After the Mexican Revolution, which spanned a decade starting in 1910, one of the first orders of business for Mexican artists was to establish a cultural identity which distanced the country from its colonial history. Muralists started creating their best-known works, writers were inspired to create a new Mexican reality, and composer Carlos Chavez turned not to Europe, but to his country's indigenous heritage in writing music for the newly established national orchestra.
That era seems to be starting over again today, as the most adventurous and creative Mexican musicians turn inward to sample styles such as norteño, cumbia and folk music to establish yet another cultural identity for Mexico.
Camilo Lara is one of those musicians crafting a new sound for his country. His Mexican Institute of Sound recordings are clearly of this new millennium, but he also captures traces of everything from early-20th-century corridos to techno.
To understand the ideas behind this cultural mashup, we invited Lara in for a Guest DJ session, and his playlist was impressive: British electro-pop, old-school cumbia and even the out-of-this-world arrangements of producer and bandleader Juan Garcia Esquivel all reside in the sonic library that is his inspiration.
So sit back and listen in as Lara talks about his music, his influences and his Mexico.
The new album 'Politico' from Mexican Institute of Sound will be released in stores on August 14th, but is available now at iTunes.
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Esta Semana En Alt.Latino: Invitado Especial Camilo Lara
Luego de la Revolución mexicana (1910-1920), una de las prioridades para los artistas fue establecer una identidad cultural propia que se distanciase de la experiencia colonial.
Fue en esta época que los muralistas crearon sus obras cumbres y los escritores hallaron la inspiración para forjar una nueva realidad mexicana. El compositor Carlos Chávez, encargado de escribir música para la recién establecida orquestra nacional, no halló inspiración en Europa sino en la herencia indígena mexicana.
Cuando oigo la creatividad y osadía de los músicos mexicanos de hoy que encuentran inspiración en estilos regionales- como la música norteña, la cumbia y el folklore- viene a la memoria ese período de la historia de México.
Camilo Lara es uno de esos músicos que esta creando una nueva identidad musical para su país. Las grabaciones del Instituto Mexicano Del Sonido (IMS) en definitiva pertenecen a este milenio- pero con rasgos de los corridos del siglo pasado.
Para poder comprender su mezcla de culturas, lo invitamos a Lara al programa a compartir sus influencias que impresionan por su diversidad: Electro-pop británico, cumbias, e incluso los arreglos fuera de serie del productor y músico Esquivel.
Así que siéntense y disfruten de una gran conversación acerca de la música y de México.
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