Christmas in Summer

28 December 2010
Buenos Aires, Argentina

This was my second year celebrating Christmas in Buenos Aires.  It's a bit strange preparing for the holidays with 85-90 degree heat each day in December!  To help get myself into the spirit, I spent an evening last week making Christmas cookies, drinking spiced wine, listening to cheesy holiday music, and watching "Love Actually", with some girlfriends. 

It's amazing the importance that traditions take on when you are away from the homes you grew up in.  I never realized all the things that mean "holidays" to me.  In Maryland it means cold, Christmas cookie making with mom, hot drinks and warm socks, homemade gifts, stockings and Christmas mornings, home cooking.  In Vermont it means extra cold and snow, visits to grandparents, decorating the tree, hiding out from the cold or alternatively, going on snowy expeditions, popovers and yummy homecooking with dad.

One thing that saved my Christmas spirit this year too, was putting out the decorations ("adornos") on the patio on Christmas Eve with Eze, in preparation for his big family dinner that night.  We spent about an hour decorating potted plants in 85 degree sunny weather with red bows, little bells, evergreen decorations and fake snowy angels.  But this small moment meant so much to me!  As I dug through the boxes and discovered his family's ornaments; the things that represent this season to them, I found lots of both similarities and differences to those that have made up my experiences of the holidays.

I explained to him how tree trimming had been done during my childhood.  I have discovered that funnily enough, I have expecially fond memories of tree trimming in Vermont!  I remember at a certain age, this tradition felt more like a pain in the butt than anything, so it's funny that I would now cherish those times so much.  But I suppose that's usually the way it goes!  Thanks parents for forcing these traditions on us, that at the time we don't want but will later be the memory touchstones of our youth and family moments!

I remember all the beautiful ornaments, some handmade, some fragile.  Some of Bert and Ernie from Sesame Street, and some handpainted with beautiful stories and history.  Each year rediscovering your favorite ornaments and passing them through your hands once more.  Discovering smooth glass or glittery texture.

So obviously, doing the decorations here really transformed the experience to one of holiday joy and all that!

Anyway, I wanted to share with you a bit about my Argentine Christmas.  The night's events looked something like this:

Christmas Eve
8:30pm   Guests meant to arrive.  No one comes to the door.

9:00pm  Last minute decorating and Cuca the dog gets a costume; a red Christmas ornament hanging from her collar

9:30pm   Notified that ice is on the way.  This means guests are on their way!

10:30pm  Guests begin to arrive, no ice. After greeting a few family members, Eze corrects me and says that I'm only meant to say "Hola" when greeting guests, not "Feliz Navidad" because they don't say that until midnight.  Eze's father has 6 siblings so the Christmas Eve dinner is usually quite large.  But this year we had a more intimate gathering because about 13 people were missing.  We "only" had 30 people around the dinner table!

10:30-11:00pm  Dishes brought by guests are put out and eating begins!  Many members of the family bring the same dish each year.  Each person has their classic, same in my fam!  My favorites were a salad of honeydew melon, fontina cheese and Roquefort cheese, and a dish called a "pionono" made by Eze's mom, that is a roll with fillings of sour cream, chicken, pickles, olives, apples, cheese, etc.

11:30pm  EATING!  The table is divided up into sections, intentionally or not.  At one end you have the prepubescent boys who are already bored and wondering about gifts as they all play games on their individual iPhones......  In the middle of the table is the "adult section" talking about life and children, and at the other end are the 20 and 30 something's, making fun of some of the uncles and chatting about other miscellaneous subjects.

12:00pm  Someone realizes it is midnight, the champagne comes out, we have a fake countdown and then a champagne toast!  Then everyone mills around until everyone has given everyone else a beso on the cheek (just one here!) and said "Feliz Navidad".

12:05ish   Fireworks and firecrackers begin in the streets.  Cuca the dog goes crazy and runs for her life into the back of the house.  The boys run outside to watch the fireworks, and to look for Papa Noel.  This year I also popped out to the street to see what all was happening.  There was a rather large family across the street setting off firecrackers in the middle of the street.  A steady stream of people headed out one by one to the middle of the street, ranging in age from 5 years old to 30, to set off firecrackers one after the other.  A car drove over one right as it went off.  It was.....exciting.  And also ridiculous and crazy.  One of the fireworks went sideways and flew inside a neighbor's house.  There was a small altercation as a result.  We went back inside.

12:30am  The kids come back in and there is a lukewarm....."ooooooh Papa Noel came!".  As the adults, we are supposed to make a big production when the kids come back in!  But noone was sure if any of the boys were still under the illusion, so it was a little weak this year.  Eze's famly does small gifts and each person will get one or two.  Instead of writing who the gift is from, for the benefit of kiddies who believe in Papa Noel, the adults have a number system so you can figure out who to thank afterwards.

12:45 - 4:30am   Guitars and singing!  Each year Eze's father brings his guitar and his book of songs.  There are lots of songs from the 60's-80's, and lots of the Beatles too.  The goal is to get everyone singing so popular songs are desireable.  Back by popular demand, Eze and I played and sang a couple songs too.  There was more wine and champagne and TONS of sweets.  Lots of "Pan Dulce" which is like fruit cake.  Chocolates filled with caramel and chewy sweets with peanuts.  I contributed the last of my fruitcake cookies, they were a big hit!

One good thing about summer in December, we are headed to the beach for New Years Eve with friends!  Normally, NYE is also a very family oriented holiday, at least until midnight!  After the toast, youngins are free to go out and party.

Happy New Year to you all!  Next year I have vowed to be home for Christmas!

Falling in and Out of Love.

14. December. 2010
Buenos Aires

What a bewitching city!  Today, we are not speaking to one another, my lover city and I.

Just as any relationship, my journey with this wonderful city has its ups and downs.  Sometimes we are truly, madly, deeply.  Sometimes, I am revolted and ready to jump ship!

When I first arrived, a friend recently recalled a comment I made about part of what I viewed as the strange magic of the city; which its incredible ability to perch just on the edge between order and chaos.  During my honeymoon period with Buenos Aires, I viewed this unique atmosphere as one that promised possibly limitless potential.  In a city where things are not "done" yet, this means incredible potential for change and growth and progress!  Right?

This sense of change and movement and disorder that somehow "worked", I imagined with possibly naive optimism, left space for all kinds of exciting interaction by yours truly!  I was amazed and found it exhilerating, and I still often do!  But I also sometimes find it exhausting!  Yes, the spontaneity is charming.  Yes, it makes for incredible, unpredictable surprises and unscripted, beautiful encounters.  Yes, this is a context in which creativity does truly flourish.  Sometimes it seems to do so as a direct result of this barely ordered chaos.  Often, I am certain that this is a city is teaching me how to live deeply and authentically.  Without a doubt, it's giving me honest and intense lessons and exercises in patience, resourcefullness and adaptability.

But sometimes, isn't it just nice when things work?  When the bus comes on time, when you can depend on orderly process to deliver expected results?  When you know where and how to get things done?  Isn't efficiency fabulous?

Today I had a lovely lunch with a friend.  From there, I was headed to an art gallery to return some materials I'd borrowed about Aida Carballo.  (I have been having some really exciting adventures so far in my pursuit of all things Aida, I will write about that soon!)  I needed to be at this gallery by 5pm.  To be fair, I didn't leave myself enough time.  But on the other hand, even if I had left an hour, I don't know that I would have made it on time. 

Two of the main streets downtown were blocked off by protests, which is typical in "el centro", or the financial district or downtown, of Buenos Aires.  As a result, the streets that I needed to travel on to make my 25 block trip were completely jammed up.  This happens every day in downtown Buenos Aires.

Let me be clear, that I absolutely support the right of the people to demand recognition of their basic rights, as people and as workers.  But just to give you an idea of the extent of this protest culture that has been developing since the 90's here, I read in an article that according to a study done, (by Nueva Mayoria) in the last 13 years, there have been 17,417 roadblocks in Argentina.  Some say that it is to the point that these masses of people in the streets every day are infringing upon others' rights by demonstrating for their own.

I don't know.  At first, I saw all of this protesting and I thought, this is incredible.  This is what needs to happen for there to be real change in a community.  This is what needs to be going on in Washington, DC, and all over the States!  People need to be speaking up more and demanding their rights!  But then I wonder, what is progress?  And how does it come about?  I wonder if these groups are creating real change for their own situations, or if they are simply locked in this complicated dance with the city government, and taking advantage of an entity that both mistreats them and also pays out subsidies to temporarily pacify them while encouraging them to continue at the same time?

Excuse me if my views are simplistic or naive.  I'll be the first to say that I am learning, and just working through some of the ideas that are occuring to me here during my Argentine experience.

I have no answers, I'm just pondering because I never made it to my destination and my intense frustration is just now fading.  Sometimes I'm certain that Argentina is on the verge of an incredibly exciting renaissance and modernization.  And then sometimes it seems that it will always remain in this delicate, strange balance, because that's where it "works" best.  Because somehow, throughout this country's history, though it has always had all of the resources and potential to be a prosperous and important country, it has always fallen just short. 

Anyway, still, the good outweighs the bad, and I know that this season here is important for me in so many ways.  But of course in any relationship, sometimes you wonder, "....where is this going?".

Vandalizing the Vandalized Vandalism

15. November 2010
Buenos Aires

2 weeks ago there was an exhibition at a swanky gallery in the Congreso neighborhood of Buenos Aires.  The art on display and up for sale was not by the artist whose name was on all of the show's advertising.

I wrote earlier about a street art scandal caused by a Peruvian artist who worked with a local BA gallery to remove works of street art from the streets to display in his own show.  Finally, on Saturday the 30th of October, the opening of this exhibition took place.  I received the information for the show at the last minute and was able to pass along the details to my street art tour boss, M, who proceeded to pass it through the wires to the artists who had been anxiously awaiting their time to speak out about the events of the previous weeks.

I showed up to the gallery at around 8:30pm and was immediately impressed by the building.  Let in by a gallery assistant to the private building, I made my way up to the 3rd floor where I found a pristine white walled gallery with a fantastic view of the Congress building.  As I entered the gallery I was immediately overcome by the terribly toxic smell of the fiberglass resin.  Even after having dried completely, this substance that had been painted onto the works of street art is so toxic that the smell lingered throughout the gallery and set a very unsettling stage.

There, hanging suspended from the ceiling and on the walls were sheets of fiberglass, like sheets of thick plastic, with the stolen pieces stuck to them.  (The gallery's staff had removed these works by painting fiberglass resin onto the painted walls and then coming back days later to literally peel off the dried layer of fiberglass, bringing with it the layer of paint underneath) There were works of about 15 different street artists of Buenos Aires, many of whom have been painting for a decade now.  Many of whom continue to give back to their communities through painted works that are available to all, and many of whom also manage an art gallery and create art for local and international exhibits.

Under neon lighting, against perfect white walls and surrounded by toxic air were these works that have been literally torn from their natural habitats and put on display like tired circus animals for the thirsty gaze of BA's uppercrust who are on the lookout for the next, edgiest "it" thing. 

In the artist's write up, he says that he is removing pieces that would have been lost to weather or layers of paint from other painters.  If this is meant to redeem his idea, it is a flimsy excuse.  These artists create works that are meant to live out their lives in their communities.  They do not intend them to last forever, but they have been putting years of their lives, and many many pesos, into creating this art for public enjoyment by absolutely anyone that happens to walk by.  This art is separate from what they create for a gallery.  There is a reason why these artists continue to paint in the streets even now that there is interest in purchasing works on canvas or found objects in a gallery show. This art is for their communities and does not belong in a private and exclusive art gallery.

When I talked with the artist, I asked him if it changed anything to know that many of the artists often have permission to paint.  He never did any research so he would not have known this.  He said that it didn't matter to him, because precisely; he is trying to explore this idea of "vandalizing vandalism" and so this gray area is exactly what he is playing with.  The problem is that he is not stealing the work of young punky vandals who are crudely spraypainting their tags on random walls.  These are artists who have been honing their craft in their communities for years, and often with the support of their neighbors given to them in the form of the use of their walls.

I understand his idea.  But something like this cannot be legitimately explored with any integrity without consulting these people who are artists in their own rights and not "vandals".  Maybe it would even be excusable to some if he were doing this to preserve the works, but the artists came to the show and some of them got price quotes on their own pieces for between 8,000 and 20,000 pesos (2,000 to 5,000 USD).  I can only imagine how this must have made these artists feel. This man who claims to be an artist is planning to sell the works of others.  Of artists he knows nothing about.  Whose names he does not even know.  He is selling an idea but in the mean time he plans to profit from the art of others?  How do you define an artist?

Towards the end of the show, the artists had their time to speak out with action.  The final damage was many broken art works, spray painted works and gallery walls.

The artist captured the action with his camera.  I would imagine he was happy with the show, though I'm sure the gallery owner was not.  The result?  Well, the artists are happy to have had the chance to speak out in their own way.  And they feel vindicated in a sense.  It has certainly brought the street art community together and the conversation about the exhibit two weeks ago continues as newspaper articles begin to appear.  One person who had commissioned a piece for their private wall that was removed is even exploring the possibility of a lawsuit.


Who wins?  The artists have won.  But I suspect that the Peruvian "artist" also feels he has won.  After all, his vandalized vandalism was vandalized by the "vandals".

What's in a Name?

25.October.2010

Argenthemes: NICKNAMES ("Apodos")

Here in Argentina, your name is nearly always too long.  And even if it isn't, you will surely be given a nickname simply because calling you by your real given name is much too formal!

Argentines love nicknames.  Here, I became "Meli".  I remember in 6th grade when I desperately wanted this nickname (but I wanted everyone to spell it "Melly").  Guess I got my wish finally!

Some nicknames don't even make sense with the actual name they replace, though they are commonly applied across the board, for example -

The name "Francisco" is often replaced with "Pancho" which means hotdog and
guys named "Ignacio" are commonly called "Nacho".  You are what you eat??

This is not where it ends though, nor is it the most interesting manifestation of this habit, in my opinion.  The costume of nicknaming extends into the realm of people that Argentines do not know and have never met.  But what would you call someone when you don't even know their name yet?  Oh, there are so many options!

If you're in the deli and you want some cheese you could call to the shop worker to fill your order by hollering over - "Che, Maestro dame.....".  So you would start your request with "Hey, Master, could you give me..."

Other nicknames are based on physical appearance, which is something that in the States would be treading on very very dangerous ground.  How should you refer to someone by a physical trait?  How about:

Hey skinny! / Hey fatty!   (Flaco / Gordo)
Hey blacky*! / Hey baldy!  (Negro* / Pelado)

* In Argentine there are not a lot of people of African descent, so when someone is called "Negro" it usually just means their skin is naturally more tan than white.

It's true, Argentines refer to eachother in any number of ways, and would you believe it if I said that they do not take offense when a stranger refers to them as "fatty" if they are, in fact, over-weight?  In another post I want to talk about body image and the way that Argentines address this topic, so I'll save that for later.  For now I just want to point out this amusing fact (from the point of view of a United-Statesian) that someone could call you "baldy" without you immediately responding with an insulting retort.  This is not taken as an offense! 

Not only is it not offensive, but some of these nicknames are used as terms of endearment between friends and lovers.  In these cases, these nicknames often times cease to refer to any physical trait and become simply metaphorical it seems.  

For example, my boyfriends parents refer to eachother as "Gordo" and "Gorda".  Neither one of them is over-weight, so in this case it is being used simply as a term of endearment.  Negro/Negra is also used as a term of endearment, and when it is used in this context is maybe something akin to "sweety"...???

But my favorite nickname that I like to use even when it doesn't make sense is to say of someone that they are a "bicho raro".  This literally means strange bug and as far as I know is strictly used here in Argentina. I suppose I'm not super crystal clear on all the myriad of implications that are packaged into saying this, but I like the way it sounds and I like to use it to mean that someone is a bit odd, eccentric or generally awkward. 

Argentines are direct and also informal, so this costume of nicknaming says a lot!  This is a culture that tends much more towards informality in most contexts and to me, refering to someone by nickname implies a closeness or intimacy because normally friends would use nicknames with one another.  So it makes sense that Argentines are given to nicknaming as they generally seem to avoid formality in daily life.  In the US I think that nicknames are the exclusive practice of friends and family.  It would even be potentially strange for an aquaintence to refer to you by a nickname given by friends, as this would imply a bond that had not yet been formed and these are things we consider.  And most people I imagine would take great offense being referred to as "fatty" by anyone, friend and stranger in the street alike!

I've grown to appreciate this habit and now, when someone refers to me as "flaquita" or "little skinny one", I am not bothered but notice the unconscious and subtle effort to establish a connection between say, the shop owner, and myself.  I appreciate being included in this sort of general ongoing joke among friends...

Scandal in the streets of Buenos Aires

                                         Fede, of the Run Don't Walk artist collective, "Influenza"


There is an exciting scandal going on in the street arts scene of Buenos Aires.  About a month ago I happened to be giving a private street art tour on a Tuesday, and when we arrived at a bus depot to talk about its decorative, eclectically painted exterior, we stumbled on a group of 4 young guys painting a clear, very foul smelling substance over several street art pieces.  One of them being covered was an image that was created as a social commentary during the swine flu craze here in Buenos Aires in August of 2009, by Fede of the collective Run Don't Walk. 

I was obviously very curious about what they were doing and they were friendly enough about chatting with me.  One of the young guys explained to me that they were painting fiberglass over a selection of paintings done by street artists throughout the city, to protect them from weather and other painters.  This is obviously at odds with the natural order of art in the streets and when I asked whey they were doing this, they said that someone had gone around the city taking pictures and had chosen works to be protected.  Apparently, these guys didn't know too much more about who had sent the orders, they had been contracted and were there to simply do the work they'd been paid to do.  I was baffled and after exchanging contact information with the guy I'd spoken with, I carried on with the tour.

That weekend I received an email from this guy, Juan, apologizing for having lied to me.  He said that they were not protecting the pieces but preparing them to be removed.  Since he is under contract that specifies strict confidentiality, he is not supposed to disclose any information about the project which is being done by an artist in preparation for a gallery exhibit.  He acknowledged the controversial nature of what he was participating in, and offered to meet in person to talk more about it "off the record" with me, as an interested art admirer.

The next time I did the tour I discovered that, sure enough, there were many blanks in the walls we normally discuss.  Apparently they paint on this substance, and then some days later can come back to literally peal it off the wall, bringing parts or all of the layer of paint underneath along with it.  I imagine one of the scouts for the project must have come on the tour undercover at one point because all the pieces seem to be along our route. 

Some of the artists were intrigued, some were annoyed.  Some said they just wanted to know when the opening night of the show would be so they could go in, break their pieces and make a statement.

Last week the girl who started the graffiti tour group that I work with, came with me to meet with Juan to see what kind of information we could get out of him.  We had our tactics worked out ahead of time because we certainly didn't want him to know that we know all of the artists involved and certainly represent their interests, meaning that whatever we know would be passed along. 

Apparently it is a Peruvian artist who has developed a project based on the idea of "vandalizing vandalism".  He has already succesfully carried this out in several lLatin American countries, where he has a selection of works of street art removed and then placed in a gallery for an exhibit.  In some cases, apparently the artists decided to be part of the project.

With street art becoming more well known and admired as the newest and most exciting counter-culture art movement, this Buenos Aires scandal raises an interesting and important topic of discussion about the treatment of street art.  Who does it belong to?  Many of the artists here ask permission to paint on housefronts or businesses.  But technically, they are public property when they are created on public or abandoned walls.  Legally, I suppose their is no controversy with this Peruvian artist's project.  With everyone able to come on the graffiti tour, for example, and take pictures to their heart's content, is there really a controversy?  This is the point of the art, that it be removed from the exclusive, prestigious, and "other" context of an art gallery or museum, and made accesible; given directly to the people for their free consumption and enjoyment. 

However, once these pieces are photographed or removed, and used for someone else's profit without the involvement or consent of the artists, is when the controversy begins.  If this artist plans to sell the works, for example, I think the artists have every right to do whatever they can to take back their pieces or to make a statement about their intended purpose.  They are not for profit.  Here in Buenos Aires they are for the people and for the community.  Apparently this artist is not currently in Buenos Aires.  He is in Peru or Mexico, sending commands via email.  He will show up only in time for the opening night.

Apparently the next stop on his list is Sao Paulo in Brazil.  If the artists here have their way, this Peruvian artist's name will be exposed to the tightly-knit street art communities of South America so they will be able to see him coming.  Juan has said he would like to invite M (I would prefer not to put other's names here, so I'll refer to my graffiti tour boss as "M") and I to the gallery opening here...

Back to School

15 August 2010

Buenos Aires

As I approach my one year anniversary here in Argentina, I have entered a moment of reflection.  How much longer will I stay?  I don't anticipate staying indefinitely.  So what do I want the rest of my time here to be about?  My dream was to live in another country for a couple of years or so, to have some time to really start to know another city, country, culture, language.  To have a season in another place and know a life there!  I want to be sure that I'm making the most out of this opportunity that I have given myself, and so I've been examining lately what it would take for me to feel satisfied after my time here.

So I have decided to embark on a project that was presented to me when I first arrived.  I wasn't ready to take it one then, for a number of reasons, but I believe that I am now. 

  Portrait of Aida in her workshop in the back of Casa Chorizo, where we are living, on Venezuela Street

A bit of background first.  The house I'm living in with Ezequiel was given to his father by three sisters after they passed away.  Ezequiel's father developed a relationship with these women over 30 years, much as if he were a son, and after all this time, they left their house to him.  One of the sisters was an artist named Aida Carballo. 

Aida also left Ezequiel's father all of her art works.  This included around 300 drawings, engravings and paintings.  It turns out that Aida was a very accomplished and talented artist who had received recognition at various points in her career, even receiving prestigious prizes for her engravings here in Argentina.  Ezequiel's father has since found an entity to spearhead efforts to organize an exhibit of Aida's work around Argentina.  The exhibit has show in various locations already with great success.  Her full collection is managed her in Buenos Aires by a Brasilian woman.

     Self Portrait with Text, by Aida Carballo

However, Aida died forgotten and in poverty.  She was interned in mental institutions several times throughout her life and her story is one of both beauty and great struggle.  In many ways, her story represents very vividly the culture of Buenos Aires and represents a metaphor for the story of the city's people. It's a fascinating story that I want to study because I feel that it will help me to understand this place and its people.  Also, there is very little information available about Aida in english.  So I've decided I would like to begin a project about her life and her art.  I have no idea what will come out of it! 

   Piece from the series "Las Munecas" (Dolls), by Aida Carballo

I would like to know her story so that I can somehow share it with a wider audience.  To share her beautiful art with the world, and also to build cultural bridges between Buenos Aires, which is becoming a very popular destination, and the world.  The more interconnected the world becomes, the more essential it becomes for us to understand something about one another from a cultural perspective and not just a market or even turistic perspective.  And for me, I always understand cultural and historical aspects of a country better when I'm learning them through someone's personal story.

So I've decided to become a student again!  If I want to do a project about Aida, I first need to renew my studies of art history, and especially the history of art in Argentina and South America, as well as the history in general of Argentina.

Argentina is an excellent place in general to take classes, because education here is so available financially.  I began a class last week with a woman who is extremely well educated and accomplished.  During the class I I met a woman who's been taking different classes under this woman's tuteledge for 20 years!  And another guy told me he's been studying with her for 5 years.  I will take a class of hers once a week.  For this I paid $160 pesos to enroll and will pay $100 per month.  Right now this is roughly $40 USD to enroll, plus $25 USD per month! 

I am also hoping to take an Argentine history class at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) beginning this week.  This will either be free, or perhaps about the same as the other.  If I were to enroll in the UBA full time as a student, it is a public university and would cost a small initial fee and nothing else for a full course of studies for a 4 year undergraduate degree.  (Post graduate degrees are not free but cost a fraction of what is standard in the US).  It is this way with all public universities here in Argentina!  Coming from the States, this just blows my mind.  Free education for everyone, even including foreigners!

So, it begins.

Argentine Pet Peevs Vol I

1 August, 2010
Buenos Aires, Argentina

After just about a year living in the city, and even travelling around the country a bit, I can say with confidence that I do like it here, and that I'm glad I came.  At this point too, it has started to become more clear to me the things that I can learn from the Argentines and their culture.  I'm really happy to be in a place that I feel is acting as a catalyst for growth, and that has so much to offer in terms of providing a context and tools for personal development; both creatively and in general.

However.  There are some things that really irk me about this place as well!   

Every morning I ride the bus to work.  The buses here are called "colectivos" and are a fascinating part of Argentine culture.  They deserve their own entry, and I will surely get to that at some point soon!

So I ride the bus, either the 128 or the 160, to work every morning.  It takes me between 30 and 45 minutes.  During this ride I have started to notice with increasing disdain, a practice that I do not agree with.

A lot of Argentines like to wash their sidewalks. 

Every morning you can see the sections of sidewalk being washed with copious amounts of water by the cleaning people who service private residences, those that serve apartment buildings, and also shop owners cleaning in front of their shops.

On the one hand, I understand this desire, as many Argentines do not clean up after their dogs and what conscientious shop owner would want their clients risking some "good luck" under their step when they're just trying to come into the shop for a coffee from a cafe, or some vegetables from a supermercado?

On the other hand, I've seen many a sidewalk washed every single morning, for no other purpose that I can see, than to stand there with hose in hand, sending the tiniest leaves imaginable into the gutter.  Those leaves represent no potential to harm to anyone.  This bothers me almost as much as the use of leaf blowers in the states!  (damnit, get that nature off of my concrete sidewalks!).

Listen, sidewalks are sidewalks.  I understand the desire to keep up appearances, I really do.  But pick up a broom or try some spot cleaning when necessary!  There is absolutely no need for anyone to clean their sidewalk everyday, wasting gallons of water in the act.  This is a developing country that is fortunate enough to have access to clean, drinkable water.  This privilege should not be taken lightly!  There are so many countries with millions of people who are suffering and whose lives hang in the balance because of lack of access to drinkable water, and every single morning I see it being wasted here, thoughtlessly.  It's starting to make me a little crazy.

Paint on the Streets, BA Style!

29 July 2010

Buenos Aires, Argentina

So I wanted to share with you a little bit about the street arts scene here in Buenos Aires because lately I've been learning a lot about it.  And talking about it even more in my new job! 

The group that I'm doing these street art tours with is a small project that was started a little over a year ago by two girls from England.  They moved here a couple years ago and were immediately taken with and inspired by the incredible arts in the streets of the city.  They wanted to start a project here and so they started to get to know the artists who's work they were seeing and they began to learn about the amazing stories of how this art scene developed. 

Painting in the streets began in Argentina when Juan Peron was president during the 50's.  People used the walls of their community to express their opinions and feelings about the government and any other theme of their choosing, through painted messages in public spaces.  But during the military dictatorship that took over from the mid 70's to 1983, this form of public expression was completely banned.  It wasn't until 2001 when the real birth of Argentina's street art took place.

The catalyst for the arts was the economic crisis that took hold of Argentina at the end of the year in 2001.  The country was in chaos, and during the peak of the crisis, cycled through 6 presidents in 6 weeks.  Many people lost absolutely everything during this time, including their businesses and life savings.  It was a very dark and difficult time in Argentina's history.

This was the moment when Argentine's again took to the streets to reclaim their communities.  Amidst the rioting and chaos, many people again began to communicate their feelings on the walls of the streets.  Artists who had been at work in their studios at this point came out and began to participate.

They wanted to do something positive for their communities during this terrible time and so they started painting murals of colorful friendly characters, to try to do something, however small, to improve the morale of their neighbors. 

This was the beginning of the art scene that has been developing ever since.  While luckily the context has changed and Argentina is no longer suffering through such desperate times, the motivation of the majority of artists working in the streets is the same:  to do something positive for their communities.  The scene here developed very much independently from anything else in other parts of the world, as well as in a very unique context, which has made for the development of a very singular and special style and type of ever-evolving art works and artists.

Artist:  Fede / Artist Collective:  Run Don't Walk

This piece is a 3 stencil compilation developed originally from a '70's whiskey advertisement. Fede played around with the image to create a surreal effect by replacing the woman's head with that of a ram from an old encyclopedia photo, and gave her giraffe legs.

Stencilling has become a very popular medium in BA, though it's no longer used because of it's "paint it up quick and go" potential.  Here in BA street art is "illegal" but this is not enforced as long as the art is in public spaces or on abandoned houses.  A lot of times it is received well by the local community and sometimes artists will be commissioned to do a work for someone's house or business after being discovered painting a mural in the street on a Sunday afternoon.  I even read an article that told the story of the artist that was found painting by a police man, who then commissioned the artist to paint the walls of his son's bedroom! 

This is a video by an Italian artist named "Blu", who has been using the walls of BA a lot to create his incredible street art stop motion animation pieces.  These works can take up to a month of working everyday from 7am to 7pm.  When he's finished, the only trace of his work is the video.  This is his newest work, and it will blow your mind!  A lot of international artists come to BA to connect with local artists and to paint in the streets.  This city offers such an open and welcoming environment in which to create, and the spirit of collaboration here is very central to the artist attitude in general.  Many artists do not enjoy this type of environment in their own countries so Argentina, and BA, is a lot of fun for them. 

I am a bad Blogger!

26 July 2010

After a very extended vacation from the blogging world, I would like to announce that I am back again with lots to share!

I apologize for the hiatus and also for not finishing with the full uploads of pictures from my Argentine adventure, which proved to be quite a daunting task! I hope you enjoyed the ones that I managed to post! I suppose one of these days I will make a transition to a blog format that allows more ease for uploads. But for now, I don't want to allow any more excuses to prevent me from updating life news here!

So, it has been 3 full months since I last posted. What has happened? Here are some highlights:

- I got several new jobs! The first gig is with an "international advisory firm" with several Argentine lawyers here. After my first interview in spanish, I got the job and have been working in the mornings with them from 9am-1pm Monday through Friday, doing a bit of everything as an office assistant. They are nice guys and even if sitting at a desk every day makes me a bit batty from time to time, I'm happy to have the job and it's a good one! I got that job at the end of March and because of the way it happened, I'm certain there's a good reason for my being here with them.

- I recently also began giving tours of street art with a group that was set up by two girls from the UK a year or so ago. Every Wednesday and Friday I take groups of people around several neighborhoods to show them amazing art in public spaces, and teach them about the unique context for this artistic renaissance here in BA, as well as the key artists and their stories. I think I'm really going to enjoy this job, especially with the spring time coming! What a nice change to the desk job.

- I am also struggling through my first gig doing the subtitles in english for a short video in spanish. Phew, it's tough! And I realize just how much I suredolove when people E-N-U-N-C-I-A-T-E! Anyway, it's a fantastic exercise, there's more than likely more work where this came from, and it's something I could do in my free time, and wherever I can take my computer!

The job thing was BIG. I realize just how much more comfortable I feel with that taken care of. And I feel that this new phase of life here in Argentina is really taking shape in a way that I feel great about!

In other news:

- Cuca the Former-Streetdog-And-Current-Queen-of-Casa-Chorizo got a sweater. (During the world cup she also sported an Argentine game day tshirt...until Argie left the runnings :(

- This winter I have learned to make some mean soup

- A random superplant dill popped up in the concrete of our patio, which gives me renewed hope for a resurrection of my herb garden this spring!

- I have a new girl friend, her name is Mattea and she is fabulous :)

- Winter in BA has been "Cold", even down into the 30's for a week in July! But still most days are stupendously blueskiednsunny so it has been quite bearable!

- I read my first full book in Spanish! The title, translated is: The Hidden Messages of Water (Los Mensajes Ocultos del Agua)

- I have decided that futbol (soccer to us United Statesians*) is entertaining to watch!

- * I realized that I have a nationality in spanish - "Estadounidense", but not in english, because it's not considered "correct" to say you're "American", if you mean that you're from the States. Technically, "America" could mean North or South America so some think you should be more specific! So, I would like to start a trend of calling myself, "United-Statesian".

- I formed a group of people to study an amazing book called "The Artist's Way", which is a course in book form. I do the organizing and we conduct our meetings mostly in spanish! It's a course about unblocking yourself and developing your creativity. We have 8 people in the group and are already almost half way through the 12 week course! We are all already starting to feel a lot of exciting changes. I really recommend this book so far. I will keep you posted on developments connected with it. (there have already been many important ones on a personal level!)

- I am fast approaching my one year Argentina anniversary, which is also the one year mark in my relationship with the Argentine beau. The day of August 28th will mark exactly 365 that I have been here in Argentina! I am starting to think about how I would like to celebrate this personal accomplishment, and plans are already in the works for a getaway with Eze to celebrate our one year. We are thinking of visiting Rosario, which is another city in Argentina that is about 3 hours away and apparently has a fantastic music, arts and cinema scene. It would be great to do a roadtrip there and to get out of BA for a long weekend!

So there are a few updates for you! As I take on more projects here in BA, sometimes I feel like I have less time, to stay connected well. I think, still, that this may be one of the best ways to feel connected with my family and friends back home because this way I can share a bit about life here with you.  But I know that in order for it to be a successful method, I have to continue to write, and to do it regularly! I don't want you to waste your time coming back to check on my and finding tired old news :)

I promise to work to update the blog once or twice a week, even if it's just to share a couple thoughts, some news or maybe even a photo from time to time!

I miss you! Sending you lots of love from dooooown south and an Abrazo Grandisssssimo!!!! (HUGE HUG!!!)

Argentina Journey in Photos
Stop #5
El Calafate, Argentina

With my bruised and battered body and....toes, I headed to El Calafate to see the famous Perito Moreno Glacier.


El Calafate is really a beautiful little town, even if quite touristy. Unfortunately I didn't take a picture of the town, which I should've because it was really cute and there were roses everywhere as big as your head!

I had no idea that there were flamingos in Patagonia! I always thought, maybe because they're pink, that they were a tropical bird of some warm paradise. But here they are, perched up on one leg for their siestas!

Upon arrival at the Perito Moreno Glacier, which is one of the world's only stable glaciers. Which means that when you see big pieces falling off, you are happy to know that it is losing only as much as it gains in the winter.

The glacier is huge! And the blues are so so vibrant. Apparently the color has to do with the density and the mineral content of the ice.

It's hard to understand from these pictures just how big the glacier is. So in this picture I included the big boat that I took a tour on to see the glacier closer. Can you see it? It's on the right. The foamy circles spreading out from the glacier are where huge pieces fell off. The boats can only pull up so close, for fear of being engulfed by a huge wave or struck by a giant falling iceberg!

The glacier goes back as far as the eye can see. And it was so loud! Constantly cracking and popping as the ice adjusted and sometimes broke off.

I was really really really cold.

I took a picture of this beautiful little colorful birdie for my momma and Gaga, who love the birds! I wonder what these ones are called? They were awefully friendly because I guess they're used to getting fed by glacier visitors.

Argentina Journey in Photos
Stops # 2,3,4
Punta Arenas, Chile : 18 - 19 January
Puerto Natales, Chile: 19 - 21 January
Torres del Paine National Park, Chile: 21 - 25 January

Unfortunately I was only in Punta Arenas and Puerto Natales for very short visits on my way to Torres del Paine (TDP) and I haven't got many photos of those places.

But below are my photos from preparations for, and the trek in, TDP!

In the kitchen of our hostel in Puerto Natales, dividing up our food bags for the trek! The man sitting at the table looking at the camera is Omar, the owner of the hostel. What do you think, would you trust this man with a needle and thread near your toes? We each carried like 5 kilos of dried fruit and nuts....

This is Christina, the girl I met from Spain, who was also travelling alone and wanted to do the TDP! This was the night before the trek, we were emptying out ALL of the things from our backpacks which were not absolute necessities. And then repacking with the things that were! And trying to keep it as light as possible because we'd be hiking with them on our backs all day!

This was the view when we arrived in TDP and were waiting for the small boat to take us across the water to where we'd decided to start our trek.

It was already stunningly beautiful! But the winds were very very strong here. I almost got blown over in the first ten minutes! The wind would come out of nowhere with such incredible force! But I guess it was a good thing to prepare me for what was to come.

Towards the end of Day 1 - hiking to Glacier Grey. This was the view from very close to where we camped. It was so funny to see random icebergs just casually floating by the beach where we camped. Because of all the minerals in the water here, it was an opaque gray color.

This is Glacier Grey! It was spectacular! Because of the size of this ice field, it creates its own weather patterns, including the wind that we got a very hefty dose of.

We had to literally fight our way up to get these pictures on the lookout. The wind was so strong that you could lean back into it at almost a 45 degree angle and be held up.

Those little dot people on the left are standing at the outlook where the last photo's from.

Me and Christina in front of our little home at camp Glacier Grey. We had to move our tent from this location later on because it was pointed out to us that we were completely unprotected from the wind, which was fierce coming off the water and the glacier.

Glacier Grey.

I survived one day of trekking....and I'm still alive!

Me and Christina, ready for Day 2, in front of Glacier Grey.

Day 2 was beautiful hours of hiking through the woods. But it was a long day, and this was the day that my blisters began....

Day 3 at Camp Italiano with beautiful wild flowers.

A Day 4 picture of the lake heading out from Camp Italiano.

The group taking a break! From left: Christina from Spain, Corey, Michelle in the back and Lindsey in the front, all 3 from Seattle, Washington.

It all started with us cooking pasta in a work area of Day 3's camp, and ended with a cordero (lamb) asado around a fire! Lindsey, Michelle and I at the campfire, happily drying ourselves and our shoes and lifting our spiritis with boxed wine. It had been a long day and we had to set up our tents in the rain when we arrived at camp.

The Chilean tourguides tried to convince us this was a puma they were cooking.

Day 3 put an incredible double rainbow over our severely windblown tent. It was destined to be a good day! Bandaging was getting more complex on the toes....

Wow Day 3, wow. Wow for this picture and then......DROP TO THE GROUND!

I came this ---> [ ] close to getting blown off this very cliff. At least it would have been a very pretty watery grave.

Sunscreening and dried fruit eating. At this point we had our groove down to a science and we allowed ourselves a 5 minute break every half hour or 45 minutes depending on how challenging the going was. We had so much sun for our hiking, it was incredible. And strong! You could really get burned if you weren't careful.

More Day 3! Day 3 was too beautiful! We were walking along the water for a good part of the way. And we just could not believe our luck with the sun. We had heard horror stories about people walking in freezing rain, every single day. It would not have been inconceivable to not see a single ray of sunlight. The joke (and the truth!) about TDP is that you can have all 4 seasons in one day. You can get snowed on in the summer! I met a girl who started the hike 4 days before us that did! And here we were in our dry shoes putting on sunscreen and stopping to take in the views.

I'm so happy the colors came out so well in these photos. These were such vivid landscapes. The water was completely opaque here, again because of the minerals. I decided it was the color of absinthe because in person, it was this foggy aquamarine green blue.

On our way to the Los Cuernos Camp. One day away from Los Torres!!! Our bodies are starting to feel machine-like for these 5, 6, 7 hour day hikes. But my feet are suffering.....

The valley. A couple hours from camp. Do you see that little trail snaking along the left on that hill above the green? That's the trail and it is in gravely sand. If you imagine that it would be tricky to hike on a trail of sand on a hill with a 15 kilo/30ish lb backpack after 5 hours of hiking really intense steady hills, well. Now imagine you're doing it with intense and unpredictable winds!

THE TORRES DEL PAINE!!!!! We arrived exhausted on Day 4 to camp. We set up our tents and were told that we had happened to arrive on one of only 3 good days of the entire season. It was recommended to push on and see the Torres because they could be hidden from view and surrounded by who knows what kind of weather in a matter of hours.

The walk up was.....TREACHUROUS. I literally feared for my life. It was a very steep climb and the last half is basically scrambling over boulders with a view below that screams - DO NOT LOOK DOWN!!! Just as I was starting the rock climb, the wind picked up. I was literally almost swept off the cliff. It put a good spook in me and I clung to the rocks the rest of the way up! It was worth it!

What luck. I just couldn't believe how much the Universe blessed us with weather for this trip. We had the very best that the TDP has to offer! Some of the guys had started wishing for sleet and rain because they feared they hadn't had their asses kicked enough to give color to their stories.....my ass was kicked plenty and I was grateful for the sun.

Me and Christina - - - - THE W!!!! We did it!!! Those are smiles of relief mixed with absolute exhaustion. Now that we've made it.....we have only one more 7 hour hike to survive!

Our champion W group! We were such a great team!

On the way out the last day. Those are my walking sticks perched against the sign. I was SO grateful I let the hostel owner, Omar, talk me into renting them. They saved my life several times!

Those are some happy smiles, why? We showered! And put on clean clothes that we hadn't been wearing and trekking in for 5 straight days! And we're eating something world's better than packaged soups, pastas and dried fruit and nuts. There is beer and pizza on the way.

I'm rich!!! I had to show you my Chilean pesos after making a stop at the cash machine to pull out 70,000Cps. Take off 3 zeros and multiply by 2 and you get the amount, roughly, in dollars. so $140USD.

So happy to be clean and in clean clothes. But my shoes are hurting me. I am walking very slow to have the victory meal....I am in a LOT of pain with blisters on the bottoms of 4 of my toes. Then the sewing went down.

Here's one foot's worth of results! Aaaaah! Brave or stupid? You decide! I don't know if it really helped. Maybe if I had plans to continue climbing and needed a quick fix it would've been a more important step to take.

TDP was truly the experience of a lifetime. The scenery was just epic. Looking back through my pictures I can't believe it myself! Nature has such incredible beauty.