Would You Have Eaten The Cake?


Painful Cake | Uploaded by Pontus Raud

Sweden Cultural Minister eats “N--ger Cake”.
News Rescue | April 18th. 2012

NewsRescue- Sweden once again tops the misogynistic and racist charts with a tasteless event in which the Swedish cultural minister sliced and ate from the “N--ger cake” as pictured.

DailyMail- Sweden’s culture minister today faced furious calls to resign after she was pictured cutting a ‘racist’ black cake designed like an African tribal woman.

Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth had appeared at the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm when she was invited to cut the cake which was designed like a naked African woman.

The Swedish minister cut pieces from the black cake, which had blood-red sponge and was designed to highlight the issue of female genital mutilation.

Despite the intentions of the bizarre cake, however, critics described it as a ‘racist spectacle’, and demanded Ms Liljeroth resigned for participating in the ‘tasteless’ event.

The 'artist' who made the cake appears above. Many regard it as an attack against Blacks, Women and humanity.

The Association for African Swedes said the cake was a crude racist caricature which ‘makes a mockery of racism’.

Kitimbwa Sabuni, a spokesperson for the group, told Swedish news agency TT: ‘To say that you did this for a good cause only makes the mockery of people who are victims of racism and of circumcision worse.’

Mr Sabuni told a Swedish newspaper Ms Liljeroth’s participation in a dubious event with cannibalistic overtones showed her ‘incompetence and lack of judgment’.

NewsRescue- Mixed race Tetti describes racism in Sweden:

I heard from my sister (who’s also in a mixed race relationship) that she sometimes does get comments (funnily enough mainly from the Turkish community) directed at her and her kids. If she gets any comments from Swedish men, it’s usually ”Javla blatte alskare” (for those of you who are not familiar with that phrase it’s something along the lines of "You bloody “n….” lover basically, not very nice!)

Makode Linde, the artist who came up with the cake, had placed his own head at the top of the cake and said it had been misunderstood.

Sweden's Cultural Minister eats the N--ger Cake

The black cake, part of an exhibition on World Art Day, was intended as part of the artist’s project illustrating degrading stereotypes of black people through history.

Liljeroth, whose photograph cutting a piece of the cake was widely shown in Swedish media, said she understood why people would be offended by the incident.

She said in a statement: ‘I was invited to speak at World Art Day about the freedom of art and its right to provoke.

‘And then they wanted me to cut into the cake. I don’t review art, but I can very well understand that this whole situation was misunderstood.’" SOURCE


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A Note From The Gull

I am going to deliberately spin this into a tale of a triumphant, Anancy-like, black, Swedish artist, a consummate trickster who sat in his studio one day while the broadest, wickedest grin slowly cracked his face. "Aha!" he thought, "I will capture white Swedish people eating black cake. Art will imitate colonial/neo-colonial life but this time the feasting will be televised!"

We have been told that this cake was supposed to have been created to highlight the problem of female genital mutilation, so many have been left scratching their heads, if not wanting to scratch out the artist's eyes, over what was eventually produced. Could it be that the artist in fact cunningly killed twenty birds with one stone?

Did this black artist set the scene so perfectly for white people to be recorded devouring, genitals first, a cake portraying a stereotypical, black, tribal woman, while its live head [actually the artist's head] screams in pain every time another slice is carved out? Could he have known that the real icing on his artistic effort would be the documentation of this cutting and grinning and eating. Did he envision the ensuing recordings of the black female's cries of agony eliciting only laughter from the white carvers and eaters? Could this be viewed instead as a brilliant reversal of the role of cannibal assigned most often by the popular insider to the unpopular outsider-other? Or is it an uncovering of the fact that "cannibalism" of any sort is universal wherever the powerful [the too comfortable beholder] and the weak [the immobilised object] collide? Did anyone understand that the revelations were not just in the display of the work but in the manner in which the audience interacted with the work?

Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth actually said that she understood why people would be offended by the incident. She understood? Really? When exactly did this epiphany occur? Was it before she grinned and initiated the clitoridectomy or after the howls of protest reverberated around the world. In another photo of the event she appears to be feeding the cake's head a piece of its own body. Was this choreographed? Was the message that becomes forever the caption for this image "Let me cultivate in you a taste for self-mutilation or mutilation by others." or "Let them eat cake! or "There ain't no pain that a little cake won't cure"

By the way, the Museum of Modern Art in Stockholm where this work was displayed had to be closed two days after the exhibition because of a bomb threat. According to the reports it was unclear if the bomb threat was related to this particular exhibit but someone was obviously not amused by something that this museum had allowed.

So, would you have eaten this cake? If you were the Minister of Culture and you had been brought face to face with this and asked to cut it or comment on it, what would you have done? Although most of us will never really know what was in the artist's mind when he created this, can the success of a work be also be judged by the volume of thought and discussion which it generates? Does the beholder's response, whether negative or positive, add value and does it become an integral part of the work?

Richard Bolai, may you rest in peace, that is, if you are not busy, as I suspect, continuing to BE Art elsewhere, but where are you tonight? I would have loved to ask you for your thoughts. Something tells me that you would have understood this work completely.

"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Gaddafi [Song]



Uploaded by GhanaMusicDotCom
GADDAFI
By Blakk Rasta ft. Fiifi Selah

Alright, this is a special one… alright
Vampires, hypocrites and parasites, unugwey!
Rest in peace Muammar al Gaddafi, my hero... Huh!

Ay yay, ay yay, ay yay, ay yay-yay-yay-yay-yay, I cry
Gaddafi, Gaddafi is gone…oh no, oh why?
Ay yay, ay yay, ay yay, ay yay-yay-yay-yay-yay, I cry
Gaddafi, Gaddafi is gone…oh no, oh why? Gaddafi oh.

He was my bredda, my father and my friend [Oh why? Gaddafi oh]
So tell me why and how and who? [Oh why? Gaddafi oh]
He was a man so strong and bold [Oh why? Gaddafi oh]
So Bismillah al-Rahman al-Rahim, [Oh why? Gaddafi oh.]

They were the best of friends Zapatero, Berlusconi and Sarkozy of France
Eat, dine and bunga bunga and flock together, they did like birds
Handshakes of treachery, hypocrisy and jealousy soon flooded the press
Popular uprising in Tunisia, Syria and Egypt rustled the nest
They planted rats and cockroaches to rebel against Gaddafi
And cause a blunderous historical mess
In a twinkling of an eye, the eating, the dining
And the bunga bunga must be suppressed
And the birds put together to rest
Having been replaced by drones from America, Italy, France and the rest... Huh!
What a shame! It’s a shame! A big shame! Kai! A shame! Yes!
While the toothless bulldog of an African Union sat and watched so powerlessly
Libya was ransacked by mafias and ninjas so vehemently
What was his crime?
He wanted the African currency for his oil
He wanted to pay the price
He was slaughtered like a dog on his own soil
He rejected the Arab League and flocked with his African identity
He regretted his past and wanted to see Africa in total sanity
Muammar Al Gaddafi was a threat to western, hypocritical capitalists
Free food, shelter, healthcare and education, he gave to his people
As a champion of all African socialists. Huh!

Ay yay, ay yay, ay yay, ay yay-yay-yay-yay-yay, I cry
Gaddafi, Gaddafi is gone…oh no, oh why?
Ay yay, ay yay, ay yay, ay yay-yay-yay-yay-yay, I cry
Gaddafi, Gaddafi is gone…oh no, oh why? Gaddafi oh.

Who pulled the trigger, tell me, who killed Gaddafi?
Who pulled the trigger, tell me, who killed Gaddafi?
Who pulled the trigger, tell me, who killed Gaddafi?
Two wrongs don't make no right

Nation ah rise against nation, I ah see in ah Ible Revelation
Babylon supports the rebel commotion causing economic degradation
Africa take care of your problems!

We no need no NATO fi come solve them
Kill Gaddafi and you think you done?... Oh no!
You ignite the fire in African son...
Tell me! Who pulled the trigger, tell me, who killed Gaddafi?
Two wrongs don't make no right.

Ay yay, ay yay, I cry ay yay, ay yay-yay-yay-yay-yay, I cry
Gaddafi, Gaddafi is gone…oh no, oh why?
Ay yay, ay yay, I cry  ay yay, Murderers! ay yay-yay-yay-yay-yay, I cry
Gaddafi, Gaddafi is gone…oh no, oh why? Gaddafi oh.

He was my bredda, my father and my friend [Oh why? Gaddafi oh.]
So tell me why and how and who? [Oh why? Gaddafi oh.]
He was a man so strong and bold [Oh why? Gaddafi oh.]

Source:
The lyrics posted on this blog are often transcribed directly from performances. Although it is my intention to faithfully transcribe I do not get all the words and I have a knack for hearing the wrong thing. Please feel free to correct me or to fill in the words that I miss by dropping me a message via e-mail. I'd be forever grateful. Thanks in advance!
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 A Note From The Gull
 
Thank you, Blakk Rasta. Coming to us all the way from Ghana, you have found the least painful way for me to reflect upon the assassination of Muammar Al Gaddafi. My heart and lips have been sealed. Nothing else that anyone has said for or against that act has been able to penetrate the deep silence that my mind instinctively erected around this event. I forget nothing though, not the reports, not the photos, not the videos of his horrific end. I suspect that many others felt the same in silence and no matter what our opinions were about the man we would never, even in our basest moments, have reacted like this.  But this is precisely what is now lurching towards Syria and nothing apart from what happened to Saul on the road to Damascus will stop the beast.

"I the lonely bedouin..." Tribute to Muammar Gaddafi (English version) | Uploaded by shap0chka

Muammar Kaddafi Great speech with English subtitles. | Uploaded by vormanokarol
"I am calling to the millions of people from one side of the Sahara desert to the other. And I will march with the masses to purge Libya, inch by inch, house by house, street by street, individual by individual until the country is purged of all impurities. We will not allow to Libya to be lost for no reason. .... Would you believe the ------ about my going to Venezuela? As if I would leave the remains of Abdelsalem Abu Mynar fallen martyr in 1911 and go to Venezuela? (Gadhafi's grandfather died resisting Italian invasion.) Would you believe this? Didn't they just lie to you saying that I have left for Venezuela? Well. ... Here I am! Arab news networks (Aljazeera) are your biggest enemy. They are gloating at you, they want you to destroy your oil wealth, destroy your freedom, destroy people power, destroy Libya. Who will no longer be a world fortress. They are wrathful towards you. This is why they are doing what they do. God bless you my brothers in Qatar. God bless you my brothers in Qatar. (sarcasm) Is this the end of the journey? Is this the communion we shared? Is this the brotherhood between us? You bring your oppression and all things upon us? Instead of being on our side, you decide to be against us? In whose interest? By God, in whose interest? You may regret it one day... when regret will serve no purpose... He who lives in a house made of glass shouldn't be throwing stones. Who do you think you are? The hour of hard work is upon us. The hour of our march is here. The hour of our victory is here. No retreat. Forward we go. ... Forward we go. ... REVOLUTION! REVOLUTION!"
"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Motivos Llaneros [Song]


Uploaded by Papuchitovzla

MOTIVOS LLANEROS
Composed by Eneas Perdomo
Performed by Presidente Hugo Chávez Frías ft. Cristobal Jimenez

Sobre el espejo del viento voy mirando la sabana
Y no soporto las ganas de decirle lo que siento
A la llanura apureña patrona de mis cantares
No hay llano como el de apure, el guarico y sus palmares
Donde la copla llanera sigue su trocha incansable.

On the mirror of the wind I am looking at the Savannah
And cannot resist the urge to tell her how I feel
To the plains of Apure, patron of my songs
There is no plain like the Apure, the Guarico and its palms
Where the couplet of the llanera continues its relentless trail.


Tu sabes que soy tu hijo llanura venezolana
Y en mi mente se retrata tu belleza soberana
Cuando voy por tus caminos la soledad me acompaña
Le presto mucha atención al susurrar de las palmas
Que juguetean con el viento como novios que se aman.

Venezuelan plains, you know that I am your son,
And in my mind, your sovereign beauty is portrayed
When I travel your trails, solitude accompanies me
I observe closely the whispering of the palms
That play with the wind as couples who are in love.


El rojo sol de la tarde sobre mi llano coplero
Borda paisajes de encanto pinta de gris el estero
Nubes de color azul cruzan el cielo llanero
Una bandada de garzas van con rumbo hacia el Garcero
Llega la noche serena y tiende su manto negro.

The red sun in the afternoon above my savannah balladeer
Across charming landscapes, paints in grey the estuary
Blue clouds cross the savannah sky
A flock of herons fly noisily towards the Garcero
Serene night arrives and tends his black robe.


Adios mi llano querido me voy pero pronto vuelvo
A recorrer la sabana para avivar los recuerdos
Que dejastes en mi mente desde que estaba pequeño
Cuando estoy lejos de ti con más cariño te quiero
Fuiste mi mejor maestro en la escuela de copleros.

Goodbye my dear savannah, I am going but returning soon
To cross the savannah in order to revive the memories
That you left on my mind from when I was a child
When I am far away from you, I love you more dearly
You were my best teacher in the school of the copleros.


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A Note From The Gull

Thank you, Presidente Hugo Chávez Frías, Cristobal Jimenez and Eneas Perdomo. Thank you Venezuela for inspiring your people to produce what is now an astounding collection of songs which sing the praises of your land...and not just hackneyed lists of its features but truly sincere, loving and often passionate declarations of the intimate relationship between the natural environment and those who have lived their lives surrounded by it and have experienced its imprint on their souls. I especially love El Presidente's rendition of this song. The llanero in him is never far away and he has never disowned this heritage.

El Guanaguanare wishes you, "Salud, salud, salud y siempre la música!"

"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

No Entry [Song]


Uploaded by RIZON001
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A Note From The Gull

Thank you, Rizon, for using your talent to promote a positive message. You remind us of that occasion when the usually peace-loving Christ also drew the line and fashioned a whip to drive the moneychangers and merchants out of the temple.

He also promised this fate to those who exploit children:

"But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea." -- Matthew 18:6

"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Alice Miller On Society's Abuse Of Children

Things for us to think about as we focus on addressing the problem of child abuse and the wider problem of violence (and the connection between the two) in our country.


"The Roots of Violence" By Alice Miller | Uploaded by projectEnlightenment

See the text version of Roots of Violence and other flyers by Alice Miller, including the one below:

How is Emotional Blindness Created?
21 points


1. The newborn child is always innocent.
2. Each child needs among other things: care, protection, security, warmth, skin contact, touching, caressing, and tenderness.
3. These needs are seldom sufficiently fulfilled, and in fact they are often exploited by adults for their own ends (trauma of child abuse).
4. Child abuse has lifelong effects.
5. Society takes the side of the adult and blames the child for what has been done to him or her.
6. The victimization of the child has historically been denied and is still being widely denied, even today.
7. This denial has made it possible for society to ignore the devastating effects of the victimization of the child for such a long time.
8. The child, when betrayed by society, has no choice but to repress the trauma and to idealize the abuser.
9. Repression leads to neuroses, psychoses, psychosomatic disorders, and delinquency.
10. In neuroses, the child's needs are repressed and/or denied; instead, feelings of guilt are experienced.
11. In psychoses, the mistreatment is transformed into a disguised illusory version (madness).
12. In psychosomatic disorders, the pain of mistreatment is felt, but the actual origins are concealed.
13. In delinquency, the confusion, seduction, and mistreatment of childhood are acted out again and again.
14. The therapeutic process can be successful if it is based on uncovering the truth about the patient's childhood instead of denying that reality.
15. The psychoanalytic theory of "infantile sexuality" actually protects the parent and reinforces society's blindness.
16. Fantasies always serve to conceal or minimize unbearable childhood reality for the sake of the child's survival; therefore, the so-called "invented trauma" is a less harmful version of the real, repressed one.
17. The fantasies expressed in literature, art, fairy tales, and dreams often unconsciously convey early childhood experiences in a symbolic way.
18. This symbolic testimony is tolerated in our culture, thanks to society's chronic ignorance of the truth concerning childhood; if the import of these fantasies were understood, they would be rejected.
19. A past crime cannot be undone by our understanding of the perpetrator's blindness and unfulfilled needs.
20. New crimes, however, can be prevented, if the victims begin to see and be aware of what has been done to them.
21. Therefore, the reports of victims will be able to bring about more awareness, consciousness, and sense of responsibility in society at large.
________________________________________
© Alice Miller, 1985. Excerpted with permission.

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"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Aaliyah...

I was going to include with this post, a photo of our latest murdered child but I couldn't. It occurred to me that in some ways the spotlight that is being placed on her now is as obscene as the cloak of silence/invisibility that enabled her abuser(s). Obscene, because it is more than likely that our outrage will amount to nothing.

Aaliyah was the closest that a child could come to being called a living doll. She was beautiful in appearance, with a sweet smile and clear and compelling eyes that were full of life. Looking at her photograph, I can only think of putting my arms around her little body to belatedly hug her and protect her. She was a small, innocent and vulnerable child who was used and abused in ways that would break, if not the body then certainly the spirit of an adult.

But she is walking away from all of us and our impotent outrage and distress to take her place among the host of other children who have been dispatched by this society. I regret to have to predict this but Aaliyah will not be the last to join them.

The sort of callousness that did not recognise or respect her humanity/divinity is not something that was just one lifetime in the making. This sin is generational and it will also be generations before it is lifted...and only if we begin right away to work towards that future.

Government offices and officials can only do so much. We are the ones, however, who have actually heard the cries and have seen the bruises and other signs of abuse. We continue to be the silent witnesses in our neighbourhoods and in our own homes. We have to stop pretending that it will all go away because "time longer than twine" or because we've delegated to God the task of "putting a hand".

If you know or suspect that anyone is being abused in your community, whether child or adult, DO SOMETHING. Doing something may include personal intervention where it is safe for yourself and/or the victim to do so or where you can actually make a difference. In all other scenarios where the situation is beyond your control or expertise, DO NOT HESITATE to involve the relevant authorities who have the resources to conduct lawful and professional interventions.

Relatives, neighbours coming forward after the fact can satisfy our desire for the details but they cannot reverse the tragedy which might have been prevented.

I posted the information below after Josiah Governor's death:

Abused children often show sudden and marked changes in behaviour that are telltale signs that they may be abused. Some behavioural signs to look for are:

• Withdrawal from activities, friends and family;
• Display of inappropriate/overt sexual behaviour;
• Unusual interest in, or avoidance of all things of a sexual nature;
• Visible sadness;
• Poor hygiene, unkempt appearance, malnourishment;
• Marked decline in school performance;
• Self-destructive or self-abusive behaviour or suicidal thoughts;
• Aggressive or disruptive behaviour; and
• Avoidance or dislike of visiting a particular relative or family friend.

Anyone who observes these behaviours in a child must notify the school principal/teacher/social worker in your community, or call
Childline at 131 or 800-4231. SOURCE


REPORT ALL FORMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE OBSERVED IN YOUR COMMUNITY!!


For victim, perpetrator and third party advice call the
National Domestic Violence Hotline
at (868) 800-SAVE (7283) for 24-hr telephone counseling, support and access to safe accommodation.

Call the police, even if you are more comfortable making an anonymous report.
Anti Crime Hotline: 555
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"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Dennis De Souza, Have I Told You Lately...


I Just Fall In Love Again. | Uploaded by edward spencer
Guyana-born international musician, Dennis De Souza dies.
Written by Denis Scott Chabrol
Demerara Waves | Saturday, 07 April 2012 22:38

"Renowned international musician Guyanese pianist, Dennis De Souza died on Saturday in Canada, ending a battle with Parkinson’s Disease, according to his son, Dennis Jr.

He was 77, two days ago.

His burial is tentatively scheduled for next Friday.

De Souza, who hailed from Mahaica, East Coast Demerara died at 8:18 AM in his sleep at the Credit Valley Hospital, Toronto where he had been a patient for the past two weeks.

The veteran musician, who last performed publicly 18 months ago, was suffering from Parkinson ’s disease and in recent weeks pneumonia.

Nearby his hospital bed were his two sons and one sister. The musician’s wife died two years ago.

It was kind of a long process before he actually passed away,” Dennis Jr. told Demerara Waves Online News (wwww.demwaves.com). He thanked friends and others who called and sent email during his father’s illness and passing.

Indo Caribbean World reported some time back that Dennis started playing the piano at the tender age of 9. "I finished a 3-year course in seven months and then went to a piano teacher, Mr Herman Faria. I loved to play popular music by Pat Boone, Jim Reeves, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, Dick Hayes and whatever I heard on the radio," he told Indo Caribbean World.

At age 20, he was booked to sail to England via Trinidad to study music composition. But Dennis had another interest also - cricket. "I fell in love with T&T and the ship sailed without me. I played cricket with Harvard and with Queen’s Park C.C. I was in the company of Willie Rodriguez, Ben Kanhai, Sonny Ramadhin, the Davis Brothers and Joey Carew," the musical stalwart disclosed.

One night after "a big victory," Dennis and his cricketing pals went to the Penthouse in Port of Spain to celebrate. "The resident band leader, Choy Aming, invited me to play the piano with his band. Because of the constant encores, people would not let me leave until 5:00 a.m.", he recalled.

This was still happening in T&T in a 2001-2003 stint at the Hilton Hotel where Dennis has just completed a 3-year contract.

So far, Dennis has played music on 15 albums (33 1/3 r.p.m). Only recently, he has worked on CDs, the last one, "Encounters," yet to be released by Denis Davids.

Dennis has also done recordings for CHFI in Toronto and Columbia Records. (USA).

Dennis prefers to play live music "as the crowd interaction gives me the strength that I need. I pick up on the feel of the audience."

Music to Dennis, is an international language which he says we can understand without the use of a dictionary.

He remembers his many tours abroad when he visited and played in 27 cities in Germany, the U.K, USA, France Switzerland, South America and most of the islands of the Caribbean archipelago.

"Yet, I have not done enough. I want to do a lot more compositions, the last being Pakarima," Dennis declared." SOURCE

De Souza dead at 77. …Trinis remember an icon, great person.
Trinidad Guardian online | Monday, April 9, 2012

"...Trini Tribute
Meanwhile, some of T&T’s musical stalwarts and icons within the entertainment industry remembered De Souza as a great person and a Trinidad icon. Gerald Agostini, popular radio presenter, who in his earlier days hosted a programme on Radio 100 called the Saturday Special, where he only played local music said in the early 1980’s and 90’s, De Souza’s CD was the best on the market.

Agostini said De Souza did a lot of popular cover tunes using different genres of music like latin and calypso. “He was very popular and was well known within the industry at the time. We were all friends. We made a lot of records,” Agostini recalled.

Mervyn Telfer said what he remembered best about De Souza was his personality. “He had a knack for imposing his personality on his music and connecting with his audience.” Telfer, who has been in show business for 60 years and a Trinidad Radio announcer in 1950’s described De Souza as a fabulous human being, a dedicated family man and the best pianist ever passed through the Caribbean.

Even though Telfer was caught off guard by the news, he quickly took a run down memory lane when De Souza was one of the featured acts at the restaurant at Holiday Inn now called Crowne Plaza hotel. “It was wonderful to go there to dine and dance to De Souza’s music. He could have played everything – ballads, pop, classical and romantic music,” Telfer said.

During his time in Trinidad, Tefler said he married a Trinidadian by the name of Angela Camps. After which, he went off to Canada, where he lived and recently died. Tefler said his deepest sympathy goes out to the De Souza’s family." SOURCE

 

Of My Hands | The Goretti Group With Dennis De Souza Trio | Uploaded by soulos45

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A Note From The Gull

Dennis, you gave generously of your hands and heart and mind and you will not be forgotten. Thanks for all your music. Esteja em paz.

"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Christus Resurrexit!


Uploaded by Soweto Gospel Choir | Oct 20, 2014

THINA SIMNQOBILE [We have overcome the Devil]
Performed by Soweto Gospel Choir

He's fleeing away
We have overcome him
We have overcome him
By the blood of the Lamb
We have overcome the Devil.
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"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Good Friday: Just As I Am [Song]


Uploaded by BarefootDreamer59

Mortem tuam annuntiamus, Domine.
Salvator mundi, salva nos, qui per crucem et resurrectionem tuam liberasti nos.

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"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare

Sunta Hai Guru Gyani [Bhajan]


Uploaded by mastkalandr

SUNTA HAI GURU GYANI
Lyrics by Kabir
Performed by Kumar Gandharva

Aa... aa...
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani
Sunta hai, hai, sunta hai, sunta hai, sunta hai, hai, hai
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani
Gagan me awaaz ho rahi hai jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani
Sunta hai, hai, sunta hai, sunta hai, sunta hai

The one anointed by the Guru, hears
Soft melodious, cosmic sounds saying


Paahile aaye, aaye, aaye, paahile aaye
Naad bindu se peechhe jamaya paani, paani ho ji
Paahile aaye
Naad bindu se peechhe jamaya paani, paani ho ji
Sab ghat puran guru rahya hai
Alakh purush nirvaani ho ji, nirvaani ho ji

Your soul originated from “naad bindu” [dot of celestial music]
And here you hoard water [referring to things which by their very nature flow freely]
The whole world says repeatedly, This is how it is and must be.
While Brahma is Himself without words. [noiseless]


Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani
Gagan me awaaz ho rahi jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani
Sunta hai, sunta hai, sunta hai, sunta hai

The one anointed by the Guru, hears
Soft melodious, cosmic sounds saying


Vahaa se aaya, vahaa se aaya pata likhaaya
Vahaa se aaya pata likhaaya
Trishna toone bujhai, bujhai
Trishna toone bujhai, bujhai
Amrut chhod chhod vishay ko dhaave
Amrut chhod chhod vishay ko dhaave
Khol de phaans phansaani ho ji, phansaani ho ji

Your soul arrived from There to an address in this world
For quenching its own thirst (desire for God)
But leaving Nectar you are drinking Poison again and again
Going in reverse, you now toss and turn in your own trap.


Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani
Sunta hai, sunta hai, sunta hai,
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani

The one anointed by the Guru, hears
Soft melodious, cosmic sounds saying


Gagan mandal mein, mandal mein
Gagan mandal mein gau biyaanii
Gagan mandal mein gau biyaanii
Bhoii se dahii jamaaya, jamaaya
Bhoii se dahii jamaaya, jamaaya
Maakhan maakhan santon khaaya
Maakhan maakhan santon khaaya
Chhaachh jagat baparaanii ho ji, baparaanii ho ji

The celestial cow [of knowledge] Brahman is milked
God makes curd for benefit of everyone
Knowledgeable, wise men reach for the creamy layer
Buttermilk is what the world remains content with.


Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani
Sunta hai, sunta hai, sunta hai, sunta hai
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani
Gagan me awaaz ho rahi hai jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani

The one anointed by the Guru, hears
Soft melodious, cosmic sounds saying


Bin dharti ek, ek, bin dharti ek mandal diisee
Bin dharti ek
Aa... aa...
Bin dharti ek mandal diisee
Bin dharti ek mandal diisee
Bin saruvar joo paani re
Bin saruvar joo paani re
Gagan mandal mein ho ujiyala
Gagan mandal mein ho ujiyala
Bole guru-mukh baani ho ji, mukh baani ho ji

Instead of seeing earth, see it as merely a sphere [planet]
Seeing a lake, understand it is nothing but water
Celestial sphere lights up [when one experiences this Principle]
So says the voice and words of the Guru.


Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani
Sunta hai, hai, sunta hai, sunta hai, sunta

The one anointed by the Guru, hears
Soft melodious, cosmic sounds saying


Oham, soham baaja baaje
Oham, soham baaja baaje
Trikuti dhaam suuhaanii re
Trikuti dhaam suuhaanii re
Iira, pingala, sukhaman naarii
Iira, pingala, sukhaman naarii
Iira, pingala, sukhaman naarii
Sun dhvaja phaharaani ho ji, phaharaani ho ji

Koham, Soham surround
Trikuti sacred land [relaxed inner self] is wonderful
Ida, Pingala and sukhmana energies flow freely
upon listening to devotional songs.


["Some say that when a child is born it cries, Koham-Koham which means Who am I? That is when the universe replies back, Soham. You are the same as I am."
Source]

Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani
Gagan me awaaz ho rahi hai jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni
Sunta hai guru gyani
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani

The one anointed by the Guru, hears
Soft melodious, cosmic sounds saying


Kahe Kabir, Kabir
Kahe Kabir, suno bhai saadho
Kahe Kabir, suno bhai saadho
Jai agam ki baani re
Jai agam ki baani re
Din bhar re jo nazar bhar dekhe
Ajar amar ho nishani ho ji, nishani ho ji

Says Kabir, Listen O knowledgeable, wise man.
Understand the world of "Agam" which works all day long with just a single glance to look after the universe. Un-moving and eternal remains that sign.


Sunta hai guru gyani gyani, gyani, gyani, gyani
Gagan mein awaaz ho rahi hai jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni, jheeni
Sunta hai guru gyani, gyani, gyani.

The one anointed by the Guru, hears
Soft melodious, cosmic sounds saying


Source: The lyrics and translation posted for this song were taken from the video Full Kabir Bhajan Sunta hai Guru Gyani Devanagari Lyrics English translations
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A Note From The Gull

Thank you, Kabir and Kumar Gandharva.

When I prefer silence, I find myself seeking out music like this. Part of me remains aware of what is going on in the world and even though there is no rest or silence in my unruly mind, I am compelled to remain mute. At these times, after beginning to write something, usually something snide or uppity or assuming the messianic, I find myself deferring to the persistence of the inner voice that quietly asks, "Are you writing this because you should or because you can?" And chastened, I step back into silence because the answer is, "Because I can."

If writing helped me, I would be writing as often as I could, and the same if I thought that my writing would help others. But I am aware of other writers/artists/heroes who are much better at spreading the good news and I owe them this much - that I should not carelessly and egotistically insert my nonsense at every opportunity to add to the ceaseless chatter that distracts others from clearly hearing and benefiting from their contributions, or from the deep silence which inspires and in which much good and unacknowledged work is being accomplished.

"Patria est communis omnium parens" - Our native land is the common parent of us all. Keep it beautiful, make it even more so.

Blessed is all of creation
Blessed be my beautiful people
Blessed be the day of our awakening
Blessed is my country
Blessed are her patient hills.

Mweh ka allay!
Guanaguanare