Music of My People!!!

In South Texas there is a music that is king. Being a Mexican American in San Antonio it seems I will never be able to escape the sounds of conjunto. From my parents, friends, and strangers conjunto is played everywhere in this city. This diverse style of music can be traced back to the early 1900’s. Mexicans on both sides of the border were listening to traditional styles like Ranchera. Soon the accordion from the German immigrants was added incorporating a polka sound. Finally the 12 string bajo sexto guitar was added creating the revolutionary sound of conjunto. The music was played for and by the migrant Mexican workers, Mexicans who lived on farms or lives revolved around farms. In the early 1900’s most Mexicans lived and worked on farms before migrating to the city for better jobs during the 40’s and 50’s. The music spoke of not only love, but the hard rugged live of living and working on a farm. The stand out sound / instrument is the accordion. The accordion is significant because it distinguishes that the listener is listening to a conjunto style. The accordion drives the beat and many times steals the attention from other instruments. Conjunto is the music of the hard working people. This is proven because bands will play gigs in different corners of Texas every night, getting paid next to nothing, so that the hard working people of this state can enjoy themselves. The nobility of this sacrifice is something I can respect.

Inspired by true events....

At my recent visit to the San Antonio Museum of Art I noticed that a lot has changed from previous visits. The main hall painting was different along with others on the second floor. There is one piece in particular that really caught my eye. It was simply called “Drumkit” by Christian Marclay. The work itself is an altered drum kit with it’s floor tom, snare, toms, and crash cymbals suspended high in the air. There is theme or message being conveyed here. In my opinion the artist was trying to say is that music is universal and ever changing. Instead of playing in the same conventional styles from years before, break free and come up with something original. There is no possible way that anyone can play this drum kit, but nobody has seen a drum kit constructed like this. Music should be the same way. Putting your own twist on something causes a lot of inspiration, especially if it has never been done before. This how I feel when I see this piece. I feel inspired to go create something that has not been created. What you see maybe an altered drum kit, what I see is a cry stating music belongs to everybody so go grab some and make your mark. This drum kit makes me wonder what else we can do to music and that’s where the inspiration comes from.

The next piece that caught my attention is a oil on canvas entitled “Passing Storm Over the Sierra Nevadas” By Albert Bierstadt. The life like landscapes with so much detail drew me into choosing this piece. The use of color and contrast helped distinguish what part of the land is surrounded under the clouds and the other part that is flourished with light from the sun that broke through the clouds. The value was so detailed that you can tell what was under water and what was not. This was done under the clouds making it darker already. The shape of the mountains down to the smallest rocks was very accurate. The most amazing detail was the reflection of the trees from the lake by the light from the clouds. This is very life like which makes me wonder if this was painted on location. This calm before the storm painting captures the serenity and peacefulness of nature. From thunderstorms to sunny days they all could be marveled with grace and wonder.

Why we go to museums and exhibits is not just to look at art, but rather look at art in its natural environment. Sure you could see any painting or sculpture on a computer and see the shape and theme being conveyed. To actually look at the piece inches away from your nose is a whole new experience. You see the color as the artist painted it or the sculpture in its size. It’s like looking at a picture of New York. You gain a better perspective from going there then seeing it on a page.

Death Portrait....

Last week I made a visit to the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA). The museum was relatively big and offered a huge array of pieces and exhibits. There was one though that stood out in my opinion. The piece I chose was on the 4^th floor which was the European Section. It was a painting by Agustin Esteve entitled Four Children. It is oil on canvas, 97 inches by 23 inches, and was painted in the late 18 century. The painting depicts four children in an unsettling forest setting, where it is dark. The child in the middle is dressed in all black with a bird in his hand, he is being led somewhere by two younger children. Off to the far right is a young girl dressed in her Sunday best with a flower and black pendent in her left hand and a ribbon on her chest. The description of the painting says that the young man dressed in black is dead and this painting is of his memory.

The bird in his hand is a European Goldfinch which is a symbol of the departed spirit. He is being ushered away from this world into the after life by the two boys. The girl to the far right is the boy’s sister and she looks very terrified in light of the passing of her brother. She has an oval relicario which contains a lock of her dead brother’s hair. The black bow she has on indicates that she is in mourning. The background is completely dark with the combine usage of blacks and greys making the trees and sky undistinguishable at times. With regards to the dead boys wardrobe (completely black), the other children are portrayed with pale / ruby red skin. Their clothes are well lit too. Even the dead boy’s face is bright (probably the palest of everybody). Because Agustin made the background so dark it is hard to distinguish where the floor really is, it seems as though they are floating in air. Agustin Esteve was famous for his life like portraits especially those of children. I chose this painting because of the subject matter and how it dealt with children. The expression on the dead boys face is haunting. It is a serious, haunting, scared, mature look that made an impression on me. This young boy is expressing so much fear and pain for his age that looking at it makes me feel sorry for him. That is why I chose it.

Water Wars!

In my city of San Antonio there is an ongoing debate and “war” (some might call it) about the land over the aquifer. The area in question is called the recharge zone. The recharge zone’s soil is very shallow that if any contaminants were to be spilled, it would easily seep into our drinking water. So naturally you would think that whole recharge zone area would be closed off or protected by the city. WRONG!!! After reading the Losing Ground series posted in the Express News, it’s safe to say that this city has huge problems to work out. It seems this city has two major problems that stand in the way of this. It seems that the city of San Antonio has a law that dates back to the 1987 called vested rights. Our first Problem “vested rights” states that when a land project is finalized with blue prints or when the land was purchased; the developer can follow the city ordinances of the year it was brought in fruition.

This means land bought 30 years ago can only follow the city ordinances of the 70’s and not by today standards. This doesn’t sit well with me at all, but this is happening to land over the recharge zone. The second problem is the driving force that helped put the vested rights in the first place…….. “the land developers”. The lobbyists for the land developers are bleeding this city dry. Using very cunning tactics the lobbyists push for laws and ordinances that fall in their favor. With vested rights at the way it is the land developers can set up shop anywhere in the city. The city does it’s best to contain this. In 1997 there was a tree ordinance created to protect the trees of the hill country. It was then made stronger in 2003. The disadvantage the city faces is that people serving on the board at city hall can only be there for 2 terms (4 years) while the lobbyists always stay the same. This means there is a constant of ever changing faces in the city hall that are unfamiliar to vested rights and how sneaky it is.

All the while the lobbyists are getting better at protecting their vest rights. The city does try to buy back some of the land over the recharge zone, but the land developers sell back the land at twice it’s price. This way the city can only buy small portions and the developers retain the majority amount and make a buck. Of course I am against this whole or deal. The city has to make better ordinances to stop this or better negotiations so both parties can come to an agreement. The losing ground services was very helpful because it exposed me to a problem I never knew existed. It’s opened my eyes to the injustice of water rights and how the whole city should know about this. Vested rights are taking money from an all ready poor city, not to mention the possibility of contamination of the recharge zone. The article losing ground is helpful, but needs to reach a larger audience because not everybody is aware of this and they should!!!