The important things in the bicentennial year

Speak about the Chilean bicentenary remit us necessarily at the concept of “nation” and “nationalism” and it do us to think about his meaning. This topic remember me a Lord Byron’s phrase “Who don’t love his country can’t love nothing” and unfortunately many people believe this, they think that we would be proud of all things that our country only for this, because is OUR Chile. The bicentenary was the perfect occasion for remember all this old ideas about the nationalism…
For to celebrate the Chilean Bicentenary the government to organize many and differents activities, some really brainless, but we can’t to deny that they did some effort for to commemorate this important national celebration. One of the most famous activity and maybe the best example of the things that the people, in general, think about our country in the bicentennial year, was the “Bicentenary Capsule”. If we think in the objects that the people choose for to keep in this capsule because they consider it importants and representatives of our identity, we can know how the Chileans view to Chile in this year.
One of the “Bicentenary objects” that there is in the famous capsule is a security camera, is this something representative of the society in the bicentennial year? Maybe yes, but this would be really sad… Well, this capsule contain other 135 objects that supposedly are representative of our identity in this moment, like: a key, a kettle, books of History, jerseys of the sport teams, a toy of Juan Carlos Bodoque, a Bip card, a colaless, prosthesis of silicone, a pendrive, a vuvuzela, etc. Is it Chile now? Is a 3D glasses representatives of our identity? Or is it the song “Arriva la vida” of the Croni-k?
The Chile of the bicentennial year is the same Chile of the centennial year and probably the same that will be in many year more because I think that never we can to think in something like a common identity or in our nation, and the best example is the “Bicentenary capsule”, it have many differents things that represent many singulars and specials way of to think in the same thing: Chile. And I think that it is great! I detest the old discourses about nationalism and patriotism based in empty ideas…

Countess Catula

Is difficult to choose my favorite or the best classmate’s blogs because I like many and different things of each one… I adore the background of the Camila’s blog (Ilovelovercraft), the pictures of Emilio, the name of the Lucy’s blog “Lucy in the sky II” and the last post about Felipe Avello of the Diego’s blog. But if I have to choose only on, I give the prize for the best blog to Catalina’s blog “catinglish”, I like her blog because we like similar things and I enjoy her posts. I think that she write with a little of humor and too is obviously that she really love the things about she write, like Nicanor Parra or Bukowski. Other good thing about this blog is that all post has a clear organization, because in the case of the writers for example, she to get the biography of the person mixed up with her commentaries and with some text of the writers. My favorite post was the last, when we wrote about the big Chilean and she chose to Nicanor Parra, I liked this post because he is one of my favorite Chilean writers and “The imaginary men”, the poem that Catalina enclosed in the end of her post, is my preferred too and it is really representative of the Nicanor Parra style.

The blog in general is great, but maybe Catalina could be done to improve her writing, because sometimes she write really fast and she isn’t very careful with the words that she use. ..

PD: I like too the image of the Conde Patula that she have in her profile! So I chose the same picture like the most representative of this blog…

My "big Chilean"...

If I ask you for the “big Chileans” is probably that you think in Pablo Neruda, Violeta Parra, Bernardo O’Higgins or other famous persons that maybe have many merit for to be remember, but today I choose to write about other person that I think, to do a beautiful job and too is a “big Chilean”, his name is Domingo Pontigo. Mr. Domingo is a popular poet from San Pedro, a rural sector in Melipilla, usually in this time; you can see him in his plot harvesting strawberries like the majority of his neighbors, but in the night or in his free time he write verses. Actually, he is the most prolific poet and one of the best popular singings.
In the tradition orals circle he is really famous and he have many years experience in this field, he wrote books in verses about the History of Chile and other things, and every years he go to the meetings of popular music, he give many interview in the newspaper and in the TV and do workshop of popular poesy for the children’s of rural places of the central zone, because he always say that for he is important to work for to keep the traditional expressions. This week he received a prize for the “Alive Human Treasure”, from the government.
I choose to write about him like a “big Chilean” because I think that he and his work are really examples, but no only for the “rescue of our traditions”, other than for the dedication and his way of life, that I think, are conditions for to be a “big” person more than wars and international prizes…

A "beautiful" job

If difficult for me answer questions about the jobs because now I have some vocational problems…so, I’m not sure where or what job I would like to choose. If you ask me what job would you choose and why? Some months ago I think that I would have to answer “oh!! I love the latinamerican art!, I would like have a job related with this topic, maybe in a museum researching some collection of colonial art, writing about contemporary art, in projects or like teacher of this topic”, but now I’m not really sure if it is the job that I want or if this is the life that I want. Now, I’ m boring of this “academic world” and I believe that I not enjoy this type of job and I think that already many people is unhappy in their jobs…the world don’t needs other sad person.
I’m certain that I love the art, I really like study it and I’m sure that I would like have a job related with this topic in the future, but this isn’t enough for me. By coincidence this week in class the teacher said “our job is beautiful, but not really useful. We don’t contribute in nothing for give solutions to the real problems in the world”, I disagree with she, I think that she underestimate the capacity of the art, but yes, in the library there isn’t the “real world” and I want to stay there, I want to work there. So, now if I have to choose some job that satisfying me I think that I would like something related with the art therapy, surrounded of persons and believing that I’ m doing something useful for the people and not something only “beautiful”. Now, I’m working in a project in this topic with specialists in art therapy and I think that this is a great job!

I would like to meet with...

Sinse I was at school I’m stunned with the figure of Gustavo Adolfo Becquer, so if you ask me for a person that I would like to meet immediately I think in he. Becquer was a famous writer of the Spanish Romanticism in the ninety century; all his family was artist, his father and his brother were renowneds painters and when he was a child had proximity with the draw, but his parents to died when Becquer was ten years and this link with the art was broken. Some years after he lived with his aunt and with she began his literary career, so he went to Madrid for study but the trip not was that he expected and only had little jobs in some independent newspaper and published in unknown printer’s. He had a really bohemian and tragic life, with many disappointments that you can to see in his work, for example, in Madrid he meet with two beautiful sisters connected with the music word and he was in love with both! and his famous poem “your blue pupil” was dedicated for one of this sisters. Some years after he was married and had three children, but his life continue among scandals and illness, he died really younger of tuberculosis.
I think that he is really interesting; his work and is life is stunned!! And I think that in his work you can see that he was a mystical people. I consider that Manrique, the character of his famous legend “The moonbeam”, is the representation of Becquer, with languid appearance and very melancholic… I think that the next description of Manrique that write the writer is the image of Becquer:

“He loved the solitude, because within it, giving free rein to the imagination, they create a fantasy world, habited by strange creations, daughters of his delusions and his dreams of a poet (…)”

D day

If you ask me how, when or where is my perfect day, I only can say you: “I’ don’t know!”. And I not answer you this because I’m an embittered person, but I think that anybody beginning the day saying : “oh! This is a perfect day” or “I would like that this day to be perfect”. So, I think that the correct question is have you had some perfect day? How it was? … For me, the unique rule for a perfect day is not planning anything.
I have had many “perfects days” with different people, in dissimilar places and in all moments of mi life, but I didn’t wait for this specials days, never wake up in the morning thinking in have a great day and organizing my hours. I remember some rides with my parents to the countryside or the beach, and most recently my trip with Catalina and Carla at Buenos Aires, it was great and some days really perfect!! ^^, we walked a lot in the day, ate too much pizza, bought many books and in the night… we danced (or tried) tango and meet lovely people; or our “course tour” in Caleu the last week (it was crazy!) , etc., but now, after of the “D day” I can say “yes, it was a perfect day”, anything was planned and like in the song, I only can to be grateful and remember people who were with me these days…
I don’t know why, but when I read the topic of this week, I immediately thought in the poem of Amado Nervo “In peace”… do you know it? When I think in people that say “I don’t believe in the “perfect day “ I remember this verses:

“(...) That if I extracted the honey or the gall of things
Was because I put in they gall or honey tasty
When planted roses, always harvested roses (...)

Native people

For me is really dificult to express an opinion about this topic because I think that is complex, hard and intricate, and maybe I would prefer not to comment…
First of all, I have to say that I disagree with many things of the “two sides”. In the case of the State, Piñera and nobody, obviously it don’t tried very hard of work in the “mapuche topic” because the “pacifying process of the Araucanía” or the “occupation of the Araucanía” are clear sign that this. Now there is a new idea, the “Araucanía Plan”, with this initiative the government hopes to achieve the economic developed and the diffusion of the culture of the region, and to “incorporate” at the native people of this place at the traditional system of the education or health. I think that this is the problem...why they need to forget their traditions and their models of life? Why they have to include in bad education system that don’t contribute with nothing in their lives? Is really stupid to think in software, operative system or bibles in Mapudungun…
All these initiatives are result of the antiquated idea that “our” country needs that all people to be the same! In general, the persons think that all should be to feel Chilean and love our flag and other symbols more than our life! ... But obviously you can’t to ask this to people that have other ideas and other models of life and the solution, in the case Mapuche and the other native people, isn’t to return their land, the creation of the ethnic school or give them little places inside the “civilization” for to celebrate their rites and ceremonies.