New York Magazine’s David Edelstein pretty much called it: About midway through, you could be forgiven for worrying if THE MAID was teetering on the precipice of going the full, THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE route — a concern that’s only enhanced when a stray cat turns up that seems to have “I Will Be the First to Go” stamped on its scrawny forehead. Calm yourself. This may be director Sebastián Silva’s portrait of a woman whose soul has been worn into submission by years — hell, decades — of labor in a middle-class household, but his goal is more empathetic than what you’ll find in your formulaic, domestic horror show.
Nevertheless, Raquel — the titular maid played by Catalina Saavedra — is juuuust a little scary. After twenty-three years of being the live-in domestic for a family in Santiago, Chile, she seems to be permanently, emotionally stunted. And when Pilar, the woman of the house (Claudia Celedón), decides to ease Raquel’s burden by bringing in some new help — threatening the maid’s primacy in the only world she knows — Raquel’s defense mechanisms go into full, passive-aggressive attack mode. There’s a touch of farce to how she initially strikes back at her putative usurpers (an elderly maid, having been summarily locked out of the house, has to scale a wall to get back in), but when one young woman (Mariana Loyola) refuses to succumb to Raquel’s tactics, the film turns from its flirtation with the dark side to an examination of whether a person so damaged can find her way back to humanity. Credit both Saavedra’s performance and Silva’s insight that there will be no ready answer to that question.
Silva recently sat down with me to provide some perspective on the world of the Latin American domestic and discuss how he managed pull this project off on a limited production schedule (hint: shooting in your family home helps). Click on the link above to hear the interview.New York Magazine’s David Edelstein pretty much called it: About midway through, you... more
Volunteer Abroad Chile La Serena Orphanage Program Schools Day Cares Welfare Missions Overseas http://www.abroaderview.org...Volunteer Abroad Chile La Serena Orphanage Program Schools Day Cares Welfare Missions... more
The Rincon Institute invites hosts the 8th Annual Roasted Chile Festival at the Rincon Valley Farmers & Artisans Market in Vail, AZ. C’mon down for fresh roasted green chilies, chile ristas, locally grown pesticide-free and organic fresh produce and fruit, artisans, fresh hot food, kids’ activities and games, and a beer garden.
The roasted chili festival has attracted as many as 2,000 people per year. Purchase green chilies grown locally here in Arizona including hatch and poblano chilies.The Rincon Institute invites hosts the 8th Annual Roasted Chile Festival at the Rincon... more
second of three parts, you can find the others two in youtube. Keko Yoma its a band from south america, here's a short of the live show made it in LBB, a big squad in the city of Maastricht
http://wwwtriponadeal.com: We follow tourists who are vacationing in war torn Iraq. Plus. there's buried treasure waiting for you on the island of Curacao, try a Vocation Vacation and take a dip in the world's largest pool! And a look at the world's strangest museums.
Get all the links at triponadeal.comhttp://wwwtriponadeal.com: We follow tourists who are vacationing in war torn Iraq.... more
You know when Britain has a couple of flakes of snow and the country grinds to a halt? Then we hear all the talk of how we're just ill prepared to cope with freak weather that we're not used to...
A similar situation arose in Chile, in the port city of Iquique, on Monday night. But, instead of a minute amount of snow, they got a minute amount of rain - less than 1/100th of an inch! (How do they count such a small amount?)
What happened? Well 4,000 roofs were damaged, power was knocked out and schools closed the next day. Yes. Really.You know when Britain has a couple of flakes of snow and the country grinds to a halt?... more
Since 1945, by deed and by example, the US has overthrown 50 governments, including democracies, crushed some 30 liberation movements and supported tyrannies from Egypt to Guatemala (see William Blum's histories). Bombing is apple pie. Having stacked his government with warmongers, Wall Street cronies and polluters from the Bush and Clinton eras, the 45th president is merely upholding tradition. The hearts and minds farce I witnessed in Vietnam is today repeated in villages in Afghanistan and, by proxy, Pakistan, which are Obama's wars.
Liberals say that the United States is once again a "nation of moral ideals", but behind the façade little has changed. With his government of warmongers, Wall Street cronies and polluters from the Bush and Clinton eras, Barack Obama is merely upholding the myths of a divine America.
Mourn On The 4th of July
By John PilgerSince 1945, by deed and by example, the US has overthrown 50 governments, including... more
This is the recent image of the Swan Nebula taken by the European Southern Observatory’s 3.58-metre New Technology Telescope at La Silla in Chile. The Nebula is illuminated by three dozen huge, baby stars burning and reflecting off of dust from collapsed stars. The solar winds from the active star forming has blown swirling shapes into the dust, which will become the fodder for more new stars.
The Swan Nebula is also known as the Omega Nebula or the Lobster Nebula, this region is around 5,500 light years from Earth and is one of the biggest in the Milky Way, stretching 15 light years across. It became active just a few million years ago, making it one of the galaxy’s newest nurseries.This is the recent image of the Swan Nebula taken by the European Southern... more
H. Munoz: Latin America no longer is an 'unconditional friend' of the US as China and India increase presence.
Heraldo Munoz (born July 22, 1948) is a Chilean politician and diplomat; and the current Chilean Ambassador to the United Nations. Muñoz was born in Santiago. In 1973, under the Salvador Allende government, he served as National Supervisor of the People's Stores (Almacenes del Pueblo) until the coup d'état of September 11, 1973. He holds a Ph.D. from Josef Korbel School of International Studies at the University of Denver, Colorado (1978), a Diploma in International Relations from the Catholic University of Chile (1975, graduated with honors), and also took courses at Harvard University. He received a B.A. with a major in Political Science at the State University of New York, Oswego. Recipient of the "Distinguished Alumnus Award" from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver (1991), he was bestowed with the title of Doctor Honoris Causa from the State University of New York (1996). He has received fellowships from: Resources for the Future, the Ford Foundation, the Tinker Foundation, the Twentieth Century Fund, and the MacArthur Foundation. He was a Ph.D. fellow at the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C. (1977). He later taught at the University of Chile's Institute of International Studies. He co-founded the Party for Democracy (PPD) and participated in the executive committee of the campaign to vote "no" on a second term for Augusto Pinochet during the 1988 plebiscite. During the administration of Patricio Aylwin, Muñoz was made permanent representative for Chile to the Organization of American States, (1990-1994) and ambassador to Brazil (1994-1998) during the government of Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle. At the start of the administration of Ricardo Lagos, Muñoz was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Relations until January of 2002, when he was designated Minister Secretary General of Government, a position from which he exercised considerable influence over policy, advising Lagos. He left the ministry in 2003, after being appointed Chile's ambassador to the United Nations, permanent representative, the position which he holds today. Chile was elected a temporary member of the United Nations Security Council for 2003 and 2004, while Muñoz served as ambassador. Muñoz was chairman of a special UN committee on al Qaeda sanctions, during which he noted a reluctance by many countries to cooperate in reporting names and information to the committee and in acting on information received by the committee. He was troubled by al Qaeda's continued ability to circumvent sanctions, which he said "need more teeth". In January 2004, Muñoz served as the President of the Security Council. Most recent books: A Solitary War: A Diplomat's Chronicle of the Iraq War and Its Lessons, Fulcrum Publishing, 2008 (also in Spanish) and The Dictator's Shadow: Life Under Augusto Pinochet, Basic Books, 2008. Newsweek said about The Dictator's Shadow: Heraldo Muñoz has written "an insightful and poignant new personal memoir of the Pinochet years." The Washington Post stated: Muñoz has produced "a meticulous and vivid new book...Muñoz delivers a compelling, personal account of life in a police state and a strong reminder of how far Chile has come." The Washington Post listed The Dictator's Shadow among the best books of 2008. The New York Times featured Munoz's life and work in its Saturday Profile (November 15, 2008, pg. A6).H. Munoz: Latin America no longer is an 'unconditional friend' of the US as China and... more
Officials in Chile have exhumed the body of the popular singer, Victor Jara, who was killed shortly after the military coup in 1973.
A judge ordered the move as part of efforts to shed more light onto the circumstances of Jara's death.
Victor Jara had been taken to a stadium and shot; last week a former army conscript, Jose Adolfo Paredes Marquez, was charged over the killing.
Mr Paredes, who is now 54, denies responsibility for the death.
Victor Jara was among thousands of people rounded up in the early days of General Augusto Pinochet's right-wing military coup, which ousted the elected leftist President, Salvador Allende.Officials in Chile have exhumed the body of the popular singer, Victor Jara, who was... more
(RCRDLBL) RH+'s original version of "Curb," is a skronky bit of electro-pop ripped straight out of Air's Kindle. Today, RCRDLBL has an exclusive remix of the very same track by DJ Bitman for FREE to download. Not to say the original track was bad, because by no means is that true. However, DJ Bitman installed a koopa-troopa bassline and curtains of handclaps, totally opening up the Chileans' airspace in the process. Sweet studiofruits await you at the link.
Vina del Mar, Chile — UK PM, Gordon Brown has express at the Progressive Governance Summit his hopes about London G20 meeting to agree on sufficient measures of actions that will create jobs, stimulate business and bolster the economy.Vina del Mar, Chile — UK PM, Gordon Brown has express at the Progressive Governance... more
The 66-year-old Chilean man was arrested by Spanish police on Friday because of being detected of hiding cocaine in the cast that was on his broken leg.The 66-year-old Chilean man was arrested by Spanish police on Friday because of being... more
A man was arrested in Barcelona after the police realized he was wearing a leg cast made out of cocaine. The 66-year-old Chilean man is suspected to have broken his leg intentionally and was found with 10.5 pounds of cocaine.A man was arrested in Barcelona after the police realized he was wearing a leg cast... more
I'm sure he was just hoping it didn't rain, but instead got busted by airport authorities:
Spanish police arrested a man arriving at Barcelona's airport from Chile after determining that the cast on his fractured left leg was made of cocaine, the Interior Ministry said in a statement Friday.
Police say the leg cast was made out of cocaine.
The 66-year-old Chilean man had an actual fracture of two bones below the knee, but the police suspect that he, or accomplices, may have intentionally fractured it, so that the cocaine cast could be applied.
The plan, police say, was to get past police controls because of the leg cast, meant to elicit sympathy, but also to have a real fracture in case police decided to X-ray it.
Police were scrutinizing passengers arriving on the flight late Wednesday from the Chilean capital, Santiago, when they became suspicious of the man. They quickly discovered cocaine hidden in his luggage, in a six-pack of beer and also in the aluminum legs of two stools he was transporting....I'm sure he was just hoping it didn't rain, but instead got busted by airport... more
Chile is pushing for a full evacuation of the area surrounding Chaiten volcano, which spewed clouds of ash, gas and lava, following a partial collapse of its cone.Chile is pushing for a full evacuation of the area surrounding Chaiten volcano, which... more
It was supposed to be a magic recipe for instant riches, but instead hundreds of residents in this sleepy town in central Chile are up in arms over a "magic cheese" scam that has left many deep in debt.
Chilean housewife Erica Pavez was one of around 300 residents taken in by the pyramid scheme, buying kits to make "magic cheese" said to be used in beauty products like luxury shampoo and moisturizers.It was supposed to be a magic recipe for instant riches, but instead hundreds of... more
French woman Gilberte Van Erpe has scammed thousands of people by selling kits for making "magic cheese".French woman Gilberte Van Erpe has scammed thousands of people by selling kits for... more
A prominent Chilean fashion designer has sparked outrage by running a fashion show that will feature models dressed up like the Virgin Mary, some with ample and near-naked breasts. The Roman Catholic Church has condemned the organiser, Ricardo Oyarzun, who has also recieved telephone death threats and excrement smeared on his doorstep, while a conservative group tried unsuccessfully to block the show in court.
Oyarzun has however defended his show, with the statment, "there is no pornography here, there's no sex, there are no virgins menstruating or feeling each other up. This is artistic expression."
Blasphemy and rightful artistic expression? What do you think?A prominent Chilean fashion designer has sparked outrage by running a fashion show... more
The Patagonia Campaign is heating up! Momentum is building after Pro-Build, one of the largest construction suppliers in the US, decided to drop Chilean wood products over the controversial plans to dam Chilean Patagonia's Baker and Pascua rivers. You can help now more than ever.
People from all over the world have already sent tens of thousands of protest emails to companies involved in these plans. The multi-billion dollar HidroAysén scheme would savage an untouched wilderness, wreak havoc with local communities, destroy traditional jobs, and irreversibly crush a delicate web of life. The dams would require transmission lines 1,500 miles long, and much of that would slash through rare Patagonian forests.
