Chávez and El Sistema

Here is video of Gustavo Dudamel conducting "Mambo" from West Side Story at a rally celebrating the bicentennial of Venezuela last summer. When it's over, at 3:20, you see an image of Hugo Chávez accompanied by the slogan "¡Pa'lante Comandante!" — "Forward, Commander!" Dan Wakin examines the controversy over Chávez's relationship with El Sistema and Dudamel in the New York Times.

In other music-and-politics news, Anna Netrebko and Valery Gergiev appear on a list of 499 supporters of Vladimir Putin.