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Historical and cultural influences on 1960s music
Sexism in the music industry essay
Historical and cultural influences on 1960s music
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could you Imagine what it would be like to grow up as a performer in a world that didn’t even except female Tejano singers? Can you imagine how much courage and work it would take to make it to the top? That’s was Selena Quintanilla Perez had to go through. Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas on April 6th, 1971 to Abraham and Marcella Quintanilla. Abraham was a shipping clerk for a chemical company and Marcella was a housewife. Abraham being a well respected Mexican musician, who only sang English songs, and had his career ruined because of that. American people didn’t respect him because he was Mexican, and the Mexican people did not respect them because they sang English songs. By the time Selena reached age 10, it became very obvious that Selena was a natural born performer and that she had a great amount of singing talent. Abraham decided to start a band, he was afraid that the same thing would happen to her, so he decided to teach her some Spanish songs, but one problem, Selena only knew how to speak English, so Selena went on with most of her life not even knowing what the words meant that she was singing. Well in order to start the band they would need more then Selena so Abraham made Abraham III (nicknamed A.B.) her older brother, and Suzette, her older sister. A.B. already knowing the drums, Suzette already knowing the drum, and Selena having an awesome voice started their band, “Selena Y Los Dinos”. They started practicing together and performer a little. In...
To start with, Rosie Perez or Rosa Marie Perez was born on September 6, 1964 in Bushwick, Brooklyn, New York City, United States. She is a actress, dancer, choreographer, director, and community activist. Her parents are Lydia Perez, a singer and Ismael Serrano, a merchant marine seaman. Her aunt had been raising and catering her until her mother, Lydia Perez took her away and put her in Foster Care when she was 3. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if Rosie was to detest her parents after all they put her through. Rosie stayed there until she moved in with another aunt when she was 12. Later on she joined a high school in Rightwood, Grover Cleveland High School. Now most of the confusion and sadness had culminate.
When Selena Quintanilla was at a young age she had a love for singing and music. Selena started to sing at the early age of three,by the time she was six she singing in Spanish and English. Selena Quintanilla became the lead singer for the group Selena Y Los Dinos at the age of nine, which was a group formed by her father. The group consisted of her brother Abraham that did the bass guitar and her sister Suzette that did the drums. At first the group did not do so well,but it was only a matter of time until there group started to really shine. The group Selena Y Los Dinos in the 1980’s played at the family's restaurant Papagayo until it closed down due to bankrupt and from then on they booked the band at clubs and weddings.
Jenni Rivera, born Dolores Janney Rivera Saavedra, was born in Long Beach, CA. She grew up in poverty, and with four brothers she was a tom boy. She learned to defend herself at a young age. “I soon developed the reputation as the girl who beats up boys.” This taught her how to respect herself in the music industry. Despite her boyish ways she loved to sing. She would compete at bars with her dad. He early singing career made her realize she could make good money and provide for her family by singing.
Many of their fans have crossed the border illegally, or have relatives that have done so. The song goes into saying, “Mis hijos son grandes y no les entiendo-- no hablan español,” translating into “My children are grown but I do not understand them-- they do not speak Spanish,” (1:14). A study done by the Pew Research Center reveals that the number of Latinos in the United States that speak Spanish is slowly decreasing (Krogstad and Lopez), which shows that this is an all too real issue facing those among the Latino community. This particular occurrence is becoming too common for many families because as they push to fit into the American way of living, their roots may sometimes get lost in translation. It is one thing to not be able to properly communicate with your children, but it is another to not be able to talk to them because of a language
The author Jane Yolen said, “Literature is a textually transmitted disease, normally contracted in childhood.” This disease she referenced I never seemed to contract. My experiences with literature, both reading, and writing, have been dull, to say the least. There was never anything that stuck out to me or had a changing impact on my perception of literature. Literature was a job that I had to show up to and pay attention to when I was told This was true until I began reading a biography about one of my favorite artists. It was a book about Selena, who's full name is Selena Quintanilla Perez, and was written by her husband, Chris Perez. As I was reading this book, I experienced the first time that a piece of literature can have an impact on
Maria Perez was born on May 18, 1944 in Zacatecas, Mexico. She grew up in a farm name Santa Rita. She is the last middle child of four kids, and her parents own a farm. It was a small farm, but she loves it. Since she was five years old, she helped her parents by working in the farm. Her job was to feed the horses, cows, chickens, and pigs. She loves all her animals, but her favorite animal was horses. When she was young, she loved to ride her horses. She felt off the horse and hurt head when she was young. She said, “I’m thankful to the lord that I survive that hit.” She wasn’t a normal child when she was growing up because she would just work with her parents and not plays like other kids. She wanted to have a normal childhood, but she had to work with her parents. She described
Fame never comes without a price and Selena paid that price by living a short, difficult childhood. While eight year old girls were outside having fun Selena was out singing at bars, weddings, fairs, and restaurants. She lived in an unstable household that eventually relied on the family band, “Selena y Los Dinos”, to eat and have a roof over their heads.
Esperanza, the most liberated of the sisters, devoted her life to make other people’s lives better. She became a reporter and later on died while covering the Gulf Crisis. She returned home, to her family as a spirit. At first, she spoke through La Llorona, a messenger who informed La Loca that her sister has died. All her family members saw her. She appeared to her mother as a little girl who had a nightmare and went near to her mother for comfort. Caridad had conversations with her about politics and La Loca talked to her by the river behind their home.
She learned to read and write at school, but that doesn't mean that other obstacles weren't thrown her way. “I am the only daughter in a Mexican family of six sons”. Being the only daughter meant that she would be spending a lot of time to herself, she needed something to keep her occupied. Who knew that writing would be the answer. When she was in fifth grade and decided to share her plans for college with her father, he had said “Que bueno, mija”. The problem is that her father had envisioned another path for her. “What I didn't realize was that my father thought college was good for girls- for finding a husband”. Just imagine how hard it was for her to go against her father's wishes and continue to follow her true calling.
To help me understand and analyze a different culture, I watched the film Selena. The film tells the life story of the famous singer Selena Quintanilla-Pérez. Not only does it just tell personal stories from her life, it also gives insight to the Mexican-American culture. Her whole life she lived in the United States, specifically in Texas, but was Hispanic and because of that both her and her family faced more struggles than white singers on the climb to her success. Even though the film is a story about a specific person, it brought understanding into the culture in which she lived. Keeping in mind that these ideas that I drew about the Mexican-American culture is very broad and do not apply to every single person in the culture, there were very obvious differences in their culture and the one that I belong. Mexican-American culture identifies with their family rather than individualized or spiritual identities and the culture has gone through significant changes because of discrimination and the changing demographics of the United States.
As the girls grew up in their respective locations of the world, whether Puerto Rico or New York City, they faced the trauma of change, culture clash, ethnic identity, and their parental influence.
Esperanza, a Chicano with three sisters and one brother, has had a dream of having her own things since she was ten years old. She lived in a one story flat that Esperanza thought was finally a "real house". Esperanza’s family was poor. Her father barely made enough money to make ends meet. Her mother, a homemaker, had no formal education because she had lacked the courage to rise above the shame of her poverty, and her escape was to quit school. Esperanza felt that she had the desire and courage to invent what she would become.
Clemencia's father originates from Mexico, so her own father views US Mexicans to be not on par with the Mexicans who originate from Mexico. In her father’s opinion Mexican girls “who didn't know enough to set a separate plate for each course at a dinner, nor how ...
Britney Spears was born on December 2, 1981. She lived in Kentwood, Louisiana and was constantly performing in front of people and always wanted to be on 'Star Search'. Britney tried out for the New Mickey Mouse Club at age 8 and then again at 11 and made it. Then she went solo because her talent was evident and she wanted more (A & E Television Networks, 2011).
are a Latina, especially one like me who so obviously belongs to Rita Moreno's gene