Hello dear readers! Today I’m going to write about one of the topics that most catches my attention, I’m talking about boxing. But I don’t consider boxing just like a sport, I think that is a much bigger social phenomenon, worthy of being studied anthropologically. In fact, during last semester I made an ethnographic work about the México Boxing Club of Santiago, so I invite you to read the following text that includes some of my humble anthropological findings about boxing.
One of the most interesting aspects I observed in my analysis was the relevance of the body and the exhibition in the ritual of boxing. Perhaps this approach to the understanding of pugilism may seem a bit bizarre, but I’m going to try to explain why this idea has a reasonable explanation.
To get involved in the world of boxing I situated myself in the public, and from there I analyzed the relationship between the audience and the boxer. From this point of view, I realized that in boxing there is always something that is shown and also there is something that is hide, and from the recognition of those elements that are dispayed or hidden can be reached an ethnographic interpretation of boxing. The basic idea presented here is that the boxer only became a boxer if there is a public that recognizes it as such. So, from this perspective, boxing can be seen as a vouyeristic performance where there is a contemplation of an observer public to a boxers fighting face to face with each other. In conclusion, in a boxing match comes to light the intimate relationship between the public and the boxer, the first as a voyeuristic observer and the second as an exhibitionist that shows himself.
There’s also a whole dimension referred to the body and the fluids and its many meanings in the context of boxing, but that´s something that I’ll tell you in a next time. I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my blog this week, see ya…
lunes, 23 de enero de 2012
miércoles, 4 de enero de 2012
A History of the world in 100 objects
Hello! Today I bring you a very interesting article published in the British newspaper The Guardian. It’s about a project announced in 2009 by The British Museum and BBC to help to create a history of the world using pieces of the museum.
The project is called “A History of the World in 100 objects”, and the idea is to connect the human history by examining specific objects. These pieces come from all the regions of the world and covers about 2 million years of human history. For example there is a 1.4 million years old hand axe found in Tanzania, but the museum’s collection also includes more recent objects, like a business card or a bionic hand. Besides the selection of the 100 objects, there will be a radio program to explain to the public the relevance of each object in the humankind history.
The museum’s director, Neil MacGregor, said that this is “The biggest thing we’ve ever done”, and he expects this project will get more people in the museums. One of the ways to make sure of this purpose is that people will have the chance to select their own objects and explain why they are important.
I believe that this is a very ambitious project and can be very useful to get close history to the people, but it can be a little dangerous trying to make a humankind history made only by British people and based just in objects shown in their own museums. More than a human history, it’s about the invention of a human history made by the British. Things like this show us that the colonialism is stronger than ever...
Please feel free to make a comment.
Bye!
The project is called “A History of the World in 100 objects”, and the idea is to connect the human history by examining specific objects. These pieces come from all the regions of the world and covers about 2 million years of human history. For example there is a 1.4 million years old hand axe found in Tanzania, but the museum’s collection also includes more recent objects, like a business card or a bionic hand. Besides the selection of the 100 objects, there will be a radio program to explain to the public the relevance of each object in the humankind history.
The museum’s director, Neil MacGregor, said that this is “The biggest thing we’ve ever done”, and he expects this project will get more people in the museums. One of the ways to make sure of this purpose is that people will have the chance to select their own objects and explain why they are important.
I believe that this is a very ambitious project and can be very useful to get close history to the people, but it can be a little dangerous trying to make a humankind history made only by British people and based just in objects shown in their own museums. More than a human history, it’s about the invention of a human history made by the British. Things like this show us that the colonialism is stronger than ever...
Please feel free to make a comment.
Bye!
martes, 3 de enero de 2012
Vacations
Hello. Today I'm going to talk about places that I've been go on vacations. I think I chose this topic because I want to end this semester and enjoy the summer.
The first of these places is Pan de Azucar, a lonely beach located a few kilometers to the north of Chañaral, Third Region of Atacama. This place is a small fishermen's docker inside Pan de Azucar National Park. There is no hotels or bed and and breakfast of any of those facilities, there are only a few camping areas right on the beach. I went in January of 2010 with my girlfriend, and there were only two more visitors at the moment we arrived. Acording to the local people, in February the beach is full of young visitors that party day and night, but as I already said, in January there were just a few people, so our staying was very relaxed. The only problem was that we didn't take any sunshade with us, so we have to stay just a few time under the sun, because in the most arid desert of the world it's not a very good idea to spend a lot of time without any shade. Anyway, the place is beatifull, very quiet and you have the entire ocean for you. Even the hours start to make no sense, I mean you can wake up at the hour you want, the breakfast can be the lunch, the lunch the dinner, and the dinner... well, many times there is no dinner. Another problem is that in Pan de Azucar there is no market to buy things, so you have to bring everything from Chañaral, and where you are travelling hitch-hiking you want to travel as light as possible. But despite those problems, it was a very good holiday and I would love to get back.
The other place that I want to tell you about is Cucao, in the big island of Chiloe. Cucao is one of the few places in Chiloe that is located on the west coast of the island, so it's also very quiet. The local people are indigineous communities and farm and fishermen people, but in summer they also take advantage to make bussines with the tourist. We came to Castro with my girlfriend with the intention of taking a bus to Cucao, but we realized that that the very same day it was a very famous celebration, the party of the moon. The terminal was full of people wanting to get to Cucao, so it was very difficult to get a ticket. Once in Cucao I became aware why there was so much interest to get to this place. It's a magical location, with lakes and ocean, woods, beach, clear sky and many people having a good time. The only problem was that some idiot stole my shoes, so I've to wear sandals untill we came back to Castro. Thanks God it didn`t rain any of those days.
The first of these places is Pan de Azucar, a lonely beach located a few kilometers to the north of Chañaral, Third Region of Atacama. This place is a small fishermen's docker inside Pan de Azucar National Park. There is no hotels or bed and and breakfast of any of those facilities, there are only a few camping areas right on the beach. I went in January of 2010 with my girlfriend, and there were only two more visitors at the moment we arrived. Acording to the local people, in February the beach is full of young visitors that party day and night, but as I already said, in January there were just a few people, so our staying was very relaxed. The only problem was that we didn't take any sunshade with us, so we have to stay just a few time under the sun, because in the most arid desert of the world it's not a very good idea to spend a lot of time without any shade. Anyway, the place is beatifull, very quiet and you have the entire ocean for you. Even the hours start to make no sense, I mean you can wake up at the hour you want, the breakfast can be the lunch, the lunch the dinner, and the dinner... well, many times there is no dinner. Another problem is that in Pan de Azucar there is no market to buy things, so you have to bring everything from Chañaral, and where you are travelling hitch-hiking you want to travel as light as possible. But despite those problems, it was a very good holiday and I would love to get back.
The other place that I want to tell you about is Cucao, in the big island of Chiloe. Cucao is one of the few places in Chiloe that is located on the west coast of the island, so it's also very quiet. The local people are indigineous communities and farm and fishermen people, but in summer they also take advantage to make bussines with the tourist. We came to Castro with my girlfriend with the intention of taking a bus to Cucao, but we realized that that the very same day it was a very famous celebration, the party of the moon. The terminal was full of people wanting to get to Cucao, so it was very difficult to get a ticket. Once in Cucao I became aware why there was so much interest to get to this place. It's a magical location, with lakes and ocean, woods, beach, clear sky and many people having a good time. The only problem was that some idiot stole my shoes, so I've to wear sandals untill we came back to Castro. Thanks God it didn`t rain any of those days.
A place I'd like to visit
If I had all the money and time of the world I’d like to visit Colombia. I’ve always felt the desire to visit this country, and I don’t really know why. It’s true that I would also like to visit many countries around the world to know and learn from as many different cultures as possible, but I prefer to start with America. I believe that this is a wonderfull continent with amazing people, and I have the dream of travel from Patagonia to Alaska and from the Pacific to the Atlantic.
There are two things that caught my attention and makes want to visit Colombia. One is the tropical weather. I’ve always liked the tropical weather, I believe that in this kind of environment people are more festive and know how enjoy the simple things that life delivers. Also people use less clothes, and that’s always a good thing.
The other thing that makes me want to go to Colombia is cumbia. This musical rhythm was born in this country, and I think that is the best to dance. There is nothing more sexiest and happiest than dance with a woman at the rhythm of a hot cumbia. Just thinking about it my feet start to move…
Definitely one day I will go to Colombia.
There are two things that caught my attention and makes want to visit Colombia. One is the tropical weather. I’ve always liked the tropical weather, I believe that in this kind of environment people are more festive and know how enjoy the simple things that life delivers. Also people use less clothes, and that’s always a good thing.
The other thing that makes me want to go to Colombia is cumbia. This musical rhythm was born in this country, and I think that is the best to dance. There is nothing more sexiest and happiest than dance with a woman at the rhythm of a hot cumbia. Just thinking about it my feet start to move…
Definitely one day I will go to Colombia.
Blog Session 2: My Favoutite Movie
I really don't know if I can say that this single movie is my favourite, but definitly it`s one of my favourites. I'm talking about Trainspotting, a 1996 film directed by the English film-maker Danny Boyle. The movie is based on a novel written by Irwin Welsh, a famous writer from Scotland.
The movie shows us the story of a group of junkies of Edimburg, who spend their lives between the heroin and bars, with the only worry of, besides of getting more drugs, the results of football and other things like that. But the interesting aspect of this movie is that it doesn't present the addiction to drugs like something necessarily bad. If we compare this film with others that deal with the subject of drugs, like Requiem for a dream for example, we realized that it's not as degrading like others. But it isn't an estatement for the use of drugs, it just shows the drugs like another part of the entire life.
The main character of the movie is Mark Renton, performed by Ewan McGregor, a young man who lives with his parents and spends his life getting high with heroin. Renton may look just like the typical junkie, but he is a complex character that remarks the fact of being a junkie as a choice. The movie begins with Renton talking about the decision of not choosing the traditional life, he doesn't want to get a job, get married, have a family, buy a house, use a nice suit, have a big television or any of the other things that are suppose to be a successful man in life. He says "I choose not to choose life", and this is not an easy way to do...
Another outstanding aspect of the movie is the music. The soundtrack includes some of the most importants British artist of the 90's, like Pulp, Blur, Iggy Pop, Elastica, Lou Reed, Primal Scream and others. For this and many other reasons Trainspotting has became an icon of the British subculture and a movie that always bring you a new meaning.
The movie shows us the story of a group of junkies of Edimburg, who spend their lives between the heroin and bars, with the only worry of, besides of getting more drugs, the results of football and other things like that. But the interesting aspect of this movie is that it doesn't present the addiction to drugs like something necessarily bad. If we compare this film with others that deal with the subject of drugs, like Requiem for a dream for example, we realized that it's not as degrading like others. But it isn't an estatement for the use of drugs, it just shows the drugs like another part of the entire life.
The main character of the movie is Mark Renton, performed by Ewan McGregor, a young man who lives with his parents and spends his life getting high with heroin. Renton may look just like the typical junkie, but he is a complex character that remarks the fact of being a junkie as a choice. The movie begins with Renton talking about the decision of not choosing the traditional life, he doesn't want to get a job, get married, have a family, buy a house, use a nice suit, have a big television or any of the other things that are suppose to be a successful man in life. He says "I choose not to choose life", and this is not an easy way to do...
Another outstanding aspect of the movie is the music. The soundtrack includes some of the most importants British artist of the 90's, like Pulp, Blur, Iggy Pop, Elastica, Lou Reed, Primal Scream and others. For this and many other reasons Trainspotting has became an icon of the British subculture and a movie that always bring you a new meaning.
Blog Session 1
Hello! Today I´m going to talk about this weird second term.
There is no doubt that this second term is pretty special. Not only is much shorter than a regular term, but also we will be in classes in the middle of the summer. Also, there is just a few days to enjoy christmas and new year. I hope this semester will end soon, because it´s not very nice to go to class in this hot days of summer.
Another thing that worries me is the fact that in such a short semester the evaluations will be too close together one of each other, so it will be very demanding for the students. Besides, the contents of the subjects will be reduced and we won´t learn all that we need to learn.
Anyway, I just hope to get the most out of the courses I took, and end the semester early in order to enjoy a relaxing summer in Antofagasta.
Bye
There is no doubt that this second term is pretty special. Not only is much shorter than a regular term, but also we will be in classes in the middle of the summer. Also, there is just a few days to enjoy christmas and new year. I hope this semester will end soon, because it´s not very nice to go to class in this hot days of summer.
Another thing that worries me is the fact that in such a short semester the evaluations will be too close together one of each other, so it will be very demanding for the students. Besides, the contents of the subjects will be reduced and we won´t learn all that we need to learn.
Anyway, I just hope to get the most out of the courses I took, and end the semester early in order to enjoy a relaxing summer in Antofagasta.
Bye
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