who's whoWillie Colon- Trombonist and singer of salsa hailing from the Bronx, Afro-Nuyorican (NYC born of Puerto Rican descent). Signed to Fania records, was a social activist who also ran for Congress in 1994.
Arsenio Rodriguez- An Afro-Cuban musician and composer who played the Tres, a Cuban three chord guitar. Specialized in son & rumba Graciela- An Afro-Cuban singer who sang Latin jazz and a frequent performer of the Palladium Ballroom, where all backgrounds would gather to dance Celia Cruz- Afro Cuban singer, Celia was the hands down the most popular and influential Latin American artist of the 20th century. She is also known as the "Queen of Salsa". Aureliano Buendia- character in 100 years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez; Each of the men in the book named such (three in total) either die defending their town of Macondo, are scholars to decipher its history, or are unfulfilled in various ways. Hector LaVoe-(The Voice) Hector is a Puerto Rican singer who died tragically at 46 years old due to AIDS related complications from hese. he struggled with fidelity and drug use for most of his life. Archie Shepp- Jazz trombonist, composer, teacher and pioneer of the Free Jazz Movement Imamu Amiri Baraka- Rechristened from the name LeRoi Jones, Baraka was a Black writer and political activist that heavily influenced Shange's form for poetry The Flamingos- an all Black male Doo-Wop group best know for their song "I Only Have Eyes For You" "the lady loves gardenias"- A reference to Billie Holiday, a Jazz singer nicknamed "Lady Day" who popularized singing blues with intense emotion and unique vocals Eddie Palmieri- Salsa Bandleader and pianist, composed and won a Grammy for his constant evoulution in the genre Charles Mingus- A Jazz composer, bandleader, double bassist, pianist and a huge influence on improvisational jazz Sun Ra- American Jazz Composer, plays piano and synthesizer, Band leader of "Sun Ra and the Arkestra, who joins him in constantly rotating music that is experimental and explores his interests in "cosmic" philosophies Oliver Lake- A jazz composer. A painter and visual artist. A poet. Also plays the Saxophone and flute and is featured on over 80 music albums. The Young Lords- a Puerto Rican political party that founded in the Bronx and Chicago that began as a local street gang. In 1968, they became a National human and civil rights collective. Shange worked with the group preferentially over the Black Panthers because the Young Lords had women in leadership positions and made gender equality a part of their platform. |
What's whatThunderbird- a bottled wine that is cheaply made and high in alcohol content
36 hour marathon dance-a phenomenon of the sixties and seventies where seemingly non-stop dancing would take place over a weekend with rotating musicians slug's- a jazz club of the sixties that was located on the East Side of Manhattan assiduously- with great care and persistence streetcar- once the main mode of public transportation across the country, streetcars were trolleys that traveled across designated areas LP-"Long play" vinyl records that held full length albums "78"-78's were also records but were typically smaller and had faster rates of spinning disk jockey- the DJ "Rodan's shadow"- Rodan was a Japanese monster film series, who flew in the sky like a pterodactyl; also fought against Godzilla ensconced- in between fatback- the "backfat" of a pig used in Soul Food florida water- used for spiritual and physical cleansing. made of alcohol, essential oils and water with a light citrus scent. che che cole"Che Che Kule" (Akan language: "Kye Kye Kule") is a traditional children's game song from Ghana, West Africa. A version called "J.J. Koolaid" was collected in the late '80s. Eventually, it caught on in the Bronx, where in 1972, Willie Colón rewrote it as "Che Che Colé" for his Boriquen salsa album Cosa Nuestra (with vocals by Héctor Lavoe).
Lyrics are inlcuded below with translations.
"You speak spanish?" Translationsbata- a dance of Nigerian Origin that is performed to communicate with the Yoruba God Sango
baya- Haitian Creole for "Let's all dance!" ola-Spanish; a spanglish, not so accurate, but perfectly Nuyorican sounding "Hi" fotografi-Spanish; photography "la real ideal"-Spanish; a spanglish version of "the real deal" or literally "The real ideal" jibarita-Spanish; Jibara would be a girl straight from the Island or rural area, and the -ita is a derivative added to denote cute and small, or sweetness and charm oye- Spanish; "look" or "Yo!" Negro- Spanish, the color black, usually used in reference to someone of African descent, not in a derogatory sense "te amo mas que"- "I love you more than...." baccalou- dried salted fish, typically codfish; served with plantain or stewed |