Finally had the chance to watch this French-Belgian-Moroccan co-production, and wasn’t disappointed.   The film tells the story of a contingent of North Africans who fight for the liberation of France in the Second World War.  The plot and psychological environment is quite interesting as they are quite patriotic for a homeland they have never seen (a scene of them singing the Marseillaise and the Song of the Africans is quite stinging), but are still treated like second-class citizens.

It is very refreshing to watch a WWII movie that doesn’t follow the typical American conventions, that’s for sure, even if I really like Saving Private Ryan.

Visited the city on a business trip. I have to say that the most interesting things about Istanbul for me were the long historical view you get in the city, and the uncanny resemblance Turks have with Mexicans.

As usual with these kind of posts, pictures say it better.

A city between cultural zones and continents, it has more than 10 million people and number of different names throughout history (maybe Byzantium or Constantinople ring a bell). So many different peoples have lived in it, that excavations for the metro and the Marmara project have found ancient ruins (just like Templo Mayor in Mexico City).

Traders by nature, the culture of haggling in its bazaars is very well developed.

The Aya Sofya, one of the most imposing religious buildings I have ever been to, started its life as a church, became a mosque and is now a national museum.

Mexican similarities exhibit A: look at this baker's bread-carrying tecnique.

Mexican similarities exhibit B: Kebabs are way too similar to tacos al pastor.

Good food, good company. A good time was had by all. And I didn’t have to watch the reception on TV =D .

Today marks 70 years of the beginning of the Winter War, that historical event that is still at the forefront of the Finnish psyche.  The good news is that Finland kept its unity and its independence (no mean feat when your adversary is the Soviet Union), the bad news is that it created a siege mentality that survives to this day in certain sectors of society.

For more background information, you can hardly do better than have a look in Helsingin Sanomat’s archive (1, 2, 3).

I came across Remembrance Day in my last stay in London. While I find the tradition very moving (especially given the current servicemen situation in Afghanistan), I am also slightly disturbed by its militaristic overtones.  There’s nothing wrong with remembering your dead, but shouldn’t be used as a justification for hating others.  After all, the First and Second World Wars were already some time ago.

This time of the year it is very common to get foggy days in southern Finland.  I find them very interesting because the combination of setting with metheorological phenomenon brings to my mind images of Viking longships raiding the marshes and woods of the lands of the Fenni.

A friend of mine did share a story of Vikings rading a warehouse full of precious animal furs near the town of Nokia, which is where  it takes is name from (noki being “soot” and sable being as black as it).  Somehow drunken barbarians warriors attacking a town for its pelts sounds pretty funny to me.

This brings me to another point: every once in a while I feel like the Arab guy in The 13th Warrior. Par for the course for a southerner living in these northern lands

Moctezuma

Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

I had the chance to check (quickly) this exhibition at the British Museum. If you have been to the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico then this will not show you a lot of new stuff.

If you haven’t had that chance and you happen to be in London, I’d wholeheartedly recommend it. There’s a few pieces that are not shown in Mexico at all.

That’s September 16th.  I assume it’s celebrated in the United States for two reasons:

1. It was a victory over the French and we all know how some sectors of the American public love to hate the French
2. General Ignacio Zaragoza, who led the Mexican troops at that battle, was born in what is now Texas when it was still part of Mexico, so its background resounds with Mexican-Americans.

Although it is certainly celebrated in some parts of Mexico, the whole brouhaha they make north of the border as “Mexican heritage day” is as alien to most Mexicans as hard-shelled tacos.

I came accross this archive of Life magazine photos.  I became a fan in my childhood since my parents had one or two books with pictures from the magazine (I was especially a fan of this one by Robert Capa).

I immediately made two searches: Mexico & Finland, naturally.  Most pictures of Mexico are of the 60’s, around the time of the 1968 Olympics, whereas most pictures of Finland are of the 40’s, especially of the Winter War.

One of the images that impacted me the most, however, was of Viipuri, which back then looked just like any other Finnish city.  I’ve been there a few years ago on my way to St. Petersburg, and let’s say that there have been a few changes after it became part of Russia.

Tampere, industrial city

Originally uploaded by Chiva Congelado

A couple of good friends live in Tampere, and we visit them every once in a while. We were there just a few days ago, and enjoyed as usual.

Tampere is called the “Manchester of Finland” and pictures like this of downtown make it quite obvious. I didn’t know that the city, given its industrial past, has been an important part of Finnish history and site of key events in the Finnish Civil War.