An all-Ukrainian association of students have organized to help their country. Their goal is to support Ukrainian businesses during the war so they can continue to produce essential goods for Ukrainian citizens.
If you want to help you can donate at
In many cases, times of crisis are synonymous with innovation, and the COVID crisis is no exception. Not only has it altered the way we work and live, but it has also highlighted the importance of digital readiness with the emergence of new technologies that have left companies scrambling to adapt quickly. As a result, many of the companies have changed the way they communicate and do business with their customers.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Once just science fiction, it is now a reality that is increasingly becoming part of our daily lives. The purpose of artificial intelligence is to create machines that exhibit the same capabilities as human beings. But it is not just meant in a figurative sense; many companies and business leaders are using artificial intelligence systems to guide decision making, problem solving and learning.
Virtual Reality
It may seem like very futuristic technology, but the truth is that it is very much integrated into our day-to-day lives. Being locked in for a couple of months made many people start using virtual reality equipment to satisfy their social interaction needs: video games, training programs, and virtual tourism, among other applications.
But not only citizens have been using it, but also companies have been testing it for meetings, collaborations, conferences, and as a tool to communicate with their employees.
5G networks
The concept of 5G refers to the fifth generation of mobile networks as we know them. These networks will enable zero-distance connectivity between people and devices in a much faster way. We are getting closer and closer to it becoming a reality and the future of communication. This technology will revolutionize the entire mobile sector and it seems that the pandemic has greatly advanced this process. In addition, it will also make it possible for everyday objects such as, for example, refrigerators to be connected in real-time and from your mobile device to control it.
Blockchain technology
The blockchain is a set of technologies that allow storing data of any kind, keeping a secure, decentralized, and synchronized record without the need for a third-party intermediary. It is the user who is in control of the process.
A crisis can lead to innovation, but it can also highlight widespread shortcomings with respect to these technologies, and this is what has happened with the pandemic that has highlighted the lack of connectivity and exchange possibilities in today's global supply chains.
The Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things describes the set of everyday physical objects that have embedded software, sensors, among other things, in order to connect with other devices. From light bulbs to life-saving medical machines.
The IOT will allow us to predict and solve health problems through smart medicine dispensers, IP addresses so that doctors can access every vital part of our body or even predict whether what we are eating is in good condition or not thanks to smart forks.
Source: https://www.companias-de-luz.com
By Andrea González
On February 21 Putin signed the recognition of the independence of the Ukrainian pro-Russian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, sending troops to the area. Three days later, he ordered a military attack on the Donbas region. Since then, the Russian army has attacked various regions of the country, including the capital of Kyiv, endangering the world's integrity.
How the war affects Spain
The main consequences for Spain are and will be economic. Experts from electricity companies, in addition to advising you on which electricity tariff to contract, say that the price of some necessities will be affected. The price of wheat is expected to increase by 30% and that of corn by 20%, with clear consequences on the prices of end products made with these materials.
And it is not the only product to be affected. Electricity and gas prices have been skyrocketing for some time now and are expected to continue to rise due to the conflict. So the electricity marketers will have to do something about it.
Rising gas prices
One of the markets most affected by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine is gas. Vladimir Putin's country supplies approximately 40% of Europe's gas. Spain is the EU country that is least dependent on Russian gas, with 5%, because a large part of its supply comes from North African countries.
This confrontation has increased gas prices, which have shot up by 29% and exceeded 100 euros/MWh, and has caused soaring inflation that directly affects consumers' pockets. For this reason, it is important to use a natural gas comparator to find the cheapest gas company and save on your bill.
Rising electricity prices
Not only is the gas market affected, but it is also going to affect our energy bill. Electricity has risen up to 17% to 240.13 euros/MWh, the second-highest price of the year and five times higher than a year ago. For this reason, it is advisable to use an electricity comparator to save on electricity.
Other products increasing in price in Spain
The armed conflict would mean a price increase in different products at the national level, due to the fact that Ukraine and Russia are part of the Spanish portfolio of suppliers of different products. For example, Ukraine is the main supplier of wheat and sunflower oil. However, the national and international market is waiting for the actions that Russia might take in this regard, so for the moment, there is no certainty of what might happen later on.
The list of products that increase in price as a result of the war are the following:
● Wheat
● Sunflower oil
● Bread
● Dairy products
● Meat
● Among others
Full story: https://www.companias-de-luz.com/noticias/consecuencias-del-conflicto-entre-rusia-y-ucrania-en-el-mercado-energetico-espanol/
Two events in Arlington, Massachusetts
Do It Your Damn Self film festival, is the longest running youth-produced film festival in the country.
The festival brings together hundreds of youth and adults to public screenings and panels across the region.
https://www.communityartcenter.org/
The Festival de Jerez is the foremost Flamenco and Spanish Dance Festival in the world. This year, the Festival celebrates its 26th edition, making it one of the longest-running festivals of its kind. In the past, thousands of flamenco dance students would descend on Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, to attend masterclasses taught by the most sought-after flamenco artists.
There will be five diverse productions streaming from the Festival de Jerez, the world's foremost flamenco festival, featuring some of the most important contemporary flamenco artists from Spain. For many international viewers streaming may be the only way to see these large scale productions outside of Spain.
The complete program and tickets can be found at: https://thirdrow.live/jerez/p/torito/
The Best International Films of 2021 (Arlington International Filmfest)
Despite a global pandemic and industry shutdowns, 2021 turned out to be another phenomenal year for international and foriegn films. And with the Oscars just around the corner, we’d like to take a moment to highlight some of the best films from across the globe last year.
With selections stretching far and wide (from France to Japan to Iran), here are our picks for the best international films of 2021.
Titane (France - Belgium)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5_w2W5G9OM
A French-Belgian production, Julia Docournau’s body horror feature Titane was truly one of 2021’s best. Starring Agathe Rousselle in her film debut, Titane tells the story of Alexia, a woman who has a titanium plate in her head due to a childhood car accident, who begins to behave oddly around automobiles… to put it mildly.
Titane had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival where Docourna would go on to win the Palme d’Or, making her just the second female director to ever receive the prestigious award.
While challenging and not for the faint of heart, it is indeed one of last year’s greatest achievements in acting, direction and visual cinematography.
Drive My Car (Japan)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6BPKPb_RTwI
Perhaps drawing a bit in subject and tone from the South Korean psychological thriller film Burning from 2018, Drive My Car is a Japanese film also based upon the works of author Haruki Murakami. Co-written and directed by rising star Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car tells of Yūsuke Kafuku (a theater actor), Oto (a screenwriter), and their on-and-off stage relationships.
Drive My Car was also selected and competed for the Palme d’Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival and has already received the Golden Globe for the Best Foreign Language Film of the year. It is truly a consensus top pick and highly recommended viewing for any fans of dramas and/or screenwriting.
El Planeta (Spain)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KM70DaZfo30
As one of the highlights of last year’s Sundance Film Festival, writer, director and star Amalia Ulman’s film El Planeta represents a fresh, refined and nuanced voice in contemporary cinema.
Based in her childhood, small seaside hometown in Spain, this Spanish language film stars Ulman playing a fictionalized version of herself with her actual mother playing her co-lead.
The duo playfully live in a world of grifts and games despite growing economic hardships at their doorstep. The film similarly provides an uplifting yet depressing look into family dynamics. It’s worth watching for the performances alone as it comes across as a surprisingly genuine look into a real life mother and daughter relationship.
Belfast (UK)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ja3PPOnJQ2k
While certainly not a sleeper hit inclusion on our list, the UK-produced Belfast has garnered quite a bit of acclaim due to its star cast and famous subject matter. Written, directed and based on the life of Kenneth Branagh, the film tells a semi-autobiographical story of Branagh’s upbringing in Belfast, Northern Ireland in the tumultuous 1960s.
Making its premiere at the Telluride Film Festival, Belfast has received many accolades for its writing, directing, and performances. It’s also done quite well both critically and commercially — especially for a challenging year for box office draws.
Benedetta (France)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW5wOtLSfPs
Co-written and directed by Amsterdam-born filmmaker Paul Verhoeven (best known for his American action blockbusters like Robocop, Total Recall, and Starship Troopers), his latest feature was produced in France (and shot mostly in Italy) with a predominantly European cast.
Unlike his action film past, Benedetta would best be classified as a biographical drama or love film, although it certainly explores many genres and themes throughout.
Another film selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, Benedetta has received mixed — but mostly quite positive — reviews for its performances, direction, and crafty exploration of complex and challenging subject matter.
A Hero (Iran)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAJ6_lmr_HQ
Our list would not be complete without highlighting another film from the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. A Hero not only competed for the Palme d’Or, but also won the Grand Prix jury award for its filmmaking excellence.
Telling the story of Rahim, a prisoner in debt in Iran, Asghar Farhadi delivers a masterclass in intentional filmmaking as he expertly draws you in with a fast script and sharp direction. Farhadi is not a new name to the scene, with two Best International Film Oscars already to his name, but A Hero might be his best work yet.
Lamb (Iceland)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnEwJKVWjFM
While many fans of the indie studio A24 might be looking for a certain brand of horror from one of their latest films, Lamb is a standout, yet odd, selection for the studio which has received rave reviews. And it might be a bit misleading to those looking for another elevated horror thriller.
Shot in Iceland by native filmmaker Valdimar Jóhannsson in his directorial debut, this protégé of Béla Tarr tells an extraordinary story of a grieving couple adopting a young lamb as a replacement for a lost child. It gets weird, to say the least, but overall it is a fascinating debut.
The Worst Person in the World (Norway)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55M5ZgAqbWo
Coming from a Denmark-born filmmaker working in Norway, The Worst Person in the World is the third film from up-and-coming auteur Joachim Trier (best known for his previous films Louder Than Bombs, Thelma, and the Oslo Trilogy).
Similar to past works, Trier’s latest film might be his best yet not just for its direction, but also as a showcase for its great performance by leading actress Renate Reinsve.
A fun yet challenging comedy-drama centered around a young medical student in Oslo, The Worst Person in the World should delight audiences with its raw portrayals and fun cinematography.
Raging Fire (Hong Kong)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGgvkrO4X2c
What would any best international film list be without a fun, butt-kicking action film from Hong Kong? While there are many to choose from, Raging Fire represents some of the year’s best of Hong Kong action cinema as Donnie Yen continues a torrid pace helming this slick action thriller.
Written, directed, and produced by Benny Chan (a prolific Hong Kong action director in his own right), Yen leads the film at a breakneck pace with a perfect mix of heart and machismo. If you like your movies big, loud, and fun, then definitely check this one out.
Memoria (Colombia)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDU6B93ltds
Finally, we finish with the film that has topped many lists of the best foriegn or international films of the year: the internationally produced film Memoria has truly been one of the year’s most well-received foreign films.
Set in both Scotland and Colombia, the film stars Tilda Swinton and a strong cast that spin one of the most spell-binding films of the year thanks to the great direction of Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
With a wonderfully diverse and international cast and crew, Memoria might be the best representation of a borderless future for cinema moving forward. Plus it’s a very beautiful film to watch as well, which really exemplifies this list of films and its role in the industry as a whole.
Meta: A look back at some of the best international and foreign films from 2021. From Titane to Memoria, here are our picks from the year’s best from across the globe.
Author Bio: Jourdan Aldredge is a filmmaker and video journalist who writes for Soundstripe, a company that helps provide businesses and creators with non copyright music like royalty free upbeat music.
It is a strategy poets have employed since antiquity: to proceed by contraries – and Thomas DeFreitas uses it to bountiful effect in this poem from his first full-length collection, Winter in Halifax (Kelsay Books.) The poem is an eloquent prayer for the most pedestrian of things (the Harvard Square hangouts of his youth.) It uses the formal rhymes and entanglements of the villanelle while ushering us chockablock past the odd shops and cold facts of teenaged street life. It clearly portrays a landscape where a part of the speaker’s heart is anchored – and yet the history and personality of that devotional voice is veiled behind his catalog of landmarks. . .except in those moments when the emotional tenor of the images rises into a higher register (ah, the “ink-sleeves” on those “ghost-white arms”!) And then we may feel, for a moment, a curious kinship: we were all young once; the world was baffling and new; and we cared so passionately for this fragile existence that sometimes we too wished for some intercession, some clarifying force that would offer its blessing.
There is another category under which Thomas’ poem sits in my mind: it hints at the ubi sunt motif. Derived from the Latin phrase: Ubi sunt qui ante nos fuerunt? ("Where are those who were before us?"), it represents a kind of nostalgia for people and places that proved to be (what a shock to our young psyches!) just as susceptible the forces of ephemerality as we. A generation before Thomas inhabited these very streets, I remember hitchhiking up to Cambridge in the summer of 1969, the first stop on a cross-country odyssey. Harvard Square was famous then for its artistic and intellectual scenes, and boasted an array of unique businesses. But this holiday, when I made my annual shopping trip to the Square, I was stunned to see how its gradual transformation had been dramatically accelerated by the economic effects of the pandemic. There were several empty storefronts – an unimaginable occurrence, here in one of the most valuable commercial districts in the Northeast! Parts of whole blocks were being gutted for restoration, and the quaint shops that had been fixtures for decades will be replaced by luxury chains. Even in this college town, the dozen or more bookshops I used to browse endlessly in my younger days had been reduced to a precious few. I experienced a ghostly sense of history being hollowed out and erased – and I stopped to imagine how downtowns all across our nation might be undergoing similar changes.
May the “Mother of winter roses” and that “spare-change Madonna” take pity on us all, and reassure that the future will not think too harshly of us and the choices we’ve made when, in the coming years, some undergrad poet writes his or her own ubi sunt?
Our Lady of Cambridge
Virgin of Harvard Square, gendering grace,
watch over Holyoke Center, the Garage,
Chameleon Tattoos, and the nose-ring place.
Pray for the pink-haired waif of mournful face
and ink-sleeves on both ghost-white arms. Take charge
(Mother of winter roses blushing with grace)
of Raven, Grendel’s, Peet’s; and, just in case,
tend to hungry undergrads at the large
Palace of Pizza near the nose-ring place.
Keep the Yard safe and sage. Make it your space.
Send down, María, pardon from the stars;
expand this city’s heart! Lady of grace,
shelter the sleepers crouched in church doorways
against the cold; protect the crowds in bars,
the punks in the Pit and at the nose-ring place.
Gather us all in your clement embrace;
hasten with healing for our wounds and scars.
Bless Newbury Comics, bless the nose-ring place,
spare-change Madonna, prodigal of grace! –– Thomas DeFreitas
Trader Joe’s Alston
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Bonne Année
Gelukkige Nuwe Jaar
Sanat Jadidat Saeida
Xīnnián Kuàilè
Frohes Neues Jahr
Eftychisméno to néo étos
Navavarsh Kee Shubhakaamana
Athbhliain Faoi Mhaise Duit
Buon Anno
Akemashite Omedetō
Saehae Bog Manh-i bad-euseyo
Feliz Ano Novo
С новым годом
Srećna Nova Godina
S̄wạs̄dī pī h̄ım̀
Yeni Yılın Kutlu Olsun
Chúc mừng năm mới
A Gut Gebentsht Yar
Jabulela Unyaka Omusha
Feliz Año Nuevo
Ashen winter skies, bare black branches. . .and abundance. Gail Mazur’s piece is born from this breathtakingly-beautiful contradiction. It is one of the finest poems about trees that I’ve ever read (though immediately a voice in my mind contradicts that statement: not trees – daughters! – one of the most loving portrayals of the mother-daughter relationship I’ve ever encountered.) And perhaps that, too, is part of the poem’s allure: it’s not about one or the other – and nothing so simple as metaphor; I experience it like a projection, through language, of a moment in a woman’s mind as she looks out at the world, her world. I can almost feel those neural branches that bear the fruit of memory, that foster the weather of emotional impulse and imagination, throwing their shadows across the snowy page. And because of that, I move along through these tercets in a kind of a winter hush, in an intimate engagement with this woman’s inner voice.
And the speaker is undoubtedly a woman – though the poem made me pray that such generative power might be part of my being as well. But if you place this poem side-by-side with another hibernal ‘tree’ poem, also written in three-line stanzas – Wallace Stevens’ “The Snow Man” – I think you’ll sense something of the yin and yang of human consciousness. If, at this time of the year, you and I are rediscovering our “mind(s) of winter”, it may help us endure the cold season if we traverse the broad expanse and find our own place in the landscape.
Poet and educator, Gail Mazur has authored eight poetry collections, the most recent being Land’s End: New and Selected Poems (University of Chicago Press), and from which today’s Red Letter installment is drawn. Among her many honors, Gail was finalist for the National Book Award, and recipient of numerous fellowships. The venerable Blacksmith Poetry Series in Cambridge, MA – held near the spot of Longfellow’s fabled “village smithy” and (yet another ‘tree’ poem) that “spreading chestnut-tree” – which Gail created nearly fifty years ago, is still going strong. It’s one more thing we can be grateful for as we cross another winter solstice.
Young Apple Tree, December
What you want for it you'd want
for a child: that she take hold;
that her roots find home in stony
winter soil; that she take seasons
in stride, seasons that shape and
reshape her; that like a dancer's,
her limbs grow pliant, graceful
and surprising; that she know,
in her branchings, to seek balance;
that she know when to flower, when
to wait for the returns; that she turn
to a giving sun; that she know
fruit as it ripens; that what's lost
to her will be replaced; that early
summer afternoons, a full blossoming
tree, she cast lacy shadows; that change
not frighten her, rather that change
meet her embrace; that remembering
her small history, she find her place
in an orchard; that she be her own
orchard; that she outlast you;
that she prepare for the hungry world
(the fallen world, the loony world)
something shapely, useful, new, delicious.
–– Gail Mazur
As one paper once claimed: “a fallen Saigon raises in the west”
Adele Free Pharm searches the traces of her Vietnamese heritage and connects the dots of the story of the American nail industry.
After 1975, with everything lost, war refugees started going to the United States to find a place to a fresh new start. Whom they were escaping was making space for them. With the help from a godmother: the actress Tippi Hedren, who through a program of job training for refugees flew to teach 20 women manicurist skills and then helped to find the places in salons in California. These women were the start of a community that grew so big that nowadays, being Vietnamese in America you always have someone you know working in the nail business.
On this side of the ocean were these women working together, sheltering the newcomers to make the wait out with a new form of art that even though started as craftsmanship taught to survive, for some of them it developed as a passion.
A ritual to feel good every two weeks. Outwards and Inwards. Nail salons took a start from the hair salons and made little cabinets where long talks took place, unwinding from routine and forming friendships between clients. In every mall, statewide, this little place of communion was formed behind the lace of polish and acrylic smell.
This niche that outgrown all their competitors had to face backlash and prejudice and stereotypes hard to shake. It merged two strong communities into a fantastic collision when black women adopted the trend and made it even bigger, making a unique cultural mixture and an alliance between communities, all of that making everyone prettier. The American nail business made two eternal bonds hyperbolic: the one between communities and their consequent aesthetic practices and the one between aesthetic practices and the communities formed around them, blossoming from the debris.
Carla Chasco is an art critique specializing in film, from Buenos Aires Argentina, currently studying curatorial studies degree at UNA. She has previously worked as a costume designer but nowadays is advocated the other side of the film.
Éléonore Weber interprets American and French army footage and reflects in this melancholic essay about limits.
Pilots as videographers, the camera as a weapon, and the body that merges with the device. Here the image is no longer a testimony but a part of the weapon itself.
These images are not recorded to be spread in the media. Purely operational, they are only handed to a superior to ratify if the shot was right. They are not overly stylized either, but after a while, the war seems to be in another place, the images of the explosions seem to wear off the destruction that comes with them. They create their reality only through what they can see through the camera, the dizzy zoom, the detail that loses itself in the big picture. From the distance, landscapes, people, animals, cars become only lines and patterns. People on the ground stop being people to become characters from a video game. Sometimes they don't run anymore, they know how they appear and that there’s someone that's always watching and the constant sound of the helicopters becomes the usual soundscape. The only answer is to surrender. It is not an image of pain, in these recordings, suffering traces are gone. The loss of visual contact is the most disturbing thing that could happen to pilots. Losing their enemy or their traces brings bewilderment. Pilots wait and doubt. Subtle differences get lost in time. It might be a soldier or a farmer, the limits are blurry and shape the doubt culture. In a scene, a soldier sees some kids and seems to forget his job and instead frame and portray them.
After a while, clarity is difficult to find. New cameras erase the night in order to see meticulously. Nothing can be hidden. What else can be eradicated in favor of optimization and effectivity? If the material world has trespassed and new realities appear, subjectively, according to what device every individual uses, limits will be fog and diffuse into the ultimate light.
Carla Chasco is an art critique specializing in film, from Buenos Aires Argentina, currently studying curatorial studies degree at UNA. She has previously worked as a costume designer but nowadays is advocated the other side of the film.
There's always been an issue with Sweden's ambiguous role in world war II and the alleged neutrality. What's sure is that the country played a crucial role that setting standards for humanitarian behavior, both individual and collective, and a role model to take into account.
Passage To Sweden brings light to the not so known but fundamental people and places that were key to saving hundreds of Jews. The unsung heroes and the territories the escapists had to navigate are shown here as part of the transit. From one place to another, from a state of being to another.
Told by testimonies and archival film footage through intimate stories, this film tells the story of a nation that unites several different experiences that are somehow intertwined. Norway, Denmark, and Hungary had different experiences with war but they all had a thing in common: Sweden as the promised land, the shelter that awaited their people. Mountains, forests, dark skies, and turbulent waters as the landscapes that enclosed the escape routes. The dramatic escapes with choices that risked lives. Children are put asleep, people helping from one side and waiting on the other, men putting their career and life aside for the sake of saving.
When talking about world war II, Scandinavia is not the most current topic, but here: the Norwegian resistance, the citizens of Denmark, the Swedish Red Cross, Raoul Wallenberg, and Count Folke Bernadotte are some names that ought to be remembered. Even though you lose your sense of direction when you are in the forest, in the midst of running, the escape is different when there is a solid rock on the other side. Sweden provided that sense of security and protection.
The director Suzannah Warlick does a great job in bringing us a story that must be told. She focuses on retelling the things that did go well in the midst of hell. History is made and remade every day and this film gives another chance to retell it.
Carla Chasco is an art critique specializing in film, from Buenos Aires Argentina, currently studying curatorial studies degree at UNA. She has previously worked as a costume designer but nowadays is advocated the other side of the film.
sites.ggogle.com
Formerly known as pantheons, these verses were born in the 19th century as burlesque inscriptions and as a way of expressing ideas or feelings that in other circumstances would be difficult to say.
Calavera a López Obrador
Presidente de México.
Dicen las malas lenguas
que López Obrador en vida
exhibía cada vez que vociferaba
un concierto de mentiras
en sus matutinas mañaneras
Con tal de salir del paso
cuando era cuestionado
de todos sus caprichos
errores y múltiples fracasos
El pequeño rey de palacio
contestaba pausado
con el rostro desdibujado
tengo otros datos
abrazos no balazos
amor y paz
La perdida de la conciencia
y a muchas luces la razón
se le hizo sin remedio
piedra el corazón
Quería como fuera
sin alas llegar al cielo
pero dios y la huesuda
no lo dejo volar
Lo enviaron directo al averno
para que rindiera cuentas
de sus culpas y sus penas
en las llamas del infierno
CALAVERA A DOÑA EVA PERALTA
De la comunidad de Coacoyula.
Dona Eva Peralta y Cesar
en la ciudad de los vientos
compartían la misma luna
el mismo sol y la misma cama
cada vez con mayores ganas
Hasta que los sorprendió
la calaca muy acaramelados
en su mecedora maca
De manera directa y certera
se la llevo al panteón
en un oscuro cajón
sin ninguna oposición
Dejando a Cesar
solitario sin pareja
no encontró otra salida
después de esa repentina despedida
Alzo sus nanos al cielo
para que el alma
de doña Eva
no deambulara
por donde quiera.
CALAVERA AL ARQ. EDUARDO FIERRO
Asesor técnico de CUGMO en Taxco
Dormía tranquilo Eduardo
en su visita a la ciudad de los vientos
sus ojos brillaban de contento
esa madrugada de concierto
Su mayor preocupación
eran los maullidos de un gato
que le sonaban a canción
Hip hop y Reggaetón
Apretó con fuerza los dientes
Y se le arrugo completo el cuero
no le importo investigar
quien era el cantante peculiar
Aunque el era muy valiente
sintió temor y miedo
de ser el próximo enterrado
en un panteón de Chicago.
Por. E. Salgado 2021 | Erasmo Salgado Collection - Chicago
GIVEAWAY ANNOUNCEMENT
Each year, we get too many excellent submissions for our poster contest. Our judges pick the poster that becomes the face of the festival, but YOU have the chance to pick your favorite too! The #AIFFaudiencechoice is open right up until Nov. 3, and now you can win FREE FESTIVAL PASSES by participating Here’s how to enter:
1. Head to aiffest.org/audience-choice and CAST YOUR VOTE for your favorite poster design.
2. Share or re-post your favorite poster from our social media feeds on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn with that poster’s hashtag — don’t forget to tag AIFF!
3. Tag three friends in your post — or more!
That’s it We will draw a winner from each platform (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) on Nov. 2 and send the all-access festival pass digitally.
Which poster design is YOUR favorite?
How flamenco’s three fiercest figures are breathing new fire into a historic art form
WORDS BY JUSTINE BAYOD ESPOZ, ILLUSTRATION BY IRENE BLASCO
SINCE ITS INCEPTION in the late 1800s, flamenco has entranced the world. Evolving from the folkloric dances and music of southern Spain, it also takes cues from gypsy culture and classical styles of Spanish dance and guitar. The art form has developed into a rich, diverse genre, with enough demand to become a regular part of Spain’s theatrical programming.
Tablaos, however, are a bit different. The experience is intimate in these small clubs, which evolved from old singing cafes. Unlike the staged, choreographed, and heavily rehearsed flamenco productions of theaters, the shows here are entirely improvised. Their nightly flamenco programming can be a launching pad for young artists looking to hone their improvisation skills and personal performance style, while getting some coveted time in front of a live audience. The spaces are often oppressively small, maximizing profits by packing the crowd to capacity, with waitstaff slinging sangria and mixed drinks before, during, and after the shows.
It was on the tiny stage in the cramped black-box tablao of Madrid’s Casa Patas that I fell in love with flamenco dancer Israel Galván. I’d discovered Galván years prior, but it was not love at first sight. The first time I saw him perform was from the far fringes of a large auditorium as part of a fundraising gala, and my most lucid memory of his performance was thinking, “Well, that was weird.” At the time, Galván was at the precipice of international stardom, and it was precisely his unconventional take on flamenco that catapulted him squarely into the adoring limelight in cities across the world.
Galván has managed to do what almost no other flamenco artist has done: break into the far larger and more broadly respected contemporary dance scene. He hasn’t done this by fusing the two genres, but rather by creating a modern choreographic language entirely his own. Over the years he’s implemented signature moves — the open-palm hand that zigzags through the air like a fish swimming through water, the angled or diagonally outstretched arms that mimic clock dials, or the spread-finger hand positioned over the head resembling a rooster’s comb. Although Galván says the latter is a peineta (one of the decorative combs worn by women in traditional Spanish dress). All are considered classic Galván.
I saw Galván for a second time in 2009 in one of his most talked about productions, “El final de este estado de cosas, redux,” his personal take on the Bible’s Apocalypse. The piece is dark, and at times chaotic. A heavy metal band adds to already harsh overtones. The national newspapers at the time all fixated on what they considered a morbid scene: Galván dancing atop and inside a coffin. Long ago, he told me that death has always fascinated him. When I remind him of this, he explains, “When I dance, I sweat, and I sweat my fears. Dancers are lucky enough that they have both a physical and spiritual experience, and that we can release those fears on stage. Death is part of life, so death will always be with me. We’re professionals, but even so there is always a bit of madness in what we do, and I think the best way to address death is by dancing it.”
In 2009, I didn’t fully understand this vision and found his staged work jarring and cluttered. I didn't realize just what was hidden behind all of the staging until that night in 2011 at Casa Patas. By that time, Galván was already a flamenco superstar, playing 1,000-seat theaters. Performing at a cramped tablao was a thing of the distant past, but a year earlier, Casa Patas had launched Pellizcos Flamencos, a small festival of sorts that invited a handful of consecrated flamenco artists to perform in the wee hours of the morning, long after the tourists had retired. Galván’s performance was entirely pared down, and, in true tablao fashion, entirely improvised. In this situation, a flamenco artist’s every flaw can easily be laid bare, but Galván’s genius shone bright: quick on his feet, fascinating the audience with a single detail, unafraid to infuse a humorous self-awareness into his dance. With nearly perfect rhythmic timing, the way he interacted with his musicians was the essence of flamenco.
Every night in tablaos across Spain, singers, dancers, percussionists, and guitarists gather unrehearsed, sometimes having never worked together before, to perform live. They can do this because flamenco is a heavily codified artform. Without these codes and a strict adherence to them, there could be no improvisation, and the dance or music would not be considered flamenco. So even when dancers push boundaries, there are basic rules that cannot be broken. But Rocío Molina took flamenco improvisation to new heights, famously improvising for four hours straight at Seville’s Flamenco Biennial in 2016, accompanied by a myriad of guest musicians, engaging members of the audience to choose songs for her to dance to. Audience participation is not a part of flamenco tradition. The shouts of praise and a well-timed “olé” are customary, but anything more would traditionally be considered disrespectful to the craft. Molina dared to encourage otherwise.
With Molina, it was love at first sight for me. One of my favorite memories is watching her perform “Oro Viejo” at the 2009 Festival de Jerez. Dressed in a salmon-colored floor-length nineteenth-century gown with a fitted bodice, blonde hair pulled into a perfectly smooth side bun, she performed a guajira (a dance heavily influenced by the musical culture of colonial Cuba). Traditionally, they are performed by a female dancer accentuating delicate femininity with sweeping, elegant movements and a fluttering fan. But this was not your average guajira. Molina took tiny, quick steps across the stage, coquettishly dangling a fan from her hand while swinging her curvaceous bottom from side to side in a charming caricature of cloy femininity. She looked like a small wind-up doll, beautiful but mechanical. As she launched into the successive turns and the graceful balletic arms that define the guajira, Molina opted for a vivacious and playful approach rather than the typical pretty and poised. These tweaks didn’t challenge the flamenco tradition as much as they infused contemporary meaning into them, and the critical acclaim and positive reception of Molina’s new viewpoint would continue to push her in more radical directions.
Her productions often involve an exploration of the female, reflecting a deep desire to challenge stereotypes of femininity and sometimes outright reject taboos imposed on women. Molina is shorter and stockier than the dance world often likes or accepts, but the sturdiness of her body is perfect for the power of flamenco. It’s a power she infuses with a ferocious intelligence and ingenuity. She has a costuming penchant for spandex-style shorts and sports bras, a far cry from the traditionally voluminous flamenco dress. This is not a rejection of tradition, but an amplification of her choreographic style, born of an appreciation for watching flesh move. The female form is vindicated in her work, obliterating the male gaze that has for so long defined female acceptability.
In the 2016 “Caída del Cielo,” Molina portrays the fallen angel in Dante’s “The Divine Comedy.” She describes the work as a celebration of womanhood in all of its complexity, navigating the divine and the profane. In addressing humanity’s fall from grace, Molina embraces all that modern society has told women to be ashamed of, from nakedness to curiosity to sexuality, the latter of which was memorably portrayed through a snack-sized bag of chips stuck to her pubis. Each time she’d reach down to take a chip, one of her male accompanists would chidingly slap her hand away. The dance climaxes as she sends chips flying from her waistline, promptly devouring the few chips left in the bag, unwilling to leave unsatisfied.
“My starting point for everything I create is complete freedom. Of course, that means that the final result is feminist, but mainly because of the freedom that has been denied women, because of their silence, their oppression and repression. Therefore, seeing a woman behave freely is groundbreaking when it should be something natural,” Molina explains.
https://www.departures.com/arts/option-1-the-vanguards-of-flamenco?extlink=sm-dp-socialshare-linktoshare-o
The Golden Boy
As the end of school assembly approaches, a six-year-old elicits the help of his elder sister to prove his high support needs can’t stop potential.
In a world where autism is seen as an obstacle, we’re immersed into a story that reimagines the senses, the hyper-intensity of detail, and the fluidity of memory, into a powerful cinematic experience which builds a greater understanding of neurodiversity.
As production commences, we'll need support to cover costs of crew and kit. We've partnered with Greenlit, a crowdfunding platform for creatives, and would appreciate any help!
https://greenlit.com/project/golden-boy
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Carla L Chasco, writer, Argentina
Constantly forming a self. How do we do it? We are constantly defining ourselves, everything requires a presentation, a statement. And it is never enough. Everyone is better, everyone has already surpassed us in something. There is always a goal we can’t achieve. Keren Chen brings another possibility. Maybe there are other ways to tell the story of who we are.
“I pray every night that I see better days” the first verse starts. And there are definitely better times for the kids at the Blue Ridge Juvenile Detention Center. An exorcism in the form of a beautifully moving film, transforming a difficult time into an expression of the things these kids are going through. The rhythm of the music and editing combined in a delicate and dedicated composition. Hopefully, this group keeps bringing us their art.
We may tend to think we have surpassed all of these issues, but still acceptance doesn't always come so easy. Old values are still around. Imperatives are engrained and the effects are hard to wear off. How does this clash with the anxious and determined youth that thinks all battles are won? The in-between is something to navigate, the acceptance of the unresolved. There is a way, tender as the pink that colors this film.
The body is formed by words, other people's words. Everyone talks and opinions get stuck in every organ, every limb. Advice, critiques, advertisings. Speech forms the limits of the body. Anecdotes, memories, dialogue. Amilieyon Pridgen and Jessica Torres open up in an intimate conversation, personal. A confession about growing up and what it gets to know and define itself. Sometimes with more power, sometimes with less, and sometimes with a few laughs in between.
Classic comedy returns as a sweet balm. To highschool, in the 20s. The two old clowns bring a breeze of fresh air in the always ironic parodic meme culture. The old tricks come anew and the funny physical gags make all the kids watch with attention. They probably get weird not catching any reference but the naivety of this kind of humor is so catchy that nobody can escape the laughs.
There’s a unique bond between two women that dance together under a sunset-covered field. The remembrance of the good times spent together symbolised in ethereal moves that converges in a perfect synergy between the two narratives: music and film. A sensitive longing. Putting together the pieces that are elusive only as memories could be, can be a romantic experience in itself, one that will endure.
Journeying into “a world of illusion”, two girls running in prom dresses. escaping from what? looking for what? what is the reality they left? is it any? the borders are not clear and these girls navigate them. The real world, the reality, is composed of the material and the symbolic. Confusing signs and nature is part of it. Narrated by a wells-ish voice over, we are invited to accompany this dream state where we can access, not answers but truest questions about reality and the illusions that form it.
A librating of despair in between worlds. A nightmarish dream state where fears arise. This is an immersive experience that engages the spectator in the most intimate way, keeping it on the edge as the story unfolds and the eyes get bigger. The tension built is relieved only when the experience sets and we can understand, only logically, what the character is going through. But we have felt it all.