Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

why read?



















A few days ago, I told my husband that sometimes, when I am in social situations I expect to engage in deep conversation but what I often get is superficial.

Topics of conversation are, generally, variations of the same subjects: type of cell phone, latest vacation and future vacation plans, hair and nail color trends, the newest collections, hotel recommendations, a comment about the latest criminal case, one or two anecdotes (if lucky), questions about how we raise or how we should educate our children, what works and what doesn't (really boring, cause you know, aside from giving them love and attention, each couple has it´s own ways that are determined by their own singularity, so "winner" formulas don´t really apply here), and a forecast of the way inflation is going to affect our economies in the upcoming future.

No matter what situation I find myself in, whether it's a meeting with friends or on my own, I´m always hoping to produce or encounter some form of knowledge, but, when I relate to some people I am left with the feeling that it simply will not happen. So, I asked my husband if maybe I should settle for superficial conversations.
The truth be said, I find that hard to achieve.

Even though I understand that these are times where focus is divided between the profound and superfluous (which I think works great towards a form of balance) I do wonder: when something calls our attention, I mean really calls our attention, isn't this a good reason to stop and focus for a moment on what interests us? Isn't that worth it? Isn't learning worth it? I am left with the feeling that this lack of interest (which applies to a lack of interest in books also) can lead people to loose their capacity to ask questions, be surprised and to engage at a deeper level with others.

I like to read. I think there are so many good reasons to read. This is what I wanted to share with you today. I like to read books, magazines, I read anything that calls my attention and which I feel I can learn from.

Reading, I educate myself. I discover subjects that interest me and I set myself to get a more profound understanding of them. I find which are the characters´ adventures and conflicts an author so kindly shares with me and the way they learn from each experience. I sometimes apply the characters´ findings to my own life or, at least, I test them.

Sometimes, reading helps me discover who I am, it also helps me to find meaning in what seems not to have it or not to feel alone when dealing with certain feelings or topics.

I may be slow in understanding it is best to switch from the Google search engine to Google Chrome (or so my 10 yr. old daughter says). That is my pace.

Reading reminds me that one´s personal growth takes time because true knowledge isn't superficial, it is the result of a deep learning process that takes place at one´s own pace.

People that don´t read miss the chance of finding out what is particular about themselves and others and are at risk of becoming dull talking about their latest cell phone. Or talking about other people.

Reading is worth it, don't you think?

"Don't sleep with people who don´t read!" - John Waters



Post by Valeria Mendez Cañás

Friday, October 14, 2011

Neighborhood Clubs

Club Hungría

















Neighborhood clubs have played an important role in the creation of social, cultural and sports identity in Buenos Aires.

In the same fields where soccer, basketball and other sports are played, tango is danced and orchestras can be heard live. During carnivals, the tracks are filled with foam, costumes and music.

Neighborhood clubs are part of the folklore of Buenos Aires; they are symbols of the city and part of our history. Although, at present, their function is not quite the same as before (playing sports is the main thing and not as many social events take place there), their restaurants remain almost intact; we invite you to tour these restaurants, enjoy a simple Argentinian meal and discover the nostalgia they contain.

El Bochin - Julian Alvarez 2355, 4823-7507.
Circulo de Salvavidas - Cabello 3958, 4804-4297
Club Eros - Uriarte 1609, 3832-1313
Club Atletico Palermo - Fitz Roy 2238, 4777-7647
Club Portugues - Pedro Goyena 1468, 4431-9059
Club Hungria - Pasaje Juncal 4250,Olivos, 4799-8437


Club de Salvavidas














Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Café

















Café Tortoni, Buenos Aires, 1910


Many moments are born and re lived in the cafés of Buenos Aires: life stories, friendships, love, battles, sports, arts, etc., that’s why in a tango song that I like, the café is called "the school of all things."

In Buenos Aires, you can spend hours enjoying a “cortado” (short coffee) without the waiter asking if you’d like to order something else. The café moment is often long and comes with more than one activity: reading the newspaper, studying, meeting friends or work colleagues, talking, people watching, debating, etc. It's a ceremony.

Historically, cafés have been linked to the most famous Argentinian writers and artists who gathered there to discuss their ideas, read their stories and share their views on all aspects of life.

In 1998 a law was passed in order to preserve the cafés of Buenos Aires that are associated with significant cultural relevance for their age, architectural design and local character. As a result, some cafés got the title of "Notable Cafés of Buenos Aires".

While the flavor of coffee served in "Cafés Notables" is not as developed as those of most current cafés, the "Notable Cafes" have a story, a mythic, a je ne sais quoi that we invite you to discover.


* Café Tortoni *

Carlos Gardel, Quinquela Martín, Juan de Dios Filiberto, Alfonsina Storni, Marcelo T. Alvear, Federico Garcia Lorca, Arthur Square, Luigi Pirandello, Conrado Nale Roxlo, Xul Solar among others have passed through its doors.

Founded in 1858 by Mr. Touan, a Frenchman who named it in memory of Paris Tortoni. It was the first streetside café in Buenos Aires and Avenida de Mayo - where the café is located, was the first avenue in South America.

Address: Avenida de Mayo 825 / 29 Montserrat


* La Ideal
*

Preferred by characters from the cultural, political and artistic scenes, it has two floors. On the ground floor is the coffee shop, on the first floor, the tango salon. Alan Parker filmed scenes from the film "Evita" there; Sally Porter did the same for "The Tango Lesson" and Carlos Saura's immortalized it in his tango shots including authentic, Porteño milonga dancers in the film "Tango".

Founded in 1912, by Manuel Rosendo Fernandez from Spain.

Address: Suipacha 384, downtown.


* Las Violetas
*

Many political personalities, artists and sports figures have attended. Famous for its vitraux and delightful tea time.

Founded in September, 1884.

Address: Rivadavia 3899, Almagro


* La Biela *

You often have to wait for a table especially if you intend to sit outside, under the most beautiful Gomero tree on earth. The cafés privileged location facing the Church of Pilar in La Recoleta make a coffee there as desirable as a meal in the nearby Munich. In the 40’s La Biela was frequented by motorists who started and ended auto racing there.

Founded in 1850

Address: Avenida Presidente Quintana 600, Recoleta


* Alvear Hotel Bar
*

Located on Avenida Alvear, Buenos Aires most elegant avenue, this café is a meeting point for people from Recoleta including politicians, entrepreneurs, artists and tourists.

Founded in 1932

Address: Avenida Alvear 1891


Post by: Valeria Mendez Cañas

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Paris in Buenos Aires






































The French Embassy (first photo) and the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Buenos Aires got together with the idea of culturally linking Paris to Buenos Aires and Buenos Aires to Paris. This is how they came up with Tandem Buenos Aires-Paris 2011. Up until June 26 we can enjoy French culture at it's best.

The program will mainly take place at the Theater and Cultural Center General San Martin, but also in other government- run venues.

The offer of activities is very broad, going from scenic Arts: theater, circus, puppets, dance; visual arts: video art, photography, street art, movies; music: classical, jazz and rock 'n roll (very funny how the French dance to it!) and literature. Several prestigious French theater directors are participating as well as the Theatre du Rond Point which is excellent.

In the fall, Argentina artists will be arriving to Paris to unfold our culture there.

Kurt Vonnegut once said "I wanted all things to seem to make some sense,
So we could all be happy, yes, instead of tense. And I made up lies, so
they all fit nice, and I made this sad world a paradise"

Doesn't that quote make you smile? it comes from Literature. We feel that art, in any of its forms, is intended to make your life better, that is why we hope you can experience at least, a bit of Tandem 2011.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Mate


































You can find this modern version of mates at 5800 Gorriti St. , Palermo


As some of you may know, mate is a traditional Argentinian drink. It was drank by the Indians in the Northern region of Argentina back in the 17th Century. The plant from which it's made, yerba mate, commonly grows there. The drink was later produced, consumed and sold massively by the missionaries. Slowly, mate made it's way into all of Argentina and to Buenos Aires in particular.

Mate is very popular because having it is considered a ceremony, and as in any ceremony, it has it's rituals. Having mate on your own or with friends, co-workers, relatives, etc., is a way to share good conversations and be in good company. Even if you are alone, you are in company of a "mate".

There are many types of mates nowadays but originally it was drank inside of a small pumpkin that was emptied and dried out. Yerba mate (or processed mate leaves) would go into the mate along with a straw and hot, not boiling, water (otherwise yerba mate gets burnt). As the bottom of the pumpkin was rounded, leather, silver, metal, and glass bases were created in order to allow for it to stand still. Historically, it's design has evolved many times, but not the way we drink it.

You need a mate set if you are interested in drinking mate. The set is made up of a container or mate, of course; a "bombilla" or metal straw (such as the one seen in the photos above) which has a strainer at it's end to keep yerba mate leaves from getting to your mouth; a "yerbera" that consists of two containers joined in the middle by a handle that is used to move it around. In one container you place, yerba, in the other, sugar; a kettle, with hot water.

If you are buying a traditional mate made out of pumpkin, ask in the store how you need to prepare it before having your first mate. There is a technique that assures your mate's taste will remain soft. No preparation is required if your mate is made out of metal, glass or any other material.

There are tricks to making good mate: fill up your mate with yerba, put it in hot water, wait for yerba to swell, insert the straw with out moving it sideways or in circles, and have the first drink or "fool's mate". It is called that way because first mate tastes very bitter and strong.

If you were the one who prepared the mate, then you are the person in charge of filling it up with water and sugar or honey (if you choose to add sugar or honey, although the custom varies from place to place) and, you're also the one that has to re- fill the mate's yerba when it's taste starts to fade. This makes you the "cebador". The mate ritual stops once you get tired of pouring mates for everyone, after mate has gone around a few rounds, and no one is supposed to take your place. If you are in the round and want to stop drinking, you can just say "thank you" and it will be interpreted as that. Otherwise, if mate is passed on to you, you take it and drink it and give it back to the person that is filling it who will do this and pass it on to person beside you.

Mate has its virtues. It stimulates circulatory, muscular systems a well as the central nervous system; it regulates digestion, works well as a diuretic and keeps you awake but, unlike coffee, mate does not accelerate your heart beat.

You can get yerba mate in any supermarket in Argentina as well as in some cities around the world such as London, NYC and Miami.

Enjoy your mate!

Monday, May 9, 2011

Music and Nature






















Photographed: Maria Andreeva (Russia)


Children and Adolescents Choirs and Orchestras Festival 2011
(Second Edition).

If you love music and nature, an unforgettable experience awaits in the Province of Misiones, Argentina. The reasons are many: this is an ideal time to visit the Iguazú falls: the weather will be glorious, the place, unbelievable; the purpose: magical.

From May 23 to 28, the Ministry of Culture, Education, Science and Technology of the Province of Misiones, will be offering a one of a kind cultural event: the Second Edition of Children and Adolescents Choirs and Orquestras Festival. Organized by Andrea Merenzon.

A total of 700 children and adolescents will be meeting to talk in one single language: the language of music, their passion, their love. They will be coming from 18 countries as different as Germany, Peru, China, Australia, South Africa, Brazil and Russia amongst others. Daily rehearsals will take place under the direction of world- famous directors. The children will perform classical and traditional music from their countries of origin.

Individual and group performances will take place in various prestigious hotels in the area (in both sides of the falls, Argentinian and Brazilian).

In the individual performances, you will have the pleasure of enjoying not only the music but the virtuosity of the young musicians. In the group performances you will be able to evaluate the amount of work, effort and coordination put together by all of the participants. No tickets are required, you are free to attend any performance you please.

Music will bring everyone together at the closing of the Festival which will take place at the gardens of the Sheraton Hotel where the beauty of symphonic music will meet the beauty of the stage: Iguazu Falls.

Post by: Vale

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Teatro Colón



















If you have been to Buenos Aires, you must have noticed the incapacity
some Argentinians have when it comes to following rules. If you speak a little Spanish and have ever tried to understand the lyrics of at least, one tango song, you might have understood that the main character in the song has either gotten away with something or has beaten his opponent.He has done this by disrespecting rules, sometimes rules of honor, by cheating.

Tango songs and bad driving are typical of our culture. Take one second,
stand in any avenue corner, preferably by a policeman and observe how drivers
run yellow and red lights, drive on biking paths, or speed up when a pedestrian
is trying to cross the street.
Take note of the policeman, probably too busy texting messages on his cell phone or smoking a cigarette to catch drivers breaking the law.

While driving around town looking at the beautiful European architecture
the city is famed for, you will be intrigued by the magnificence of a
building that stands on Av. Cerrito and Viamonte: Teatro Colon, a jewel, not
only for its architecture but also for the art that is produced inside. The
theater reopened on 2010 after years of restoration work.

Unfortunately, it's not working at its fullest capacity because, just as
anything Argentinian, the Government of the City of Buenos Aires, that operates it, and a great number of members of its orchestra (grouped as a union) cannot
reach an agreement regarding working conditions. As a result, the opera that
was to open the theater's season: György Ligetis "Le Grand Macabre" was
put on stage under the direction of Baldur Bröinniman in a non orchestral version consisting of two pianos and percussion.

If you have stayed long enough in Buenos Aires, you must have realized another
thing about us: the ability to get by with what's available. You must
have heard a very popular phrase: "Es lo que hay" meaning: "This is what there is." So for example, although Plácido Domingo was recently scheduled to perform at the Colón, due to a series of events, he was unable to do so, and performed at the Obelisk instead. It was still a wonderful experience enjoyed by everyone and people were extremely happy, and he was too. It was a most memorable event.

There are some issues with the theater, yes, but next time you visit Buenos Aires (or if you're here now), do try to go to the Teatro Colón. It's an experience you don't want to miss. There are many ways to get a good feel for it. I suggest that you try them all:
1) book a guided tour: this will give you a good feel of all the details that must come together to put on a performance. You will walk by rehearsal rooms, you will see the way costumes are made for every show, etc.
2) buy tickets to a performance, the best ones are on a program called
"Abono del Bicentenario" (it only occurs once a month).
3) buy seats on higher floors.

If you book ahead of time, you will get good seats that will combine the possibility of seeing and hearing the performance, otherwise you will be missing the view.

The acoustics, the architecture, and the art you will encounter will make you walk out of there having had a very nice time. If something goes wrong, as it did with Ligeti's opera, you still will have had an experience in itself. After all, this is Argentina (and there is what there is).

For performances and guided tours visit www.teatrocolon.org.ar


Guest post by Valeria Mendez Cañas.