"At least there are no dead horses outside" Hold on, I came across a book that I want to read.and it left me with THAT thought. It’s about a heat wave in 1896 in NY...imagine 110 degrees for 10 days straight. BUT since it is 1896 - no A/C, no electricity, no refrigerator and no cars. It was so hot that the horses were dying in the streets and left there.
The book, “Hot Time in the Old Town” is written by historian Edward P. Kohn (an Asst Prof of American History & Chair of the American Culture & Literature Dept. at Bilkent University, Turkey). It is a historical and political account of the NY heat wave during a summer in 1896. I love listening to podcasts about books and authors (big surprise) one of my favorites is “NPR Book Notes” - at the end of this entry you’ll find the 20 minute conversation with the author about the book as well as an excerpt.
Ok, back to the heat wave - Let’s add the immigration flow of the time, the poor economical era, plus living in brick and stone tenements of the lower east side. These buildings were pretty much converted into ovens in the sweltering heat. People slept on rooftops and fire escapes, which ended in them falling to their deaths in their sleep. The death toll was about 1,300 and the coroners could simply not get there fast enough to remove the bodies nor could the city remove the dead horses from the streets. Imagine the stench.
The city workers hosed the streets down to try to cool them off and wash away the smells and waste. But, Theodore Roosevelt, chief of police at the time, championed the idea to purchase and give away free ice to the city's poor. This simple and cheap measure may have saved many lives, and marked Roosevelt as an urban reformer. This bridged the gap between privileged Republicans and the immigrant working-class AND catapulted the Harvard graduate to begin his political career. I really enjoy history and all this caught my interest and since this era shaped a lot of our government - I can’t wait to read all about it!
We went to see the 2010 Best foreign film Oscar winner (from Argentina) “El secreto de sus ojos” – “The secret in their eyes” It was directed by Juan José Campanella, who is a veteran of TV shows such as “House” and “Law & Order: SVU". The two leading actors were Ricardo Darin, who I find to be an awesome and funny actor, and Soledad Villamil who was just amazing during the whole film.
I know very little about cinematography, but I know what I like when I see it, and this movie drew me in right from the start. In a nutshell it’s a cold case murder mystery sprinkled with a bit of subtle romance; it's also riveting thriller spiked with witty dialogue. AND it has a bit of evil politics of the mid-1970s Argentina thrown in for good measure. It revisits a rape-murder the main character investigated 25 years before that wasn't exactly unsolved, but wasn't really solved either (remember the country was descending into a military dictatorship at this time), and it’s all done as the movie moves back and forth in time.
There is an amazing aerial shot where the suspect is identified in a crowded soccer stadium – just THIS is worth the price of admission - it is incredible! A camera swoops in from high above and descends seamlessly down into the stadium capturing the energy of the fans, the crowds and the nervousness of the chase – it must have been a good 3 or 4 minutes of ONE TAKE, you are breathless as you watch – it was outstanding!
The other two things I really enjoyed were the bits of typical Argentine humor throughout and of course, the EYES, the looks, gazes - all that you see, interpret and read the IN the eyes of the two main characters.
Ricardo Darin was also in the “Son of the Bride” again, directed by Campanella.
I hope you go see it while it's still in the theaters and tell me what you think!
My apologies for the silence, internet is a bit hard to get but I continue to try. We are in Tandil, Argentina– located about 250 miles Southeast of Buenos Aires with a population of about 170 thousand. It’s a charming countryside university town with beautiful cobblestone paved streets, with a lot of greenery, agriculture, mountains and lots tourism based on outdoor activities; hiking, camping, cabins, and spas nestled in the countryside.
For those who follow tennis, it’s the birthplace of the 21 year old “El Potro”, recent winner of the Tennis U.S. Open. And, for the Latin Americans in the group – Alberto Cortez lived in Tandil for many years and some his songs are about the town!
A few observations:
This town is VERY relaxed and mellow, and it's customary that everyone and everything is late, and there are no set plans for activities and no rushing. "Siesta"time is sacred and I say, "When in Rome" - I have fit right in :)...If you are too wound up you can get really stressed at the lack of stress here.
Remember the “charming” cobble stone streets? Well, those and the "lovely" ancient rock sidewalks are NOT suited for my fancy city feet. I guess I am used to those attractive concrete California sidewalks. I trip, stumble and slip – No alcohol is involved in this lack of coordination, but, in order to “save face” I am seriously considering being drunk all the time now…
One important thing to keep in mind is that pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way in Argentina. Needless to say, when I am out on my own, it can take me HOURS to cross a busy street. No, I don’t care that old ladies are better than me at this task; I just tell myself “they’ve here lived longer”. I eventually get to where I am going; I am, after all, going at my own “leisurely” pace. Yep!
The other day, when we were in Areco, and went to the Club de Pescadores Club for a brief visit I had a hilarious moment as we got ready. My sister-in-law started packing several bags with all the things we needed to take - change of shoes, water, fruit, cookies, towels – you get the picture right? A million things! I was so EXCITED because, if you remember the post “How not to Act Old at the Beach” – one of the items was to not pack the “whole house”, only old people do that. Well, it seems that over here the young and old over pack for a 2 hour stay. I joined her in the packing frenzy and enjoyed every minute of packing and taking the multiple bags of nonsense we took (and did not use).
I will end this post by sharing that I’ve had the most wonderful full body massages at the marvelous price of $12 US dollars. Cheers!
Well, we have arrived, we are in Argentina on vacation visiting relatives for the holidays. YES! I continue to laugh at me and life – here are some examples that I hope you enjoy.
As we were waiting for our luggage to arrive at the airport I observed... several sensual women walking in the customary self assured manner that I'd forgotten is so typical here; the hip movement in skin tight clothes matching their perky swinging ponytails, chests out proudly as they balance on needle thin 4 inch heels, no eye contact and God forbid a smile - they walk out of customs as if nothing. In contrast, me, after my 16 hour flight in my sensible flats and comfortable big clothes, am smiling at everyone because I live in California and that is what we do. As I stand and wait for my husband to return from exchanging money, I have that look that I says “meant" to wear ALL black in the middle of the Buenos Aires Summer, I wanted to have that mysterious air when I landed...yep. Thank God my hair was cooperating and it looked great! LOL
I don't think that the incident affected me too much because I directed my attention to ME again (big surprise). I discovered the 12noon siesta gave fantastic results to my Wellbeing by making those pesky "fine facial expressions" (aka: wrinkles) go away, imagine that.
I learned that drinking too much malbec wine made the waiter feel at liberty to tell me "here is your light dessert". This, after we had had just inhaled a side a beef at an Argentine parrillada (like a churrasqueria). The waiter winked and brought me a decadent "dulce de leche (similar to caramel) crepe with melted brown sugar on top". I guess the loud drunk laughter must have made him think we had all become friends. No, it won't stop me from doing it again.
I realized watching TV, that the Madagascar movie and Elmo (in Spanish) are pretty funny – wow!
One of the best parts of the trip so far, is that our nieces and nephews think we are "geniuses" and it's because they never see us, LOL. And since today is raining, we’ll be cheap entertainment for our nephews. Given that my ego is easy, “grandiose worship from little ones under 11” will do just fine. For fun, today, I will be teaching them how to say "It's all about me" in English – can’t wait!
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