Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Wednesday, December 21, 2016

WAS THE PUERTO RICAN FLAG REALLY CONCEIVED IN NEW YORK?

WAS THE PUERTO RICAN FLAG REALLY CONCEIVED 
IN NEW YORK
Or was it a variation on a popular theme?



CATALUNYA
CUBA
FILIPINAS

SEEMS THEM FLAGS WERE ALL THE RAGE BACK IN THE LATE 1800s

The Treaty of Paris of 1898 was an agreement made in 1898 that involved Spain relinquishing nearly all of the remaining Spanish Empire, especially Cuba, and ceding Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines to the United States. The cession of the Philippines involved a payment of $20 million from the United States to Spain. The treaty was signed on December 10, 1898, and ended the Spanish–American War.

The Treaty of Paris came into effect on April 11, 1899, when the documents of ratification were exchanged.

The Treaty of Paris marked the end of the Spanish Empire (apart from some small holdings in North Africa). It marked the beginning of the age of the United States as a world power.

Many supporters of the war opposed the treaty, and it became one of the major issues in the election of 1900 when it was opposed by Democrat William Jennings Bryan because he opposed imperialism. Republican President William McKinley upheld the treaty and was easily reelected. 

Monday, December 19, 2016

NUYORICAN SOUL



NUYORICAN SOUL

WILLIE COLÓN  as told to Jesus Triviño - 1988

In 1968, Willie Colón, an 18-year-old Puerto Rican trombone prodigy .from the Bronx, signaled the arrival of a brash new salsa sound with the innovative compositions and born arrangements of his debut album, El  Malo (The Bad Guy). Ten years later, collaborating with Panamanian vocalist Ruben Blades, he revolutionized the genre with vivid sociopolitical tales on Siembra (Sowing); the song "Pedro Navaja" ("Mack the knife”), a sordid story about a whore and a petty thug, challenged Latino perceptions of the American dream. Colón has released more than 40 albums, earned Grammy nominations, and countless salsa legends, including Celia Cruz and the late Hector LaVoe. At 52, Colón is performing, speaking out on Latino political concerns, and making as much meaningful noise as ever.

Art and politics are the same. You have to make statements. You have to take risks. Music and art are like photographs of a certain time. You're making a record-that's why they call it a record. And if you do it for the wrong reasons, you can have a hit, but it's going to be forgotten. I grew up during the apartheid era of the 50s, in the rugged South Bronx. They didn't bullshit around with racism in those days. It was right in your face. In the summers when we would get together for jam sessions, the Italians and Irish in the neighborhood would call the police because the music was threatening to them. If we were playing the drums we were disturbing the peace. The cops would come, and they might take one of the drums, but we'd just have another session if not the same day, the next day. And they'd come again, but this time they'd take a drum and pop someone on the head.


Although the lyrics weren't explicit, the music became a form of civil disobedience. People immediately wanted to identify me as a communist. As a solo artist I had trouble with censorship from different record companies. I would write songs about the nuclear age and homeless children, and the companies would ask me, "Why don't you write songs that make people feel good so they can dance?" It's not only about making hits- it's about using the medium to Bring out ideas amd the things that are in your heart.