Now in the Player:
Nomads:
"Travellers are Travellers for all eternity.
Travellers were Travellers in ancient history.
Travellers, I would say it world wide,
Travellers are Travellers I will say it with pride."
--Bernard Power
Travellers are an indigenous minority who, historical sources confirm, have been part of Irish society for centuries. Travellers long shared history, cultural values, language (known as Gammon, Shelta, or Cant), customs and traditions make them a self-defined group, and one which is recognisable and distinct. Their culture and way of life, of which nomadism is an important factor, distinguishes them from the sedentary (settled) population.
Their contribution to music and story-telling has been of great importance to these traditions. Travellers were the link between isolated communities in a rural society. They carried the music, stories and news from village to village. They also kept these traditions alive during the oppression of the British, who tried to destroy Irish Culture.
While it is clear that Traveller have long suffered from discrimination and prejudice in Irish society, up until recently very little was known about these experiences, and Travellers are often invisible to policy and decision makers. However these gaps have begun to be closed in recent years but though legislation has been enacted to address discrimination against the Travellers, discrimination is still an issue. The Traveller community in Ireland experiences social exclusion and discrimination at all levels of society. Travellers live with the daily reality of being refused access to a range of services including shops, pubs, hairdressers and laundrettes. Systematic efforts were made to assimilate Travellers into the dominant population on the assumption that it was the best interests of everyone. In a public attitudes survey published by the governments 'Know Racism' campaign in February 2004 72% of respondents agreed that the settled community do not want members of the Traveller community living amongst them, while 48% disagreed that Traveller make a positive contribution to Irish society.
Since 1999 Irish Travellers have been recognised in English law as an ethnic group and protected under the Race Relations Act.
¡Sì, se puede!: April 1993 saw the death of Cesar Chavez, the union leader committed to the fight for the rights of immigrant workers from Central and South America in the United States. One of his better known and more significant mottos was, "¡Sì, se puede!", a maxim used to counter the obstacles scattered along the road to reform and justice; obstacles often justified by blind impossibility or by the fear of touching something held untouchable, possibly even by those struggling for their own rights.
On 1st May 2006, "A Day Without Immigrants", hundreds of thousands of ghost workers flooded into the city squares to protest against the exacerbation of the law regarding clandestine immigration (HR4337) decided by the Bush administration. One of the slogans that was used most in the protest marches in the numerous cities where these rallies were held, was in fact, "¡Sì, se puede!"
This music is offered as a pacifist Deguello, a gathering, the soundtrack of a march towards progress and justice: a token gesture to remember, to participate, and to stand by these people.
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Aprile 1993, muore Cesar Chavez, leader sindacalista impegnato per i diritti dei lavoratori immigrati dal centro e sud america negli Stati Uniti. Uno dei suoi motti maggiormente conosciuti e significativi è stato "¡Sì, se puede!", una frase usata in opposizione a quegli ostacoli disseminati sul cammino delle riforme e della giustizia e giustificati da ottuse impossibilità o dai timori di toccare qualcosa ritenuta intoccabile fino a quel momento, magari proprio da chi stava lottando per i propri diritti.
1 Maggio 2006, "A Day Without Immigrants", centinaia di migliaia di lavoratori fantasma scendono in piazza per protestare contro l'inasprimento delle leggi sull'immigrazione clandestina (HR4337) decise dall'amministrazione Bush. Uno degli slogan più usati nei cortei delle tante città dove si sono svolte queste manifestazioni è stato appunto "¡Sì, se puede!".
Questa musica vuole essere un Deguello pacifista, una chiamata a raccolta, la colonna sonora di una marcia verso il progresso e la giustizia. Un piccolo modo per ricordare, partecipare, sentirsi vicino a queste persone.
Mother's Tears: Famine, war, words that mean pain, sorrow, suffering for many people. But the greatest suffering, the greatest sorrow is the sorrow of a mother who sees her son undergo the effect of these terrible words. This music is for those mothers
Tuareg Riders: It's an internet coproduction with the great talented artist Ed Drury from Portland (USA). He did the percussions programming and plays the didjeridoo, I added the synths. It's a mix of sound's and flavours, East, Middle-east, the ancient sound of the didj and the western electronic sounds.
Aurora: An electronic new age flavour piece with a jazzy mute trumpet played by the wonderful musician Dennis Wieand from Bethlehem (PA, USA). Internet collaboration.
One Song: An internet coproduction with the incredible electronic artist Metricks from Lisboa. We did different parts in this piece but in, my opinion, the music flowing as a unique composition, so the name "One Song".
"Some rights reserved" by Renato Ventura (and co-producers where they are presents). This music is under Creative Commons License
creative commons
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