urgente cancelación reunión día 29

Os comunicamos que la reunión que se iba a celebrar mañana en el Salón de Actos de la Dirección de Área Territorial de Madrid-Capital en la C/ Vitruvio, 2 ha sido cancelada. Todos los que queráis repetir un año más como Auxiliares debéis acudir a la otra reunión que estaba convocada el viernes 7 de marzo a las 11 en el mismo lugar.



Rogamos nos disculpéis por la urgencia de este aviso, pero ha surgido un imprevisto que nos impide celebrar la reunión de mañana.



Un cordial saludo.

University teaching opportunity

De: LLANEZA VILLANUEVA, JOSE AURELIO
Enviado el: jueves, 21 de febrero de 2008 11:01
Para: FERRER ALVAREZ, SALVADOR
Asunto: Mensaje urgente para auxiliares

SI estáis interesados en colaborar algunos sábados hasta el final del curso en Universidades de Madrid, por favor, enviadme un correo electrónico urgentemente. Todavía no sabemos los días concretos, pero sí sabemos que estaríais en la Universidad de 9:30 a 19:30 y que se os pagaría 100 euros por cada sábado. No tengo más información de momento, pero muy pronto me pondré en contacto con los interesados para daros más detalles.

Un saludo,
Aurelio

My first Berlinale

Being somewhat of a film fan, I thought that attending a festival would be one of the ultimate in cinephilic acts (besides making my own movie, of course). The ones in Cannes and Venice are both private, and though I lived in close proximity for many years, I had never made to Telluride or Sundance. Nor did I make to San Sebastian last year, having arrived in Spain only few a days after the festival closed. So when a chance to spend a long weekend at one of what the International Federation of Film Producers Associations calls an "A festival"--and one of the only "name" ones open to the public--I jumped right in.

And why not? I've been fortunate enough to have visited Berlin a few times, and I obviously wouldn't return if I didn't have any good experiences. I admit, it's precisely because I come as a tourist that I have a "good time," that the city retains its romance. I don't pretend to "know" Berlin, nor expect it to be representative of Germany, but I nevertheless enjoy wandering its streets, watching its people, soaking up its history and culture, its constant reinvention, and simply put, just being there. In other words, Berlin is a place where I don't mind being alone (though I like it quite a lot that it's a pity not to experience it with others).

Berlin is apparently also a fantastic place to see movies, and not just for Berlinale, although this was the primary reason for my recent visit. On my way to Loos Ornamental, a documentary about the Austrian architect Adolf Loos, I passed by a score of paparazzi.

"GAEELLLLLLLLLLLLL!"
"NATTTTTTTTALLLLLIIEEEEEEEE!"
"SCCCCCCARRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLLETTTTT!"

Nothing registered until I saw Eric Bana signing a few autographs.

I settled into my incredibly plush chair at one of the CineStar rooms in Potsdamer Platz's Sony Center and felt my heart beat faster as the curtains rose and the familiar Berlinale bear appeared on the screen to introduce the documentary. I would spend most of the day in the same complex, with two more movies, and a break in between, to grab a bite across the way at the Arkaden.

On Saturday, I chose to see only one movie, in order not to strain my eyes for the whopper--five movies--on Sunday. The nerdy me checked out the weather prior to leaving Madrid, and as it forecasted sunny, I preferred to spend the rest of the day outside. Part of the new German cinema program, Die Dinge zwischen uns, was about a more-or-less straight-laced woman who goes to great lengths to preserve her "normalcy," and turned out to more enjoyable than I thought. Again, another very comfortable screening in a yet another plush chair--this time, mint green, with matching curtains for the screen.

It was still quite early when I left the theater, so I took a quick jaunt down Schoenhauser Allee and onto some side street trying to find this bag shop with the innovative concept of removable flaps. The square it looked on to was busy with children, the surrounding cafes and shops full of buzz and smells of late lunches wafting from windows, a moment where I wished a friend or two were with me.

I wished the same thing later that night, waiting at the Lido in Kreuzberg for a show to start. With no one to talk to, I killed time with my iPod, making a waiting room tracklist of sorts; luckily, there were only five before the masses were called into the main room. More dance songs and scores of people jammed into a very tight space, very good-looking, very tall people, many, many well-dressed women. We were all waiting for the main act, who proved to be quite charming, quite pleasant and entertained the crowd with not one, but THREE encore acts, the last two solo. After a fourth request, he graciously thanked the crowd once more, but apologized that he wouldn't unable to fulfill it, lest he passed out. We understood and slowly dispersed.

Sunday, my last day, was my big cinema day. The only available screening of Be Kind Rewind, the new Michel Gondry, was at 10:30, and since I was so excited to see it, I woke up two hours too early. I took the opportunity to once again wander up and down Mitte, peering into shop windows and taking a few photographs when I could. I wasn't too worried about getting to the Berlinale Palast, where the movie was being screened, as there were assigned seats. Mine was great, a center seat in one of the central rows, and as I would find out later, in the pit.

Unfortunately, Be Kind Rewind was the only movie for which I was awake throughout its duration. I nodded off here and there during the following three movies, and didn't even make it to the last one because I knew I'd be too sleepy and tired for the 20-minute U-bahn ride back to the hostel. Before I even realized that Zou You, about a divorced couple who need to procreate in order to help their sick child, had German--and not English--subtitles, I was already aching to crawl into bed.

Lessons learned, probably common sense, in random order:
- Try to buy tickets online for "priority" movies.
Online sales are limited. So, by the time I got to Berlin to get a ticket for any screening of the The Other Boleyn Girl, nothing was available. Scheiße.

- Discounts rule.
Sunday was designated Kinotag--spectator day--for any movie, at any theater. Therefore, reduced price. Also half-off for students and seniors for same-day shows. Although I'm technically no longer a student, I still could've purchased Friday's tickets for 3,-eur/each instead of paying full price, if only my estudiante NIE was on me, and not at the hostel!

- Try to space out shows.
For one of the screenings, I sat in the aisle seat, near the entrance. I timed the U-bahn ride from Potsdamer Platz to Alexanderplatz to take between 15-20 minutes, but I was sure cutting it close from the Wolfgang Tillmans documentary, ending at 2:30 and Sweet Food City starting at 3:00. Also: no more than three movies a day, if I can do it.

The main point: plan better. And had my schedule allowed it--that is, if I had no work obligations--I would've attended the festival during it's two-and-a-half week entirety. I would have a wider selection of movies, screenings, and probably wouldn't fall asleep. Oh well; there's always next year.




(Image: Cinema Without Borders)

Never sleep in a room with nine other people

After giving myself a runaround in the S-Bahn, I finally made it to the hostel I'd booked for the night. A quarter to midnight is still early in Spanish for terms, but being on the plane for a few hours, schlepping my luggage up and down flights of stairs, I was quite eager to crawl into bed. I trudged sleepily to the hostel entrance a few doors down, only to be informed by the sign that if no one was at reception, I oughta backtrack and check with the folks at the corner cafe which had the same owners.

--Hi, I said slowly, I have a reservation. Two men in their thirties, one much more into their drinking than the other, looked me up and down.

--Ummm, yesss...just a second. There was no one there?, was the inquiry in a very Kiwi accent.

I shook my head.

--Just a second...(motions to some other guy)...so you're staying for a week, yeah?

I shook my head, not knowing it was supposed to be rhetorical. Another guy, slightly younger, came by to help me out, and the other two went back to their drinks. When it came time to pay, however, the tipsier dude chimed in, once again.

--You have to pay a key deposit, too.

Whatever, I thought to myself. Booking online, having paid a deposit that way, proved to be utterly useless, but I wasn't in any mood to argue. I forked over a 20-euro note and was led to the quarters.

Unfortunately, there were no available beds.

--Don't worry, one of my would-be roomies said, we'll figure something out.

He waved his flashlight around. Some people groaned softly, others turned in their bed. Only one other seemed to be sleeping soundly.

--Here, he said, motioning to one of the top bunks. I don't think anyone's sleeping here.

So wrong. At about three or four in the morning, a backpack was thrown at the foot of the bunk.

--Oh, was this your bed?
--It was, the male voice replied, with a Spanish accent.
--Lo siento, I apologized. I don't think anyone's below, though.
--Vale.

I wasn't aware of much of anything else afterwards, having collapsed into sleep out of pure fatigue. Nevertheless, I was the first to wake up, only a few hours later, itching to leave. Check-out wasn't until 10 or 11, but I gathered my things anyway and changed in the bathroom, so as not to wake anyone else up. And I soon high-tailed it out of there, into the fresh Berlin morning. As sleep-deprived as I was, I felt much better.

Training date change

De: FERRER ALVAREZ, SALVADOR
Enviado el: miercoles, 13 de febrero de 2008 12:44
Para: FERRER ALVAREZ, SALVADOR
Asunto: MENSAJE IMPORTANTE. SESIÓN DE FORMACIÓN AUXILIARES DE CONVERSACIÓN

Hola a todos,


Esperamos que todo vaya bien en vuestros colegios en este duro trimestre. Pensad que la primavera pronto llegará. Ya sabéis que ante cualquier eventualidad estamos aquí para ayudaros en todo lo posible. Queríamos recordaros que la última sesión de formación para Auxiliares de Conversación en el CRIF “LAS ACACIAS” tendrá lugar el próximo viernes 22 de febrero. Todos los que estabais convocados para la sesión del pasado día 8 y no fuisteis podéis incorporaros a esta sesión del 22 de febrero. Si no estuvisteis el día 8 y todavía no os habéis puesto en contacto con nosotros explicándonos los motivos de vuestra ausencia, os recordamos que la asistencia a las Jornadas de Formación es obligatoria por lo que esperamos que a lo largo de estos días nos comuniquéis por qué no pudisteis asistir el día 8.

Un saludo a todos.

Aurelio Llaneza.
Programas Bilingües.

Concrete jungle, or: conquering shopping fears

As much as I may appreciate "fashion" and "style," I'm actually quite afraid to go shopping. Afraid of entering the store, of clerks approaching me, of me approaching them, of the other shoppers, of trying on clothes. You get it; the whole experience makes me more nervous and paranoid that I usually am. And in the month since the rebajas (sales) have started, I've grown increasingly wary of jamming into high-street shops like Lefties, H&M, and Sfera, trying to stock up on last season's goods at sharply-reduced prices. Indeed, even when it's not rebajas time, the shops can be like almost as asphyxiating as going to the Rastro.

I nevertheless woke up this morning with the urge to check out some of the boutique shops, particularly those within walking distance of Plaza Santa Bárbara (Metro: Alonso Martinez), recommend as part of the stylists' trail. The first stop was Pez, one of the bigger, delightfully airy little spaces that channels a very bobo feel. Silly, but I call it the "looking and the cooking," for that simultaneously intellectual and stylish woman who favors quirky but feminine and sober prints. The Deschanel sisters, for example, or Annie Clark. I'd walked by the display more than a few times, and previously intimidated, had only entered this afternoon.

The new attendants were unobtrusive, and let me peruse as long as I want, feeling the fabrics and pretty much fondling an exquisite Les Prairies de Paris jacket that was much too much for the pocketbook, even though it was in the rebajas section. The plaid dress I'd also stared at from outside was much less appealing up close, feeling more like a potato sack, if anything else. The item that I coveted most, however, was the bag of my life (ok, the day), an Egyptian blue piece that doubled as a tote and a purse when you folded it over. This isn't much of a description, so I urge you to check it out, though I should've taken a picture.

In an effort to thank them for letting me spend a good chunk of time in the place without any purchases, I asked what music was playing in the background. I'd already known the answer.

He's Swedish, right?

I headed up to Oliphant next, a chance discovery from last December when I was at Biblioketa. Oliphant had a similar vibe to Pez, though on a much smaller scale and as it seemed, offering more French labels, like Tara Jarmon, Madame à Paris, Mellow Yellow. Many gorgeous pieces also on sale, but none of the ones I liked, like the hunter green Madame à Paris tunic, was no longer available in my size. Another stunning piece I tried on was (of course) a cobalt blue top by Bellerose. Since there was no price on the tags from the new collection, I had to ask, and almost choked.

Then 10 minutes later, at Mott, where I first turned the corner in order to not enter, but ended up spending about an hour. The storefront is deceiving; the shop actually extends to two more spaces behind, the last dedicated to--you guessed it--rebajas. Of the three shops I'd so far visited, Mott offered the most pieces I wanted to try on, from a leaf-print dress by a label whose name starts with M to delicate cotton shirts by Iro. I was close to purchasing a hazel tunic by Iro when the attendant informed me that they were, again, out of my size.

Un/fortunate.

What I was hoping to be my last stop was Zadig & Voltaire, one of two Madrid branches of the French label. The style here is also quite bobo with the rocker tinge. Skulls and crossbones everywhere. Or pirates, I guess. The last time I visited, I wasn't compelled by any particular item as much as I was by the color palette: muted (not pastel) pinks, blues, greens. Also some items for men, which I admit, weren't half bad, for the modern Baudelaire--oh, I meant Voltaire, haha.

I toted a sweater in my hand and when I turned around, there was an attendant smiling at me, waiting to cater to my needs. She recommended a few other pieces from the spring/summer collection, "super cute," she said under a cardigan and over a jean miniskirt and tights. Like she was wearing! I had to grin shyly and burst the thought bubble, invisibly rising from my head, screaming, "Yo! I just want to try this sweater on!"

The attendant was quite, well, attentive, as per the job title, I'd imagine. She was quick to give me different sizes, different colors, recommend this one to go with that one, etc, that I had to keep rushing to put my shirt back on before opening the dressing room curtain. At the counter, I was half-eavesdropping on another attendant speaking flawless French with another customer (who I assumed from her accent to be a native francophone), and asked the one with whom I was working if she spoke French. She smiled.

A little bit...but it's not mandatory.

I took advantage of the situation to ease up on my nerves. French was something I could do. Small talk in French, at this bastion of French rocker chic, was something I could do.

Do you guys spend a lot of time in France, then?
No, not all...but you must?
Just some friends.
So you must know the label very well, then? The brown eyes looked up, with a conspiratorial twinkle.

It's half-fiction: I knew the label, but once again, I'd never seen myself actually going into the shop, for fear of the hyper-cool...whatever. All my insecurities to the fore. The ladies at this branch, however, seemed real, but I played dumb again, asking if there was another branch.

On Claudio Coello.
Number 80..8.

I wished the attendants as I headed out into a pleasant afternoon. The actual last stop was Zara, that Galician fashion empire, as Time Out calls it, and rightly so. I don't doubt that generally speaking, every Spanish woman has at least one piece in her wardrobe labeled Zara. The company's schtick is a "downmarket" take on catway fashions without, supposedly, the "downmarket" quality. In other words, a kind of sartorial democracy, where the Zara woman's assumed schtick is to take the piece and make it her own, at a fraction of the price. In my opinion, Zara can be quite costly but from the looks of the register lines, its popularity isn't dwindling any time soon.

Still, I wonder if there isn't room in the Spanish economy, in the fashion system, in the culture for US-style thrift stores like Goodwill and ARC? There are places like Humana, but they aren't as wide-spread, with (I think) only five in Madrid. Perhaps this is a topic for later inquiry...


Shops listed:
Pez - Regueros 15
Oliphant - Santa Teresa 7
Mott - Barquillo 31
Zadig & Voltaire - Almirante 27


(Image: Hola.com, an ad for Misako, a bag chain:
Careful!
Rebajas!
Don't lose sight of the desired bag
Don't insult, step on, or push anyone
Stay calm; there's something for everyone)

renovación de auxiliares

De: LLANEZA VILLANUEVA, JOSE AURELIO
Enviado el: martes, 05 de febrero de 2008 13:05
Para: FERRER ALVAREZ, SALVADOR
Asunto: renovación de auxiliares

Sabemos que muchos de vosotros estáis interesados en seguir siendo auxiliares el próximo año. Para que esto sea posible, es necesario que los directores de vuestros centros estén de acuerdo y que exista un compromiso por vuestra parte para quedaros. En cualquier caso, vamos a celebrar dos reuniones en las que se os informará a los que estéis interesados de los pasos a seguir. Las dos reuniones se celebrarán a las 11 de la mañana en el salón de actos de la Dirección de Área Territorial Madrid Capital, en la Calle del Vitruvio, 2 de Madrid. Si no estáis interesados en quedaros un segundo año, no tenéis que asistir a estas reuniones. Los asistentes se dividirán de la siguiente forma:


Viernes, 29 de febrero:
Auxiliares cuyo apellido comienza con letras de la A a la L


Viernes, 7 de marzo:
Auxiliares cuyo apellido comienza con letras de la M a la Z



Un saludo,
Aurelio

Agenda

Since Julie has already provided an excellent write-up of the current flamenco exhibit at the Reina Sofía, I thought I'd provide a sampling of some exhibits I'm thinking of checking out:

Avant-nerdismo, when square becomes cool, until 14 February at Espacio García,

Generación 2008, contemporary art by young Spanish artists, until 23 March at La Casa Encendida,

No soy un monstruo, until Spring at Mad is Mad,

Picasso, from the Paris Picasso Museum, until 5 May at the Reina Sofía,

Modigliani until 18 May at the Thyssen-Bornemisza and the Fundación Caja Madrid,

and (maybe) some shows:

Efterklang, Peter Broderick, 20 Feb at Neu! Club

Love of Lesbian, Russian Red, La Bien Querida, Los Guapos, 29 Feb at Joy Eslava

La Casa Azul, 8 March at Joy Eslava

Feist, 8 June at Sala Heineken

or (even) some movies:

My Blueberry Nights, Wong Kar-Wai -- I read a synopsis in an in-flight magazine, and the description made me cringe. The movie features Norah Jones, but it has the WKW stamp, so...

It's A Free World, Ken Loach -- A recently unemployed woman organizes her own home business, employing immigrants. The trailer looked interesting.

Juno, Jason Reitman -- Yes, I'm most definitely buying into the hype. Ellen Page is a versatile actress (see: Hard Candy) and I'm missing some teenage American wit.

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, Julian Schnabel -- Also the hype. Elle's Jean-Dominique Bauby tells his life story with only the help of one eye.

4 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, Cristian Mungiu -- Communism in decline and abortion still illegal.

If, however, you're in the market for a Spanish-language film, I highly recommend the most excellent XXY, by Lucía Puenzo. It deftly tackles the interrelationships of sex, sexuality, and gender identity without making any judgments, all the while demonstrating how such ideas are not so much fixed as learned.

That said, I'm also quite looking forward to the slew of films at this year's Berlinale, including The Other Boleyn Girl (featuring ravishing Natalie Portman and Scarlett Johansson as the sisters) and Be Kind, Rewind (the new Michel Gondry), both world premieres and screening out of competition. Just hope my eyes don't tire out.