You Only Write About What You Know

At the end of 2009, Albany’s weekly, Metroland, listed 43 live music performances that, according to its critics, were the best of the year (“The Year in Review,” December 31, 2009). The only one included that featured Latinos was the show by Los Lobos at the Egg in April. I found this strange and irritating.

In March 2009, the Egg presented the show Palladium Nights, featuring the music played during the 1950s at the famed Palladium Ballroom in New York City. A crowd of 750 nearly filled the Kitty Carlisle Hart Theater to listen to the music of Grammy-winning pianist Arturo O’Farrill and the AfroLatin Jazz Band with choreography by Ballet Hispanico. In April, Jazz/Latino presented a bio-performance by Grammy-nominated percussionist Bobby Sanabria at the University at Albany, highlighting the life and career of Tito Puente, and a concert at the First Unitarian Society of Schenectady (FUSS) by drummer, singer, and composer Willie Martínez and his La Familia Sextet. In May, Jazz/Latino hosted a performance by trombonist Chris Washburne and the SYOTOS band, also at FUSS. In August, the Albany Latin Fest Association held its 14th annual festival, including for the first time a Latin jazz ensemble, Chembo Corniel and Grupo Chaworo, plus the merengue band Doble Filo and the Puerto Rican salsa star Michael Stuart, accompanied by a killer band from Rochester. Finally, in December, Grupo Los Santos brought to Albany their blend of AfroCuban, jazz, and flamenco to the Dublin Underground, formerly known as Savannah’s.

These artists, with the exception of Doble Filo, have well-established careers, multiple recordings, and international reputations. All the shows were critically acclaimed. None were even reviewed by Metroland. So what gives? From the selections by Metroland’s critics in “The Year in Review,” I cannot help but infer that they review only what’s already prominent commercially and/or what is familiar to them. Thus, unless a Latino artist is well-known and successful in the commercial mainstream he/she will not command their unsolicited attention. It may also be that these critics do not review performances that highlight Latin music and culture because, with the exception of Latin rock, they are not familiar with or do not like other expressions of Latin music and culture such as Latin jazz.

For some time now I’ve been saying to myself that Metroland is not really the alternative newspaper of the Capital Region, as the weekly dubs itself. Instead, I think the paper is the outlet for what we could call the “alternative mainstream.” To put it differently, the paper reflects the mainstream within the mainstream. In a sense, when it comes to music, Metroland is rather conventional. It focuses on what most people in Albany and its environs like: folk and rock.

For the last three years I’ve been trying to get the paper to do a story on Jazz/Latino to no avail. I’ve asked the editor and publisher and also the arts editor. They have never said NO. They just don’t do it. The paper has never reviewed any one of the 24 events Jazz/Latino has sponsored in Albany, Schenectady, and Troy since 2007. I do get my shows included in the arts calendar but the calendar will include, in fine print because it is free, anything that is submitted on time. The only prominent coverage my concerts have had in Metroland has been through advertisements but that kind of “coverage” is easy to get as well—all it takes is ability to pay.

It would be nice if the paper tried a little harder to live up to its self-designation as the “region’s alternative newsweekly.” At this point the label is just a living fossil, a set phrase that maybe once described the paper. To be the real press alternative of the region, the paper would have to broaden its focus and recognize that there’s more to music than folk and rock. In those genres, Metroland’s coverage is broad; well-known as well as emerging artists are included. For Latino artists and non-Latinos that play Latin music or Latin jazz, there seems to be a different standard: only artists in the commercial mainstream need apply. Whether this is the case by commission or by omission hardly makes a difference. To correct this situation all the paper needs to do is recruit critics that know something about Latino music. I am certain that its general readership will be grateful.

Beauty is also the Beast

During the last five years I’ve come to know many musicians who are not just masters of their trade but also wonderful human beings. I’ve also been disappointed to discover that a few of my artistic idols have feet of clay. Yet, I’ve continued to admire them on the basis of their work rather than their personality. This is not always easy.

Last Sunday, as I read Paquito D’Rivera’s eulogy to Jacques Braunstein, a Venezuelan musician that D’Rivera dubbed the father of Venezuelan jazz, I was aghast at his denigration of president Hugo Chavez by referring to him as “ese orangután ridículo que ahora desgobierna la tierra de Aldemaro, de Lauro y de Rómulo Gallegos.” [That ridiculous orangutan that misgoverns the land of Aldemaro, Lauro, and Rómulo Gallegos.] (Latin Beat Magazine, December 2009, News Section) This racist comment took me by surprise and my first thought was “I’ll never buy any more CDs nor attend any performances by him.” Then I thought that this was another case of an idol with feet of clay, an instance in which it was important, although difficult, to separate the person from the artist.

I remember when, during his speech on race, Obama talked about how he could not disown his grandmother despite her prejudice. I think his example was meant to suggest that even good persons can be racist or engage in racist thinking as a result of cultural socialization. D'Rivera’s comparison seems to be one of those cases. I'm not accusing him of being racist. He just need to be told that his chosen metaphor is racist, even if he did not intend it that way.

How do we explain the dissonance between a statement and an attitude? More often than not, racist notions become so ingrained and generalized, that they lose their racist connotation at face value. As a result, people use them without much awareness or realization of what they are doing. Look at Rafael Hernández, the famous Puerto Rican composer, a black man, talking about the "negra maldad" [black malice] of the tyrant in his song “Lamento Borincano.” We have grown so used to associate evil with darkness, that we don't stop to even think how the adjective may be ultimately racist. Historically, we have come to associate, instinctively, darkness with disaster and wrongdoing (e.g. references to "black Friday," "dark episode," "dark motives," etc.). And yet, so many wonderful things happen only in the darkness! (music, movies, sex, sleep, dreams, etc).

The use of "orangutan" as an epithet against Chávez, uncritically reflects the prejudice inculcated by society against primates as lowly creatures. It also reflects an association between race and individual attributes. If Chavez were white his detractors would not call him "El Mono" and I doubt that D'Rivera would have called him "orangutan." In this case, the association between race and low character can be detected by inference but it is there. And that type of association is the essence of racism; it matters little if the racist comment is proffered by a good person but it does matter: a good person should not make racist statements; on the other hand, one would hope that a good person would be open to criticism and be wise enough to acknowledge his/her fault and do something about it.

I don't doubt that D'Rivera is a good person, just like my grandmother was saintly (in my biased opinion), and yet, would say things like "esa señora es negra pero tiene el alma blanca” [That woman may be black but her soul is white]. No one is exempt from prejudice. But some of us are more a product of our cultural socialization than others. The key to freedom from conventional wisdom is self-awareness, openness to criticism, and willingness to change.

To say that the person is not the same as the artist is to suggest that it is possible to embrace the artist’s work no matter how horrible he/she may be as an individual. Which means that whether D'Rivera is racist or not is irrelevant to my appreciation of his music. The distinction is difficult but not impossible. This may be hard to accept but sometimes beauty is also the beast.