This site has been developed to share my experiences as a Distinguished Fulbright Teacher in Argentina. The views shared here do not represent those of the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Fulbright Commission, the Academy for Educational Development (A.E.D.), nor those of la Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina.

viernes, 6 de abril de 2012

MATZO IN SAN TELMO

Happy Passover! Chag Sameach! Happy Easter! Buona Pasqua! Qué pases buena pascua!
Uncanny resemblance to the Republic of Argentina
I am thrilled to spend tonight's first seder here in Providence with the family of my dear friend and colleague Edna. Tomorrow night...back to Western Mass for a second seder/Easter Sunday double-header. Labo-Wohl Family, remember those years of shuttling between Kutcher's and Plainview, NY, in the same weekend? Matzo one night, Italian-style Easter bread basket the next. Hyphenated ethnic identities can be complicated, ya know? And yummy.

Last year was a bit simpler. I celebrated Pesach only in the home of an Australian gentile friend surrounded by an Argentine, vegetarian U.S. ex-pats, and some very familiar faces from home. We might have been in Buenos Aires, but the Haggadah was the same (outdated) text translation from my childhood. Too funny!

Fun Fact: Buenos Aires has the 10th largest Jewish population in the world after Tel Aviv, New York, Haifa, Jerusalem, South Florida (ok, not a city), Paris, Philadelphia, and Chicago, in that order. Clearly, it's the largest in Latin America. Several porteños tried to tell me it was third largest Jewish city after New York and Paris, but wikipedia.org begs to differ. (Classic example of the self-aggrandization so common in B.A. I write that with total love and a smile.)
Plus, up to 60% of Argentina's population is of Italian descent. No wonder I felt so at home here!

Demián and Leslie handling some bread of affliction

Matzo ball soup!

Alex came all the way from New Jersey to prepare a seder for her brother Sam and his friends. Aw! Thanks, Frommers.

How Hayley enchanted Marty. He did all the dishes that night.

Love these folks
18 April 2011

miércoles, 4 de abril de 2012

UNTITLED (24 May 2011)

It's been a long day filled with education gems; tomorrow promises to be as well. I leave you before I rest with this post with few words and no title. What do you make of this series taken in the B.A. barrio of Caballito? 
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martes, 3 de abril de 2012

THE POWER OF UN BESO

It's amazing how powerful the smallest customs can be.

Upon return to the United States, I instantly missed the Argentine kiss-greeting. Everyone kisses everyone on the cheek there: friends, strangers, colleagues, lovers. Even men kiss other men in the street. It is verbalized in writing and speaking when proximity prevents the real thing from happening: "See you tomorrow! ¡Un beso!"

Some foreigners find all that kissing to be too intimate and a bit jarring, but I love it. Making physical connection with so many of the people you encounter throughout the day is a tiny, perfect reminder of our shared humanity.

Good night.  
¡Un beso!

lunes, 2 de abril de 2012

BECAUSE IT'S NICE TO PAINT

According to the proprietors of Graffiti Mundo Tour in Buenos Aires, most street artists in the capital paint "porque es lindo pintar." It sure is nice to paint, isn't it?



Latin America has a long and fascinating history of muralism. However, in contrast to many of its regional neighbors, Argentina's public paintings are a more recent phenomenon--less historical and less politically revolutionary. Graffiti arrived in 1990s, created by mostly middle class artists emulating "cool" U.S. work born out of the hip-hop movement. The severe economic crisis of 2001 inspired a great deal of different work in Buenos Aires - mostly new political commentary and expression of rage. Quickly, artist collectives also formed to combat the malaise and frustration. One of the first street art groups intentionally aimed to animate the public mood and make poeple smile by painting enormous, silly cartoons on the walls in primary colors.

Since then, the work is often created by established artists who also show in galleries or are professional graphic designers. There is way less taboo in Argentina than in U.S. for commercials artists to engage in graffiti. (However, not unlike graffiti in the U.S., it's a bit of a boys' club in B.A. While there are few women on the scene at the moment, there is one who is highly respected and goes by the moniker Pum Pum.)



All wall-painting is illegal except for private property, and of all the problems in this city, graffiti is not considered the highest priority for law enforcement. Police are only allowed to respond to complaints, which means they don't chase artists randomly. So, it is essentially legal making it not exactly graffiti afterall.... When artists do not have run from the law, the art changes. It allows them to take more time and paint during the daytime with exterior latex paint (way less aerosol and wheat pasting, way less nighttime work). The general porteño attitude towards street art is far more tolerant. There are no planning committee regs to wrestle, few permits to secure, if any. Some private property owners even ask painters to cover the walls of their homes. A tagger is less likely to spoil a completed mural, whereas a clean empty wall is fair game.

In 2000 I attempted to complete a public mural project with a group of teenagers in Cambridge, MA. The red tape we encountered became as much a lesson to us as the process of collectively designing the image who had hoped to share with the community. Now, had we been in Buenos Aires...hmm....

Overall, one of my favorite aspects of work on the walls is the dialectical nature of it: painters interact with each other's work in "collaboration"- sometimes knowingly, sometimes unsolicited. Many images are ever-changing. And, the higher up you can paint, the better. Low-quality taggers and political propagandists don't usually have ladders to mess with your work!



I learned much more and took detailed notes, so if you are interested in the stories of specific pieces or artists you see in the slideshow, let me know. Most of my information comes from the Graffiti Mundo guides. If you ever find yourself in Buenos Aires, I highly recommend this tour company with tours in English and Spanish. No flight reserved? There is a good deal of info on the website as well.

domingo, 1 de abril de 2012

UN AÑO DESPUÉS: ANNIVERSARY UPDATE

An iconic shot of the Caldén tree captured in the province of La Pampa
 (May 2011)

One year and one week ago, I landed for the first time at Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires, weepy for the community I was leaving behind in Providence but tremendously excited for the adventure that lay ahead in the Argentine Republic.

Lately and routinely, I return to Argentina in my dreams. My nocturnal escapades are certainly more cost effective but not nearly as satisfying as the actual months I spent there exploring, observing, questioning, building bridges.

The dreams, coupled with encouraging comments from several of you readers, have reminded me that I never closed this blog and that there is more to share. What happened? As you might recall, the entire project had a delayed beginning. Plus, my work (and play) as a Fulbright fellow snowballed in the final weeks of my stay, making it more difficult to keep up with postings. I had every intention of writing much more last August after I had returned to the U.S., but...but...excuses, excuses! Hey, maybe leaving the blog open and incomplete was an unconscious means of sustaining the experience.

That said, my goal this week is to post a daily, brief snapshot-memory from last year sprinkled with fresh thoughts from today. Let's see how this goes: Take 2!

Me, at Paul Cuffee School in enthusiastic storytelling mode presenting
a slideshow to the school community on what I learned in Argentina (December 2011)