recomendaciones de libros: Colombia

Law in a Lawless Land by Michael Taussig.

It starts off in diary form, and explores the daily life of Colombians caught up in paramilitary territory. Though some background in Colombian history and politics certainly helps, its a good way to get at the daily lives of those caught between guerillas, paras, drug trafficking, and Colombian government officials. 

The second half of the book is where it gets good though. Taussig starts to question what it means to be writing a diary and at times self-consciously delves 

into magical realism inspired writing. Its interesting in both content and form, and I'm always a fan of ethnographic writing that challenges the boundaries of academia.

Loyal Soldiers of the Cocaine Kingdom by Alfredo Molano

Admittedly, I haven't actually finished this one yet, but the first half has been surprisingly refreshing. I expected a somewhat dry account of cocaine trafficking in Colombia, but this is a rich, character driving exploration of the different types of people and motivations caught up in the Colombian traffic. Its told via narratives of different characters (presumably real) who are involved in Cocaine trade, and is woven together nicely so that the stories fit nicely together, and even the most ruthless of people are understandable, if not relatable. 

nuestra marca es crisis

I watched Our Brand is Crisis (associate produced by our own j seel) for the second time last night.

The first time was a mere months before my first trip to Lima. I saw OBIC at the film’s New York premiere at Film Forum. Afterwards, director Rachel Boynton answered questions. The only one I remember was someone asking whether Goni’s electoral success should be considered fortunate. Rachel answered that the film was not meant as an argument one way or another but was intended to present a pwerspective in which the audience could form their own opinions.

At the time, I appreciated this answer. I’ve always felt that in documentary, arguments are best made by lying out the information and (though it is clearly editied and positions) letting the audience reach their own conclusions. Basically, the opposite of Michael Moore’s brand of leading the audience along. I think there’s much to be said for trusting the intelligence of your audience.

I watched the firm for a second time, and with 3 years’ more knowledge of the history, culture, politics, and neoliberal positioning of the Andean nation, my feelings are a little different. I still appreciate Rachel’s answer and position, but I don’t believe the film does enough to provide the audience a solid base from which to judge Goni. His role in the privatization of natural gas in Bolivia is merely alluded to. His earlier presidency is reference, but never explained. And the U.S. role in placing Bolivia in their state of “crisis” goes unexplored.

I realize a feature length doc. Cannot necessarily fully survey a nation’s neoliberal history as well as look intricately at a particular election and candidate, but I can’t help vut feel a little slighted by being given the opportunity to “decide for myself” without the necessary background to do so.

Or maybe I just feel vengeful.

tobago

its been over a week, but i thought it deserving of a recap

day 1

we got off the plane from port of spain 4 hours late to find our local shoeless with our cabbie, piggy. they had been drinking for the 4 hours they had been waiting for us. we hopped in the cab, stopped at the nearest bodega, and all had a beer as we got a tour of the south tip of the island and made our way to the villa.

day 2

no water in the faucets, so we went to the beach, then jumped in the pool to wash off, then finally showered in the horizontal stream created when we turned the tap on the pool water tank.

day 3

the housekeeper showed us how to fix the water. the gill and the spaniard cooked amazing food, while i read about paras in colombia. more beach, more beer, more pool.

day 4

it rained in the morning but in the afternoon, the gill and i went exploring. we found a bird sanctuary and took some nice sunset pictures on the beach. i got some good hammocking time in too.

day 5

dk & caroline arrived and more beers were consumed. more beach. more beer. rum punch. and some excellent food.

day 6

now that we had the beachmobile in our posession we went beach hopping all over the southern caribbean side. the first beach was Back Bay Beach which was very secluded, and felt like a safari as we drove down the path to the entrance. at the surfing beach, we witnessed a domestic fight, got some roti, then went to the grocery store, which is dangerous when you have jorge around.

day 7

3 bodies of water. pool, beach, waterfall. in the morning, gill taught me a racing start jump into the pool. dylan proceeded to jump in the pool from the balcony. then we went hiking to a waterfall and jumped in. then to the beach. then back to the pool. drinking and dancing on the town followed.

las estrellas

i've never been one to read horoscopes incessantly, but a dear friend has been forwarding me a weekly freewill horoscope lately, and this weeks seems particularly apropos:

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): This is one of those rare times when your empathy could undo you unless you adhere to the following guidelines. 1. Squelch any attraction you might have to fascinating ruins, sexy decay, or appalling beauty. 2. If you have been sucked into the sphere of a good-looking monster or seductive tyrant, yank yourself free. 3. Break your gaze the instant you sense you're falling under the sway of a flaming narcissist. 4. Suppress the temptation to think this thought: "I'm bored with my hell; I want to hang out in *your* hell for a change."

I think it means its time to say goodbye to mr. reganomics...

egg foucault*

so i just finished reading discipline & punish for the second time. and strangely, i think i got more out of it the first time.

but in a class of 9 women and 1 man, the conversation evolved into gendered discipline. and i realized that in many instances women become responsible for the discipline of men. motherhood is perhaps the most prevalent example, but wives, girlfriends, teachers, etc. all play a role. not to say that this dynamic is always gendered, but women are often the parties looked to for maintenance of discipline.

and its something i've certainly internalized. with my former crew of boys, i often took on the role of sheparding home (especially after blondies), making sure no one got in fights. it was i who discouraged honking at women walking down the street (which of course has multiple layers of stuff going on). and i was always the one pushing for civilized things like brunches, and grocery shopping, and limiting the stroh consumed (which i would argue has a direct correlation with lack of discipline).

and so, in a way, i feel the need to apologize for letting all the subconscious gendered disciplining factors invade my personality. but on the other hand, apologizing only serves to reinforce the discipline i've already found myself in. sometimes, the uncomfortable places are the important ones. sometimes, its better to let people find their own way than to lead them. and so, i will not be disappointed in myself, despite my attention to discipline.

instead i will treat myself to a caribbean vacation.
next time i write, it will be with a tan (or sunburn)

*props to Val for the brilliant nickname...or was it Mags?

plagas

my week has been full of plagues, of both semi-literal and figurative senses.

i had a rather emotionally rough sunday night. accompanied by a sudden termite infestation. one moment i was was sitting on my couch, the next i go into the bedroom and there are about 15 bugs swarming around my light fixture. in the bathroom the sink was filled with them, and their moulted wings covered the floor. i spent the evening being resentful, swatting, crying, Raid-ing, and talking for 5+ hours.

i eventually recovered from both. after a few conversations with r___ and r___ (not r____), my mom, and some deep thinking, i've realized i have no reason to be guilty or regretful. and i believe there's no sense in resentment. i was in a much better mental state for about 24 hours.

then last night, i fell asleep reading foucault at 9ish, and woke up at midnight to a kitchen that was totally flooded. the rain poured all day and eventually seeped through the foundation it seems. i put the de-humidifier in the kitchen and hoped it would help a little. this morning, the pooling water and been transformed by that wonderful machine to just sopping wet carpet.

but, as i went to turn on my computer for the conference call with elsa, i had some problems. it just won't turn on. apparently, "no operating system [is] detected." well, i've been meaning to buy a new computer for a while, and really 5 1/2 years for a laptop is a pretty good lifespan. but i'm poor, and well, i want a mac, and macs are expensive, so i'm not sure what my plan is this point. i can probably do without anything for the rest of the week and make a decision after spring break.

so its an unlucky week, but at least i'm headed to a caribbean island soon. though this doesn't bode well. i certainly hope this doesn't compare to the spring break i had in florida with uncle joey. i have no interest in taking a bus (or raft) to tobago, then spending time consoling a divorced, bi-polar, drunk-driving relative.

and on that note, i leave you with my favorite movie quote of all time

man 1 (to man 2): Estupido!

man 2 (to man 3): What's he saying?