Where are the anthems of repression? If reactionary movements claim cultural dominance, mass followings, and moral certainty, one might reasonably expect a soundtrack to match. Where are the rousing MAGA and far-right hymns that people will still be singing in fifty years? Where are the unforgettable choruses celebrating racial division, exclusion, or the romance of…
We were crawling toward the Zimbabwean frontier—jet-lagged, half delirious, in a beat-up car straining under Africa’s heat. From the cassette deck floated the voice of Oliver Mtukudzi: joyous, sorrowful, unmistakably Zimbabwean. That music—lyrics I didn’t understand—spoke louder than passports or polite greetings. It wove us through checkpoint inspections, softened a policeman’s suspicion, and whispered stories…
In a world that often shouts about what sets us apart, there’s something quietly radical about embracing what brings us together. In this week’s Camino a Ítaca a counterdance against the demagogues threatening to deport an imaginary eight million immigrants. From the rhythms of Castile’s town squares and narrow streets to the rare shared silences of…
The Camino a Ítaca is in no way linear, it circles and loops and starts all over again. As spring turns Cáceres into the allergy sufferers nightmare, another event takes places, one that has been going on for more than thirty years. It’s quasi-religious in the way that in some sectors it can’t be questioned for…
The Main Square during the evening concerts In this week’s Camino a Ítaca I take a look back at the legacy of the WOMAD festival in Caceres from a different perspective. Click over and read the original in Spanish or read the English version below. (PDF en castellano abajo) Winston Churchill once said that history…
Is he one of ‘ours’? This week’s Camino a Ítaca takes me back on tour. Back to the days when I literally lived on the road and then zooms to the present and questions just how the regional government sees its citizen. Are you one of ‘ours’ or not? You can click over and read…
Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. While it seems that summer doesn’t quite want to let go, it’s that time of year again. The time of year when the croaking of storks, ringing…
video Jorge Rey Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. I’ve been fortunate enough to play at some of the most famous festivals around the world. From Vancouver to New York, I have seen the…
Something a bit out of my ordinary. Should be fun, can’t think of a better way to celebrate the day. For an after the fact recap, click over here.
Writing in the local paper. Local issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. Sunday afternoon in the Calle Moret in this everlasting climate-change-denyer’s indian summer. At first glance everything looks the same. Graffiti splatters the shuttered shop windows…