Las Madres de la Plaza de Mayo have a building at Plaza Congresso. It is a cafe, a bookstore, a resource center for human rights, a library, a video library, and a plethora of good ol' fashion radical ideologies. The cafe makes damn...damn good empenadas for 2.5 pesos. The bookstore has large sections reserved for Marxist literature and libros de carton, beautiful. There are comic books on gender and positive sexual vibes. It is a noisy, active, city hall-like place of forward thinking and support. La asociacion is also called La Universidad de las Madres, and you can imagine the sort of reference points, and ideologies, and power that might be brewing from the people in this open community. I have yet to view la Madres on Sundays but I imagine it is beautiful. Beautiful people tend to grace the building with their presence. Hearts take up more space there.
Walk through the doors, passed the bookstore on your left and cafe on your right. Follow the stares up, and enter the first door on your left, walk down the hallway of file cabinets and organizers. Anyone can join the video library, bring identification and a blank dvd. There is a strong culture of cinema in Argentina, and once the dictatorship went down, filmmakers rushed to manifest visually the horrifying era. Right now I have rented "La ora de los ornos" a very famous underground film made during the dictatorship. It is in three parts and a few hours long, it does not exist with English subtitles and it is a beautiful display of raw Argentina and powerful Marxist propaganda, it depicts a people, a faciest regime, and a solution.
get more info on the mommas at: www.madres.org
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Buenos Aires International Jazz Fest
Yes, it did end yesterday, true, it is not necessarily polite to brag about how wonderful something was, but I am going to do it anyways; well not really its a productive conversation to express how wonderful cultural events are in Buenos Aires. The Jazz fest from Oct. 15-19 was no exception. I am ardently against mentally and forthcoming, verbally expressing the currency exchange between U.S. dollars and Argentine pesos when it involves expressing how much cheaper something is here than in the U.S.A. I find it insensitive and naive, a mode of cultural isolation to ensure the gap between natives and foreigners stays wide. That being said, the most expensive events of the five day festival was 30 pesos. That is $10 U.S. for world class jazz, not to mention that many seats of the same concerts were available at 15 pesos, and that a large majority of the festival was entirely free. The Festival was subsidized by the ministry of culture; the saving grace of my own mental currency exchange is that 30 pesos is cheap in Argentinian terms compared to the same quality of music. Just last week Gilberto Gil, the great (and interestingly, ex-brazilian minister of culture) Brazilian musician played at Teatro Rex, the cheapest tickets available were 40 pesos, and they went up to around 180. At the end of the month Gal Costa and Tom Jobim will play at the Rex, and minimum tickets are 60 pesos. The festival housed performances in an array of locations throughout the city, primarily at Centro Cultural Recoleta.
Last night, the closing of the festival at Teatro Coliseo packed a full house for the New York based Jazz band Argentos, and finally the Brazilian marvel Rosa Possas. I missed a good portion of the Argentos set, but what i missed from them was healthily replaced, and promptly overfilled by the angelic vocal chords and brazilian jazz of Possas. She charmed the large crowd through lullaby and the standout basest beat boxed along. This is all to say, the arts in Buenos Aires are a carefully crafted dimond in the rough, or not, it could be that they are blown wide open and people gladly embrace the manicured attention to detail. And so, although this episode has passed, open your eyes to the many events that are always happening on local or international levels, for free or small support. Pick up free papers, there are many, and they tell much. Go to Teatro San Martin, La Tribue radio, CC Roja and Borges and Recoleta, art gallery Mite, and listen with your ears and look with your eyes.
Last night, the closing of the festival at Teatro Coliseo packed a full house for the New York based Jazz band Argentos, and finally the Brazilian marvel Rosa Possas. I missed a good portion of the Argentos set, but what i missed from them was healthily replaced, and promptly overfilled by the angelic vocal chords and brazilian jazz of Possas. She charmed the large crowd through lullaby and the standout basest beat boxed along. This is all to say, the arts in Buenos Aires are a carefully crafted dimond in the rough, or not, it could be that they are blown wide open and people gladly embrace the manicured attention to detail. And so, although this episode has passed, open your eyes to the many events that are always happening on local or international levels, for free or small support. Pick up free papers, there are many, and they tell much. Go to Teatro San Martin, La Tribue radio, CC Roja and Borges and Recoleta, art gallery Mite, and listen with your ears and look with your eyes.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
San Martin Theatre and Cannes
San Martin Theatre is located at 1530 Corrientes, currently it is screening a 4oth anniversary festival of Cannes. Tomorrow, the 15th, is the last day of the festival and over the last month the theatre has shown some divine examples of cinema, spanning the globe. Each film costs 7 pesos, and it is group of films organized together only because they are exactly as I said, phenomenal films. Take advantage of the opportunity to see some very good cinema at a very cheap price, go to http://www.teatrosanmartin.com.ar/cine/default.html to get information on the showings for today and tomorrow. All films are either in Spanish or with Spanish subtitles, so look at it as either an opportunity to practice your language skills or satisfaction of understanding film in another language, but either way go, be thrilled by beautiful imagery and story narration. Hide your eyes from the exposition of "Tarnation," be moved by the ending of "West Beirut," let the charm of film warm you to your bones.
Holidays In Argentina
There is a wonderful culture of Argentines taking advantage of and giving good name to holiday opportunities. The first day of spring for example is a holiday, Student Day, and you will find the youth out in stride. In the winter months, they have Friends day, which seems to me to be quite a humorous and wonderful idea. What happens on friends day, either you celebrate your friends, or yourself for having friends? Way to go me! Yesterday, Monday, October 13, is Columbus day around these parts. In all honesty, I couldn't tell you when that day is in the U.S. Which might have to do with the way I feel about the whole conquest and what not. Nonetheless, it manifests in another three day weekend where people escape the city and head for...Tigre seems to be that one place where Argentines escape to. Stores remain, in a confusing fashion open and closed, and the subte is free.
Tigre is just a jump away by train, and soon you can find yourself surrounded by verdent landscapes, clean air, and river. The town itself is quite a playland, offering an art museum in an old hotel building with garden terraces and simple and impecable architecture. There is a theme park with roller coasters, one resembling the Top Gun ride from Paramount's Great America, if you happen to know the greater San Jose, Ca area. River taxis can tow you away from the town, and into kilometers of privet docs. and quite space, where the sounds of everything tend to just trail off.
So, prepare for the next one, December 8th, is the day of Immaculate Conception, which might not be the type of holiday to go off skinny dipping with your Argentine friends, but then again, most days are a cause for fun and drink around here, and that's not such an exaggeration. People of all social classes tend to take a load off when they are able and escape the noise pollution, and air pollution of capital federal and run off to greener pastures in what means they have and are able. Indeed, if your own capture and domination is a day to celebrate, then well immaculate conception is the creme de la creme.
Tigre is just a jump away by train, and soon you can find yourself surrounded by verdent landscapes, clean air, and river. The town itself is quite a playland, offering an art museum in an old hotel building with garden terraces and simple and impecable architecture. There is a theme park with roller coasters, one resembling the Top Gun ride from Paramount's Great America, if you happen to know the greater San Jose, Ca area. River taxis can tow you away from the town, and into kilometers of privet docs. and quite space, where the sounds of everything tend to just trail off.
So, prepare for the next one, December 8th, is the day of Immaculate Conception, which might not be the type of holiday to go off skinny dipping with your Argentine friends, but then again, most days are a cause for fun and drink around here, and that's not such an exaggeration. People of all social classes tend to take a load off when they are able and escape the noise pollution, and air pollution of capital federal and run off to greener pastures in what means they have and are able. Indeed, if your own capture and domination is a day to celebrate, then well immaculate conception is the creme de la creme.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Whose Streets?
The first ever Buenos Aires Critical Mass was held last Sunday, Oct. 5. It was small, consisted of about 40 people, counted as 80 wheels, and was quite tranquil.
So let the long anthem stand, call out, "whose streets?" and someone will answer, "our streets."
Critical Mass is an unorganized, organized bike ride, in which, all over the world at different times, people take to the streets, on some assortment of human powered wheels, and ride. Simply ride, in the streets, to make ever so clear the disclaimer, we, the cycling world, are traffic too. A somewhat obscure, and difficult to find activity, nonetheless it is a strong part of many different types of cultures in many countries all over the world, ranging from places in San Francisco, CA, USA where cyclists are often arrested, or at times even hit by cars, to places like Budapest, Hungary, where there is the largest ride in the world, and about 3 or 4 times a year over 100,000 people close down the largest street in the city to shout out amply and clear, you too should get out of your car, and on a bici. The reasons are so increasingly obvious. So now, welcome Buenos Aires, to the club, a non elitest and open club of fun and creative values, come ride a bike. Queen sung about it, now its your turn, the next Buenos Aires mass will be November 2nd, starting at obelisco at 16:00. Come join the fun, it really is just alot of fun!
So let the long anthem stand, call out, "whose streets?" and someone will answer, "our streets."
Critical Mass is an unorganized, organized bike ride, in which, all over the world at different times, people take to the streets, on some assortment of human powered wheels, and ride. Simply ride, in the streets, to make ever so clear the disclaimer, we, the cycling world, are traffic too. A somewhat obscure, and difficult to find activity, nonetheless it is a strong part of many different types of cultures in many countries all over the world, ranging from places in San Francisco, CA, USA where cyclists are often arrested, or at times even hit by cars, to places like Budapest, Hungary, where there is the largest ride in the world, and about 3 or 4 times a year over 100,000 people close down the largest street in the city to shout out amply and clear, you too should get out of your car, and on a bici. The reasons are so increasingly obvious. So now, welcome Buenos Aires, to the club, a non elitest and open club of fun and creative values, come ride a bike. Queen sung about it, now its your turn, the next Buenos Aires mass will be November 2nd, starting at obelisco at 16:00. Come join the fun, it really is just alot of fun!
Monday, October 6, 2008
Bonpland Mercado Bien
If you are a more permanent member of Buenos Aires, then the city might be just like any other city where you might live. A space to conduct your life and to engage in your interests and ideologies. When it comes to food consumption, everyone knows where Buenos Aires stands; I am a vegetarian, needless to say, I have not been to an Asado. Aside from the website, www.happycow.com which lists vegetarian resteraunts all around the world (including a quite comprehensive list of Buenos Aires fooderies) there are a number of vegetable markets around the city. I would like to focus on one market for the time being, and also the notion of markets in general. Although it is great to have a resource to eating out with mushrooms and zuchini in this otherworldly land of thick, bloody, steak stacks (which if is your preference I am in no way denouncing your choices), the idea of the market place is quite a bit different. First off, markets are of course, to buy goods for cooking. Secondly markets are an important step in the process of community exchange. As a foreigner it is difficult to engage actively in the sort of value structures you might at home. If supporting local farmers or alternative products, or if you have allergies or shy from certain food groups for whatever reason, Bonpland Mercado Bein might be a space for you to check out.
The market is located at Bonpland 1660 and operates 10-22 Saturdays. Inside it is not a produce market, but rather consists of vendors selling various grains, breads, alternative and organic processed products, such as vegan mayonnaise or organic olive oil. Here you can find hummus, and pan de mijo (mijo is a birdseed, the peel of the seed is used for the bread). Information is offered on the health benefits of the different grains. Cooperativa La Agambleria Economia Solidario operates from the market space and sells many products produced in cooperative businesses. There is a book vendor selling spanish literature on political theory, social organization, and the like, and in the back there is a display of local artists work. The enviornment is quite pleasent and friendly, and if nothing else you might learn how to say some strange foods you did not know existed, in spanish.
If you are hip to the now, as far as local markets, slow foods, and alternative food consumption goes, Bonpland Mercado Bien will sooth your brain. If you are not, go check it out, and learn just how relevant a market such as this is, and more, the differences between food choices and food culture here versus the U.S. or Europe where green living and organic purchasing is generally for an upper-middle class that can afford its value structure. That is a vast difference to Buenos Aires, where people purchase produce at local corner markets, and everything is inherently a little seperated from the grand agrobusiness that exists back home.
The market is located at Bonpland 1660 and operates 10-22 Saturdays. Inside it is not a produce market, but rather consists of vendors selling various grains, breads, alternative and organic processed products, such as vegan mayonnaise or organic olive oil. Here you can find hummus, and pan de mijo (mijo is a birdseed, the peel of the seed is used for the bread). Information is offered on the health benefits of the different grains. Cooperativa La Agambleria Economia Solidario operates from the market space and sells many products produced in cooperative businesses. There is a book vendor selling spanish literature on political theory, social organization, and the like, and in the back there is a display of local artists work. The enviornment is quite pleasent and friendly, and if nothing else you might learn how to say some strange foods you did not know existed, in spanish.
If you are hip to the now, as far as local markets, slow foods, and alternative food consumption goes, Bonpland Mercado Bien will sooth your brain. If you are not, go check it out, and learn just how relevant a market such as this is, and more, the differences between food choices and food culture here versus the U.S. or Europe where green living and organic purchasing is generally for an upper-middle class that can afford its value structure. That is a vast difference to Buenos Aires, where people purchase produce at local corner markets, and everything is inherently a little seperated from the grand agrobusiness that exists back home.
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