HOLLYWOOD BABEL: Speaking in Tongues—Ethiopian, Arabic, Castellano, Anglo

If you saw the movie “La Bamba” many years ago, and hopefully paid attention to the Los Lobos soundtrack, then you know there’s a folk version of that song that predates the pop-rock version that Richie Valens made famous, and in many ways is superior to it.  Did you know that it goes on forever?  My favorite verse is the one that begins: “Para subir al cielo…”, reminding me of the Spanish title of the Bunuel film “Mexican Bus Ride,” se necesita,  una grande escalera…” and so on into infinity.  I think at some point Jarocho son masters just make up their own verses and let the Homies decide what sticks.  And now Las Cafeteras does their own East Los Angelized version that just happens to rock, not suck.  Got politics? 

The best part of living in LA (‘Hollywood’ for short) for me is that it is at the crossroads of so many immigrant cultures.  With the possible exception of Nueva York, I doubt that any other American city even comes close.  Miami?  Naah.  Chicago?  No way.  Even my favorite city San Francisco really only specializes in a few Asians in geographical symmetry and a few Hispanics in cultural sympathy.

For cross-cutting Nueva York may score higher with East Africans, but LA probably has more Europeans, even though it’s farther.  It’s too similar.  Why leave London just to get the same gray winter skies in New York?  I’d be curious to know just how many nations have LA as one of their top ten national population centers.  Maybe that’ll be the subject of my doctoral dissertation in anthropology, after I finish my Masters thesis on the rise of shared accommodation in the era and locations of greatest historical wealth.  Stay tuned.

My interest, of course, is ethnicity, otherness, something besides the overly publicized and (too) widely diffuse Anglo-American culture that has tended to dominate world opinions and airwaves for the last half century at least, as long as pop culture has existed I’d say, no coincidence that it emanates from places that have so little traditional culture of their own left to relish.  For that we have to rely on our elders and our immigrants, yep.  

Best bets for free music this weekend in LA are at Grand Performances downtown at the Cal Plaza water court with Ethio-Cali and University of Gnawa tonight Friday doing ‘opia-inspired jazz and Afro-Arabian music respectively.  Try some Ethiopian shoulder dancing. Las Cafeteras and Chico Trujillo will be there tomorrow night Saturday doing you-know-what.  Levitt LA is on short skedge this week for the pupusa fest (think stuffed tacos), but Buyepongo is there tonight with Caribbean rhythms and Kobo Town will be there Sunday, just may be the hottest ticket of all, reggae that sounds fresh.  I remain uncommitted, but I’ll show up somewhere I bet.