Thursday, November 5, 2009

Art in public spaces

I think that to begin, art have a very important challenge which is to take an important part in society; because it has, in my opinion the capacity to contribute, in a deep way, to the society's well-being. In that sense it has too, a lot of challenges concerning the technology, the social matters, and the education too, if we consider it like a social actor. Maybe that expression sounds very large but in my way to understand things, I refer principally to art in public spaces. I think that ART IN PUBLIC SPACES is the way to understand the art wich has more possibilities to irrupt in society. Because nowadays, the conditions of technology and communication ( the mass media culture) make that people are less interested by specific and hermetic art spaces like gallerys and museums. Today spaces are commons and virtuals. So I think art must go get the people to those news spaces. In that sense technology, is more an advantage that a challenge. Because most of the people is more often in front of their computer, that in front of a painting in a gallery. Technology can help to spread beauty and other points of view. And also to spread information about the art activities in other concrete spaces. (Because I'm not saying either that galleries should dissapear).
By the other hand social matters, and educatation wich is part of social matters, is such a challenge to art. I think art have a lot of potencial to help people in those ways but that quality it's not very use. I think that art should be include in scholl (plastics art, and theorie of art too) to recover and understand the value for things like creation, beauty, even spirituality. Because today all is face to pragmatic things, specially to money. In that sense art would help people to found their own word , wich is, nowadays (in that ephemeral word), the only space wich really belong us. And in that way help people to feel better about their existence.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

news sects

Really i don't know much about sects...I only know that it cames from the subdivision of religions. I think that today the meaning of the word "sect" it's much bigger because there's around the word so many strange groups, that turn around many things. In fact, I live in front a big square in metro Universidad Catolica and I always see a lot of things: the "Harry Potter Group", (some boys around 17 years old who dresses like Harry Potter and go around the park with they magic-wand doing I don't know what). There's an other group of swordsmans who practice the ancient thechnique of medieval fighting (that's original). And an other group, like a kind of POKEMON who gather to dance some freek dances like tectonic (a particular dance which came from Europe). Maybe people says that sects turn around something more mystical. But I think that nowadays ideologys, references and ideas changes every day so I think that maybe those groups, that can be considerated like more superficial, can be a sort of news sects, in a word that change the faith in a god on the faith in technology and mass culture. I think in that way people find sects appealing simply by the fact that they have their own secrets or a special or very specific way of see the word. Anybody imagines why those people are SO interested and sometimes obsessed about something like a manga or a computer game. The amazing thing is that people turn a aesthetics in a way of seen the word. And its depends how tolerant is that way of seing the word if the sect is dangerous or not for the society. If the ideology of the sect involve to reject and ATTACK other points of view it's a bad thing...

Thursday, October 8, 2009


I think that my faculty have a lot of problems in all the senses. In one hand there're so many administrations problems. There-s so much burocracy by the fact of beibg a "public university", and on top of that the administration system is a mess. And really, i don't know which is the heart of the matter. Thinking in the fact that the Universidad of Chile is an old university, it shouldn't have those problems. Maybe, this university was in old times, quite organised, but now in the present it has a few problems to adapt to news systems, like technology, virtualisation of the information, and specially the market system. The worst example is when, i don-t know how, your marks appears changed!!!That situation is so ridicoulus because Chile buy northamerican hardwares but those are not adapt to the real situations of the universiry, like internal flexibility...(internal irregularitys)

An other current situation is missing teachers...and that-s because they-re usually very good teachers, but in that sense they-re also writers or researchers, so they don-t have so many times to teach us, even if is their work (obligation). And because of the low salarys, the university don-t demand them.

On the other hand i think ther-re serious politic problems, because students usually don-t take part of the issues, but that is a country problem. I think that the most important is to improve the quality of education because learning to THINK, you can then realise the problems, and how important they are, so figth to improve the situation.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Chile confuse



I think that talk about identity is very important in this moment, because of the globalisation which is a phenomenon that transform the way we relate each other. Specially here in Chile, which is the most "developed" country in South America (in the sense of modernism). In fact, there's actually here in Chile, specially in Santiago an identity crisis demonstrate by a lot of statistical study: those studys confirm that most of Chilean people don't really know what makes them Chileans. In that sense, we can say that Chileans are confuse about their own identity. But there're in the paste of Chile, other factors that had influence in present-day Chilean behaviour. And that's obviously the "coup d'état" of 1973. Maybe, our generation don't realise the effects caused by this fact, because we were born when things was all ready done. A year ago, I did an investigation for the university about the culture in the  time of Pinochet. The truth is that is was quite shocked about the things I discovered. I realised that the lack of social cohesion was a direct consequence of the censure and repression that Chile suffered in those times. The military government cuted off the country by the fear . Fear of having others ideas than official military ideas. And i think that since those days fear still present in everybody. A fear of "the other", that makes us very isolated. The past , in combination whit the "globalisation" present reality make us very confuse. But, luckily there still are some things that connect each other like "las fiestas patrias" and also the football.

Thursday, September 24, 2009

Gringos in Santiago City


I think here in Santiago there’re many places and things to do…It only depends on the tourist style.
If I were a tourist host I would try to take him to original places that wouldn’t were in tourism leaflets (like La Moneda, El Mercado Central).
I think there’re some interesting places in the city of Santiago, which are not so specifics… they’re more like areas which are special because of their arquitecture, their lifestyle. Those places which have a special feel but you don’t know exactly why. One of those places is the Area of Barrio Brazil and barrio Yungay. Those are ones of the more ancient areas of Santiago City and I like them because of their old style “neighbourhood life”: there’re a lot of publics spaces, like squares (Plaza Yungay, Plaza Brazil), cultural houses, neighbourhood councils (junta de vecinos) who are very active cultural and politically. You can find too the typical old fashion popular housing which is the “conventillo”. But one special place is an old fashion French “hair dresser’s” which in the age of 60’ was very popular because it brought the avant-garde French hair-looking. Today the “hair-dressers” still serving the public, but the second floor is transformed to an excellent restaurant. So “La peluquería Francesa” (the restoran) surely would be the place to eat whit the visitors.
Just in front, but in the other side of La Alameda there’s the street Republica, where ther’re are a lot ok popular cultural places, like the OKUPAS, the Museo de la Solidaridad

Thursday, August 27, 2009

I'm going to focus on the subway of Transantiago's Progarm because it is a big problem in general.
In my opinion, the "transantiago problem" includes two factors: users or citizens, and authorities. Because in our system, unfortunately, those are the only two roles existing. In that way, I think that the basic problem is the fact that people don't have conscience about their own rigths. Or maybe, if we go deeper, people don't have the energy for figth for their rigths because they are tired from work and sleep from the TV. And on the other hand, there`re powerfull people who're working for those people to forget their rigths. When i travel by subway, i hate people, because they don't do another thing that complain, every single day, but they do nothing to change the situation. Besides, because of the extreme situation that the subway represents, people often repeat the same authorities selfishness, when they don't cooperate with the other passengers ( moving to the back when new people get in the train). I think that now the subway situation is much more deshumanize than before. People are seen like animals, and because of that they get more and more selfish. So it's a "catch twenty-two" that goes worse and worse. Maybe the "micros" of Transantiago are more secure and more confortable, but the subway is a shame. I can't understand the fact that authorities can't implement more wagons, or something like that. And i can't understand why people do nothing. The other day I listen to some gringos in the subway who didn't understand why people support that.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

DOG'S RIGTHS


I'm going to talk about animal's rigths in Chile, specifically, dog's rigths. That because i saw in the news about one month ago a report about a new law wich "authoritys" (what a word!) want to found in Valparaíso. As you probably know, every year there's in Valparaiso, public's demonstrations (manifestaciones) to avoid the massive murderer of street dogs all around the port. Like in Santiago, dogs are considerate a dirty plague wich attent against hygiene and public healthiness, fact that we can't denied; however, we don't have the rigth, in my opinion, to start an animal genocide just because of the hygiene. Because that would be too hypocrite: my question to the authoritys is why do you have to make a dog genocide instead of stop the promoting of cigarettes (only one example in many others). Dogs don't have to pay our hypocrisy. I'm not saying that dog plague isn't a real problem, but i think that we have to found other solutions. But finally i'll tell you about that new that i saw last month and wich is directly related to this world: "hypocrisy". After people won the rigth to stop dogs killing, authoritys had the brilliant idea to fine (multar) people who feet dogs in the street. Obvously that is an other kind of murdering!!! I hope people don't accept it...

Monday, June 22, 2009



This is such an exciting topic!! (sorry for being ironic)

I just can't understand how they pretend me to talk so much about my "blogging experience".

But i'll make an effort:

The truth is that i 've never had a blog before. Neither a fotolog, a myspace, a flickr, a facebook etc...I've never understood the "virtual social life". I think i have a probblem with virtual life in general. I always prefer go for a walk, or see some friends that staying at home in front of the computer. A reason wich maybe can explain that, is the fact that in my house there's only one computer and my mother work in house, obvously in the computer. In fact, just now i have to get worried: my mum give me only thirty minutes for use the computer!!

In the english classes context, i think that blogging is a good option. Maybe if is not really my style, i think that we have to take advantages of virtual tools, and beginning to combine education and technology. Trying new supports open new ways for creativity. I think that the blogs make us feel that we have an own space. And that give us more flexibility, and more posibilities to express us, to talk about we really want to talk. I thing the blogging experience give me some fresh air...

Monday, June 15, 2009

who knows...


If things going well, I´ll finish that career next year. Then I’m going to study dance, maybe in "Espiral". The dance career is five years long. The idea to study six more years of my life bore me, but fortunately I’m just twenty. Besides, I’m shure that I’ll be every day happy when I study dance. In vacactions, I’ll travel somewhere, maybe to Cuba or Brazil, to keep studiyng African dances, then I could give classes of africain dance, maybe for a more demanding public. I could make some money to living independly (or with a partner), or even to travel. I want to travel to Paris too, I think that in my life I’ll live a few years there or I’ll travel a lot to there because is my second country, the place where I was born. All that is a little idea of the future, the future that I imagine with those eyes that I got today. But really, I think that things would be quite different. Untill today my experience says me that life is more surprising that we think I don’t know how and I don’t know when, but one thing that I’m shure is that I’ll going to Africa someday.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Danza dentro del Globo


(The title of this posting is just to pay your atention)

My favourite subject this semester is “Danza Moderna”. In fact, it’s not an official subject of my career but I made some moves and now it counts as a C.F.G (curso de formación general). I love it, because I can dance and at the same time I can make credits for my career. The subject is obviously a subject of the Dancing career so I take it in the dance faculty of my university.
More specifically the subject is “Leder Technique” a derivative of Modern dance which comes from the German expressionism. It’s why because its focus in the expressive aspects but without forgetting the academic technique (the technique based on the oldest traditional conception of dancing: ballet). In other words, it’s an evolution of Ballet but giving more space to the real body expression, free of many formalities of traditional dance. The objective is to join movements with the breeding and with the feelings caused by those movements. This semester i learned some principal characteristics of this technique are: “using the space”, the contrast between tension and distension, fast and slow…
The teacher is Angélica Seguel, a very good teacher.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Pina Bausch


I´m going to considerate dancing like "my field".

In that context a person who i strongly admire is Pina Bausch. A german dancer and choreographer who is the creator of the "dancing-theater" concept. She´s considerate crucial in the vanguard of contemporain dance by her creation full of essential images.

She has a determinated methodology: her and her company the "Tanztheater" travel all over the word for living one month or two in special places. ( Some years ago she went to chile with her company and lived one month in Chiloe, and one month in the desert of Atacama). Then she create a choreography inspired on the essence of the places. She works on developping forms, by movement or even by theater, wich could express the particular ways of life of the particular place. In the body language of her dancers there´s a research into the profounds human feelings, and its relation with the environment. I really love the work of art of Pina Bausch. Her creations are very abstracts and very expressives at the same time. You can see in a kind of way the essence on it.

I think my best friend is a girl call Besna Brzovitch. (Her name has a Croatian origin)
I met her in a party of some friends, wich i met by some others friends, wich i met by some others friends...It was five years ago and i was in my second to last year at school. I remeber that when i talked to her to the first time i realized that she was a very close person to me. I think that the things we have in common are to profunds to describe with simple words, i only can say that we understand eachother. But in a superficial way we are quite different. I thing she's a person more relaxed than me, or even more "simple" (in a positie way) in the sense of living her life without getting complicated. In my case, sometimes when i have a problem, i attach too much importance to it. She often teach me to be less eager (ansiosa). i give it too much asking so many questions...
A thing what we do together, or more precisely a thing that we share is passion for dancing.
Two summers ago we went to Bolivia together. I remeber that there, in "la isla del sol", i shave her...

Monday, May 4, 2009

MY BICYCLE


Mi favorite piece of tecnologie is my bicycle. I love her and she is my best friend.

I get her four years ago. It was an heritage from my aunt, so you can suppose that she is very old . She's very beatiful. She's green and very fine and have a horn like a little trompet which is very noisy. I often scear people on the street with it, but finally they laft because it sounds very funny, like a clown's nose.

She's like a princess, very delicate, and often have problems with the agressif ground of Santiago

She has a long "pedaling life" and knows a lot of bums. I think she is about thirty years. Much older than myself! For that reason i have a lot of respect for her. I think she's very sage.

I use my bycicle almost every day. She's my daily transport.

But she's more than a way to save money and to make some exersise.

Her mechanic fonctionning make me feel that she's an extension of my body.

She is a symbol of my self freedom and independence.

I think cycling is a philosophy and a way of life, without her my relation with the city and the space in general would be different.

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

"EL ARTE Y CHILE"


I think this could be the third time that i answer this question....
I DONT KNOW why i study this carrer...
I have a funny relationship with it: as more i learn about the theorie of arts more i am in desagree with a lot of things. But there still are some thinkers which have original ways of refering of arts. I prefer the area of "gestion cultural". I think it gives you more possibilities to contribute to society. A person who works in culture has the objective of opening spaces to art and culture in the society. And to teach people how important is the culture in the developpement of self-identity. Here in Chile there's a lot of work to do (you can look at the photo). But that doesn't mean that i'll find a job easily. Another thing that i like is "art in public's spaces". I enjoy making "interventions" in the street. And finally i had decide to study dance

Monday, April 20, 2009

A few years ago i went with my mother to Andacollo. It's an altiplanic little town lost into the northern mountains of the region of Coquimbo. I went there because this little town is the santuary of "La Virgen de Andacollo", wich is one of the most important madonnas in Chile. She represents the culture's mixture between the catholic religion of the colonialism and popular northern myths. Two times a year there's in Andacollo two religious partys, the big one and the small one. The "Carnaval de Andacollo" is the bigger religious party in Chile after El carnaval de La Tirana. So you can imagine all this cultural richness concentrated in this little place that is deserted the most of the time. When the party time arrives all that peace is transformed into a crazy place full of people wearing funny suits and dancing repetitives dances...

Sunday, April 19, 2009

Hello everybody

My name is valentina and i'm twenty years old. I'd never have a blog before and this is so exiting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I hope this blog would help me to learn more english and to share with all my classmates interesting and funny things!!



OBAMA-BAMA-BAMA!!
OBAMA-BAMA-BAMA!! (como dice mi tia gringa)
hola me doy la bienvenida a mi blog