Gabe Rosales, UCI Criminology, Law and Society Ph.D. candidate, professional musician, and advocate – has a whole lot to tell us about bringing music to the carceral setting, particularly at Richard J Donovan State Prison. We hear about the remarkable yields, when a system chooses rehabilitation over punitive measures, a fertile continuation of the reforms discussed with UCI professor Keramet Reiter on AAL 10/3/23. Meet Gabe in his own words “I have toured on a private plane over Europe. I have done drugs in a room by myself for days. I have cleaned toilets and been pepper sprayed in jail during the worse race riots in OC jail history. I have meditated in silence 16 hours a day for weeks in the mountains of California. I have been cornered on the streets of Los Angeles by thousands of riot police with the Occupy LA movement. I have marched with the American Indian Movement to the Jumping Bull house for the first official Leonard Peltier day in South Dakota. I have been lucky enough to see my writing published. I have had the honor of working with the BEST musicians on the planet. The meaning of life is to give life meaning, so use your time wisely. I am just getting started.” Useful places to visit include: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9ixLTcjVOc and https://www.gaberosales.com/.
Music credits: Chimora, “Africano Americano,” Sounds of Africa – album; Kioea, “Lion’s Mane,” Stand Tall – album.