vii

Today, people in general are unhappy with their jobs. I think that this situation is caused for many reasons. First, the conditions of the most works in Chile are very bad (I heard the last year that one survey said that more of the sixty percent of the jobs in Chile were in bad conditions). Other reason is the pressure that the actual economic system makes over the persons. People think that the only way to be successful is making more and more money, and they never stop to think about how they get that money, and what things they are sacrificing.
Well, the problem with the jobs is very stressful. But if you asking me what would be my dreamed job, and you really let me to dream about it, I think that the answer is not very clear. Maybe, the more realistic answer that I could make is something related with my career; maybe some job in a gallery or museum, related to investigations about photography… I don’t know, is only a general idea.
The not realistic answer would be a job in a TV show about travels (maybe as camera-woman because I’m very shy) Sincerely, this job would be fantastic. I could know a lot of countries and interesting places, a lot of different people; and the best thing would be that they channel paid me for this! (I know that this job have a bad side, but I don’t interest me, I’m only dreaming)
Come to think of it, maybe my two options of jobs are equally far from me… But today is a nice day. I love the cold and the clouds, those things make me happy and even I can start to think in a positive way.
Well, that is all that I can say. Regards!

vi

If I could travel to the past, I would like to meet Susan Sontag. I think that her life and her thinking are very interesting, especially the things that she wrote about photography and other matters related to aesthetics and arts. The Susan Sontag’s reflections are very relevant to think the photography as an art trough the years, and their connections with social, political and economic aspects of the society.
If I could have the opportunity to know her, I would like to talk with her about her influences; what movies and books marked her (because I imagine that not always the movies and books about she talked are the most important in her life), what was the things that inspired her (maybe travels or her relationships with other persons), and I would like a lot if she would tell me anecdotal things about her books and the process to write them. I would ask her about projects that never finished too.
Maybe, I would like to tell her things too; I would talk her about political events (like Obama’s elections), the situation of mass media in the world, and specifically in Chile (maybe I would tell her all the things about the miners). I know that her papers and books have included reflections about the mass media and their relation with the society; however, I would like to know what things she thinks about specifics events. I think that she always had (and would have it if she were alive) illuminating things to say about process and events that it happened, and I love the way that she had to express her reflections: with very clear ideas , without pretentions and in a simple language near to a common reader.

v

Recently I'm so addicted to one album of an indie Chilean band named Los Mil Jinetes. Although I like the eleven songs of the album (that is called "Reconoceronte" and the year of released is 2009), I must say that my favorite song today is the third track:"Tarde muy tarde".

Last summer I discovered Los Mil Jinetes because two members of the group are part of other band that I like since before, Fother Muckers. I'm always downloading new music to listen - especially Chilean music - and one of that days that I'm dedicate to search new music I found this band. That summer I downloaded their first album, that is called "Ándate cabrita", and I recommend too. And I downloaded "Reconoceronte" around two months ago.

"Tarde muy tarde" is a beautiful and calm song that in its lyrics talks about simple things of life. I like this kind of songs because are not melodramatics, and doesn't have complex philosophical messages; they are only music and words that every person can think.


The album that contains this song is available to free download for an initiative of the band. This Chilean e-magazine (http://super45.net/discos/descarga-libre/los-mil-jinetes-reconoceronte-cazador/) has a great review about the album and it has the link to download it. The file doesn't only contain the songs; but also it contains the lyrics of every song in an original and nice way, and I put here the image with the lyric of "Tarde muy tarde". Also the file has images in gif format that are very funny.

Unfortunately, I had never gone to a concert of Los Mil Jinetes, but I hope that in the future the band plays in some place of Santiago.

Finally, here the Los Mil Jinetes's Myspace http://www.myspace.com/losmiljinetes

iv

I would want to know all the places of the world, sounds funny and unreal but is true, that is my desire. Well… I know that is impossible, but sounds pretty. And for this, is difficult to me to make a decision about what country in specific I want to know. In that case, I’d like to be more realistic and I evaluate my actual economic condition for to visit a place. (Yes, I’m an extreme person, I pass to the more unreal thinking and to the more rational). According to that, I must say that I would like to go to Mexico.
Maybe the Travel & Living channel is influencing me, because I saw a TV show about Mexico a couple days ago. Anyway, Mexico result me so attractive and with an economic effort to save money, I think that the idea of travel there doesn’t sounds so crazy.
I think Mexico is full of things that specially like me, starting with the house of Frida Kahlo in Coyoacán. The cities that had conserved their colonial architectures (especially houses and churches) look interesting to me too. And the architectures of mexica’s culture are amazing too, and the way that the Mexican people conserve this buildings say so much about them and their relation with their native cultures. Apart from, in Mexico it’s celebrated one of the most interesting religious festivities: the “day of the dead”. I like the mixing that this celebration does between two different conceptions about dead, and all the implications that this mixing has in the aesthetic religious imaginary.
Ah! And other thing that motivates me to travel to Mexico is the language (I love español!). I have a bit of experience travelling, and one of the most disappointing things that always happen to me and my family (my bests and far trips I had done with them) are problems about the language. Me and my brother usually save the situations, but with difficulty (more me that my brother) and embarrassment. Anyway, now those problems are funny stories that I love to tell.

iii

I know that historically the Mapuche people has been disadvantaged, basically because the occidental way of living (that is the way of living that the most people chose to lead in our country) always crashed with the Mapuche culture, and more than this, the occidental culture try to become established over the Mapuche culture. And now, with the hunger strike started by 34 jailed Mapuche, this situation has become extreme.
The imposition of the occidental culture over the Mapuche culture is a situation that affect all the natives cultures in our country. But, maybe, the others cultures doesn’t show their discontent because are destroyed by the media and their demands are dulled, and the people in general, that maybe is not directly related to a native culture, doesn’t show interest in this matters either. I think that this kind of people doesn’t have conscience about the place in that they were born, and I refer specially to have conscience about the people that build this country before that we arrive here, and what is the responsibility that we have with them and the way that we remind them.
I think that the occidental culture is more and more extreme, and the socially accepted way of living is a very strict institution, and that someone try to change or be more tolerant and flexible, the people in general see him like a strange person. As far as we maximized one way of living (and with this the laws and the institutions) we discriminate the others cultures, and with that, it doesn’t respect a thing that is cultural (the choice of how we like to live), but the most people in Chile seems to think that is natural, and for that reason assume like an obligation a pre-determined way of living, without questioning.

(Sorry, I think that I changed the subject of the task :S)

ii

I think that for me, the most important news of this year in Chile was the earthquake and the things related to the subject. Ok, I know that this theme has been become in a commonplace, but sincerely, in this moment, I can’t think in other news like the most important news of the year, even after I knew the news about the miners; all this because I think that the earthquake affected more people and it showed obviousness up a problem that could it affect the entire country in the future. I’m referring to the communication problems that there was in that event. And also I’m referring to the ONEMI’s problems, and the way that the State has to protect the citizens in case of a natural disaster.

Like all people know, the earthquake (and the tsunami) affected a lot of people in Chile, from Santiago to even the eighth region. The people lost their houses and in the worst case, their relatives.

I think that the Radio was the media most used for the people minutes before the earthquake, because it was the only media available when the others were fallen. The radio was reliable and it helped to calm down and communicate people, when the cell phones were all down. In that sense, I think that the radio is a very powerful media, that in cases like the earthquake it shows us the lot of positive things that it has. Things that when the electric system works, media like the TV dull and the people don’t perceive.

i

Hi everyone. Today I’m going to tell you about a famous photography exhibition that I visited a couple of weeks ago: World Press Photo. This exhibition was in the exhibition hall of the Telefónica Fundation, and was opened in 14th of July until the 15th of August (so, is closed yet, bu). But in the website http://www.worldpressphoto.org you can see the pictures.
This exhibition is the result of an annual photography contest that is related to press photographers that makes pictures according to different themes, like arts and entertainment, portrait, daily life and contemporary issues. All of those topics are a category.
This exhibition is very interesting for me, because gather together contemporary photographers of the hole world, and is possible see the develop of the contemporary images of press through the years, in a social and artistic sense, because is an annual exhibition that to travel around all the world.
In the exhibition of this year I especially like this photo http://tinyurl.com/2468utn (I put the link because the image in the website has copyright) I remember that I saw it a very long time. I think that the image is so melancholic; the posture of the elderly man gave me the sensation of satisfaction and calm, and the unsaturated colors increase this atmosphere. I think that is a beautiful shot.
In general, I think that the photos related to war are more and more commonplace in this type of exhibition. And I asking me that as a photographic image, what more have those pictures to show us? Taking the informative aspect that this images has. Sincerely, I think that this kind of pictures don’t tell me anything new as an image, and saturate my accounts of visual violence.
Well, I recommend that you visit the website, and that you expect – like me – the World Press Photo of the next year.
Regards!