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• Una de cal y otra de arena: culturas

Alex Lebronster — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:30:14 +0000

Cuando partí a España hace tres años, había una cosa particular para la cual había quedado sobreadve

Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián 2008

elbohemio — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:50:51 +0000

Well my children, the Grand Fete is once more upon us. The event that all artist and artisans wait a whole year for is only one day away. Obviously I am speaking of the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian 2008 which are scheduled to start this Thursday January 17 until Sunday January 20. The excitement and madness of this event are about to unfurl.Even before it starts the artist and artisans have already come up against their first obstacle. I have it on good authority that they have passed around a petition to try and get the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño to permit them to put up their tables and stalls on Wednesday, a logical move. I saw, read and signed this very petition though at the outset I had said that it was an exercise in futility. When it comes to this event the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño is not blessed with the capacity of logic. It is a bureaucracy like all others and they do not take lightly to being presented with logical alternatives to what they view as their fair regardless of the fact that it is the artist and artisans who make this fair possible.Then there is the yearly battle between the artist / artisans and the local police, which is historical. Regardless of the fact that the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño issues parking permits to the artist and artisans who exhibit inside el Cuartel de Ballajá these so-called permits are about as useful as toilet paper since they are not, for the most part honored by the police. The participants are at the mercy of the elements, the public and the police in trying to find parking for their vehicles which they need in order to get their wares up to the top of Old San Juan, which is no easy task. Last but not least there is the matter of art prints that many of the working artist depend on to make the bulk of their income which cannot be sold inside el Cuartel Ballají. The Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño does not permit their sale in el Cuartel de Ballajá. Till this day I still do not understand the reasoning behind this. The public knows that they are reproductions and a cheaper alternative to purchasing an image of a higher priced work. They are recognized and sold in many fairs and galleries in the states yet their sale is prohibited inside el Cuartel de Ballajá. Go figure!Now that I have put forth the artist and artisans viewpoints I hope that all goes well for all involved. As in other years I was invited to exhibit but declined. I stopped going to this event as a participating artist several years ago due in large part to the declining economy and low sales vs. the trouble one has to go through to set-up a substantial exhibit. I expect that I will be receiving information about the fair as it progresses through the weekend. No doubt there will be much to write about.
As for the activities outside el Cuartel de Ballajá that is another story. This is the Bohemians Dream. An ongoing 4 day party! As in all such affairs prices will jump up on everything. You can expect to pay double if not triple for many edibles and drinks. Be warned too that there is no drinking outside the barricaded zone the police set-up which is usually one block south of calle San Sebastián, the corner of San Justo and Norzagaray on the eastern end and if I am not mistaking the corner of Calle del Cristo and Calle Luna at the northwest corner of the Cathedral. If you are carrying one of those portable hand held ice boxes with alcohol as you depart the fiesta you will be stopped.
Parking is largely non-existent! One would be better off parking in Santurce or Cataño and riding in on public transportation unless of course you relish the thought of being in a massive traffic jam for what may be an hour or more to enter San Juan.

Here are just a few links about several artist at the fair:

Ada Rosa Rivera
Elida Rodríguez
Javier Alzérreca Frambes
Oslvado de Jesus Cruz
Roberto Matos
Sixto Cotto
Sixto Cotto
Sixto Cotto

For various other reports about Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián click HERE

Update: January 18, 2008:

I saw a report this morning on Noticentro regarding the artisans / artist of the San Sebastián Fair. A number of them have formed a protest due to the fact that they have not been permitted to set up their tables in the streets even though they were evaluated and paid the required fee’s. The protester’s claim that there are artisans and artist who have tables inside Ballajá and on the streets as well taking valuable space from them. I know this to be true from personal experience. I have seen artist who were invited to exhibit inside Ballajá ( which is by invitation ) who have also set up tables outside where they sell offset prints that Ballajá does not permit. It would seem that the greed factor is also present in this action.

On a lighter note Ricky Martin was the main attraction last night at the main stage in front of the Totem where he received an award for his work against child abuse. Ricky Martin said that he plans on returning to the Fiesta next year.

Today is day 2 of the fair and everyone awoke to a downpour that is covering the northern coastline. According to the weather forecasters it seems that this will continue over the weekend due to two systems that are meeting north of the island. I hope that they are wrong since this will definitely put a damper on the activities as well as the pockets of the participating artist and artisans.

Note: You can check out the traffic around the main arteries near San Juan by going to the Noticentro Supercam by clicking HERE.

Update: Jan. 19, 2008

Well my children, I WENT, I SAW AND I WILL WRITE, LATER. For now I will direct your attention to a comrade in arms namely El Rata @ El Ñame. He has written a most illuminating article about Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián which is a MUST READ as far as I am concerned. Please leave comments about his article at his site. Now, in all its stark reality I present Las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián ALA RATA! Click here!

Update: Jan. 20,2008

As I stated before I had gone to the Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián to take in the activities first hand. I first examined the scene along Calle San Sebastián as I went to El Cuartel de Ballajá. It was obvious that a number of artist did not attend this years street fair. Many artist who participated in this fair in previous years were absent. What the actual cause of this was not clear and since they were not around I had no way of answering this question. No doubt the economy and bureaucracy had something to do with it. This question could have easily been answered by a friend of mine who attend this fair yearly but he too was unavailable. I also noticed right away that there were many signs hanging from balconies protesting the 99 Resolution against same sex unions. There was a report about this protest ( in El Nuevo Dia ) where Rafael Ruiz from the committee No A LA 99 stated that there were at least 30 neighbors in San Juan who had shown their support by hanging these signs from their balconies. Many of the signs read: “Seamos libres para amar” ( Lets be free to Love ). Public hearings are scheduled for this coming Friday regarding this resolution at la Comisión cameral de lo Jurídico y Seguridad Pública which will continue the following week.As I continued along Calle San Sebastián I could hear a radio commentator talking to people about some articles that were published by El Nuevo Dia which have come under fire by some groups. I have been noticing that Elver Dugo Taims at http://myweb.ecomplanet.com/ has been writing about this issue so I will simply direct the reader to his site.As has always been the case, many of the food and drink merchants found at the fair were over-pricing their food and drinks. I noted some of the prices and was shocked that the public would pay these exorbitant amounts. Pinchos were selling from $4.50 to $5.00 ea., bacalaitos went for $3.00, sodas and water went for $2.00 ea. Beers started at $2.00 and up depending on the brand and mixed drinks were higher yet. For comparisons sake you can usually get a pinchos for $1.00-$1.50, bacalaitos around $1.00, sodas go from $.80 – $1.00 and beer is about $1.00 a can depending on where you buy it. Oddly the Tripleta ( a favorite on the island ) was selling at its usual price of $5.00. I didn’t bother checking on the plate dishes such as piononos and fried chicken as I knew these would be much higher. Let us not forget the infamous IVU. Many of the food vendors made a point of showing their prices with the IVU but like many people commented they wondered how much if any of it would make its way to the government coffers!
When I got to el Cuartel de Ballajá I noticed that there were not as many people though this would change as the day went on. Many of the first complaints I heard from the artist/artisans was that bathrooms were not made available to them as in previous years, neither was water available for their use which some use for their work and to drink. This was an outrage as the artist/artisans were forced to go outside to the portable units. In past years Ballajá had permitted the artist/artisans to use their restrooms on the first floor.
Another thing that I noticed right away was that the artisans ( not the artist ) had certificates that they had to display in front of their tables that were issued by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture along with ID that the artisans had to wear. I will admit that the Institute did provide the tables and table cloths for the artisans, which raised the question as to why? All of this was obviously planned well in advance of the event as each certificate had the artisans name and category of work printed on it and the ID’s had photos of the artisans.
Sales were dismal to say the least. There were a few who did manage to rack-up on sales but these were few and for the most part most of the participating artist/artisans complained that sales were not good. Some sales did pick up later but for the most part they were nothing like what they were in years past. A number of artist were missing and I strongly suspect that like me they did not think the effort and expenditure was worth it. Such a fair requires a substantial cash layout for frames, materials, racks etc., etc., not to mention the physical and mental stress of such an event. You have to bear in mind that many of the participants are coming from all parts of the island and many have to make arrangements to stay in San Juan or the neighboring communities in order to cut down on nightly traveling.
Another change that I noticed was that the south sidewalk of Ballajá was allocated to artisans under tents. This was new as this area was always set aside for a long row of portable sanitary units. No doubt this was done to accommodate the ever increasing amount of artisans.
As is always the case many government officials and celebrities made their way to the fair. Santini made an appearance with a number of musicians and one or two senators and representatives were around though I only saw two.
There were many entertainers at the main stage in front of the Totem with Ricky Martin being the main attraction the night before to kick off the event.
Up to the time I was there no confrontations with the police were reported as in previous years where there had been such confrontations. There were no over-zealous totem climbers this year.
The streets themselves were a continuing, spontaneous eruption of music dancing and merriment.
The last thing that I witnessed was the transportation issue. The Tren Urbano had arranged to sell tickets for the 4 day event for $5.00 and bus service was provided from Sagrado Corazon straight to the Fiestas and back. However I did notice that there was a cut-back in the usual bus transportation to other parts. If you had to go to other parts such as Santurce, Carolina and other regions you were basically stuck. I know because I had to make my way back to Bayamon before 5 p.m. and it didn’t happen. I ended up staying in San Juan at a friends apartment when I saw I would not get out of San Juan. It was odd that only the bus service for the Tren Urbano was the only real public transportation working with any frequency and they had many buses coming and going every few minutes. I wonder what was the reason for this lack of service to other regions. Another individual who was also waiting for a bus pointed out the fact that the majority of the passengers on these special service buses were white and no doubt from the upscale Guaynabo urbanization that are home for the many lawyers, doctors, architects, engineers and other professionals. I must admit that I had to agree with this observation.
Well, there is one more day of festivities before it all ends for another year. I will try to return and check out the closing events.
El Bohemio

Update: Jan.21, 2008

Due to rain I was unable to get out of my Hobbit hole on the island but I got news of the end of the fair. It would seem that the people in charge of cleaning at Ballajá were more interested in the Tito Trinidad fight that was scheduled to be aired than in their jobs the result being that there was a smell that permeated the air in Ballajá of urine and excrement. Anyone that needed to use the bathrooms had to go out to the portable sanitary units that were no better off.

From the news that I got the sales were dismal as I had said earlier. I have no doubt that many artist will think twice before returning to this event next year. I doubt that many of the artist even made back what they spent in the usual expenses for this event.

The governor made an appearance at Ballajá with his wife about mid afternoon though in all frankness there is not much to write about here.

Fortunately there were no violent outbreaks as in other years, at least not at the fiestas.

All said the fair was not a success for the artist/artisans as in the days of old. Many complained of the lack of sales and the lack of sanitary services I had mentioned earlier.

Well las Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastián 2008 is now history for better or worse. If the Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueño plans on continuing this fair they are going to have to make a number of improvements regarding the way they treat the islands talent. They will have to bear in mind if it were not for the artist/artisans there would be no fair! As El Rata @ El Ñame put it, ” San Sebastián would be rolling over in his grave ” knowing what this fair has become in his name sake.

As for all the Bohemians and Bohemians at heart the videos have finally begun showing up at Youtube so here are the first few:

Ricky Martin – Fiestas Calle San Sebastian (01/17/08) – PR

Fiestas de la Calle San Sebastian, Jueves 17, 2008

Fiestas Calle San Sebastian 2008

Feria de Cultura Urbana: Surtido visual...de la UPR a Río Piedras

Diana Soto De Jesús — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 21:38:54 +0000

Graffiti en la estación de la UPR

En la estación de Río Piedras…el desnudo de la mujer sentada está pintado sobre un escrín

Esculturas, caricaturas y algo más…

interactuando….

fotos por: Diana Soto De Jesús

Del Congelador al Horno, Ida y Vuelta

Luis Daniel Beltran — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 02:46:00 +0000

¡Hola, mi gente!

Y seguramente pensarán que los estoy dejando a ustedes en el olvido, o algo así. La realidad es que estoy muy bien de mi salud, ansioso por poder disfrutar de mis vacaciones. De hecho, en el día y a la hora en que escribo esto, se suponía que yo estuviera en Connecticut visitando a mis familiares de allá. Lamentablemente, causas de fuerza mayor me obligaron a demorar mis planes por un par de semanas. Pero total, como dice mi padre, “el hombre propone y Dios dispone”…

Empiezo por decir que los pasados días han sido una comedia de errores, causada por un desperfecto (¿uno sólo?) en el sistema de enfriamiento de mi lugar de trabajo. Todo comenzó cuando la semana atrasada, mientras me recuperaba de la gripe de la que escribí en mi mensaje anterior, la temperatura de las áreas de trabajo descendió hasta posiblemente por debajo de los 60°F (15.6[15,6]°C). Excelente contrapunto para una ciudad como San Juan, en la que la temperatura máxima diurna de esa semana excedía los 90°F (32.2[32,2]°C). Tanto llegó a bajar la temperatura, que ya yo estaba haciendo planes para usar ropa de invierno como la que se usa en los Estados Unidos… o hasta tratar de conseguirme unos esquíes, porque lo que faltaba entonces era que cayese nieve…

Pero mejor estuvo lo que sucedió después: Al siguiente día de descender la temperatura de nuestras oficinas, empezó el desperfecto en el sistema, que provocó que no se sintiese el aire acondicionado, ni aunque imagináramos que estuviese funcionando. Y demás está decir lo que eso significa: horas de trabajo perdido, tiempo que pudiendose usar productivamente hay que desperdiciar por ejemplo, dando un viaje de ida y vuelta por todo San Juan en el Tren Urbano, o como decía un compañero en uno de los ascensores, yendo a Plaza (Las Américas) “a ver a los viejitos caminar”…

Y lo peor de todo es que ésa no es una avería que se arregle de la noche a la mañana. Pero así son las cosas cuando se trata de manejar sistemas complejos. ¡Qué se va a hacer!

Mientras tanto, voy a aprovechar de una vez para lo siguiente: Una de las personas con quien me comunico regularmente por email me envió en estos pasados días un enlace a una colección de imágenes radicada en Flickr.com, las cuales ilustran varios aspectos de la vida de Puerto Rico a mediados de la década de 1940. Las fotos (yo creo que prácticamente todas) son a color, que me imagino que no sería tan barato como es hoy en día ir a la farmacia y comprar un rollo de película de 35mm… digo, ya que todavía a comienzos del Siglo 21 hay quienes usamos cámara de película, ¿OK? Pero francamente, y volviendo al tema, he visto algunas de esas fotos y mi impresión es que de allá para acá hay muchas cosas que han cambiado en la vida del puertorriqueño… ¡y otras que no necesariamente lo han hecho! En todo caso, me parece que estas fotos son como una ventana que nos permite vernos a nosotros mismos, como éramos en un tiempo no muy lejano…

Enigüei, éste es el enlace a las fotos a las que me refiero: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tlehman/sets/72157600023901288/

Por último, deseo anunciarles que ya que “estoy atrás y no avanzo”, decidí ponerme más o menos al día y abrir un espacio en MySpace.com… (“¡¿Que qué?!” se estarán preguntando.) Pues sí, abrí un espacio en MySpace para tratar de hacer nuevas amistades. Ya les conatré cómo me resulta. Enigüei, voy a colocar la dirección de mi nueva página en este mensaje y en la columna de la derecha de la página del blog, y es como sigue: http://www.myspace.com/ludan1958pr. Espero que me puedan visitar allí, ¿OK? (Y por cierto, acabo de colocar allí varias de mis fotos del sitio ‘web’, más una foto que tomé hace un par de semanas cerca del área de Punta Tuna, en Maunabo; espero que las mismas les gusten. Y allí también tengo un blog… ¡qué bien!)

Y ahora sí… ¡vamos a dejarlo ahí! Cuídense mucho y pórtense bien. Bye!

LDB

Los Portones de la Discordia

Luis Daniel Beltran — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 09:27:00 +0000

Hola, mi gente. ¡Vamos a lo que vinimos!

Hay veces en las que me levanto por un momento de mi escritorio, salgo de mi oficina por unos minutos, y me detengo a contemplar el panorama. Claro, ahora lo que tengo para mirar desde donde trabajo es un paisaje interrumpido por la vía del Tren Urbano de San Juan, pasando a desnivel sobre los terrenos de la Estación Experimental Agrícola de la UPR (específicamente, la instalación conocida como la “Planta Piloto de Ron”), seguido por edificios, parques recreativos, urbanizaciones, cementerios… ¡uy, qué deprimente! Para colmo, el mar que solía calmar mis estados de ánimo en la antigua ubicación de mi oficina está ahora más lejos… Pero bueno, todo sea para mejorar…

La cosa es que en algunas de esas ocasiones me pongo a pensar si el tipo de trabajo que yo hago vale la pena. Si alguina vez se aceptan las recomendaciones que yo hago, basándome en argumentos técnicos sólidos que arrojen luz sobre las consecuencias ambientales que podrían resultar de llevar a cabo un desarrollo propuesto o de utilizar incorrectamente uno de nuestros recursos naturales. Si alguna vez se ponderan, se sopesan cuidadosamente y se incorporan a las acciones que impliquen hacer política pública ambiental en Puerto Rico. Entonces me doy cuenta que no siempre ése parece ser el caso. Y lo peor de todo es que a veces, se toman decisiones sin que necesariamente se consideren las consecuencias de éstas sobre aquellos seres humanos que se verán afectados, de una u otra manera. Y a veces esas consecuencias son preocupantes.

Ejemplo de esto último fue lo que presencié la semana pasada, pero para lo cual hubo un antecedente. Sucede que en uno de los sectores pudientes del área metropolitana de San Juan—conocido como Ocean Park, en las cercanías del aeropuerto internacional Muñoz-Marín—alguien (presuntamente, residentes del sector) colocó una o varias verjas para controlar el acceso a las playas, especialmente en horas de la noche. La premisa de la que me imagino que parten quienes hicieron esta acción es la de ponerle un alto a la ola delictiva provocada (supuestamente) por residentes de un cercano complejo de vivienda pública. Hasta ahí, todo bien.

Pero el problema es que esa acción no le cayó bien a un grupo de interés ambiental, el cual considera que mediante esa acción, los residentes de ese sector están privando al pueblo de su derecho a acceder a las playas afectadas. Para ello, dicho grupo de interés invoca el hecho de que desde tiempos de España (más exactamente, desde la Ley de Puertos de 1886, según implantada en Puerto Rico), se le confiere a las playas de Puerto Rico un carácter público, es decir, que son de todos nosotros en general y de ninguno de nosotros en particular. (Y que conste que ésa es una de las disposiciones de ley que tiene mucha influencia en el tipo de trabajo ambiental en el que me desempeño.)

Así las cosas, dicho grupo de interés ambiental, ante lo que consideró como un atropello, se dirigió a la zona playera de Ocean Park a derribar los susodichos portones, con sierras y otras herramientas. De más está decir que lo sucedido fue intenso, con forcejeos, gritos, empujones, etc. Al final, por lo menos uno de los portones fue derribado… ¡pero el destino de ese portón no terminó ahí!

Y es así como en mi hora de almuerzo, mientras me asomo a la calle para tratar de poner mis pensamientos en alguna semblanza de orden, observo cómo el mismo grupo de interés ambiental que minutos antes había derribado el portón ofensor, trasladó el mismo al nuevo Edificio de Agencias Ambientales de Puerto Rico, y luego de arengar por varios minutos, se dispusieron (en una acción que a mi modo personal de ver, más fue una acción de vandalismo contra la propiedad pública) a empotrar el portón derribado sobre una de las varandas de dicho edificio… Y todo ello, ¡para exhibirse como si hubieran tenido una caza exitosa y tuvieran una presa para ufanarse!

Al observar todo lo que acontecía, pensaba si no era que estaba teniendo una pesadilla, o si lo que estaba viendo era un grupo envalentonado por causa de una mala decisión. Y si así era, ¿qué sería lo próximo? ¿Que para reparar un agravio, aquel sector de nuestro pueblo que se vea afectado tenga que recurrir a la violencia? ¿Que cada vez que alguien en el gobierno tome una decisión sin medir consecuencias, tenga que venir una muchedumbre con mentalidad de “guapetón de barrio” a reclamar responsabilidades?

Esto sí que no le hace ningún bien a nadie. ¡ABSOLUTAMENTE A NADIE!

OK, ya me desahogué un poco. Vamos a otra cosa…

ESTA SEMANA (12–18 DE FEBRERO DE 2007): ASÍ CERRAMOS LA PÁGINA DE ENERO: Conozca cuáles son los distintos tipos de suegra… Cómo cambiar un foco (o sea, una bombilla) según su signo zodiacal… Ahora resulta que el pie derecho es más inteligente de lo que creíamos… Y… Lo último en la autopista informática: ¡Poemas haiku para los usuarios del sistema Windows! Y ECHAMOS PA’LANTE CON FEBRERO: Llega para imponer el orden y la justicia… el héroe… esteeeeeeeeee… ¿quién rayos es ese enmascarado?… Momentos de tensión en el aeropuerto de Londres por un exabrupto de la torre de control… Algo para pensar sobre por qué a las mujeres les gustan los gatos… Y… El relato de la Creación, no como usted y yo lo conocemos… ¡sino como pudo haber ocurrido!

Visite Sitio ‘Web’ de Luis Daniel Beltrán y oprima donde dice “Humor, según Luis Daniel Beltrán”.

¡Y vamos a dejar eso ahí! Cuídense mucho y pórtense bien. ¡Hasta la próxima, que será la número 200!

LDB