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High Desert Reggae: The Riddims

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The Riddims by Bobby Gutierrez

Mon.8/14, 7p: Oral history through "testimonio" is at the heart of the community collective project, Humans of New Mexico/Humanosde Nuevo México. We´ll listen to the powerful story of Albuquerque band: The Riddims, who inform us on the development of the musical genre “High Desert Reggae.”

 

Guitar player Chris Cruz talks about the development of “High Desert Reggae”: "With reggae music, it’s international music. Here in America you have your different styles; California roots, you have your northeast or east coast, pacific island reggae… and we can have our own style too here in Albuquerque and in New Mexico.”

 

Bass player Anthony Gallegos shares his passion of music with us: “I love music. This is what I want to do for the rest of my life! Seeing people enjoy watching you perform it makes all the stress and time worth it.”

 

Lead Singer Myles Chavez talks about the importance of the band connecting with their audiences: “If we have a show on Saturday… people work their hard jobs Monday through Friday… they only get two days of the week off and they chose to come to our concerts… so we feel obligated to put on the best show we can.”

 

With the goal of gathering the diversity of New Mexican cultural traditions, the project Humans of New Mexico focuses on oral history -recorded and archived for future generations- prioritizing oral and language traditions. This show was hosted by Moisés Santos with Rafael Martínez and Bobby Gutierrez, and edition and production by Froilan Orozco along with recording, editing and transcription of the interviews by the Humans of New Mexico collective with Cristina Baccin´s support.

 

Rafael is a PhD candidate in American Studies at the University of New Mexico. His research involves a deep social, historical and political analysis of immigrant rights and undocumented youth. As an UndocuScholar Activist, Rafael is engaged in projects that seek to connect academic work with community development. Rafael is the founder of the Humans of New Mexico, a statewide media oral history project. As a member of the Raíces Collective, he hosts the monthly “Humans of New Mexico” show on Espejos de Aztlán, where stories from all over the state are featured. rafaelmartinez@kunm.org
Bobby Gutierrez is a lifelong New Mexican, is a photographer, radio host, and glazier. His work with two local collectives, Raíces of KUNM and Humans of New Mexico, focuses on celebrating the culture and people of the state. In addition to contributing his photography to HNM he also helps produce the monthly "Humans of New Mexico" show for Espejos de Aztlán and co-hosts the music show "Raíces".
Froilan Orozco is a Master’s candidate in American Studies at the University of New Mexico. His interests are in cinematic representations, Mexican American history, borderlands, and the U.S. Southwest. He is a collective member of Humans of New Mexico, a statewide media oral history project, and hosts their monthly show on Espejos de Aztlán as a member in the Raíces Collective.froilanorozco@kunm.org
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