Interview

Interview with Margarita: By Danielle and Abi
Abi and I (Danielle) interviewed Margarita on Saturday afternoon. Margarita met us at Sugar Brown’s and we had the opportunity to discuss a variety of subjects, including salsa music and Latino culture in general. Margarita used to babysit Abi when she was a young child, and even played salsa music for Abi. Margarita learned to dance from a very young age. She even participated in a dance contest aired on a local tv show as a girl. She says dancing is all about finding the beat and about the rhythm- big emphasis on rhythm. She even refers to the different genres in salsa (merengue, salsa, and reggaeton) as different rhythms, not different genres or styles. Margarita also tells us that salsa is not about sensuality; it’s just about having fun and socializing. It’s just something you do. She also stresses the importance of music, dance, and drink in any get-together or party. Apparently, it’s not a party without music. Margarita also shares vignettes of what are known as visitas, or big family gatherings where families socialize Margarita discusses with us a brief description of the history of salsa and references Celia Cruz as the salsa queen and Tito Puente as the salsa king. Margarita spends a fair amount of time discussing specifically the Latino community in Lubbock. She says that the Latino community is difficult to find in Lubbock, and is not exactly enormous. Apparently, the Philippino community is becoming the third largest minority in town. While there is a good sized Mexican population, there are very few Latin American people in Lubbock (even including Texas Tech exchange students). She says that she has difficulty finding someone to speak Spanish with unless she talks to the school custodians. She resorts to chat rooms online so that she can maintain her Spanish. Margarita has to go online to order cds of Latin American music or purchase music when going on trips. Barnes and Nobles or Hastings do have a “Musica Latina” section. However, it mostly contains Tejano and norteaneo music, not Latin American music like salsa or merengue. Fortunately, she is able to hear radio stations live from Puerto Rico and Miami via internet. Margarita likes to be able to “get the real thing” without leaving Lubbock. Margarita ends our discussion by stressing the importance of exposing children to music from an early age. Children will absorb and remember everything to which they are exposed. Thus, she had her son listen to Latin music from an early age and would tell him about his Latin heritage. She wants her son to be both proud and knowledgeable of his heritage. Also, Margarita used to teach in public school. She is currently a librarian, but when she taught regular classes, she would have the children listening to Latin music. The students would go away from class singing in Spanish; they usually did not know what they were singing about, but they did know the tunes and the feel of the music. Overall, we had a wonderful time speaking with Margarita and gained additional perspective on both Latino culture and its presence in Lubbock. Back

Abi and I (Danielle) interviewed Margarita on Saturday afternoon. Margarita met us at Sugar Brown’s and we had the opportunity to discuss a variety of subjects, including salsa music and Latino culture in general. Margarita used to babysit Abi when she was a young child, and even played salsa music for Abi.

Margarita learned to dance from a very young age. She even participated in a dance contest aired on a local tv show as a girl. She says dancing is all about finding the beat and about the rhythm- big emphasis on rhythm. She even refers to the different genres in salsa (merengue, salsa, and reggaeton) as different rhythms, not different genres or styles. Margarita also tells us that salsa is not about sensuality; it’s just about having fun and socializing. It’s just something you do.

She also stresses the importance of music, dance, and drink in any get-together or party. Apparently, it’s not a party without music. Margarita also shares vignettes of what are known as visitas, or big family gatherings where families socialize Margarita discusses with us a brief description of the history of salsa and references Celia Cruz as the salsa queen and Tito Puente as the salsa king.

Margarita spends a fair amount of time discussing specifically the Latino community in Lubbock. She says that the Latino community is difficult to find in Lubbock, and is not exactly enormous. Apparently, the Philippino community is becoming the third largest minority in town. While there is a good sized Mexican population, there are very few Latin American people in Lubbock (even including Texas Tech exchange students). She says that she has difficulty finding someone to speak Spanish with unless she talks to the school custodians. She resorts to chat rooms online so that she can maintain her Spanish. Margarita has to go online to order cds of Latin American music or purchase music when going on trips. Barnes and Nobles or Hastings do have a “Musica Latina” section. However, it mostly contains Tejano and norteaneo music, not Latin American music like salsa or merengue. Fortunately, she is able to hear radio stations live from Puerto Rico and Miami via internet. Margarita likes to be able to “get the real thing” without leaving Lubbock.

Margarita ends our discussion by stressing the importance of exposing children to music from an early age. Children will absorb and remember everything to which they are exposed. Thus, she had her son listen to Latin music from an early age and would tell him about his Latin heritage. She wants her son to be both proud and knowledgeable of his heritage. Also, Margarita used to teach in public school. She is currently a librarian, but when she taught regular classes, she would have the children listening to Latin music. The students would go away from class singing in Spanish; they usually did not know what they were singing about, but they did know the tunes and the feel of the music. Overall, we had a wonderful time speaking with Margarita and gained additional perspective on both Latino culture and its presence in Lubbock.

Back

Interview with Margarita: By Danielle and Abi