Gus In The Real Life

As a foreigner I always found fascination and oddity to certain aspects of the… let’s say “redneck” American culture, the common folk that are common in the vast majority; one of those doubts that I always had was why so many “white” Americans hate immigrants? It’s a complex question if analyzed from different point of view but I can make a small synopsis about the why with two points: The first one is fear and the second is xenophobia but there is a point about these “white” Americans and ther xenophobia that got my attention “their hate on Mexicans” for some of these “rednecks” being called a Mexican is an insult up to the point they start replying back aggressively that they are not Mexicans but “white” or if you call another Hispanic whose heritage don’t have anything to do with the Mexican culture they take that as an serious insult and say that they are let’s say Cubans but not Mexicans because for these ignorant people being called a Mexican is a synonym of being scum; again from a previous note I wrote a couple of days ago toward a personal experience I found that tolerance can be just an empty word much of the time it’s spoken. I don’t understand the stereotype because in older environment there was a little more of tolerance that the one I have found in the past few months; I guess I can relate to many immigrants because myself I am discriminated by many of my co-workers every single day and I understand much of the grief of my forefathers but I do my best to avoid being upset from what I see from a dominant stereotype “the white trash” that I have to deal every single day. My co-workers speak trash about me, I know that because I hear them and I don’t believe of much of them when they say something really nice. Probably the stereotype that I found is that many “average” Americans are scare of immigrants because they make them realize how unprepared they are in their home land and how a group of foreigners are working really hard to keep alive and fulfill their American Dreams I know that by first hand because every single day I wake up with my best mood ready to fight because even if I’m fighting for my American Dream someday I will eat the fruits of my hard work.

Caracas right now is a city that it’s impossible to govern because the different ideologies of the officials made it impossible; every weak and every month the duality of political thought in Venezuela it’s turning worse because it’s impossible to find a middle point between the Chavez Socialism and the opposition who are seeking Democracy.

Jose Carrasquero a political analyst of the AFP said that every municipality is going separate ways without a mediator in the way to put all the parties together in the same room. The problems that goes from the streets infrastructure, the basic service of living, the control over the communications and the political guerrilla make the city a terrible place to live for the five million of people and much of them can’t do nothing without suffering the consequences of the totalitarian Government.

The division it’s quite complex because the largest municipality Libertador is governed by a Mayor who is sympathizer of Hugo Chavez but the other 4 municipalities (Sucre, Chacao, Baruta and El Haitillo) are run by the opposition; a situation that creates an invisible wall between the city limits. So far the biggest rival of Chavez in the city; the metropolitan mayor Antonio Ledezma has found many inconveniences that hasn’t let him to fulfill his program because the National Government cut much of his funds to the point that there aren’t any advances in his politics.

But stepping out of the Ledezma business the mayor problem of the city is that the population don’t have a clue about the politics of the government or the functions of their officials, and there is no security coming from the Police because the Interior Ministry took the control of the Police basically making Chavez the leader of his own personal guerrilla.

Probably I grew up with people of another times but maybe after watching the POV about sex of many teenagers made me wonder about that not many people have decency to keep their personal matters in the bedroom and not telling people the way they fuck or what his/her lover is in bed, those are issues that nobody wants to hear but maybe teenagers and some young adults in general don’t have a sense of privacy at all. Where are the parents or role model of these people that could generate a positive impact regarding the social attitudes of sex? I don’t know but it made sometimes crazy listening to the so called sexscapade of a 16 year old who biggest achievement in life is to think that he is the best and the rest are scum, or a group of 16 to 19 year old that they are going to a strip bar (yeah big deal, wasting my money, the same money that I have to work hard and give it on a bunch of strippers? Gimme a break, after spending a couple of years of my life knowing that I wasn’t going to eat dinner at night because I didn’t had money and my family didn’t had either I’m not going to be so stupid enough to give my money to any stripper or someone who’s way of earning it is by acting like a slut or hustler) and they brag that they are players, hell no at 16 or 19 and you haven’t lived enough to know what you will want later in life.

So youth in general are acting like if they are Casanovas? It’s just annoying watching because you don’t have any other way to look some people who are younger than me by ten years that they are the best lovers in the world? Common that’s a big exaggeration to put yourself as the alpha male or female because you don’t have any other tools to get respect of your peers, you don’t have any education manners or respect toward other people so you have to brag about the size of your wang or if you like it vaginal or anal. It’s annoying really annoying because there’s a lot of exaggerations that you as an adult have to go deaf to not hear at all. Maybe it’s false that many young people have a casual attitude toward sex, they don’t have it because they don’t know how to shut their muts up and they speak any random thought that they have in mind, maybe it’s true because their parents or paternal figures didn’t and don’t give a damn about the psychological development of their kids.

Peace out.

 As a foreigner and journalist I’m always intrigued by the behavior of people, letters and traditions. One tradition that I always found interesting is Thanksgiving because of the different aspects that goes from the historical, to the psychological and to the contemporary traditions and values of the “evolving” world. It seems that many families enjoy the time together, that parents try to pass the tradition to their children of having a meal one time of the year to be grateful and have a good time with close friends and family.

Maybe the festivity itself has turned into a more religious holiday than it was before because you know the history of Thanksgiving and the relation to the lost of the land of the aborigines, it’s quite complex if you analyze it through different factors that go beyond any meaning and imagery that were teach in school or through a sutler paternal speech about Thanksgiving is a day to be thankful to God. It amuse me a lot this specific day of the year because it has evolved so much over the centuries that it’s a basically a new secular festivity that has an interesting history but at the end right now it’s be thankful (even if you are an Atheist or not religious) that even in the worse scenarios there are people that are willing to be with you and help you or maybe having good health? Who knows as it can have different meanings at the end, so what I’m grateful for? Let’s say I am happy just to be me.

This is the only photo of the first Gay Pride organized in Cartagena or at his called The Pride of Sexual Diversity because it was stirring some bad moods around the conservative society; close sources tell me that the pride was going to have a big tram but it was cut short because the Government was scared that some fanatics could react wrong to the parade so they send the new course to a more safest path to avoid any inconvenience. Cartageneros in general reacted negatively toward this event calling it an abomination and “those people” shouldn’t be marching because they are bad a example for anyone; maybe it was soon to a conservative society who see anything beyond their walls as danger to their beliefs and social system but at least it was a triumph for social liberties and self expression.

It’s been a while since I left Cartagena de Indias and I have to admit that if this is true it’s just quite incredible; so there is a new form of assault during the Independence Celebration week, the burglars or as like they called “celebrators” are threatening anyone who don’t give them money with oil and water. If it’s true it’s a shame that the festivities that once were popular due the colorings and music in every street are now an excuse for any kind of behavior. 

Dang it Walmart you want to be worse than Microsoft and Megan Fox together and still even if people accepts you they don’t want to go to any of your stores, beside of the rudeness of the employees and the impossibility of finding the products in the store now Walmart launch another war against Amazon and Target in pre-order DVDs that made the two competitors to scramble their prices to even match with Walmart.

What a shame Walmart, whose next the world? Za Warudo! One of the fights came with the new Star Trek movie where Walmart reduced the price so much that technically is free to get it, hey I will be going tomorrow or maybe later to buy it!.

Is this a way to promote one of the cities that is Patrimony of the humankind? No is not and when tourist go to Cartagena one of the most beautiful cities in the world no wonder why sometimes they feel deception. The photo was taken in La Cordialidad.

El mundo tiene que apostar de manera privada y estatal a la inversión cultural porque allí se encuentra una de las salidas a la actual crisis económica.Así se reafirmó en Cartagena el poder político que tiene la cultura para encarar las crisis económicas.
Voceros de las Naciones Unidas, del Banco Mundial, académicos y líderes del sector cultural a nivel nacional e internacional, señalaron que una de las soluciones más eficaces ante la crisis actual de la economía mundial se encuentra en la consolidación de las industrias creativas.
Se habló de economía creativa por parte de Edna Dos Santos-Duisenberg, directora del Programa de Economía Creativa de Naciones Unidas. Según ella, “es un concepto en desarrollo, que une la economía con aspectos culturales y sociales, en interacción con la tecnología y el turismo, genera ingresos, crea empleo, se puede exportar, promueve la inclusión social, la diversidad cultural y el desarrollo humano”.
La visión universal y puntual del pensador francés Edgar Morin, al clausurar el Seminario Internacional “El sector cultural hoy: oportunidades, desafíos y respuestas”, fue ratificar el poder político de la cultura ante las encrucijadas del mundo contemporáneo.
“En el siglo XXI la cultura será lo que fue el carbón para Europa y Norteamérica en el siglo XX”, dijo Antonio Nicolau, director del área de cultura de la Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo- AECID.
“La cultura es la fuerza creativa y competitiva del desarrollo económico y a la vez un poderoso factor de cohesión social y de consolidación de identidad para nuestros pueblos”, dijo la ministra de Cultura Paula Marcela Moreno.
Edna Dos Santos-Duisenberg dijo que esta nueva realidad está modificando la manera en que los gobiernos organizan sus presupuestos y ha permitido incrementar en el mundo la apuesta estatal y privada hacia la inversión cultural.
La ministra Moreno afirmó que “a pesar de que siempre ha existido una tensión natural en la discusión sobre cultura y desarrollo económico, debido a un límite muy sutil entre las lógicas de mercado y las expresiones ancestrales, que cuando se franquean indebidamente producen incomprensiones y conflictos, es importante entender que sólo algo tan poderoso como la cultura, que canaliza maneras de ser y de pensar, que refleja elementos de la identidad cultural de una comunidad y que transmite sensibilidades y forma criterios religiosos, políticos y corrientes de pensamiento, debe hacer parte de las estrategias sociopolíticas y económicas de un Estado”.

La cultura es rentable

En Colombia, según un estudio realizado por la Organización Mundial para la Propiedad Intelectual (OMPI), en 2005 las industrias culturales generaron más de 1 millón de empleos directos, facturaron exportaciones por 2.000 millones de dólares e importaciones por 4.000 millones de dólares.
En 2003, según el Banco Mundial, las industrias culturales registraron una participación del 7% en el PIB del planeta y se predice que crecerán, en promedio, un 10% anual.
De acuerdo con datos de la Unesco, el crecimiento de este sector en dólares fue del 300%, entre 1980 y 1998.
En Estados Unidos, las industrias culturales son el segundo sector exportador; en Inglaterra, representan el 6% del empleo.
Según Sandra Gibson, directora de la Asociación de Promotores de las Artes Escénicas de Estados Unidos, “a pesar de haberse sentido con fuerza la crisis económica, los estadounidenses invierten ahora más en industrias creativas que en tiempos de tranquilidad. El gasto en cine, compra de libros y regalos de discos se ha incrementado y esta situación ha estimulado a la gente a sobrellevar los momentos de dificultad. La gente necesita un escape y la respuesta está en las industrias culturales, que gracias a este fenómeno han aumentado su demanda en los últimos meses”.
Para el alemán Michael Hutter, director cultural de la Unidad de Investigación en Fuentes Culturales Novedosas de Alemania, el gran desafío está en la innovación.

Un total de 29 radios venezolanas saldrán del aire próximamente por “irregularidades” en el uso de su concesión, informaron responsables del gobierno de Hugo Chávez, un mes después del cierre de 32 emisoras, hecho que generó un gran rechazo dentro y fuera del país.El anuncio, realizado por el responsable de la Comisión Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (Conatel), Diosdado Cabello, provocó el rechazo inmediato de representantes del gremio periodístico.
“No es ninguna sorpresa. Pero no se debería subestimar la capacidad de la gente para indignarse. Creemos que la presión popular, pacífica y constitucional, y la presión internacional pueden hacer que el gobierno recapacite”, declaró a la AFP Alonso Moleiro, vicepresidente del Colegio Nacional de Periodistas (CNP). En julio, Conatel realizó un censo de las emisoras de radio y según el ente público, un total de 240 radios y 45 televisoras no cumplieron los requisitos necesarios. Un mes después, 32 emisoras y dos televisiones regionales fueron sacadas del aire.
El cierre anunciado de otras 29 emisoras significa que “el proceso sigue adelante”.
“Hay 29 emisoras, ya están revisados los expedientes y están en la misma situación de las anteriores. En los próximos días serán notificadas”, recalcó Cabello este lunes.
“No nos van a intimidar. Estamos decididos a cumplir con nuestro trabajo y aplicar la ley. íCómo les duele que las leyes sean iguales para todos! Pero nadie es intocable”, agregó.