El Cine

Last week I had the privilege of attending a film showing Elefante Blanco (White Elephant); a film set in the flavelas of Retiro, in Buenos Aires. With a spectacular script, Elefante Blanco humanized both the role of the flavelas and the catholic church in the city in a way I have never seen on screen before. The importance of Catholicism to the people here is undeniable, and this film so honestly portrayed the informal interactions of priests within these neighborhoods. It also allowed for an understanding of the interworking of an area of Buenos Aires I will never see. The film was entirely in spanish and I didn't have subtitles to bail me out, but it was well worth the brain power. Elefante Blanco was directed by Pablo Trapero and premiered at the Cannes Film festival earlier this year. The neighborhood in which this film took place is three train stops away from my station; about fifteen minuets.

Two days ago I attended the film premier of El Premio//The Prize. Part of the Festival International de Cine de los Derechos Humanos (International Film Festival of Human Rights), The film followed Cici, a 9 year old girl, through the story of a life in hiding from an Argentine regime during the Dirty War Era. The film was brilliant, and though there were subtitles (Something I did not expect) they were unnecessary. The acting was powerful, and often wordless, and the film beautifully captured the fear, confusion, longing and innocence of the protagonist. The filmography was natural and the characters honest. The most interesting element of the film was the way sound was incorporated. The sound wasn't buffered, muffled or adjusted to be the same volume the entire film. In fact, in contrast to the Hollywood norm, the sounds varied in volume so drastically that you felt the shock, pain and annoyance along with the characters; an element I believe did nothing but add to the film itself. El Premio was produced by a Mexican Film company in 2011, and ran 107 min. It was directed by Paula Markovitch and has won numerous awards including Best Picture at the Morlina Film Festival. I was also fortunate enough to meet the two actresses who stared in the movie, Paulina Galinelli Hertzog, who plays Cici, and Viviana Suraniti who plays Maestra Rosita.

Cici (left) and friend in the Cold Southern Beach Setting of El Premio

Photo Credit

It's a good time to be in Argentina. If you're a film junkie, head on down.

As always,
Besos,
Hil

The Haunted Mansion

Within the Museo de Arte Español Enrique Lareta, there is a display featuring the works of famous Argentine poet Alejandra Pizarnik, coupled with hand drawn interpretations of her works by Santiago Caruso. Though spanish literature is often difficult, the effect was not lost on me. The haunting representations used female sexuality, coupled with the ideas of as a corporal animation. The macabre scenes pictured women as marionettes, fictional animals, and skeletal structures. Children were pictured not as sacred, but as temporal. These drawings (Acuarela sobre papel) sat side by side with poems of the same haunting nature. Below is an experpt from one of her poems El Despertar. 

The beauty of her images, riddled with dark features, were often reworked impressions of tales such as Alice in Wonderland. There is an air of despair within her writing, which may have been a clue into the depression that eventually led to her drug induced suicide in 1972. 

The museum was one of my favorites so far. The old house in which it was set, held remnants of the elite family that once owned it, and not unlike most other museums and homes here in Buenos Aires, there were many Catholic sculptures and paintings of biblical figures. 

Over all, a well spent, introspective afternoon, followed by lunch with a friend, a wonderful way to spend a Thursday afternoon. 

As Always,

Besos, 

Hil

“Maybe mistakes are what make our fate... without them what would shape our lives? Maybe if we had never veered off course we wouldn't fall in love, have babies, or be who we are. After all, things change, so do cities, people come into your life and they go. But it's comforting to know that the ones you love are always in your heart... and if you're very lucky, a plane ride away” 

-Carrie Bradshaw. Sex and the City. 

The thing about a city is, you are never quite sure where  you will end up. Plan it out, get a map, google it to your hearts content, but the streets have a bigger say than you do in your destination. This past week has been a week of failed plans. A circus we missed, a bar we never found, a museum that was closed. The beauty in mistakes, is what you find when you should have taken a right. 

As one prone to mistakes, misinformation, and a lot of left turns, I'm learning that in the city, it's important to understand that whether you reach your destination, or just wander around a Jewish synagogue (these things happen), the pieces of adventure we share, make the mis-adventures worthwhile.

This week, I turned 21. A monumental number to many. Spending a birthday not only away from home, but away from those people who make birthdays special for me, was difficult. All the things I would be doing in Moscow and Spokane, here, seemed unimportant. My left hand turn had taken me to Argentina and I would have to walk into my twenty first birthday surrounded by those I had known only a short while. The beautiful thing about people, is how we are wired to slip into each others lives, seamlessly filling the holes and the gaps the heart has created. The distance from my family was still there, my best friends still absent, but there was no doubt that we had, amongst ourselves, formed a family of our own. Perhaps it's a want of experiences, or perhaps it is out of necessity that friendships like these form, creating a blanket of protection from loneliness in a city of this size.

Maybe Carrie is right. Maybe mistakes do make our fate. In a jungle the size of Buenos Aires, a day without mistakes does not exist. and all those left hand turns? I think eventually they'll take you in the right direction. Following the map, can only get you so far, after that, you have to trust that what has slipped into your life, will lead you to the right road. And sometimes, wandering the streets with no destination at all, is the best way to find what you're really looking for.

As always,
Besos,
Hil

Culture Me

A week or so ago, I played the cheap card, donned my hipster shoes, and headed to the free exhibits at the  Malba. One of the best known modern art museums in Buenos Aires the Malba has hosted many famous artists in it's lifespan including Xu Solar, Diego Rivera, Antonio Berni, Frida Kahlo, and Jorge de la Vega. Chances are, you know at least one name on that list. You get it, impressive stuff. This also happened to be the weekend of the BAFICI, also known as a free film and arts festival. After taking in the wonderful, wild and wacky art (Think everything from classic muralist, to satirical feminist brail collages),   Tiff, Monae, Andrea and I headed to this mall that housed an event center and a free concert. After the free concert, we sat on the steps outside the shopping center to take in some local musical talent in the form of five wonderful street performers. Good times. Good people*.

Because we weren't allowed to take photos, I wasn't able to get the names of all the artists featured, so I'm sure there is some form of copyright discrepancy playing out in the following photos. I will also be naming the pieces of art myself. I heretofore claim 'not guilty' to owning any of these. Also, Andrea took most of them anyway. Sneaky girl. 

*I officially miss anyone that would understand this reference 

Outside of the Malba (obviously?)

I do wish you could see the line of hipsters more clearly

I call this one: Woman staring at deformed bear cub around neon fire.

Giant melty plastic pieces in abstract form

I don't have a name for this one, but one of the monster things had boobs.

This was part of the 'Bye Bye American Pie exhibit.' 

I've fondly named this one: Pretty sure this has already been done with 

Helen Bonham Carter's face in Alice and Wonderland advertisements in 2010

Finally cleaned out from under my bed, here, you can have it. 

My dad would steal this bench in a heartbeat

Anna Hein in 65 years

This was the band we saw. The lead singer strikingly resembled Edna Mode 

I don't remember their name. The bassist was a badass. Think Sloan in Raise Your Voice

Inside of the Shopping/Event Center

Of course there was an indoor ferris wheel. 

Waiting for Monae to finish taking pictures

The street band. Yes, that is a cello and our friend with the beard is singing Willie Nelson

As always, Besos, 

Hil

Mate Time Episode 1

Today we are packing our bags and heading out of the city once more. This time we will be going to Barioloche in Patagonia. That means a week without a computer. Which seems pretty relieving to me (Though I might already be going through Twitter withdrawals. Cold turkey is hard for any addiction.) So I will leave you with the first episode of the much anticipated (by whom I'm not sure) video blog collaboration of my friend, house mate, and travel companion Linette. Mate Time. A short show where we drink Mate and discuss something about city life. Mate (Mah-Tay) is a traditional drink of Argentina, Uruguay and other regions of South America, and we love it. So without further ado: Mate Time: Episode 1. Transportation. Enjoy, Lindos.

Hunger Games

It came. It went. It rocked. The phonomena that is the Hunger Games hit Buenos Aires last Thursday. "Buy your tickets early," everyone told us. Make sure you get a seat. Well kids, let me tell you, when we showed up to buy our tickets at the Belgrano Theatre the only thing that was packed was the McDonalds next door. So at 4:30 pm, Linette, Bry, Tif and I sat down with nine 14 year old school girls, one old couple and three teenage boys (slouched in the corner) to watch Los Juegos del Hambre. Two and a half hours later, I walked out of that theatre feeling like quite the badass. It was a phenominal movie, well filmed and loyal to the book. The intreguing plotline carrys the book through youthful writing, but the movie carried itself. Disecting the movie afterwards was almost as enjoyable as the film itself. It made me reminice of those days contemplating upcoming Harry Potter films. It's amazing what can create a community. The influence one thing can have on entire demographics of people. And It makes me wonder, can a community trap us?

Today in my gender history class (which contrary to popular belief is not Feminism 101) we discussed colonial Latin America and the role the Catholic church played in both dictating women's roles in society and allowing them to trancend set standards. Communities were built around femininity, saints, families, wealth, and race. Women of these factions created communities based on their acceptence of a book of a different kind. While it may seem a far cry from Harry Potter fandom, The Twilight idioma, or the recent Hunger Games craze, the modern day following of popular secular crazes, creates within its comunity an understanding, much like that of the Colonial Catholic church. It was, at the time, the duty of the church to 'protect the virtue' of it's women and this was done through enclosure. Women were kept from all parts of social connection save those deemed acceptable by the Church. Within those gatherings, women were safe, free of sinful opportunities and for all intensive purposes, free.

While today this seems outrageous and archaic, we are again centering ourselves around safety. Hollywood spoonfeeds us more than enough fictional calories to keep us satisfied. And we happily and willingly continue to sit at our highchair playing 'here comes the airplane.' Books are a magical thing. I have had an intimate relationship with them for most of my life, and it has been through this that I have come to understand the fascinating danger with continual complacence. The longer we sit in the high chair, the harder it will be to walk, and though wonderful as temporary companions, books don't make very helpful crutches.

Thus ends my time on the soapbox. I'm too clumsy to stay up here long anyway. How about some pictures?

Gearing Up with some posters. 

Even the spanish adds are awesome.

The gang: Tif, Me Bry, Netty

I'm not sure Bry was as excited as the rest of us...

Besos as always, 

Hil

Expectations #3

#3 Tango

Typical as this may seem I may certainly say that tango is one of the things that most entices me about BA. I have danced tango and taught tango in the past and I am beyond excited to see how it differs and the social role it plays within the city. I assume there is a world of tango that I will never see, and I do not expect to. I am not fooled to think that the milongas (tango clubs) that I would find are the real thing. The true heart of tango in BA will be hidden from me I am sure. If this is something that is truly special to the hearts of the porteños, I will never see it. It is their secret and I expect them to keep it. What do I want? What do I expect. I want stories. I want to hear the people talk about their connection with the dance. How the movements are interpreted, and find out what it all means.                                    photo credit click here

We Dance Tango because we have secrets...

To dances and stories, 

Hil

Expectations #2

#2 Commuting 


I have been on several subway systems in my lifetime, and have always glorified the pedestrian lifestyle, but growing up in suburbia has not allowed me to fully experience one. I am fascinated by daily subway rides and look forward to the tedium of catching 'my train home. Call me crazy but I feel that if I master even a small portion of the expansive subway system (called the Subte in BA), I will begin to feel more at home. The more I can feel like a porteño (local) the more I expect I will gain from my experience. Cinematic as it sounds I'm sure my first attempt and flawlessly navigating Subte lines will be more youtube worthy than oscar worthy, but I'm ready to give it a shot.

                                           Photo credit: Phillipp Klinger Photography on Flickr


Here's to maps instead of iphones... yikes,
Hil

Expectations #1

#1. Street Art
I have read that the street art of Argentina is both beautiful and rich in political, cultural, and social thought; that the artistic heart of Buenos Aires lies not within its walls but on them. I love street art. I find it fascinating in the way it allows for communication, revolution and art simultaneously.

Antigua Alhambra store in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Photo credit: Jim Patton via Flickr