EXTRA CREDIT #1

The other night I went to the interview and concert by Rebeca Lane of Guatemala. I went into it know just that she did rap and a bit of social commentary, but that is not unique for rappers. However, the feeling and messages that she incorporates into all of her work was more inspiring than I had imagined. She started off the event with an interview, which primarily consisted of her using vague questions as a method of telling all her cultural history, ideas, and philosophies about rap. However, she managed to do this in a conversational tone that was very engaging and those of us who were not native to the area learned a great deal about the situation of Guatemala. She focused on the emotions of the aftermath of the genocide which was very moving. The most endearing times were when she used the spanish speakers in the audience to help translate her thoughts. After this was a Q & A from the audience that did a good job of bringing her down to earth. Her actual rap was very well produced and executed, but was entirely in spanish. If she had not explained all of the themes of her music in the interview and between songs, I would have been completely lost. However, what made the experience amazing was the way the audience reacted and interacted throughout the songs. Many of the people around me, presumably native spanish speakers, were completely overcome by the emotion she presented in the songs and the atmosphere not something I had ever been a part of at a rap concert. Even though I could not understand the lyrics, just looking around the auditorium was immensely powerful and worthwhile.  

This had significance relevance to this class because Rebeca talked about the identity of her people and the duty she had to her heritage. The community built in her hometown was exceptionally strong, but what was more impressive was watching the people in the audience identifying with her topics. She talked extensively about how a community can overcome an extreme tragedy like this with hope and honor, rather than mourning. This is the kind of ethnic identity that is interesting to study and relevant to the material in this class. Another side of identity that she presented was how in Guatemala, she is considered western and white relative to the rest of the students, but here in America she is treated as a person of color. This is a very interesting phenomenon and it is unfortunate that she could be semi-excluded from both identities. This is a topic that I’d like to research further.