Posted By Rachel Elizabeth Jones on Sat, Feb 10, 2018 at 11:21 AM

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Seanlockephotography | Dreamstime.com

Woman with Doritos.

Remember when Kendall Jenner brought the revolution with a can of Pepsi? In an era when big brands seem especially desperate to prove they're woke, PepsiCo has again ignited ridicule, this time for CEO Indra Nooyi's comments in a January 31 interview with Freakonomics.  Speaking with interviewer Stephen J. Dubner, Nooyi described how  PepsiCo has been working to develop female-friendlier versions of their snack-food. Among the considerations, she said, were that women "don’t like to crunch too loudly in public. And they don’t lick their fingers generously and they don’t like to pour the little broken pieces and the flavor into their mouth."

Tags: University of Vermont , Doritos , Image , Web Only

Posted By Dan Bolles on Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 7:46 PM

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Courtesy of Luis Calderin

Luis Calderin

Luis Calderin had a front-row seat to the spectacle that was the 2016 U.S. presidential election. The Burlington-based marketing specialist, designer and DJ served as the director of arts, culture and the youth vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) presidential campaign. From curating nationally touring political art exhibits to managing celebrity endorsements from the likes of rapper Killer Mike and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, it was a role that uniquely suited Calderin's varied interests.

Since the campaign, Calderin has continued working at what he calls "the intersection of youth, culture and politics." He spent time with Rock the Vote, the national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that aims to get youth to the polls. Currently, he's running his own boutique marketing firm, Okay Okay Creative. And he's writing a book, PoliticArts, that examines the history of campaign art.

Calderin's latest endeavor is a new multimedia presentation, "Space Time Magic," debuting this Thursday, February 8, at Champlain College's Alumni Auditorium in Burlington. Fusing music and design, Calderin recounts his unlikely story, from moving to Burlington from Miami as a teenager — and the first American-born son of Cuban immigrants — to the experiences and influences that led him to Sanders' campaign and to his current projects. Think of it like a hip-hop TED talk. The event's  program is designed to look like a vinyl album cover.

Tags: Senator , Luis Calderin , Bernie Sanders , graphic design , Image , Web Only

Posted By Elizabeth M. Seyler on Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 2:43 PM

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Stowe Tango Music Festival

Left to right: Héctor Del Curto, Pablo Ziegler and Claudio Ragazzi

Like American jazz, Argentine tango music was born of multicultural interaction. Africans, Europeans and South Americans, thrown together during Argentina's economic expansion at the turn of the 20th century, created tango from the percussion of drums, the lilt of waltz, the poetic banter of the plains. Tango and its American cousin continue to evolve, and a skilled group with local ties has combined the forms to award-winning effect.

On January 28, the Pablo Ziegler Trio won the Best Latin Jazz Album Grammy Award for Jazz Tango. The trio is composed of Ziegler on piano, Claudio Ragazzi on guitar and Héctor Del Curto on bandoneon, the instrument that makes the accordion-like sound commonly associated with tango. The recording includes original works by Ziegler and modern classics by legendary bandoneonist Astor Piazzolla. This Grammy marks the first time a tango recording has taken the top award in the Latin jazz category.

Tags: Grammy Awards , Argentine tango , Stowe Tango Music Festival , Pablo Zeigler , Hector Del Curto , Image , Web Only

Posted By Amy Lilly on Tue, Feb 6, 2018 at 10:47 AM

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Courtesy of Vermont Symphony Orchestra

Vermont Symphony Orchestra

On January 25, the Vermont Symphony Orchestra voted to unionize. The Boston Musicians Association, which is the Boston local of the American Federation of Musicians, will represent the orchestra. In negotiations, the VSO will be collaboratively represented by BMA and the Greater Springfield, Berkshire County and Vermont Musicians Association — the geographically nearest AFM local, in Springfield, Mass.

Tags: Vermont Symphony Orchestra , Ben Cadwallader , Guster , Boston Musicians Association , Image , Web Only

Posted By Kymelya Sari on Sat, Feb 3, 2018 at 6:30 AM

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Kymelya Sari

Deb Reger, host of "Moccasin Tracks," at WRUV

When Deb Reger began her weekly radio show, "Moccasin Tracks," on WRUV 90.1 FM last Tuesday at noon, she reminded her listeners where she was. "We recognize this area where we broadcast from as N'Dakinna, the ancestral homeland of the Abenaki nation," she said from the radio station's studio in the University of Vermont's Davis Center in Burlington.

As the song "Grandmother" by Navajo artist Radmilla Cody played in the background, Reger told listeners that her guest for the week was Grandmother Nancy Andry, an elder who lives in Connecticut and is of Algonquin and Metis heritage.

It took a couple of tries before Reger got through on the phone to her guest. So the seasoned radio host adjusted her playlist to include longer songs. She wasn't too frazzled, though. "It happens," she explained.

Tags: Moccasin Tracks , Deb Reger , Grandmother Nancy Andry , Melody Walker Brook , Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs , WRUV 90.1 FM , Abenaki , N'Dakinna , Black Hawk Singers , Image , Web Only

Posted By Sadie Williams and Rachel Elizabeth Jones on Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 6:28 PM

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New City Galerie

Sculpture by Samantha Eckert

Hi there, art peeps (and wannabe art peeps). It’s been a hot minute since we’ve executed our monthly roundup of the First Friday art shows we’re particularly excited about. But we’re back on the train! Our picks for February are an interesting mix of death, trees, parasites and analog/digital Frankensteins. To wit …

Burlington's New City Galerie launches a show that examines grief and psychic spaces through installation works. Also in the Queen City, Valentine’s Day gets a special sort of comeuppance with the parasite-themed “HUSK” opening at the South End’s S.P.A.C.E. Gallery.

In Montpelier, a trio of artists — including Erika Senft Miller’s performance troupe — continues their two-year examination of decaying wood in “SiteTime: Scene Two: Falling.” Meanwhile, in the Mad River Valley, Jim Dodds proves that meme art is not just the purview of deranged millennials.

Wherever the art spirits take you, we hope you get to enjoy at least one of these fine offerings — and be safe!

Xoxo,

(Art) Gossip Girl(s)