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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 15, 2000)
Page B5 November 15, 2000 (Cfyv ^lortianò (ífrbsmier Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story The H BO Film s presentation “For L o v e o f C o u n try : T h e A rtu ro Sandoval S tory,” stars A ndy G arcia (nom inated for an A cadem y A w ard and G olden G lobe for “T he G odfa ther, Part III” ) in the true story o f a man tom betw een love for his family, passion for m usic, and a dream o f a better life in A m erica. A rturo Sandoval, a brilliant C uban trum pet player, sacrifices his oppor tunity to defect w hen he falls in love with m arianela, a beartuful govern ment em ployee loyal tot he state, and resolves to provide his fam ily w ith the best life possible under the op pressive C astro governm ent. B ut w hen he is no longer able to perform the music he loves, Sandoval and his w ife devise a desperate plan to defect with the help o f m usic legend D izzy Gillespie. Since his arrival in the U nited States, A rturo Sandoval has received 12 G ram m y nom inations, w inning three. A founding m em ber o f the Cuban group Irakere, S andoval w on his first G ram m y in 1978; during his tenure w ith Irakere Sandoval began his life-altering friendship w ith Dizzy Gillespie. In the decade since his de fection Sandoval has perform ed at the Super Bow l halftim e show , the G ram m y A w ards and the O scars. He m aintains one o f the m ost extensive w orldw ide tour schedules in the in dustry, and is also a tenure professor at Florida International U niversity. The film, “For Love o f Country” de buts Saturday at 9 p.m. It stars M ia Mae- strof Tango”), GloriaEstefan(“M usicof theHeart"),David Paymer(“QuizShow,” HBO’s “Crime o f the Century”) and Charles S. Dutton (“Roc, "Emmy-winner for direc ting H B O 's'T h e C o m e f’). Michael Harrison C ontinued from F ront P age has alw ays been an outspoken advo cate o f higher density residential developm ent and row houses, and his proposals for these features pro duced civil w ars in the Irvington and O verlook neighborhoods. N or did m any businesspeople and property ow ners care for the rezon ing o f m uch o f N ortheast M artin L uther K ing Jr. B oulevard for high- density housing. “T here are com m u nities that have declared them selves H arrison-free zones," Janik said at the roast. Fred M eyer w ent further - according to H arrison, ch ie f execu tive O ran Robertson tried to have him fired w hen he opposed a rezoning to allow construction o f the H ollyw ood W est store. “A s a native O regonian, I’d love to turn the tap that stops people from m oving here and having babies," H arrison said at a recent meeting. “T he trouble is, no o n e’s ever told m e w here it is. “H ow ever, he also has show n a w illingness to listen and change. D uring the A lbina Plan, he declared he w ould m eet “ anytim e anyw here w ith any group o f three or more people.” A fter such discussions he reduced the p la n ’s zoning density considerably in som e areas. “ H e brings his values to the table, and is his ow n person,” consultant and ur ban studies professor Sum ner Sharpe says. H e’s som etim es a lightning rod, but he causes people to think. “ C om m issioner C harlie H ales rem oved Harrison from the Southw est C om m unity Plan effort w hen a discussion map calling for higher density pro duced a public outcry. H ow ever, Hales says, “ It’s a pretty big deal to lose M ichael. He w as a new urbanist who believed in city life w hen that was a m ovem ent am ong a very sm all group o f people. W e ’ll m iss his insti tutional m em ory. “Form er Planning C o m m is s io n p r e s id e n t R ic k M ichaelson says, “ H e ’s been the hardest w orking, longest lasting per son w ith creative ideas w e’ve seen in som etim e.” >1 Brazil's incomparable Balé Folclórico da Bahia comes to Portland with their dynamic AJro-Brazilian rhythms, they w ill be at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall on Wednesday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. Brazil’s Best Dance Troope: Bale Folclorico da B y C hris P erry for T he P ortland O bserver A very exciting perform ance is com ing to Portland on D ecem ber 5,h at the O regon Sym phony. Bale Folclorico da Bahia is the best dance troupe o f traditional dance in all o f Brazil. T he B ale w ill be show ing o ff Sam ba, Sam ba R eggae, M aculele, Sam ba de Roda, and C apoiera dances and m usic w ith all their intricate cos- tum es and w ild pulsing drum m ing. T h is in te rn atio n ally acclaim ed dance com pany finds their talented dancers and drum m ers through youth program s they provide to the poor children in Salvador, Bahia. The closer listeners can get to the m usical roots o f everyday life in B razil, the m ore raw , authentic, and exuberant the music and dance becom es. Bahia is a canvas o f constant experim entation, w here m usicians an d dancers take their sam bas and fuse them with other African based music from all o ver the world. All kinds o f wonderful fusions o f m usical styles occur. O ne o f the m ost su c c e ssfu l lately has been Sam ba R eggae. This is the type o f drum m ing that becam e so popular in the U nited States when Paul Sim on hired the Bahian drum group, Olodum to back him on his “Rhythm o f the Saints” album . U sing large surdo drum s to keep the reggae pulse, sam ba reggae lay ers sam ba riffs over the top and often uses reggae songs in a call and re sponse style. T he roots o f Sam ba are in Bahia, w here pow erful drum m ing, singing sensuality and African religion all get m ixed up into a raw passion for life in dance. In Brazil it is not unusual to dance and sing and play m usic all night — to be totally sw ept up and a part o f the music at the m ost basic level. This concert is the closest we can com e to that experience w ithout going to Brazil for C am aval. The performance is scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 6, at 7:30 p.m. in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall. Tickets for this Oregon Symphony non-or chestra Special Events presentation range in price from $ 15 to $50 and may be obtained by calling 503/228-1353, or visit the Sym phony’s W eb site at www.orsvmphonv.org. First Black in Oregon was Friend to English Naval Hero B y R on W eber for T he P ortland O bserver F our hundred and tw en ty one years ago, the first A frican A m erican se t foot on o u r Pacific N orthw est soil. Som e say it w as near San F ran cisco, but evidence is continuing to m ount that it w as actually here in O regon. Just north o f N ew port in W hale C ove, m ight have been the last resting place o f this m an, a tall free B lack Pirate and friend o f Sir Francis Drake. H is nam e w as D iego. W hen he decided to defect from the Spanish w ho treated him so cruelly and later jo in e d up w ith the enem y, the E n glish, he probably had no idea he w ould becom e so fam ous. D ieg o ’s brutal uprooting form his n ative A f rican country by P ortuguese and S panish slave traders in the early 1500’ s w ould catapult this unknow n m an into a fierce struggle o v er the location o f w here he and an E nglish ship landed in A m erica. Seven years earlier, during a v i cious on-going struggle for control o f N om bre de D ios, a rich Spanish shipping port in the N ew W orld, D i ego m et and becam e friends w ith one o f E n g lan d ’s greatest naval heroes. S ir Francis D rake. A cting on one o f his closely held m ottoes, “ A n enem y o f m y enem y is m y frien d ,” D rake form ed a bond w ith this 6 ’6” tall A frican N egro that w ould forever change the course o f history. W ith the help o f D iego, a m em ber o f the C aribbean C im arrone tribe, D rake w ould deal crushing blow s to the S panish throughout the C arib b e a n a n d W e s t I n d ie s . T h e Cim arrones (also spelled Cimaroons) w ere renegade black slaves w ho ran aw ay from their Spanish captors. Sickened by the cruel and immoral treatm ent o f the slaves by the Span ish and his m entor, John H aw kins, Sir Francis D rake turned “ex-slaver" at a very young age. Instead o f taking part in the inhum ane acts o f dragging blacks aw ay from their W est A frican fam ilies and hom elands to be sold as slaves for “cheap labor in the N ew W orld,” D rake had oth er plans. He knew he could m ake m ore m oney pirating Spanish boats and shipping ports. H e also had secrets on how to do it. B y treating the C im arrones as friends, he instantly had an arm y on his side. A s p art o f this strange and close friendship betw een these tw o men, D iego w ould also becom e the first rep o rted A frican circum navigator sailing around the w orld. On a trip alo n g th e w e st c o a s t o f N o rth A m erica, D rak e’s ships w ould stop in num erous ports for boat repairs an d supplies. O ne extended stay in 1579 w as said to be in a port either near San Francisco or a sm all port in O regon nam ed W hale Cove. As the argum ent goes on, a few things are clear. B esides sailing around the w orld and being the first o f his race to arrive on the w est coast, D iego was know n to stand side by side with Sir Francis D rake in vicious fights to the death against the Spanish and to walk m iles w ith him, sw inging heavy blades to cut their w ay through snake infestedjungles. H e served D rake for m any years, first m eeting him in the w inter o f 1572. In 1578, it was re ported that D iego m ight have died in a battle w ith Indians w ho thought D rake and his men were enem ies. An E nglishm an uttered the w ord agua, thinking the Indians w ould under stand that the English w anted W a ter. H earing the S panish word, sev eral hundred Indians attacked im m e diately. A n E nglishm an nam ed John B rew ers took seventeen arrow s and died a few days later. D rake w as alm ost killed, taking tw o arrow s to the body and one ju st below his right eye. B ecause he w as six and a h alf feet tall, D iego m ade a big target. He w as hit tw enty tim es. Besides one report that D iego m ight have died shortly thereafter, there were several other accounts show ing him to have recovered, continuing on with Drake. T heir next stop was the west coast, hom e o f the Pacific Northwest. After D iego helped coordinate repair o f the boats, getting them read y fo r th e lo n g trip b a c k to E u ro p e , th e sh ip s w e re lo a d e d w ith fo o d an d w a t e r . T h e s e r v i c e s o f th e C im a rro n e s w e re no lo n g e r n e e d e d . D ieg o w a s n e v e r m e n tio n e d ag a in . It is a s su m e d th a t he sta y e d b a c k h ere . F in d in g a s k e le to n th a t d a te d to th e sa m e tim e o f D ie g o ’s b ein g on th e w e s t c o a s t an d m a tc h in g h im in h is ra re siz e d u rin g th o se tim e s a d d e d fu e l to th e fire th a t k ee p s b u rn in g h o tte r. s un “home run”, y avanza directamente... a través de su parabrisas. AHORA, ¿QUIÉN PUEDE AYUDARLE? Un pequeño y talentoso pelotero logra batear la bola y sacarla del esta dio. ¡Y la lamente sobre el su automóvil! Para atender reclamos como éste es que existe American Family Insurance. 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