Barely Living

you can be oppressed, and still promote and maintain the very same systems of oppression onto other marginalized people. being oppressed in one dimension doesn't allow you to be exempt from oppressing in other dimensions. the "villain" of the movie, remmick, being from the time period of the english colonization of ireland, all the while wanting to take a piece of sammie's own culture from him, use him for it. and this plot point coming after remmick witnesses the significance of sammie's playing within his culture, for his ancestors and how it would shape Black culture in the future.

even in today's society, ive noticed that people treat Black people like a commodity. our worth is only as much as other people decide it to be, and that's usually dependent on how much the oppressor can take from us. for example, the controversy of"internet slang" and how it is blatantly just AAVE with a bad disguise on

do you listen to Black musicians? do you watch Black movies? do you engage with Black creators? do you defend the racist tendencies you notice in your friends, in your family, or do you stay silent? do you listen when Black people tell you you've said or done something racist? do you actually care about not being racist, or do you just not want to look like you're racist?

i just think people have a very specific take on what racism is, and that if they're not committing KKK-levels of violence on people, then they're not racist. or if you've experienced oppression in one form, you cannot possibly be engaging with oppression in another form. but the ways in which we interact with other people and the world will always be through the lens of race, because that is simply what it means for oppression to be systemic, especially in the US and our current political climate

The music was my main motivation to go see the film (alongside with the introducing of Tenoch, one of my favorite people inthe world).

The day of the Mexican premiere, my facebook feed was full of photos of musicians (whom I follow for their prehispanic instrumental and amazing work thru the years in the band TRIBU and colabs with musicians Arturo Meza, Jorge Reyes and Rastrillos) attending the premiere and revealing that they participated in the making of the music for the film!

The news clearly moved me to inexplicable levels because those musicians: Ramiro Ramirez Duarte and Alejandro Mendez Rojas, have spent decades working and promoting research, practice and recognition of prehispanic instruments and how mesoamerican music might have sounded.

In addition, these musicians (one with degree in ethnomusicology and anthropological research and the other as a member of the Otomi indigenous community in the north of the territory where I was born and live), have been and are part of projects and musical groups that have given original music and prehispanic instruments the place they deserve in the broad definition of Mexican music.

In an interview with La Silla Rota Guanajuato They explain that "Prehispanic music no longer exists, from that past only the instruments remain, their melodies".

Alejandro Méndez Rojas commented that is unknown how the music of that time was; everything was destroyed in the 16th century because the Spanish prohibited prehispanic musicians and everything that had to do with ancient culture, they stopped making the instruments, there were no longer any manufacturers.

Did you get chills when the Talokani first came out and hypnotized the ship's crew with their voices? This is what you hear:

Did you feel the love and pain through Namor's origin story? This was what accompanied that feeling:

The pieces Namor, Lost in the depths, Yucatán, Namor's Throne, Imperius Rex and Sink the ship also have remarkable elements from prehispanic instruments and voices.

Hearing the distinctive sounds of snails, flutes, rattles, drums, and canes at epic and emotional moments in the film made my heart race and pride prickle my skin.

About "Árboles bajo el mar", Alejandro Mendez Rojas explain in their social media:

"In this piece I composed all the sounds made with prehispanic instruments. I used a Tepehuano bow, tortoise shells percussed by Huave deer antlers, Mayan double-diaphragm whistle, Mayan trumpets, Tezcatlipoca flute, Mayan tunkul among other instruments made by me.

Thank you for allowing me to promote Mesoamerican musical instruments through their sounds in this film and thanks to all the people who collaborated on this piece."

With their work and passion for the music, they become heroes too:

“One way to ensure that instruments are not lost is to build them again, to execute them, to carry out work so that they last, so that they remain alive.

I think that the instruments of prehispanic Mexico deserve that boost, that promotion to enter a world where there is musical diffusion, the instruments deserve that stage to be better know, we have worked with them for many years, have cost us diffusion"

Because it is another form of representation, it is another way of saying "we are here", but on a large scale, it is an opportunity to continue preserving our culture, our roots and to allow it not to go out.

"Mexico has a wonderful ancestral legacy, worthy of being recovered and put into circulation again, the instruments will come to life in every human being who listens to them"

Gracias señores Ramiro y Alejandro por ser tan chingones y seguir trabajando por darle a nuestra herencia y a nuestras raíces la dignidad que merecen. Felicidades por este trabajo tan hermoso y emotivo. Y muchas gracias por ser parte de mi formación y herencia musical. Me siento orgullosa y feliz por todo eso 🫀

Please, listen all the music from the original soundtrack and give them a lot of love. Thank you Ryan Coogler and Ludwig Goransson for let it be this wonderful dignity manifesto that is Wakanda Forever.

“The only thing I want is the next time little boys and girls [in Latine countries] see themselves in the mirror, that they feel proud of that reflection. That they see that there was never anything wrong with them, but rather in the eyes of those who judged them.”

When Tenoch Huerta of Nahua and Purépecha Indigenous ancestry said this in a cast interview for Wakanda Forever:

“…We have in Latin America, two main roots: which is the Indigenous roots, of course, and African roots. The food, the customs, the music, even our way of life has a strong influence from African cultures. So for me it’s important to see it [in the movies]; I mean this character [Namor] comes from Meso-American inspiration, particularly Mayan and, of course, is an interpretation of those cultures. But at the same time, we can feel close [to it] because all the process to get us “mixed” is just a way to erase our Indigenous heritage and they taught us to feel ashamed of who we are. For 500 years!”

When long-time actor–since 2006–and advocate, Tenoch Huerta published a book (paperbacks set to release December 13 but digital copies available now!!!) titled Orgullo Prieto (Brown Pride) that is a reflection on racism and colorism in Mexico. He has also gifted his voice for the audibook narration of these books: La sombra de Miztlán [The Shadow of Miztlán]; Las Venas Abiertas de América Latina [The Open Veins of Latin America]; and Los Narcos Gringos [The Gringo Drug Traffickers] (Spanish Edition).

And when Tenoch reiterated:

“It’s not common in Mexico, in Latin America that a brown-skinned guy could be the main character and have a lead role in movies. And then I jumped to the U.S. and I did it here [with Wakanda Forever] and it’s powerful and deep, and I hope the kids in their homes can feel identified. And I’d just say to them never, never in the life was nothing wrong with you, it was in the eyes of the people who was looking at you. But not [as in nothing being wrong] in you, not in your skin, not in your roots, not in your blood, not in your history. So please, babies, feel proud.”

He is also a mental health advocate and champion for the sciences. He has said all the YouTube channels he follows are science, historian or philosophy-related. If this man didn’t already have me in a choke-hold I swear to fucking god-

Your speech and your mission have always been about the dignified representation and respect, above all, of the same opportunities for the brown people, for people of color, not only from Mexico, from all of Latin America —  from all over the world, and now you’re here. You are K’uk'ulkan, you are Namor. You are a funko, you are all of this, so what do you expect it to mean for the representation in Latin America and in Mexico for everyone who is getting this important message?

Lo único qué quiero es qué la próxima vez qué los moritos y morritas se vean al espejo se sientan orgullosos de ese reflejo qué vean qué nunca hubo nada malo en ellos si no en los ojos qué los juzgaron si eso sucede estoy del otro lado.

A girl from the Bassara Arab tribe of Northern Chad. The female members of this tribe, and other nomadic women of the region, are known for their thick and lustrous hair, which often falls well below the belly button. The key to retaining their lengths? Chébé, an ancient hair-care ritual that’s been practised by their ancestors for millennia.

Here’s @dduane​’s first take on it and the finished product. We’ve made even more photogenic batches since.

Kneading is easy as well; either let your machine do it, or if you don’t want to or don’t have one, get hands-on. It’s like mixing two colours of Plasticine to make a third. Flatten, stretch, fold, half-turn, repeat - it takes about 10 minutes - until the gloopy conglomeration of flour, yeast, salt and water that clings to your hands at the beginning, becomes a compact ball that doesn’t stick to things and feels silky-smooth.

Here’s what before and after look like.

My Mum used to say that if you were feeling out of sorts with someone, it was good to make bread because you could transfer your annoyance into kneading the dough REALLY WELL, and both you and the bread would be better for it.

Then you put it into a bowl, cover it with cling-film and let it rise until it doubles in size, turn it out and “knock it back” (more kneading, until it’s getting back to the size it started, this means there won’t be huge “is something living in here?” holes in the bread), put it into your loaf-tin or whatever - we’ve used a regular oblong tin, a rectangular Pullman tin with a lid, a small glass casserole, an earthenware chicken roaster…

You can even use a clean terracotta flowerpot.

Let the dough rise again until it’s high enough to look like an unbaked but otherwise real loaf, then pop it in the preheated oven. On average we give ours 180°C / 355°F for 45-50 minutes. YM (and oven) MV.

Here’s some of our bread…

Here’s our default bread recipe - it takes about 3-4 hours from flour jar to cutting board depending on climate (warmer is faster) most of which is rise time and baking; hands-on mixing, kneading and knocking-back is about 20 minutes, tops, and less if using a mixer.

Here ( or indeed any of the other pics) is the finished product. This one was given an egg-wash to make it look glossy and keep the poppy-seeds in place; mostly we don’t bother with that or the slash down the middle, but all the extras were intentional as a “ready for my close-up” glamour shot.

I think any shop would be happy to have something this good-looking on their shelf. We’re happy to have it on our table.

Even if your first attempts don’t work out quite as well as you hope, you can always make something like this…