CULCHA

Rockin’ for Pakistan

---

For musician Salman Ahmad, the current plight of flood-ravaged Pakistan is highly personal. His country has endured more than 1,100 deaths and millions as a result of the recent flooding, the worst in generations. He’s planning to release a record meant to call the world’s attention to the situation — and to downplay the Pakistan that people only know by terrorism-related news stories. There’s another Pakistan, he says, one with 100 million young people whose actions in the future could well be determined by the world’s response to this tragedy today. 


                                                                           More in Music>>>

---

Mexico City: Exile on el Centro

---

Since late last year, Los Tucanes de Tijuana, one of the most recognizable bands in the Mexican norteño regional genre, have been banned from performing in their hometown and namesake, the border city of Tijuana. The reasons stems from the group’s songs, which authorities claim glorify the lives of narcocorridos, the drug traffickers who have terrorized the city. For the group, however, it’s a matter of playing the songs that mirror the reality of a dangerous time.    


                                                                           More in Music>>>

---

Abbey Lincoln: Music as a political act

---

Abbey Lincoln, a jazz singer who made the evolution from compelling nightclub singer to actress to ardent champion of progressive causes distilled in music, died on Saturday in Manhattan, at the age of 80. In working with jazz greats such as Sonny Rollins and Max Roach, Lincoln made a transformation that dovetailed with the civil rights movement, eventually embracing the idea of jazz as statement as well as song.           


                                                                           More in Music>>>

---