Rafael, Anne

Rafael, Selfportrait (ca. 1506)

Frank Horvat, Anne

Frank Horvat worked between 1983 and 1988 for the German FAZ. He developed the project "Vrais semblances" (1980-1986), to which "Anne" belongs: a series of portraits mimicking painted portraits. It is worth having a look to the project, since it is not only about "mimicking".

Doktor erroris causa

Vor gut einem Monat bekam ich eine Einladung vom Goethe Institut, um einen Aufsatz über etwas "typisches Deutsch" zu verfassen. Mein Text geht um den Titelkult. "Doktor erroris causa" ist hier zu finden. Geniesst es!

Diva, Camino

Los extremos se tocan

Me cuenta Claudia que en la Universidad de La Habana dan dosis obligatorias de marxismo-leninismo a todos los estudiantes, sin importar la carrera que estén cursando. Parece que la práctica se extiende por todo el país.

Recuerdo entonces que en la Universidad Panamericana dan dosis obligatorias de cristianismo a todos los estudiantes, sin importar la carrera que estén cursando. Parece que la práctica se extiende por toda la red de universidades opusdeicas.

Anonymous talents

Stars need to shine, otherwise they are useless. The more I read about and reflect on a certain star I am writing about, the less I like the attitude. Stars are using the attention of fans to feed their own stardom. Ah...

Nothing like enjoying the talent of anonymous people who are not using somebody. My favorite new talent is Pia, a cute singer. Prego!

Wikipedia, Death Star

 

Vie heroïque

The song of this week is "Love on the beat", a song which was once proscribed by the Vatican. This is an extraordinary live version with Serge himself. I have been looking forward to see his "Vie heroïque", coming soon to the cinemas, despite cute Lucy Gordon committing suicide after shooting it. Serge, son of Russian Jews, borned in Paris, led a tragic life under the surveillance of the holy trinity of the ye-ye-years: drugs, sex and rock 'n roll.

Serbian photos

There is a young, very promising Serbian photographer called Sanja Knežević. She started working for National Geographic, for a Dutch and English newspapers and magazines, etc. All pics down here are from her.

A couple of weeks ago I met another one, also from Belgrade, but based in London, called Nemanja Antanasković, who is also directing videos, specially for Yeti.

These are the people we should be looking at, not to the boring opportunist Kusturica.

Fotos: Sanja Knežević

Christmas text

The Sunday before Christmas I published a text about Tlalpujahua (in Michoacán, Mexico) in Germany's FAZ. Tlalpujahua is very well know because of the more than 250 factories producing balls for Christmas trees. Not all of them are spheres, they also produce little cubes and spirals, etc. It is worth going there, in any case, a beautiful, little, vivid town in the middle of the Otomí mountains.

This was also the first time they publish a picture shot by me. It is nothing special, but still. Writing the text was even a much bigger adventure than going to Tlalpujahua itself: I wrote it partialy in the press center of the Cinema Festival of Havanna in the Hotel Nacional, in Vedado, and part of it in a storage room of a post office, also in Vedado, surrounded by letters, sacks, Cubans talking, flirting, complaining, wasting their time and mine, doing everything except working.

On the upper part of the page, a nice text by my friend Susanne as well.

Yeah!

Foto: Restaurant in Tlalpujahua

United Colors of Facebook

Foto: Adriana Lima

I was puzzled by so many colors on my female-friend's Facebook-profile's, till I finally got it. Statistically, black seems to be the most popular.

Maybe that woman writing that the real tool which has helped women to "free themselves" is not the pill but the internet is right. Is she right? Making public the color of the bra on Facebook might be a supporting example for her.

Dos mails rarísimos

Anoche recibí dos mails muy raros, aparentemente inocuos, en menos de una hora. ¿Alguien más también?

More birdie angels

To continue with the angel-bird association, there is a detail in Guadalupe's depiction: a small angel under her feet. Some say it is a portrait of Juan Diego. It is interesting that the wings are green/white/red, such as the Mexican flag. The colors of the wing represent three virtues (Faith, Hope, Charity), while the colors of the flag correspond to the secular version of those virtues (Hope, Unity, Blood of the National Heroes).


A legend says that Juan Diego, when coming to Tepeyac, heard the bird tzinitzcan (or trogon) singing. It occurs in Mexico, but not only, and has the same three colors. Recently, it has been proposed as a national bird.

Kathrine Svendsby, Alinka Echeverría

I am looking for a new flat and met a girl who is going to Thailand to make a documentary film. She is an artist from Norwegen: Kathrine Svendsby. I was curious, I googled her and found this picture (above) of her project "See Sick".

It remembered me immediately of the project "The unbearable lightness of being" of my friend Alinka Echeverría, shot in a public swimming pool of NY (below).

Coke in red: Taylor Swift, brunette, Hilary

Cubans drink all the time Tu Kola. A good example of consumism without any advertisement whatsoever despite the absurd name.

Post Secret

Calacas in December

Many years ago I visited Taxco with my fam. When we were leaving I could see through the window of our car a "calaca" on the top of a lateral door of Santa Prisca's. I visited Taxco shortly before Christmas and looked for the calaca. I couldn't find it easily, since there were some renovation works. But a man explained to me that the street which begins there is called "Calle de la muerte". Indeed, there is a big calaca on the pavement.


And also, while visiting a little cemetery in Tlalpujahua, Michoacán, I was amazed to see the tombs full of flowers and food and papers since Día de Muertos. One of the tombs was decorated for Halloween and Día de Muertos at once, with calacas included.

But yesterday I heard that in Serbia and other Balcanic countries people behave in a very similar way as Mexicans do in Día de Muertos. Have to check that out.