BAFICI - Aardman Animation QnA

The Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente (BAFICI) is an 11 day film festival that happens in April.  The event spans 27 different venues around BA.  

I was exploring the Centro Cultural Recoleta area, and noticed some familiar faces on signage for BAFICI.  Good ole Wallace n Grommit from Aardman Animation Studios!  The British animation studio is celebrating 40 years and was a big part of BAFICI. 

Lucky for me, the Creative Director of Aardman, Merlin Crossingham was speaking in a free Q&A seminar!  He spoke about the challenges that small animation studios face; he showed process clips where he was acting out scenes playing Wallace; and he even sculpted some clay on stage while speaking.  I got to talk to him after the event!  Not gonna lie.  I was a little starstruck.  

One of the coolest stories about the claymation process: before every feature film, they purchase about 2 metric tons of clay for each color that they’re going to use for each character.  Films take 4-5 years to produce, so they can’t rely on the color being the same if they need to order a new batch from the clay manufacturer.  So, they stock up before the film, and they mix the massive amounts of clay in large bubble gum mixing machines that they bought from the Wrigley bubble gum company!  Fascinating.

Very thankful to get to see Merlin speak, and shake the man’s hand.

Check out the cool bathrooms at the Centro Cultural Recoleta building!  Really cool design!

Buenos Aires Street Art

We landed in city #3: La Paz, Bolivia!  But, I’ve still got more to say about my beloved Buenos Aires!  

I saw 5 art museums, each with their own style.  But, some of the best art in Buenos Aires is on the streets.  Just like New York City, or Venice, Cali, street art is part of the cityscape.  It is encouraged and celebrated.  And, I think it's beautiful.

In BA, there are no restrictions on street art by the government.  All you need is the property owner’s consent.  Some street art is political and some is just playful.  

They have graffiti tours featuring some of the coolest art in the city.  But, I didn’t do anything formal.  Just kept my eyes open as I walked around.  

Here are some of my favorite pieces from my neighborhood: Villa Crespo & Palermo.  This is just a small fraction of the amount of art around the city.  Muy bueno!!!

Communicate Like Cousteau

One of my goals for this Remote Year is to host 1 public speaking workshop per city.  12 cities, 12 workshops.  In LA, my workshops were called Communication Community.

 

On Remote Year, I’m calling it “Communicate Like Cousteau”.  (RY3 code name = Cousteau)    Jacques Cousteau was a true Renaissance man.  A revolutionary scientist, explorer, filmmaker, conservationist, photographer, author, etc.  

Remote Year 3  is comprised of 70 professionals from around the world, who are all incredibly bright, innovative and adventurous.  We have artists, engineers, writers, photographers, entrepreneurs, etc.  And, we are ALL explorers.  Pioneers of the digital nomadic world.

Cousteau was also an orator who often gave speeches about his ground-breaking work and political views.  I think Cousteau would be proud of us.  And, I hope we honor his name.  

Workshop #1: Cordoba, Incutex TechPub

In Córdoba, the first workshop was held on March 23rd, in the Incutex co-working space's conference room, the TechPub.  We had 9 in total, and the theme of the night centered around the late, great actor, comedian, and philanthropist Robin Williams.  There will never be another like him and I like to use him as an example of just how far you can push yourself in public speaking.  He was a master.  

We started off with some improv games, and for vocal warmups, we impersonated some of Robin's most famous movie quotes from Aladdin, Good Will Hunting and Good Morning Vietnam.  "Bueeeeeenaaaaas noooooooches, Cooooooooordooooobaaaaaa!"

Members of the group got up and told short stories based on something they are passionate about.  Super proud of these people for pushing themselves!

• Laura - Goal of traveling to all 50 states but the requirements are that she must stay over night and must do a cool event!  
• Travis - Tried over 40 times to get the most epic zip line frisbee YouTube video but the alas, 2 golden opportunities were left on the table as the frisbee was dropped!
• Brecht - Was involved in the Belgium version of 'Boy Scouts' and has filled various leadership roles, including organizing fun activities where the kids would play baseball and get crazy dirty!
• Tanya - Reminisced about how delicious the fresh cucumbers from her garden back home are and how she can't wait to return and get back to her gardening!
• Eric - Talked about his love of mountain biking and going to the top of mountains in California so he could fly down the hills!  He very much prefers downhill riding to uphill.  ;]
• Kelly - Comes from a very active family and always needs to be doing something!  She found her love for endurance running, and now has finished a 50k race!  Very impressive!
• Patrick - Shared the story of how Turd Bird was born, and how he hosted a WrestleMania style cage match event in his friends' backyard!

And lastly, we had a keynote speech from Melissa, who shared a hilarious life story that was honest, relatable and inspirational.  Melissa involved the audience in the speech and had us in stitches with her humorously daring topic!

Workshop #2: Buenos Aires, La Ninina

The 2nd workshop was a little more challenging to host. Our co-working offices didn't quite have the space for the type of event I wanted.  I had to go outside the inner circle, which presented logistics and linguistic challenges!

La Ninina is a local cafe in the Palermo district of Buenos Aires and a favorite amongst my fellow travelers.  They have a gorgeous 1st floor private room that screamed 'BOOK ME!!!' as soon as I saw it.  There is a window overlooking the kitchen, which reflects a lot of light into the space and creates a comfy ambience. 

For this second workshop, the group doubled in size.  18 total attendees.  I think using EventBrite to track invitations AND having the event at such a cool venue helped to bolster the numbers.  And, perhaps word got around that these events are actually fun?  

The theme of the night centered around the late great musician: Prince, who was an incredibly talented musician who liked to take risks.  While some of Prince's quotes are less than inspiring (See list) I really liked this one, as I feel it is very apropos to the fear of public speaking:

Prince: "The most important thing is to be true to yourself, but I also like danger. That's what's missing from pop music today. There's no excitement or mystery."

To warm up the audience, I had them alternate verses of famous Prince songs: Kiss and 1999, which was hilarious because none of us can hit the high notes like the legend himself!  We then had an interactive discussion about the various ways to use our voices to enhance our speech.  After the discussion, I invited audience members up to tell a short story.  Following the stories, we had a brief critique of the storytellers, talking about both positive aspects of their stories, and offering a few areas for improvement.  Here's a recap:

• Richard - Heartwarming story of cooking mac n cheese for his family, almost losing a finger in the process, and his mom’s home-cooked redemption.
• Arestia - Wowed the audience with a wonderful story of a documentary film she worked on featuring an Olympic equestrian rider and the stunning farm location they got to film on.
• Adam - Story of riding old, rickety motorbikes in Vietnam, and then having to hitch a ride in a chicken truck where they got pooped on.
• Sam - How she became a young firestarter, trying to burn a piece of paper for a school project and almost burning her house down while her father took a nap.
• Abby - Spoke about the preparation of her valedictorian speech for her high school graduation, and how she does NOT have a passion public speaking.
• Johnson - Suspenseful tale of being on a boat in Croatia with a girl and having to swim down to the bottom to rescue an anchor that got away!
• Miranda - Her story centered on her clumsiness while mountain biking with friends on a tiny children’s bike, swerving to avoid a boulder, busting open her head, and getting rocks implanted in her skin.  OUCH!
• Tom - Giving a best man speech in Sri Lanka, and trying to be so cute by giving the first half of the speech in Sri Lankan, inadvertently insulting half the audience!
• Jonathan - Remembered the first time he had sex, and his mother somehow knowing that it happened, and asking him personal questions about it afterward!  Hilarious.
• Kelly - Story about how she and her friends were mistakenly locked in a prison for 3 hours as college students!  Girl has done HARD TIME.
• Mihai - A skiing adventure gone awry---the story of him driving 1.5 hours out of the way of their desired ski resort while his buddies were snoozing!
• Charles - Had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand, as he recalled taking the test to become a magician at the famous Magic Castle in Hollywood!

Overall, I'm extremely pleased with how the first 2 workshops have played out.  I'm excited to host the next one for La Paz, Bolivia, and giving myself more time to plan and prepare.  I'm also looking to open the workshops up to the local community, which will be a way for me to push myself out of my comfort zone.  

Stay tuned to hear how it goes!

BA Museum Review Pt 3: MALBA

Museo de Arte Latinoamericanos Buenos Aires (MALBA)

I can’t say enough good things about MALBA!  Love the pristine modern space with the super high ceiling, massive windows and never ending escalators.  Muy excellente!

The photography exhibit Marcados by Claudia Andujar is incredibly powerful and a must see.

Image taken from the MALBA website:  http://www.malba.org.ar/en/

And the work of Juan Tessi Cameo was a nice warm up for the main events: Jorge Macchi Perspective and the Latin American Art 20th Century.  

Jorge Macchi is now one of my favorite artists.  I didn’t take many snaps because I was too busy picking my jaw up off the ground.  Brilliant.  Stunning.  Standing ovation.

The permanent collection of Latin American Art from the 20th Century alone, is worth visiting the museum for.  Incredible energy, and dynamic artwork.  I could stare at Antonio Berni's Manifestacion for hours.  They even have work by Frida Kahlo, Roberto Matta, and Diego Rivera, to name a few well known Latin American artists.

So many amazing artists, but Alejandro Xul Solar’s Neocriollism work is particularly powerful.  

Image taken from the MALBA website:  http://www.malba.org.ar/en/evento/jeff-koons-ballerina/

Oh, and how could I forget Jeff Koons’ Ballerina, that greets you when you arrive?

Este museo es fenomenal!  Visit MALBA them on Facebook.

Next Museum to be reviewed:

Nacional Museo de Bellas Artes

BA Museum Review Pt 2: MACBA

Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Buenos Aires (MACBA)

The Contemporary Art Museum is right next to MAMBA and it is a great complement to the Modern Museum.  

Minimalism is the main motif in MACBA.  'MAC' might as well stand for 'minimal and clean'.

While a bit smaller than the other 3 museums we visited, the space was brilliantly curated and aesthetically on point.  The American oak wood floors are begging to be sat on, as evidenced by the pic of Fernanda below.  The ramps connecting the various floors are beautifully spacious, and provide sneak peeks of the art you're about to see. 

I loved the work of Magdalena Jitrik, especially this HUGE piece: Orquesta Roja, 2008.  

And the Algunas Chicas photography exhibit by Adriana Lestido was beautiful. 

But, I think my favorite set of work was Leila Tschopp, whose simplicity in form and color was striking.  

Two thumbs up for MACBA.  But, sadly, I think it gets overshadowed by the big MAMBA next door.  :[

Next Museum to be reviewed:

MALBA...

BA Museum Review Pt 1: MAMBA

Another rainy weekend in Buenos Aires made for memorable art museum adventures!  

Lucky me, I met the most amazing mujer, mi novia nueva Fernanda, who is studying to be an art curator.  She showed me 4 museums in 2 days: two in San Telmo, and two in Recoleta. (Both are awesome artsy areas of BA)

First up, MAMBA!

Museo de Arte Moderno de Buenos Aires (MAMBA)

When you walk into MAMBA, your first view is a winding staircase.  Unique, powerful & playful.  I realized later it was built on roller coaster tracks!

MAMBA is probably my favorite museum of all 4 we went to.  I think because of the great bathroom icons...

Or, maybe it was the cool staircases...

No, I think the real reason is because it is home to the most impressive installation I saw all weekend: La Menesenda, by Segun Marta Minujin.  This walking tour of 11 rooms had twists, turns and was full of surprises!  Simply magical.

And of course, the Paradox at the Center exhibit was outstanding!  

Overall, I highly recommend MAMBA, (which has nothing to do with Kobe Bryant or his recent retirement) and if you go, you MUST see La Menesenda!

Stay tuned for Buenos Aires Museum Review #2...

MACBA

Buenos Aires Offices: La Maquinita

We have two co-working offices in Buenos Aires, called La Maquinita Co.  Both are modern, hip spaces with high ceilings.  Very cool creative environments.  I highly recommend checking them out if you’re in BA!

Thankfully, I’m only 5 blocks from:

La Maquinita: Villa Crespo

And, I’m only ~10 blocks from:

La Maquinita: Palermo

StorySLAM!

My fellow Remote Arestia Rosenberg is a Moth StorySLAM Champion!  A StorySLAM is an open mic storytelling competition.  Storyteller names are picked out of a hat randomly and each person has 5 mins to share a story based on the theme ‘del dia’. Arestia hosted a StorySLAM last night, and of course I wanted in.

Our theme was ‘New Beginnings’.  My story centered on being accepted into the local culture here in Buenos Aires.  There’s a group of rough n tumble looking local guys that hang out on my street corner.  The first night I met one of 'em (Jorge), he put his arm around my shoulder and I thought he was trying to jack me.  But, unless this is some long con, that was not the case.  Jorge, Diego, Christian, Machi, etc.  They’ve accepted me into their group.  Every time they see me, they invite me to hang.  Sometimes, I just chill on the corner stoop and shoot the s$#% with them.  It’s amazing.  

11 other Remotes got up and shared their stories too!  Sensational!

We laughed, we cried, we smiled and sighed.  

Makes me really proud to see people pour their hearts out in front of a group.  Public speaking can be incredibly therapeutic!  It can be incredibly thrilling.  It can be incredible, if you try it.  If you embrace the excitement, you will enjoy the adrenaline!

And, being vulnerable, and honest with the crowd is so important.  Open your heart to the crowd.  Let them into your life.  And they will welcome you with open arms and warm love.

Wish I got pics of the storytellers, but I was so enthralled by the stories.  Next time!

Protest at Plaza de Mayo

El jueves pasado, I left Spanish class and heard rhythmic protesting, and occasional kabams! (the norm in Argentina)  Careful curiosity drew me near...  

Plaza De Mayo was the site of the revolution in May 1810, and subsequent Argentinean independence.  The Plaza sits right in front of the President’s House: Casa Rosada.    (Equivalent to the U.S. White House)

I approached slowly.  On high alert, head on a swivel.  Wanting to get some snaps, but not wanting to intrude.  Or, be jacked.  Kept a safe distance, and surveyed the scene. Muchos protesters banging on the fence of Casa Rosada with small bats & bottles.  Women, elderly & even children banging on the fence.  Kicking it.  

Away from the fence, the crowd was tame.  Somewhat jovial.  Women wearing Argentinean flags.  People taking pics.  Kids playing.  Choripan vendors servin’ ‘em up.  Almost like a tailgate for a big game.  The energy was strong but not scary at all.  

Argentineans are passionate people.  The country is divided right now.  The gist: former President Kirchner was just replaced in December.  She and her family were very corrupt and proof has come to light.  But, the new President Macri pardoned them.  People are not happy.  More info here.

In the end, I spent about an hour at the protest.  Observing, documenting.  Of course, my head remained on a swivel.  (I do have street smarts) 

And, thankfully, there was a TON of riot police all around.  Glad I stayed.

Live Music: Vintage Wave Sunday

Bethany Saint-Smith

I met the coolest Buenos Aires chica Fernanda, who invited me to a live show on Sunday with her amigos Bruno and Fernando.  The show was at this garage venue El Emergente, and started super early for Buenos Aires (~6pm) because it was Sunday.  (Wait, so they follow SOME laws here?)  

I didn’t know any of the bands, but was excited to experience the local music scene.  It was Vintage Wave night, and the rockabilly vibe was strong.  Bethany Saint-Smith opened up with her bluesy sounds, followed by the Calavers, then a surf-rock band the Lefunders (who Fernanda was most excited to see), and lastly, the psychobilly headliner: Los Cianuros.

Lefunders

The Lefunders were most definitely my fave.  They are an instrumental surf rock group, and made me feel like I was inside Quentin Tarantino's brain.  They could easily do the soundtrack for Kill Bill Vol 7.

Sunday April 10, 2016, went to El Emergente in the Almagro neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Saw the Lefunders, an instrumental surf rock band that made me feel like I was in a Quentin Tarantino film!

Sunday April 10, 2016, went to El Emergente in the Almagro neighborhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Saw the Lefunders, an instrumental surf rock band that made me feel like I was in a Quentin Tarantino film!

Great acoustics for a garage!  Very cool vibes.  Mi amigo Derryl came with.  Had a great time dancing with mi chica Fernanda!  And, loved meeting Bruno (cool musician who speaks English really well and has family in Texas) and Fernando (from Ecuador, but actually lived in New Hampshire for a few years as a kid).  Both are super cool cats!

Los Cianuros

Love meeting locals!  Probably my favorite part of traveling so far.  It's a lil new and scary being the foreigner and wondering if you'll be accepted or rejected.  Think I got the thumbs up.   

I had to miss a cool Remote Year function to attend this show.  But, it was worth it.

Fuerza Bruta!

Fuerza Bruta translated = ‘Brute Force’.  (Probably) the best live show I’ve ever seen!  ~Cirque Du Soleil meets Blue Man Group.  Intense music, performance art and acrobatics.  Most of the show happens in / on top of the crowd.  You can’t help but be a part it.

To all my friends in NYC, you have probably already heard about this.  But, if you don’t know, now you know.  Trust me and click here.  

Here’s a video of one of the opening pieces in Fuerza Bruta.  You can hear the crowd gasping, because the stage was pushing its way through the middle of the crowd.  At the end of the vid, you can hear: "This would never happen in the US!"  Probably not.  But, in Fuerza Bruta, the crowd is part of the show.

This is one of the opening performance pieces in Fuerza Bruta. You can hear the crowd gasping, because the stage was literally pushing its way through the middle of the crowd. At the end of the video, you can hear: "This would never happen in the US!" Probably not.

I call this the ‘Floating Female Frog Pool’.  This water tank was hanging high above the crowd but, slowly floats down until everyone can touch it.  No words.

A small segment of the Fuerza Bruta show. (Cirque du Soleil meets Blue Man Group?) This encased pool slowly lowered down on top of the crowd until everyone could touch it. Just one of the many amazing performance pieces in this exquisite show!

I'll be posting a ton of pics to my Facebook, but here are a couple of my faves:

Tacos Al Pastor Por Favor!

I love tacos.  (Main reason I moved to LA)  Al pastor 'til I die!  

Mi amigo (Jeremy) and I have a favorite taco truck in LA.  I miss her sweet trompo.  Córdoba does empanadas really well, but not really tacos.  Before I left for Buenos Aires, Jeremy researched and found: La Fábrica Del Taco.  

Turns out, it’s ~5 blocks from mi apartamento nuevo!  

Tuesday night, I went to check it out.  Hard to explain my glee!  2 pastor tacos, 1 chicken taco (Mistake) and a watermelon agua fresca.  (My favorite drink not named Sprite)  

They brought out their salsa arsenal.  The boring one, your typical salsa verde, and la salsa rojo.  I told Lucas behind the bar that I really like spice and then, they brought out the big gun!  Which was really not that spicy.  

Side note: Most people think all of South America likes spice, which is FALSE.  Mexico, and northern South America share the love, but central and southern Argentineans say, "No mas".  

The Al Pastor was delicious!  So, I ordered "Dos mas pastor".  :P

Lucas behind the bar then asked me if I preferred flour or corn tortillas.  I said corn, but "I'll try them next time".  

A few minutes later, he brought me 1 more pastor taco on a corn tortilla: en la casa.

6 tacos & 2 watermelon agua frescas down the gullet.  

One happy Americano!

One hour later, stomach not so happy.  

I don’t blame La Fábrica Del Taco.  I blame Córdoba for their lack of spice.  My digestive system was not ready for the 6 pack.  I'll probably stick to 5 next time.  

La Fábrica Del Taco, I’ll see you soon, mi amor!

Folk You Monday - Open Mic Night

On Remote Year, there are events ~every night.  We arrived in Buenos Aires late Sunday, and on Monday, there was an open mic night called “Folk You Monday” at this cool little artsy venue.  4 of my travel mates got on the list and performed live!  

Kudos to Travis, Kirsten, Tanya and Mike for stepping up and absolutely killing it!  Incredibly proud and impressed by all of them.  I’m traveling with incredibly talented, multi-dimensional people from around the world.

Travis is from Wisconsin; Kirsten is from Ottawa, Canada; Tanya is from Australia and Mike is from Toronto, Canada.  Love the diversity.

Some snaps:

This guy is not part of Remote Year but I thought this snap was worth sharing.