Documentary :: Panteón Rococó Rebel Music

El documental Panteón Rococó rebel music retrata el grupo famoso Panteón Rococó y da un imagen de la situación política en su país México. Las entrevistas tratan de la historia del grupo, la sociedád mexicana y los derechos de los indígenas. Hay también grabaciones de conciertos en vivo. Miembros de Panteón Rococó, de Indymedia Chiapas y de la Organización Derechos Humanos Chiapas toman parte y entre otro contan la historia del Neozapatismo. La banda se ocupo con la realidad mexicana y la lucha de los Zapatistas en sus canciones y apoyan este movimiento en sus grandes conciertos en México y Europa.

Este documental de Sarah Moeckel y Stefan Schulte estuvo realizado en México 2002. Duración : 52 min. / Lenguas : Español-Inglés / Subtitulos : Español / Formato : NTSCDVD 150 Pesos + 20 Pesos para enviarInformaciones y encarga el DVD por eMail: info@rebelfilms.de

Dieser Film portraitiert die mexikanischen Ska-Punk-Helden Panteón Rococó und beleuchtet außerdem die politischen Verhältnisse ihrer Heimat. Der Film soll zu einem besseren Verständnis des politischen Kontextes der über die Grenzen Mexikos hinaus sehr bekannten Band beitragen. In zahlreichen Interviews wird neben der Bandgeschichte auf die sozialen Probleme der Gesellschaft Mexikos und auf den Kampf für die Rechte der indigenen Bevölkerung eingegangen. Zu Wort kommen unter anderem Mitarbeiter von Indymedia Chiapas, ein Bandmitglied, das sich für ein autonomes Kulturzentrum einsetzt und ein Vertreter der Menschenrechtsorganisation Chiapas. Zudem werden die Ziele der Zapatistas beleuchtet und ein kurzer Überblick über die Geschehnisse in der Bewegung seit 1994 gegeben. Die Zuschauer bekommen einen tieferen Einblick hinter die Kulissen der Band und zugleich in die mexikanische Realität, mit der sich Panteón Rococó in ihren Songtexten auseinandersetzen.

Diese Musik-Dokumentation wurde von Sarah Moeckel und Stefan Schulte bei einem zweimonatigen Aufenthalt in Mexiko 2002 gedreht. DVD, 52 min., spanisch/englisch mit deutschen Untertiteln für 13,- € zzgl. 1,44 VersandWeitere Informationen und Bestellungen per eMail an info@rebelfilms.de

DJ Sacamois :: entrevista/interview

Luego de viajar a México para estudiar periodismo DJ Sacamois de Tasmania se comenzó a interesar en la música electrónica con sabores picantes. Obviamente ésta influencia se origino en los sonidos de bares de la Tijuana alternativa. Él nos revela porque la cultura y músicas mexicanas son parte misma de su estilo de vida de hoy. Entrevista Gonzalo López.

La Radio SBS me entrevistó durante mi semana en Brisbane (Julio), echando la hueva (y desmadre) con los Tijuanenses del Nortec Collective. Puedes bajar la entrevista (MP3) - si te antoja - por aqui.

:: ENGLISH ::
After traveling to Mexico to study journalism DJ Sacamois from Tasmania became more interested in electronic music with “chili” taste. Of course he was influenced by the ‘bares’ sounds of downtown Tijuana. He reveals why Mexican music and culture is now part of his way of life. Interview Gonzalo Lopez.

SBS Radio interviewed me whilst in Brisbane (July) hangin' out with some dudes from Tijuana called Nortec Collective. Download the interview (MP3) here.

chaos or Chaos? New Jalpaiguri Train Station, West Bengal

photo of a Saddhu by Lars (see Comments on 'drunk with love, wandering in the dark')

chaos noun 1. utter confusion or disorder, wholly without organization or order. 2. (usually cap.) the infinity of space or formless matter supposed to have preceded the existence of the ordered universe.

chaos or Chaos? The first definition is what hits you on arrival in a strange, apparently unorganized place. Always Europeans (read “Western”) leaving the time-zones of their known universe. There is book by an African who realized his dream to visit Greenland. Where is a book by a non-Spanish speaking Mayan arriving to work in California? Look at the second definition: do you believe in an ordered universe?

Stuck at another train station, Lars and Heidi – who decided to do their final year practical work in Indian hospitals rather than in their hometown of Vienna - book a room to stretch out in. A rat eats their snacks, sleeps beside them on the bed, and leaves droppings as thanks. These words float through Lars’ head:

The car radio informs us of the government’s nuclear weapons program. A mission to outer space is also planned, which should fill the whole nation with pride. A beggar knocks on the windscreen, clearly marked by leprosy. A group of eunuchs is on the look out for targets marked with cloth signifying blessings or damnations, depending on a willingness of payment. Perhaps inside this temple, or the internet café over there? Here priests are currently occupied with the slaughter of goats, there young men are searching the web for partners of the appropriate sub-castes...

..........................

Slowly, a traveler comes to realize that resistance is futile. No one can win the struggle against time. He opens his eyes. Winds down the car window. Breathes in deeply. The heavy air of the Subcontinent floods his lungs. The pollution makes him cough. But he breathes in more than just dust, carbon dioxide, fumes of perfume, cow dung, spices and rubbish. Piggybacking on all those rumours something else creeps into your system: Karma, the Indian fate.

Past and future unite. To keep on moving in this country, take a train or bus, and the next one is leaving now, in ten hours, tomorrow, maybe already yesterday. No clocks hang in Indian train stations. The traveler takes off his own watch, and puts it in his pocket. The jetlag evaporates. You have arrived.

(translation from the German by mois)
© Lars Schaefer, Oktober 2005
Railway Retiring Room Nr 2 (zwischen Gleis 4 und 5)
New Jalpaiguri Train Station, West Bengal

drunk with love, I wander in the dark

"Ah my brother, the ink on the paper is like smoke in the air. What words are there to tell how long a night can be? Drunk with love, I wander in the dark." Some words by Paul Bowles in A Hundred Camels in the Courtyard, high on Moroccan kif.

What words are there? So-called 'travellers' often just wander in the dark. How to illuminate themselves and the universal through their stories? That is the seed of this blog. To be drunk with love, then live to tell the tale:

"'WHERE NOTHING IS WHAT IT SEEMS, and no-one is to be trusted,' I think, walking up a hill at night after a day’s reading and writing. There is no moon, but faint stars light my way. Stumbling, I’m aware of having to forget about books, my mind is not much use out here. My breath tells me how far it is, and my heartbeat gauges any impending danger. A beat jerking up and down along the rough track, where all I can see are degrees of darkness. But I get to the top of the hill. I can turn back or keep going, either way is down. The ledge is everywhere, and with every step I go over it." Some words - an extract - from my book-length work-in-progress, currently titled No Subtitles.

When the time - the light, the love, the intoxication - is right: it will all be published. Plentiful fuel invites a fire of inspiration to rage, and can break open seeds. But to blossom, consciousness and sensitivity cannot be forgotten. Polish poet-on-the-road Ryszard Kapuscinski says it best: "One has to understand and accept the dignity of other people, and share their distress. But it is not enough, to only put your own life on the line. Most important of all, is the respect for the people about whom one is writing." (my translation from the German edition Die Erde Ist Ein Gewalttätiges Paradies)

broke & lost

Why is it when I’m broke ideas come to me?
Why do blind alleys make me see where I need to be?

...just for starters...