Monday, July 30, 2007
Concierto de Frank Quintero "En Intímo."
NOTE: This article was also published in the website for Casa de Venezuela (Filadelfia), www.casadevenezuela.netEra un viernes once de Junio y ya se podia sentir a el verano venir. La calle Bank estaba mojadísima después de varios d�as de constantes lluvias.
La humedad y el calor no ayudaban mucho, en especial cuando uno trata de verse bien vestido para ir a un concierto en Five Spot donde el afamado cantante venezolano Frank Quintero estaría.
Five Spot todavía no estaba abierto. Ya eran casi las 7:30 p.m., a la hora en que se supon�a iba a haber una entrevista con Quintero, pero ni él ni ninguno de sus musicos habían llegado.
Emilio Buitrago, vice presidente de la Casa de Venezuela una organización socio-cultural que apoyo el concierto, estaba preocupado. Quintero y su grupo habían llamado para decir que salieron de la ciudad de Nueva York como a las 5 p.m. El concierto empezaba a las 9 p.m. Solo quedaba esperar.
Quintero llegó unos minutos antes de las 9:00 p.m. Hugo Fuget, el guitarrista, fue el primero en llegar. Fuget, un caraqueño de familia proveniente del estado Falcón, imediatamente agarró su guitarra y empezó a chequear el sonido.
Unos minutos depués, Quintero apareció en el escenario y con el mismo apuro de Fuget chequeó que todo estuviese funcionando. Después se sentó y agarró su guitarra para comenzar a practicar.
El segundo piso de Five Spot luce oscuro y misterioso. Las cortinas de perlas color metal amarradas a la orillas de los largos acientos de tres personas, hacen que el lugar parezca un cabaret. En la parte de atrás, donde está el bar, se encuentra una pared llena de vidrios borrosos y de colores que combinan con los muebles art deco de la tan polifacetica discoteca.
Alrededor de las 9:30 p.m. los muchachos de Five Spot y la Casa de Venezuela dejaron entrar a la gente, quienes estaban esperando desde las 9 p.m. Junto con la típica música de discoteca, se podían escuchar las quejas del público y su desespero se podía sentir en el aire.
Buitrago y María Porras - quien fue periodista de Univision/Telefutura en el Valle Delaware - presentaron el concierto, se disculparon por la tardanza y agradecieron a Quintero y a todo la gente que hizo posible que el Tour Intímo se presentara
Quintero y Fuget aparecieron en el escenario casi a las 10:30 p.m. Como el repentino silencio de un bebé después de ser alimentado, no sin antes llorar a pleno pulmon, el publico en Five Spot de igual manera se apaciguó apenas al ver que Quintero y Fuget se aparecieron en el escenario. Se habían olvidado de la espera de casi una hora y media.
Bastaron dos guitarras y la voz de Quintero para que todos pasaran una velada romantica llena de memorias y nostalgía.
La primera canción fue �Sin Querer Evitarlo.� Y as� siguieron más de sus canciones de los años ochenta. El público record� y canto canciones como Química, Baila Conmigo, La Dama de la Cuidad y Brasilera. Finalizó su repertorio con Canción Para T�.
Su intención con conciertos tan pequeños como este fue relacionarse de una manera más personal o más intíma, como bien lo dice el nombre de su tour.
�Es una energía diferente, es como que más informal, dijo Quintero. Al final del concierto, salió a saludar a sus fans y a firmar autógrafos.
Quintero, nacido en Caracas, tuvo su momento cumbre en los años ochenta. Por muchas razones se ha convertido lentamente en un ícono de la música contemporánea venezolana.
Quintero combina los generos de jazz, pop, música venezolana y música latina; una mezcla que se ha convertido en algo personal y único. Como pocos artistas, no solo tiene una auténtica pasión por la música, sino también la habilidad de componer y cantar. Además, en 1980, estudió música en la escuela de Berklee en Boston.
Ha grabado 19 albums con seis disqueras, incluyendo Sonorodven (Venezuela), CBS-Columbia, Sony Music y Latin World.
Quintero canta, compone y toca la guitarra, pero fue a los diez años cuando verdaderamente descubrió las maravillas de la música. A esa edad comenzó a aprender a tocar la batería y otros instrumentos de percusión.
Brunch a la venezolana
El pasado sabado 13 de marzo del 2004, en el ya conocido restaurante y nighclub Café Havana durante un típico día de invierno entre los 40 y 45 grados Fahrenheit y sin fecha nacional que celebrar, un grupo de Venezolanos (en su mayoria) se reunieron por el simple placer de socializar y conocerse con el fin de promover, preservar y compartir nuestra ya mezclada cultura.
Ese día se dió la bienvenida oficial a los Venezolanos y miembros de la Casa de Venezuela Valle Delaware. Ese día fue para alegrarnos, pues nos dimos cuenta que no estabamos solos. En el acogedor restaurant Café Havana, se encontraron muchos recién llegados con aquel "guayabo" que a los que tenemos mas tiempo ya sabemos controlar, y así los consejos de supervivencia comenzaron a surgir.
El ambiente mas venezolano no podía ser. El lugar decorado de colores, con sillas de rattan y metal y mesas de madera, el tricolor en todos lados, un español venezolanisado, el carisma y apertura de la gente... y la comida ni se diga!
No solo había arepas, caraotas, queso blanco, tajadas y perico, sino tambien cachitos de jamon! Quien se iba a imaginar que algo tan característico se podía encontrar tan lejos de su origen. Y quien iba a pensar que algo tan simple le arrugaría a uno el corazón.
Entre la comida, la musica criolla, los amigos y el calor de la gente, el día de invierno se convirtió en uno de primavera. Al salir de Café Havana fue tal el contagio del calor humano que no me hizo falta ponerme mi chaqueta, pues el orgullo y el "sentimiento nacional" pudieron mas que el viento frio del valle Delaware.
Como punto final, no se debe olvidar el esfuerzo y dedicación con que todos participamos para llevar acabo el Brunch Venezolano. Esto es digno ejemplo de que si todos ponemos un granito de arena algo se puede lograr. Un agradecimiento sincero a la primera junta directiva de la casa de Venezuela del Valle Delaware, pero en especial a Dayana Melendez, coordinadora de eventos, quien ejecuto tremenda tarea y dió lo mejor de si para llevarla acabo.
Verdaderamente, fue impresionante ver como era imposible que el cansancio venciera a Dayana. En casi las tres horas que estuvo alli, jamas la vi salir de la cocina. Siempre estuvo pediente de que todos disfrutaramos de la comida y que todo estuviera en su punto, asi que MUCHAS GRACIAS!
Response
This article in in response to my Op-Ed article about Shakira's concert on November 2002. Both articles were published in www.thetriangle.org.
Iraq war justified through liberation of Iraqi people
By: James Mack, Jr.
Posted: 4/16/04
If you could, imagine you're sound asleep in your bed. You and your family work hard to make enough to get by and all of you play by all the rules. As you're drifting off in your warm, comfortable bed, you hear your front door kicked in. Apparently, the secret police have found out you, God forbid, possibly spoke out against your current president, and they are here to arrest you and your entire family. After being hooked up to a car battery and shocked for five hours straight, the interrogators mercifully decide to shoot you in the head with a 9 mm as your punishment for speaking your mind. But not before your wife is forced into a room with soldiers and violated repeatedly and your three children placed in jail until they become adults, after which they must swear undying allegiance to the government. This, of course, does not happen here in the United States, and it never will. Across the globe, somewhere between the 29th and 37th parallel, there once existed a nation that was subjected to these and innumerous other injustices - until recently. Iraq is now free, and so are its tens of millions of people. The more opponents of the war claim that there were no weapons of mass destruction, the easier it gets to justify the liberation of the Iraqi people. The continuing fight in the Middle East proves to me, every day, that we have freed an entire population from a tyrannical reign that would only spiral the nation downward into an inescapable abyss of oppression.In response to Elisa Bermudez's commentary ("Shakira's concert about far more than just music, The Triangle, April 9, p. 14"), let's rewind to March 16, 1988. Saddam, unhappy with dissidents, detonated chemical warheads in the Kurdish part of Iraq in the north. Sarin nerve gas was released and killed over 5,000 Iraqi citizens, injured 7,000, and caused the debilitating health effects to ripple through the area even today. In the last 20 years, there have been 10 other recorded incidents of Saddam using chemical weapons to pacify his own people, or launch a military strike against his neighboring countries. Never mind that the Geneva Convention prohibits all use of poisonous or asphyxiating gases during combat. He committed acts of aggression so often and so egregiously that he was a danger to not only the world, but also to people in his own country.
I am not exactly a fan of the United Nations. They are slow, argumentative, overly political and far too lenient. While they posses all of these qualities which assuredly slow down definitive action, they managed to pass 15 resolutions in a period of a few years demanding that unconditional access be granted to United Nations weapons inspectors forthwith and disclosure of all information regarding weapons of mass destruction. He had used these weapons in the recent past, and was more than capable to use them again. Saddam blatantly defied resolution after resolution, fluctuating between expelling inspectors from the country, refusing access to sites and allowing limited access to low-level facilities. Not shady and deceitful what so ever. Every time the U.N. threatened military action, he would repent his sins, state publicly he would allow access and then eventually shut them down again at his will. He toyed with the world community and threatened the neighboring nations' safety and security. While the U.N. talked the talk, they certainly did not walk the walk. Definitive, decisive action needed to be taken in order to end his rule.
War is something that tears apart families and causes destruction and death. Iraq has had its own war ever since Saddam seized power. It was a war between Saddam's selfish, deadly rule and the resolve of his people to be free. The war to free Iraq from Saddam, while it may have caused deaths, prevented hundreds of thousands and possibly millions in the future from being subjected to his evil form of rule. His undeniable connections to various terrorist organizations had allowed them to roam freely about his country and his offering of rewards to the families of suicide bombers goes to show his adoration not just for the fall of America, but the terrorizing of Christians, Jews and Muslims abroad. Saddam defied the U.N., murdered, tortured, and raped his own people, and supported the conduction of fear throughout the international community. There is no possible way to make this a clear-cut case for war.
The Bush administration never said it was only about the search for weapons of mass destruction. They wanted Saddam removed for the good and safety of the world, and to say that they lied about WMDs just to go to war is ignorant. In Iraq, a dictator with a history of using chemical weapons is told not to even make them anymore. After being prohibited from the manufacturing of WMDs, as an agreement to a ceasefire he signed, the dictator is subject to random searches of weapons sites. But lo and behold, he starts denying access to those sites and expels the inspectors from the country. Doesn't that set off any sort of warning light to the world? Are the countries that opposed the war so blind that they need to see him use the finished product before they say, "Wait, hold on, that's not right?" He violated a cease-fire agreement, and unlike the precedent set in world history, the world let him violate it for years afterward with 15 or so security resolutions and countless inspector expulsions. In the past, once a country violates an agreement like that, it's lights out. But we gave him more than a decade to get his act together and prove he was a relatively safe member of the international community. He proved himself to be a selfish, murderous, decadent shell of a man.
The war in Iraq is a success, no doubt about it. We have established a democracy where people's voices matter, captured the deposed dictator and he will soon face the justice from his people that the world was too feeble to deliver. There will be no Hague fiasco where a defendant, like Milosevic, can toy with the court and delay justice for years only to not be met with a sentence of death because that's ... ahem ... inhumane. The people of Iraq are going to get some justice for what has been done and they are free. This has, in no way, any resemblance to the problems in Vietnam, and I am glad that partisan democrats in congress publicly state that. You cannot expect the new country to immediately be crime free and not have a good amount of psychotics trying to bring back the old rule. It's been one year people, give it some time. Vietnam lasted more than a decade, and ended not because we lost, but because the military did not receive the necessary manpower from Washington it required to win.
We're fighting for people's lives, for their future, and for the safety of not only America, but the safety of Israel, the safety of the European Union, and even the safety of Iran. When professors of international affairs like Shakira open their big, Columbian drug cartel mouths at concerts and proclaim war as evil and trivialize it with a puppet show, it shows the ignorance of those not willing to listen. Half of a milligram of Sarin will make Shakira start to sweat a lot. Then, she'll think that she is swallowing her tongue, but it really is just blocking her airway. Bronchial constriction will start to occur, and eventually, she'll gasp for air for about a minute before passing out and having vomit seep into her lungs and losing all bowel control. The ultimate cause of death is anoxia, but it's much more than a lack of oxygen. It's unimaginable suffering, followed by a merciful cessation of breathing and consciousness. I am sure Shakira doesn't want to die like that. But hundreds of thousands of people under Saddam's rule have, or even worse.
This is not a game of power, as Shakira says. Sure, we have yet to find WMDs. But there are hundreds of mass graves, discovered or waiting to be, that have bodies in them as evidence of his cruelty. Instead of a game of power, it is a struggle for life and security. If all the evidence of his terror is not enough for you, and you still think Bush is a dictator who did it for political means, step into the way-back machine to Halabja on March 16, 1988. While you're coughing up the second lobe of your right lung, think about Shakira's powerful words about the war. It'll really hit the nail on the head while your tongue recedes into your lower airway.
James Mack Jr. is a junior majoring in criminal justice.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Quintero rocks the Five Spot with Venezuelan guitars
It was June 11 and it felt like summer already. Bank Street is soaking wet after days of isolated thunder storms. The humidity and the heat don't help much when trying to look neat, especially when going to The Five Spot to listen to one of Venezuela's most popular contemporary singers, Frank Quintero. Five Spot hadn't opened yet. It was almost 7:30 p.m., the time scheduled for an interview with Quintero, but he wasn't there. Emilio Buitrago, vice president of Casa de Venezuela - a cultural organization that sponsored Quintero's concert - was worried. Quintero and his crew said that they had left New York City around 5 p.m. The concert was schedule to start at 9 p.m.
The only thing to do was to wait. Quintero arrived a few minutes before 9:00 p.m. Hugo Fuget, a guitar player working with Quintero, was the first one to arrived. Fuget, a native of Caracas, immediately grabbed his guitar and started checking the sound, stereos and microphones. A few minutes later, Quintero came in and, with the same rush as Fuget, checked that everything was working. Then, he sat down and grabbed his guitar to start practicing. Five Spot's second floor looked murky and mysterious. The metallic pearl curtains wrapped side by side at the edges of every diner-looking seat resemble a cabaret. When looking at the back, where the bar is located, there is a blur colorful glass wall accompanying the art deco furniture of the multifaceted nightclub.
Around 9:30 p.m. Five Spot crew and members of Casa de Venezuela let the people in. Along with the background night-clubbing music, complaints about the delay were easily heard and the audience's desperation was felt in the air. Both Buitrago and Maria Porras, former news anchor of the Spanish-speaking TV network Univision/Telefutura, introduced the concert, apologized for the delay, and thanked Quintero and all the people that made possible to have Quintero's tour, Intimo (Intimate), in Philadelphia.
Quintero and Fuget appeared on stage almost at 10:30 p.m. Like a baby's amazing silence after being fed, the audience also calmed down as soon as Quintero and Fuget started to play. They forgot and forgave the almost hour-and-a-half wait. It took only two guitars and Quintero's voice for everybody to spend a sweet, romantic evening full of memories and nostalgia. Quintero's first song was the so popular "Sin Querer Evitarlo." (Letting it happen.) Then more of his popular 80s songs came along. The audience remembered and sang along with songs such as Quimica (Chemistry), Baila Conmigo (Dance with Me), La Dama de la Cuidad (The City's Lady) and Brasilera (Brazilian girl). Quintero ended his repertory with Cancion Para Ti, (A song for you). His intention with this small tour was to have a more personal relationship with his audience. "It has a different kind of energy, it's like more informal," Quintero said. Despite a sudden political comment unleashed from a member of the audience, he reminded everybody that we were there to enjoy the evening and forget about the political problems back home in Venezuela. At the end of the concert, Quintero came out from backstage to greet his fans and to give out autographs. Quintero, also a native of Caracas, had his peak time during the 1980s. He now remains as a music icon in Venezuela for many reasons. Quintero combines jazz, pop, Venezuelan folk and Latino music, which has became a personal style. Unlike other artists, Quintero not only has a passion for music and the skills to be a singer/songwriter, but has also formally studied music. In 1980, he went to Berklee College of Music in Boston. He has sung with other Venezuelan singers and music bands such as Yordano, Ilan Chester, Guaco and Guillermo Carrasco. Quintero has recorded 19 albums with six different record companies including Sonorodven (Venezuela), CBS-Columbia, Sony Music and Latin World. Quintero is a singer, songwriter and guitarist, but he was actually introduced to the world of music when he was 10 years old, when he was learned how to play the drums and other percussion instruments.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Matthews covers erracticly country
Any fan of "Dave Matthews Band" will get excited to see a tribute CD that recollects one of the best songs of such a great musical group. When I encountered with "A Tribute to The Dave Matthews Band" CD at The Triangle's office, I told one of my colleagues, "my sister is gonna be jealous!"
Thinking that I had the best CD ever, I took it home and the first thing I did after I threw my bag beside my bed was to grab my CD player was to listen the so long awaited album. To my disgrace, I found out that all the songs started as country music. I checked the CD thinking that maybe someone misplaced a couple of CDs in the wrong boxes and Daves Matthews' CD was in some other place. But no, the CD and box matched.
Now confuse, and to my surprise, I realized that the tribute was a remake of the best songs from "Dave Matthews Band." I was disappointed. Though, I decided to give it a second change to the makers of this album. I tried to open up my ears to some real American folk music and forget about the pop-like singers such as Dixie Chick or Shania Twain. It did not turn out bad at all.
The music itself and the instruments played take you back to their Celtic origins. All of the songs are played with a banjo, fiddle (violin), classic guitars and some percussion instruments. Vocalist Travis Stinson, does a great job when breaking his voice a bit to make it sound more like the typical, old-fashioned country songs. The whole album sounded like a soundtrack of a cowboy movie.
Most of the songs have a contagious and danceable double beat that would make anyone stand up and dance. Only a couple of songs slow down a little bit and transform for a moment the cheerful CD into a romantic one. The album includes songs like Where Are You Going, Gravedigger, Ants Marching and Grey Street. This album in particular is great for those who like country music, or folk music, as much as for those who like to try new things or like to experiment with music. It was annoying, though, that in the CD cover there is no indication of the radical change from pop to traditional country music. Such information should be added to avoid that fools like me get high expectations.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Thinking that I had the best CD ever, I took it home and the first thing I did after I threw my bag beside my bed was to grab my CD player was to listen the so long awaited album. To my disgrace, I found out that all the songs started as country music. I checked the CD thinking that maybe someone misplaced a couple of CDs in the wrong boxes and Daves Matthews' CD was in some other place. But no, the CD and box matched.
Now confuse, and to my surprise, I realized that the tribute was a remake of the best songs from "Dave Matthews Band." I was disappointed. Though, I decided to give it a second change to the makers of this album. I tried to open up my ears to some real American folk music and forget about the pop-like singers such as Dixie Chick or Shania Twain. It did not turn out bad at all.
The music itself and the instruments played take you back to their Celtic origins. All of the songs are played with a banjo, fiddle (violin), classic guitars and some percussion instruments. Vocalist Travis Stinson, does a great job when breaking his voice a bit to make it sound more like the typical, old-fashioned country songs. The whole album sounded like a soundtrack of a cowboy movie.
Most of the songs have a contagious and danceable double beat that would make anyone stand up and dance. Only a couple of songs slow down a little bit and transform for a moment the cheerful CD into a romantic one. The album includes songs like Where Are You Going, Gravedigger, Ants Marching and Grey Street. This album in particular is great for those who like country music, or folk music, as much as for those who like to try new things or like to experiment with music. It was annoying, though, that in the CD cover there is no indication of the radical change from pop to traditional country music. Such information should be added to avoid that fools like me get high expectations.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Terror Behind the Walls more for children than stalwart adults
Happy Halloween! Why not pay $15 to wait a half-hour in a line to go on a haunted house tour made for children, whose history is more interesting and spooky than the actual Halloween tradition.
The Terror Behind the Walls show is located in the former Eastern State Penitentiary, on 22nd Street and Fairmount Park Ave, (about five blocks away from the Art Museum). Today it is a museum and historic landmark, a place of architectural pioneering made popular by its former inmates such as famous gangster Al Capone.
Tickets cost $15 for adults during weekdays and Sundays, $20 on Fridays and $25 on Saturdays. Children's tickets cost $10 any day except on Fridays and Saturdays, when tickets are $15. For schedules and other information, you can go to www.easternstate.org/halloween.
Terror Behind the Walls is ranked the 9th best haunted house in the country, according to the webpage. It is certainly a place to get scared, but I was expecting to scream like crazy, run, laugh out loud and wet my pants. Buying the tickets was really quick but my friends and I spent nearly and hour and a half waiting to get in the tour.
As we waited, the line was so long that some of the characters would come outside to scare people. And they did! The makeup was great, as was as their performance. There are also TVs placed high up in the corners of the penitentiary with a documentary about this place, claiming that it is really haunted, and also instructions of what NOT to do once you get inside.
As we were waiting, we heard people screaming. We did not know if it was part of the show, or if it was the people inside getting scared.
Unfortunately, apparently I was the only one being scared about the whole thing. I also thought for a moment that this was going to be too much for children, but it turned out to be a "mild" creepy show for adults.
My friends and I were in the middle of the tour group. A father and his daughter were in front of us and a couple behind us, who kept scaring me at times. Part of the problem was that the ones up front and in the back were getting frightened by the monsters. We missed almost everything.
The rooms inside were decorated very well. It looked real. But at times we could see the real cells where prisoners used to sleep. They were closed because it was not part of the show, but they looked much more terrifying than the haunted house show.
Actually, while waiting outside I was observing the walls and how tall they were when I wondered how the prisoners would ever try to get out.
The walls are probably 24 feet tall and from what I saw inside the haunted house, the walls were also too thick and hard to dig through.
At the end of the tour, there are a couple of stands, one with food and the other with souvenirs.
We were really hungry but the food was too expensive... well, after eating at the Drexel's food trucks, everything seems expensive. We ended up going to T.G.I. Fridays, ordering appetizers and sharing food, by the way, a good trick to save some bucks.
The penitentiary's haunted house is probably not the best place to celebrate Halloween in Philadelphia for college students.
It is definitely made for children. However, next time I will try to be the first person in the tour group. Maybe that way I will get a good scare. There are other haunted houses. Next Halloween I should do a Google search and find something cheaper and better.Honestly, I got more hooked on to the real stories of a haunted penitentiary and the history of it.
It seems worthier and it is certainly cheaper ($9 for adults, $7 for students) to go for the historic tour. The website is www.easternstate.org.
Rating: 2 triangles
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
The Terror Behind the Walls show is located in the former Eastern State Penitentiary, on 22nd Street and Fairmount Park Ave, (about five blocks away from the Art Museum). Today it is a museum and historic landmark, a place of architectural pioneering made popular by its former inmates such as famous gangster Al Capone.
Tickets cost $15 for adults during weekdays and Sundays, $20 on Fridays and $25 on Saturdays. Children's tickets cost $10 any day except on Fridays and Saturdays, when tickets are $15. For schedules and other information, you can go to www.easternstate.org/halloween.
Terror Behind the Walls is ranked the 9th best haunted house in the country, according to the webpage. It is certainly a place to get scared, but I was expecting to scream like crazy, run, laugh out loud and wet my pants. Buying the tickets was really quick but my friends and I spent nearly and hour and a half waiting to get in the tour.
As we waited, the line was so long that some of the characters would come outside to scare people. And they did! The makeup was great, as was as their performance. There are also TVs placed high up in the corners of the penitentiary with a documentary about this place, claiming that it is really haunted, and also instructions of what NOT to do once you get inside.
As we were waiting, we heard people screaming. We did not know if it was part of the show, or if it was the people inside getting scared.
Unfortunately, apparently I was the only one being scared about the whole thing. I also thought for a moment that this was going to be too much for children, but it turned out to be a "mild" creepy show for adults.
My friends and I were in the middle of the tour group. A father and his daughter were in front of us and a couple behind us, who kept scaring me at times. Part of the problem was that the ones up front and in the back were getting frightened by the monsters. We missed almost everything.
The rooms inside were decorated very well. It looked real. But at times we could see the real cells where prisoners used to sleep. They were closed because it was not part of the show, but they looked much more terrifying than the haunted house show.
Actually, while waiting outside I was observing the walls and how tall they were when I wondered how the prisoners would ever try to get out.
The walls are probably 24 feet tall and from what I saw inside the haunted house, the walls were also too thick and hard to dig through.
At the end of the tour, there are a couple of stands, one with food and the other with souvenirs.
We were really hungry but the food was too expensive... well, after eating at the Drexel's food trucks, everything seems expensive. We ended up going to T.G.I. Fridays, ordering appetizers and sharing food, by the way, a good trick to save some bucks.
The penitentiary's haunted house is probably not the best place to celebrate Halloween in Philadelphia for college students.
It is definitely made for children. However, next time I will try to be the first person in the tour group. Maybe that way I will get a good scare. There are other haunted houses. Next Halloween I should do a Google search and find something cheaper and better.Honestly, I got more hooked on to the real stories of a haunted penitentiary and the history of it.
It seems worthier and it is certainly cheaper ($9 for adults, $7 for students) to go for the historic tour. The website is www.easternstate.org.
Rating: 2 triangles
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Sazon's Venezuelan delights
The days are not as cold as they should be for this time of the year. It is still warm enough to hang out outside. In the midst of mild weather, about three weeks ago, Judith Suzarra and Robert Campell opened a restaurant called Sazon, which serves typical Venezuelan cuisine.
Sazon is located at 941 Spring Garden St., at the intersection of 10th and Spring Garden Streets. It is easy to find because of the tricolor sign that stands out from mostly abandoned, old buildings in the area. Once inside, the place feels very warm. The lights are lowered and the walls are painted in ochre. On the right, there is a deck with postcards and to-go menus, newspapers and postcards from Havana Café.
We sat in a quiet, hidden table and got the menus and some water. We could not believe that finally someone has brought authentic Venezuelan food for the first time to Philadelphia. First, we wanted to know the amount of food served. Venezuelans eat like the French when it comes to food portions.
Then, we ordered the large size three cheese Empanadas and a red bean soup. The Empanadas come with a delicious tomato sauce that resembles pico de gallo, but much more tasty. I asked the waiter what the ingredients were. He said he could only tell me that it was made with tomatoes and cilantro, the rest is a secret.
As desert we ordered a Tres Leches (Three Milk cake) and Quesillo (Custard flan with caramel) to share. Sazon also offers so many other specialties and are planning to extend their menu. Suzarra is a nutritionist and a personal trainer. As one of the chefs, she makes sure that what is cooked at Sazon is as healthy as possible.
She likes to color food (like yellow rice) with fruits or vegetable, instead of using artificial coloring.
Sazon, a B.Y.O.B. restaurant, is open Mondays through Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Their webpage is www.sazonrestaurant.com.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Sazon is located at 941 Spring Garden St., at the intersection of 10th and Spring Garden Streets. It is easy to find because of the tricolor sign that stands out from mostly abandoned, old buildings in the area. Once inside, the place feels very warm. The lights are lowered and the walls are painted in ochre. On the right, there is a deck with postcards and to-go menus, newspapers and postcards from Havana Café.
We sat in a quiet, hidden table and got the menus and some water. We could not believe that finally someone has brought authentic Venezuelan food for the first time to Philadelphia. First, we wanted to know the amount of food served. Venezuelans eat like the French when it comes to food portions.
Then, we ordered the large size three cheese Empanadas and a red bean soup. The Empanadas come with a delicious tomato sauce that resembles pico de gallo, but much more tasty. I asked the waiter what the ingredients were. He said he could only tell me that it was made with tomatoes and cilantro, the rest is a secret.
As desert we ordered a Tres Leches (Three Milk cake) and Quesillo (Custard flan with caramel) to share. Sazon also offers so many other specialties and are planning to extend their menu. Suzarra is a nutritionist and a personal trainer. As one of the chefs, she makes sure that what is cooked at Sazon is as healthy as possible.
She likes to color food (like yellow rice) with fruits or vegetable, instead of using artificial coloring.
Sazon, a B.Y.O.B. restaurant, is open Mondays through Thursdays from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Their webpage is www.sazonrestaurant.com.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Cold Mountain album finest folk found on Philadelphia frontier
"Return to Cold Mountain" is another beautiful collection of authentic American folk music, it has been a good attempt to rediscover and rescue this genre. The album is inspired in the movie Cold Mountain with performances from Nicole Kidman, Jude Law and Renée Zellweger. I am not sure if this album is something that most Drexel inner-city folks would truly appreciate, yet I should be confident in Drexel's background variety. The album is indeed tedious because it is basically the same type of music and rhythms; it is only appreciated after having watched the actual movie. In fact, it seems that the success of the soundtrack is very dependable on the success of the movie. The album also seems fragile because of its unique, forgotten music genre, which appeals only to a very selective group of people.
When listening to "The Return to Cold Mountain," you will be taken back to the time of the Civil War in the southern states. The soundtrack represents a much finer country music found in the Appalachian Mountains. It also seems to have a closer connection to Celtic music perhaps because of the extensive use of the fiddle. "... the misty isolation of North Carolina's recumbent but rugged mountains had preserved antique British folk songs in a purer state ..." Return to Cold Mountain's Liner Note Author, Craig Havighurst, said.
The good part of this album is that there are mostly short songs no longer than three minutes.
The best tracks are number 2 and 9, Pretty Polly and Shady Grove respectively, the singers' voices, Michael Farr and Laura Boosinger, sounds like that of Jude Law and Nicole Kidman; it totally matches the movie plot. Also, track number four, Lorena, interestingly has a tune similar to "Oh my darling Clementine"
Besides rescuing this type of music, the soundtrack also brings to light local artist from the Appalachians area such as Steve McMurry, Larry and Jenny Keel, Bryan Sulton, Jim Lauderdale and Jack Lawrence.
Rating: 5 Triangles
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
When listening to "The Return to Cold Mountain," you will be taken back to the time of the Civil War in the southern states. The soundtrack represents a much finer country music found in the Appalachian Mountains. It also seems to have a closer connection to Celtic music perhaps because of the extensive use of the fiddle. "... the misty isolation of North Carolina's recumbent but rugged mountains had preserved antique British folk songs in a purer state ..." Return to Cold Mountain's Liner Note Author, Craig Havighurst, said.
The good part of this album is that there are mostly short songs no longer than three minutes.
The best tracks are number 2 and 9, Pretty Polly and Shady Grove respectively, the singers' voices, Michael Farr and Laura Boosinger, sounds like that of Jude Law and Nicole Kidman; it totally matches the movie plot. Also, track number four, Lorena, interestingly has a tune similar to "Oh my darling Clementine"
Besides rescuing this type of music, the soundtrack also brings to light local artist from the Appalachians area such as Steve McMurry, Larry and Jenny Keel, Bryan Sulton, Jim Lauderdale and Jack Lawrence.
Rating: 5 Triangles
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Lonely photos of tavern regular earn student recognition
Last summer, I saw Robert's picture for the first time in a Drexel Daily Digest. He was seated at the bar in McGlinchy's, one of Philadelphia's oldest taverns. He looked so familiar that for a moment I thought he was an actor. I saw him again not long ago, sitting at the same place and wearing the same outfit.
I was interviewing Sarah Stolfa, 30, a senior majoring in Photography. She took Robert's picture, along with other color portraits for a series called "The Regulars." Last year, she submitted the series to the New York Times Magazine Contest and won.
The multi-talented photographer fell in love with her career relatively recently. Before, she played the keyboard in a punk rock band called Delta 72. Her answers are serious but not without a sense of humor. She said she graduated from high school a year early and took off from home to play in bands. Later, she joined Delta 72, moved to Philadelphia and after personal problems with the band she separated from the group. It was, however, through one of the members of the band that she got her job at McGlinchy's, the place that would later become her own "studio" for the work that earned her the Times award.
After leaving Delta 72, Stolfa held a couple restaurant jobs, but she was still bored in the City of Brotherly Love. Not knowing what to do, she thought it was a good time to go back to school, but she did not know what to study. She always liked the arts, so she enrolled in the Associate Degree Photography Program at the Art Institute of Philadelphia.
"I absolutely love it," she said. "I think [photography] felt like everything in my life."
The more she learned, the quicker she fell for it. Some time went by and, as Stolfa said, she wanted to obtain a more grounded education. With this in mind, she transferred to Drexel and she liked it!
When asked what she likes about Drexel, she immediately responds, "My teachers," then adds that she also likes the photo facilities and history courses. For Stolfa the Drexel experience has been, "priceless." In fact, it was photography professor, Stuart Rome, that encouraged Stolfa to enter the New York Times Magazine Contest.
"He's always been very supportive of me and my work, but at the same time very critical of my work." Stolfa said.
"Sarah is a highly motivated student," Rome said. "I thought it [was] particularly important that she enter the work to the NY Times Contest because she began having doubts about her abilities to focus her energy, to find a project and get the work done."
Rome suggested Stolfa look at her life and what was going on as a way to search for possible project.
During the interview, Stolfa said that she barely had the time to travel or go to other places to develop a photo project for Rome's class. Her life orbited around work and school; that is where the idea of taking pictures at McGlinchy's came from and it worked very well. As Rome said, Stolfa seemed to have been a bit down at the time.
"I totally [thought] I was not going to win. I entered to the Drexel Annex Show and I didn't win that. What makes you think I was going to win the New York Times?" Stolfa said.
In addition to Rome, another supportive person in Stolfa's life is her mom.
"[She] is an amazing woman," she said. "She has completely supported me in everything I've done."
Stolfa's mother not only supported her, but she also provided a unique opportunity for Stolfa to be the photographer of a 60 day cross-country bike trip from San Francisco to Washington D.C. The trip was organized by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) between the months of June and August of 2003. Stolfa's mother previously worked with CCHD.
"The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is the domestic anti-poverty, social justice program of the Catholic bishops in the United States," reads the CCHD web page, www.usccb.org/cchd/brakethecycle/index.html.
In an interview with CCHD, Stolfa said, "The ride itself is a personal challenge and experience I have dreamt of, and to be involved with a ride with a mission beyond myself is amazing."
According to the BBC's Country Profiles "More than 30 million Americans live below the official poverty line."
Although Stolfa is not a professional cyclist, she was physically fit for the challenge. Besides photography and music, another of her hobbies is boxing. "I was in good shape because I was boxing maybe three or four times a week and then running a lot," she said. "When I decided to go on that trip I just started training more."
Stolfa used the trip as an internship. She never joined the Co-op Internship Program because it would have delayed her graduation. "Maybe I should've done it," she said. "[But] the New York Times has opened doors to me."
McGlinchy's is a family owned bar located in the heart of the city. "The current owners bought it in 1968," Stolfa said, "it's been handed down through the family." Stolfa also said the things that make McGlinchy's popular are the cheap prices and its neighborhood-bar look, which offers a contrast to old city. McGlinchy's also has very eclectic customers. It was probably because of this wide-ranging crowd that Stolfa chose to do her photo project at McGlinchy's. The pictures indeed show a variety of people, yet they all come together as the "regulars" of McGlinchy's.
Stolfa does not consider herself an artistic photographer but rather a more pragmatic one. She does not see herself working in a studio with models and poses, but instead photographing real life. "I'm not one of those artists that like go deep inside and they make really like arty... you know, work or whatever," Stolfa said.
Stolfa's methods were first to have a writer/photographer's log and then to prolong the shooting period when she felt her subjects were not acting naturally.
"I don't take pictures of people that are posing for the camera, that's not what I want," she said.
The New York Times described Stolfa's work as "[suggesting] isolation and loneliness." The City Paper called it a "deft combination of warm and scientific approaches."
Stolfa's work developed as she wondered about the different views in the tavern, behind the bar and in front of the it. "I spend so much time in this bar, and behind the bar, that my perceptions of what the bar is like and the whole culture of it, it's very different from somebody who comes in from the outside."
Stolfa also said that she got interested in McGlinchy's regular customers because she perceived some sort of loneliness, which she can be aware of only as she stands behind the bar working. "[There] is something missing," she said. "I think there's a lot going on psychologically and socially... [with] the individuals."
When Stolfa learned she had won the New York Times Magazine Contest, she could not believe it. She doubted so much she could win that she had forgotten about it.
"Oh my God, it was amazing!" she said
Stolfa still works at McGlinchy's and plans to stay in Philly for approximately a year and a half.
Eventually, she would like to apply for graduate school at Yale or the Art Institute of Chicago or other similar institutions. At the moment, besides school and work, she also finds herself working on a book project as well as participating in an exhibition for emerging artists in a new gallery. In the end, I never met Robert; he left before the interview ended. I did, however, have the chance to meet a fellow Drexel student and felt proud of her success.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
I was interviewing Sarah Stolfa, 30, a senior majoring in Photography. She took Robert's picture, along with other color portraits for a series called "The Regulars." Last year, she submitted the series to the New York Times Magazine Contest and won.
The multi-talented photographer fell in love with her career relatively recently. Before, she played the keyboard in a punk rock band called Delta 72. Her answers are serious but not without a sense of humor. She said she graduated from high school a year early and took off from home to play in bands. Later, she joined Delta 72, moved to Philadelphia and after personal problems with the band she separated from the group. It was, however, through one of the members of the band that she got her job at McGlinchy's, the place that would later become her own "studio" for the work that earned her the Times award.
After leaving Delta 72, Stolfa held a couple restaurant jobs, but she was still bored in the City of Brotherly Love. Not knowing what to do, she thought it was a good time to go back to school, but she did not know what to study. She always liked the arts, so she enrolled in the Associate Degree Photography Program at the Art Institute of Philadelphia.
"I absolutely love it," she said. "I think [photography] felt like everything in my life."
The more she learned, the quicker she fell for it. Some time went by and, as Stolfa said, she wanted to obtain a more grounded education. With this in mind, she transferred to Drexel and she liked it!
When asked what she likes about Drexel, she immediately responds, "My teachers," then adds that she also likes the photo facilities and history courses. For Stolfa the Drexel experience has been, "priceless." In fact, it was photography professor, Stuart Rome, that encouraged Stolfa to enter the New York Times Magazine Contest.
"He's always been very supportive of me and my work, but at the same time very critical of my work." Stolfa said.
"Sarah is a highly motivated student," Rome said. "I thought it [was] particularly important that she enter the work to the NY Times Contest because she began having doubts about her abilities to focus her energy, to find a project and get the work done."
Rome suggested Stolfa look at her life and what was going on as a way to search for possible project.
During the interview, Stolfa said that she barely had the time to travel or go to other places to develop a photo project for Rome's class. Her life orbited around work and school; that is where the idea of taking pictures at McGlinchy's came from and it worked very well. As Rome said, Stolfa seemed to have been a bit down at the time.
"I totally [thought] I was not going to win. I entered to the Drexel Annex Show and I didn't win that. What makes you think I was going to win the New York Times?" Stolfa said.
In addition to Rome, another supportive person in Stolfa's life is her mom.
"[She] is an amazing woman," she said. "She has completely supported me in everything I've done."
Stolfa's mother not only supported her, but she also provided a unique opportunity for Stolfa to be the photographer of a 60 day cross-country bike trip from San Francisco to Washington D.C. The trip was organized by the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) between the months of June and August of 2003. Stolfa's mother previously worked with CCHD.
"The Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) is the domestic anti-poverty, social justice program of the Catholic bishops in the United States," reads the CCHD web page, www.usccb.org/cchd/brakethecycle/index.html.
In an interview with CCHD, Stolfa said, "The ride itself is a personal challenge and experience I have dreamt of, and to be involved with a ride with a mission beyond myself is amazing."
According to the BBC's Country Profiles "More than 30 million Americans live below the official poverty line."
Although Stolfa is not a professional cyclist, she was physically fit for the challenge. Besides photography and music, another of her hobbies is boxing. "I was in good shape because I was boxing maybe three or four times a week and then running a lot," she said. "When I decided to go on that trip I just started training more."
Stolfa used the trip as an internship. She never joined the Co-op Internship Program because it would have delayed her graduation. "Maybe I should've done it," she said. "[But] the New York Times has opened doors to me."
McGlinchy's is a family owned bar located in the heart of the city. "The current owners bought it in 1968," Stolfa said, "it's been handed down through the family." Stolfa also said the things that make McGlinchy's popular are the cheap prices and its neighborhood-bar look, which offers a contrast to old city. McGlinchy's also has very eclectic customers. It was probably because of this wide-ranging crowd that Stolfa chose to do her photo project at McGlinchy's. The pictures indeed show a variety of people, yet they all come together as the "regulars" of McGlinchy's.
Stolfa does not consider herself an artistic photographer but rather a more pragmatic one. She does not see herself working in a studio with models and poses, but instead photographing real life. "I'm not one of those artists that like go deep inside and they make really like arty... you know, work or whatever," Stolfa said.
Stolfa's methods were first to have a writer/photographer's log and then to prolong the shooting period when she felt her subjects were not acting naturally.
"I don't take pictures of people that are posing for the camera, that's not what I want," she said.
The New York Times described Stolfa's work as "[suggesting] isolation and loneliness." The City Paper called it a "deft combination of warm and scientific approaches."
Stolfa's work developed as she wondered about the different views in the tavern, behind the bar and in front of the it. "I spend so much time in this bar, and behind the bar, that my perceptions of what the bar is like and the whole culture of it, it's very different from somebody who comes in from the outside."
Stolfa also said that she got interested in McGlinchy's regular customers because she perceived some sort of loneliness, which she can be aware of only as she stands behind the bar working. "[There] is something missing," she said. "I think there's a lot going on psychologically and socially... [with] the individuals."
When Stolfa learned she had won the New York Times Magazine Contest, she could not believe it. She doubted so much she could win that she had forgotten about it.
"Oh my God, it was amazing!" she said
Stolfa still works at McGlinchy's and plans to stay in Philly for approximately a year and a half.
Eventually, she would like to apply for graduate school at Yale or the Art Institute of Chicago or other similar institutions. At the moment, besides school and work, she also finds herself working on a book project as well as participating in an exhibition for emerging artists in a new gallery. In the end, I never met Robert; he left before the interview ended. I did, however, have the chance to meet a fellow Drexel student and felt proud of her success.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Emerging galleries for emerging artists
NOTE: Last time I heard from Shelley Spector - more than a year ago - she was closing down the gallery and dedicating to mentor students. But it was nice to get to know Spector Gallery, its founder and her efforts to help new artists. This articles was publish on April 15th, 2005 at The Triangle (Drexel University's student newspaper)
Spring is here!
I'm on my way to South Street's vicinity, more specifically to 510 Bainbridge St., and I am soaking wet because of the week long rainstorm. Between South and Bainbridge streets the change in environment is radical; South always seems crowded, Bainbridge seems lonely, yet the two streets are a block apart. I'm about to meet Shelley Spector, 44, founder and director of Spector Gallery; a gallery that, among so many others, is emerging as a place for new, local artists to show their work.
Philadelphia is known for so many things. It was the first capital of the United States and possesses a rich historical, national, and political reputation. But it is also well-known in the arts, literature, sports and education. It is where cheesesteaks and hoagies are the best, and where films like "Rocky," "Philadelphia," and "The Sixth Sense" made the city a cinematographic landmark.
Another great thing happening in Philadelphia - and all around the country, according to Spector - is a wave of the so-called emerging galleries that seem to be focusing on showing the work of emerging artists, art students and other such fields.
After knocking on the wrong door, I finally find Spector Gallery. Spector opens ups the door with a kind smile and quickly lets me in. I felt a bit embarrassed standing there in my wet shoes on the grass-green, wooden floor. I grabbed my interview essentials and sat on a comfortable old yellow couch with Spector.
We both settled in the conversation after establishing a friendly rapport with each other. Spector, unlike other people I have interviewed, wanted to know about me as much as I wanted to know about her.
She is one of the many pioneers of these emerging galleries for emerging artists.
Spector saw the potential of this business long ago. When she was an art student at University of the Arts, the one thing missing was guidance about the job market. Spector, however, did not plan to open up a gallery. It seems to have been an unconscious process; one thing led to the other until she realized she was organizing an exhibition... and boom! She found herself with a gallery. Spector bought the South Street house in 1998 and a year after she already had a gallery, a studio, and a place for her daughter to live away and safe from the chemicals most artists use.
In an e-mail I received from BInformed, an arts and culture magazine, it was said that Spector Gallery is hosting its first in person reviews open to local Philadelphia artists working in all kinds of mediums.
"Over the past six years Spector has spotlighted and bolstered a growing community of emerging local artists," BInformed said. "Currently [the gallery is] reaching out to see what the next generation is up to."
Also, Eils Lotozo, an Inquirer writer, said that Spector's work is known for showing emerging local artist influenced by popular pop culture and folk art.
"What's more, she sells it at prices that fit even an art student budget," Lotozo said.
Lotozo also said that Spector had started studying dance at University of the Arts but dropped out in 1982.
"A dozen years later, already established as a sculptor, she returned to finish her degree, thinking she'd teach," Lotozo said. "Instead, she's found a way to share her experience by mentoring younger artists."
Spector's motivation to work in the arts, whether in her studio or at the gallery, may be hard to understand but is genuine nonetheless. She likes to work with her heart.
Other new galleries helping young artists are The Leeway Foundation, Philadelphia Art Alliance and The Print Center. These organizations work together to promote the Leeway Award to Emerging and Established Artists in Photography/Works On Paper every year.
The next Spector Gallery exhibition, "Babel," will have an opening reception on Friday, April 22, from 6-10 p.m. and will be open until June 18.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Shakira's concert much more than just music
It was Nov. 24, 2002, and I was at the former First Union Center (now Wachovia Center) with someone who admires Colombian rock singer Shakira as much as I do. She is a very versatile musician; she dances in five different styles, sings four music genres and plays three instruments. Shakira finally appeared around 8:30 p.m. In the middle of the concert, she started singing "Octavo Dia" (Eighth Day).
Behind the stage there was a black and white background video of George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein playing chess, and on the stage some of the musicians were wearing masks of Richard Nixon and Cuba's dictator Fidel Castro. Usually people go to concerts to relax and have fun, but Shakira wanted to deliver a message more complex than just criticizing the war against Iraq.
When I left the concert, I could not stop thinking that the war was not about freedom but about winning authority over this world. Most wars have been about that; even all the independence wars in the Americas. "[Leaders] just want to continue playing their little game of power," the rock/pop singer Shakira said in an interview with MTV.
Shakira seems not to care about the reasons to go to war, but about the consequences of any conflict, which is something she has experienced closely. Shakira comes from a country that has been subject to an undeclared war for almost 50 years. "[Colombian children] are aware that there is injustice and [that] it's impossible to escape from that reality or not have an opinion in all these things," said Shakira to The Observer, a British newspaper. For years, Colombia has received full support from the United States despite the corrupt Colombian administrations and unrealistic anti-drugs programs from the U.S.
Colombia's hopes now rely on President Alvaro Uribe, who is aggressively attacking guerrillas, though with the same unstable political floor as his predecessors. The guerrillas now control drug production and have made it impossible for Colombians to live and work in peace for the past five decades. Such joint actions of both countries may end in capturing and bringing to trial guerrilla members, the same way Colombian authorities and U.S. agents captured kingpin Pablo Escobar during the mid 1990s. A direct attack on guerrilla groups, however, will bring more civilian death.
Unfortunately, peace talks in Colombia do not work anymore; talks have been tried for almost as long as the conflict has lasted. There has not been any improvement, and Colombians are tired of it. The consequence of Colombia's warfare is one of many examples. The same fear is felt with the conflict in Iraq: psychological and physical trauma, which usually starts a cycle of violence that is hard to stop. Also, one of the problems is that there is not enough support, human aid or money. The United States already has other commitments around the world and organizations such as the United Nations have no teeth when it comes to dealing with these types of situations in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Going back to the concert, despite the fact that talking about politics is not usual in a rock concert, it seems that the game of power between Bush and Hussein, as pictured by Shakira, goes like this: In international politics there is an actual "game of power" called deterrence, which was used during the Cold War and is being used with Iraq. Nowadays, military armaments, especially nuclear weapons, are not only used to attack countries, but also to elevate a country's power in the world and to threaten psychologically those considered enemies.
The trick of this game is that no one really knows how many nuclear weapons each country has and whether they are really willing to use them. "While the evidence that Saddam Hussein has used chemical weapons in battle with Iran and again its own Kurdish population [but didn't use them in other situations such as the Gulf War] suggests that deterrence should not be dismissed," according to a New York Times article.
However, some members of the audience were confused with Shakira's criticism when she performed "Octavo Dia." David Hiltbrand, a journalist from The Philadelphia Inquirer, said that it was an atypical show number. "I thought it was a mistake, personally, not as a journalist," said Hiltbrand referring to "Octavo Dia." "What I took from it [is that] our leaders are caught up with themselves," Hiltbrand said.
During the video at the show, Hussein's and Bush's puppets suddenly became restless and violent as they started playing with nuclear bombs instead of chess pieces. Then the Grim Reaper appeared behind the two leaders and moved the strings that control the puppets. Shakira said during the concert that pop singers typically do not talk about politics nor about politicians, but this time, her tour had a political view. "[Some] think pop stars are made to entertain. Period. I don't see that way," said Shakira during her concert in Britain, which was reported by Siobhan Grogan from The Guardian.
In an interview with MTV, she said that sometimes governments do not represent their people nor make the right decisions because "governments are controlled by just a few." The video and the song ended with a quote from Jimi Hendrix in the back screen of the stage:
"The world will know the peace, when the power of love, overcomes the love for power."
And the concert went on.
Elisa Bermudez is a senior majoring in communications.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Behind the stage there was a black and white background video of George W. Bush and Saddam Hussein playing chess, and on the stage some of the musicians were wearing masks of Richard Nixon and Cuba's dictator Fidel Castro. Usually people go to concerts to relax and have fun, but Shakira wanted to deliver a message more complex than just criticizing the war against Iraq.
When I left the concert, I could not stop thinking that the war was not about freedom but about winning authority over this world. Most wars have been about that; even all the independence wars in the Americas. "[Leaders] just want to continue playing their little game of power," the rock/pop singer Shakira said in an interview with MTV.
Shakira seems not to care about the reasons to go to war, but about the consequences of any conflict, which is something she has experienced closely. Shakira comes from a country that has been subject to an undeclared war for almost 50 years. "[Colombian children] are aware that there is injustice and [that] it's impossible to escape from that reality or not have an opinion in all these things," said Shakira to The Observer, a British newspaper. For years, Colombia has received full support from the United States despite the corrupt Colombian administrations and unrealistic anti-drugs programs from the U.S.
Colombia's hopes now rely on President Alvaro Uribe, who is aggressively attacking guerrillas, though with the same unstable political floor as his predecessors. The guerrillas now control drug production and have made it impossible for Colombians to live and work in peace for the past five decades. Such joint actions of both countries may end in capturing and bringing to trial guerrilla members, the same way Colombian authorities and U.S. agents captured kingpin Pablo Escobar during the mid 1990s. A direct attack on guerrilla groups, however, will bring more civilian death.
Unfortunately, peace talks in Colombia do not work anymore; talks have been tried for almost as long as the conflict has lasted. There has not been any improvement, and Colombians are tired of it. The consequence of Colombia's warfare is one of many examples. The same fear is felt with the conflict in Iraq: psychological and physical trauma, which usually starts a cycle of violence that is hard to stop. Also, one of the problems is that there is not enough support, human aid or money. The United States already has other commitments around the world and organizations such as the United Nations have no teeth when it comes to dealing with these types of situations in a timely and cost-effective manner.
Going back to the concert, despite the fact that talking about politics is not usual in a rock concert, it seems that the game of power between Bush and Hussein, as pictured by Shakira, goes like this: In international politics there is an actual "game of power" called deterrence, which was used during the Cold War and is being used with Iraq. Nowadays, military armaments, especially nuclear weapons, are not only used to attack countries, but also to elevate a country's power in the world and to threaten psychologically those considered enemies.
The trick of this game is that no one really knows how many nuclear weapons each country has and whether they are really willing to use them. "While the evidence that Saddam Hussein has used chemical weapons in battle with Iran and again its own Kurdish population [but didn't use them in other situations such as the Gulf War] suggests that deterrence should not be dismissed," according to a New York Times article.
However, some members of the audience were confused with Shakira's criticism when she performed "Octavo Dia." David Hiltbrand, a journalist from The Philadelphia Inquirer, said that it was an atypical show number. "I thought it was a mistake, personally, not as a journalist," said Hiltbrand referring to "Octavo Dia." "What I took from it [is that] our leaders are caught up with themselves," Hiltbrand said.
During the video at the show, Hussein's and Bush's puppets suddenly became restless and violent as they started playing with nuclear bombs instead of chess pieces. Then the Grim Reaper appeared behind the two leaders and moved the strings that control the puppets. Shakira said during the concert that pop singers typically do not talk about politics nor about politicians, but this time, her tour had a political view. "[Some] think pop stars are made to entertain. Period. I don't see that way," said Shakira during her concert in Britain, which was reported by Siobhan Grogan from The Guardian.
In an interview with MTV, she said that sometimes governments do not represent their people nor make the right decisions because "governments are controlled by just a few." The video and the song ended with a quote from Jimi Hendrix in the back screen of the stage:
"The world will know the peace, when the power of love, overcomes the love for power."
And the concert went on.
Elisa Bermudez is a senior majoring in communications.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Inside the life, home of South American mural artist
I was told by a friend, who works with a cultural organization in Philadelphia, about this person who had just opened an art gallery next to the I-95 and Spring Garden's EL Station. I wanted to interview this person and two more painters who are influenced by Latin-American art. First, the location of the gallery intrigued me, since it is unusual; second, I was curious about this American-born person and his interest in Latin American art, a rare case, at least in Philadelphia.
Getting there was a bit complicated because I got the wrong address. Hyder International Gallery is located on 629 N. 2nd St. I was glad, though, that it was a mild summer, sinec I had to do a lot of walking to get there. When I finally arrived at Hyder Gallery, I was welcomed by Henry Bermúdez (not a relative of mine) who has also worked with Frank Hyder, owner and founder of the art gallery.
I was headed for an interview about the gallery, but I never thought that the journey was going to be more than just looking at a few new paintings. Bermúdez showed me around the first floor. From front to back the walls were recently painted in white, giving a great contrast with the paintings.
Bermúdez said that Hyder was busy talking on the phone and he was coming any minute. I thought it was fair to wait for him, since they waited for me. In the meantime, I lingered in the gallery carefully looking at the paintings. Although, I know little about fine art, especially paintings, I could definitely see the personal style in each work.
Apparently, Hyder told Bermúdez to show me the rest of the house. I didn't know, until Bermudez told me that Hyder and his family live in the same house where the gallery is located.
It wasn't until I got to see the entire second and third floors that I knew why they wanted me to see everything. Walking up and down through this house is literally walking through an artist's mind. Any fine art scholar would want a house with so much space and so much creativity floating in the air.
This ever-presence of art was not only because of the gallery, but also because of the balance of colors and furniture around the house.
The bedrooms are located in the second floor and are decorated in a light and soft blue tones combined with wooden and metal-made furniture.
The kitchen, living room and dining room are located in the third floor. The colors picked for the third floor were solid, strong, bright colors going from yellow to red. To spice up the warmth of this place, Hyder also has wooden furniture on the second floor, adding tropical plants (even small palms) in the ceramic, tile-decorated balcony and Mexican warrior masks on the kitchen wall.
Later, Bermúdez suggested to go to his house, which is right next door, to wait for Hyder. Bermúdez' place happens to be connected to Hyder Gallery through a backyard, which has a small Greco-Roman, greenish pool, filled with fish and surrounded by tropical plants.
We were going downstairs to meet José Alí Paz, another Latin American artist who at the time had an exhibition in a Puerto Rican Center located on 2nd Street and Girard Avenue.
Hyder Galley also has a basement which they use as a depository.
Once we were settled at Bermúdez', drinks and food provided, we went on talking about their experiences in Philadelphia as painters and immigrants and about Hyder International Gallery as a place to shelter foreign artistic talent.
Often we went off on tangents about comical anecdotes regarding art, trips, languages and people they had met.
Finally, we took a look at the attic, the last part I missed from the tour. The attic was transformed into the dream of any artist: a studio! A place amazingly full with sunlight and fresh air and big enough to walk around freely. Hyder said his focus is in Latin American art because that is where his experience and interests relies on.
Hyder also talked about a possible exchange program for art students in the Philadelphia area. They could travel to Latin American countries and learn about a the local art; likewise Hyder will like to have Latin American artist presenting their work in the United States at Hyder International Gallery.
I doubt Hyder will show a stranger his house from the gallery all the way up to the attic like Bermúdez did with me.
But going to the gallery, take a look at the paintings, chat with Frank (if possible), and then maybe having dinner in one of the small restaurants across the street will make it a very nice evening in the growing artistic ghetto spreading from Market Street towards North Philly.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
Getting there was a bit complicated because I got the wrong address. Hyder International Gallery is located on 629 N. 2nd St. I was glad, though, that it was a mild summer, sinec I had to do a lot of walking to get there. When I finally arrived at Hyder Gallery, I was welcomed by Henry Bermúdez (not a relative of mine) who has also worked with Frank Hyder, owner and founder of the art gallery.
I was headed for an interview about the gallery, but I never thought that the journey was going to be more than just looking at a few new paintings. Bermúdez showed me around the first floor. From front to back the walls were recently painted in white, giving a great contrast with the paintings.
Bermúdez said that Hyder was busy talking on the phone and he was coming any minute. I thought it was fair to wait for him, since they waited for me. In the meantime, I lingered in the gallery carefully looking at the paintings. Although, I know little about fine art, especially paintings, I could definitely see the personal style in each work.
Apparently, Hyder told Bermúdez to show me the rest of the house. I didn't know, until Bermudez told me that Hyder and his family live in the same house where the gallery is located.
It wasn't until I got to see the entire second and third floors that I knew why they wanted me to see everything. Walking up and down through this house is literally walking through an artist's mind. Any fine art scholar would want a house with so much space and so much creativity floating in the air.
This ever-presence of art was not only because of the gallery, but also because of the balance of colors and furniture around the house.
The bedrooms are located in the second floor and are decorated in a light and soft blue tones combined with wooden and metal-made furniture.
The kitchen, living room and dining room are located in the third floor. The colors picked for the third floor were solid, strong, bright colors going from yellow to red. To spice up the warmth of this place, Hyder also has wooden furniture on the second floor, adding tropical plants (even small palms) in the ceramic, tile-decorated balcony and Mexican warrior masks on the kitchen wall.
Later, Bermúdez suggested to go to his house, which is right next door, to wait for Hyder. Bermúdez' place happens to be connected to Hyder Gallery through a backyard, which has a small Greco-Roman, greenish pool, filled with fish and surrounded by tropical plants.
We were going downstairs to meet José Alí Paz, another Latin American artist who at the time had an exhibition in a Puerto Rican Center located on 2nd Street and Girard Avenue.
Hyder Galley also has a basement which they use as a depository.
Once we were settled at Bermúdez', drinks and food provided, we went on talking about their experiences in Philadelphia as painters and immigrants and about Hyder International Gallery as a place to shelter foreign artistic talent.
Often we went off on tangents about comical anecdotes regarding art, trips, languages and people they had met.
Finally, we took a look at the attic, the last part I missed from the tour. The attic was transformed into the dream of any artist: a studio! A place amazingly full with sunlight and fresh air and big enough to walk around freely. Hyder said his focus is in Latin American art because that is where his experience and interests relies on.
Hyder also talked about a possible exchange program for art students in the Philadelphia area. They could travel to Latin American countries and learn about a the local art; likewise Hyder will like to have Latin American artist presenting their work in the United States at Hyder International Gallery.
I doubt Hyder will show a stranger his house from the gallery all the way up to the attic like Bermúdez did with me.
But going to the gallery, take a look at the paintings, chat with Frank (if possible), and then maybe having dinner in one of the small restaurants across the street will make it a very nice evening in the growing artistic ghetto spreading from Market Street towards North Philly.
© Copyright 2007 The Triangle
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