La Virgen de Llamas
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Yo prefiero considerarlo como una investigación de un espacio, de la mentalidad de la ciudad más rara de los Estados Unidos. Si has esperado horas en Union Station, si has comprado una piñata en Avenida Olympic, las descripciones de Abani suenan más clara que nuestros propios recuerdos. Es obvio que Abani caminó todo la ciudad mientras escribió la novela. Sé que detrás del cuento existe la verdadera Ugly Store, el verdadero Black, y la Sweet Girl. Son las fantasmas sagradas del city of angels. Un extracto de pagina 99:
Fueron tantas cosas que quería decir. Para él, Los Angeles no era Beverly Hills, ni las películas, ni Rodeo Drive. No era el engaño de los estudios de televisión con sus puertas de distintos tamaños para que los vaqueros parezcan musculosos en comparición de las puertas pequeñas y señoras más delicadas frente a las grandes. No son las Mulhollands y su agua, ni la gente por todos lados con el cabello demasiado perfecto y las sonrisas falsas como los dientes que las enmarcan. Tampoco es el barrio de San Marino con su clase social fingida, ni la señal de Hollywood. Es el ángulo de la luz atrapada en un hilito del Río de Los Angeles cuando dobla bajo uno de los puentes hermosos y derrumbados del Este de Los Angeles. La pintura de un ángel con sandalias y jeans, con alas que hace tiempo eran blancas, ahora manchadas de hollín y rayos, fumando un cigarrillo encima de un soporte de la carretera 10 en Hoover, volando si lo ves a alta velocidad. En la cacofonía de colores y formas en las tiendas de piñatas en Olympic Boulevard, cerca de Central y el hombre llevando un burro de madera morada con ruedas por Cesar Chavez, la expresión de su cara indiferente como si fuera la cosa más normal del mundo. O las personas que se dividen inconscientemente al lado mientras que él sigue bajando la acera. El clip-clop esporádico de caballos llevando una calesa para boda blanca que resiste el polvo y la tierra en todas partes, y la línea de automóviles siguiendola lentamente. Lo escuchas en como toca un saxofonista desempleados en Sunny’s Café por Leimert Park tocando por propinas.
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[Grant] Gobierno Abierto América Latina
This blog post is a summary of a $25,000 grant from Omidyar Network to the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness to support the convening of Latin American transparency networks in Mexico City on March 20, 2012 to discuss the opportunities, challenges,
[Grant] Gobierno Abierto América Latina
This blog post is a summary of a $25,000 grant from Omidyar Network to the Mexican Institute for Competitiveness to support the convening of Latin American transparency networks in Mexico City on March 20, 2012 to discuss the opportunities, challenges,
[Philanthropy] Stay Human
I hesitantly decided to become involved in philanthropy because I believe that civil society has an important role to play in bringing about a more sustainable, just, and well governed 21st century society. Businesses and governments have their fundamental roles
[Philanthropy] Stay Human
I hesitantly decided to become involved in philanthropy because I believe that civil society has an important role to play in bringing about a more sustainable, just, and well governed 21st century society. Businesses and governments have their fundamental roles
Fiscal Transparency (is Not Enough)
OpenSpending.org has simple goal that is extraordinarily difficult to achieve: wherever you may live, you enter in how much you earn per month, press a button, and poof, a stunning visualization of where your tax money goes. Let’s say I’m
Fiscal Transparency (is Not Enough)
OpenSpending.org has simple goal that is extraordinarily difficult to achieve: wherever you may live, you enter in how much you earn per month, press a button, and poof, a stunning visualization of where your tax money goes. Let’s say I’m
Niños Incomodos and Video for Advocacy in Mexico
Last month I caught an interesting tweet from Alejandro Ramírez, the CEO of the 4th largest cinema chain in the entire world: Ramírez was celebrating the fact that De Panzazo, an excellent documentary about the state of the country’s education
Niños Incomodos and Video for Advocacy in Mexico
Last month I caught an interesting tweet from Alejandro Ramírez, the CEO of the 4th largest cinema chain in the entire world: Ramírez was celebrating the fact that De Panzazo, an excellent documentary about the state of the country’s education
Helping Politicians Keep Their Promises
Politicians love to make promises. Here in Mexico, presidential contender Enrique Peña Nieto even spent the morning of the first official day of campaigning at a public notary’s office where he signed his name next to his first three campaign
Helping Politicians Keep Their Promises
Politicians love to make promises. Here in Mexico, presidential contender Enrique Peña Nieto even spent the morning of the first official day of campaigning at a public notary’s office where he signed his name next to his first three campaign
[Report] Parliamentary Power to the People
Brazil-based transparency and freedom of information scholar Greg Michener has authored the first major report on the use of online platforms to understand and monitor parliaments in Latin America. Commissioned by the Open Society Foundations, “Parliamentary Power to the People,”
[Report] Parliamentary Power to the People
Brazil-based transparency and freedom of information scholar Greg Michener has authored the first major report on the use of online platforms to understand and monitor parliaments in Latin America. Commissioned by the Open Society Foundations, “Parliamentary Power to the People,”
Transparently Advocating for Transparency
Update: I have removed the “within 15 days of the signing of a grants agreement” from the commitment. For a variety of reasons it may not be possible to publish the related information so soon after the agreement has been
Transparently Advocating for Transparency
Update: I have removed the “within 15 days of the signing of a grants agreement” from the commitment. For a variety of reasons it may not be possible to publish the related information so soon after the agreement has been
Back to My Printing Press
I started blogging at el-oso.net in December 2003. I didn’t expect it to last long; mostly I wanted to keep a travel diary for a road trip around Mexico, and I figured, why not keep it on the Internet? Several
Back to My Printing Press
I started blogging at el-oso.net in December 2003. I didn’t expect it to last long; mostly I wanted to keep a travel diary for a road trip around Mexico, and I figured, why not keep it on the Internet? Several
Conference-Slutting Toward Good Governance
2012 looks a lot like a convenient excuse for the Latin American diplomatic jet set to rack up their American Express rewards points while in Cartagena, Brasilia, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere. Looking through a less
Conference-Slutting Toward Good Governance
2012 looks a lot like a convenient excuse for the Latin American diplomatic jet set to rack up their American Express rewards points while in Cartagena, Brasilia, Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, Rio de Janeiro and elsewhere. Looking through a less
The Carlsbad Marathon
It was about five o’clock in the morning when Cindylu, with her sweet little voice — all chamomile and honey — says, “Oso, you should probably put some vaseline in your butt crack.” That’s when I knew I was in
The Carlsbad Marathon
It was about five o’clock in the morning when Cindylu, with her sweet little voice — all chamomile and honey — says, “Oso, you should probably put some vaseline in your butt crack.” That’s when I knew I was in
Is this really the weirdest city you’ve ever known? I like how all of his descriptions have nothing to do with anything west of La Brea.
Certainly the most unique … in the whole world. Nowhere else is there such an overflow of both exhibitionism and inquisitiveness.