Problem: "A Change Is Gonna Come "
The great hymn of soul music, "A Change Is Gonna Come", composed and recorded by Sam Cooke in 1965, is considered one of the classics of contemporary music. Inspired Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Al Green, James Brown, Marvin Gaye, Steve Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and legions of other legends. According to the critic Greil Marcus, this is the most important song of her gender. But in 1965, the year of the civil rights protests in Selma, year of the Watts riots in Los Angeles, the year in which U.S. troops in Vietnam increased from 30 thousand to 170 thousand, "A Change Is Gonna Come "did not exceed the post 31 in the ranking. More strange yet? It was released posthumously, therefore, Sam Cooke, whose songs have been covered since then by hundreds of artists, including John Lennon, Simon and Garfunkel, Cat Stevens, Rod Stewart, Van Morrison, and all African-American legends mentioned above, had been killed the previous month by the manager of a hotel in Los Angeles.
return to Sam Cooke in a moment. Now a few comments on the bicentennial.
While Chile, with its 200 years behind him, looks to the future with optimism and a dazzling swagger, Valparaíso confronts him with trepidation.
For its part, Chile is on the verge of its coveted "decoupling." No longer depends exclusively on the vicissitudes of the U.S. economy. Growing at enviable rates the country's north but remains confined to the ICU.
Valparaiso, meanwhile, welcome to the third century of Chile with a sigh of relief: "that is better than the second" tell all. 1910-2010 century began with the opening of the Panama Canal and the fall of nitrate business. From then on it seemed more like a litany of practical jokes: disasters, explosions, fires, floods, earthquakes, all of this culminating in the depopulation of its historic and the prestige of the city in the eyes of much of the country. All this was pointed out, in a masterful way, with the closure of several elevators and the horrific fire that destroyed our dear "Pancho" a few days to get to the bicentennial.
to Valparaiso, "A Change Is Gonna Come" would be an appropriate hymn.
So, back to Sam Cooke. While one of the best albums of all time languished without going beyond the sales number 31, what was the number 1? "Downtown" by Petulia Clark. It is a catchy song, but little transcendent in people's lives. Today, 45 years later, "A Change Is Gonna Come "is growing in stature and influence each new generation. "Downtown", once a blockbuster, was forgotten.
The former seems to me an interesting mirror to see the difficult relationship between Chile and its cultural capital. In a few days here will inaugurate the Forum of Cultures. The whole world will celebrate his love for Valparaiso.
Chile appears to be in another. He
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