So I just got an email from Erick Ruiz José from the Canal 8 TV channel here in Nicaragua, they were one of the TV teams who surprised me while I was taking photos of the carnival by putting a big camera in my face and asking “What do you think of Nicaragua?!” There were so many things I could have said about the context, about the athmosphere, about the country or even about the objectification of bodies – but I just couldn’t find a way to put it into the surprise moment and I didn’t have the heart to start criticizing anything in the midst of the great vibe of the event – so I just went with the least creative but most easy answer: “The people are very good, very beautiful, I LIKE IT!“
Maybe not the best performance right there, but hey – Look mom, I’m on TV in Nicaragua! haha
Yesterday I was at the 4th yearly carnival in Nicaragua, “Alegría por la vida!” was it’s catchy slogan that the MC was screaming through the microphone more than often, Joy for life.
In proper Rio de Janeiro style, dancers from different dance groups, cultural associations and districts of Nicaragua showed off their tranditional dances, glittery little outfits and, strangely, a lot of coloured contact lenses. The athmosphere was great, the audience was cheering and clapping, and the dancers seemed to enjoy despite those sky-high heels. To my surprise, about half of the artists were actually men in women’s outfits with full-on make up and often socks for breasts, and I was very schocked when the group from the Caribbean coast didn’t only do their traditional “African dance” with an extemely sexist touch, but also had a sequence where an old man screams and bites the shell of a coconut off with his teeth, cracks the coconut open against the ground and eats it like a wild beast before pouring the coconut water over himself and throwing the rest at the audience..
But apart from what I think of these kind of extremely objectifying events, children in high heels, and rather disgusting reinforcements of old stereotypes, I was having a really good time.
The whole event is run by the government and was supported by hundreds of youth from the political movement Juventud Sandinista. They were responsible for keeping people off the main street where the dancers were passing and basically wanted me to take their picture all the time, awesomely, I got access to walk into the street and get very close to the dancers instead of in the seats of spectators or behind the row of people.
Is 7-year-old Antonia afraid of what is going to happen? “No,” she replies confidently. She takes another look at the syringe, and adds a quiet, “a little.” The long line of children is a potpourri of feelings: curiosity, fear and courage accompanied by supportive shouts and some smiles. Little arms are held up, as the children prepare for their tetanus vaccine.
Cesar Pascoal Macitela is a health technician from the local hospital, and comes weekly to EPC 25 de Junho School in Chibuto district, Gaza province. “I like coming here to work with the children, they are sometimes afraid, sometimes happy, sometimes funny; you never really know in advance.” All the children look straight at the syringe when receiving the vaccine; today, curiosity trumps fear.
There is a young boy in line who looks very afraid, and when it is his turn to step forward, he refuses. The children behind him start pushing, but the boy has frozen and is close to tears. Mr. Macitela pretends not to take notice, and moves on to vaccinate the children behind him. “No, no, it’s okay, just let him wait, I will take him last,” he quietly tells the teacher trying to push the boy forward. “If he starts crying now we will have a real problem.” Mr. Macitela has done this for many years, and has learned that if one child starts crying, all of them might follow.
Dr. Yolanda Tedosio Mandlate accompanies Mr. Macitela to the school, to check on health standards. “We come weekly, to teach the children about oral health and personal hygiene. We vaccinate, make sure that the children wash their hands and evaluate the general standard of the surroundings. I just checked the sanitation facilities today, they are clean and there is running water.”
Last year, teachers at the school were trained in basic school health as a part of the Child-Friendly Schools initiative’s health programme. Leonora Jose Jovo, a Grade 4 teacher, took part in the training. “I learned how to identify the most common diseases and how to prevent and handle them. Now, I always remind my students about mosquito nets, about brushing their teeth and about washing their hands. Most importantly, I know when I have to send them to the hospital for professional attention,” she says.
Dr. Mandlate recalls, “Yes, we taught them a lot of things. One aspect that I think was very important, and new for many teachers, was how to identify mental health problems and make sure that children receive professional support. Children need understanding in order to solve their problems, and mental health issues are not a widely recognized condition here.”
Mr. Macitela continues, highlighting the importance of vaccines: “It is very important that they receive this protection in order to grow up and remain healthy.”
In November 2010, Mozambique proudly joined the group of countries that have eliminated maternal and neonatal tetanus. EPC 25 de Junho’s children are now also protected against the deadly disease, and need only two more injections in the coming months to complete the dose.
You might have missed that it’s the “Vaccination Week in the Americas” (VWA) right now. During the week of 20-27th of April, the aim is for the countries in the region to strengthen their national immunization programs and reach out to populations with little or no access to regular health services. (So generally same thing we did in Mozambique during the “National Health Week” last year, see these photos!) This is the eleventh year that VWA is celebrated, and according to the Pan American Health Organization and the WHO, more than 410 million individuals of all ages have been vaccinated during the campaign since it started. With this year’s efforts, and the slogan “Vaccination: a shared responsibility”, the initiative seeks to immunize 44 million people in 44 countries and territories against many different diseases.
I often realize how much I enjoy and miss going to the field. The field missions I did to collect material for the Child-Friendly Schools booklet were all about talking to people and photographing, such a perfect set up! In the video above, the kids are standing in line for the vaccination, singing “Puxa mazambana puxa!” It was some kind of popular children’s song at that time that I also was forced to dance to on live TV when participating in a children’s programme. On a Sunday morning after a night of dancing. Just because somebody had invited me and thought I should participate and I had said “Sure!” One of many random and beautiful things that happened in 2012.
Wow, it’s almost May – I need to get this year started!
After a couple of very intense days in the office I eventually got the feeling that my work was accumulating, hours becoming shorter and energy levels dropping.
Recognizing what my body and mind were annoyed about, I left the office at 7pm and took the evening off yesterday. Went out for dinner with a friend, had a good talk with a beautiful view, and didn’t even glance at my computer when I got home. Ha!
Today my body and I woke up with enough energy to wash clothes and prepare a proper breakfast, so I think we are in agreement again – however, we just decided to have a cup of coffee.
We don’t usually do this but.. those deadlines won’t move no matter how we feel about them.
Here’s a song I always need to have close by.
It has the deepest and sweetest bass out there and I haven’t gotten tired of it since first hearing it in 2009. You know it’s real.
The XX – You Got The Love (Florence & The Machine cover)
(2009)
Too lazy to go to the office today despite that beautiful screen I could have been using instead. Yesterday I went back to the office after a friend had dragged me out for dinner and ended up staying until so late that my taxi driver laughed when I called him “The office? Now? I thought I would be picking you up from a club at this hour!”
Today has been slower, and I even found a moment to have a nice lunch, swim and get some sun.
Now I’m back by the computer but I don’t have airconditioning in my room, and it’s very very hot (36’C), so I am using a drawer to keep my computer from boiling over and burning my legs.
I do have a proper table at home, but it’s out there.. in mosquito zone. My room has one of those electric Raid plugs so it’s safe. (They actually work!) All I have here are shy spiders and giant jumping ants, I don’t mind them – they don’t care about my blood. (And it’s hilarious when they jump.)
Suddenly there was a very loud noise coming from the roof above my room. It sounded as if somebody had jumped down onto it with both feet. I woke up immediately, and half asleep I imagined somebody from the US SWAT team in full gear who had just jumped out of a helicopter, or a clumsy cat woman styled thief who wanted to get in through the roof ‘mission impossible’ style, or was it maybe a ‘Donnie Darko’ airplane engine?
The sound that followed immediately forced me to dismiss all of my entertaining and far fetched theories. It was a fast “roll, roll, roll and splat” down onto my patio. I heard the nightly breeze play around with the big tree just above my house, and then there were one, two, three smaller airplane engines rolling down from my roof into my patio.
Right, the mango tree.
And the sound keeps waking me up every now and then, and makes my heart jump when I’m in a quiet mood or away somewhere far into my thoughs. Falling mangoes are very loud!
But then I have this in the morning, and life is super sweet again.
Originally a collaboration between two of the world’s most influential and distinguishable artists, the short film Destino was only finalized and released 58 years after the beginning of its production in 1945. You won’t possibly overlook the very clear influence from both Walt Disney and Salvador Dalí, mindblowing Surrealism that meets classic Disney animation, with a touch of Mexican music written by Armando Dominguez, performed by Dora Luz.
And a beautiful story. It’s perfect.
Salvador Dalí & Walt Disney – Destino
(2003)
I shared this video two years ago, but it was taken down shortly after.. Now that it’s online again in beautiful HD quality I had to share to let you enjoy one of the most beautiful videos I know of. The more times you watch it, the more details you find, actually, two years later and after watching it many times (I have a copy on my harddrive) – I’m still discovering little parts I didn’t see before.
