Report from Paris


Graffitti

Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado.

As readers of this blog know, I spent the last 3 nights in Paris. Even though I really like the city, this time around I was slightly disappointed by the state is seems to be in. Of course, in all the tourist areas everything is as pristine and glorious as only Paris can be, but just walking a little bit away from that you find out that the city is dirtier than I remembered.

The contrast is even starker given that 5 months ago I spent a week in London. Even though both are very beautiful cities with monumental architecture, the British capital is much better preserved. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the British economy is doing much better than the French one. Maybe it is related to the British having embraced globalisation, whereas large swathes of French society don’t know what to do with it/about it.

Furthermore, another detail that caught my attention is not really the amount of foreigners in the city, but the fact that they don’t seem to be economically integrated. Even though of course this is purely anecdotical, and it was a long weekend, I didn’t see a lot of middle-class Frenchmen of non-European descent around their city.

O-o-o

Dear 4 readers:

I'll be spending a long weekend in Paris from tomorrow, so most probably won't be able to post until Sunday.  I'm sure I'll be full of new insights and experiences to share with you when I'm back.

In the meantime, you might want to browse the archive, starting from September 2006, or by tags.

Enjoy!

Ahorita extrañé chilangolandia

Estaba buscando otra cosa y me acordé que van a ser casi 2 años entre mi última visita y la posible próxima vez que esté en México, y en concreto la Ciudad de México otra vez.  Me dió un poquito de esa nostalgia que normalmente no me da, dado que ya llevo bastante fuera, y la verdad es que sí estoy bastante acostumbrado.

Creo que este video ya lo llegué a enlazar alguna vez, pero ahora hasta la letra les pongo.

Mi Ciudad
Intérpretes varios (Guadalupe Trigo, Lola Beltrán, Luis Miguel)

Mi ciudad es chinampa
En un lago escondido
Es cenzontle que busca
En donde hacer nido
Rehilete que engaña la vista al girar

Baila el son del tequila y de su valentía
Es jinete que arriesga la vida
En un lienzo de fiesta y color

Mi ciudad es la cuna
De un niño dormido
Es un bosque de espejos
Que cuida un castillo,
Monumentos de gloria que vela su altar

Es un sol con penacho y sarape veteado
Que en las noches se viste de charro
Y se pone a cantarle al amor

Por las tardes con la lluvia
Se baña su piel morena
Y al desatarse las trenzas
Sus ojos tristes se cierran

Mi ciudad es la cuna
De un niño dormido
Es un bosque de espejos
Que cuida un castillo
Monumento de gloria que vela su altar

Baila al son del tequila y de su valentía
Es jinete que arriesga la vida
En un lienzo de fiesta y color

Es un sol con penacho y sarape veteado
Que en las noches se viste de charro
Y se pone a cantarle al amor.

Eurovision random thoughts and results

Serbia won (they got lots of votes not only from the Balkan bloc, with a singer with a great voice, even though her appearance was really weird).

Eurovision 2007 – WINNER – Marija Serifovic – Molitva

My other favourites in the final were

Georgia (great voice, original song)

2007 Georgia (Finalista)

Ukraine (hilarious!)

Eurovision 2007 Ukranie, Verka Serduchka – Danzing

Germany (something original from the Germans).

Germany 2007 | Roger Cicero | Frauen Regier'n Die Welt

  • Regarding the "Video Postcards from Finland" I actually believe that the best ones were shown in the Semis (even though the Moomin vs. Santa showdown was priceless).
  • Even though the "Lordi effect" was in force in the number rock acts in appearance and the "horror themed" acts, it didn't make such a big impact this time around.  However, originality still won, in the sense that the only performer that didn't care so much about her looks but had the best voice was voted to the top, not only by her country's neighbours but also by others who appreciated the artistic originality.
  • Eurovision is still camp, but it's extremely good at it!
  • The Brits still don't get it.  And then they complain bitterly because nobody appreciates their efforts.

BBC Eurovision commentator

Maybe Terry what'shisname is an institution in the UK, but I found his comments generally annoying, bigoted and very, very bitter at the UK's possible bad showing (the contest is still going on).

I have French, Dutch, Walloon, Flemish & British TV channels for watching Eurovision, and all the others are much, much better than this guy.

I usually understand and like British humour, but this guy seems too over-the-top for me.  I'll stick with the other channels.