Entertainment

Dan: During the summer there seemed to be a new group of Andean musicians in town every week. Some of them had CDs for sale or shiny costumes. They must have moved to warmer climes for the winter, since there are few tourists in Mendoza right now. There aren’t that many street performers here. There are the duos singing folklore tunes, wandering between outdoor restaurants. There are the guys in monochromatic costumes who stand like statues in the plaza to earn money. The most common street performer actually performs in the street, and one can see them every day. The traffic light turns red and he stands in front of the cars juggling. When the light is about to change, he wanders between the cars to collect donations for his rush hour distraction. They can be seen juggling balls or sticks, twirling flags or even flaming ropes. There is a guy on our corner who dresses as a clown and juggles standing on a step-stool, so more people can see him.

Another form of street performance is the strike/ protest. The trolley drivers. I think. Are looking to get the same pay and bennies that the bus drivers get. So every once in awhile, they stop for an hour, around noon, and shoot off really loud fireworks in the plaza on our corner. A couple of weeks ago, when I happened to be subbing on the other side of town, they stopped running for two full days. Trolleys are nice because they are quiet, and you pretty much know where they go, being connected to wires and all. But I have been stuck when they break down twice. The first time I just waited for the next trolley. The other time we were all out of luck because they were all out of electricity. Can anyone tell me if it is really all that ecological to run on electricity when that electricity is generated by burning coal and oil?

Paul asked if there was any iconic Oprah-like figure here. I can’t say that I have my finger on the pulse of the nation or anything, but I know who is on TV, at least on our two channels, at prime time. The first is Susana Gimenez. When she was younger I guess she was quite the hottie. These days she is the plastified host of a talk show in the Tonight Show style, that also includes a segment in which Susana calls a viewer at home. If they answer, “Hola Susana,” they get a chance to win a pile of pesos. The only time I ever watched the show for more than 5 minutes was when I saw that Viggo Mortensen, the Lord of the Rings guy, was on as a guest. It turns out that he speaks some wicked Argentine espanol, having grown up in the country. Whooda thunk it? The other evening TV icon is a tall fellow named Tinelli. He hosts a show called Show Match that, over the past few months as far as I can tell, has been doing a show called “Bailando por un Sueno” (dancing for a dream). Being slightly more entertaining than Big Brother on the other channel, we’ve watched it a little bit more. It seems like a couple months ago they were teaming up a semi-celebrity with a professional dancer who had a serious cause for which he was playing, usually a family member who needed money to combat an illness. They showed a video of the potential recipient of the winnings, then the couple would dance. I think every week they would change the theme of the dance. One week it would be swing music, the next it would be disco or Brazilian. The costumes would match the theme and coreography. But the costumes also seemed to get skimpier as the weeks went on, maybe because the judges favored skin over dance moves. They don’t even talk about who the contestants are playing for any more. The peak of this trend was, and I’m not kidding here, Pole Dance Week. There was a public outcry against the Tinelli show that week. The stripper pole was put away and the show continued the next week with scantily-clad salsa, so much more respectful.

I was also asked about the status of Diego Maradona, the futbol superstar from Argentina’s last world cup championship. He still remains in the spotlight. A few months ago he was hospitalized, and the press was all over it. They even pronounced him dead for a little while. But he recovered and even appeared on the Tinelli show, opposite the Gran Hermano final, where he chatted with the host and they showed highlights of his soccer career. People make fun of him, his sanity, his off and on drug problems, but still respect him for all he gave to the country in the area of futbol awesomeness. Diego is the Spanish equivalent of the name James, but I have my suspicions why we have met so many guys in their twenties named Diego.