Showing posts with label Latinos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Latinos. Show all posts

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Videos: TV news interviews about our Obama grassroots efforts, songs, videos and what comes next

Two Interviews about the role of our videos and song played during the Obama campaign, about my career and about what comes next for all of us who volunteered.

Video:

Below is another, shorter interview I gave later that day (the day after performances on Obama's inaugural galas):
Video:


You can find the full music video question "Si se Puede Cambiar" at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ky8Hvq-F0U
and the later english version at Will.i.am's website
http://dipdive.com/member/Andres-Useche/tv/

In the second Univision interview I spoke also about the meaning of this democratic victory and the need for our continued engagement to be able to seize this opportunity to make real lasting change.

La entrevista en espanol para Agenda Washington (Univision) fue relizada en Enero 21, 2009. In the interview I also mentioned working with United for Obama and pointed to our page on youtube, I also want to praise the amazing work of Eric Byler and Annabel Park specifically.




Photos from both interviews








Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Newscast video of Andres Speaking live about Barack Obama

Here's the link:

http://www.mega.tv/EkEFEFkZVVutcLgLMP.html

It will stream in windows media, I'll try to upload a flash version at some point.
Here are some stills and a rough transcript English translation for non-Spanish speakers:




Maria Regina:
And now we go to Los Angeles where
we have singer-songwriter Andres Useche who supports
Barack Obama and demonstrates it clearly with a
song he composed about the senator.
Welcome Andres, tell us what drew you to Barack Obama's candidacy?




Andres:
Thank you Maria Regina, the first thing that made a big impression on me was his early opposition to the war in Iraq. He displayed very sound judgment regarding the global situation when he foresaw what would happen there and also what would happen with Al Qaeda in the surrounding countries, also I thought he came across as a very honest person, who, for example, defended Latinos in front of a predominately African-American audience at Martin Luther King's church, as well as in the debates seen around the world, which led me to believe that he wasn't just fishing for the votes of whatever audience happened to be in front of him, but that he stood for what he believed was right, which is that we should accept the great diversity in this country and around the world, and reach a greater understanding among all nations and that he was communicating this attitude to the different groups.




And regarding the economy, he's shown he doesn't want to just put a temporary band-aid
to try to solve our grave problems which include the gasoline prices rising, and the economy declining, but he wants to follow through with a true energy revolution which is possible and he's figured out how to pay for, it seems to me that he can accomplish it if we all get involved. An important aspect of Barack Obama's candidacy is that he has brought in a lot of people into the fold that were never part of this process, like me, I never thought I would get involved politically, I was more or less well informed but a figure like him, honest, clear and eloquent, was needed to galvanize this young community from around the US who are struggling and are the ones who are going to make sure that all these promises are kept.



Camilo: I want to ask you, sorry to interrupt you... You've made an extraordinarily positive analysis of Obama, but we have to remind of viewers, to provide full disclosure, that Mr. Obama is in favor of building the wall along the US, Mexico border and that he would require that illegal immigrants learn English as a condition to legalize their situation. But aside from that, I want to ask you how how it's going for you with this song for Obama, popularity-wise...


Maria Regina:
Yeah because, it's one thing to support
(Camilo: Is that a fly? It's John McCain. McCain sent a fly in here! LAUGHTER)


It's one thing to support a candidate but to actually write a song for him and put it out there is something else, how is it going with that?



Andres:
The truth is that I'm not the only one, and it's to Barack Obama's credit that he's inspired so many of us to use whatever talents or abilities we have to push this movement forward. It's also important to mention, regarding what you said before about immigration, that we have two options right now, Barack Obama and John McCain.

And as you can see McCain has devolved, he has regressed to the far right to cater to that group with xenophobic, we could say, anti-immigrant tendencies, his perspective has changed so much, so sincerely I think, right now the clear choice, for us Latinos is Barack Obama.

Maria Regina:
Andres, to return to Camilo's question... is it going well with the song?



Camilo:
Have they played it on the radio?



Andres:
They have played it on the radio, and there are opportunities for me to write other songs for other causes I think are very important, but to me more than a professional accomplishment I had something to say and had to find a way to say it,
Often times we think we can't do anything, we let cynicism overcome us and we stay static, and truth is that there is so much we can do, whether you can sing or not, if you can stand up and join a group, it doesn't have to be Barack Obama's, whoever it is that you support, I think every person has the power to do something, make a call, invite or take someone to vote, it is something very important we can do, to get involved to achieve a better democracy.







Camilo (to Maria Regina):
It's cool that young people are doing this uh? People say that young people are apathetic, but here's an example of the youth getting involved in the electoral process.

Maria Regina:
And it's very true, what he is saying that no matter who you are going for, it's important to come out, to vote and that our voice is heard. Andres, I think that if someone from the Obama campaign is listening to us right now, they should get in touch with you, really.

Camilo:
Or from McCain's, you never know.

Andres:
No, no, not McCain.

Camilo:
No, but if democracy...

Maria Regina (to Camilo):
But it became perfectly clear that McCain isn't... at least to him... isn't an option.

Camilo:
I'm just saying... they might say they didn't like that, and they would like another...

Andres:
Maybe another against McCain.

Camilo:
Thank you very much

Andres:
You welcome, thank you Camilo and Maria

--


Upon watching it I also realize that I should have found a way to talk about my collaborators, Eric Byler, Warren Fu, Annabel Park, Loni Pham etc... or at least bring up the name of our song which the anchors never mentioned... but I'm happy I got out some of the more important stuff i wanted to say.

Go Obama

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Texas, here we come! Sen. Cedillo and Si Se Puede Cambiar Artists to join forces for Obama

I'm pasting the United for Obama press release below:


8:40 AM - MEDIA ADVISORY: Obama Viral Video Artists Travel to Houston

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 28, 2008

OBAMA VIRAL VIDEO ARTISTS TRAVEL TO HOUSTON
Latino/Asian American Artists Behind "Si Se Puede Cambiar" Arrive Tomorrow

HOUSTON, TX – The artists behind the viral music video "Si Se Puede Cambiar" (Yes We Can Change) will fly to Houston, TX this weekend to volunteer for Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign. "Si Se Puede Cambiar" has now been posted to the internet with English, Vietnamese, and Korean subtitles, where it has been viewed more than 80,000 times in six days.

Singer/songwriter Andres Useche (30), an immigrant from Colombia whose father lives in Houston, will arrive in Texas on Saturday morning. He will volunteer on Latino outreach with California State Senator Gilbert Cedillo, who makes a cameo in Useche's video.

Useche said of his new hit song, "I felt disillusioned and powerless for many years as I watched our government fail us. But Obama's message awakened me. While volunteering for him, I experienced the spirit of renewed enthusiasm that has touched so many people, and this inspired me to write the song."

The opening words of the song — "For too long we have been sleeping, but we have been afraid to dream" — came to Useche while door-knocking in East Los Angeles with film director Eric Byler (36). The two began shooting the music video two days later on Super Tuesday, while Useche was still memorizing the lyrics. Byler, best known for South by Southwest award-winners CHARLOTTE SOMETIMES and AMERICANESE, said his favorite thing about the video is the volunteerism it captures. "We are a team that includes some talented artists, but more importantly we are a group of citizens who feel a responsibility to help move this country forward."

Byler and Annabel Park (39) fly to Houston on Friday morning from Baltimore, MD. Both are Asian American filmmakers who work closely with Latinos on the immigration issue. Park and Byler are co-directors of 9500 LIBERTY, an on-going series popular on YouTube documenting the politicization of the immigration issue in Northern Virginia. 9500 LIBERTY has generated 394,000 hits since October, including 132,000 for a video in which Park compares the Latino immigration experience to her own.

"The obstacles facing the Latino community today mirror my own immigration experience as a Korean American," said Park, who moved with her family to Houston at the age of nine. Tomorrow's return to Houston will be her first in two decades.

Park and Byler began their latest YouTube series, "United For Obama," on January 14th in Las Vegas, NV. The series chronicles road-trips, canvassing, and in-language phone calls (over 20,000 to Virginia from cities around the nation) on behalf of Sen. Obama. The videos include such celebrities as Kal Penn, Kelly Hu, Kerry Washington, and Tatyana Ali. But their most popular video by far is Useche's moving ballad.

Useche joined "United For Obama" after coming across their videos on the internet. "The internet has been a crucial component in this movement, and in our case in particular," Park said. "YouTube and Facebook have allowed us to collaborate with volunteers from around the country."

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

"Si Se Puede Cambiar" video and News

Hello everyone, thanks for all your support. Thanks also to those who have sent press links for our video "Si Se Puede Cambiar" . I'll share some with the rest of you so you can post comments at those sites and help us keep doing our bit to rally the nation behind Barack Obama's message of hope.

From the Austin Chronicle

The San Francisco Chronicle

The Daily Kos

The Honolulu Star Bulletin

The Dallas Morning News
This is about both a song for Hillary and our video and song for Obama. Never mind the title, read on to see who's favored in it.

I heard we were on Telemundo and another Spanish language channel, but that's all I know.

"Si Se Puede Cambiar: is also up at The Official Barack Obama for President page, (you have to scroll down as it was published on Feb 22), or if it's too late when you read this you can always reach the permanent link here at main blog in Spanish

Here's the video itself as hosted at my site where you can also download TWO versions of the song, one with Barack Obama and his supporters chanting in the background and one that's just me. You will also find the lyrics in Spanish and English. By the way, the response from English has been such that we've decided to record a version of the song in English that will eventually have its own video. More on this later, here's the video:


And here's a few other places where you can find it as well and comment and vote if you wish, there's the main youtube version
which has received honors as one of the Most viewed and Top Rated videos this week in the category of News and Politics. Muchas gracias to those who've voted for it! Other uploads of the song have surfaced on youtube including some that have been subtitled into Vietnamese, Korean and more.
There's the copy version at Webcastr .
Thanks. Have a good one.

Friday, February 22, 2008

For Barack Obama: "Si Se Puede Cambiar" Music Video

Here's our video Si Se Puede



I wrote this song while campaigning with the grassroots group United for Obama.
Like many I've felt disfranchised for many years because I saw too many politicians playing games and not backing their promises with actions. In Barack Obama I found a leader that didn't bow down to corporate powers and who fought for what was right no matter what his audience was. He spoke of cutting gas emissions to automakers and spoke to the African-American community of the importance of ending discrimination but not only against them, but also by some of them, the discrimination against immigrants, the Jewish people or gays and lesbians. This struck a chord with me. We must fight discrimination of all kinds, not because it is personally convenient, but because it is the right thing to do. Because all of us as a society will be better off if we truly embrace equality and justice for all. Here is a man who not only offered a compassionate and effective way to offer healthcare to all but who also stood firm from the beginning against this despicable war when the position was unpopular.

I've heard people criticize him because he's a great speaker. They are really desperate if their attempt is put down his ability to energize people of all ages, genders and races to become active in the democratic process. What they are trying to ignore is the fact that we are not only responding to his eloquence, but also to the truth of his message. It is a message of a more balanced engagement with world, of an economy that is not rigged to benefit the few, a message of tolerance and progress.

It is this message that has awaken me, and so many of our young, from our long political slumber. It is this renewed enthusiasm that fuels this vast movement, and it is the plurality, the diversity of this movement which inspired me to write this song.

The lyrics were thoughts that have been growing within me, and I'm sure, many others, and as Barack galvanized our intentions, this campaign focused my thoughts into this words that came out in a matter of hours.

We recorded quickly and it is thanks to Eric Byler, Warren Fu, Loni Pham and Annabel Park that you are able to see the finished product so immediately after the fact.

It was a labor of deep-rooted conviction, born of a desire not to acerbate antagonism, but to help, in however small measure, to unite those of us who have been waiting for so long for a moment in which to step up and take charge in the betterment of this world. That's right, we can improve this world. It is not an impossibility. We can do it. Yes we can.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Latinos por Obama 08 video

Filmed on Feb. 11th at the University of Maryland. On the following day, Latinos in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC helped Barack Obama win the Potomac Primary.

Filmado el 11 de Febrero en la Universidad de Maryland. Al dia siguiente, Latinos en Virginia, Maryland y Washington DC ayudaron a Barack Obama ganar esas elecciones primarias.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

New version of my song Si Se Puede

I just finished recording and mixing Si Se Puede half an hour ago. Hear it at: www.virb.com/useche

Friday, February 15, 2008

Our Moment is Now - Barack Obama




“When I am this party’s nominee, my opponent will not be able to say that I voted for the war in Iraq; or that I gave George Bush the benefit of the doubt on Iran; or that I supported Bush-Cheney policies of not talking to leaders that we don’t like. And he will not be able to say that I wavered on something as fundamental as whether or not it is ok for America to torture — because it is never ok… I will end the war in Iraq… I will close Guantanamo. I will restore habeas corpus. I will finish the fight against Al Qaeda. And I will lead the world to combat the common threats of the 21st century: nuclear weapons and terrorism; climate change and poverty; genocide and disease. And I will send once more a message to those yearning faces beyond our shores that says, “You matter to us. Your future is our future. And our moment is now.”

Friday, February 08, 2008

Latinos for Obama + song news

Hi! I'm rushing out to the recording studio to record the song I wrote in support of the campaign. In the meantime here's our Obama latino conversation including yours truly.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Kerry Washington, Kelly Hu,Tatyana Ali, yours truly and latinos for Obama interviews

These are some videos my friends at http://www.youtube.com/unitedforobama have shot recently. I was interviewed for some of them and brought a few friends to contribute their thoughts on why, out of all the candidates left in the field, Barack Obama would be by far the best President not only for the minorities but for everyone who believes in equality and an end to discrimination, division and injustice.

Tatyana Ali (recording artist/actress Glory Road,Kiss the girls, Fresh Prince of Belaire)


Washington Kerry (actress: Ray, The Last King of Scotland, I think I love my wife )



Latinos por Obama (en espanol, including yours truly)


Kelly Hu ( actress : The Air I breathe, x2: xmen united )

"Marching into the Light" by Andres Useche