Those things about Life and Music

DISCLAIMER: (The following is a fictional interview between a made-up foreign interviewer and the vocalist of the Venezuelan band Desorden Público (Translates to Public Disorder) Horacio Blanco (the h is silent btw, just saying). Anything written in here has got absolutely nothing to do with the artist’s actual thoughts and is done only for the sake of my education. Apologies for the possibly high inaccuracy of the content.)

Desorden Público

          

     

I'm walking on the streets of Caracas, capital of Venezuela. I can’t stop looking over my shoulder and the sound of the motorcycles flashing through the streets is definitely much more terrifying in real life. I am yet to see anything bad, but all the stories and statistics are hard to shake of one’s consciousness. I arrive at my designated café, take one more look over my shoulder and push the door open. The smell of Portuguese pastry is a refreshing feeling and it feels like I can finally calm down. Sitting on a table far back at the right, sitting next to a window from which you can see the Ávila Mountain I find my man, dressed in a simple red T-shirt and jeans, if it weren’t for his trademark spiky hair he would just be any other common guy. I get close and he gets up to greet me and while he shakes my hand says “Hello, it’s a pleasure!” in an accent that was better than I expected. I take a seat, we order a couple of croissants filled with ricotta and some orange juice. Once he’s asked me about my experience and I spoke trying to not speak too badly of this city I feared, we began our interview.

I: So Horacio, you have been the vocalist of Desorden Público since 1985. What was the drive to creating the band in the beginning?

Horacio Blanco (HB): We wanted to be as original as we could, which turned out into a ska band, a genre that’s pretty hard to come by nowadays. Within our music there is always a desire to “move” people. We have energetic music that makes people move their bodies, but also thoughtful lyrics that will make people move those neurons as well. We want to make people reflect about life so that they can live better lives and realize what are the problems that we all face, but we always try to give them something positive to think of as well; we don’t want people to get depressed (light laughs).

I: Yeah, many of your songs really do cheer people up, but not only because they’re cheery, but they are also quite inspirational. Are there a few that come to mind?

HB:  Well there’s the song El tren de la vida (The train of life) which is a very nice song to dance to. It talks about the “train” that we’re all in that takes us through life, you know, going through all the ups and downs and every bump we have to deal with. But as the chorus goes “El tren de la vida es una maravilla, el tren de la vida camina por los rieles de la alegría.” (the train of life is a marvel, the train of life walks on the rails of happiness) and music is always on the train. It just shows that life was made to be enjoyed more than anything, the circumstances are part of the track, so we just have to deal with it. 

I: Yes, that’s a very nice song. What about any songs that refer to social issues? I know you have a few…

HB: Yes, well in that same album there’s another song, Hipnosis (Hypnosis) that illustrates the human race as a bunch of “toys of the mind of the master.” The song makes reference to many social issues, but mainly that of giving your life just to get a bunch of things that you don’t need. In the song there is also a reference to Plato and Descartes, as we explain that “foreign ideas will not give you the key,” you know, you can’t rely on anyone to free you from your own demise. It is meant to make people reflect on their condition so that they can make their lives better. Another good one is the song Los Contrarios (the contraries) which deals with the issue of discrimination of ideas in a rather sarcastic way, since the song is sung from the perspective of a man who seems to be the most intolerant person in the world. It is meant to make people think about how other people’s ideas must be accepted and not just thrown away, you know? Well, I could say some others, but you have like a word limit you have to stick to right? (Laughs)

I: Hahaha, yes you’re right. Ok then let’s wrap it up with this last one. I know it’s a delicate one, but can you tell us a bit about your songs with political issues in them? If it’s not much of a problem…

HB: No, it’s absolutely fine, there’s no need to apologize. It is the reality after all. In our first album the song Políticos paralíticos (Paralytic Politicians) is a song that talks about all the things that the government does to us. All about how they steal from us and only care for us when the elections come around. It has strong language in it, you know, a couple of swear words, to just show how serious the issue is. We also put in a sort of speech in the song that is an exaggeration of how ridiculous politicians often sound when they speak, even with the bad grammar that some of them actually have sometimes. Even though the song was released in 1985 when we debuted, it is still an issue that, sadly, plagues various countries around the world. This one along with other songs like Política criminal (Criminal Politics) and Llora por un dólar (Cry for a dollar) all help put out that message that everyone must realize about the way the world works.

I: Indeed… Well, I think we’re almost out of words (laughs). Any last messages you want to leave?

HB: Well just a shout-out to all our fans and all our supporters out there. Always remember to enjoy life and don’t forget to dance and sing and have fun. 


Links to the songs:

• El Tren de la Vida (the train of life): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AubryTCsSPc
• Tierra de Gigantes (Land of Giants): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgJPLDlYUdc
• Hipnosis (Hypnosis): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kC5LnPuExJc
• Los Contrarios: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBhEH0jtkQg
• Políticos Paralíticos (Paralytic Polititians): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSOYeu3j8Ys
• Política Criminal (Criminal Politics): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cloV9I6tBQI
• Llora por un dólar (Cry for a dolar): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBG-UEA5hPg