My mom, sister and I went to go see a performance by an artist, Azul, at the Esperanza Peace and Justic Center. The Esperanza Center, located here in San Antonio, is where individuals come together to promote civil rights, economic justice, environmental awareness, cultural diversity education, and community safety. Esperanza also works to preserve and promote artistic and cultural expression of diverse communities, especially those that have gone unheard of.
Azul, born in Mexico city, sings and plays the guitar. Her love for music came to her as a child when she heard stories passed on to her generation after generation. Her music is strongly influenced by a diverse range of cultures that had a lasting effect on Mexican music, beginning in the 1500’s with the arrival of the conquistadors.
She is currently residing in San Antonio and somehow got connected with the Esperanza center. She plays every 2nd Wed of the month. Each performance has a theme around culture. The theme of the performance we went to was indigenous people. She sang songs in various native tongues. She has a very powerful, strong voice and you could feel her passion through her music. Indigenous people are discriminated against in Mexico and throughout Latin America. I felt like she was up there to represent the indigenous people because if someone doesn’t, their culture could be forever erased.
I felt connected because I know my roots are derived from the indigenous people. My family has Native American blood. Some might say why do you care and what’s the point of finding more about your family history? I truly believe that if it wasn’t for our ancestors and what they fought for, I wouldn’t be here. Somewhere down the road, someone cared and passed on something valuable to the next generation and it has brought me to where I am today.
I highly recommend going to see Azul play if you have an interest in Mexican history, enjoy folk music and like voices such as Linda Ronstadt (I would compare her voice to hers, it’s that good).
