On a Lighter Note...

So, in the interests of lightening the tone of my blog (which has been...um, heavy to say the least), I thought I would take a moment to reflect on some of the little peculiarities of Ecuadorean pop culture that I have noticed during my time here. First of all, MUSIC. If I could explain why the particular American music that is popular here IS so popular, I would be a very rich and successful sociologist.

I had a hint as to the peculiar taste in American music that exists here within my first few weeks here, when I heard (of all things) that song "Bring Me To Life" by Evanescence multiple times from multiple different sources. Now, that song came out four or five years ago in the US and it was sort of aimed at a somewhat moodier, darker, goth-type crowd. So, it was more than a little amusing when I found myself sitting on the couch with my host cousins in my first host family, translating the song word for word for them. You have to realize, my host cousins were all guys in their late 20s or early 30s, true sports enthusiasts, and there was nothing in their Adidas shorts, soccer cleats, or baseball caps to indicate the brooding, angsty nature typical of Evanescence fanatics. Yet, my one cousin had this particular Evanescence song as his ring tone on his cell phone and played it multiple times right next to my ear, while all the others looked on and waited intently for me to recite the lyrics for them.

My understanding of Ecuadorean taste in American music was even further confounded by my host brother, Marco, in my current host family. Now can you even begin to guess what his favorite musician of all time is? I will give you a hint: think of every cheesy, romantic ´80s-´90s song you can...okay, there is no way you will guess, since I never would have: Bryan Adams! Now, I do not think Mr. Bryan Adams enjoys that much popularity in the US anymore; however, he apparently has a huge legion of fans in Ecuador and should seriously consider moving down here permanently if he would like to bask in the glow of their admiration a bit more easily. As it is, he apparently has an inkling of his popularity down here--Marco excitedly informed me that Bryan Adams is coming to give a concert here sometime this month and that he ALREADY had his tickets. I have also seen multiple huge billboards of that studly Bryan Adams throughout Quito. He´s like Elvis here, somehow. Who knew?

Another one that left me flabbergasted, probably more so than the seemingly inexplicable popularity of ´80s love song crooners and angsty goth bands, was the popularity of a more or less one hit wonder band whose name you probably will not recognize. However, you gotta know the lyrics to their single big hit: "Don´t you forget about me/Don´t-don´t-don´t-don´t you/Forget about me!" That´s right, those geniuses behind the hit song from the Breakfast Club, Simple Minds, are HUGE here! I was not particularly familiar or aware of any songs that they had done besides this one, BUT oh no! They apparently have TONS of songs, all of which my host brother owns on a 6-disc live concert DVD set--"The Best of Simple Minds." So in case you were not aware of the genius of Simple Minds, check them out--I dare say they have found more success here than they ever did in the US.

Given more time to think on it, I could probably give you a whole list of American artists who, for whatever reason, have achieved incredible fame and appreciation here in Ecuador for whatever reason. However, I would instead like to turn to some of the AWESOME music that I have gotten hooked on since being here. Now, I would have a HUGE list of must-downloads for you all, except that I do not know the names of the songs or artists of much of what I have been listening to the past few months. And why? Because, for whatever reason, whenever I asked Javier or Silvana or Nathaly the name of a song or singer we were listening to, they just shrugged, unable to give me any hint. However, Javier was kind enough to burn me two CDs of a bunch of the songs I had liked, but on his computer as well, the songs have the titles "Track 1" and "Track 2" and so on, so that does not help much. All I know is that whatever the songs are that I have listened to over and over on those CDs are awesome and I will be putting them straight on my iPod when I get back home. Lots of awesome salsa, reggaeton, some other stuff...In the interests of sharing the few songs for which I have names, "Perdóname" by La Factoria is one of my favorites, as well as a lot of stuff by Daddy Yankee (stuff that has not really been too popular in the US, but is HUGE here)...there is also a gorgeous song by (I think) Antonio Banderas that Javier burned me that is awesome...and a gorgeous tango song by some female singer whom I don´t know...hopefully I will get some answers on some of the names of the songs Javier burned me before I get back to the US so I can make some more concrete recommendations.

Lastly, getting off the topic of music and moving on to TV, I have been traveling down memory lane quite a bit to the good old days where me and my brothers spent every Friday night watching the Friday Night Action Pack of "Hercules: the Legendary Journeys" and "Xena: Warrior Princess," except that I have been watching the programs of my childhood dubbed in Spanish, which is awesome. And hilarious. Also, I should mention, the most popular American TV show here is none other than "The Simpsons," hands down. Somehow, not the same for me with the dubbed Spanish voices--something about Homer´s English voice is just so distinctive to me. However, it is hugely popular here nonetheless. There is even an entire restaurant just a block from my house dedicated to "The Simpsons." I kid you not.

Our last week of classes is going by quickly--thank goodness. I am more ready to get to the Galapagos than words can say. Hopefully, the next time I write, I will have something a little more interesting than music and TV to talk about, but since I am being bombarded by papers, exams, project proposals, and all the rest during this last week of class, it may not be until I reach the Galapagos that I have something particularly interesting and exciting to write. Until then, ciao!

-Alex

P.S.

"Me gusta tocar guitarra!/
Me gusta cantar el soul!/
Mariachi me acompaña/
Cuando canto mi canción!/
Me gusta tomar mis copas,/
Aguadiente es lo mejor,/
También el tequíla blanco/
Que tu sal de la sabor!"

-Part of the awesome song that I THINK Antonio Banderas might have done (but not sure)