Feb/Mar 2013 Reads and Music

 This month has been completely AWESOME when it comes to new music in the Latin Alternative world. In addition to lovely new music, I am also currently reading a lot of wonderful things right now. So, March has been filled with great reading and music. So here we go:

Bajofondo’s “Presente” released March 2013 (Rio de la Plata - Uruguay and Argentina):

Okay, not to hype this album to much...but...this album is lovely...and it's incredible. It is very Bajofondo, and not super different (style-wise) from “Mar Dulce” or Bajofondo presents “Supervielle.” The majority of tracks are upbeat (I think the only slower ones are “Outro”, “Noviembre” and the intro. The rest are fast and dramatic pieces. Another absolutely brilliant album, really. The most noticeable characteristic of this album is that there are no collaborations, which is new for the group. Their 2008 album “Mar Dulce” had a lot of collaborations, and this album has none. Bajofonfdo’s Gustavo Santolalla speaks on that here. All in all, I love this album. Bajofondo had been on my radar since my early college years (a lot of the artwork I created as a young adult was inspired by Gotan, Bajofondo, and Luciano Supervielle’s material from the early 2000’s. Also, my favorite track on this particular album definitely has to be “Codigo de Barra”. Beautiful!!! To hear everything I just said, pretty much, in video form, see below:

“Elegancia Tropical” by Bomba Estéreo released summer 2012 (Colombia, all regions):
I can’t believe I just got this album. Earlier this month I was talking with a friend who is in the band and he mentioned “this is our first show since we released the new album.” I totally forgot that this was going to happen. "Elegancia Tropical" is their first full length album since “Estalla” in 2009 and it is also fabulous. It is definitely very different from Estalla in the sense that there is less cumbia, more slow songs, more synth, and electronic beats. My favorite song on the album is definitely Bosque, which is a slow and mysterious song. 

"Los Momentos" by Julieta Venegas, soon to be released (México):

I cannot express how I am excited for Julieta Venegas' first post-baby album to be released. I have already pre-ordered it and I am stoked. I have no idea what this album is going to be about, however I can say that I love both of the singles I have heard on it "Te Vi" and "Tuve Para Dar". Less acoustic, that's for sure. More electronic, more bass. Dope. Here is "Tuve Para Dar", a very not-weird song with a very weird video (Very Julieta V.):

And "Hoy":

Elders by Ryan McIlvain, 2013 (U.S.):
This is the first piece of fiction that I have been into in a longggg time. Years. Anyways, I just started reading this after reading about it in the L.A. Times and attending a signing/reading with the author at Skylight Books in Los Feliz. Anyways, I like it a lot so far. I like that it is about a topic that I am interested in and I like that the tone is serious, not comedic like a lot of the entertainment focused on the LDS Church. 

I'll leave you with a nice synopsis of this book from Slate magazine: 
"Elders is set in Brazil in 2003 and written from the close third-person perspective of two missionaries, Elder McLeod and Elder Passos. The latter is a native Brazilian—there are more than 1 million Mormons in Brazil; it’s long been more receptive to LDS proselytizing than most places. Passos, we learn, was receptive because his mother died when he was young: Mormons believe that families reunite in the afterlife. The church—and the mission—also represents for Passos a path to the United States and a college education at BYU. McIlvain dissects the mix of need and ambition and genuine faith that fuel a disciplined devotion to a demanding way of life, and he’s also sensitive to the sometimes imperial obliviousness of Mormon missionary efforts overseas. At one point, the mission president—the church authority who oversees those efforts in a given region—while speaking to his American and Brazilian charges, asks them, and “not rhetorically,” “How do you say deliverables in Portuguese?” The tensions between Passos and McLeod that are at the heart of the novel are exacerbated when the United States invades Iraq, and Passos, like many of his countrymen, becomes more scornful of the United States."
 For the full review and a review of "Mormon fiction" in Slate, click here. (It is excellent).  

Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent by Eduardo Galeano, 1971 (Uruguay):
I cannot believe I haven't read this book yet. One of those books that has been on my list for ages. Uruguayan poet, writer, and journalist Eduardo Galeano analyzes the history of Latin America as a whole, from colonization to contemporary economic exploitation/political dominance by U.S. imperialism in the continent. It is pretty dense and kind of boring in the beginning (however, Galeano's recounting of historical facts is truly impressive) but there are a lot of important take home points. A must read for all who are interested in anything Latin-American. 

Late sermons by Joseph Smith, early 1800's (U.S.):
Fascinating. Absolutely fascinating. I thought I was out of my I'm-obsessed-with-Mormonism phase, until I read the "King Follett" sermon delivered by Joseph Smith shortly before he was assassinated. Very interesting stuff friends. Reading late sermons by the first LDS prophet really lets my imagination run wild with thoughts about afterlife, creation of life, and the nature of god (if there IS a god). 

When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron (1996):
I am finally reading this little classic gem after a friend (who is such a sage) recommended it twice. She was right - it is lovely. The only thing about it that I don't like is that the name is a little misleading. This book is so helpful regardless of whether or not you are experiencing difficult things in life, and I think it is a good read for anyone who is trying to attain peace in their life. Other than that, I think the book is pretty great (so far). 

Yay March reading and music!