October 25, 2008
I just read my first post from this blog and had to laugh. It took me back to September of 2007 when I was frantically packing and trying to prepare for my first journey to South Africa. The laughter was not over my idealistic visions of how this year would turn out, but rather over the fact that I now find myself once again frantically packing and preparing. I leave in just one day for a very special trip. I will be touring Southern Africa (specifically Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland, and South Africa) in a Land Rover with one of my best friends. Then, I will be traveling to East Africa to do some film work in Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. All told, I will be away for one month before heading home for the holidays.
I find myself now in the strange position of being between journeys. My Fulbright year in South Africa is officially over and the next phase of my life has yet to begin. I am extremely busy, but everything I’m doing has to do with closing one chapter and opening another. I’m selling my car and moving out of my apartment, while trying to book camp sights in Botswana and fuel sources in Zimbabwe. It is hectic, but exciting. Times like these are special though, because they allow you to look at the past and future without being stuck in any one place. And it is through this lens that I have begun to look back on my year in South Africa.
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October 24, 2008
I have officially been in South Africa for a year now. It’s hard to believe, but my work with the Field Band Foundation has come to an end and my Fulbright is officially over. I will be writing a concluding post in the next few days, but first I’d like to write a bit about the 2008 Field Band Championships.
As you may recall from last year, the National Championships is the culminating event held each year for the many bands that comprise the Field Band Foundation. The groups come to Johannesburg from all over the country to compete for top honors in several different categories. Each band has to put a twelve-minute show together and compete in one of two divisions: the First Division or the Premiere Division. The First Division is for younger bands and low-scoring groups from the previous year’s Premiere Division competition. The Premiere Division is for the top bands. Also, as part of the two-day event, there is a solo and ensemble competition and a “prescribed piece” competition in which the bands perform a set piece composed for the event.
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October 9, 2008
Let’s be real. In the world of reggae/ton, women are few and far between—unless you count the ubiquitous back-up dancers perreando in the periphery. With few opportunities besides the hip shaking stage-prop, it’s hard out here for the aspiring “rapera” longing to command the mic. So when I had the chance to speak with Demphra, one half of the legendary (and now defunct) duo La Factoría, I made sure to ask her about how she was able to beat the odds and launch a successful career as a female Reggae/ton MC.
Panamanian, by way of DR, Demphra got her first crash course in Reggae music after moving to PTY as a child. Shortly thereafter, she began penning her own verses, and was “discovered” at a local radio station as a teen. In 2001, Demphra joined La Factoría, meaning Music Factory, along with three other up-and-coming artists. Their debut album “DJ Pablito Presents La Factoria” became an international hit and sold over 200,000 albums throughout Latin America. Shortly after the success of their debut album, the male artists left La Factoría to launch solo careers—leaving the group “totalmente feminista.” Undeterred by their departure, Joycee and Demphra went on to record three more successful albums. They have recently been making a name for themselves in the United States with their popular hit “Perdóname” which they recorded with Eddie Lover, a fellow Panamanian reggaetonero. Check out excerpts from my convo with Panamanians’ favorite rude gyal:
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