Further to the introspection following another night of PBS, I have been thinking of Cuban Pete. I caught snippets of a program where he was speaking to a class at the Art Institute here in Philadelphia. He and his partner did a dance version of VH-1 Storytellers, dropping names of people and places the students had no context or appreciation for and then at his own request and urging would dance for the students. They were respectful but not engaged and one guy in particular caught my attention with his bemused expression. His eyes. They were the same eyes I have when having a ridiculous and unnecessary conversation with a homeless man. I could tell the students thought Cuban Pete was funny, thought the whole thing was funny. The instructor was breathless with praise for how well he could articulate his joints and how well he moved (read: for his age). Praise born of low expectations. Another student talked about how well he used to dance and called him a living legend.
But I looked at those kids and thought, you are Cuban Pete. You will talk about that Chris Brown joint and try to krunk when you are 70. Jay Z will be at the Art Institute of Philadelphia rapping to a bunch of bemused college students and they will watch his old videos with a smile tugging at the corners of their mouth, entertained by what we considered entertainment. Beyonce's Single Ladies and the viral phenom of copy cat videos will have kids born in 2050 rolling in the aisles. Only the annoying hipsters of the future will know who Coldplay is. If we're lucky, we'll all become living legends. But that is the beauty of youth. Why shouldn't we all think for a time that we are creating the earth anew? Some people actually do crank out something in their youth that changes the world. Still I loved how caught up in how cool they were, the students, and how none of them seemed to recognize their future shuffling along to Mambo music and telling the stories of when he was just as cool as they.
p.s. on the video, his dance partner in his twilight years; straight scary lips. Heath Ledger as The Joker. For reals.
1 comment:
"Praise born of low expectations." You're on a roll of late Ava. At least w/ me.
...krunking to Chris Brown at 70.
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