The tiny towns that dot the landscape of every rural region in the country provide endless fodder and perpetuate many a myth and misconception, the kind of stuff urban legends are made of.
I can only speak to the Rocky Mountains because I grew up in Wyoming where “men are men and the sheep are scared,” and have spent most of my adult life in Idaho where potato trucks have been known to tip over, spill thousands of pounds of spuds onto highways, and force temporary closures.
I’ll share what I know.
I can also say with 100 percent certainty that the wide open spaces we are known for promise to embrace anyone brave enough to endure the howling wind.
Welcome.
Here are 10 misconceptions about people who live in rural areas:
1) We are all farmers
Photo Credit: Susanne Nilsson/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
As much as I love home-grown food, I wouldn’t know the first thing about tilling the land. Too bad for me.
What’s more unfortunate is the fact that farms and other rural businesses are dwindling, which means the lack of job availability is driving country people into larger cities.
After the recession, deep poverty hit across the board, making rural life unsustainable for a large chunk of the 46 million people who live in rural communities.
But rural tradition is still strong in Idaho, especially during the fall potato harvest, when students in the eastern part of the state get a two-week break for “spud harvest.”
Yep, that’s right.
Kids get to miss school because farmers rely on the extra, strong hands to help with the potato crop, which will eventually be turned into delicious french fries.
2) We tip cows for fun
Photo Credit: Mikel Ortega/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
No, we don’t.
Because it can’t be done.
Cows weigh a thousand pounds or more and don’t sleep standing up.
If you want a good kick to the gut and risk death, go ahead and stand behind or next to a cow while trying to tip it over.
3) We are uneducated
Photo Credit: JACK SPARKS/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
Just because the mainstream media attributed Trump’s presidential win to ‘uneducated rural America’ (the people who came out in droves to vote), doesn’t mean it’s true.
Rural areas are filled with all types of yahoos – from Harvard-educated yoga instructors, to small business owners and blue-collar workers, to freelance writers and tech gurus.
4) We are racist rednecks
Photo Credit: Joe Sepielli/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
Here’s a stereotype that runs deep and can’t be summed up in one paragraph.
Let’s just say we don’t all accuse Mexico of sending rapists and criminals over the border, or call for a complete halt to Muslims entering the country.
We have been known to drive out white supremacist colonies, however.
5) We don’t know how to use the internet
Photo Credit: Toms Baugis/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
For eight years, I worked for a thriving e-commerce company that is well-known nationwide for its booklets of admission tickets to the most iconic attractions in big cities.
It was/is a highly coveted place of employment in a town of 3,000 people.
Because millions of ticket booklets are sold online, it’s kind of mandatory to know how to use the internets to be employed there.
6) We are survivalist nuts
Photo Credit: ▓▒░ TORLEY ░▒▓/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
While possessing canning and freezing techniques are great skills to have, not everyone is that resourceful.
Not everyone stocks their basements with bottled water, cans of beans, Spam, fruit cocktail and powdered Tang.
Maybe we should, though, with the way the world is heading.
7) We all shoot guns
Photo Credit: Peretz Partensky/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
We don’t all shoot and kill animals in the woods for meat.
The hunters I know are very respectful of the animal and the land.
Poachers are considered bad people.
The gun menacingly placed on the rack in the back of the pickup always intimidated me.
Can’t they just buy a handgun and put it in the glove box like everyone else?
8) We don’t have indoor plumbing
Photo Credit: Bill/ Flickr (CC by 2.0)
This is actually partially true.
It’s crazy to think that nearly 63,000 households in this country do not have complete plumbing.
This means 1.6 million people are living without indoor plumbing, including toilet, tub or shower, or running water.
Many Americans can still remember what it’s like to use an outhouse.
Relics of the past, outhouses are now cute little storage sheds with the crescent moon carved neatly into the door.
9) We use farmersonly.com to find dates
Photo Credit: Joey Harrison/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
We find our mates like everyone else – in bars, at the gym, and on the internet.
What’s funny is I’ve seen people on Tinder making the joke that they thought they were joining farmersonly.com.
The joke is on them: They are on Tinder.
10) We ride our horses to the bars
Photo Credit: Jean van der Sluijs/ Flickr (CC By 2.0)
Ok, this is true.
I’ve seen it in remote, rural towns, places where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid used to raise hell.
Although a horse probably isn’t the best designated driver, cowboys have been known to tie their horses to the hitching post in front of the bar.
Why else would a hitching post exist in front of a bar?
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Robb North/Flickr (CC By 2.0)
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The Magic City Hippies Are Ready For Prime Time
By Tyler Cianciulli
The Magic City Hippies are a Miami-based indie-funk band that has experienced a well deserved recent surge in popularity.
The band has been steadily gaining notoriety for a few years, and now it seems like the opportunities are rolling in.
Robby Hunter, Pat Howard, and John Coughlin are the three men behind the band.
They credit the Miami music scene for their development over time.
Since the Magic City Hippies’ epicenter is right here in our backyard, they are looking forward to branching out and incorporating some of the wild and interesting elements of South Florida culture.
I spoke to the band, and asked them a few questions about what we can expect to see from them in the future.
WATCH: Magic City Hippies’ “Bull Ride
RISE NEWS: Are you working on anything right now?
Magic City Hippies: “Right now, we’re focused on working on our new album. It is going to be a mix of new songs and old songs. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are really excited about what is to come. We’ve been working on incorporating a more distinct salsa vibe, with an emphasis on high energy funk. Before our album drops, we plan on releasing two singles.”
RISE NEWS: Tell me about your last performance.
Hippies: “We actually played the Heat game recently. We were on the court, and on national television. They had us play before Game 1 of the Playoffs – and at halftime.”
RISE: How did the Miami music scene influence your music?
Hippies: “Performing in Miami has provided so many opportunities. There really aren’t too many spots better for emerging talent. We’ve tried to embrace our environment by incorporating a more tropical, Spanish vibe. We want to make music people want to dance to.”
RISE: What do you do when you’re not on stage?
Hippies: “Well, right now we are in the process of organizing our band as a business. This is often tough for indie artists because we aren’t connected to a major label. This means that we have to provide the money and the resources that a record agency would provide. We actually have a bunch of people on our payroll now. We are teachers, graphic designers, capitalists, and most importantly, musicians.”
RISE: Tell me a funny story from your recent tour.
Hippies: “We were about two hours outside of Flagler, Colorado, when we got stuck in a huge blizzard. We were on the way back home from a string of concerts and the last thing we wanted was a delay. The roads were so bad we were actually stranded for a while. It was actually John’s first time ever seeing snow.”
RISE: Do you have any advice for hopeful musicians?
Hippies: “Fake it till you make it.”
WATCH: Magic City Hippies’ “Hush”:
I actually saw the Magic City Hippies at the Virginia Key Grassroots Festival of Music and Dance.
Their live performances are unrivaled, their music is trendy, and their image of a Florida born-and-raised band resonates with their listeners.
It seems as if the Magic City Hippies are starting to corner a genre that they are simultaneously pioneering.
I am excited to hear the band’s planned singles and working album.
The Magic City Hippies are currently on a tour of South Miami. You can learn more by visiting their website: magiccityhippies.com
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Magic City Hippies/Youtube
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Black Violin: “We Studied Classical, But We Lived Hip-Hop”
Kev Marcus (Kevin Sylvester) and Wil B. (Wilner Baptiste) are some of the hottest names in classical music today. They’ve also made a splash in hip-hop circles for their work, which makes them a pretty unlikely success story.
Together they form Black Violin, a hip-hop, classically influenced violin and viola duo.
This talented pair creates a unique and genuine sound that is redefining current and past musical genres and it all started at a South Florida high school, where the two met years ago.
Their music was formed from a blend of their classical training and musical taste in hip-hop.
“We didn’t try to do this, and that is why it works- we were it,” Kev Marcus said in an interview with RISE NEWS.
Their sound incorporates qualities of both genres into one, eloquent blend. It is a sound unlike any other that identifies the similar chord structures between the two genres, while also illuminating the tonal differences.
WATCH: Black Violin’s “Stereotypes”
“Classical is pure, naked, and vulnerable,”Kev Marcus said. “There is a fragility to it that mirrors hip hop’s rigid feel.”
Black Violin creates a sound that challenges people’s perceptions, and inspires others to think outside the box.
They also are not afraid to take a stand on issues impacting people’s lives.
“When coming up with the music we weren’t thinking about how as black men we can change people’s perceptions, it was just a natural reaction for us,” Kev Marcus said.
Kev Marcus (Kevin Sylvester) and Wil B. (Wilner Baptiste) make up Black Violin. Photo Credit: Black Violin/ Facebook
He said their goal is to break down stereotypes that keep people from expressing themselves and creating something new and innovative.
Their music always comes first, but social activism and influence emanates from their sound, their image, and the way their music relates to a universal crowd.
“Stereotypes” is one of Black Violin’s most popular songs, and it features Kev Marcus’s three daughters, wife, and mother.
As musicians, Black Violin is genuine and groundbreaking; but the emotion behind their sound is a powerful quality of their music.
Kev Marcus described that their intention is to convey emotion in what they play.
“I want you to feel invigorated, inspired, happy, and so on,” Kev Marcus said.
Black Violin’s music does just that and more.
Listen: Black Violin’s “Shaker”
Their sound is relatable for people of all backgrounds and ages, and represents timeless qualities of music in a revolutionary way.
Black Violin demonstrates how musical genres can be transformed and redefined to create insightful expressions of emotion and tone.
If hip-hop is raw and rugged, and classical is naked and vulnerable, their music allows their listeners to find catharsis in the balanced blend of the two sensations.
Black Violin is about to go on a tour of Europe. For more info, you can visit their website: www.blackviolin.net
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in public affairs. You can write for us.
Cover Photo Credit: Black Violin/ Youtube (Screengrab)
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“Our Generation’s Berlin Wall”: Young Miami Reacts To Castro’s Death
MIAMI- Alberto Paradela and Victor de Zarraga stood near the bakery section of Versailles, the famed Cuban restaurant that serves as an anchor point for the diaspora forced out by the brutalities of Fidel Castro.
The two young men, both 23, took deep puffs from cigars while staring out in awe of the scene before them.
“This is our generation’s Berlin Wall,” Paradela said.
They both looked out on SW 8th St, better known as Calle Ocho in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami.
Around them were thousands of people. Some young, many old. Most were Cubans, and everyone seemed to be in a joyous mood.
A constant melodic buzz of car horns, mixed with the occasional vuvuzela burst, drum line tap, and air horn squeal made the street sound like a sporting event.
But for Paradela and de Zarraga, this was personal.
Not only are there the descendants of one of the first flights from Castro’s despotism in 1961, they both also graduated from Belen Jesuit Preparatory School in southern Miami.
(L to R) Victor de Zarraga, Alberto Paradela and Rocky Vazquez all graduated from Belen Jesuit Prep in Miami. Castro graduated from the same school before he forced it out of Cuba. Photo Credit: Rich Robinson/ RISE NEWS
Castro was himself a grad from Belen when it was located in Havana.
But when he came to power, Castro forced the Jesuit religious community from the island. They relocated to Miami where the school became a breeding ground for anti-Castro thought and action.
“Fidel was taught the same things as us but he used it for evil,” Paradela said. “This is a night where we can move past that history.”
“It’s still a journey but a giant motivating for progress [moving forward,” de Zarraga said of the impact on Castro’s death.
While this younger generation of Cuban Americans feels excited about Castro’s death, there is also a level of surrealness.
“It’s very hard for us because our families talk about a Cuba that doesn’t exist anymore,” Paradela said.
Mauricio Pons was born and raised in Miami like Paradela and de Zarraga. He is very politically active, serving as the president of the FIU college Republicans.
“Most of us have been waiting for this for a very long time,” Pons said. “We’ll go out and celebrate the death of a tyrant and the opportunity for the process for Cuba to become a democratic state.”
Some of the young Cuban Americans in the crowd wore pro-Trump shirts and “Make America Great Again” hats.
The order counter at Versailles restaurant in Little Havana in the early morning hours of 11-26-2016. Photo Credit: Rich Robinson/ RISE NEWS
However, one recent college graduate whose parents were born in Cuba, and didn’t want his name published, said that he felt a bit uncomfortable about the celebration of a man’s death. He said that he is a member of the Green Party.
A few hours later as the steady rain slowed, Paola and Carla Llaneza banged on pots and pans in front of the entrance of Versailles. Sisters, their parents were born in Cuba.
Paola heard the news of Castro’s death while watching Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them in a theatre. She jumped up and came to 8th Street.
“We’ve been waiting for years,” Paola said. “We thought it was going to be like this.”
RISE NEWS is a grassroots journalism news organization that is working to change the way young people become informed and engaged in the world. You can write for us.
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