by Antonio Mejías-Rentas
Zack de la Rocha
WON’T PLAY: Rocker Zack de la Rocha is asking fellow musicians to join him and the likes of Kanye West, Calle 13 and Los Tigres del Norte in boycotting the state of Arizona over its new antiimmigrant law.
The Rage Against the Machine frontman released a letter criticizing the Arizona measure “that legalizes and sanctions racial profiling” and asking fellow musicians to refuse to perform or appear in the state.
“Fans of our music, our stories, our films and our words can be pulled over and harassed every day because they are brown or black, or for the way they speak, or for the music they listen to” reads the letter partially.
“People who are poor like some of us use to be could be forced to live in a constant state of fear while just doing what they can to find work and survive.”
The letter is co-signed by fillmmaker Micheal Moore and more than a dozen musical acts, including several Latino groups like Calle 13 and Los Tigres del Norte that have already decried the Arizona law. Others on the list include Juanes, Ozomatli, Café Tacvba and Cypress Hill.
Though not on the list, at least one prominent Latino musician currently on tour has cancelled an Arizona gig. Cuban-American rapper Pitbull said he will not perform the May 31 Phoenix date of his Mr. Worldwide’s Carnaval tour, because of the Arizona law.
BACK TO THE STAGE: The Tony-winning creator of In the Heights is once again taking the starring role in the musical for its upcoming five-week engagement in Los Angeles as part of its current national tour.
Lin-Manuel Miranda will sing the role of Usnavi, which he created
on Broadway, during most of the June 22-July 5 performances at the city’s Pantages Theatre. He is also recreating the role for a film version currently in pre-production.
“I’ve been itching to play with the tour cast since we began their
rehearsals last fall,” Miranda said. “I’m excited to play at the gorgeous Pantages Theatre. I can’t think of a better way to prepare myself for the demands of playing Usnavi in the movie version.”
Miranda conceived and composed the musical, which won four 2008 Tony awards, including best musical. In the Heights tells the story of one weekend in the lives of the mostly Latino residents of the New York neighborhood of Washington Heights, where Miranda was raised by his Puerto Rican parents.
ONE LINERS: Gabriel Vargas, the creator of La Familia Burrón, one of Mexico’s most-loved comic strips, died May 25; he was 95… Spanish actor Javier Bardem picked up the top acting award at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance in Biutiful, by Mexican filmmaker González Iñárritu..on his first U.S. tour in 30 years, Cuban singer-songwriter Silvio Rodríguez performs two dates in Carnegie Hall next month, as well as single concerts in Oakland, Los Angeles, Washington and Orlando.
Sobreviviente, a tiny 1938 oil painting by Frida Kahlo which the artist put in a pewter frame from Oaxaca, sold for $1.7 million at auction in New York, a new record for the Mexican artista …and a pregnant Julieta Venegas shunned her accordion for her May 27 concert in Mexico City, what is likely the singer-songwriter’s last concert before giving birth in a few months. Hispanic Link.
