A week back from an amazing vacation in Mexico, I still find it hard to get back in the swing of papers, tests, and the demands of college life.
And even though the weather was a perfect blend between the breeze of Spring and the heat of Summer and the water looked as if someone put 3 drops of blue food coloring in the Gulf, there's one particular instance where Mexico wasn't all fun and games.
As soon as my friends and I stepped off the boat, there was a slew of Mexican musicians and dancers playing traditional music for our enjoyment. The women donned white peasant dresses with bright colors that accented their collars as they danced around the May-pole while the men wore huge sombrero's as they pounded their mini-drums and strummed their mini-guitars.
The musicians and dancers played the entire time the ship was docked, and would kindly ask for tips from us as we walked by. I must say I was quite appalled hearing one American say in response, "Why dont you get a real job and then you wont need tips," and then he walked away in a huff, leaving the woman standing there with the biggest question mark on her face.
Turns out, our Mexican tour guide from the cruise told us that the women and men dancing and playing for money only make anywhere between $3-5 dollars an hour with the hopes of big tips. $3-5 dollars and hour! And that person couldn't even spare at least, $1 dollar, to give to those people who are sharing their land, resources, music and culture for us to enjoy?
Needless to say, each person in my 10-person party gave the musicians and dancers a tip; one of the members of our group of friends leaving in tears. You see, she's an American born Cuban and she said it reminded her of the hardships her grandparents had to endure when they first arrived in America.
So, let's not be so quick to judge people. Do like they told us to do in kindergarten and "put yourself in the other person's shoes." You might just learn something.
I can't tell you how jealous I am you got to go to Mexico! It's definitely a place I plan on visiting in the next few years, as I've been studying the Spanish language in hopes of moving to Barcelona, Spain after I graduate here. But your point is totally valid, I think busking is one of the most undervalued professions in our country, and the only reason I can imagine why is because of the way music has moved from being a communal experience involving participation from everyone listening and playing to a product that people have assigned their typical scale of value to based on image, advertising, and expense. As Adorno stated, we get excited about going to a concert not because of the music, but because of the price we payed for our ticket and the value we recieve from the transaction. No such thing in busking, there's just a donation cup and usually extremely tasteful music, and I hope everyone can see how foolish it is to confuse any two forms of performed music as being different from one another.
ReplyDeleteWow, That is so amazing! I would have been so upset hearing that man say that about those people! This reminds me of a mission trip I went on to Belize two years ago. Both the adults and children of Belize were dancing and singing to the music of their culture. They started to teach us some of their dance moves too. It was an amazing experience!
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