Author: jrperlut

Last Friday Jake and I were introduced to the Latin party scene when we attended a Fiesta Latina at the Venezuelan ambassador’s residency. When we first arrived we felt out of place as the only two Gringos amidst a sea of Hispanic embassy workers sporting nametags from an assortment of Spanish speaking countries. Jake and I played our favorite game: guess the country of origin based on articles of clothing. When more Americans strolled in we spotted them from afar usually by their shoe of choice and accessories. Then the small talk began. Jake and I met world travelers, tapas lovers, and salsa veterans. More and more people clustered around the cheese platters and blasting music. It wasn’t long before the music stole the scene and couples entered the spotlight, showing off their dance moves fit for a TV series like Dancing with the Stars. I watched bedazzled by so much sass and hip movement. The inner Twamp came out in me as I stared wishing that I had a notebook or that I could add Latin Dance as a freshman requirement to our curriculum. Our DJ took the festivities to the next level breaking out the karaoke and inviting brave individuals to imitate their favorite tunes. At the end of the night it all came down to a handful of my friends, and a microphone. We steered clear of Spanish lyrics opting for an American classic instead. At the top of our lungs we belted out “ Why do you build me up, build me up buttercup baby, just to let me down, let me down and mess me around!” Cameras flashed and the crowd grew wild… It didn’t matter that we were a bunch of twampy gringos that couldn’t sway to a beat or hold a tune collectively; as the night came to a close we were celebrities.

<3 besos,

Maddy

In high school, my history teachers loved to do these exercises called “Links”. They would write three terms related to what we had studied that could range from and artists’ name, a movement, an event, or even a specific date! Our task as students was to think of how these events were connected and defend our ideas in a paragraph or so. Today I present you with my own version of a “Link”:

Butterflies, Floods, and Spain.

Give up? All three are references to some component of ECO, a photography exhibition that recently opened at American University’s Katzen Art Center. The show is the latest event organized by the Embassy of Spain and showcases the work of photography collectives (groups of photographers) from Europe and Latin America. Each collective was challenged to develop a series of photos that expresses their joint view on the current relationship between man and the environment.

This is one of the pictures from ECO and exemplifies what the artist calls the frontier between humans and nature. Here, children attempt to play soccer on the banks of a flooding river. Both threaten one another, yet neither is ready to cooperate completely.

We had the chance to preview the exhibit even before the opening reception. This was a great chance to talk with the curator, Claudi Carreras, and hear more about the collection. The great thing about ECO is that it is one of those truly provocative works of art that makes you think about a greater social issue, unlike those big panels of canvas with a few dots or stripes which we like to call “modern art”. If you’re in the DC area and want to give your heart and mind a great workout, visit ECO for FREE!

Like the first picture, this one, from a different collective, also explores the destruction of boundaries we attempt to create between ourselves and the natural world.

– Jake & Maddy