Favorite Video(s) of the Week: Les Négresses Vertes


Zobi La Mouche- Les Négresses Vertes

There was a time in the early 90s when I didn’t have a job. I scavenged, weaned and gleaned from the excesses of consumer society. I didn’t need much – friends, homemade food, dance parties, books and music were my sustenance.
Les Négresses Vertes made up a big chunk of the soundtrack to this bit of my life. I listened to them constantly. They were the background music for two of my favorite books at the time: Letters of Insurgents and Song from the Forest.

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With exuberant songs such as “Zobi la mouche” and “Voilà l’été” Les Négresses forged their lively ‘get up and dance’ style. The group’s unique sound was basically a musical melting-pot, created by fusing a variety of musical influences from their extremely diverse origins. Spanish and Gypsy rhythms were fused with traditional French dances and rai sounds and strung together with lyrics which appeared light and innocent on the surface but were, in fact, full of innuendo and hidden meanings.

Read more here.


L’homme des marais – Les Négresses Vertes

Porches

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My great-great grandmother Matilde Vizcarra Tellez, Los Angeles, circa early 1930s.
Such mystery behind her small smile.