Now that the timeline is complete, maybe I can concentrate enough to finish writing about the CIAE. I’ve been working steadily for the past two weeks on this series of posts, but it seems like the more I find out about the Compañía Italo-Argentina de Electricidad, the more JSTOR articles I want to read. Guess that’s always the case.

Click on the image above to see the entire timeline, designed for the equivalent of two sheets of A4 paper. No, it may not be used for commerical purposes or for derivative works.

Many more excellent photographs from the Spanish capital’s past at Imágenes del Viejo Madrid.

Situated along the train tracks in Palermo, restoration & reuse of the former warehouse of the Giol winery is advancing rapidly. Photos above are from 2005 & 2010, respectively.

The winery’s website describes their history:  Italians Juan Giol, Bautista Gargantini & Pascual Toso arrived together in Mendoza in the 1880s  & established successful vineyards. The fourth generation, now intermarried, continues the family tradition under the San Polo label. Pascual Toso has become recognized winery in its own right. No info is available online about when this particular warehouse was built, but I’d guess the 1930s or 1940s based on the architectural style… textbook Racionalismo.

In October 2009, President Cristina Kirchner announced plans to convert the abandoned building into the new Ministry of Science, Technology, & Product Innovation (currently at Avenida Córdoba & Esmeralda). Apart from the ministry itself, the enormous 18,000 square meter space will also house the organizations CONICET & AGENCIA, a new museum, & biotech & physics labs.

Monthly progress reports can be found on the Ministry’s website. Financed by a loan of $100 million pesos from the Inter-American Development Bank, the building should be inaugurated by the end of 2012. The surrounding area—already with serious traffic problems—will need to be reorganized. Cooperation between the national & city governments probably will not happen anytime soon, but the ambitious project seems to be off to a good start.

Following the traditions of Recoleta Cemetery, I may not be able to leave a dedication plaque but I can certainly write a post.

It’s difficult for me to believe, even a year after his death, that Michael Jackson is no longer with us. No more incredible music, no more inventive dance, no more showstopping, no more scandals to amaze us. I always laughed at people who worshipped Elvis after his death in my hometown of Memphis, but I completely understand their devotion now.

Very few celebrities affected my life the way Michael Jackson did, & it all comes down to time & place. His rise in popularity coincided with my own growth from kid to teenager to young adult. Although it may sound corny, Michael Jackson wrote a lot of the soundtrack of my life. Growing up in Memphis in a predominantly black neighborhood & going to public school as a minority certainly influenced the kind of music I listened to. My aunt & uncle also bought me the Thriller album as a birthday gift. And of course, who could forget seeing the mega-production music video of “Thriller” for the first time? Or the debut of the moonwalk on the Motown 25 show in 1983?

With the release of Bad & Dangerous, Michael’s behavior became increasingly bizarre but I still loved his music. I believe in many ways he was a victim of the showbiz industry… all the signs were visible that he needed psychological help, but the plastic surgeries continued & the sex scandals began. How is it that Michael had hundreds of influential friends & no one intervened? He might be alive today if someone had forcibly stepped in.

I heard about Michael Jackson’s death the following morning at breakfast last year in Arcos de la Frontera, Spain. A moment I’ll never forget. Tour members told me & I thought they were making a cruel joke. The news hit me like a brick. As a tribute the next morning when we got on board the bus, I played “Billie Jean” over the PA system. I can occasionally get away with commandeering the microphone!

After the tour season was over I had the opportunity to watch the documentary “This is It” on an overseas flight… I couldn’t believe what an entertainer he was, nor how frail his health was. Even though I am a confessed Michael Jackson fan, most of my MJ consumption was mainly  music & music videos. I’ve never seen “Moonwalker” & probably never will. But “This is It” affected me so much I kept thinking about it for an entire week. What a fantastic production that would have been. But MJ probably could not have performed the number of shows he promised… it’s a safe bet that the London concerts would have killed him anyway.

Brooke Shields made me cry like a baby with her honest, heartfelt eulogy during the Los Angeles funeral. Already an emotional wreck because my mom had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, I was in Iowa visiting her for what would be the last time.  Michael continued to coincide with important moments of my life.

When I owned CDs, not a week went by without listening to one from Michael Jackson. Naturally, he is always on my iPod. Always. Although the following list is not all-inclusive nor in any particular order, these are some of my faves:

• Workin’ Day & Night
• P.Y.T.
• Rock with You
• Human Nature
• Wanna Be Startin’ Something
• Butterflies
• Remember the Time
• Off the Wall
• Baby Be Mine
• Jam
• Smooth Criminal
• State of Shock

Thanks, Michael. You won’t be forgotten.

In case you were taking a break from the World Cup yesterday & listening to one of these radio stations, you might have heard me. Sim, eu. Recorded in January 2010 during the big week of reunions/meetings, Rick taped about 60 minutes worth of interview time with me & Cristina Duarte about the pleasures of Portugal. There were even call-in questions from listeners! Very different from the 2005 radio interview I did with Rick about Argentina (which BTW is pretty dated now).

The final airtime for the Portugal section ended up being 30 minutes… not too much to bear. And the timing couldn’t be more perfect since I’m about to begin a Portugal tour tomorrow. I love fate.

So if you’d like to know what I sound like in real life, if you’ve ever thought about visiting Portugal, or if you need yet another podcast to put in the cue, click on this link to go to the broadcast.

Why not have a glass of vinho do porto too?

Recommended reading by Brendan, Brand Avenue suggests that cities—even entire nations—have color schemes. It makes sense. One of the things I”ve always loved about Lisboa is its light… a beautiful shade of yellow with just a hint of orange. The Portuguese also have an affinity for pastel tones, painting even public buildings in what I would call Easter colors.

Doing a quick run through some of my Lisboa pix, I came up with the following color palette for that city. It was easy enough… just open Photoshop, copy certain colors, then put them all together. Included for Lisboa are terracotta rooftops, shades of stone from important monuments, the Tejo River, lots of blues from tilework panels & the retro brownish-red of my favorite cherry liqueur, ginjinha.

Given that earth tones in general are some of my favorite colors, no wonder I like Lisboa so much. Just in case you need a little more color in your life, visit the Colour Lovers blog. Color in our environment is a lot more important than we normally think.

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The development of Parque Mayer in Lisboa runs under the guidance of Frank Gehry, but local firms have been invited to participate in many aspects. Ateliermob submitted a project using my Lisboa color palette as part of their design idea. Pretty amazing.

The complete 5-page proposal can be viewed on Issuu… look on the last two pages for my mention. How cool is that? They came in 7th place, but to think that I might have contributed something to one of my favorite cities is wonderful enough.

Given today’s significance in world history, there is surprisingly little acknowledgment of the event in Spain. In the print edition of “El País”—the most widely circulated Spanish newspaper—no mention of the bicentennial appears until page 31. Yikes. The opinion piece written by Jorge Taiana, Argentine Minister of Foreign Relations, is embarrassing to say the least… nothing more than propaganda for the Kirchners. The power hungry couple have done a great job of snubbing Spain constantly over the past few years, so the lack of recognition likely stems from their own clumsy foreign policy.

Perhaps the more important issue is: how should a bicentennial be celebrated? Personally, I think it should be the equivalent of an extra-special New Year’s Day… a time to make resolutions on a grand scale. Unfortunately the current administration is too insular & paranoid for that to happen. As an opportunity for reflection, the bicentennial should inspire pride, search for ways to correct past mistakes & arouse enthusiasm for things in which the nation has excelled. Instead, political infighting is how the Kirchners have chosen to celebrate. When historians look back on this landmark day, I doubt they will do so with either pride or enthusiasm.

Argentina’s potential for greatness remains untapped. It occasionally rises to the surface in the form of progressive laws, Nobel Prizes or fantastic architecture… in spite of rampant corruption, dictatorships, or viveza criolla. That’s something worth celebrating. In the 10 years I’ve lived in Argentina, I’ve experienced both the good & the bad. I’m still trying to come to terms with my adopted home… there’s always a new challenge to take on. But if no one else will say it, I will: It’s time to wake a sleeping giant. That’s a resolution worthy of the bicentennial, & from my experience there’s no doubt that Argentines are up to the task. If they put their minds to it.

[As requested by Señor F, this is the first of several reposts from the previous incarnation of Line of Sight. Originally published as "often overlooked" on 05 Apr 2007.]

Given that there are only two buildings interrupting the supposed widest avenue in the world, they should be appreciated… even revered. But no. At the north end of Avenida 9 de Julio, the fru-fru French embassy receives frequent oooh’s & ahhh’s by everyone. However, the building on the southern end typically generates scowls or looks of disbelief. I was guilty of the same until today.

The ex-Ministry of Public Works (Ministerio de Obras Públicas or MOP for short) was under construction at the same time dozens of city blocks were demolished to make this enormous avenue. My favorite workers’ housing architect, Fermín Bereterbide, had a wonderful idea of running traffic underground & constructing twin buildings to fill in the void (pics above). I can’t find info on who the actual MOP architect was (perhaps José Álvarez?), but twin structures with a connecting walkway would have been triumphant, to say the least. What was finally built is a solitary hunk of concrete that no one thinks is very attractive. Until you walk around the back… I was shocked at the beautiful shapes—invisible while driving down the avenue. Semicircles, towers, curved balconies & inviting open space are all there. I like this rather dark view of a 27-floor monster:

A closer look reveals that it is literally falling apart. Exterior concrete is missing at ceiling-floor joints:

Walking around the north side, the MOP loses most of its decorative qualities. But the rounded back “fins” are super cool:

This is what most people see from Avenida 9 de Julio… flat, no decoration, & dotted with air-conditioning units:

On closer inspection, statues come into focus. Gotham City can’t compete. Strong, half-column figures are sternly holding bridges & buildings… projects that the MOP would have been in charge of:

The entrance is fairly blah. Again, A/C units are inserted randomly, & the coats-of-arms surrounding the main entrance are too dirty to distinguish. From across the street I didn’t realize that the dark structures were lamps & that there was a guy sleeping on the front steps. BTW, the scaffolding is not for restoration purposes… it’s to keep chunks of the building from falling on you as you walk by:

The lamps were the best discovery… large, Grecian urn-like beacons. I was scolded by a cop for climbing on the scaffolding, but the sculptors name became clearly visible:  Troiano Troiani. He’s responsible for some of the best Art Deco sculptures in town, from Caballito to Recoleta Cemetery:

The side entrance is nice & curvy as well:

So why is this building in such bad shape? Easy answer… politics. The Perón’s would make grand speeches from here, & Eva even accepted here “surprise” nomination as Vice President for Juan’s second term. When you think about it, Plaza de Mayo is too small for an effective mass demonstration. Avenida 9 de Julio is better suited. During various anti-Peronist governments, I can imagine this building was an eyesore & neglected. In the 1990s this became the HQ for public health administration, & President Menem unsuccessfully ordered its demolition. The conflict surrounding this building is best symbolized by an homage to Eva Perón… placed in 2003: