Raimon : Interview with Catalan Protest Musician

When I flew over to Spain to interview famous protest music artist, Ramon Pelegero Sanchis, better known as Raimon, I had many expectations. Touching down in Valencia, somewhere that is well known for endless sunny days, I learnt found many new things.To address my first expectation, it was an unusually foggy day in the small town of Xàvita, Raimon's home town and the place in which he had chosen for this meeting. We settled down in a small restaurant which he claimed to be among the best in Spain, and sure enough, despite its small size and outdated decor, it was completely full. I admired the way everyone around me spoke, in quick, warm Spanish, how they rolled their r's and how the words seemed to sound so energetic.

 Raimon began by looking back, rather fondly, at the first events in his music career. He talked about his days in university where he first began acquainted with the Catalan culture while studying history. He laughed wholeheartedly as he remembered the first time he sang at a public event, but commented that "it still got me to the place I wanted, I was invited to sing at an event in Barcelona". It is important to reference that, although Raimon remains humble about this fact, his style was strongly unique. Despite his influences from the Catalan culture, his style took a turn from the classic "French style" of popular Catalan music. He targeted his own community, the Valencian working class, in words of speaking up and expression. Raimon commented, "I spoke about issues I saw everyday, injustice, social inequality, and even school!" His work was not always political despite his image of protest singer, he mostly touched on real problems in his everyday world. These topics, while controversial, talked about everything from justice systems to media manipulation. "To me, it was important to talk about these things, I wanted to spread it to the world." And Raimon got to his wish, he made his way from Spain to Paris and Germany and later released an album in France. From there, he continued on to tour countries all around the world, from Belgium to Argentina to Japan. Through the years and between all these cities, he worked with many different music styles, "I had many different experiences, I really enjoyed working with the French avant-garde artists" he told me. When asked about music styles, he couldn't help but smile, "I had many, I even had an electronic music phase. But to me, it wasn't about how the music sounded, but the importance of getting the thought out". Raimon's discussion of real life issues allowed him to reach not only his community, but people all around the world. "Music is a way to reach people, to make them feel heard, to speak out, to bring these problems out in front of the world" he added. From his first lyrical piece, Al vent, To the Wind, he touches on the idea of us being born into a life that is full of grief. His music can perhaps be considered a form of relief for anyone within these struggles. A notable example is his song Diguem no, loosely translating to 'let's say no':

Now that we're together

I'll say what you and I know

and often forget:

we've seen fear

be the law for everybody.

We've seen blood

-which begets only blood-

be the law of the world.

No,

I say no,

let's say no.

We don't belong to that world.

We've seen hunger

be the bread

of the workers.

We've seen

locked in prison

men full of wisdom.

No,

I say no,

let's say no.

We don't belong to that world.

No,

let's say no.

We don't belong to that world.

As we can see, Raimon made a large impact on his community and was among the artists of his time that spoke out about issues. The whole time, in a unique manner that was able to reach people and help them relate. His major role in Nova Cançó ('the new song') allowed him to become known as one of the most influential protest musicians in Spain. And thanks to his powerful lyrics, he will be remembered for his development of Catalan music, and looked up to by many. 

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The Importance of Mother Tongue

As any bi-lingual (or multi-lingual) person would know, balancing more than one language is difficult. In an ever-changing world with languages developing and spreading each day, it can be even more difficult to stick to one's mother tongue. In things such as communication and the pursue of education or work, we often accustom ourselves to other languages. This means that we slowly lose our connection to our home language. In my opinion, our home language is extremely important as it forms a part of our identity. Language is such a major part of culture and most countries have a language, if not then a dialect, that is unique to them. Losing this is something that I consider to be sorrowful, as it allows an important part of us to slowly fade. Often, in a multicultural setting, our mother tongue may be the only thing that makes us unique to our home country, this is something that we should preserve.

Not only is language something that can form ties between you and others from your home country, especially in terms of communication, but it also forms a large part of your identity. Language is not simply about speaking to others, but it also forms a sort of intimacy between speakers. It can be considered a form of comfort as it may be one of the major things that remind you of where you are from. A language can connect you to a certain region, a dialect may even connect someone to a small area or city. It is an essential part of culture, of identity, of communication, it is considered the language of the heart. Since it is essentially the language we spoke growing up, it is associated with all the reassuring, colourful and endearing aspects of childhood and home. And, personal connections aside, it would be a dismay to loose all the beautiful, melodious languages of the world. They represent diversity, colour and contrast in the world and give each region a vivid and vibrant personality. It should be a source of pride for each one of us to preserve and pass on these languages.

Aside from this importance, our mother tongue plays a large part of our emotional and psychological lives. Speaking different languages allows us to be aware of different cultures and ways of living and to have respect for their traditions. It also allows us to make stronger social connections not only with other speakers of the language but also anyone around us. It allows us to develop our personality and to improve at communication with people, as well as form stronger relationships. Furthermore, is forms a strong basis for learning other languages. For all these reasons, it is important not only to learn one's mother tongue, but to also excel at it and use it regularly.

"Every language spoken in the world represents a special culture, melody, color, and asset and to everyone the mother language is certainly one of the most precious treasures in our lives."

Works Cited:
Guvercin, Hurisa. "Mother Tongue: The Language of Heart and Mind." The Fountain Magazine. N.p., July 2010. Web. 16 Sept. 2014.

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Introduction

Introductions have always been difficult for me, how can someone sum up themselves in enough words but make sure not to bore whoever is listening (or reading in this case). But here we go:

My name is Farah, I'm Palestinian, of Australian nationality, but I've lived in United Arab Emirates for my whole life. I was born in Sydney, but my earliest memory was in the city which seemed like the city of dreams, Dubai. And it was to me, the city of dreams, it was an unbelievable experience to be able to watch it go from desert with a few odd buildings to a city that can be described as one of the world's finest. I lived in Dubai for most of (and the best of) the years of my life before I moved to Abu Dhabi, and while it may be dramatic to call it a culture shock, it was pretty shocking. Moving only an hour's drive away, I had been placed in a place that was pretty different to what I've always known in Dubai, perhaps not in terms of the city, but in terms of the group of people that had moved into the city. That being said, I've pretty much been surronded by the same enviroment for my whole life, but the way i look at things changes all the time. With what would seem like a bland, never-changing surronding, I was able to watch things come and go, grow, and change in the same circumstance which held a certain familarity and made it less scary and more about learning. 

My family is Palestinian (or Jordanian, it doesn't really make any difference), and we are a naturally close family. I grew up surrounded by my family and they still remain a huge part of my life. The capital city of Jordan, Amman, has always been a point of reference to us, even if I hadn't really realized it before. It holds a sense of comfort that took me a long time to appreciate. Its play a major role in my long time love for culture, I've always found it to be one of the most important concepts of my life. Which brings me to my next point. 

This is my first week in the IB Diploma, and when I chose English Language and Literature, I did it in hopes of learning more about languages. Not just the language of English words, but also other languages such as culture. Language is a large part of my life, I speak fluent Arabic and English, and it has always been somewhat of a struggle to balance these two; but I've learnt about the importance of preserving your mother tongue, which to me, is Arabic. According to the dictionary, culture is about customs and social practices that are cultivated by a group of people. But I believe that its more than that, call me dramatic, but its more like a feeling than a defination. I think it's about the sense of comfort that you feel because you've been raised by these ideas and thats all you've known. It's about a point of reference that comes in terms of what you think about when you make a decisions. It's something that defines you, not in a way that it constricts you, but in a way that it makes you unique when you're among different people. It's something that makes you feel at home among the people close to you and your family. I know that many people feel the need to break away from their culture, I am not of those people. I identify with my Palestinian/Jordanian culture as well as the Emirati culture after living here for so long. And at this point, my goal is to continue my journey of learning about culture, language and identity. 

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