Tag: Andalusia

The first time Rosalía was publicly called out for appropriating and capitalizing on cultures that are not of her Spanish origins came in 2018 with the success of her multiple Latin Grammy Award-winning album “El Mal Querer." Because music, even music created fully with the intention to entertain, is inherently political. It would be hard to argue when listening to the lyrics of “Con Altura," the title meaning with height in Spanish, that there is a political dimension to the song, but the politics of performance are at play. Why is Rosalía, and not a female artist who specializes in reggaeton, granted a feature on a J. Balvins song that was more or less projected to become an international hit? According to writer Angela Membrado, it is hard to find the line between appropriation and inspiration in Rosalía's work. In the case of “Con Altura”, the popularity of the song cross-culturally might introduce listeners unfamiliar with reggaeton to underrepresented reggaeton artists and give them an international spotlight. If that doesn’t happen, “Con Altura” will be another case where an artist capitalized off of an art form by a marginalized group — even though this is more often than not completely unintentional. Though Rosalía has a deep passion and respect for flamenco as an art form, flamenco and other flamenco artists have not received much further attention or acclaim on an international stage since the success of this album. Though reggaeton has wider international acceptance than flamenco, it is uncertain if the success of “Con Altura” will leverage underrepresented reggaeton artists. As George Orwell said, “The very notion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political position.” Politics are an intrinsic part of music and music-making, but it is up to the listener to decide just how much politics matter in their listening habits.

Sen. Dale Fowler, R-Harrisburg, and Sen. Neil Anderson, R-Andalusia, are sponsors of Senate Bill 3622, which is also supported by the Illinois Education Association. The legislation would reverse a change made in the state budget that lowered the threshold for when governments such as school districts would have to pay extra for end-of-career salary spikes from six percent to three percent, saving state taxpayers an estimated $21 million across all pension funds. The 3 percent cap was included in the 1,245-page budget that some lawmakers said they had little time to read before it was called for a vote hours ahead of a legislative deadline. The budget passed both chambers in May with bipartisan support and the 3 percent cap was touted as a reform. “All of this makes the teaching profession a less desirable career choice and ultimately lowers the quality of education our students receive.” Fowler, who voted for the budget bill that contained the reform explained his reversal in a statement on the IEA website. “This is why I’m sponsoring this legislation.” Messages seeking comment from Anderson and Fowler were not returned. She wants all pensions for future employees shifted to the school districts. “You’re never ever going to correct all the games that can be played against taxpayers until the taxpayers have to fund it all at the local level,” Ives said. “That’s what has to happen over time and you can do this in a reasonable way.” Both Fowler and Anderson are on November's ballot running for re-election. Ives said the measure is pure politics.