Jorge Requena Ramos

she’s thinking all the time, I know what she wants. . KA: He knows all the small variances in dog language. JA: So that’s one thing, I’ve learned to speak dog.

JK: It’s a bit of a head trip realizing dogs understand language pretty well they just can’t form words .

KA: It’s more like psychic prompts.

JK: So you have a telepathic connection with the dog .

KA: I think I found that I care a lot less about stuff. Before I would think maybe I should buy a new shirt because my clothes are not looking so good but now I really don’t care, why do I need anything?

JK: Consumerism all around has gone down, people just don’t spend like they used to . I know I don’t, I don’t leave the house so what am I going to spend money on?

JA: I think I realized how precious time is too, getting stuck in this loop and endless cycle of 9 to 5 and wishing my time away, wishing it was the weekend. It sounds cheesy but every moment is precious and I’ve found myself really analyzing everything like “why am I doing this certain thing that doesn’t make me happy and just going along with it? I have the power to change that situation or just remove myself from it completely.”

JK: It will be interesting to see if that takes hold on a societal level because everybody is getting more reflective about what they value from all of the increased isolation . Coming out of this maybe that will be a positive thing who knows .

KA: There’s potential for lots of positives about it. The way things were kind of going in 2019 it felt out of control before the pandemic happened.

JK: That’s true . How do you feel doing what you do

JA: We don’t really know any different. We’ve both lived here most of our lives. It has its advantages and disadvantages. There’s no-one doing what we’re doing so we’re unique in that way and if we were in a bigger city there might be more people doing similar type things and we may get lost in the shuffle I don’t know. It’s definitely hard to put on a show when there are only 2 or 3 other bands that are complementary but then it opens up more opportunities to play with bands that sound nothing like us. KA: That’s kind of a Winnipeg thing too to have a multi band night where they don’t all sound the same and that’s ok. JA: The nice thing about that is people’s musical tastes are quite varied, they’re not into just one sound and here it’s not possible to be into just one sound because you’d be watching the same 3 bands over and over again.

JK: What part of the world do you think understands Ghost Twin the best?

KA: Moncton?

JK: I did not expect that .

KA: We’ve had really interesting shows all over Canada and the US you never really know where it’s going to connect. There’s people who are into it everywhere you go as long as we’re smart enough to reach out to them so they know that we’re coming to their town.

JK: Now I miss touring . Alright last question, what are your post pandemic hopes and dreams for this new album?

KA: We definitely want to get back out on the road. We’re not sure when we’ll be able to do that exactly just yet. We’re hearing that just because no one has been touring for at least a year now virtually the hope and dream of possibly touring in spring 2022 may not happen because there’s so many tours being booked for that time venues are just going to be slammed. Not really sure when we’ll be able to do that again but as soon as it seems feasible we’re definitely there. JA: Yeah there’s like 4 times as many bands wanting to tour at the same time now and I don’t know how many venues have shut down so there’s less places to play and 4 times as many people wanting to play. We’ve always wanted to go to Europe and Mexico. KA: We get a lot of sales and streams in South and Central America and in Europe so we have our sites on doing some touring there if possible. Hopefully they’ve all supported their venues in the off season trying to keep them alive. That’s something we’ve done, at possibly the detriment of our health, is eating a lot of Magic Bird. JA: The one we really want to be there after this is the Handsome Daughter so we’ve been eating Magic Bird way too often. KA: They’re probably wondering “how are you guys still alive?”

JK: And I bet the audiences are going to be super hungry .

KA: I hope so.

JK: I know I will be .

JA: At my work we were talking about that, are people going to be cautious or is it going to be a big party for the next decade? I hope it’s the big party.

JK: Me too .

ISABELLA SOARES

Jorge Requena Ramos

The last few years have been arts filled for Jorge Raquena Ramos. From perpetuating the 70’s Mexican sounds in his band to working as a filmmaker, it seemed nothing but fitting for him to become the Artistic Director at the WECC (West End Cultural Centre). Even though Jorge was occupying a new job post shortly before a pandemic crisis, he was able to easily transition into the role due to some of his prior experiences off-screen.

“I consider myself lucky to be in this role during this time because I was able to use the years of TV production experience to pivot our programming accordingly. We were amongst the first to be ready with high quality online concerts in June last year. We have produced over 70 shows now and we plan to continue this. Navigating the pandemic has indeed been strange, but we want to be here for people when it’s time to come back to in-person shows. We are taking steps to come back with a force!”

Fast forward to two years at the WECC: Jorge is appreciative of the work they continue to accomplish when it comes to providing a deeper understanding of music and culture. He also acknowledges that his occupation is much more than just booking and organizing events in Winnipeg.

“The WECC has always been a beacon for cultural unity. Now with an anti-Racist/anti-oppressive mandate we are making efforts to help the people who live close to us. To celebrate our cultural wealth as Winnipeggers, Manitobans and Canadians. This job is about so much more than concerts. The WECC is a reflection of Winnipeg’s soul and we want to ensure that reflection includes everyone.”

Requena Ramos was born and raised in Mexico City. When he immigrated to Canada to further his horizons in filmmaking, he also attempted to share his country’s music identity through his band’s repertoire. The Mariachi Ghost features Jorge on lead vocals, and they perform tracks that blend Spanish and English lyrics. The intent behind the band is to present more of his culture to his local community and beyond.

“The Mariachi Ghost was my first effort to try to build a new system of cultural appreciation. When we created The Mariachi Ghost, every member of the band made an effort to see, feel, understand, and musicalize this rich cultural background and we think of this as a success. We poured over many cultural details for years and tried to show them to audiences in hopes that they would understand why those details are so important to the Mexican people.”

The singer detailed the importance of confronting cultural stereotypes. Despite Canada being a multicultural country, he felt that there was a lot that people didn’t know about the place he grew up in. Due to this, Jorge saw himself in the position of filling in the gaps in regards to his home country.

“When our audiences have misconceptions about our cultures, not explaining those misconceptions becomes a disservice to us and to them. We were lucky to have represented Canada in international stages wearing a Mariachi suit…We also had to fight against cultural appropriation, racism and stereotypes and developed an understanding of “cultural mutual appreciation’ with other artists like us. Now that concept is guiding our work. We do it for others, so they also have a platform to showcase their culture. “

When Stylus asked him about the inspiration behind The Mariachi Ghost’s folk-led tunes, Jorge said there were too many to count. Yet, he revealed that it wasn’t the Brit-pop and blues he listened to growing up that stood out. It was his grandfather’s guitar fiddling and his mother’s singing lessons that gave the ultimate spark.

“When I moved to Canada, I missed the substance of music. The soul of what my grandfather did with his raspy voice and his out of tune guitar. I wanted that back, so I made it. I focused on listening to the sultry singers of Mexico. Chavela Vargas, Lucha Villa, Jose Alfredo Jimenes. People who understood pain and longing. And crafted that into modern songs.”

As mentioned before, Jorge has a foot in multiple creative avenues, including film. This enabled him to combine both his passion for storytelling within the lenses with his music side in an exciting project. At the end of our interview, he revealed that The Mariachi Ghost have been working on a short film, which will be out soon.

“We are releasing a short film in the next couple of months and we are also releasing a symphonic instrumental track to celebrate the film’s release. Stay tuned!”