I like folklore and folk music

Ever since I was a child I liked folklore. It could be that Mexico, in its never ending navel gazing, is more conductive to it.

The way that I approached it when I was a kid was how folklorist did it in the past: there are a lot of traditions that are about to died, and we better record them.

It has been years since I changed my mind on this issue, and hopefully professional folklorist have done it as well. Cultures are very resilient. Some things may change, but the core ideas and world view survives. It just keeps evolving.

And frankly, a lot of the stuff that survives is a lot of fun. :) And there is the nice connection that one has with the ancestors when one does things from the past.

Music is especially nice. And I really like folk music. And I mean the real folk music, and not just the folk music stuff in the Bob Dylan tradition (which is nice in its own way, but isn't real folk music.) And if doing traditional customs is fun and connect us with the past, folk music connects us with the whole world, since most of us can enjoy it even if we lack the cultural background.

And it is often a great way for people to learn about other people. I have learned about Ireland and the Punjab by first being into their music.

Right now I am getting into Accadian (Cajun) music. Here is the link to the piece that introduced me to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L2NIZexqb4U

So, are there any other poeple who are into folk and folk music? :)

Irish folk music is just great. Ballads like 'Carrickfergus' and 'The Town I loved so well' always get me going. Eric Bogle, A Scottish/Australian folk singer is great as well ('And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda' is one of the best songs of the 20th century in my opinion, especially the version sang by Shane Mc Geown)

I love folk music, particularly from Latin America that has an amazing variety of music, but also from the United States. John Denver was my favorite. Perhaps my favorite American country tune was Alabama's Dixieland:

Edited by pinguin - 19-Apr-2009 at 16:09