Last week I had visited a different art museum: el Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes (the National Museum of Beautiful Arts). I'd read on some blogs that it's very unimpressive and can be skipped, but I had to see for myself! It did turn out to be a disappointment. The organization and lighting in the museum is really bad, and I didn't like much of the art. But I did see two great paintings that made the trip worth it for me: Le Moulin de la Galette by Vincent Van Gogh: an impressionistic beach scene with a couple at the forefront, and Femme Elongee (that title might not be exactly right) by Pablo Picasso: which to me seemed to illustrate a woman tossing and turning in bed, and her lover trying to minimize the distance between them.
Wednesday (the day I went to el MALBA), was also the first day of a literature festival called FILBA. The opening event was a lecture by Mark Augé, a famous French anthropologist. You needed a ticket just to see a projection of the lecture on a screen! — seating in the auditorium was by invitation only. I got my ticket (for the projection) early and read in a café for a few hours (with coffee and a medialuna/croissant) before the lecture.
When I came back at 6:30 there was a long line to wait for seating in front of the screen! I asked someone if he was in line, and he said, "Yes, but we're all going to the same place." Because of my accent, he asked if I was French. I told him I'm American, and we started talking. He is a journalist, and studies anthropology like me. After a while he asked if I like rock music. When I told him that I do, he gave me two free tickets to a rock concert for the next day! (I think he'd gotten them for free because he's in the press.) After more talking, and waiting for the seating to open, he asked if we were in the right area for the auditorium. I pointed to where the auditorium was, and he said, "Oh. Well let's go!" I told him that I only had a ticket for the projection, and he just said, "Come with me." He told the woman at the door who he was, asked if I could come with, and she said yes! It was really great to be there!
Before the anthropologist spoke, a poet told a story about the beginning of the earth. The auditorium went completely dark at the beginning to help us imagine the world before light. It was a really cool effect, and I felt so lucky to be there to see it instead of just watching a dark screen outside! lol.
Mark Augé, the anthropologist, had a heavy French accent, and it was easy for me to understand his Spanish because he pronounced every word carefully. He talked about "no-places" like shopping malls and McDonald's, and said that these places represent worldwide oligarchy and don't have much culture to them. He talked, too, about identity and the internet: we can all wear multiple masks on the internet and create our own worlds. "No-places" and internet culture are things that have interested me for a while. The lecture was really good. =)
The concert was by Blackbow, an Argentine band a lot like Guns 'N' Roses, with my friend Raluca. I saw the journalist, Juan, jumping around in the moshpit from the start. He jumped around so much that his shoes broke! I drank Quilmes, the Argentine beer, for the first time and also danced (although not in the moshpit!). Juan talked to me in English, which I thought was sweet, and we exchanged phone numbers. He said that he has free theater tickets for later and invited Raluca and I to go. A very exciting night! =)
The music was great, and the rock scene here is almost exactly the same as it is in the US. I was interested by the shoes (Raluca called it an obsession, lol. What can I say? I'm very interested in culture!). There were lots of people wearing Converse (some pairs completely dirty, and some impeccably clean), and other people wearing boots and super-high heels.
Most of the rest of my weekend, I think, will be spent reading about Latin-American history! I might also go to some literature festival or library bicentenario events. Time will tell!
Chau!
Kaeli
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