2012 NPR Radio Transcript Reprint "Kuduro, The Dance That Keeps Angola Going" (with videos & Addendum)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides a re-print of an online transcript of a 2012 (United States) National Public Radio (NPR) show about Angola's kuduro music.

The two videos that were embedded in that NPR article are included in this pancocojams post.

The Addendum to this post presents some information about Coréon Dú, an Angolan artist, creative director and producer who put together the Os Kuduristas project to introduce the music to audiences beyond Angola and who is quoted in that NPR show.

The content of this post is presented for historical and cultural information.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to Coréon Dú for his cultural legacy. Thanks also to the publishers of these videos on YouTube.
-snip-
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2017/04/costuleta-tchiriri-kuduro-and-two-other.html for a pancocojams post entitled "Costuleta - "Tchiriri Kuduro" And Two Other Videos Of Angolan Kuduro Music/Dancing". Also, click the "kuduro" tag below for other pancocojams posts about kuduro dancing.

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REPRINT OF 2012 NPR RADIO SHOW
From https://www.npr.org/sections/therecord/2012/12/26/167628341/kuduro-the-dance-that-keeps-angola-going 'Kuduro,' The Dance That Keeps Angola Going
December 22, 2012
Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday
Anastasia Tsioulcas

[The original article includes a link for the 6 minute audio of this radio show and two Os Kuduristas YouTube videos.]

"Kuduro is the infectious, pulsating music and dance that races along at about 140 beats per minute. It's the sound that moves the southwestern African country of Angola. A group called Os Kuduristas — "the kuduro ones" — has been bringing kuduro to clubs and spaces across the globe, including Paris, Amsterdam and, most recently, New York and Washington, D.C. But their story is complicated.

Singer M.I.A. has worked with a kuduro -inspired crew. And reggaeton star Don Omar had an international hit with Lucenzo with a song called "Kuduro Danza".

So what exactly is kuduro? Choreographer Manuel Kanza, who goes by his last name and who has been traveling the world with Os Kuduristas, says it's all about the dance. "It's inspired by so many things around our environment, our world," Kanza says. "Anything can make a kuduro move. For example, we also imitate the movement of a frog, the movement of animals, the marching of soldiers. Everything can make a movement."

It's also music of the streets that spreads virally, says Marissa Moorman, a professor of African history at Indiana University who specializes in this style. "It's sort of everywhere. It's played very widely on what are called candongueiros, which are these collective taxis, essentially, which are maybe 12- or 15-seater vans. It's the most common form of transportation [in the capital Luanda]," she says. "Even though the radio station will play some kuduro, most kuduro is produced in studios in the musseques, which are shantytowns. So most artists will produce in the museq studios and then hand out copies of their CDs to candongueiro drivers and get them to play it in order to popularize it and promote it."

Kuduro is party music, the kind you'd find in clubs anywhere in the world. But it has a deeper meaning in Angola, a country still scarred by a 22-year civil war that just ended only a decade ago.

"You know, when kuduro started, we were a country at war, and our young people and even our older generation was trying to make their kids, children, nieces and nephews and neighbors, etc., feel comfortable and try to transmit, however possible, a sense of normalcy," says a producer and musician who goes by the name of Coréon Dú. He put the Os Kuduristas project together to introduce the music to audiences beyond Angola. "Kuduro was more a celebration of being alive," he adds, "because we did have our family members were in the army, or lost a leg in a land mine, or something like that, but we wanted to focus on the positive."

Coréon Dú might well want to focus on the positive. His real name is Jose Eduardo Paulino dos Santos. It's one of the most famous last names in Africa. He's the son of Angola's president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who has been in power for 32 years.

"I don't focus on that," says Coréon Dú, "and, very honestly, it has no impact. It seems like I came from a privileged background, but that's not really the case."

He'd like to be known best as a musician and producer. But a lot of what goes on in Angola is a family affair: Coréon Dú produces much of the programming that runs on TPA 2, the television channel run by his sister. Another brother runs a $5 billion sovereign wealth fund on behalf of the nation.

Angola is the second-largest oil producer in Africa and one of the world's biggest diamond producers; rent on a two-bedroom luxury apartment in Luanda averages $7,000 per month. Yet 80 percent of people living in Luanda live in shantytowns. And most earn less than $2 a day.

Professor Moorman says average Angolans are no better off today than they were 10 years ago. She adds that kuduro reflects what Angolans have endured.

"You can't separate its beginnings from politics," Moorman says, "from this history of the civil war and the ways in which the violence of that war was played out very particularly on the bodies of young men, right? Young men were recruited both by the state and by the rebel forces to fight in the war. I think it's not actually a story of victimization. It's a story of triumph over bone-crushing conditions, essentially."

Choreographer Kanza says kuduro dance transforms these sorrows into something else. "What we do is like trying to have fun out of something that is really serious," he observes. "For example, in the time of war, people would imitate the crippled man walking — so, taking that movement of the crippled person into a movement of dance. Like coming from the dead!"

As a result of the civil war, the median age in Angola is now less than 18 years old — and producer Coréon Dú says those young people are kuduro's main audience.

"Kuduro really is, I would say, the energy of this specific generation, the generation that was born I'd say especially between the mid- to late 1980s and right now," he asserts. "And it's still that sort of really vibrant energy that really reflects the current Angola."

Coréon Dú's love for kuduro seems genuine enough, but you can't help but wonder how much of his recent tour helps the government rebrand itself for international consumption — and how much of his support for the music helps keep a very young Angola loyal to his father.”
-snip-
Here's excerpts from the Wikipedia page for https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9_Eduardo_dos_Santos
"José Eduardo dos Santos... born 28 August 1942)[2] is an Angolan politician who served as President of Angola from 1979 to 2017. As President, José Eduardo dos Santos was also the commander in chief of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) and President of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the party that has ruled Angola since it gained independence in 1975.[3] He was the second-longest-serving president in Africa, surpassed only by President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, who took power less than two months before dos Santos.

[...]

Dos Santos has been accused of leading one of the most corrupt regimes in Africa by ignoring the economic and social needs of Angola and focusing his efforts on amassing wealth for his family and silencing his opposition, while nearly 70% of the population lives on less than $2 a day.[34]"...
-snip-
According to his Wikipedia page, Coréon Dú, one of sons of former Angolan President José Eduardo dos Santos, was raised in Angola, in Portugal, and in the United States. He returned to Angola as an adult. Read the Addendum to this post with particular attention to this quote: "Coréon has been very vocal over the years about how being related to people with political careers has negatively affected his career both in and out of Angola."...

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
[These videos were embedded in that 2012 NPR transcript about Angola's Kudoro.]

Video #1: Os Kuduristas EPK



oskuduristas, Sep 9, 2012

Born of Angolan renaissance in the Information Age, Kuduro, which means 'Hard Ass,' is the cultural expression of a new international and post-war generation. Os Kuduristas, a global initiative designed to introduce Kuduro internationally, is bringing Kuduro's powerful form of expression to Paris, Amsterdam and New York through interactive events and programs in September and October, 2012.

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Video #2: BEST OF BATTLES



oskuduristas, Oct 4, 2012

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ADDENDUM -INFORMATION OF COREON DU
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cor%C3%A9on_D%C3%BA for information about Coréon Dú
"José Eduardo Paulino dos Santos (born September 28, 1984) better known by his stage name Coréon Dú, is a multilingual Angolan artist, creative director and producer.[1] He is known for his distinct musical style, bold fashion choices and his contributions to projects inspired by Angolan Pop culture in the realms of music, dance, fashion, TV and film.[2]

Coréon Dú was born in Luanda, Angola, to Maria Luisa Perdigão Abrantes and José Eduardo dos Santos.[5] He spent the first years of his childhood in Luanda, Angola. A few years after his parent's separation, Coréon moved to Lisbon, Portugal and began living with his maternal grandparents at the age of 8. Coréon later moved to the U.S. to be educated. At the age of 11 he moved with his mother to Northern Virginia near Washington D.C.. While in middle school, he found his voice and began to pursue singing. During high school he became a soloist in the school choir, and developed a keen interest for musical theatre.

Coréon continued to perform in choirs during his time at Loyola University went on to gain a BA in Mass Communications. In 2010 he pursued a master's degree in Dance Theatre: The Body in Performance from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.[6]

[...]

Coréon has been very vocal over the years about how being related to people with political careers has negatively affected his career both in and out of Angola. He also recounts that most Angolan radio stations and DJs in his home country refuse to play his music, and most major concert promoters refuse to book him for shows. He only started gained visibility mainly through catchy songs that became favorites of Luanda taxi drivers and music pirates, and innovative music video concepts.

Though most speculated Coréon Dú was referring to independent or opposition owned media, Coréon was also referring to state-owned media as well as private mainstream media and professionals. Independent radio professionals and even DJs at Radio Despertar owned by one of Angola's large opposition parties have been claimed to be early supporters of Coréon's music in their airwaves. Mainstream music media only started following as direct fan demand for his work grows over the years.[99][100][101]

Allegations of nepotism have surrounded Semba's success as a TV production company, and many other aspects his family's involvement in Angolan public business and politics.[102][103]

He has also come under fire by Angolan media religious groups and political groups for the inclusion of LGBT talent and issues in the TV shows produced by Semba Comunicação

[...]

After public dismay of the new programming and cancellation of some favourite television shows in January 2018 the Angolan Government's new leadership tried to save face and approval ratings by throwing Coréon and his company under the bus. The company responded with a public statement clarifying its role and even how much it was earning for its content services in comparison to the publicly published yearly national television budget ( Semba produced most of the entertainment and promotional content for two of the three TPA channels reportedly charging under fees approximating only one-fifth of the budget spent on the main TPA channel

[...]

Nearly a year after Semba's content was taken of the air by their former client, a new market study has shown that TPA 2 had dropped from being in a leading position amongst viewers in primetime slots to the now being one of least viewed according to the market study reflecting the last quarter of 2018."...

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Angolan Gospel group Filhos Do Ngana - "Kitoko Makasi" (information, video, comments)

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post showcases a YouTube video of the Angolan Gospel group Filhos Do Ngana singing "Kitoko Makasi".

Information about this group is included in this post along with a few comments from that video's discussion thread.

The Addendum to this post provides some information about three of the many languages that are spoken in Angola.

The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Filhos Do Ngana for their religious and musical legacy. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to Joel José Oficial, the publisher of this post on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT FILHOS DO NGANA
From https://www.facebook.com/FilhosdoNgana/
"Biografia
FILHOS DO NGANA·WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018

Filhos do Ngana; Um som, uma voz, uma missão.
É um grupo jovens de denominações diferentes que decidiram unirem se com um propósito único, louvor e adoração ao eterno Deus.

É constituído por 5 elementos entre ele: Emanuel Cangundo, Abel Zola, Gregório Quipipa, Silvio Lameira e Samuel Macuato.

O grupo foi criado à 3 anos e durante essa trajectória de exaltação ao soberano Deus por intermédio do louvor tiram varias e actividades aonde apresentavam as suas canções, tiveram também concertos; "Ele vive" Camama tropical e "Ao som da graça" Cine São Paulo, neste momento o grupo conta com uma obra discográfica intitulada "Filho do Ngana" ao vivo esse CD foi gravada totalmente ao vivo actualmente tenciona realizar espectáculo de grande vulto no Cine Atlântico no presente ano propriamente no mês de Setembro, sendo assim contamos com apoio da igreja de Cristo espalhado num a fora."
-snip-
Google translate from Portuguese to English*
"NGANA CHILDREN · WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018
Children of Ngana; A sound, a voice, a mission.
It is a young group of different denominations that have decided to unite with a unique purpose, praise and adoration to the eternal God.

It is made up of 5 elements: Emanuel Cangundo, Abel Zola, Gregorio Quipipa, Silvio Lameira and Samuel Macuato.

The group was created at 3 years and during this path of exaltation to the sovereign God by means of the praise they take several and activities where they presented their songs, they also had concerts; "He lives" Tropical Camama and "To the sound of grace" Cine São Paulo, at this moment the group has a recording work titled "Son of Ngana" live this CD was recorded totally live currently intends to perform show of great magnitude in the Cinema Atlantic in the current year in September, so we have the support of the church of Christ spread outwards."
-snip-
I've also seen the English interpretation for "Filhos" as "sons", for example on this page:
https://en.bab.la/dictionary/portuguese-english/filhos
"filhos {m pl}EN
sons children kids"
-snip-
Notice in the biography the group's name is given as "Children of God" and also "Sons of God". I'm curious which name is the one that the group prefers.

Also, it's interesting to learn that the group's name combines Portuguese with Kikongo and also sung a song in Lingala.

Read the Addendum below for some information about these three languages in Angola.

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SHOWCASE VIDEO: Filhos do Ngana - Kitoko Makasi



Joel José Oficial, Apr 6, 2018

Um Som
Uma Voz
Uma Missão
-snip-
Google translate from Portuguese to English:
One sound
One voice
One mission
-snip-
Note that Google translate gave "um" as "a" for the first and third lines.
-snip-
Here's a comment exchange that I had with Joel in that video's discussion thread:

Azizi Powell, 2019
"Thanks for publishing this interesting and well produced video. Kudos to this group for their great sound!

I'm an African American who happened upon this video while searching YouTube for contemporary African music. I then showcased this video and another one of this song in this post of my cultural blog http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2018/07/two-videos-of-song-kitoko-makasi-by.html

Google translates gives the meaning of "Filhos do Ngana" as "Children of Ngana" or "Sons of Ngana". Please excuse my ignorance, but does "Ngana" mean God? And if so is "Ngana" a Lingala word?

And what does "Kitoko Makasi" mean?

Also, is the type of dancing that occurs in this Gospel video after the tempo becomes faster something that is generally acceptable to Angolans and other Africans for religious songs?

I appreciate any responses in the interest in.sharing information about African culture to the African Diaspora.

One Love!"

**
REPLY
Joel José Oficial, May 2, 2020
"Thanks for your feedback, yes Ngana mean God in Kikongo language, Kikongo dialect spoked in many africa countries.
Kitoko makasi mean so beautiful in lingala language."

**
REPLY
Joel José Oficial, May 2, 2020
"So sorry for the delay in response."

**
REPLY
Azizi Powell, May 2, 2020
"@Joel José Oficial, thanks for your reply. I really appreciate it. I didn't even know that Filhos do Ngana was an Angolan Gospel group until I looked up other YouTube videos of that group. I plan to showcase that group in my cultural blog & will add a link to that post here.

Best wishes. Stay healthy & safe in these difficult times."
-snip-
Although I didn't get a response to my question about the dancing in this video, from watching it more closely, I noticed that the uptempo music, dancing, and rapping occurred after the church service when the people were cooking on a grill and holding glasses of some beverage.

Comparing this to my experiences as an African American, Black Baptist churches in the United States sometimes have dinners after a church service ends, although in the USA we don't dance like this in church or in religious affiliated events.

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ADDENDUM- INFORMATION ABOUT THE PORTUGUESE, KIKONGO, AND LINGALA LANGUAGES IN ANGOLA
Excerpt #1:
From https://www.justlanded.com/english/Angola/Angola-Guide/Language/Languages-in-Angola
"Languages in Angola
A multilingual and multicultural country

Angola, as in most countries in Africa, has several national languages. Six Bantu languages are national languages and Portuguese remains the only official language.

Portuguese, the only official language, is known by 80% of the population as the primary or secondary language. The six Bantu languages most widely spoken: Umbundu, Kimbundu, Kikongo, Chokwe, Kwanyama also called Oshikwanyama, and Ngangela. Other than that, in Angola there are 42 local languages, one of them, Kwadi, has no known speakers and others are Khoisan, not Bantu, languages.

Portuguese
There are around 7.5 million first-language speakers of Portuguese although only around 25% of the total population are native Portuguese speakers.

Most Angolans speak Portuguese as a second language. During Portuguese rule, Angolans were required to be Roman Catholic and speak Portuguese, which lead to many families speaking only in Portuguese in order to offer a better education to their children. It became an instrument for independence and national identity and now that it is widely spoken, the government counts on it because it is also an international language.

Angolan Portuguese is similar to Brazilian Portuguese due to historical reasons but the pronunciation is more European with some influence from the phonology of local languages. It also has some remnants of Old Portuguese that can be found especially in some popular grammar uses.

[...]

Kikongo
Kongo language or, Kikongo, has around 7 million speakers in the world, both in Angola and surrounding countries, as well as some creolized forms of the language in several Caribbean countries. It is a lingua franca in much of west central Africa and its word formation is simpler than other Bantu languages.

It is also known as Kituba, although this is more a creole version of the language influenced by both African and Romance languages.

It was the first Bantu language that was written in Latin characters and the first one that had a dictionary."...

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Excerpt #2
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingala
"Lingala (Ngala) is a Bantu language spoken throughout the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a large part of the Republic of the Congo. It is spoken to a lesser degree in Angola and the Central African Republic. There are over 70 million lingalophones."...

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Two Videos Of The Song "Kitoko Makasi" By The Angolan Gospel Group Filhos Do Ngana

Edited by Azizi Powell

This pancocojams post provides information about the Angolan Gospel group Filhos Do Ngana and showcases two YouTube examples of the group's song "Kitoko Makasi".

Information about Lingala is included in this post along with Lingala to English translations of the in that song's title.

The content of this post is presented for religious, cultural, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

Thanks to Filhos Do Ngana for their music. Thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these video on YouTube.

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INFORMATION ABOUT FILHOS DE NAGANA (Sons of Ngana*)
From https://www.facebook.com/FilhosdoNgana/
"Biografia
FILHOS DO NGANA·WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018
Filhos do Ngana; Um som, uma voz, uma missão.
É um grupo jovens de denominações diferentes que decidiram unirem se com um propósito único, louvor e adoração ao eterno Deus.
É constituído por 5 elementos entre ele: Emanuel Cangundo, Abel Zola, Gregório Quipipa, Silvio Lameira e Samuel Macuato.
O grupo foi criado à 3 anos e durante essa trajectória de exaltação ao soberano Deus por intermédio do louvor tiram varias e actividades aonde apresentavam as suas canções, tiveram também concertos; "Ele vive" Camama tropical e "Ao som da graça" Cine São Paulo, neste momento o grupo conta com uma obra discográfica intitulada "Filho do Ngana" ao vivo esse CD foi gravada totalmente ao vivo actualmente tenciona realizar espectáculo de grande vulto no Cine Atlântico no presente ano propriamente no mês de Setembro, sendo assim contamos com apoio da igreja de Cristo espalhado num a fora.
-snip-
Google translate from Portuguese to English
"Biography
NGANA CHILDREN · WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2018
Children of Ngana; A sound, a voice, a mission.
It is a young group of different denominations that have decided to unite with a unique purpose, praise and adoration to the eternal God.
It is made up of 5 elements: Emanuel Cangundo, Abel Zola, Gregorio Quipipa, Silvio Lameira and Samuel Macuato.
The group was created at 3 years and during this path of exaltation to the sovereign God by means of the praise they take several and activities where they presented their songs, they also had concerts; "He lives" Tropical Camama and "To the sound of grace" Cine São Paulo, at this moment the group has a recording work titled "Son of Ngana" live this CD was recorded totally live currently intends to perform show of great magnitude in the Cinema Atlantic in the current year in September, so we have the support of the church of Christ spread outwards.
-snip-
* The English translation of "Filhos do Ngana" appears to be either "Sons Of Ngana" or "Children of Ngana". (The words "filhos" and "do" are Portuguese and (I think that) the word "Ngana" is Lingala.

My guess is that Ngana means God. Is that right?

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INFORMATION ABOUT LINGALA
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingala
"Lingala (Ngala) is a Bantu language spoken throughout the northwestern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and a large part of the Republic of the Congo, as well as to some degree in Angola and the Central African Republic. It has over 10 million speakers.

History
In the 19th century, before the creation of the Congo Free State, the Bangala (literally: 'river people') were a group of similar Bantu peoples living and trading along the bend of the Congo River that reached from Irebu at the mouth of the Ubangi River to the Mongala River. They spoke similar languages, such as Losengo, but their trade language was Bangi, which was the most prestigious language between Stanley Pool (Kinshasa) and Irebu. As a result, people upstream of the Bangala mistook Bangi for the language of the Bangala and called it Lingala (language of the Bangala), and European missionaries followed suit.”...

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LINGALA TO ENGLISH TRANSLATIONS OF THE LINGALA WORDS "KITOKO" (also given as "KITICO") AND "MAKASI" (also given as "MAKASSI")
Two definitions for "kitoko"
from https://dic.lingala.be/en/kitoko
"kitóko, pl. bakitoko (class 9a/10a (2) : - / - (ba-) : plural from context (or informal/modern ba-), not with n-/m-)
beautiful, pretty
good, nice (e.g. the taste of food)
beauty"

**
From https://glosbe.com/ln/en/kitoko
"kitoko" = beauty {noun}
-snip-
That page also provided these English translations of the Lingala word "kitoko" in sample sentences:
"wonderful", "breathtaking", "glorious", "ideal", "luxurious", "sweet", "beautiful", "idyllic", and "rich".

**
A definition for "makasi": https://dic.lingala.be/en/makasi
"makasi
plural of "bokási"
bokási, pl. makasi (class 14/6 : bo- / ma-)
power, power, vigor, strength, vitality, energy, resistance

makási
tough, hard, strong, solid, resistant, strength"
-snip-
In the context of this Gospel song, does "kitoko makasi" mean "very beautiful" (or "very good")?

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SHOWCASE VIDEOS
Example #1: Kitoco Makassi _ Filhos do Ngana 2017 #HD720



ZION TV, Published on Mar 3, 2018

**
Example #2: Filhos do Ngana - Kitoko Makasi



Joel José Oficial, Published on Apr 6, 2018

Um Som
Uma Voz
Uma Missão
-snip-
Google translation from Portuguese to English translation:
A sound
One voice
A Mission

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A Video Of "Regina" by Angolan Singer Socorro & The Differences Between Traditional Angolan Dancing & Twerking

Edited by Azizi Powell

This post showcases the Angolan singer Soccoro's song "Regina" and includes my comments about the dancing done by women in that video. This post also includes some information about Socorro.

The content of this post is provided for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.

All copyrights remain with their owners.

****
INFORMATION ABOUT SOCCORO
From http://allafrica.com/stories/201201230199.html
"22 January 2012 Luanda — Angolan musician Kalayandi José Kabeya "Socorro" will this Sunday present, at the Independence Square, in Luanda, his third album entitled "Nzimbu (meaning money)" in the Kikongo vernacular language.

The album has 10 tracks sang in Kikongo and in the Kilapanga, Sungura and Semba music genres, as well as a mixture of Congolese rhythms.

The CD was recorded in Luanda and received its finishing touches in Germany, where 10,000 copies of the CD were edited.

The singer's music repertoire includes CDs such as "Meu Dever" (2007) and "Kuvata Dieto" (2009).

Born in the northern province of Uige, Socorro started singing gospel music in the late 80s with instruments like the traditional marimba and wood guitars."
-snip-
The same biographical information about Socorro is found in other allAfrica.com articles. Among those articles is one in which Socorro calls for more support of blind artists in Angola.

****
SHOWCASE VIDEO
Example #1: socorro (regina) original



Paca Davis, Uploaded on Oct 29, 2009

Traditional Music of Angola; Ritimo quente do Quimbele
-snip-
I believe that Socorro's music is an example of Soukous music.
I'd love to know what this song means & what language/s it is sung in.

****
RELATED LINK
Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2013/05/cote-divoires-mapouka-dance-roots-of.html Cote D’Ivoire's Mapouka Dance - The Roots Of Twerking (information & videos)

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THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN TRADITIONAL AFRICAN DANCING IN SOCCORO'S REGINA VIDEO & TWERKING DANCING
One of the dance movements that the women in Socorro's video "Regina" do* is similar to the contemporary -2013- dance that Americans call "twerking". However, in that 2009 video that twerking movement -when the women face backward, lean slightly forward & shake their butt - is combined with other dance movements. That face backward, lean forward. butt shaking movement doesn't last very long & thus isn't emphasized in that dance. As a result, it seems to me that that traditional butt shaking movement isn't as "raunchy"** as it would be if it were done by itself. Notice also that the women dancers' clothing isn't the short, form fitting butt emphasizing shorts or "tights" that are worn by American "twerker" dancers. Because their clothing is much less form fitting, the dance these women in Socorro's video do is much less sexually provocative than twerking is.

* For example, at 1:39/1:40 of this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FFDotPs77M

**"Raunchy" is an African American slang word which can mean the same thing as "nasty". The contemporary African American adjective "rachet" can mean the same as raunchy & nasty.

****
Thanks to Soccoro for his music. Thanks also to the other singers, musicians, and dancers in these videos & the publishers of this exampls on YouTube.

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