BY MELANIE SJOBERG
ADELAIDE — The annual WOMAD world music festival in February once again provided a fabulous musical experience within the idyllic garden setting of Botanic Park.
More than 15,000 people attended. It was truly inspiring to see the huge numbers of people wearing anti-war badges, ribbons and T-shirts. The activist section of the park, which included anti-nuclear, humanitarian, refugees' rights and environmental stalls, attracted loads of interest.
The simmering anti-war sentiment ignited when Mexican band Los de Abajo enthused the crowd to "jump against the war". Thousands of people were leaping and stabbing their fists in the air for peace. The incitement to jump was barely necessary, as this is a band that defies anyone to simply sit and listen: their mix of salsa, cumbia, ska, punk is dynamic and infectious.
Los de Abajo formed in the streets of Mexico City in 1992. Band members cite the revolutionary spirit of the Cuban and Nicaraguan people, and the Zapatista movement in southern Mexico, as their influences. The 10 musicians and their sound technician are former university students who began playing at political events and parties because they were sick of the entrenched corruption of the Mexican government. They were concerned about injustice, the neglect of the poor and a lack of space for free expression.
Los de Abajo means "those from below" or the underdogs. As a political band of the street, they have generated an engaging style and intersperse political messages throughout the performances.
Their current album, Cybertropic Chilango Power, has a wild and radical feel. They describe it as a manifesto of musical madness and revolutionary poetry. The album includes "Si Existe Ese Lugar" ("That place does exist"), an attack on a corrupt politician, and "El Indio", a celebration of the urban Indigenous people of Mexico which encourages them to keep fighting for their rights. "Joder" ("Screw") deals with the Mexican government's connections with drug criminals.
This is music to blast out of the speakers at a rally prior to the speeches or when you are trying to shift a party out of chat mode. The huge brass sound combined with the funky Latin rhythms and raw energy is a safe bet to get people moving.
From Green Left Weekly, April 2, 2003.
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