Happy Birthday Kurt Cobain!

Kurt Cobain was born February 20, 1967. He is best known as Nirvana's lead singer and guitarist. Growing up with musicians in his family he became interested in music himself at a very young age and was obviously very talented from the beginning. His life changed dramatically at the age of eight when his parents got divorced. Cobain hated the idea of not having the steady typical family he was used to and hated his parents for it. He first lived with his father and later moved in with his mother when he was in tenth grade. When he was about to graduate from high school he found out that he didn't have enough credits to graduate so he dropped out of school. His mother gave him two options to either get a job or he had to leave. One day he came home and found all his things packed in boxes and was homeless for a while staying over at friend's houses or on the streets.

Cobain's first step to becoming the artist he later was was when his uncle gave him his first guitar for his fourteenth birthday. He formed the band Nirvana when Krist Novaselic finally agreed to work with him. Their first major debut was in 1991 with Nevermind.

Kurt Cobain fell in love and married Courtney Love on February 22, 1992 after she found out she was pregnant with Cobain's child. Kurt claimed to be blindly in love with Courtney and that he would even give up the band just to be with her because that's how happy he was with her. They first met in 1989 at one of his performances where they talked for a bit afterward. They saw each other often after that and were involved in drug use together. After their daughter's birth, Frances Bean Cobain, on August 18 they battled with custody issues because they were labeled as unfit parents for their drug abuse. They ended up finally getting full custody of their baby girl.

Cobain was involved in drug abuse and alcoholism throughout his life. he suffered from chronic stomach problems that kept him from gaining weight and caused him physical complexes. He first tried heroin in 1986 and used it sporadically but by 1990 he was addicted. He claimed it relieved his stomach aches, but it was causing problems to the band since he was passing out during photo shoots and work. He attempted rehab in 1992 when he found out he would soon become a dad but, it didn't last very long at all.

There was history of suicides, depression and drug use in Cobain's family which, is part of the reason for his problems. His first suicide attempt was in 1994. After an intervention Cobain agreed to be institutionalized and started a detox program. He seemed well and happy there but soon escaped the institution and was missing for a couple of days. No one knew his whereabouts and was found dead at his lake house on April 8, 1994. He committed suicide by shooting himself at the chin with a shotgun. His death was said to be on April 5, 1994.

Cobain lived with an internal battle his whole life. He was never content with himself and he was his own enemy. That is to me the hardest thing for a person to ever overcome yet it is the easiest thing to hide from other people. This man was and still is one of the most famous musicians of the world and had everything anyone would want. Sometimes having it all isn't enough. There is so much more to life and happiness than having everything.

Guinea Pigs

Puerto Rico owns several surrounding smaller islands, Vieques being one of them. The island lies about 8 miles east of the Purto Rican mainland. This island is commonly known as a site of protest against the United States Navy and Marine Corps. As always the U.S. comes and goes as they wish in Puerto Rico and there is little or nothing we can do to oppose them.

During Worl War II the United States installed a military base in our island of Vieques with the intention of maintaining a safe British fleet just in case Germany was to prevail over Britain, this never happened. Instead the three fourths of the island acquired by the U.S. navy was used for target practice, to test explosives and to practice techniques. The residents of Vieques were always opposed to this because it brought many horrible side effects to the population, the flora and to the fauna of the whole island. Practice was conducted at certain beaches of the island which were off limits to the public because of radioactivity.

For years Puerto Ricans stayed calm and silently endured this but, in 1999 David Sanes, a Vieques-native and employee of the Navy was killed by a bomb dropped during target practice. This led all Puerto Ricans to start a protest against the U.S. Navy. In 2003 the Navy left Puerto Rico and Vieques clearing out the most important military bases of the island. Although this was what the population was asking for they didn't forsee the negative impacts it would have. Military bases, especially Roosevelt Roads, was extremely important to the economy of the town and of the entire island.


This is a perfect example of how the U.S. sometimes uses their power in very negative ways and don't even care about how it is affecting the population or place where it is happening. Cancer rates in Vieques are very high and it has been attributed to the usage of radioactive explosives in the island for so many years. Beautiful beaches have been destroyed and others are still off limits because they may contain active explosives.

A very popular Puerto Rican reggae band known for composing and performing songs of protest along with other genres wrote a song about this situation called "Bieke" and it calls out for the support and movement of the Puerto Rican population against the Navy. It calls for unification of the population instead of segregation.



"Bieke"
Cada cual es el juez de su propio destino (Everyone is a judge of their own destiny)
Y en este juicio no hay, no hay desigualdad, no (And in this judgement there is no inequality no)
Demando mi isla a dar luchando poco a poco (I demand my island to fight little by little)
Pues es como unico (because it is like unique)
Puede sobre llevar tanto embrollo (It can surpass so much debt)

And brother you're right
You're right, you're right
You're right
So, so right
Vamos haya (Let's go)
A luchar (to fight)
Vamos a luchar (Let's go fight)
A luchar (to fight)
Debemos luchar (we should fight)
A luchar (to fight)
Por nuestra paz (For our peace)

Natty dread yet in I
Bieke
Set it top in a
Bieke
Andi natty go there in a Bieke
Bieke
Borikua saliva recta Bieke
Bieke

No nos peliemos entre nosotros (We shouldn't fight between ourselves)
Unificados seremos mas, y poderosos (Unified we will be more and powerful)
Pronto sabremos quien (Sonn we will know who)
Comparte nuestra lucha de paz (Shares our fight for peace)
Pues yo no quiero que mi gente se divida no (Because I don't want my people to be divided)

And brother you're right
You're right, you're right
You're right
So, so right
Vamos a luchar
A luchar
Debemos luchar
A luchar
Vamos a luchar
A luchar
Por nuestra paz

Natty dread yet in I
Bieke
Set it top in a
Bieke
Borikua saliva recta Bieke
Bieke
I and I arriba recta
Bieke

And brother you're right
You're right, you're right
You're right
So, so right
Vamos haya
A luchar
Vamos a luchar
A luchar
Debemos luchar
A luchar
Por nuestra paz

Dividirse en bandos nos puede quebrantar (Segregation into different groups can lead us to failure)
Y en cada pecho un alma hay (And in every chest there is one soul)
Pronto sabremos quien (Soon we will know who)
Nos da una alternativa real (Wll give us a real alternative)
Pues yo no quiero a mi gente contra jah (I don't want my people against the Lord)
Por mercenarios no (Because of mercenaries, no)

And brother you're right
You're right, you're right
You're right
So, so right
Vamos a luchar
A luchar
Debemos luchar
A luchar
Vamos a luchar
A luchar
Por nuestra paz

Natty dread yet in I Bieke
Bieke
Set it top in a Bieke
Bieke
Andi natty go there in a Bieke
Bieke
Borikua saliva recta Bieke
Bieke
Marchando para Bieke (Marching for Vieques)
Bieke
Plantando bandera en Bieke (Planting a flag in Vieques)
Bieke
Reggae para liberar a Bieke (Reggae to liberate Vieques)
Bieke
Reggae para liberar a Bieke (Reggae to liberate Vieques)
Bieke

Puerto Rico has been negatively used and taken advantage of by the U.S. in many different ways over the centuries but, most people only see the positive things the U.S. does for us and call us spoiled. There has to be a balance and we all know that nothing is ever what it seems from the outside.

Seeking Identity

Puerto Rico, "The Island of Enchantment", was discovered by Christophe Columbus during his second voyage in 1493. It was a Spanish colony until July 25, 1898 when it was invaded by the United States and was ceded by Spain in the Treaty of Paris to the U.S. If you're not sure of the location or what exactly Puerto Rico is; it as an island located in northeastern Caribbean Sea and is the smallest of the greater Antilles. Puerto Rico is a Commonwealth of the united States meaning that it is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States. Since the invasion of Puerto Rico by the Spanish on the Arawak population that resided on the island, Puerto Rico ceased to shape and form their own identity. From then on Puerto Ricans, also known as Boricuas, were doomed to seek their identity in that of others.

Throughout history there have been people who have easily accepted the fact that some bigger and more powerful country has always controlled our island, but there is a smaller part of the population who have never accepted it. These people live their lives seeking independence to finally obtain the lives they dream of having. Ongoing petitions have been made by this group of Puerto Ricans yet they have never been successful. These people seek to finally have power over the destiny of our country and of our lives. These Puerto Ricans seek to finally set apart their home as a country instead of an island property of the United States. They wish to promote their own economic development by stimulating the island's agriculture and commerce. They also have the belief that when the brand of the U.S. be removed more foreign corporations will want to invest in Puerto Rico.

This struggle of power and the search for identity has been going on for centuries yet we have always been in the same status of commonwealth. Many local bands compose music about this dispute and hatred against the U.S. Fiel a la Vega is a very popular Puerto Rican band and most if not all of their music is about social criticism, protest and especially about Puerto Rico's independence.



Boricua en la Luna (Puerto Rican on the Moon)

Desde las ondas del mar (From the ripples of her sea)
que son besos a su orilla, (which are kisses to her shore,)
una mujer de Aguadilla (a woman from Aguadilla)
vino a New York a cantar (came to sing in New York)
pero no sólo a llorar (but not only to cry)
un largo llanto y morir. (one long cry and death.)
De ese llanto yo nací (From that cry I was born)
como en la lluvia una fiera. (like the rain a beast.)
Y vivo en la larga espera (And I live in the long wait)
de cobrar lo que perdí. (to recover what I lost.)

Por un cielo que se hacia (For a sky that would become)
más feo que mas más volaba (uglier the more I flew)
a Nueva York se acercaba (he came close to New York)
un peón de Las Marías. (a worker from Las Marias.)
Con la esperanza, decía, (With hope he would say,)
de un largo día volver. (from a long day return.)
Pero antes me hizo nacer (But before she gave me life)
y de tanto trabajar (and from working so much)
se quedó sin regresar: (she was left with no return:)
reventó en un taller. (exploited in a workshop.)

De una lágrima soy hijo (I am son of a tear)
y soy hijo del sudor (and I am the son of her sweat)
y fue mi abuelo el amor (it was my grandfather the love)
único en mi regocijo (only in my joy)
del recuerdo siempre fijo (from the stable memory)
en aquel cristal de llanto (in that cry)
como quimera en el canto (like a chimera in the cry)
de un Puerto Rico de ensueño (of a Puerto Rico from a dream)
y yo soy puertorriqueño, (and I am Puerto Rican)
sin ná, pero sin quebranto. (with nothing, but unbroken.)

Y el echón que me desmienta (The braggart who disproves me)
que se ande muy derecho (he should walk tall)
no sea en lo más estrecho (for he might pay his due)
de un zaguán pagua la afrenta. (in the narrow part of a street.)
Pues según alguien me cuenta: (As someone once told me:)
dicen que la luna as una (they say that the moon is one)
sea del mar o sea montuna. (it be from the sea or mountains.)
Y así le grito al villano: (Thus I yell at the villain:)
yo sería boricano (I'd be a Puerto Rican)
aunque naciera en la luna. (even if I were born on the moon.)

This song vividly portrays the pride and honor a Puerto Rican has of their country and how they would never consider changing their nationality. This is the reason why it is so hard to accept the culture and identity of another country. So we decide to refuse. No matter what we are our own and no matter what we will stick together against the outside influences that threaten our culture and our people.

Redemption

In 2005 the city of New Orleans was hit by a category 5 storm. Katrina left long-term devastating effects behind of which the city is still trying to fully recover from. Thousands of people were left homeless and lost everything they owned when the city was flooded and others were killed. The population that came back after the evacuation and has stayed in New Orleans has incessantly striven to bring back the city to what it once was.

The city of New Orleans has encountered very rough times yet when you come here their spirits always seem to be positive and joyous. It is one of the happiest and liveliest cities I've ever been in. After the hurricane New Orleans was shattered and left behind by the government of the U.S., yet they were able to make the best they could with what they have and moved forward. Work is not finished but they sure are moving in the right direction with the help of people who have dedicated their time to bring this great city back.



This year New Orleans is privileged to have one, if not the best, football teams in the nation. After 43 years of unsuccessful seasons and frustration the people of NOLA are proud to chant and cheer for their NFC champions, the Saints. This team has been the greatest thing that could have happened to this city. They have brought up the spirits of everyone and united the city once again. They have spread the feeling of hope and showed how anything can be done.

Sunday, February 7, 2010 is a date that will go down in the history of New Orleans football. This Sunday the NOLA Saints will play the most important match of the whole football season, the Superbowl. The population of Louisiana has united in the support of the team and many songs have been written and adapted to cheer on for this team as they head to this crucial game.