19 July 2011

Freedom or Death

I grew up in the state where Patrick Henry asked to be given liberty or death and even now live just blocks away from the site of his speech, so this song hits hard. 
     Luis Enrique Mejia Godoy, one of Nicaragua's great artists, performed "Yo soy de un pueble sencillo" at the Central American Peace Concert in Managua in 1983.  It has been written that either attending or performing at the concert was an act of defiance.  However, the Central American artists who did perform had reputations larger than their nations' boundaries and the concert broke the silence that had surrounded Nicaragu's struggle.  White haired and now 66, Luis Enrique Mejia Godoy is still singing.


(For years I've tried to find a better copy of this video.  Let me know if you've got one.)