Street Punk! Banda Aceh (Indonesia)

Under the slowly tightening grip of Shariah law in North Sumatra’s Aceh province, punks causing minor transgressions are used as scapegoats to distract attention from the real political issue in Indonesia - rampant corruption. In Aceh, to be a punk is a crime, branded a ‘social disease.’ Life would be much easier for these kids, if they conformed, but this small community refuses to be destroyed.

Maria Bakkalapulo, is an American journalist and ethnomusicologist. She has contributed to the BBC, MTV Iggy, Noisey / VICE, The World (BBC/ WGBH-Boston), CBC, NPR, National Geographic Music, Songlines Magazine, TIME Magazine, The Wire Magazine, Marketplace, Going Places (Malaysia Airlines) and more.

For over a decade, Maria Bakkalapulo has been exploring and documenting events around the globe with a focus on the human condition in locations as varied as the USA, Indonesia, China and Scotland. Maria brings to her stories a distinctive approach to understanding cultures, music and the world around us. From trance ceremonies on the island of Bali to songs of freedom in East Timor to Islamic death metal in Jakarta, her work delves into the unique and unusual using all forms of media currently available.

Maria graduated with a BA in sociology and communications from Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. Starting her career in music as a host and producer of her own world music program in Florida, she moved to New York City to work as a publicist for Peter Gabriel's global music label, Real World Records. A few years later, Maria decided to go east to begin her work as a freelance journalist
documenting Hong Kong's territorial handover from British to Chinese rule. Soon after, she travelled to Thailand to produce an in-depth story about the disappearing traditional music of hill tribes in the north. Maria continued her education at the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and received a master's degree in ethnomusicology. After completing her studies, she returned to New York City where she worked at SOB's (Sounds of Brazil), a popular world music venue in downtown Manhattan. She returned to her work as an independent journalist and continues to pursue this passion today.