wanted to stay in Luján, so it was taken to a nearby ranch where the owner built a small chapel. As time passed, the chapel was replaced by a shrine and later a sanctuary. In 1930, Pope Pious XII gave the sanctuary the title of Basilica. La Virgen de Luján is now one Argentina's patron saints.

That part of the story seems to be run-of-the-mill religious wackiness. However, there's more to the story and one character in particular piqued my interest.

This is El Negro Manuel. Yes, "Manuel the Black Man." Although there are conflicting stories about the details of his early life, it is said that he was brought from Africa and sold into slavery in Brazil, ultimately arriving in Argentina. Present during the miracle at the Luján River, Manuel subsequently dedicated his life to the statue, ultimately spending more than 50 years protecting and caring for the Virgen de Luján. His famous quote is included in the picture and roughly translates, "I am for the Virgin, nothing more."

Does anyone else find this odd? The Catholic Church isn't exactly known as a forward-thinking, politically-correct entity, but even the name "El Negro Manuel" is troubling. Did he have a last name? Why not just "Manuel" or "Manuel the Good" or anything besides "Manuel the Black Man"? Also, did he really choose to take care of the statue, or was this one of his duties as a slave?

Obviously judging one culture by the standards and norms of another is rarely productive, but I can only imagine the turmoil if the church touted "Manuel the Black Man" as a pious hero in the United States. There's just no way the PC police would let that one slide.

I Didn't Forget

Anyone involved in the Buenos Aires cumbia scene may have noticed a glaring omission in yesterday's lengthy post.



But I didn't forget Oro11. I wanted to give him his own post, for two reasons:

1. He's not originally from Buenos Aires.

2. This week he got a major shout out from Diplo's Mad Decent label.

One of the leaders of the new cumbia scene in Buenos Aires, Oro11 (aka Gavin Burnett) actually hails from San Francisco. He originally came to Buenos Aires in 2001 on a college exchange program - right in the middle of the economic crisis. Even in a climate of domestic strife, Oro11 found himself at home and eventually relocated to Buenos Aires a couple years later.

Along the way, Oro11 (whose DJ sets back in the United States used to primarily consist of reggae, dancehall and hip-hop) fell in love with cumbia, originally hearing it on television during a Saturday afternoon variety show. After discovering groups like Los Pibes Chorros and Damas Gratis, cumbia began to find its way into his DJ sets and production work.

People are taking notice, with Oro11 coverage in The Fader, El Clarin, and Newsweek. Yes, that Newsweek. There's probably more but I'd rather throw up some tracks for your listening pleasure.

Oro11 - El Bombon Asesino (remix)
Oro11 - Pibes Walk Out
Oro11 - MIMSJRREIDCHAM inna CUMBIA (edit)

www.myspace.com/oro11
www.fotolog.com/oro11

Let's Hope the Term "Nu-Skool Cumbia" Doesn't Catch On

Cumbiatronica is a dumb name too.



Even with the stupid names, something exciting is happening with cumbia in Buenos Aires. Long dismissed as simply traditional music or something solely for the lower classes, a new breed of DJs and producers have begun to experiment with cumbia. By mixing cumbia sounds with everything from hip-hop to dancehall to electronic music, something new is emerging and finding its way to dance floors throughout Buenos Aires.

Last month local magazine La Mano did a big feature detailing the phenomenon, including several interviews with many of the scene's key players. (Unfortunately, La Mano doesn't post their articles online; however, the folks from Zizek were kind enough to post the complete text on their website.)

A little background:

Cumbia actually originated in Colombia and dates back centuries. Although most widely known as traditional Colombian folk dance music, cumbia has spread throughout Latin America and become especially popular in places like Mexico. Cumbia has existed in Argentina for decades, largely in its traditional form. In the late 1990's a new brand of cumbia began to emerge - cumbia villera. Emanating from the swelling villas (shanty towns) in the midst of an economic slowdown that would eventually become the crisis of 2001-02, cumbia villera mixed traditional cumbia sounds with hardcore lyrics detailing a world of crime, poverty and drugs.



Cumbia villera doesn't come off as particularly "street" or "gangsta" to the average English speaker, but groups like Los Pibes Chorros became the soundtrack for villera youth.

Now a few years beyond the initial wave of cumbia villera, cumbia has begun to find its way out of the villas and into more posh dance spots. By "more posh" I mean "not the villas," so I should be clear and say that most cumbia parties are not high-end VIP affairs. (That crowd is still a slave to the world of punchi punchi.) Nonetheless, there is something very interesting about local tastemakers, most of whom probably spend little to no time hobnobbing in the villas, championing music that is often openly loathed by mainstream Argentina.

Sociological questions aside, DJs and producers like Villa Diamante, El Remolón, Marcelo Fabián, Daleduro, Chancha Via Circuito and countless others are putting their own spin on cumbia. Although the ever-present sound of the shaker remains (the local onomatopoeia is shickishin - sound it out and it makes sense), elements of hip-hop, dubstep, drum n' bass, IDM, mash-ups and more are being stirred into the pot. If the success of club nights like Zizek are any indication, it appears to be working.

Lots of this nu-skool cumbia (how I hate that term!) is available on DJ/producer myspace pages, which are linked above. I've also included a few mp3 files for you downloaders out there. Now if someone could just come up with a better name for this genre...

El Remolón - Kumbia Bichera
Princesa - La Misma Moneda (Chancha Via Circuito remix)
Villa Diamante - Daleduro en la Calle (Daleduro vs. Princesa vs. Missy Elliott)

Graffiti

These images came from a railroad crossing in Palermo Soho.



Although I can't identify all the artists, the green creatures were done by Parbo (aka Kid Gaucho). His website has a large collection of photos, including a section of murals and walls in which he has taken part.

Of course, no Buenos Aires street art would be complete without some kind of political message.



"Tourism Kills." It's always nice to feel welcome.