Category Archives: in english

in english

Belgians are nice, but their country is weird

I have now quite a few local friends, mainly from school, and I think we get along quite well. They are in general nice people and everything seems to be OK. However, I can’t help but notice how deeply is their country divided along linguistic lines, and how difficult it is for some of the Belgians to bridge that chasm.

I’ll give a stupid example: TV. You have several channels in French and several in Dutch, and you may have the same football game at the same time being broadcast in both channels. The French-speaking news say very little about what happens in the Dutch-speaking part of Belgium, and vice-versa. Even the Telemarketing ads are in both languages depending on the channel, even when they’re selling the same thing (these days they keep on pushing a “Disco Fever” CD collection, which actually looks quite nice, but anyway) .

I don’t think they’ll truly separate, because, as a teacher said: “What do we do with Brussels then?”. However, it is quite interesting to see the dynamics between two communities that live next to each other but only rally around the Red Devils (the football team), the Flag, the King and Kim Clijsters (the tennis player).

en español, in english

Soda Stereo

Another in the series of posts on Rock en Español.
No anthology of Rock en Español could approach something resembling completeness without mentioning this legendary Argentine band. Soda Stereo was one of the groups that defined the sound of Rock en Español, and they were one ofthe first to prove that Spanish-speaking rock acts could also have success beyong their countries of origin. From their first album in 1982 to their disbanding in 1997 (after a farewell tour that took them across Latin America to sold-out venues) they were one of the most recognised bands in the scene, and are still a big influence in the music heard today. Singer Gustavo Cerati still has a certain success with his solo carreer.

Some videos below.

De Música Ligera (El Último Concierto, 1997)

Cuando pase el temblor (Nada Personal, 1985)
Zoom (Sueño Stereo, 1995)
La Ciudad de la Furia (Comfort y Música para Volar, 1996)
Ella usó mi Cabeza como un Revólver (Comfort y Música para Volar, 1996)
Persiana Americana (El Último Concierto, 1997)

For more information you can check Wikipedia or the Official Site.

in english

The fence

I posted this Paco Calderón cartoon last week, and this morning I was thinking about this situation. I believe in following the laws of the country you reside in regardless of whether you agree with them or not, but I think the current situation is rather tragicomic. If the current US government were really serious about curbing illegal immigration to their country, they would simply enforce the laws they have regarding the prohibition of employment of people without papers (as it is done, for example, in Finland). The idea of building a fence simply smells of populism to me, trying to appease the anti-immigration constituency before the Congress elections this month.

This doesn’t mean that the governments of the countries of origin of those illegal immigrants (namely Mexico) should forget their responsibility to get jobs for their own population by ensuring the conditions for job creation by private enterprises is there. It would be unsustainable to pay for those jobs with taxes, especially since currently the tax income in Mexico is so low compared to GDP.

en español, in english

Plastilina Mosh

Another post in the series of Rock en Español. Plastilina Mosh is a duet from the northern city of Monterrey in Mexico. Their style has been described as alternative rock (I think it’s anything but) and they tend to mix Spanish, English and other languages in the same song. They are usually associated with the “Nintendo generation” as that is how both band members met. I bought one of their CDs in Japan, of all places. Some examples of their music below.

Peligroso Pop (Hola Chicuelos, 2003)

Mr. P Mosh (Aquamosh, 1998)
Afroman (Aquamosh, 1998)
Monster Truck (Aquamosh, 1998)
Te lo juro por Madonna (Hola Chicuelos, 2003)
Los Oxidados (Hola Chicuelos, 2003)
Millionaire (Tasty, 2006)

More information from Wikipedia or the official site.

in english

Precolumbian art exhibitions in Europe

I’m very glad to see that there is a number of Mesoamerican precolumbian art exhibitions doing the rounds in Europe during the past years. At least there are initiatives to educate them about the existence of ancient civilisations such as the Aztecs or the Mayas.

Masters of Precolumbian Art
In Brussels

Maya Exhibition in Helsinki
In Helsinki

The most amazing exhibition I saw outside of the Americas on this subject was the Aztecs exhibition in Berlin (which was also in London and Tokyo). However, if you are really interested in these two civilizations, there is no better option than going to the National Anthropology Musem in Mexico City for a concise view. You can also visit the different ruins in the country if you want to have a better idea of how did they live, like Chichén Itzá or Teotihuacán.

Pyramid at Chichén Itzá

in english

Globalisation ≠ Americanisation

I have seen that a lot of the debate regarding globalisation as such is that we’re all becoming “Americanised”. Whilst it is true that many of the global brands are American, and that a sizeable part of the media we consume is also from the U.S, there is a lot of interaction that doesn’t involve them, and that would even go against their interests. English, however, is one of the platforms that we use for international communication, like the Latin of old. The problem is that native English speakers have no incentive for learning a foreign language, so their horizons are a little bit more limited in the beginning.