The twelve beats and meters
Were new and recontextualized
It was the pop music from half a millennium ago
Yet no one knows the names of those who made the tunes or dances
Melodies were taken against their will
After they were crammed in the boats
Spanish and Portuguese replaced the original tongues
As the population grew back then
The modern population was unaware
Despite excavations and receipts brought up to the surface
Flamenco…Fandango…
Were native, but not in the ways one expected
I like how you go into the past with this poem. Clearly artists ripping off other artists interests you (your comment on Paprika-Inception)
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Thank you, Chris! It was based on history I didn’t know about until I watched a music history documentary the other day, so I wanted to write something based on what I heard. It was fascinating hearing about the origins of that music while also hearing about the history and how some of the interviewees critiqued the cultural appropriation aspects.
Yes, I certainly have that reputation here and especially on my film review blog. I saw Paprika first, so the Inception controversy was that obvious to me. However, my thoughts on that case are nowhere near as intense compared to a certain Disney movie that blatantly stole from a 60s anime, used a plagiarized song, and trademarked a foreign phrase they didn’t make up.
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What was the name of the documentary? I might want to check it out at some point
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It’s called Gurumbe: Afro-Andalusian Memories. That’s a Spanish (as in Spain) documentary that covers this little known history of flamenco, fandango, etc and the African influences in those genres.
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