Changes, Changes

Inspired by Judith Gleason's Oya: In Praise of An African Goddess, I've put together a humble ode to one of the Yabas, or triad of Yoruba goddesses who survived transplant to the West, the fearsome one Oya/Iansa.

There are many spellings of her name, and depending on the vantage point the name might change all together. Some know her as Lady of Candelaria, Buffalo Woman, Sekhmet, Neb-het, Kali or Artemis. However you spell it, whatever one calls it, the energy is the same and it seems to speak directly to the (st)age we are now hobbling our way through.

I have much more to say about Oya being a kind of poster girl for the winds blowing across continents and shaking things up from where we stand to as far as the eye can see. Except, I promised myself that I wouldn’t meander too long online. So I’ll post the rest of my thoughts once I work through them. For now, I'll call out my salutation and toss my copper coins.


Oya, The Tempest

Lady of storms with sword in her hand
Dares all to guess where her blade will land.
She cuts away illusion, gets down to the core
Revealing those things that lay hidden before.

Great House mistress, Life’s keeper of keys
She tears, she rips, then sweeps away the debris.
This red woman walks with a thunderous step.
She twirls on the cusp of this life and the next.

She gallops, she rides about on horseback
With flowing skirt of rainbows, swift wind at her back.
Iyansan, the mother of nine daughters and sons
Ushers in the new day when the old one is done.

Son Rico

God knows that a sister like me is starved for good, new music with substance. If you feel the same, check out this guy Alex Cuba whom EbonyJet.com just did a feature on.

Afro-Latinos

The Miami Herald recently published a gorgeous multimedia project on blacks in Latin America.

Peace to Maestre Diz

Whether in the form of odes that find their way into some roots-style sambas in Brazil, las ofrendas of Mexico or so many of the other traditional arts, those with souls tied to Latin America have gilded the act of remembering. They are devoted to honoring the living family and remembering the kinfolk hidden behind the veil (Was it Sandra Cisneros who said that for Mexicans the dead aren't gone, they just live--so to speak-- in the next room?). And such a respect there is for teachers!

What I'm driving at is that I came across this interview with Flora Purim where she makes it a point to mention Dizzy Gillespie. Here's a bit of what she had to say:

"If you ever come to my house, there are pictures of [Diz] all over my walls. In the three years I spent singing with the United Nations Orchestra, he taught me so much... He would sit in the back of [the tour bus] with me for several hours telling life stories about his family and things that happened to him. I loved him not just for [what he taught me about music], but I loved him also because he gave me a lot of insight and spirituality..."

Rio Carnaval 2007

Image from http://www.beija-flor.com.br/por/01-ABeijaFlor/quadra/quadra_conteudo.htm

Congratulations to the samba school Beija Flor for their victory in this year's Carnaval competition.