The Guevara Convention (by Dave Watts & friends)

October 9 2007 is the 40th anniversary of the death of Ernesto ´Che´ Guevara. Since his image, writings and influence has spread across the world, the thought of putting a compilation album to commemorate his life has been in my head for a few years. Our small team has tried to get record company interest in this but it has not materialized, which in reality is how it´s supposed to be, and i was stuck in the mental time-zone of CD format ideology. Use what is at my fingertips,

I think Ernesto´s sense of care for the people of Latin America (and beyond) especially after his initial travels around the continent where he got to see first-hand the subjugation of a people by the USA and it´s excessive greed, is something that many people are still living with today, and it seems that things have only gotten worse with it´s influence and misuse of power growing day by day.

So I am writing to you because I think you could contribute in some way, with art, words, music, ideas, suggestions, distribution, whatever….

The project would be a compilation album with music inspired by ´Che´ and/or the revolutionary spirit that he embodied. The contributions do not have to mention ´Che´ directly, but it´s the spirit for humanities well-being and desire and efforts to bring about a change in our status, conditions and environment that he and thousands, millions of others had worked tirelessly for.

“Above everything, be always capable to feel deep inside any injustice committed against anybody anywhere in the world.”

Ernesto ´Che´ Guervara.

In this day it makes sense to use the internet as an avenue of our collective expression. The plan now is to upload at least one piece of music, image, essay, etc. a month running over the year, starting from next week October 9 to be precise as that was the day Che was retired as a living human.

Running the project online instead of a ´traditional CD release´ gives us the opportunity to maintain a continuous flow of contributions to stimulate, exchange interest, ideas, create bonds & links, provoke, engage, inspire, maintain momentum. Words, Music, Visual Stimulants, Sound.

Through the internet, some of us have the ability to ´make friends´ with people we have never met and will most probably never ever meet. However through some of our ´friends´ we have learned of something that we had no knowledge of previously, and through some of these ´friends´ meaningful relations have flourished and connections made. My point being that our knowledge base is constantly expanding and contributions can arise instantly and uploaded as soon as one wishes and hence shared. So with this in mind, we can dispense with the limited ideology of a CD and it´s restrictions, imagined or real.

History appears to be filled with a continuous flow of stories of rebellion against tyrannies large or small, that hold no regard for the fact that we all came onto the earth in the very same manner as the those next door or across ocean´s and therefore entitled to a life without the enforced burdens laid upon one´s shoulders down by whoever thinks they are “The Man” and governments of ill repute whose icons parade as saints and saviors.

The Guevara Convention is a space where to express the revolutionary change that we seek….or maybe i just need to lighten up a bit and read Hello / Hola.

John Hutnyk wrote this and inspired the title. Which leads to issues surrounding the iconic status and state of reality, which is something that DJ/ Rupture has said he would like to tackle in his contribution.

It is my wish that you still see something in this for you to contribute to and be part of.

We have also had positive response from Indigenous Resistance, Coldcut, Filastine, Las Ratas, Fermin Murguza, Clandestino (artwork), Dr. FDM, Dr. Das, Ramjac, Sandy Hoover and Los de Abajos. Shaheen, who was in S.African hip hop pioneers Prophets of da City, is now residing in Toronto, doing a university thing on hip hop and politics is now onboard also. Shaping up nicely.

All the beats
Dave

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