blog
No expectations, no limitations, This is where craft and curiosity collide. I create my world of sound & sight.
Every week I drop ten tracks you probably haven’t heard of, show a glimpse of what I uncover as I document my life in CDMX, and highlight other artists I’m tuned in to.
The Chris mix
It’s unheard of to start my day without any music. A soundtrack curated from the moment I get ready and walk out the door until I step back in, no minute goes silent.
Whether it's new or old, a song to for your party or chill playlist, these songs I enjoyed the most this week.
I’m lucky enough to have a developed ear that adapts to everything. I like to think of it as code switching for the ear. The talent can’t be developed without putting in the work of e-crate digging (yeah it sucks but working on finding a better phrase to coin). The only genre I don’t enjoy is American country music. It’s a distasteful effort to rebrand Black musical traditions during its inception, and a failed attempt to use Norteño and Banda influences.
Every other genre is on the table…for now.
For the most part I want to tap into what is on CDMX’s rotation, but with a concentration in emerging artists. I don’t know how but my ear led my musical exploration with artists Chzter and RIVVAA. They float through genres of Reggaeton Mexa and Neoperreo, with bright splashes of electronic and hip-hop.
If you have Spotify save the playlist to never miss the beat. Keep your mix going.
Documenting Mexico CIty
Though it’s my right and privilege to be Mexicano, there is a level of separation that distances me from personally being able to agree based on my first few months living in Mexico City. I am earning my pride, I don’t want it handed to me.
There’s a certain responsibility that comes as a documentarian capturing a culture removed from the one they grew in. My experience documenting Mexico’s culture is an act of looking down at the foundation that has inevitably helped me build up the more recent parts. Soy Mexicano aunque tengo problemas remembering some Spanish words de vez en cuando.
My rules for street documentary: keep it low-key. The best candid shots happened because a photographer assessed what space they’re in and act accordingly. Take regard in one’s consent. There are moments that are wise to ask a subject’s consent for foto to consider their sensitivity, but if a moment is almost gone, there is always after to ask how the subject feels about the foto. Consider the exchange. When taking fotos of people who are working and earning their living, I try to compensate however I can. The easiest way is to share them the fotos and boost awareness of the subject’s work they do. If they aren’t connected in the digital age, I always donate money for their time and their presence. Anyone willing to be in front of your camera is your model, and every model deserves pay.
In my favorite foto of the week shown below, there was a man in the center of Calle Madero who was earning his living selling candy. He seem to use his skateboard as a way to commute down the street because he lost both legs and possibly could not afford a wheelchair. I wish I made conversation with him, but that day I was letting my curiosity wander free (in practice this can look like me staring a mural for half an hour or walking for hours while my head on a swivel to take in as much as I can).
I was walking with ice cream in hand and finished it quickly so I could give him money for his time and asked him if it was ok to take a picture of him. He agreed and I showed him the picture after. I asked if he liked it, he gave me a thumbs up. I believe he might of had a smile under his mask when I showed him that picture.
Artist in focus
Alberto Mielgo - Director/Artist/Animator http://www.albertomielgo.com
Mielgo’s undeniable style has a flare unmatched, most famously known for pretty much directing Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2018) and setting the artistic tone for all of the following animated sequels. Ask anybody what are some of their animated films are, and it’s guaranteed any of the Spiderverse films is on their list. Unfortunately, Sony Pictures credits Mielgo as Visual Consultant due to creative differences that happened during production.
It wasn’t until I saw his 2019 short film The Witness (attached as part of the anthology Love, Death and Robots on Netflix) where his artistry was unfiltered from corporate interests. The short film takes a strong stance in a growing argument from animators that animation isn’t synonymous with child cartoons and can cater to regular movie goers as well.
Despite his accredited setback, Mielgo is solidifying his incredible style to be more valuable than attaching it to a major blockbuster title by winning an Oscar for best animated short in 2022 (The Windshield Wiper).
I curated a video essay that takes a deep dive into Mielgo’s career and artistry, a talk he gives on his personal view of how wild his journey to success has been, and his Oscar winning animated short film The Windshield Wiper. If you are anything like me and like to nerd out on the little details, check out exclusive 2D/3D elements that led up to his that have been mentioned on his website linked above.
Lastly, Mielgo is a Spanish artist, not Mexican. Just goes to show that Latino artists are on the rise on the global stage, most notably in American entertainment.