Hola amigos,

I have been in Mexico now for over 2 weeks travelling through the pristine beaches and cenotes of Tulum, the heartfelt land of Oaxaca and it's most cherised Dia De Muertos (Day of The Dead) celebrations and now am based in Mexico City for the next chapter to finish writing and recording the Spaghetti-Mex-Western story album we have been creating long distance for almost 2 years.

If you are one of the lovely souls that have pledged towards my Pledge Music campaign to help raise the money towards this project I thank you dearly and hope you are enjoying my movie updates so far. Without the funding this music will just remain exactly that; a recording without a CD, record or picture book. I am here for the love of creating and making music regardless of the outcome or monetary return.

This is my first Mexico update on my official website due to attention being focussed on the PledgeMusic fundraising campaign updates instead but I am driven to focus now on something other than raising money for a new album and other than posting glorious photo's of my adventure thus far.

I want to share a little bit of what is really going on right now and how it feels for a 'guera' / 'gringa' like me in the midst of Mexico's heartbreaking news that was delivered yesterday.

Diary Entry || 8.11.2014 || 10:20AM || Mexico City

"A distant siren, fridge hum, boiling pot of water and fingers lap-top tapping are my soundtrack. Mexico feels suspended. The absence of traffic, street peddlars and barking dogs is noticed. Highlighting this oddness is the fact I’m eating Pan De Muerto (Bread of the Dead); a slightly sweet bread made only at this time of year for Dia De Los Muertos. I can’t help but think of each of the 43 students.

After an excruciating month and a half of protests all over Mexico demanding their whereabouts the government announced it officially yesterday afternoon that they were indeed killed and burned. I can’t imagine how Oaxaca is coping with this news as it was littered with peaceful teachers protesting by camping in tents throughout it’s cobbled calles (streets) as I wandered around the main zocalo last week.

The weight in the air was palpable last night. The band I live with here decided to cancel their show in silent protest. We headed to the venue to inform any fans that may have still attended. By midnight we read about their cancelled show in the news but unfortunately no-one else seemed to make cancelations or silent protests. We searched YouTube into the wee hours of this morning watching raw footage from some of the students that were killed and it is undeniably reminiscent of the 1968 massacre of peaceful protesting students at Tlatelolco, Mexico City.

The day before this ghastly news was announced I brought up the subject of Tlatelolco and Gabriel, the guitarist in my band here Twin Tones, introduced me to the film made all about it.

It was as chillingly accurate as my tour guide had described three years ago . I remember feeling breathless and covered with goosebumps as I stood in the centre of that plaza imagining the hundreds of students trapped and trying to run away from the rain of fire.

There is fear here and understandably so but I now see the powers that be have far greater fear that drives them. Fear of Mexican people that are educated and intelligent.

I have never been inclined towards politics and news. My father was an Australian News anchor man on Channel 9 so for me he was my source of information on current world events (if I ever needed to ask) but now I am filled with questions and am slowly grasping the depth of impossible layers that are here between government, poverty, ignorance, intelligence and the powers of the Narco.

Dia de Los Muertos is a deeply spiritual, rich and heartfelt tradition in the Mexican way of life and the dark side of this breaking news is a stark contrast that I am struggling to comprehend just days after wandering through candelit cemeteries with costumed locals, thick floral scents and the soulful sound of rancheros as we all celebrated the lives of loved ones passed over.

I love this country no less with this sad news however. I don’t believe there is or has been any country without a shameful dark side throughout history or even at present!."

Here is a link from the New York times for deeper insight for those of you hungry for more information : Mexico’s Deadly Narco-Politics

Photos:

Top: A Guadalupe adorned tombstone decorated in flowers, candles and sugar skulls in a Oaxacan cemetery for Dia De Los Muertos 2.11.14

Bottom: A sweet niña dressed up as Catrina in the main zocalo of Oaxaca 29.11.14