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Costa Rica vibrates with the Central American Music Festival

Founded by Costa Rica's Manuel Obregón, Papaya Music began as a joint Central American musical experiment led by the Papaya Orchestra, a Central American orchestra which combined today's modern influences and urban sounds with traditional instruments and rhythms of the Central American Isthmus. The fourteen musicians that compose the Papaya Orchestra come from seven different countries, and every artist brought into the project the music from each of their homes. With traditional instruments and a local soul, the musicians reproduced their homeland's music, from the sacred to the mundane, deftly tying these diverse rhythms under one concept: The Central American World Music. The Papaya Music Project evidences the ethnic and cultural convergence in Central America; where European, African and indigenous influences come together in a musical fusion that not only includes the Papaya Orchestra, but also their own record label Papaya Music and now the Papaya Fest.

The Papaya Fest is more than a concert laden week in San José, it also includes the Central American Music Fest. The Central American Label Festival brought independent Central American record labels to the Costa Rican music stores to increase availability and visibility, and has organized conferences with these same independent labels as well as representatives from Record labels such as Putumayo World Music and the Núcleo Contemporaneo de Sao Paulo to share their experiences in placing traditional music in the world market as a high quality and competitive product. So far it appears that the effort to bring the Central American Music out to the popular audiences has been successful. For this festival there are free concerts planned throughout the Central Valley at major shopping malls as well as inexpensive concerts in downtown San Jose. For less than $2, you can see great quality artists in a one of a kind show.

The main events of the Papaya Fest will take place in Downtown San Jose, right next to the historic metallic school in Barrio Amon. On February 16 the festival starts off with the Papaya Orchestra at 7pm. The 17th is the day for the Caribbean music: Costa Rica's Calypso Jazz Band, Honduras’s garifuna Aurelio Martínez , Costa Rican afro-Caribbean Cantoamerica and Hondura's Guillermo Anderson present themselves at 7pm. Then on Saturday at 6pm the Central American urban music scene takes the stage with Belize's The Grandmaster playing with Costa Rica's Amarillo, Cyan y Magenta, then Panama's Señor Loop, Nicaraguan Perrozompopo and Costa Rica's Gandhi. The Festival will wrap up with Costa Rica's Malpais and all the Central American groups playing together at 6pm on Sunday.

Bloggers in Costa Rica such as Ana, Leo, Analu and Julia Ardon mention the festival and urge others to attend, Jon4th4n tells about his experience buying tickets, leaving his keys inside his car and staying for a Manuel Obregon concert at a popular mall. S wrote a critique on the name election, considering that the word “fest” has been overused and lacks originality, and suggests “Festival de la Papaya”, a phrase in Spanish, as a better representaton of the great quality of the concerts.

Other blogs mentioning the PapayaFest are Centroamericanto, Vichitex and Senor Loop's very own blog, which also includes a useful Panama Spanish-Costa Rica Spanish glossary.

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Cambodia: The Shadow of the Past

Tharum Bun · 22:27 · Cambodia

In 1970 a boy of ten Nhem En joined Khmer Rouge. He was sent to study photography in China, and six years later became a photographer of death at Tuol-Sleng genocide museum, the site of S-21. He told journalists in 2001 about his past work that “they [the prisoners] always believed that after the Khmer Rouge arrested them they would die or face problems. So when I took photographs, their faces looked scared, eyes full of pity, hands in handcuffs.” Macam-macam believes these photos are among the most famous ones ever taken by a South East Asian in our modern tragedy era.
Photo of death
Photo courtesy of Colin Mutchler

After a heavy rain, it begins to shine
The war is over. After bitter year 1975-1979 Cambodian history had her new chapter, the map of the country has emerged once again in travel guidebook and became one of the top tourist destinations in South-East Asia. For survivors, refugees, and their children, it is hard to be away from the infamous killing field. Individual and collective identity of Cambodian citizens is yet in question. The winds of war has resulted a new generation of Cambodians living outside their home country. And a large percent of immigrants began new lives in the United State, France, Australia, Canada, and in other coutries in many parts of the world. They have to live in new communities and learn to cope with the past psychologically and culturally. A Cambodian-American Puthearorth, who at age 14 left his home country for the United States, has been educated mostly in this new world, exposured to this foreign culture, and has to handle the way of thinking and living not in a single way. He reflects the matter of his identity that

“as a Khmer growing up in the American cultural society, it is almost impossible to maintain the true identity of who I really am; in fact, this is true across the board with many immigrant children in this country. The Identity Conflict is simply a question of giving up the old one and embrace the new one, maintaining the old and not accepting the new, or give up a little bit and take in a little bit.”

Two-way communication tool weblog can be deployed as way for people to comfortably tell their own stories, thoughts, and memory of the past. “Though it is only appropriate to identify myself as a Khmerican, it is almost impossible to understand what that is like,” he added.

Over two decades after the fall of Pol Pol regime, newspaper announcement of missing person is a mean for survivors of war-torn Cambodia. Day after day a Cambodian weblogger Mean Lux reads the paper as he hope to find his uncle's name.

In Phnom Penh, a foreign tourist describes life in this capital city in a way that can lead to an understanding about life in general of Cambodian people. One day he witnessed children who have to work for a living, and wrote that

“As you walk the streets, you are constatly bombarded with requests to buy books or newspapers from locals with baskets of the reading material hanging from around their necks. But these sellers are not adults, or even teenagers. They are almost exclusively young kids, aged anywhere from 5 to 10.”

Julie D highlight situation of the country that “over 40% of Cambodians have never attended school. More than a quarter of the adult population cannot read or write. In this struggling country, thousands of children, both rural and urban, grow up without proper nutrition, without proper education, without any of the basic opportunities that we all take for granted.”

In Siem Reap, through arts, exhibitions at The Land Mine “Museum” offer foreign tourists an understanding of year-long civil war nation. The museum was founded by a former Khmer Rouge soldier. “It is also inhabited by a dozen or more children who are also land mine victims.“

An American citizen who worked in Cambodia before Khmer Rouge came to power, and has currently returned home from a trip to this country has a piece of opinion by comparing bigger Cambodia to tiny island Hong Kong:

“I have traveled in about 60 countries since 1969, and what I saw in Cambodia was rivaled perhaps only by Hong Kong's infamous “walled city,” a 12-acre No Man's Land, which was torn down in 1999.”

News headline in the New York Times “Why Is Everybody Going to Cambodia” makes buzz in blogosphere. Keno, a Cambodian weblogger commented “while surfing the web today, I found a very good article newly published which answer what's special about Cambodia, and why more and more people visiting here.”

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Voices from Central Asia and the Caucasus

Ben Paarmann · 21:20 · Eastern & Central Europe

$by \'Dushanbe Pictures\' - Erik Petersson$
Buzkashi in Tajikistan - by Dushanbe Pictures, Erik Petersson, 2006.

Welcome to the latest scan of the Central Asian and Caucasian blogosphere, brought to you bi-weekly by neweurasia. While many parts of the region still suffer from severe winter conditions (as mentioned in the last roundup), the first signs of spring appear as well (see e.g. the Uzbekistan section).

As usual, we'll take you through the countries alphabetically.

Armenia:
The Armenia section of our travels through the regional blogosphere is essentially a roundup of three great roundups: Onnik Krikorian continues to post weekly summaries from the Armenian blogosphere on his Oneworld blog. This week has been heavily dominated by failed peace talks between arch-rivals Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. Another roundup is brought to us by Myrthe, a Dutch national with a passion for everything Armenian. She has put up her favourite stories of the week. Who Knew Armenians Could Rap has a, yes, roundup of the Armenian rap scene.

Azerbaijan:
Can the large Azeri minority in Iran persuade the regime to abandon its nuclear ambitions? Nathan over at The Registan is skeptical and suggests that Azerbaijan's safest bet is to keep out of a potential future conflict. In what will probably one of his last posts on/from Azerbaijan, Carpetblogger (now relocated to the Ukraine) provides an excellent summary of a Fashion Show that was staged in the Azeri capital last year. Speaking of beauty and fashion, you can find a picture of Miss Azerbaijan 2006 on the same blog.

Georgia:
Fancy a sightseeing tour of Tbilisi? Ben and Alice have put up a nice commented photo set. Kaukasus has an interesting post about Georgian artist Andro Wekua, whose work can be seen in an exhibition in New York. The post also contains links to showcase blogs of Georgian artists David Arobelidze and Otar Arisheli.

Kazakhstan:
Do you think Almaty has not a single chance to host the 2014 Winter Olympics? Well, you better look at these photos on Pestaola.gr and change your mind. For background information on the candidates' race check The Registan and neweurasia. Susan in Kazakhstan has an interesting post about Kazakh gestures - she explains it all: handshakes, expressing gratitude, physical contact or staring - this is essential reading for cultural understanding.

Kyrgyzstan:
Betsy writes about everyday deceptions in Kyrgyz life on her blog A Moveable Feast. Whether it's a headmaster arguing about the colour of a pen or a full restaurant without gas to cook, many things in Jalalabad are just not what they seem if you dare to dig a little deeper. Betsy wonders whether she'll take her doublecheck-attitude back home to America. Larry Tweed aka The Kyrgyzstan Kid has a lyrical mouth-watering post on shashlik (the Central Asian kebab). After last year's turmoil in Kyrgyzstan, the country is still struggling to return to normality. The soap opera that has dominated political life ever since the toppling of the former government is beginning to unease observers. What is the outlook for the future? James of neweurasia and Gene of The Registan hold different opinions. Vyacheslav in Bishkek has set himself the objective of earning $1,400 before April 5th. He is working on commission in a local business and promises to update the readers about his progress on his blog, moneysuck.com.

Tajikistan:
Again, check out Dushanbe Pictures for some breathtaking shots from Tajikistan. Recently, Erik witnessed one of the most excititing sports games - Buzkashi. In Buzkashi, a goat carcass is put in the center of a circle and surrounded by the players of two teams. The object of the game is to get the carcass to the scoring area. A similar game, ulak, is played in Kyrgyzstan, and Buzkashi is one of Afghanistan's national sports. James of neweurasia has some details on micro-finance as a powerful tool to alleviate poverty in Central Asia's poorest country.

Turkmenistan:
Peter of neweurasia reports that the Institute for War and Peace Reporting will launch a Turkmen radio broadcasting service. Will it have an impact on the country's media situation? Also, thanks to Turkmen blogger Karakum, the post carries information on media penetration in the most isolated Central Asian country. Vperyod (Forward), a left-wing youth Russian party, announced on its blog that it planned to picket the Turkmen embassy in Moscow in protest against drastic pension cuts in the country. Paikhas, an opposition Turkmen blog, offers its views on a new Turkmen web magazine Turkmanskaya Iskra..

Uzbekistan:
Bсеузный блог has an “exclusive” on the first flowers of the year in Uzbekistan (complete with photos). Also of interest, the blog has a post about Uzbekistan's contestants in the winter Olympics, and wishes the athletes luck. Новое Узбекское Слово has an interesting post on why a radio station was shut down in Uzbekistan. The station, which played music and various other programs, reported on the resignation of the minister of internal affairs without going by the given official word. The ‘Bazaar News Network' in Uzbekistan spread rumours about an earthquake that never came. The Registan, Seidenstraße and T-Moor have the details. Bozor has an interesting photo shoot of young peoples' footwear in Samarkand. The author walked around one day snapping photos of peoples' feet. Afisha has a good post on an upcoming intellectual olympiad in Tashkent (Feb. 20-27) in which students of a variety of ages and backgrounds compete. It is sponsored by the Forum of Culture and Art of Uzbekistan. It will include festivals of fencing, chess, and computer games, as well as competitions such as, “Do you know the law?”, or, “do you know the history”?

The wider region:
This week, neweurasia's country blogs will each feature blog posts about HIV/Aids in Central Asia and the Caucasus. The Azeri and Armenian blogs have already done so and portray the two countries' difficult situation with regards to one of the most imminent regional health threats. Also, press freedom in Central Asia is discussed by Neil on our homebase, as is the eternal question: ‘Where do Central Asians come from?'. Hulegu reports on a Central Asian music event in London, where Azeri, Uzbek, Kyrgyz, Uyghur and Turkish artists performed live. Uzgen laments the shortage of Central Asia talent taking part at the Turin Winter Olympics. While Kazakhstan is reasonably well represented, with 57 sportsmen taking part, Uzbekistan trails far behind with four. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have only one apiece, while Turkmenistan has sent nobody.

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African Music Roundup #3

Obi · 09:22 · Sub-Saharan Africa

It's been a fun few weeks with the festival of football that was the African Cup of Nations (congratulations to Egypt the host). Watching all the footballing talent on display made me proud to be an African. So we look forward to Ghana ‘08 and all the beautiful things the Gold Coast has to offer. It's only appropriate I start this roundup with the music phenomenon that is Ghana's very own Hiplife

The Hiplife Complex, who spent a year in Ghana making a documentary on the genre, blogs on the thoughts of everyday people on hiplife and it's effects on Ghanaian youth.

“This guy is worried about profanity in hiplife lyrics and its effect on Ghanaian youth. He gives us a laundry list of hiplife's good and bad contributions to society, making many of the statments I heard repeatedly from a variety of players in the industry.”

The Hiplife Complex concludes his post with a link to Maximus Ojah's entertaining and thoughtful insights on Hiplife in Ghana

One of hip hop's best and prolific producers JayDee a.k.a JDilla passed away two days ago. This is a great loss and his extensive talent will be missed. rest in peace my brother JayDee. toddkelley.net pays tribute to the great man on his blog and drops a dope selection of his work on radio.blog. I couldn't say it any better.

mixtapeshow.net makes a departure from his usual music blog format to present an audio interview Kareem Edouard. Kareem has made an impressive and educative documentary called Bling: Consequences and Repercussions which explores the deadly trade of conflict diamonds.

“What does this have to do with you? Well, if you’ve watched a rap video in the past 7 years, you’ve probably seen someone that is (probably unbeknownst to them) helping to fuel the conflict diamond trade. If you’ve already seen the documentary, this should provide some more information and background on what the production and whatnot are all about.”

mixtapeshow.net also provides a link to a free 11 minutes download of the documentary.

Negro Please waxes lyrical about Red Hot + Riot, a cd dedicated to the music of Afrobeat founder Fela Kuti, the Nigerian legend who died from AIDS-related complications in 1997:

“As this album plays, it's funk and jazz blended with traditional Nigerian root music and these contemporary artists singing or rapping above it, I know, without a doubt, that I am both African and American. I feel this music at my core.”

Naija Jams highlights one of the songs off the Red Hot + Riot album, a remake of Fela's hit “Zombie” by Bugz in the Attic and Singer Wunmi. He gives an interesting background to the song:

“In 1976, the planning of the Second World Black Festival of Arts and Culture (FESTAC77) was underway and Fela was invited to part of the Organizing Committee.
He soon realized that many of the involved were interested only in lining their own pockets & pulled out, staging a protest performance at The Shrine running concurrently with FESTAC77. It was here that Zombie made its public debut.”

Naija Jams has removed a link to the remake but the song can still be heard on aurgasm's music blog.

Continuing on the afrobeat theme SoundRoots did a roundup of the current players on the afrobeat scene.

“Anyone with an inkling of musical curiosity has at least heard of Afrobeat. It's the funk-drenched, politically charged Nigerian music pioneered by Fela Kuti. For some reason, lots of this anti-establishment music tends to be available for free download around the internet.”

SoundRoots has provided links to free downloads on Afrobeats acts like Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra and Akoya Afrobeat

I'll sign out by linking to the sternsmusic.com's African music top 25 chart for feburary ‘06. enjoy the week.

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