Vega vs Cultural Apartheid (1987) Pre-Reggeaton

In the 80's thousands of Latinos abandoned the tropical jungles of Central America for the urban jungles of the USA; attempting to escape civil wars pitting left vs right guerrillas. In the United States they had to face a different enemy: gangs.

I produced the only news-entertainment report from Hollywood to air weekly in Latin America thru Mexico's Televisa monopoly. The first time Latino and Anglo performers shared equal time on a regularly scheduled news segment ever.

We lived in cultural apartheid then, all segregated from one another - even on television. My goal was to reflect reality and inform millions of Latino viewers about what was happening on the other side of a border they would soon cross fleeing death squads at home.

Racial tension in the 'hood was a problem we were facing daily - turf wars. In 1987 I took a big risk (thinking out of the box) and gave the news in the subculture musical style of the ghetto: rap.

Broadcasting rap internationally for the first time in 1987. "Yo! MTV Raps" came in 1988, BET's "Rap City" in 1989, so did Madonna's "Like a Prayer".

These were the Reagan years, we were fighting communism in Latin America and Europe; while American pop culture was booming.

Vega pioneered the genre, bringing racially diverse people together to prevent future conflict - on Spanish language television Black history was made - by a Puerto Rican. Yo! Vega(c)1987.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yo!_MTV_Raps

Africa Latina:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0pVo5ySzUc&feature=email

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• reggaeton
• michale
• jackson
• daddy
• yankee
• rap
• census

[Borinquens]

La motivacion no fue cantar sino informar - con humor.

[weebo001]

hay tu!

[matatanenzoquepajo]

como era esta cuestion antes es un poco chistoso como cantan pero esta bien