writes:In covering the 2nd French Intervention in Mexico, we've gone back to the origins with music videos about President Juarez's moritorium on the debt, and Emperor Napoleon III's motives for intervening.
I also wanted to cover the viewpoint of the Mexican opponents of Juarez's Liberals – the Conservatives. This was an alliance of two groups that had quite different motivations: the monarchists and the institutional Catholic church (as opposed to the common priests, many of whom favored or were even leaders of the Liberals).
This music video aims to recreate the viewpoint of then-Bishop Antonio Labastida as of 1861, when he was in exile at the Vatican.
I worked with Gemini to come up with these lyrics:
Of Altars & Iron Laws
Verse 1
They called me shepherd in a quiet town,
By Zamora's dawn my vows were found.
They taught me prayer, the holy light,
To guard the fold through darkest night.
Then came the Law with iron hand,
To take our altars, close our land –
A world unmade by stroke of pen,
Where sacred rights are lost to men.Chorus
Oh Juárez, you clasp the secular flame,
You write the rule and call its name - reform.
You speak of liberty, but who will claim
The chapel’s silence, compelled to conform?
When bells are taken, who will sing?
When altars fall, what comfort brings?
I stand to answer in a voice grown thin:
For Church and souls, I will not bend to sin.Verse 2
I read the codes, their cold decree,
The Church reduced to memory.
They say the nation must be free,
But freedom cuts our ministry.
We tend the poor, we teach the child,
A thousand years in mercy styled –
Now laws demand we turn around,
And let the orphan lose his ground.Bridge
Did we not bind ourselves in love?
Did we not guide to heaven above?
If politics must sever grace,
Then who will hold the saving place?
My heart is worn, my duty strained –
To obey the Nation when faith is chained?
For heaven’s law must still survive
Despite elections, none may contrive.Chorus
Oh Juárez, you clasp the secular flame,
You write the rule and call its name - reform.
You speak of liberty, but who will claim
The chapel’s silence, compelled to conform?
When bells are taken, who will sing?
When altars fall, what comfort brings?
I stand to answer in a voice grown thin:
For Church and souls, I will not bend to sin.Verse 3
No hatred burns within my chest,
But sorrow deep for what was blessed.
I pray for peace and for the right
To keep the sacraments in sight.
If history marks this bitter tide,
Let it recall where duties lie:
A shepherd keeps his flock, though torn,
And lights the candle at the morn.Chorus
Oh Juárez, may God illumine roads you take,
May wisdom soften laws you make – reform.
Until then I will guard each holy stake,
And in these pews keep vigil, keep the form.
When bells are taken, still I sing –
A whispered hope, a fragile ring.
For Church and souls, with faltering hymn,
I keep the faith, I will not bend to sin.
Historical Notes
- "shepherd in a quiet town"
- Pelagio Antonio de Labastida y Dávalos spent his early career in Morelia (formerly Valladolid), Michoacán, Mexico. After his ordination in 1839, he served as a professor of literature, philosophy, and Spanish at the Seminario Conciliar de Morelia, eventually rising to become the Rector (Director) of the institution.
- "By Zamora's dawn"
- He was born on March 21, 1816, in Zamora, Michoacán, which was then part of New Spain. He came from a wealthy family of partial Basque heritage.
- "Then came the Law with iron hand"
- The Reform Laws and the Constitution of 1857 stripped the Church of its centuries-old status, making priests subject to secular courts, prohibiting exorbitant religious fees, and forcing the Church to sell much of its lands.
- "I will not bend to sin."
- From the Church's viewpoint, the Reform Laws were not wrong, they were sinful. This meant the Catholic Church opposed these reforms on principle, and were not interested in compromise.
- "I stand to answer in a voice grown thin"
- Famed as an anti-Liberal orator, Labastida was appointed Bishop of Puebla in 1855 when the Conservatives were in power. When the Liberals took control, Bishop Labastida was exiled to the Vatican.
Making the Music
Sonauto, which has consistently had a problem pronouncing Juarez, had no problem this time. Perhaps because the AI spelled it with the accent this time? Juárez.
I decided to use the AI part of Sonauto to my advantage, by giving it lengthy directions and letting decide what to do musically. The prompt was a mix of ideas from myself and Gemini:
Bishop Labastida sings against the reforms of Juarez. Singer is 45-year-old Mexican Catholic. Christian, resolute, sorrowful. Neoclassical / Sacred Choral Fusion. Since the narrator is a priest or shepherd defending "the chapel's silence," a style that incorporates liturgical sounds would highlight the "Church" side of the conflict. Instrumentation: A pipe organ or a somber string quartet (cello-heavy) paired with a piano. Vocal Style: Operatic or dramatic "Lieder" style. Think of a solo tenor voice that carries the weight of a prayer. Vibe: Intellectual and spiritual. The bridge, with its questions about "severing grace," would feel like a powerful, echoing plea inside an empty cathedral.
And the music tags which the AI selected based on that were simply 'pipe organ, dramatic, art song, contemporary classical, 2020s'.
I had the AI generate a few dozen results before I found something which I thought worked.
Making the Video
Nano Banana came up with art based on the lyrics:
I then enlarged the art, and used another AI, Flux Klein, to make the final version.
Caption files were created for English, French, German, Spanish and Tagalog.
The final step was to combine the music with titles, using ClipChamp:
I've posted the video as a reel on the TMP Facebook page. This one has had a mixed reaction, not getting many views, but those who viewed it liked it! 70% of the views have been from outside the wargaming community, and the 45-54 age demographic.