Viva la revolucion!!

That's my man, yo!

This past weekend, I went to Las Cruces, and it will go down in the books as one of the best weekends ever, and one of the biggest regrets of my life ever (ok, that last one may be a bit melodramatic, but you'll see......)

A few weeks ago, I discovered that Immortal Technique, my most favorite revolutionary hip-hop artist in the world ever, was going to be having a free concert in Las Cruces (my future home, no less!). Fuck yeah!! Before I talk about my weekend, let me tell you about Tech, or at least my interpretation of him since that's all I really know. I have a deep respect for this guy, his work and his music are something that I can really relate to, that I understand and love. He knows the injustices and the most ridiculous aspects of this world and its systems and raps about them. Some of it is angry, but if some of this shit doesn't make you angry, then you really must not give a shit (thanks, Ani!). I am instantly drawn to anyone who expresses their dissent of the institutions, especially in this country. I'm probably more radical (much more radical) than most of my friends, with the exception of Talia. I don't think our capitalist system and our falsely labeled democratic government can be fixed. I think it's going to have to burn to the ground and we're going to have to start over (literally or metaphorically, either will work). If I were to label myself, I would be closest to an anarchist, I think, though I'm not too worried about what to call myself. I don't believe people need to be policed and told what do in order to be decent people. I do believe in community and cooperation. I believe that this world is fucked up from the basement to the attic and everywhere in between and that most people don't know and /or don't care. But I also appreciate life and find the beauty and love everywhere I can and just soak it up. I'm happy, but I'm also angry at injustice and apathy. I don't like violence as a general principle and I think that things can and should be resolved peacefully if at all possible. However, I think there are circumstances that will require us to fight for the things that we know are right and just in this world; that sometimes, we must fight oppression in every way that we know how. With all of that said, Immortal Technique is just about my favorite artist right now. I know and love his music, and I was freaking pumped to go see him in concert.

So, back to this weekend, from the beginning. Talia and I left at 6:00 in the morning, because I thought the show was supposed to start around noon (turns out, it wasn't till 9:00 that night, but the day was so wonderful, I'm glad we left early). T and I have been friends since kindergarten, she's my best friend in the world, and I love her and all of her ridiculousness. Anytime I take a roadtrip with her, we have the best damn time. We talked about any and everything, and laughed our asses off.

Once in Cruces, we met up with T's cousin Sam and his girlfriends Sarah. And what ensued was the most perfect day. We were at the park for a few hours for an Earth Day celebration, saw my gal Niki, the best little ray of sunshine ever. We listened to some drums, some bluegrass music, and rolled around in the grass on this fantastic, warm day. Afterwards, we went to Mesilla and drank some mojitos out on a patio and listened to live music, Latin music, a woman with a fantastic voice.

Then! Oh yes, then! We went to the campus to see the concert. We got there a bit early, watched an emcee battle (kinda wack, I probably could've done better than most of those dudes..:) ) So there I was, standing near the front of the stage, when T runs up out of nowhere "I just met Immortal Technique! Come on!" I was like, "Yeah, right bitch, leave me alone, I have a good spot!" "No I'm seriouss! Let's go", she said and started dragging me to the side. I finally paid attention to her and realized she was fairly sizzling with excitement. I kinda felt my insides turn into jell-o as I followed her to the side of the stage. Oh....shit....man..... There was a merch table with 2 guys by it, one in a camo jacket and hat. I don't think anyone there realized who he was, really. Oh shit. I looked at T. "Really? Are you sure? Is that him??" I ask. "Yes!!"

I almost turned right around and said, "No! I don't want to go over there!" Looking back, there was probably some starstruckness going on, and I realized it, and I didn't want him to think I was wack and groupie-like. In a nutshell, I froze. We walked up to the table and he looked up. I smiled, shook his hand. "Hi, I'm Krysten," I said. I can't remember what he said. Hi? How's it goin'? I really have no idea. I made eye contact then looked away to the table with his CD's and some shirts on it. And that was it. I couldn't talk to him! What?!?! I know, I know, trust me, I know. I had about a million things to say, a thousand conversations to start. But how do you communicate your nature to someone whose nature (or at least a part of it) you already know? I guess what it came down to was that I didn't want to look like a fool in front of someone that I've admired from a distance. Lame, I know. What the hell happened to my balls, man? They left me at a critical moment.

And that was it. My interaction with him. Oh, I mean the concert rocked my world, I went hoarse from yelling and I was throwing my fist up in the air. He was an amazing performer, and I was impressed with the way he carried himself. People ended up on stage after ignoring the ropes (me and Talia included!), and he just kept on. Bad flippin' ass man, I'm not kidding. The show rocked.

He had nice hands. Soft.