Gian Carlo Buscaglia

Myspace Contact TablesBEAT OF THE STREET Harvard Square’s street musicians speak out about the tricks of the trade Published On Friday, October 05, 2007 By BERYL C.D. LIPTON Crimson Staff WriterIn the mid-1980s, a girl by the name of Tracy Chapman began performing on the streets of Cambridge and Harvard Square. By 1988, she was a multi-platinum selling pop star with three Grammys.Today, musicians and entertainers are still using the streets of Harvard Square as their venue to reach the students and ever-abundant tourists who grace the sidewalks.For some, street performing is a way to make a living. For some, it’s a way to get out a message. And others use it for marketing campaigns.‘AMERICAN HAS TALENT!’Gian Carlo Buscaglia is originally from Puerto Rico and says that when he’s not playing in the Square, he performs with a 15-piece band at various venues in the area.Singing primarily in Spanish, playing a plugged-in acoustic guitar and settled in front of Hidden Sweets, Buscaglia brings humor to his performance, both through his Latin-beat music and his commentary between songs.“Thank you! Thank you!” Buscaglia yells after completing a song, arms spread wide, accepting the applause of the two dozen people he has gathered. Then he gives a shout-out to NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.”“‘American Has Talent,’ I am here!” he declares to the applauding crowd.“Now for something idiotic,” he says, “like your president.” Playing another song in Spanish, Buscaglia flavors his playing by blowing air through his lips, sounding like a trumpeter, and wildly clicking his tongue.It is obvious that one of the reasons Buscaglia performs publicly is a love for attention, in addition to a self-proclaimed love for himself.“I’d like to dedicate this song to the person I love the most,” he says. “Myself. You must love yourself before you can love someone else. And my fiancée lives in Ecuador, so I do a lot of self-loving these days.”MYSPACE AND THE STREETSA girl walks by and stops to take Buscaglia’s picture. He enthusiastically poses, and as the girl walks away he shouts, “I’ll see you on MySpace!”Buscaglia, like other area performers, has tied the Square to cyberspace, establishing a Web site for passers-by to visit long after the sounds from the last chords have floated away.For those who are trying to make a lasting impression on their audience, a link to the Internet is now almost a necessity. Buscaglia uses MySpace,.....