Contra-Dancing :)

My first time contra-dancing was challenging, but phenomenal. Considering I am not much of a dancer nor well coordinated, I felt very welcomed by the experts. I am very pleased with how well I danced and my overall experience. The steps were not too difficult to learn because the caller reviewed them several times before the actual dance. Although, numerous times I did forget the correct moves and got confused. I liked how the steps went along with the melody. That notion made it easier to learn. Everyone was so nice to me and encouraged me to continue dancing, even though I wanted to quit. Every time I had a new partner he introduced himself and told me a little about him. My favorite dance partner was Charles. He was very calm, supporting, and hilarious. He spun me around for fun when we weren't suppose to and gave me high fives when we were dancing with our neighbors. His enthusiasm in his voice when he said "jasmine" cracked me up. As I got the hang of contra-dancing, I felt more relaxed and felt as if i was not seen as the new girl. Throughout learning how to dance, I had some difficulties I had to oversee. Being 6'1" made it very challenging for shorter guys to twirl me under their arms. Not only did the guys raise upon their tippie-toes, but I also had to truly duck. Also, I struggled with making continous eye contact with my dance partners when I was doing the gypsy dance. I felt very uncomfortable and pressured. One time when I was not looking into a man's eyes he said, "look into my eyes, look at me, keep looking." I was thinking oh gosh, this is too much. My favorite part about contra-dancing was socializing with everyone and seeing my other classmates struggle. By consciously critiquing my classmates, I was able to personally grade my performance. In other words, I was not the worst dancer, I was pretty solid :) Because I was laughing so much with my classmates and my new dance partners my stomach had begun to hurt. I felt a sense of communitas with my classmates and the new people I met. I was very surprised when I discovered that contra-dancing is a workout. I did not think I would sweat because I never imagined it to be so long lasting and involved. I envisioned this type of dance to be slower with less movement.

I would gladly return to a contra-dancing session if I had nothing to do on a Wednesday night.  I was very happy to get a coupon that allows my second session to be free. However, if I attend, I would have to go with a group of friends to add joy to my experience. To be honest, I would really like to bring my sister. I think she and I would have an awesome time together. It would be a great way for us to bond and test each others' skills.

Contra-dancing definitely supports the values of participatory music. Everyone who makes an appearance at this event is expected to participate. Tonight, everyone was dancing or cheering on their friends. This type of dance is  least competitive, least hierarchial, and most democratic. Those who participated in dancing felt a sense of communitas with their dance partners or the melody of the music. The event was not judged upon the quality of the music, but instead the amount of participation. If there was a lack of participation, everyone would not have had such a great time and it would have been more difficult for individuals to find pairs. Contra-dancing forced everyone to interact with one another, socially bond. With this occuring, people made new friends, learned new dance techniques, and stepped out of their comfort zone. I am very happy I had the opportunity to go contra-dancing and feel very special that I have done something that I know my family and friends have not.

For Love or Money

 It is a fact that music has an impact on people. The sound of music can initiate a flow state and later cause mental and physical changes. There are numerous ways music can be created.  Instruments are not necessarily required to make music, rather music can be formed by singing and creative body movement. Music, both simple and complex forms, reveals many attributes of a person’s identity. The type of music an individual listens to allows others to grasp a sense of what kind of individual he is and how music is significant to him. The genre and language of the music depict the individual’s background. Music is a way of magnifying a person’s life because it portrays so many personal traits, experiences, and the lifestyle one may live.  Music is often a tool that enhances relationships among individuals and countries. 

 Music reflects the true values of societies. High fidelity is the most popular type of music in America. In this field, music is made to become a selling product and be widely distributed. This shows that America favors a capitalist society because money is the ultimate outcome. Many countries are studied because of their cultural, participatory musical aspects. For instance, Zimbabwe is known for its Mbira ceremonies because the music creates a spiritual connection that enables the people to talk to their ancestors. These countries value traditions that are least competitive, least hierarchical, and most democratic along with everyone participating to socially bond and form communitas. On the other hand, countries dominated by presentational music can use music as an escape route. Brazil and Indonesia use punk music as a way of coping with capitalism and the hardship of their economic status. The music that one society listens to can gain the interest of other societies. Music can cause societies to become more open and tolerant to others. It is capable of changing the way societies think within their providence and among the world. Throughout this change, communities locally and nationally come together, socially bond, adapt to new cultures, and create new music.

   A global citizen is one who is aware and accepts responsibility for how his actions and consequences affect others locally and nationally. He is attentive to worldwide problems and wants to help create solutions by taking a confrontational approach with a DIY attitude. The term global citizen can be broken down into two meanings. As a citizen, he is involved in various communities and wants to help make the world a better place to live in.  Secondly, he wants to benefit the lives of those who live elsewhere on the globe, not just his country. The truth is, I am a global citizen; we are all global citizens. It is the simple gestures we unknowingly do that make us global citizens. We all buy goods that are not from America and in doing so we provide an economic benefit to other countries. Economic benefits include employment and stability. Another example of being a global citizen is shopping at the Bloomington farmers’ market instead of Kroger or Walmart. We are respectfully and consciously deciding to purchase goods, knowing the money will directly reside with the owner and go toward his personal business or to the city. Shopping at a corporate building will distribute the money to many places instead of staying local. In addition, the farmers’ market produce that is grown locally prevents the process of another country shipping the food to us. This increases the quality of the food and saves money and time. 

  

  A great deal of responsibility is taken into the hands of a global citizen. The world needs more global citizens. With more global citizens, a greater impact can be made on society worldwide. However, doing the littlest thing is better than nothing. A global citizen has to do research or at least find a way to be notified of the greatest mishappenings or tragedies that occur worldwide. It is not a burden to have responsibility; it should be motivational to help the unfortunate. As a global citizen, we need to think carefully about how and whom we want to help.  Over time, as we see those who we helped evolve, we will feel a sense of gratitude and accomplishment. The number of global citizens is on the rise and will continue to have a positive impact on the world that we all live in. As global citizens, we are slowly learning from each other’s actions and getting more connected as we become a more powerful force upon society.

The Punks are Alright!

I am very happy I got to see the documentary film, The Punks are Alright. Not only did I learn about the lifestyles of Brazil and Indonesia, I also learned about the origin and popularity of punk. Creating your own punk band is an example of DIY. Punk is known for supporting the DIY attitude in Brazil and Indonesia as it takes a confrontational approach. For both countries punk helps develop community building. Not only are the two countries similar, but they are also very different. It was very interesting to step into the lives of Dolly and Heinrike. I totally underestimated the amount of love given to punk music and the struggles the people of those countries encounter.

Although my mental image of the lifestyle of Brazil is not totally accurate, the movie did change my perception quite a bit. Heinrike did an outstanding job of describing the city and the people. I had already imagined the people of Brasil suffering from poverty and crime being an issue. However,  I did not know that the drug trade was a major attraction for the youth. The children are living in a violent environment with negative influences surrounding them. Many of the people spend their money on drugs, whether they use them or sell them. Henrike has sympathy for the young kids' situations and is willing to help improve their lives. He taught at a school where kids are from a very violent part of the city. The school enables the youth to receive an education, learn English, stay away from trouble on the streets, and receive guidance. Many of the kids come come from a hostile background such as being raped by a family member, living with alcoholic parents, being sexually assaulted and many more unfortunate happenings. The children's history took me by surprise. Henrike believes anything can be punk. He considers the school to have a "punk" demeanor because it incorporates the do-it-yourself theory. The kids can be who they want to be and have the opportunity to excel in speaking English. So many students in Brazil cannot learn English because they do not have the opportunity. The kids at this school are blessed and also have access to work with computers. I was touched when I the kids' joyful smiles when Henrike entered the classroom. Religion was a very touchy subject and Henrike ended up not wanting to discuss it any further. I admire how he wants to keep his religious beliefs private. His tattoo of the Virgin Mary does have a lot of meaning to him. He is bothered by how much the individuals are quick to jump to judgmental conclusions about him. Religion is something that is not in favor of discussing in Brasil. The story of when he was in the church and older women made the sign of the cross towards him on their way out of the church was about being judged by people who do not even know you.

 Dolly's story really had me glued to the t.v. with all of my attention. The life of Indonesia is so much worse than what I expected. Overall, his interview made me want to appreciate more of what I have in life. It takes Dolly two hours to get to work and two hours to get home. His boss is verbally abusive even though he follows all of the orders respectfully. I felt so bad for him and was wondering why he did not speak with a more defiant tone in his interview instead of being so nice and sweet. Spending that much time commuting is ridiculous. It made me feel guilty for all the times I complained about being in 30 minute traffic on my way to work because it is nothing in comparison to Dolly. I was surprised that punk music is so popular in Indonesia for it being a violent environment. People love going to the concerts and participating in crowd surfing. I was speechless when I heard that the band, "Superman is Dead," sometimes can only afford to practice two times a year. The Indonesian government use to really be aggressive with the practice of punk and send people to re-education camps. That information truly shocked me because why should Indonesia do that when punk is not a bad thing, it is serves as an escape route for those who suffer from the cruel capitalism. I learned that Indonesia is the largest Muslim country. Like Brazil, they do not like to speak of their religious values. I found it very fascinating when I saw the people praying at the church. The church was packed, people were even gathered outside the church doors. In general, the people of Indonesia are economically stuck. They are at a crossroads of westernization and Islam. Some people are truly troubled by this two way path because it has led to the country being corrupt.

I do not struggle financially as much as those in Brazil and Indonesia. I do not suffer from starvation and am not pressured to participate in the drug trade. I am not living in a country that practices capitalism nor do I need to work in order to survive. Although my living situation is not like those living in Brazil and Indonesia, I have family in Cuba who has a similar lifestyle. My family in Cuba only makes 30 dollars a month no matter how many members are in the family. Cubans live in a communist society and if they do not work, they will become homeless and will not survive. I can also relate to those in Brazil and Indonesia by the need to express my emotions through music. For them, punk is a way of screaming in the face of society and releasing all their stressful emotions. Even though punk is not my preference of music, I use my taste of music as an outlet to escape from all my problems.  I agree that music can take me away from all my issues and help me come to my senses.

I find it interesting that my purchases of goods from America have an impact on those who live in foreign countries, such as  Indonesia. I see this concept as a chain reaction equation. If America benefits, the Indonesia benefits and if America does not benefit, then Indonesia does not benefit. America and Indonesia have a mutual relationship when it comes to producing and purchasing shoes.  Dolly is a perfect example for my scenario. He works in a Nike factory in Indonesia and makes $2.65 per day. The Indonesian government changes the labor law policies so they can get more laborers to produce more Nike shoes. The Nike shoes that I wear are made in Indonesia. Americans buying these Nike shoes made from Indonesia enable the Indonesians to stay employed. If Americans stopped making these purchases, the Indonesians would go unemployed because their factory would have to eventually shut down. This would then force Indonesia to become independent and create their own small company and thrive on their own instead of depending on America's help. The way I think of it is, when I buy a pair of shoes, I just saved the unemployment rate from increasing. If the factory were to raise Dolly's salary, then Americans would have to pay more for their Nike shoes. Now when I go shopping for things besides shoes, I will always consider how my purchase will affect the country it was made in.

Bloomington Farmers' Market

This is a map of the Bloomington Farmers' Market. There is a key on the map but just to clarify Black=sit down area, Red=music, Brown=the circle/family area, Purple=food/ info and political booths, and Blue=non food shopping in the community area.

                           This is a picture of a drummer who was playing West African Music.

 This is a picture of a really young boy playing music with his guitar. He had an amazing voice.

This was a lady who sold her hand made jewelry at the booth by the fountain. She was one of the people I interviewed.

 This was a lady who sold cheese. Her booth must have popular because I always saw a crowd of people at her booth.

Today, I had an awesome time at the Bloomington Farmers' Market. For my first time going to a farmers' market. I was really impressed. I was not expecting the market to be so crowded and have so many booths. People of all ages attended with their families or just themselves. I even saw dogs there. Now, that really took me by surprise. All the kids looked happy as they were listening or dancing to the music, playing with their balloons, observing their parents picking out food, or stuffing their own mouths with food. Occasionally, I saw kids crying because their parents would not buy something that they wanted. I chuckled as I witnessed those moments. The parents were trying to control their energetic children as they shopped. Adults carefully picked out the food whether they smelled it, looked for bruises, or were just amazed and grabbed a bunch of the product.

When I entered the market, I was first attracted to the joyful sounds of West African drums playing and lively dancing in the circle. The group that performed was called "Jiridon." There was a female dancer in a costume who danced her heart out with all different kinds of moves. She was very energetic and I could tell she was enjoying herself. I was fascinated by the manner in which the drummer used his hands to beat the drum. He was totally into the music as he played with undeniable passion. He also created a rhythm that was dramatic and fast. I noticed there was a sense of communitas between him and the music and people. He said, " I love seeing people get up and dance and sing-along." Even though he was playing on three different types of drums, he favored the Topalon drum. He told me that the Gouro people of West Africa  play the Topalon. When he took a break from playing, I noticed his hands looked hard and had many blisters. He let the kids play on his drums and even taught them a few beats. He learned to play from his teacher, Dr. Djo-Bi. Because the drummer was so skilled, I assumed he had been to West Africa and learned there as well. In fact, he said he has not had the opportunity to go, but if he had the chance, he would take it in a heartbeat. This music belongs to the presentational field. The musicians were providing music for the audience and everyone else was shopping as they sustained the people's interest through sound. They previously rehearsed the music numerous times with Dr. Djo-Bi before they presented it. The interaction of the audience included numerous kids and adults dancing and singing with great enthusiasm.

Of course that was not the only presentational music I saw at the market. I was intrigued by the different types of music being played at the market. It would have been boring if the music lacked variety and was all the same style. Each artist or group passionately played their music and had a bucket for people to give tips to the musicians . It made me happy to see people give tips because the musicians deserved it. I was taken by surprise when I saw a confident boy, who appeared to be in middle school, playing his guitar and singing. I never expected someone that young to play in front of so many people in such a busy atmosphere. I also heard hippy/country music performed by a group of guys using the guitar, base, violin, and banjo. I was really interested in the man who sang songs about heartbreaks as he used his guitar. I wonder if his music was an index for the past heartbreaks he might have experienced or perhaps he was just making it up. More importantly, his lyrics to his songs symbolized sadness and pain. Across from this artist were two guys playing Indy-folk type of music. They have been playing at the Bloomington Farmers' Market for seven years. Around the corner from these two individuals was another pair of guys using guitars to play country music. One of them had a harmonic instrument connected to his guitar so he could play both at the same time.

Before interviewing musicians, I thought any musician could show up to the market, find a spot, and play his music. I learned that there is a process that musicians must go through if they want to play at the market. There is also a limit for how many can perform. The market assigns spots and allows three soloists and two groups to play.

The market contained all different types of food from many different locations in Indiana. Many of the booths had the name of their farm or organization on a hanging banner. The prices of the products were so reasonable. That is one of the many reasons people shop at the market instead of making similar purchases at Kroger or Marsh. In addition, the market provides fresh produce and organic food. People like to know that the food they're buying is clean and healthy. A lady explained to me, " I like to know that the sellers are actually doing what they say they're doing to their food. At other stores, they could be lying to me.The market ensures me that the food is safe." The produce reflects the culture of Bloomington. The produce here shows a balance of the food being good, local, and exotic. The lady I interviewed has been coming to the Bloomington Farmers' Market for four years. Another lady I talked to mentioned the reason why she comes is because she has the opportunity to discuss with the seller how the food she buys is made or raised. As I walked around the busy maze, I saw a lot of fresh produce booths. The flowers being sold were gorgeous and well sized. It was interesting to see a honey booth with a variety of ways honey could be consumed. There were jars of honey, honey sticks, honey mustard and even soap with honey. I did not see a lot of meat at the market besides a sausage and lamb booth. The cheese looked so delicious and fresh. I saw bags of popcorn being sold and they smelled so sweet. I laughed when I saw a coffee booth. They sold different types of coffee beans and even made hot coffee for the people.

I noticed that EVERYONE at the market was friendly. The musicians eagery shared their history of how they developed a sense of communitas with their style of music and even invited visitors to attend one of their gigs elsewhere. The people who sold products at their booths wanted to satisfy their customers so they would come back and keep purchasing. Those walking around with their families and friends suggested and encouraged others to visit specific booths and make certain purchases. Some of the kids even said "excuse me" when they were trying to get by me. The Bloomington Farmers' Market is a wonderful, safe atmosphere with happy, respectful people. In spite of the crowd, I found it interesting and pleasing that I never saw the police walking up and down the aisles.

The booths that did not sell food, flowers, or any other products were booths that wanted to benefit the community. For example, there was a Democratic party booth. The people at this political booth explained that they believe in a diverse culture, express the social values of the community to others, and give people the opportunity to participate in the democratic actions. There, a man said, "we are here to find the concerns of our democrats. We then take those concerns, get the email address of the individual, email the concern to the mayor, and then the mayor will email the citizen to discuss the concern." I thought that was an amazing gesture to benefit others as well as the community. There were additional booths that didn't even sell anything, but instead wanted to spread the awareness of their project to the community.

There was an isolated section in the back of the market for customers who wanted to shop for arts and crafts. Every booth had artists that personally made the products themselves. Just hearing and speaking to those artists made me admire the time and work they dedicated to designing their goods. Booths sold jewelry, pottery, essential oils, woven baskets, mirrors, paintings, trinkets for kids and more. It was as if that section was its own little community. There was also a fountain in the area that enabled kids to touch and play with the structure. The lady from the pottery booth described to me the process of how to sell your arts and crafts at Bloomington's market. Each person must apply. She said, "this year there were about 300 people that applied, I think. When you apply, you have to send in pictures of your work. Only about 50 people were accepted this year through the hat drawing." The work in that area of the market was reasonably priced and very unique. 

The Market in general was a participatory environment. Everyone participated in making it a social function. The event was not judged on the quality of the music, but instead the amount of participation. Everyone who goes to the market is expected to enjoy themselves whether they listen to music, dance, or shop. The Bloomington Farmers' Market is most democratic, least competitive, and least hierarchial. Many of the people at the market felt a sense of communitas and socially bonded. I know that I developed a sense of communitas and socially bonded. I had a phenomenal time at the market and will always treasure this experience.

Studio Audio Art

Studio audio art is recorded music that is not expected to be performed live. The song "Cinema” by Skrillex is a representation of this type of music. It involves electro-acoustic music and very few people to create the product. It is culturally valued as a computer generated artwork with little human interaction that enables the artist to express him/herself through the usage of different sounds and tempos. Because it is such an abstract sonic artwork, people expect it to not be performed. A potential is that with very few lines the producer can make hundreds of different songs. It limits people to not seeing it in a live performance. Although there is a lack of social interaction, communitas can still be formed. 

 

High Fidelity

High Fidelity Music is music that is heard recorded, not directly live. It is an index of a live performance. The recording of the music promotes a feeling of liveness and is a product that will eventually be sold. It is culturally valued knowing that it will be produced in the future and make a profit. A potential is that the music is recorded using the highest technology resources. A limit is that the listeners are not able to see the artist live because it is a recording. Those who listen to high fidelity music expect the music to be amazing because the artist can use so many resources that can enhance the quality of the song. Rhianna is singing “Watch N’ Learn” as she is in the studio. It is a song that will be added on to her new album. The album will be sold and make millions of dollars. We are restricted to only hearing a recording of her singing this song versus seeing her at a live concert.  She adds amazing effects to change her voice and beat. We expect Rhianna to come out with amazing, fun songs because that is the person she has always presented to us in the past.

Presentational Music

Presentational music is when an individual or group of people provides music for another group of people. A separation between the artist and audience is present. This type of music expects the audience to focus on listening to the piece and the artists focusing on performing the piece to the best of their ability as they sustain the audience’s interest. It is culturally valued by judging the performance based upon virtuosity, the level of musical talent.  The first limit is that the artist is not at fault for the audience’s lack of interest and participation. The second limit is that the audience is restricted to not interrupt or distract the performers.  A potential is that the audience must interact with the performers by using the frame. The play, “Wicked,” is an excellent example of presentational music. The audience judges the play based upon how well the actors and actresses performed. When “Wicked” is performed, the audience is restricted and expected to be quiet except for when it is appropriate to clap. The actors and actresses have rehearsed the play numerous times to reach perfection. The potential is that they can portray freedom and expression through the use of their acting skills. The limit is if any audience loses interest is watching the play, the performers cannot be blamed because they are acting the plot that they did not write.

Participatory Music

Participatory music incorporates everybody participating in the action. The artist is not only executing his role, but the audience is joining in as well. The audience progressively joining in with the artist is known as a feathered beginning. Participatory events are judged based upon the level of participation. The level of participation determines how much fun the people will have. This music is culturally valued by everybody participating and becoming in synch.  A potential is that everyone can form a sense of communitas and socially bond. A limit in this type of music is the restriction of freedom and expression. A zumba class is an example of simultaneous participation of participatory music. The artist and the participants are  performing at the same time for a long period of time. The "artist" is the leader of the class and the "audience" are the participants. Everyone who attends the zumba class is expected to participate despite their ability to dance. Everyone not participating causes the class to not be fun and people will rate the class poorly. A feathered beginning occurs when everybody gradually participates at the beginning of class once they feel in control of knowing how to perform the moves shown by the instructor. Two potentials in zumba class are the strong presence of communitas and those who are excellent dancers have the opportunity to excel and show their moves. On the contrary, the leader does not have the ability to perform extremely complicated moves because all of the participants are not talented like the leader. They would truly struggle with those moves and then the level of contribution would die down. Another limit is that those who are excellent dancers are restricted to an easier level of dancing. 

HOLD ON....WAIT FOR IT.....AYEEEEE!

It's a Saturday and you got a 9 hour shift of work.  You may have stayed out too late having fun with friends the night before. You get up at 7:30 for your 8:15 shift of work. You're grumpy and slowly moving around the house getting ready. You may have stumbled once or twice walking around and didn't eat breakfast. Once you get in the car and begin driving you question how you're going to make it through the day. As you dread going to work, you turn on the radio and the song "Wannabe" by Spice Girls comes on. You automatically crank the volume up and start jamming in your car.
 This scenario has happened to me so many times. Sometimes I am not even tired,  sometimes  I am just bored or in a state of solitude.

"Wannabe" is a song that always makes me feel powerful and energetic. The song is an index of when I attended their concert with my sister when I was 7 years old. The Spice Girls were an hour late performing due to a technology complication. By that time I was irritated and grumpy. When they finally came on, I was ecstatic! I was filled with joy and began to dance and scream like crazy. The song "Wannabe" is a sign, the object is the concert I attended when I was little, my interpretant is   getting "pumped up."
                                        

"Get Pumped Up"

I like to listen to music to get focused and motivated before a basketball game.  Whitney Houston's song, "One Moment in Time" is a piece that truly asks for one moment in time where the individual can give everything he has to reach his destiny. This song is an index for when my basketball coach played it in the locker room before our championship state game. As my team and I sat on the benches listening to the song, my heart followed the beat of the drum and the sound of Whitney Houston's voice helped me visualize what I had to do on the court to help my team win the game. I felt a sense of communitas when I closed my eyes and listened to song. This piece definitely delivered its purpose because I was a basketball state champion that night.

Christianity

 I value that I can achieve all things through Christ and will be forgiven of my sins as long as I repent and continue to worship God. For 4th and 5th grade, my parents enrolled me in a private Christian school so I could be surrounded with more kids that have the same faith and morals as me. As a strong Christian, I have always tried to attend Church every Sunday or Wednesday. I pray everyday whether it is before my meals or at a random moment. I am currently reading the Bible in order to strengthen my relationship with the Lord and learn how to better my life.  The song, "He Still Loves Me," from the movie, The Fighting Temptations,  is a symbol of Christianity and an index of when I rededicated myself to the lord in church when I was a sophomore in high school. The song discusses the many hardships one has gone through and the sins committed, but in the end, God still loves him and turns the individual's life around. At that time in my life, my grandpa was diagnosed with cancer, my best friend attempted to commit suicide, and my dad was struggling with his business. I was a different person back then and was not as faithful to Lord as I should have been. The lyrics mention, "I'm not perfect yes I do wrong I'm tryin my best but it ain't good enough...cuz I ain't good enough but he still loves me." The piano in the beginning of the song serves as a melody of the struggles being encountered. The Choir in the background really echoes the key phrases in the lyrics. Beyoncé Knowle's voice depicts the pain felt through the rough journey.

My Cuban Ethnicity

Although I was born in Pennsylvania, I come from a latino background because my father was born in Cuba. My cuban ethnicity means a great deal to me. My childhood consisted of being around spanish music, learning how to speak spanish, and feeling joy from eating and cooking Cuban food. The popular Cuban song, "Guantanamera" by Celia Cruz, is an index because it reminds of all the good moments I had when I visited my family in Cuba for the first time. Out of the numerous times this song was played when I was in Cuba, my favorite time is when it came on while it was pouring outside for hours when I was at lunch with my family at "La Bodeguita del Medio." The restaurant was packed with people not only eating, but also using the restaurant as a shelter to avoid getting wet. My family and I just danced with random people we did not know and sang our hearts out. The fast beat tempo and projection from the singer's voice allowed me to feel a sense of communitas with the Cubans around me. Infact, since everybody felt a feeling of connectedness, we requested the song to be played again. Whenever this song is played in Cuba, it is a sign to get up and dance or sing.

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