Happy Black History Month

On February 1, 2016February 1, 2016 By scenebyginaIn New York, PeopleLeave a comment

I know, that the shortest month of the year is devoted to honoring black Americans is a disgrace, but being that it is Black History Month, I wanted to share some of the awesome work by faculty from Fordham’s African American History department:

The stories of hundreds of Bronx African Americans who have transformed the borough’s character since the 1930s have been made public through a new digital archive at Fordham’s Bronx African American History Project.

The archive, made available through the Department of African and African-American Studies and Fordham Libraries, consists of downloadable audio files and verbatim transcripts of interviews conducted by researchers from 2002 to 2013.

It wasn’t enough for Aimee Cox, Ph.D., to volunteer at a homeless shelter in Detroit, where she took notes for her research on how teenage girls there were coping with a broken system.

Cox, an assistant professor African and African American studies, ended up becoming the shelter’s director while she was still working on her doctorate at the University of Michigan.

Her shelter experiences are now documented in Shapeshifters: Black Girls and the Choreography of Citizenship (2015, Duke University Press).

Watch a clip of Dr. Cox on the Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC here.

Greer prinicpal lady.jpg

Christina Greer‘s research and teaching focus on American politics, black ethnic politics, urban politics, immigration, quantitative methods, Congress, city and state politics, campaigns and elections, and public opinion.

Dr. Greer was named to City & State’s Class of 2014 “40 Under 40 Rising Stars” list. Her book, Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream (Oxford, 2013), was awarded the National Conference of Black Political Scientists’ 2014 W.E.B. Du Bois Distinguished Book Award, and her next book will recount the history of African-Americans running for president.

View video of Dr. Greer’s appearance on MSNBC’s Melissa Harris-Perry Show talking national politics, race, and voter identification cards.

New music: J Hacha De Zola’s ‘Strange’

On December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 By scenebyginaIn music, New YorkLeave a comment

I met musician and artist J Hacha De Zola in October during Jersey City’s Art and Studio Tour (#JCAST) because I was intrigued by his snappy dressing and asked if I could take his picture for my Instagram. I’ve been following his music ever since.

Screen Shot 2015-11-24 at 12.16.39 PM — J Hacha de Zola

He’s set to release his album Escape From Fat Cat City on Jan. 8, but has released a couple of tracks in the meantime for our listening pleasure.

Grab a free download and stream of new track “Strange” (yes, I thought of ‘People are Strange’ because I get some Jim Morrison vibes, idc idc) via Magnet, which calls the song “a moaning, drama-filled showstopper complete with xylophone solos.”

Our friends at CMJ premiered “Let it Go” (no, nothing to do with that Disney movie) in late November.

“… way in the back yelling and way in your face horn blurts toss you back and forth, with Hacha De Zola reigning it all in then letting it splay out again,” is how they describe it, and we tend to agree. Check out the video for “Let it Go” below. I won’t spoil it for you, but there are children’s party characters (?) in the story. And keep up with all things J Hacha De Zola on Twitter.

Marimba music is Intangible Heritage of Colombia and Ecuador

On December 2, 2015December 2, 2015 By scenebyginaIn Colombia, music, New YorkLeave a comment

Screen Shot 2015-12-02 at 10.35.49 AM — Herencia de Timbiqui

Marimba music from Colombia’s South Pacific region and Ecuador’s Esmeralda province have been declared “intangible heritage” by Unesco, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, a specialized agency of the United Nations system.

According to Colombian newspaper El Heraldo, Unesco stressed that these musical expressions are “part of the social fabric of the community of African descendants of the South Pacific region in Colombia and the province of Esmeraldas in Ecuador.”

This achievement comes on a day in which UNESCO also announced that vallenato, the traditional accordion music from Colombia, is an “Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.”

Via Colombia Reports:

According to the global cultural organization, Vallenato music “faces a number of risks to its viability … notably the armed conflict in Colombia fueled by drug trafficking.”

However, the organization also said that “a new wave of Vallenato is marginalizing traditional Vallenato music and diminishing its role in social cohesion.”

I must highlight a couple of musicians I am fans of to celebrate the addition of marimba music to UNESCO’s all too important cultural heritage designation, and to help preserve Colombia’s vallenato.

Herencia de Timbiquí’s “Amanecé” (Sunrise), which you can read more about via Sounds and Colours.

And to help keep the tradition Colombia’s vallenato alive, listen to fun artists, such as Latin Grammy winner (2014) Jorge Celedón and Silvestre Dangond.

Also listen to New York’s Gregorio Uribe, who puts a big band and jazz spin on things. Uribe will play in Bogotá’s Teatro Colon on the 12th and 13th of December.

His new video for “Cumbia Universal” (the title track off his album) is not a vallenato, but it features the accordion, and more importantly, Panamanian salsa legend, Rubén Blades.

Riding with the wind

On June 23, 2015 By scenebyginaIn family, New YorkLeave a comment

Photo taken today in Central Park: http://scenebygina.tumblr.com/post/122200618607/great-ride-using-my-jamis-commuter-bike-around

My father has been doing somewhat better. He continues to stay free of any infections, and I’ve been sitting him up whenever I visit. It’s tough, his arm and leg muscles seem to get more contracted as he’s been bedridden for six months now, but I don’t care; I see him more alert and awake when I help him sit up.

In the meantime, a hobby that my father enjoyed in his 20s is something I’ve picked up: cycling. I use a Giant Sedona CX (2005) for riding around Jersey City, and various New Jersey parks. I had a great two and a half hour ride along the Hudson waterfront, from Newport in Jersey City to Weehawken this past weekend.

I also have a a Citizen Tokyo folding bike for shopping at the produce market nearby. It’s ideal for short trips only.

And I just bought a 2011 Jamis commuter 3 bike for CITY riding! I rode an hour through Central Park today, up to 110th street and back to the Columbus Circle area. It was hot today, but that doesn’t stop the action in Central Park, which was full of runners, cyclers, roller bladers, and more.

I can see why my dad loved to ride his bike. (I remember he rode a Gazelle.) Like running, it clears the mind, but it’s much more relaxing. Something about that wind hitting your face. (I imagine it’s what people who ride motorcycles love, too.)

And, of course, I’m doing something I know my father loved.

New hip-hop by Ratking, Nani Castle

On March 12, 2015 By scenebyginaIn music, New York, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Screen Shot 2015-03-12 at 12.34.29 PM — Still from Wikispeaks via YouTube.

I’ve been a super fan of New York City’s Ratking since stumbling upon a random blog post (Complex? Vice? Can’t remember.) that led me to XL Recordings, and the single, “646-704-2610,” last year. I was pretty enthralled with this video for “Wikispeaks” (featuring the spunky emcee, Wiki, who often refers to himself as a mutt– he’s half Puerto-Rican) because it just shows a bunch of kids walking through New York City while he spits fire:

“Damn I feel like Jay-Z in ’96
Man I feel like ODB in ’93
Am I even an ’04 Ye?”

Shortly thereafter, they released So It Goes (via Hot Charity) in 2014. There was just something REAL New York hip-hop kids about it. (Btw, if you haven’t heard “Remova Ya,” get on it, as it is the quintessential song about the NYPDs now defunct Stop-and-Frisk policy.)

“To the boys in blue
Never really liked you, rubbed me rude”

Well, they dropped some new tunes (!!!) via bit torrent this week. Grab 700 Fill here.

I like how So It Goes is described in the bundle: “an exhilarating and reckless lyrical portrait of a maybe-vanishing city; part Vonnegut, part Dipset, part Suicide.” Yeah, that’s putting it perfectly. Unlock the 700 Fill bundle to get 9 new tracks, instrumentals, and a short video from Ari Marcopoulos.

Speaking of young New Yorkers who rap, and are half Latino, Staten Island’s Nani Castle just dropped The Amethyst Tape. Thanks to Nati (conrazón) for putting me onto her.

Get to know more about the half Chilena, whose dad came to the States as an exile in the 70s, here via Remezcla. Warning: her stuff isn’t gentle and girly. It’s pretty POW!

“Welcome to my castle, Come into dungeon
Come inside, I wanna show you something.”

Meet (& support!) Norvis Jr.

On December 17, 2014December 17, 2014 By scenebyginaIn music, New YorkLeave a comment

A little over a year ago, Natalia Linares (the digi-femenista/music manager/publicist) behind conrazón invited a small group of people for a private concert at her Staten Island apartment featuring an independent artist, Norvis Jr.

I’d met him (real name Nelson-Mandela Nance) a couple of times prior to the performance, but I wasn’t familiar with his music. I had no idea what I was in for.

Norvis Jr. sings his types of soul. — Norvis Jr. sings his type of electro-soul in Staten Island.

Not only was I blown away by his unique brand of electro-soul, but the intimacy of the performance coupled with the ‘zone’ he was in signaled to me that I was witnessing something special.

Since then, Norvis Jr., a native of Dallas, TX. now living in Brooklyn, N.Y., has performed at a handful of New York City venues, but now he wants to take his show on the road with a spring 2015 tour. Listen to him here (he’s got a great speaking AND singing voice), and then support his Kickstarter (and its hilarious video displaying his healthy diet!) here.

Norvis Jr. surrounded by a diverse crew of music lovers!

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About that pro-police rally in NYC on Dec. 19

On December 11, 2014December 18, 2014 By scenebyginaIn New York, People25 Comments

There’s a pro-police rally in New York City at City Hall. (As is their right, *** updated Dec. 18 and as commenter ‘Love It’ points out, is not sponsored by the NYPD but by police supporters.) As a public relations professional, I think it will further hinder relations, making them sound like they’re anti #BlackLivesMatter. I mean, really, what other way can it possibly look?

Why not do something like this, this, or this?

Police in Lowell, Michigan, have a good PR strategy. — Police in Lowell, Michigan, are DOING, not talking.

So many examples of showing how you’re “WITH” the people out there, and those are just from recent days. It’s a shame the NYPD doesn’t see that. Talk about missing opportunities to win people over on your side.

I discussed this rally, and how we debate contentious topics such as guns, abortion, or the police, with a colleague and friend today. We both think the ‘you’re either with us or against us,’ attitude individual police (or police-related) friends we both have, is misguided. Especially when so many of us are willing to have nuanced discussions about this topic, that–news flash!—most of the world is now paying close attention to.

It is not every police officer. That should be a given, though, I guess I can’t be surprised it comes off that way when people take things personally. As I’ve said in the past, when Bernie Madoff was arrested, did every banker feel offended at the criticism? When a teacher is arrested for statutory rape, do others go on the offensive? When a doctor is sued for malpractice, does every physician panic that the public at large is watching? Yes, I know, these are not apples to apples comparisons, but my point is it’s bigger than YOU.

And then my friend put it perfectly: “It’s part of a larger culture. Violence is how we get things done [when it comes to ‘others’]. (Ed. words in parenthesis mine.) It’s not education, or empathy, it’s violence. It’s the same reason we can’t open schools in Pakistan, but we can send drones over there.”

Well said.

Now this is a classic Christmas tree.

On December 9, 2014December 9, 2014 By scenebyginaIn New York, People1 Comment

Check out the wonderful Christmas tree at the home of my friend and colleague, Jim Kempster. Each year, he and his partner Bob Loncar, outdo themselves in decorating their West Village apartment. Enjoy the photos, and Merry Christmas!