The Batha Museum was the venue for what we had picked as one of the outstanding concerts for the entire Fez Sacred Music Festival - and we were not disappointed. Mari Boine is an amazing performer and the selection of Sami chants and songs was pure magic.

Equally outstanding were the arrangements and performance by her band. The guitar of Georg Buljo wove beautifully through the songs along with Svein Schultz on bass, Ole Jorn Mykelbust on trumpet and Gunnar Augland on percussion. Departing from her published programme, Boine gave us a taste of her earlier work with Gula Gula and exhibited her traditional joik throat singing to amazing effect. For those used to seeing a singer open their mouth wide to reach for a high note, it was extraordinary the volume and pure tones achieved by Boine with almost closed lips. Her drumming added a wonderful touch, but as she said - “My drum is used to cold weather.” So she wet the skin with a bottle of Sidi Ali!

As the festival wrapped, The View from Fez summed it up in a few words:

Nine days of afternoon and evening concerts, Sufi nights, art exhibitions, children's events, free concerts in the medina and the new city, Rencontres debates on the sacred, more talks at Palais Jamai, fringe events at Dar Batha … all in all a very busy time. How was it for you?

They also had a few criticisms of this year's event…

2008 was not a vintage festival and one is left with the impression that the programme was assembled on a very tight budget. The feeling is that the Fes Festival needs more money pumped into the artistic director's function of booking artists. In years past we've seen luminaries like Youssou N'Dour and Ravi Shankar, but such stars seem to be sadly missing these days.

…But in general were pleased with the work that went into it:

It's a huge job putting on such a big Festival, and The View from Fez congratulates the whole team.

Everything Morocco was also in Fez for the festival, and shared this tidbit:

Overall, this week at the Fez Festival has been a series of pleasant surprises, particularly Fahdel Jaziri's production of Hadhra and Abdelwahab Doukkali's special performance Thursday night at Bab Makina. We have seen Touaregs on the electric guitar, R&B saxophone in an Arab orchestra and all sorts of traditional instruments from every region of the globe. And there is no better place than Fez for all of this to come together at one time.

the art of the drum, who was just traveling through at the time, had much to say about the festival's commercialism:

In the most basic sense, sacred music seeks to create a spiritual connection with the Divine. Religious (sacred) music often is performed in the confines of a holy institution, like a church or temple, to eliminate worldly distractions. In the moments of a sacred music performance, is the stage not the temple? It is a doctrine of all religions to disavow any sort of commerce within the physical space of the institution? (Yes, yes, I have been to plenty of Hindu temples that sell souvenirs, and the Vatican does have a gift shop). Surely John 2:16 is not just a Christian prospect – materialism has no place inside of a mosque or synagogue or any sort of holy sanctuary, for that matter. How can proper devotion to the Divine be made when a vender is hawking Hagaan Daz a hundred feet from the stage? At what point do we distinguish between reverence and exploitation?

He also took issue with the sense of “orientalism” about the event:

Another reservation for me to endorse the festival is the immense sense of Orientalism that surrounds the festival. The concept of Orientalism, as written about by the great scholar Edward Said, essentially states that in the West, we have a very skewed view of the Eastern cultures. Strictly in terms of “religious studies,” some Westerners perceive Eastern religions as more “mystical” than Western traditions, and thus they are “better.”(You see this practice quite frequently in India, Westerns that “adopt” Hinduism because of the esoteric essence of an Eastern religion)

The blogger also added:

Clearly, I have very strong feelings about the essence of the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music. Believe it or not, as you will read in future posts specifically about my experiences at the performances, I genuinely enjoyed the festival – despite my many, many reservations about it. Take what I wrote with a grain of salt: as Man Ray once said, “All critics should be assassinated.”

Photograph of Ismael Lo and the Hamadcha Brotherhood by The View from Fez

According to Correspondent Jenan:

Black is the favorite color for Iraqi women's clothing–not because they like it, but because they are used to wearing it. For decades Iraqi women have suffered from wars, sometimes losing their loved ones. That has caused them to wear black to show their deep grief.

Such a custom, means brisk business for fabric merchants. Jenan points:

Even Iraqi merchants import black clothes more than any other color, to meet demands of the marketplace.

“What other standards do Iraqi women fellow to choose the color of their clothes?” asks Jenan and then responds:

The most widely used, as explained earlier, is black. Besides for mourning, black is also used in our traditional costume called an aba (gown).

The blogger relates her personal experience with her mother, who has donned black from head to toe for 28 years. She writes:

Ever since 1980 until today I see my mom wearing black clothes from the top of her head to her toes. She first started wearing back after the death of my father 28 years ago, and she has never changed it even once, despite whatever happiness has happened in our family. My mom is like millions of Iraqi women who lost their husbands, brothers, sons or other loved ones.

Once I aasked my mom to put at least a white scarf on her head instead of a black one,. She replied: “It is shameful wearing colorful clothes if you have lost your beloved.” My mom was convinced that women who lost their loved ones shouldn’t wear any color but black.

What about Jenan? What does she like? She confesses:

As for myself, I like to wear different colors. I especially like brown and green–and sometimes even pink! It doesn't have to be a special occasion for me to wear pink, just whenever I feel like it. Besides abas, we wear veils, and they should be color-coordinated with the other color you are wearing.

Underneath the aba, you can wear any color you wish, but for the veil which goes over and around your head, it should be harmonious with the color of your aba. You should also wear only black sandals with your black aba. With other colors of clothes, you can wear different shoes of different colors.

This most recent film in the series, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, partly takes place in Peru (although, the scenes were really filmed in Hawaii). As mentioned earlier, there are geographical and historic errors abound. You can well imagine this has been quite the subject of discussion amidst Peruvian bloggers. I will attempt to extract the best from their posts.

Antolín Prieto, from Cinencuentro [es], a Peruvian blog devoted to film, quotes in his post, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Lies About Peru, one of the foot-in-mouth lines fast becoming a classic faux-pas, in which Jones said, “I learned Quechua from Pancho Villa.” Quechua, a native indigenous language from the Andean region of South America would not have been the language spoken by the Mexican revolutionary.

Pedro Ortiz Bisso, from Notas desde el lado oscuro [es], comments on the matter in his post, I was wrong: Indy 4 is a good film and points out the error where the southern city of Nazca is said to be in the Cusco region.

Dinorider, from El Pensieve de Dinorider [es], recommends that executive producer George Lucas irmprove his research skills in the post Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: UNCLE GEORGE USE GOOGLE!!

Eso sí NO me gustó eso de que acabaran metiendo en medio de la Amazonía un templo alienígena con look maya mezclado con tiawanaku conteniendo restos de Sumeria, Grecia, China, Egipto, Tiawanaku, etc. para que saliera el platillo volador aquel. Sólo faltaba Mel Gibson y el tipo del casco de papel de aluminio. Creo que con Indiana debieron evitar ese tipo de cosas.

A propósito el cuadro de Orellana es el que suele salir en las enciclopedias escolares locales como ¡Francisco Pizarro! Por cierto, las imágenes de Nazca parecían más bien las de un mercado de las alturas de la Sierra con gente vestida con trajes de diferentes sitios de Perú (a grandes rasgos reconocí de Huancayo, Cajamarca, Chincheros, Cuzco) y Centroamérica! hasta la música era ¿ranchera mexicana? Me recordaba en algo al del pueblo de El Zorro. Sólo faltó alguien gritando “Joder! weon, vos sabés que coño fue del pinche wey del libretista po!?”

Roberto Bustamante in El Blog del Morsa [es], provides a number of links to interesting posts about the film and in his post, Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull, comments that Peru's appearance in the film has not been fully taken advantage of by Peruvian politicians:

la visión exotista del Perú (¿por qué Big Meche no dijo nada sobre esto? ¿qué? ¿nadie va a capitalizar la aparición de nuestro querido país en la última entrega de Indy? ¿no que pensaban en grande?)

However, not everyone has a sense of humor. Ronald Vega, a Peruvian currently living in Bolivia who has the blog Voz Urgente [es], did not like the film at all, explaining himself in his post, Indiana Jones and the denigration of a culture:

Alguien podría decir que el cine es ficción, y como tal no esta en la obligación de estar estrictamente ligado a la historia de los hechos que narra, y claro, tendría razón, pero no deja de resultar algo sumamente curioso que siempre los discursos al respecto sean elaborados en ciertas partes del mundo y construyan una imagen, con clara intencionalidad, sobre personas de ciertas “otras” partes del mundo. Pero más allá de estas inconexiones ex profesas presentadas en la película, está un asunto de fondo. La deslegitimación del conocimiento histórico y ancestral producido en esta parte del mundo. Claro, el hombre occidental, con la historia soplando a su favor durante siglos, al pertenecer a civilizaciones como Grecia y Roma que alcanzaron altos niveles de desarrollo, sí fue capaz de realizar grandes y complejas construcciones para su época, construcciones que hasta hoy continúan asombrando al mundo, pero, el hombre andino – amazónico, el hombre perteneciente a aquellas culturas americanas que por carecer de escritura (Que sí la tenían pero resultaba incomprensible para la concepción del colonizador), en el caso Quechua Aymará, fueron condenados a la postergación histórica, ellos, esos hombres no pueden ser capaces de crear, de construir su propia cultura, su propio conocimiento, y es por eso que, en la película y muchos otros textos producidos por occidente, la construcción de todo este conocimiento se relaciona con seres de otros mundos, con extra terrestres, negando así el reconocimiento a la sabiduría de las culturas americanas, la misma que en gran parte fue destruida durante el proceso de colonización.

Carlos Quiroz in Peruanista [es] highlights the racism he sees and discusses it in his post, Indiana Jones movie about Peru is boring and racist:

Esta película presenta al Perú como un lugar miserable para vivir. Quizás muchos norte americanos que nunca van al extranjero puedan pensar que somos así: La ciudad de Nasca con un desastroso aeropuerto y pollos corriendo por ahí, y la bella Cusco con un sucio y desagradable mercado con gente loca tirada en el barro de calles asquerosas. Y de alguna manera los dos sitios son el mismo.

No pudo evitar pensar en el racismo luego de ver a gente cobriza presentada por esta película de un modo tan ofensivo, no una sino varias veces. Somos los malos por supuesto, y al final del film y luego que Indiana Jones logra reunirse con su familia -incluyendo un hijo que nunca había conocido- se casa en una iglesia blanca llena de gente blanca. Era la escena victoriosa luego de vencer a las malvadas y oscuras criaturas,

A well-known film critic, Alberto Servat, writes a post titled, Indiana Jones and The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, in his blog La Soga [es], from which we republish part of the comments made by Daniel, one of many comments his readers left him:

¡Cuando mencionaron a Perú la gente aplaudió! Todo iba bien hasta que sonó la música mexicana en el mercado inca. Allí la emoción de la audiencia se desplomó y empezaron los susurros de críticas a detalles. Ojálá que para la versión en DVD corrijan ese error.

In a more informative vein, Arturo Gómez of Amautucuna de Historia [es] provides us some facts about the existence of a stone skull in his post, A crystal skull in Peru?:

las calaveras de cristal de cuarzo no son peruanas y ni siquiera son originalmente mexicanas. Pero ¿existen reales calaveras líticas en el Perú? Recuerdo que durante las excavaciones hechas en la Huaca Huallamarca en Lima, la arqueóloga Clide Valladolid y su equipo descubrieron en 1992 o 1993, una pequeña calavera tallada en piedra (¿sería cuarzo lechoso?, no recuerdo bien). Clide me la enseñó por esos años y estaba muy contenta con el hallazgo. Lamentablemente no se publicó nunca un estudio de la misma y no podría asegurar a que cultura pertenece. Así, que después de todo, el Perú tiene una calavera tallada en piedra original. Si quieres verla, está en exhibición en el Museo de Sitio Huallamarca ubicado en la Av. Nicolás de Rivera 201 a espaldas del Centro Comercial Camino Real, San Isidro.

And, in conclusion, the opinion given by Jorge Moreno from El Reportero de la Historia [es], in his post Jones is Heston, Heston is Jones, tells people to lighten up:

sigo sin entender a muchos que critican acremente las inexactitudes culturales e históricas de la película, olvidando que se trata sólo de una película de acción y aventuras, puro divertimento. Tomarse en serio al doctor Jones resulta no sólo una tontería, sino también arrebatarle al cine el aspecto mágico y de ensoñación que tiene. Se va al cine a ver este tipo de películas para divertirse, a pasar un buen rato, con la novia o con los hijos, a disfrutar con aventuras y situaciones que por inverosímiles resultan atractivas, sugestivas, contagiante. Pretender querer aprender en ellas arqueología o historia es tan tonto como aquello de descalificar los libros, y películas, de Harry Potter con el argumento de que en ellos los niños aprenden hechicería. Una reverenda tontería que olvida que el mundo de fantasía que ellos presentan sólo está ahí para entretener y no para enseñar nada a nadie.

Translated by Alejandro García.

Thumbnail photo by H20 Alchemist

Meet Angel Gualan. He is proud to be from the indigenous group, the Saraguro and was educated at a local university the Loja Technical University, He writes not only about his culture, but also what he is passionate about, the technology. He's a intellectual but is not involved in politics, like fellow Saraguro Luis Macas, who was once a Presidential candidate.

In his blog, under his same name Angel Gualan, he explains how he started to become fond of technology and where he begins his first entrance into education:

Cuando yo empece a estudiar era muy pequeño, empecé el Jardín a los 4 años recién cumplidos, todos me decian que era demaciado pequeño de estatura, pero eso nunca me ha impedido seguir adelante, a los 10 salí de la escuela e ingresé de inmediato al colegio, y alos 16 empecé la “U” todo ese tiempo de estudio me ha formado y he adquirido un valor de criterio. Siempre me he vestido como indigena Saraguro, por que soy lo que soy, y no me averguenzo de serlo, aunque algunos chicos y chicas sales a las ciudades y cambian su identidad y quieren aparecer algo que no son…Cuando creé mi blog ya había terminado la U y me parecio impresindible dar a conocer la cultura de los Saraguros, para que asi nos puedan entender mejor.

When I started to study I was very little, started kindergarten when I just turned 4. Everyone told me that I was too short, but it has never prevented me to continue ahead, when I turned 10 I left grade school and immediately entered into high school, when I turned 16 I started the “U” (university) and during all these years of study I have received training and have acquired a critical way of thinking. I have always dressed like a native Saraguro, because I am what I am, and I am not ashamed to be, although some boys and girls go to the cities and change their identity and want to appear as something they aren't…When I created my blog had I already completed the U(niversity) and it seemed to me indispensable to promote the culture of the Saraguros, so that others can understand us better.

Promoting his culture is precisely what he is doing, ever since starting his blog in June 2007. In addition, he had created another blog called Yo Amawta [es], although it did not continue because of his focus on the other blog that promoted his culture.

Angel is a part of ACOSL [es] (Andean Corporation of Social Organizations of Loja and he has traveled to Sweden as part of this organization (part I, part II) where among other things he says:

Para la gente del campo es muy dificil salir de viaje y aún mas al exterior, por eso agradezco por los esfuerzos que han realizado las dos organizaciones, y como todo era completamente nuevo para mi, quiero hacer una serie de posts de las experiencias vividas y trabajos realizado durante la estancia.

For rural people, it is very difficult to leave and travel overseas, so I am grateful for the efforts that the two organizations have made (FENOCIN, UBV), and since everything was completely new to me, I have a series of posts from the experiences and work done during the stay.

In addition, he learned how to create an small business in the university and as a result, he has also created a project that still needs to be promoted, kanastakuna. This project offers organic dairy products on delivery (only Loja) and are cultivated in one of the most representative Saraguro communities, San Lucas.

If you want to learn more about Saraguros , head over his blog to see what it means for example pampa mesa, how to make chicha de jora, which is used in El Linche and definitely what it means to be a Saraguro:

Un saraguro es un hombre fuerte, frenta a las adversidades, que ha tenido que luchar duro, en su tierra, con sus animales para tener una economía sustentable dentro del hogar (..) Soy Indigena y a mucha honrra, por que asi, lucho contra la privatización del agua, la libertad de expresión, los alimentos transgénicos, toda clase de contaminación, y sobre todo lucho para que este pueblo sea reconocido.

We will finish this post telling you something that Angel loves called chashpishka which is the rhythm danced in this video.