Salem Witch Trials

Salem Witch Trials

     Every moment, every day, every year in our lives we express a belief, sometimes these beliefs or belief is agreed upon and sometimes it is not agreed upon but at the end of the day it is our right to expression. The idea that expression should be limited is an injustice and a civil rights issue. This was the theme and case when it came up to the Salem Witch Trials and Hunts.

     The Salem Witch Trials where a group of events that occurred because of a theory which was proven to be wrong in the end. The Salem Witch Trials began between February 1692 and May 1693. The Trials were created to stop what people thought other people were practicing, which was witchcraft in Colonial Massachusetts. The Trials were named Salem Witch Town but they sometimes took place in different towns across the province such as: Salem Village, Ipswich Village , Andover, and in Salem Town. There are two famous people during this time.

     The first person had to do with Elizabeth Betty Parris. Betty was nine years old when the Witch Hunt and Trials began in Salem, she was someone who always had a role in it when the hunts first bean. She was known for being kind hearted but she grew up in a time like today where money was not stable and she had her fathers drama to add to it all.

     The second person had to do with Abigail Williams which at the time was eleven years old. She lived with her uncle Samuel Parris also in Salem. she too had suffered through the harsh economic times and also had to deal with family drama. Abigail Williams would later be known to be on of the first people to lay blame on others.

     At this point you are probably wondering how the two people are related or how they have to do with each other and it is simple Abigail and Betty were cousins but it was not that simple they both were the reason the trials happened in the first place. The cousins began having issues with self control. Upon realizing this their uncle seeked medical help for them. It turned out they had no issues so the questions began. Dr. William Griggs thought it had to do with witchcraft. At the time witchcraft had been taboo or banned and because of this accusation twenty people had been killed due to the cousins. Tiuba a slave to Parris was asked to help out figure if the cousins had witchcraft effects, they tested a dog to see if it would reflect the cousins actions, turned out to be false. In an effort to redirect attention the cousins accused Tituba of witchcraft along with two others, only Tituba would admit to it and would be released upon being found guilty.The other two died slow and boring deaths. At the end of the day the two cousins knew that they would have the same fate so they redirected attention time after time thus spreading the Trials anywhere and everywhere.

     In closing this act that the cousins pulled off was wrong and should not have occurred. Tituba was spared sadly others were not due to these two liars. This can be reflected in our society because those that do wrong get away with everything and the good have to suffer.

Bomplenazo En El Bronx

      On a cold and rainy Sunday I went out to a very fun event called Bomplenazo. At the time I knew it would be fun because a group called Bombayo was to perform and they did ! When they perform it reminds me of the culture I never knew. As a Puerto Rican it is important to me to understand my background. I have only been taught so much. Another group which name I never got performed Plena which is separate but often gets confused with Bomba and they too were inspirational, it had been my first official time listening in full to a plenero perform, I had only seen snippets of the Plena performances around my community. Overall I enjoyed the day and the performances. It was a huge sell as the crowd grew and grew around me to listen in and watch as I was for performance after performance.

PLENA

BOMBA BY BOMBAYO

Historical Content 

      Bomba and plena are percussion-driven musical traditions from Puerto Rico that move people to dance. Often mentioned together as though they were a single musical style, both reflect the African heritage of Puerto Rico, but there are basic distinctions between them in rhythm, instrumentation, and lyrics. You can hear the difference in these songs. In "Baila, Julia Loíza" the drums or barriles are lower pitched and form a different rhythmic accompaniment than the pandereta drums in the plena example, "Báilala hasta las dos."

      Bomba dates back to the early European colonial period in Puerto Rico. It comes out of the musical traditions brought by enslaved Africans in the 17th century. To them, bomba music was a source of political and spiritual expression. The lyrics conveyed a sense of anger and sadness about their condition, and songs served as a catalyst for rebellions and uprisings. But bomba also moved them to dance and celebrate, helping them create community and identity. The music evolved through contact between slave populations from different Caribbean colonies and regions, including the Dutch colonies, Cuba, Santo Domingo, and Haití. As a result,bomba now has sixteen different rhythms. The rhythms mark the pace of the singing and dance. Bomba instruments include the subidor or primo (bomba barrel or drum), maracas, and the cuá or fuá, two sticks played against the wood of the barrels or another piece of wood. Viento de Agua exemplifies gracimá and hoyoemularhythms in "Mayela" and "Siré-Siré," and Raul and Freddy Ayala perform the yubá or "Juba" rhythm.

      Plena developed from bomba music around the beginning of the 20th century in southern Puerto Rico. Plena lyrics are narrative. They convey a story about events, address topical themes, often comment on political protest movements, and offer satirical commentaries. Tito Matos, leader of the Puerto Rican group Viento de Agua, describes plena as "the newspaper of the people." Plena has only one basic rhythm, in contrast to bomba´s sixteen rhythms. Plena instrumentation has changed greatly over the years, but the one indispensable and defining element is the pandereta, a round hand drum that comes in different sizes. The smallest of them is there quinto, which improvises over the rhythm of the other drums. The tracks below are classic examples of plena, and for more information on the drums used in plena click on the video demonstration on the right.

      Bomba and plena are defining musical sounds of the Afro-Puerto Rican population. Matos says, "In Puerto Rico you go to Black and humble communities and you´re going to find bomba and plena without a doubt." These Afro-Puerto Rican musical traditions have also enjoyed an active life in New York City and other communities in which Puerto Ricans have settled. Pioneer performers such as Los Pleneros de la 21 and Marcial Reyes have succeeded in keeping the styles alive through performing groups and participating in community events. They embrace modern sounds, yet adhere to traditional styles that maintain a sense of pride in their cultural heritage.

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO SEE THE FULL STORY/HISTORICAL CONTENT 

>>>>>>http://www.folkways.si.edu/explore_folkways/bomba_plena.aspx<<<<<<<<

LINKS TO FOLLOW !

https://www.facebook.com/bombayo?fref=ts
https://www.facebook.com/LosRoblesdeCasabe?fref=ts

 En Espanol 

      En un frío y lluvioso domingo fui a un muy divertido evento llamado bomplenazo. en el momento iknew que sería divertido porque un grupo llamado bombayo fue a realizar y que no ! Cuando se realice me recuerda de la cultura que nunca supe. como puertorriqueño, para mí es importante para entender mi tan curiosos como

What is Climate Change ? What is Global Warming ?

What is Climate Change ? What is Global Warming ? Well to sum it up it is a crisis, one that will not go away for a very long time, if  at all. Climate Change is basically an environmental issue that has grown to global proportions. Climate Change is the Global Warming affect on the planet and its reactions. The big question is how are these two issues related and it is a question many people are trying to answer. So much has been affected because of these two issues everything from the everyday person to the economy and even government.  Before Climate Change became an issue or Global Warming became a concern a lot of governments were just going about their regular lives as if everything was ok. It was not until Hurricane Katrina and the Tsunami in Japan that we began to look at the real issue.

     Plenty of organizations have been arguing that this has to come about due to our national dirty practices. Dirty practices such as the burning of coal and fossil fuels. The brunt of these two issues have been more or less localized. A lot of people attribute Climate Change and Global Warming as issues that have overgrown their time. When I say local issues I speak of the polluted rivers, overflowing trash into our oceans, land fills and even worse the unknown variable which is mass production of food and abuse of child labor. All of the local issues all have to do with extreme socioeconomic disparities that have over stood its time. Climate Change and Global Warming are two issues that can not be joked about. I remember my old supervisor telling me that if we did not do something on the local level that we would be screwed. To be exact he said that “our summers are going to be rare but powerful storms.” I believed him and over the last two summers we have experienced some unlikely storms and global events. Everything from Tornados in Brooklyn  and Queens to catastrophic Earthquakes in Haiti and even one here in New York City.

     The question is no longer what we have to do but rather what are we going and are  doing today to change the impact we are having on our planet ? Most of the answers have been small solutions that have huge impacts. China and Japan cutting down on fossil fuel use and building state of the art sports venues. We in New York City instituted a 30 year plan called PlaNYC 2030. For those who do not know PlaNYC it is a plan by 2030 that is made up of huge and bold agendas by the city of New York.

     Climate Change and Global Warming was the topic last weekend Saturday, September 22nd, 2012 at the Brooklyn Heights, Brooklyn Public Library. An event called Eco-poetry: Poetry of Ecological Study. At this event lots of poets came and performed poems that had something to do or related with Climate Change and Global Warming. The poets that were on stage had elements of shock factor and elements of truth and originality. The poets that performed all had some connection to the Global Warming and Climate Change movement or what us organizers on the local level call Environmental Justice

     I think that it is great that people are beginning to address real issues in real ways. One of the principles of Environmental Justice speaks about relevancy and how we must educate the masses. That principal is the sixth or twelve principles that were developed as standards of doing environmental work. The best ways to solve Climate Change and Global Warming issues are to educate the public and the people who are destroying our planet. Another way the government can stop Climate Change and Global Warming is to sanction and tax the heck out of these bad companies that are polluting our environment. People in the public could also boycott companies like BP aka British Petroleum, the same people responsible for the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and other places in the region.

     Education was the idea behind the poets who performed on Saturday. Poets like Daniela Gioseff. Gioseff spoke and performed poems that had to do with the melting Glaciers. She also mentioned labor law violations that companies like Nokia and Samsung who use children to mess with dirty, toxic materials in the Congo to make cell phone batteries in the fossil barrons. Alfred Corn, performed poetry that had to do with the extinction of birds and how it continues to hurt our planet. The same sentiment was shown when George Guida spoke about disappearing bees that help our plants thrive through the harsh conditions we continue to endor. The issue of mass food production arose when poet Eliot Katz spoke about the Occupy Wall Street movement and Romneys 45% idea. Katz went on to talk about how mass food production was making us sick and how it all has to do with money. He stated “sleep tight don't let the bacteria bite” to close out his poem, showing the effectiveness and impact climate change is having on us all. Is the world angry and is the party over ? asked poet Nancy Mercado, which is a great question if you think about everything that we are affected by Nuclear Power Plants from Indian Point to Georgia and as far as Massachusetts and the loss of beans and food crops also animal life. If we do not change our practices we will be screwed as soon as 2030.

      Bill McKibben founder of 350.org and world renoun Climatologist united with Al Gor’s organization to fight against climate crisis, gave an interview to PBS “The Reckoning: The New Math of Climate Catastrophe” and in this interview he sheads some light on the issues of climate change and Global Warming. He says “If the pictures of those towering wildfires in Colorado or the size of your AC bill this summer does not convince you here are some hard numbers about Climate Change.” The numbers were large and indeed are historic, in June we broke or tied 3,215 high temperature records across the united states. North Hampshire had the warmest May on record. Meteorologists reported that this spring was “Largest temperature departure from average of any season on record.” The question remains could it get anymore serious ? Well...... it can so much so that politicians can not even get their heads straight, three conferences in the last twelve years and still no solid commitment just compromises.

     In closing it was a great experience to see such a concern for a real issue. You knew once you stepped into the room that the event was going to be a real serious hot topic even because the atmosphere was filled with environmental thinkers. There were banners for two different organizations one being 350.org and the other for poetsusa.org. The poets who performed were fairly elderly to middle aged males and females who could be considered activists in our modern society, they also got really serious when they performed. Just like our friend Bill Mckibben I to stress the importance of monitoring what activities we do and what our planet is doing event if 2 degrees celsius is not cool enough for you !

Picture of a flooded area under the Bronx River Parkway due to the heavy rains and back up of the Bronx River (Burke Bridge)