Movie Review: Tangshan Earthquake: Aftershock

Aftershock, released on July 22 in over 4,000 Chinese movie theatres has a lot of hopes riding on it: The film cost around 100 million yuan to produce, it’s helmed by Feng Xiaogang, the nation’s most commercially successful director, and it’s the first IMAX-quality film to be produced outside the United States. The film has been heavily marketed—posters are everywhere and word of mouth campaigns have sought to hype it as an irresistibly engaging tear-jerker. With your ticket, theatres hand out little tissue packets for the unavoidable tears. With so much public interest, the film can’t wholly fail, the question is, with so much to prove, can it succeed?

Posters imply it to be a disaster movie, but it's aiming at something far more subtle—and far more ambitious. The film is set in Tangshan, a city outside Beijing which in 1972 suffered the most deadly earthquake of the 20^th century. Within a matter of minutes, 250,000 people died. The film follows the lives of a single family of four, sundered by the earthquake which forces the mother (played by Xu Fan, the director’s wife) to choose which of her two children to save.

Within the first half-hour, the earthquake has occurred and lives have been scarred forever. What follows is an examination of how people deal with such a disaster and continue on with their lives. The movie reveals itself to be a family drama, far less concerned with collapsing buildings than the with people in them and much more invested in piecing things back together than blowing them up.

The twists and turns of characters lives plays out against the backdrop of a changing China. Every event and every item in the meticulously designed sets is weighted with symbolism: A pair of married PLA soldiers in the 70s decorate their child’s room with era-appropriate propaganda posters; a family argument, taking place during the 80s, occurs as the characters are moving a refrigerator—an item just coming into coming use at the time; by the ‘90s, one character is teaching English and another is driving a car.

Such ambitions have their drawbacks. All this effort to make everything represent something larger means that nothing feels true to itself. A character goes off to work as a migrant worker, ten years later he is successful and driving his own car. Another character gets pregnant and contemplates getting an abortion. Many such actions, events, and decisions seem to occur not from the natural development of the characters, but because they serve to evoke a particular issue in Chinese society.

Likewise, those detailed sets, packed with so much significance, are often too nice. The interiors of character’s houses seem as realistic as the apartments on an episode of Friends. And, for all the attention to detail, the inclusion of blatant product placements is incredibly distracting—the audience I was in laughed when the camera paused for an extended time on a baijiu label. (The crassness of the advertising might have been lessened had the baijiu company not run the clip during the pre-movie trailers.)

The issue of product placement speaks to the current state of cinema in China. The country is on track to produce nearly 500 films this year and box office sales are up around 80% over last year. The CEO of IMAX has tripled the pace of new theatre construction and efforts are under way to develop mobile theatres to serve third and forth tier cities—China has around thirty cities of 1 million people that lack “an established multiplex structure.” Yet, despite all this, movies are still running at a loss. Easy access to bootlegs is a big reason as it depresses box office revenue, legitimate DVD sales, and the price studios can demand of tv stations for broadcast rights. The baijiu placement, however, nearly covered the cost of the movie.

The decision to hire Feng as the director was also a function of commercial calculation. His recent movies—The Banquet, If You Are the One, and The Assembly—have all been very successful and he himself is know as “pretty good at marketing films.” There is certainly much to admire: Feng and his cinematographer, Lu Yue, have created some beautiful moments—a particularly striking image is that of Tangshan on a New Year’s night, lit by the lights of a thousand burning joss paper stacks.

More generally, all those involved in the production of the movie should be commended for grappling with such a serious event. Tangshan may be the most deadly earthquake, but the film is being viewed with the memory of Sichuan’s earthquake fresh in people’s minds. (For comparison, it’s important to remember that United 93 and World Trade Center came out five years after 9/11 and met with public apathy.)

The movie is being compared to Sophie’s Choice in which Meryl Streep plays a mother, a Polish Jew forced to decide in a split second which of her children will die, but there is an important difference: Whereas Sophie’s fateful choice remained shrouded in mystery and serves as the crux of that film, the mother’s choice in Aftershock comes early, before we have much chance to care about the characters. This is, ultimately, the movie’s great flaw. Events are often too shallow, characters tend toward the two-dimensional, and a great deal of the emotion it creates comes from reminding audiences of something they really did emotionally connect with. The film itself, while good in many ways, never quite earns its tears.

The Jungle Book, "Agriculture"

My third day in the jungle, after a hot night under a mosquito net in a small community near Nauta, Emira, Amarylis, and I went to the community of Santa Cruz to see their camu-camu fields. Minga's work deals primarily with the radio program and empowerment workshops; however, they also sometimes provide supplies to build fish farms and camu-camu fields. Income generation is the third step to their program and helps women in rural communities earn money independently. Soreida, a socia for Minga's network in Santa Cruz, showed us her ground across the river and a hike into the jungle.



Above is Amarylis and me with Soreida. We are about to head into the jungle.



We hiked into the jungle into a patch of banana and papaya trees. The banana trees look nothing like trees at all but like blades of grass with huge leaves blooming out of the top. I felt like Gulliver in Brobdingnag (the giants' land).



We kept hiking along (Soreida cutting down the foliage in our path with her machete) until we reached her field. She is taking advantage of the land by planting several crops in one field. We came upon the frijoles (beans) first as seen in the picture above. They are vines so they are planted next to sticks so they can grow straight up.



Next was the camu-camu shown above. Camu-camu is a yellow/purple fruit about the size of a grape. It's very acidic tasting, not sweet at all. They put sugar in the juice (and mix it with sugar cane alcohol for a good time). You can't see them on the plant here, because harvest isn't until September. She also was growning corn and aji dulce (a sweet chili).



I even got to do some farm work! Although, I really didn't have to go all the way to the Amazon Rainforest to do it. I have been chopping weeds on my parents' farm every summer since I was twelve. They even have some of the same weeds we have in Arkansas such as Pigweed, Thistle weed, and Morning Glories. However, chopping with a machete was a new one for me.



After visiting her field, Soreida led us to a grouping of papaya tries and cut some yellow ones down for us.



Amarylis split one open in the boat with Soreida's machete, and we chowed down. It was incredibly delicious!

I really enjoyed listening to Soreida talk about her crops, how she prepared the ground, cultivated, and cared for the plants. She was extremely proud of her work and excited about the resources it would bring her come harvest time. I felt the same kind of excitement the day before when the women of Amazonas showed me the construction on their fish farms. How wonderful that these women can use income generation as another step to their empowerment!

By the way, the necklace I am wearing in these photos is a string of seeds called lagrimas de Virgen and huayruro. On the end of the string is a crocodile tooth! Early that morning in Nauta we ran into a promotora, Doris, from a village called San Francisco in the market. She had her artisanry work spread across a blanket. Upon seeing us her eyes lit up. I was introduced, and she picked up this necklace from her collection and slipped it around my neck. She put seed bracelets on Emira and Amarylis as well. The kindness of these women was extremely touching.

The Jungle Book, "Community"

The primary purpose of my trip to the jungle was to visit with the staff members of Minga Peru and travel to meet their target audience members, the women living in rural communities in the jungle (by "rural" I mean population 100-200). The above picture is me with some promotoras (women who attend Minga's workshop and act as leaders in their communities) and socias (women who help the promotoras). On the bottom row from left to right is Erika, me, Jeni, Amarylis (a Minga Peru staff member accompanying me on my trip), and Soreida. On the top row standing is Nanci, Francisca, and one of the promotoras' sons. These women live in a community called "Amazonas" along the Maranon River (part of the great Amazon river--yes, the longest river in the world!).

Amarylis, Emira (another Minga staff member travelling with me), and I arrived in Amazonas a little after lunch time. We rented a car from Iquitos to Nauta that morning (a 1.5 hour drive). Iquitos is the largest city in Peru's Amazonia region (a few million people). Nauta is much smaller and closer to the more remote villages in the jungle. We took a motor boat (called "peke-peke" because that's the sound they make) to the community of Amazonas (the only way to get to these communities semi-quickly is by peke-peke). Amazonas was a 40 minute boat ride outside of Nauta.



The above picture is Emira and I. Behind us is the path to the Amazonas community. Emira is an absolutely fabulous person. While she may not quite reach 5 feet tall, she has an enormous amount of love for Minga, the women in these communities, and for her own people. She hails from a village called Puerta Peru about 3 hours from Nauta by boat. She is of the kukama ethnicity, an indigenous tribe of the Amazon rainforest. She spent the last two years in San Antonio, Texas as part of a program to maintain, promote, and celebrate the indigenous cultures of South America. She and her twin sister are the oldest of 11 children and are the only two women to have ever left her community. While she has had no formal training in radio, she is one of the primary voices of Bienvenida Salud (which I've heard and was very impressed with). She's also absolutely gorgeous like most of the women in the Amazon.



As I said, we visited these communities to talk with the promotoras and socias and learn more about how Minga has helped them and what they are currently doing to better their communities. We sat down in Soreida's home with everyone and just had a conversation. Soreida and Jeni told me of the troubles of domestic violence in their community and how it was very difficult for them to attend Minga's workshops because of the "disapproval" of their husbands. I heard a radio program of Minga's that promotes the right of women to organize in their commmunities, and it included a short soap opera, a conversation between two women and a disapproving husband. After some time and help from Minga, Soreida and Jeni and Nanci were able to attend Minga's workshops and learn about their rights as women and human beings and about self esteem (autoestima). Now they act as leaders in their communities, teaching other women about these themes, organizing projects to benefit their communities and helping in situations of domestic violence.



Soreida also had baby kitties in her house which Emira, Amarylis and I were really excited about!

A quick note about the economic state of these rural Amazon communities: They are in a state of what we would call "extreme poverty;" although, I doubt that is how these women think of their situation. Their homes are usually very open spaces of usually two rooms. Everything is made of unfinished wooden planks. The planks are placed with significant space inbetween to let in sunlight and air. These communities usually are without electricity. Amazonas has electricity two nights a week. They usually catch and harvest their own food which they cook on a grill-like mechanism. Their diet consits mainly of fish (which their husbands catch early in the mornings), fruit, and rice. Extra money earned from selling fish, fruit, and their artisanry is used to pay for their children's education, precious gasoline for boats, kitchen and household supplies such as cooking pans and soap, and clothing.

A quick note about the social state of these communities (for women): Initiation into sex begins very early. Sometimes girls as young as 10-12 begin to have children. At 31 years of age, it is not unusual for a woman to have several children and grandchildren. A 27 year old woman in Amazonas had four children. Because the houses are so open, I can imagine that children understand at an earlier age what is going on when their parents engage in sexual activity. These women have very little control over their own lives due to the care of their children and husbands. Women are considered second-class citizens are not able to participate in community government. All of this is not unusual for rural communities in the Amazon. In fact, the women I spoke with were suprised to learn that I was unengaged (men or children) at 22. Emira is 27 with no husband or children which makes her a novelty in her culture. Minga is changing all of this.



The women also showed me some of the artisanry made from "chimbara" the plant above. They cut the leaves of the plant and dry them in the sun to make jewelry, bowls, bags, etc.



They also dye the chimbara using natural colors made from fruits and herbs. They sell their work in the markets in Nauta. They were so kind to me giving me a gorgeous bag (made by Soreida) and bracelets and dried seeds (made by Erika and Francisca).

After our talk we hiked into the jungle to look at the construction of the fish farms (piscigranjas).



The women just set off into the jungle in their shorts and flipflops with me (completely covered in jeans, hiking boots, and a long sleeve shirt) tripping along behind them. I ran into lots of spider webs that usually remain intact high above the women's heads.

I don't think I have mentioned yet that it is hot as hell in the jungle. Of course, it doesn't affect the women at all. Not one of them dropped one bead of sweat the entire time while I was soaked thru and thru by the time we left. They said, "Well, you are all covered up!" I replied, "Yes, because the mosquitos (zancudos) love sweaty blancas!" They got a big laugh out of that. They gave me a bottle (refresco) of Nauta Cola which tastes pretty much like Coca Cola.

I was so very inspired, moved, touched, in complete admiration of these beautiful women and their new found (Minga only entered this community a year ago) power. They have always been strong and courageous, and now they have the communication skills and the knowledge to use that strength to better their positions as women and better their community. In the future, I hope that I can help Minga in any way that I can to continue their work in empowering such wonderful people.

The Jungle Book, "Minga Perú"

Minga Perú

I spent last weekend in the Peruvian part of the Amazon Rainforest. A little background information to start:

The Amazon Rainforest covers 1.4 billion acres of South America, nine nations: Brazil (60%), Peru (13%), Columbia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. The rainforest represents over half of the planet's remaining rainforests and is home to about 2.5 million insect species, 40,000 plant species, 3,000 fish species, 1,294 birds, 427 mammals, 428 amphibians, and 378 reptiles. In short, it's the largest collection of living plants and animal species in the world!



I went as an "amiga" of Minga Peru, a nonprofit organization that focuses on communication strategies to help women in rural communities in Peru's Amazonia. Minga Peru records a culturally appropriate radio program called Bienvenida Salud which addresses issues confronting indigenous women such as sexual health, domestic violence, poverty, and HIV/AIDS. Women (and men) in these rural communities are invited and encouraged to write letters to Minga's office in Iquitos which are read on the program. Some women, called promotoras, from the communities are chosen to attend workshops in which they participate in talks and exercises about women's rights, community development, and self esteem among others. Minga also provides supplies to some community women to build fish farms (piscigranjas) and camu-camu (a fruit) fields.

I had the great honor to visit 2 rural communities several minutes outside of Nauta (a small city near Iquitos) and talk with the women in those communities about their situations, Minga's help, their community projects, etc. I also visited the poor community of Belén in Iquitos to talk with a colaborador of Bienvenida Salud. It was a wonderful, unforgettable experience! The community members in the jungle (la selva) are very friendly, kind, and they care very much about their neighbors, their community, and the future of their children. Seeing their progress in matters of violence, health, and education was very inspiring.

The above is a very short version of my four day trip. The smells, sights and tastes were like nothing I have ever experienced. Therefore, the following series of blog posts is entitled The Jungle Book in which I will try to convey how incredible the rainforest and it's people are.

Ma Nuo-ism: The Controversy Surrounding China’s Most Popular TV Show

[This will also appear in China Grooves magazine]

It may come as a surprise to many living in China, but, apparently, money and material possessions are of vital importance to young Chinese. More shocking: Such things are high among the criteria used to choose romantic partners!

If such details are unknown to you, then watching Fei Cheng Wu Rao (If You Are The One) will be quite a revelation. Produced by Jiangsu Satellite TV and airing on the weekend since January, the show is not unique, but merely the most popular among a slew of reality dating shows that have been hitting Chinese airwaves of late.

This particular show features a panel of twenty-four attractive, young Chinese women. Over the course of the program, they are introduced to a series of bachelors. At the outset, the man indicates to the host, Meng Fei, which girl he prefers—or, rather, in the show’s lingo, who “arouses his heart.” Over the course of three subsequent stages, the man tells a bit about himself via video clips of his home and work life and testimonials from colleagues. If the women find him unappealing in some respect, they can turn off the lights on their podiums. If, at the end of stage three, all the lights have been extinguished, the man is sent packing; if, however, lights remain, the tables reverse and it becomes the man’s turn to eliminate the remaining women.

As the show runs its course, candidates are asked to justify the reasons why they have eliminated one another. Westerners will be familiar with the self-promoting vanity and petty viciousness that reality show stars are capable of, but the bluntness of it has captured the attention of the Chinese and caused worry among officials.

During its first six months, Fei Cheng Wu Rao focused a great deal on money. As the men were introduced, little pop-ups on the screen would detail whether they owned a car or a house. Nor did the men play down such facts—one, Liu Yunchao, has been singled out for particular scorn for his extended bragging about his nearly million dollar bank account and multiple sports cars. While it’s worth noting that Liu was voted off the show an was actually an actor playing up the part, the underlying sense remains that morality and priorities he chose to display were in keeping with the show’s style.

Another controversial moment occurred when Zhu Zhenfang refused to shake hands with a male contestant, explaining: “Only my boyfriend gets to hold my hand. Everyone else, 200,000 renminbi per shake.”

The most famous contestant, however, is Ma Nuo. The young model from Beijing gained notoriety for her sharp rejection of a suitor. Asked if she would come for bike rides with him, she replied that a BMW would be far more “cool.” Her statement spread through the internet and metamorphosized into the more dramatic and memorable: “I’d rather cry in a BMW than laugh on a bike.” While the words are not hers, the statement sums up what many see to be the skewed values of modern Chinese matchmaking.

While such attitudes are par for the course on Western shows, in China it’s a revelation. The various contestants all reflect real dilemmas facing ordinary Chinese: Concerns over money and houses, over the involvement of parents, over a man’s ability to advance himself in the workplace. It’s easy to relate to many of the biographies and become emotionally caught up in whether or not a contestant finds a good match. Statistics show that many Chinese feel this way: Throughout May and June, the show was the number one program in China. Message boards flared up in discussions, stars became famous, rights were franchised off to different countries, and Jiangu Sattelite TV was able to charge astronomical advertising rates for it’s commercial slots.

This all changed at the beginning of June when the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) issued a statement criticizing the character of such shows, describing them as “vulgar.” It was emphasized that shows were not to allow models, actors, and “second-generation rich” free-reign to wallow in their wealth, promote unethical views of marriage, and preach “mammonism” for the whole world to see.

Joking aside, the prevalence of the attitudes seen on Fei Cheng Wu Rao is no surprise to anyone living in China and that is precisely the reason the government has decided to step in. A show of this sort, expressing the views that it does, is an affront to Socialist values and allowing it to continue without comment would imply acceptance.

To escape the cancellation that had met competitors like Wei Ai Xiang Qian Chong (Run For Love) in the weeks following the SARFT’s statement, Fei Cheng Wu Rao re-jiggered its format. Gone were specific mentions of money—though whether or not someone owned items which cost a significant amount remained permissible for discussion. A middle-aged psychiatrist named Huang Han was added to the show to dispense professional opinions, but meshed awkwardly with the youthful cast and disappeared after a few weeks. Overall, contestants began to emphasize their commitment to family and community. Passions for volunteer work suddenly came into vogue. Without a steady stream of moral corrosion to catch the public’s attention, ratings dipped.

As time goes on, more and more rumor and controversy swirls around the show and its more infamous participants. Ma Nou has, allegedly, been banned from appearing on all reality programming in China. Suspicious viewers have conducted background checks revealing that multiple contestants hail from the same Beijing university and suggesting that getting on the program is a fix. And a competitor, Hunnan Sattelite Television, has claimed the show is ripping off their program Women Yue Hui Ba (Take Me Out)— whose franchise rights they bought from an English broadcaster.

In short, uneasy lies the head that wears the crown.

Watching a recent episode, the difficulties of producing such a show were all too apparent. When the forth bachelor of the evening, a mild, bespectacled man with a squeaky voice and shy demeanor emerged, the podium lights immediately cut out by half. Then came his videos; one clip of him in a cramped officer with several other IT technicians and another showing him preparing lunch and stuffing it into a Tupperware container. Both clips were utterly depressing in their ordinariness and in their sense of routine. The man was utterly average and now found himself at the mercy of a panel of women, themselves under enormous pressure to dispense withering, memorable critiques.

What could be worse than an utterly average person to be unceremoniously booted off the stage and denied his shot at happiness. If this guy couldn’t succeed, who in modern China could have hope . . .And yet he won out! He found his match—and not just any of the women, but the one who had “aroused his heart.” Where an American show would never have included such a guy in the first place, here he was, on tv, taking home the girl. The cynics can grumble that it all seems staged, but the optimists and romantics can take heart. The show succeeds in so far as it balances the defeats and hassles of daily life with the possibility for love wining out in the end.

Recent Foodtography Snackeria

Me likey a lot food photography. One day I will get to buy my dream lens. For now... some recent snaps I took of recent foodsnacks...

Santiago's Pink Cadillac

Nothing makes summers a pleasure than having a special twist on margaritas. That would mean having a Pink Cadillac. Santiago's version of the cadillac combines the tequila of your choice, gran marnier and pama with a splach of Rosa's lime. A smooth variation on a classic, with a hint of pomegrante.

The Bugs....they are everywhere!!

The sun came out today (for the fourth time since I've been here). So, like the last few times the sun streamed through the office windows, I cut out early. Home for a quick change into tennis shoes and off for a walk in the glorious sunshine. You miss it SO much when it's not there! The Limenos must have Vitamin D deficiency. I'm surprised they remain so cheerful! They say a lack of sunshine can contribute to symptoms of depression. Not here. These people are quite chipper despite the occasional "Hay demasiado frio!" I'm not going to argue with them there.



On the way out the door, I absent-mindedly grabbed my camera. I thought I might get some sunny shots of the ruins next to my house. I knew the battery was almost dead, but I only wanted a few pictures.



Next to the ruins was a older model, sky blue Volkswagen Beetle. After taking a few pictures of it, I noticed a red one a block away. I thought, You know I must see at least one of these everyday. Laura Jr., my senora's daughter, has a turqouise Bug and a yellow one is parked near my office most of time. My inner monologue continued as I walked a few blocks and came upon a more worn black Bug. Two hours until it gets dark... Let's hunt some Bugs. So, I invented "Shoot the Bug" game in which I tried to find and "shoot" as many Bugs as I could in the next 120 minutes.



I became pretty competitive with myself after a while. Trying to find one more, then one more, then another. Blocks after blocks chasing run away Bugs, trying to get more than one Bug in a frame, getting shots from underneath the front bumper, seeing if I could get pictures without the driver noticing, playing frogger with traffic to catch the Bug across the street... I got so good that I could see those little domed roofs from three or four blocks away. By the time it started getting too dark to take photos, I was so exhausted that I was hoping not to see another puttering down a side street so I wouldn't have to detour from my path home.

I made it home victorous with 43 sightings (New High Score) in two hours (all within a ten by ten block range from my house).



Check out all 43 Bugs "shot" today...click on the photo below to see the whole Picasa web album. The "shots" are in chronological order. From the little blue one that inspired the game to Laura Jr.'s turquoise number (shot before going into my house to eat dinner).

I'm an American, and so are you!

Just a few cultural tidbits to share with everyone...(I'm going to list it like Rebecca M.)

1. Sarcasm: Now, it isn't that I'm claiming that sarcasm does not exist in this country, but I sure haven't encountered it. Furthermore, everytime I take a stab at it, everyone thinks I'm serious.

"¿Qué?"

"No, no. Una broma." No, no. It's a joke.

Of course, I am trying out sarcasm in my second language, and I'm accompanying the Spanish words with the culturally appropriate American gestures. So, maybe, I'm just not doing it right. However, it's disturbing to see 14 wide-eyed faces staring at you over the conference table with little thought bubbles forming, "This gringa's crazy."

2. Elevators: So you know how awkward Americans are in elevators? We all get in trying so hard not to touch each other and, then, commence to staring at the little numbers lighting up above the door. And, if anyone violates our elevator norms, we become extremely uncomfortable. Peruvians are exactly the same. One thing I didn't have to adjust to.

3. Identity: Most Peruvians guess first that I am Colombian (I have no idea why). Their next guess is Spanish, then usually France or Holland. I usually have to play this game in cabs, on buses, in bodegas, and in the supermarkets. My favorite is when they think I don't speak Spanish so they try to guess amongst themselves. Here's how the conversation went the first couple of times (translated into English for your reading pleasure):

"Are you French?"

"No, I'm American."

This is the part in which I receive a really puzzled look. "So am I," my interlocutor responds.

A little light bulb comes on in my head. Oh yeah, that's technically true. The culturally appropriate response is then, "Oh, well, I'm North American or norteamericana."

That usually satisfies them, unless they want to play a third round of "Are you Canadian or United States...ian (in Spanish it is estadounidense).

At first, I was pretty confused about not being understood when I called myself "American." I mean, heck, that's what I am. So, I thought. Here, I am norteamericana or estadounidense. I usually say the former, because the latter is harder to get out of your mouth. But, now, I like it. When I say, "I am American," I am grouping myself in with Colombians, Mexicans, Canadians, Argentines, Chileans, and Peruvians. In a country in which I stick out like a sore (very tall, white) thumb, I get to say that we all have something in common. We are all American. How's that for turning national identity on it's head?

A Lack of Libros

Christmas came early this year! At least, I think David M. might agree. One of the most frustrating aspects of this trip (besides the piropos...which is a story for another day) is the lack of libros (books, that is). Peru isn't real big on books. That isn't a criticism of Peru's educational system (which I know little about) nor is it a suggestion that Peruvians do not read (I know for a fact that they do...I've seen it.)

Books of any genre (including dictionaries and textbooks) can only be found in very clean, sparkling librerias and only at surprisingly high prices. (P.S. Why doesn't Lima have a black market for books when it has one for everything else?) Generally, the books tend to be $5 or $10 more than US prices. I assume that is because there are no book factories in Peru. Books in English come from the US, and books in Spanish come from Spain. Then, they are set on polished wood shelves (wrapped in annoyingly impenetrable cellophane) and guarded by crisp-shirted Peruvians.

"Puedo ayudar usted?"

"No, thank you, I'm just looking."

Therefore, the summer reading that I was hoping to have has turned out to be...unavailable (aka unpaid for my checks from Joe). Unlike, David M. I assumed that I would buy books in Peru thereby making it unnecessary to lug 15 books through the airport. David, we should have chatted pre-departure about this. Dear Joe, please recommend that research be done on enjoyable reading material before peacing out (bookless) to a non-English speaking country.

So, I've been going to a local international high school/English-service church to poke through a very dusty room full of books, most printed about 3 or 4 decades ago. Occasionally, I run across a Danielle Steele (which I refuse to read), a Pulitzer Prize winner (unfortunately I read it last Christmas), and "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" (it's actually pretty insightful).

Thankfully, via the bookstore about 5 blocks from my house, Santa or my guardian angel or the libreria manager needing to clear out the stock room decided to "gift" me an book sale! And not just any book sale, an English book sale at 10 soles per libro! I can't rave about the selection, but it was much better than dusting off self-help books from a church's basement. I bought "My Invented Country" by Isabel Allende, "The God who Begat a Jackel" (no clue what that's about), and "The Conquest of the Incas" (a book sold only in Latin America that's as big as Harry Potter #4).

So, thank you, Santa. Next year, I'm going to ask for a Kindle.

Press Releases in Peru

Promsex just issued a press release about the success of the Gay Pride Parade last Saturday. Maribel, the author, used several of my photos! I'm excited, because I've never been published before, and photographic journalism has always been a secret dream job for me.

Photos: Kashgar

For photos of Kashgar City click HERE.

For photos of Kashgar Food and Products click HERE.

For photos of Kashgar People and Fashion click HERE.

For photos of Outside Kashgar City click HERE.

Pride in Peru

I marched in Lima's 9th Annual Gay Pride Parade yesterday (Saturday, July 10, 2010). Now, when I say I marched in Lima's 9th Annual Gay Pride Parade, I marched in the FRONT of Lima's 9th Annual Gay Pride Parade. I mean in the very front. Leading the charge. My org, Promsex, funded the parade so our staff carried the opening banner. On occasion, while we were marching, I would stop to take a photo of the very colorful line behind us. When I did, I saw that the front truck would stop too. So when I say I was leading the parade, I'm not kidding. It was incredible! I can't say the reception of surprised onlookers was particularly welcoming. Mostly they looked like they were watching a horrible traffic accident. There were hecklers, but, like Maribel said, "No respondes. La indiferencia mata." (Don't respond. Indifference kills). I would make the argument that "la celebracion mata" (celebration kills). That's a weird phrase, but the celebration of who you are and what you believe (a celebration of self-love and pride with pure happiness) also defies the nay-sayers. And what were we celebrating? Yes, we were celebrating being gay, lesbian, transexual, bisexual...we were even celebrating being straight. But, primarily, we were celebrating love and humanity's ability to love. That is what we should be most proud of.


Some of Promsex's staff...I'm so happy to be a part of the family!



Preparing for the parade.





















This is Jorge. He works in my office. His shirt says, "Dare to jump out of the closet."







Beginning the march. The opening banner: "We are free. Are we always?"













There's this illusion that homosexuals have sex and heterosexuals fall in love. That's completely untrue. Everybody wants to be loved. ~Boy George