PBS高端访谈:了解民俗音乐人翁达拉（在线收听）

JUDY WOODRUFF: Finally tonight, highlighting a new voice in folk music. As a teenager in Nairobi, Kenya, J.S. Ondara was inspired by Bob Dylan. Now, nearly a decade later, he's living in the U.S. and is out with his first album this spring. We caught up with him as he kicked off a tour at the Songbyrd Cafe here in Washington, D.C. It's part of our ongoing arts and culture series, Canvas.

J.S. ONDARA, Musician: I knew that I wanted to be a folk singer when I was about 17 years old and discovered folk music through Bob Dylan. I'm J.S. Ondara, and I'm a folk singer from Kenya. I was born in Nairobi, Kenya. I had grown up listening to all these rock songs. And I was familiar with this song Knockin' on Heaven's Door, and I was quite confident it was a Guns N' Roses song. So, I'm having this huge fight with a friend about it. And he's like, no, it's actually by this person called Bob Dylan. And I'm like, no, it's not.

J.S. ONDARA: So we made a bet. And I lost the bet. But by losing that bet, I discovered Dylan and fell into this rabbit hole of folk music. When I was 17, and I found folk music and made this conscious goal, dream of sorts, to move to America and try to find a career as a folk singer, I tried everything to try to make that happen. You know, I applied for schools. I applied for jobs. And nothing really worked for years. I came to America through the green card lottery. With this card, you can be a resident in America. You can move to America. You can settle in the country and have a life there. When that happened, it randomly felt as though it was some kind of manifestation of destiny.

In this record, Tales of America, contemplating about the times that we are in, in America, contemplating about how I fit as an immigrant in the times in America, you know, contemplating about the American dream. What does it mean for someone who's not in America, and how does that contrast to the actual experience of being a resident in America? And so I hope, in some way, to breathe life to the idea of the American dream, because perhaps it's something that people are losing faith in. I hope, in some fashion, that through my life and through the tales, to rejuvenate this idea, and not just for Americans, but I think for just all, people all around the world.

J.S. ONDARA: Thank you.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Beautiful music from J.S. Ondara, reminding us again that music reaches all the way around the world.

朱迪·伍德拉夫：欢迎收听今晚的节目，我们将着重介绍民俗音乐领域的一个新声音。在肯尼亚内罗比长大的时候，翁达拉就受到了鲍勃·迪伦的启发。现在，时光流转了10年，在美国生活的他于今天春天发布了自己的第一张专辑。他在华盛顿特区光顾音乐鸟咖啡厅的时候，我们抓住了机会采访了他。这是我们当前艺术与文化系列的部分内容。

翁达拉，音乐家：我大概17岁左右的时候就明确知道自己想成为一名民俗歌手。我发现民俗音乐是通过鲍勃·迪伦。我叫翁达拉，我是来自肯尼亚的民俗歌手，在肯尼亚的内罗比出生。我成长期间听过很多摇滚歌曲。我很熟悉的一首歌是《敲响天堂之门》，我很确信这是枪炮玫瑰的歌曲。为此，我跟一个朋友大吵了一架。他一直坚持说：不，这首歌是鲍勃·迪伦所作。而我坚持认为不是。

翁达拉：于是我们打了一个赌，我赌输了。虽然赌输，但正是这次打赌让我发现了迪伦，并沉浸在民俗音乐中不可自拔。我17岁时，知道了民俗音乐，并将此设定为目标、梦想，我下定决心去美国，以民俗歌手的身份开创一片天地。我竭尽所能实现这个梦想。比如，我申请过很多学校和工作。但很多年里，我都一无所获。我通过绿卡乐透来到美国。有了这张卡，我可以在美国居住，可以搬到美国。就是在一个国家落地生根的那种。当这一天实现的时候，就像是命运造化一般。在我的这张《美国故事》专辑中，我思考了我们在美国度过的时光，思考了我在美国的时候是怎样以移民身份度日的，也思考了美国梦。对于不在美国的人来说，这意味着什么；他们的感觉与美国居民又有什么差别？所以我希望，我能从某种程度上将生命的理念融入到美国梦之中，因为可能很多人都不再相信美国梦了。我希望能以某种方式，以我的亲身经历和故事来唤醒这个理念，这不仅是为了美国人，也是为了世界上的所有人。

翁达拉：谢谢。

朱迪·伍德拉夫：来自翁达拉的美妙音乐，再次提醒我们音乐可以抵达世界各地。