PAQUETE It is late in the evening in Quito. The city lights climb skyward in all directions before disappearing into the clouds. Frigid air tumbles down the surrounding mountains. A five year-old boy is walking down Amazonas Avenue toward the heart of the city. His feet hurt. His name is Paco, but his friends call him Paquito. His mom used to call him that, too. The man he is walking with calls him Paquete. He passes the bullfighting arena coated with a fresh layer of orange paint. In a few weeks, in celebration of the founding of Quito, the gates will open and the matadors will arrive with great fanfare, wearing vests with sparkling trim. Everyone will converge on this normally quiet street corner: hat vendors, musicians, drunks, tourists, …show more content…
One boy juggles three grey tennis balls while the other somersaults between the juggler?s legs and then jumps to his feet smiling and clapping his hands between the flying balls in a comic attempt to distract his partner. The acrobat climbs atop the juggler?s shoulders, and one by one intercepts the balls until he is now the juggler, though he lacks the control of his partner. A ball falls to the ground before the light turns green, and the boy leaps off his partner?s shoulders and scrambles to fetch it. Despite the error, the boys still grin and take a bow. A lady in a fuming Mazda lets a wrinkled bill flutter out her window, and the boys pounce on the money before it PAQUETE - 3 - floats away. While jugglers and acrobats are entertaining, Paco dreams one day of pouring gasoline in his mouth and spitting it over a lighter?s flame, producing a glamorous fireball. These teenage fire-spitters are magnificent like dragons and inspire the most awe?and tips?from spectators. There are other performers Paco admires, like this toothless man sitting on the bench playing his rondador. He blows out a familiar tune? El Chulla Quite?o. It?s the only song he ever plays, but people don?t seem to notice or
Alfredo Corchado — is the author of the book named " Midnight in Mexico:A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness”. We are, probably, all interested in finding out the facts, news, and gossips about Mexico. This country was always associated with something mysterious. For me personally, the title of the book seemed to be very gripping, I was interested in revealing the secrets of life in Mexico, thus I decided to read this book. I was really curious, what can Alfredo Corchado tell me about the life in this country, the country, where the constant massacre is the picture, people used to see. In his book, the author tells the reader about the real situations, which took place in Mexico, reveals the secrets of the people’s lives and tells the story from the “inside”. He describes the way he lives his life, and does his work. The " Midnight in Mexico: A Reporter's Journey through a Country's Descent into Darkness” is a memoir. Author tries to transform his own experience into the story line. Corchado shows the reader the darkest episodes of Mexican society, while relying on his own experience.
Bowden’s idea of why this happened focused mainly on the old misunderstood traditions of the tribes living in Mexico. He shows how the friars, churches and icons took the blunt of the revolts force. Bowden points out the religious differences and similarities be...
It’s 11:00 p.m. on a Tuesday when three young men, barely high school age, slip through a chain-link fence and into a New York City trainyard. Each carries a duffel bag, from which can be heard the rattling and clanking of spray cans. Six hours later, they re-emerge, their hands stained with paint and their bags almost empty. What have they done?
It is my intention to investigate the relationship with Pablo Escobar and the development of Colombia as this is a very controversial and wide topic that covers many aspects regarding the economic growth of Columbia. The topic "changing communities" can be interpreted many ways for this topic, changing communities shall be measured in economic development, change in culture and geographic development. In this research paper I am going to discover Pablo Escobar's relationship with the development of Colombia as in the early stages of Escobar's reign over Columbia and the drug world he was coined the nickname "the robin hood of Colombia" for his millions of US dollars
It is true that he used his money to help the poor of his country, but he never forgot to take care of himself. He had multi-million dollar mansions built, where Escobar and members of his cartel went to relax and make business deals. These included the Hacienda Nápoles, and multiple houses on the Islas Del Rosario, islands dotting the coastline of Colombia. After the fall of the cartels in the 90s, the Colombian government had mostly let the once impressive buildings crumble into the ground. Today, these show places have become part of a very lucrative plan to bring tourism to Colombia. The home of Escobar in particular has become a very popular tourist destination. Visitors there can explore the luxurious mansion, which had its own nightclub, a mosaic-lined pool, three movie theaters, and a beautiful view of the Cartagena coastline. James Nye of the Daily Mail said, “the irony is that now you can hire a kayak to paddle around waters that 20 years ago would have cost you your life just for being near.” (Sanchez, 2008, p.38) The breathtaking homes that Escobar had built to reward himself for his success now serve as tourist destinations to remember the fascination of Escobar’s legacy in
The character of Demetrio Macias proves to be quite ironic. One facet of his character reveals his determination to find Pancho Villa’s army, while the other side of his character parallels the extraordinary qualities Pancho Villa had as a hero. People viewed Pancho Villa as a revered hero who pushed out foreign "proprietors" and fought for the common man. On one hand, there is the compassionate man who helped those in need and rescued orphans providing them with food, education, and a home. On the other hand, there was the ferocious general who destroyed villages and killed innocent victims. Villa was generous and helpful to his followers, of which he insisted on loyalty and trust, but to those who violated his trust and authority, he was merciless and cruel. We can clearly see the similarities of these two leaders when we analyze their noble actions. Demetrio’s reluctance to stop ...
This places the reader in recognisable landscape which is brought to life and to some extent made clearer to us by the use of powerful, though by no means overly literary adjectives. Machado is concerned with presenting a picture of the Spanish landscape which is both recognisable and powerful in evoking the simple joys which it represents. Furthermore, Machado relies on what Arthur Terry describes as an `interplay between reality and meditation' in his description of landscape. The existence of reality in the text is created by the use of geographical terms and the use of real names and places such as SOrai and the Duero, while the meditation is found in...
Colombian citizens experience and live through the good and bad things Pablo does, when Americans only hear about the negative actions Escobar commits. Hearing versus seeing plays a vital role in the difference of perspectives between the Colombians and Americans. In the United States, only hearing about Pablo Escobar leads to confusion among different people as “For what, exactly, isn’t easy to understand without knowing Colombia and his life and times” (15). American civilians not knowing personally know why they hate Escobar reflects poorly on the United States. The media does not inform the general public about all the great and generous things Escobar accomplishes for Colombia, and only publishes the stories of his cartel killing innocent people. From the perspective of Colombians, they only know Escobar as a hero of Colombia as “At his death, Pablo was mourned by thousands. Crowds rioted when his casket was carried into the streets of his home city of Medellin” (15). Colombians create a national mourning day for Escobar after his death, when the Americans celebrate their success in killing him. This represents the difference in opinion of Escobar between the two countries. Pablo made promises and he conqueres them; he said he would end poverty as he provided education and housing to the poorest people inside of Colombia. On the other hand,
These men had returned with the news of a Spanish outpost with the name Las Guasimas. By afternoon of the same day the Rough Riders had been order to head out to the location of Las Guasimas and eliminate all opposition and secure the surrounding area, the men would camp outside the outpost then attack the next morning. For started, the Rough Riders were at a disadvantage, they were not accustom to the dense jungles of Cuba in which they were fighting in, and did not know the jungles trails like the Spanish did. Yet the next morning the attack commenced, with General Young, commander of the cavalry and regulars, attacked the outpost straight on.
Quinn, Tom, and Maurice Weaver. "Colombia's Robin Hood." Chronicle-Herald (Halifax, Canada). Dec. 4 1993: A10. SIRS Issues Researcher.Web. 13 Mar. 2014.
In “The Old Acrobat,” the flanuer is lured by the naturalistic and crude appearances of the street performers caused by society’s need for abstract stimulation. The acrobat is physically and mentally drained from performing straining and exhausting tasks for the gratification of others. The dominant scent at the carnival is “a frying odor”2 which hints that the performers are sacrificing themselves and literally “frying” their souls away to satisfy their hungry audiences. Even the acrobat is described as being “illuminated all too well by two burned-down candles”3 which are “dripping and smoking.”4 There is a sense of...
The documentary “Rize” by David LaChapelle, focuses on the lives of Black Americans who live in South Central Los Angeles and the struggles they go through in their daily lives. Moreover the film also introduces two types of dancing groups that they have in the community. These dance groups are meant to keep the youths and children occupied and distracted from all the problems that have been going on in their community, such as the LA riot. The two styles of dancing are Clowning and Krumping. Clowning was created by Tommy the Clown in 1992. Tommy used to be a formal drug dealer, he went from having his life together to losing all his money and house. However, instead of doing nothing productive with his life, he decided to help his community by changing the lives of others through entertainment. In addition, not only did this dancing group help him get to a better place in life but also the group members are like his family. His main goal was to help put similes on people’s faces and help get some of these children and youths away from gangs. On the other hand, Krumping was also generated from Clowning, however Krumpers believe that their form of entertainment is different from clowning. Moreover, these dancing groups main focus is to distract the youths and children in the community by giving them the opportunity to do something they love, which is dancing. Furthermore, passion, spiritual connections and connection to the African culture are conveyed through the film by Clowning and Krumping.
Bullfighting and bull runs are part of the Spanish culture and are inseparable form Spain’s future. The Fiesta de San Fermin, in honor of Saint Fermin, takes place in Pamplona, Spain every year from June 14-21. Six wild bulls led by eight to ten tamed bulls trudge through the street while brave runners risk their lives to lead them to the bullring. Once at the bullring the bulls will fight bullfighters. The bullfight divided into three parts becomes an intense show. The first part the bullfighter tests the bull for intelligence, in the second act the bullfighter sticks darts in the bulls shoulder to enrage the bull, and finally the bull and the bullfighter duel. Many famous people such as Pueblo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, and Alexander Fleming have statues for their role in the Spanish culture of bullfighting and bull runs. Like other culture I believe in my culture and believe that the Spanish culture of bullfighting and bull runs will continue to flourish.
Life in Mexico was, before the Revolution, defined by the figure of the patron that held all of power in a certain area. Juan Preciado, who was born in an urban city outside of Comala, “came to Comala because [he] had been told that [his] father, a man named Pedro Paramo lived there” (1). He initially was unaware of the general dislike that his father was subjected to in that area of Mexico. Pedro was regarded as “[l]iving bile” (1) by the people that still inhabited Comala, a classification that Juan did not expect. This reveals that it was not known by those outside of the patron’s dominion of the cruel abuse that they levied upon their people. Pedro Paramo held...
The entire town gathers around Santiago to watch as the affair comes to a head; as he stumbles home, the narrator says, “The people had stationed themselves on the square the way they did on parade days. They all saw him come out, and they all understood that now he knew they were going to kill him … They began to shout at him from every side, and Santiago Nasar went backward and forward several times, baffled by hearing so many voices at the same time” (Márquez 115). This scene conjures imagery almost of mockery; the way the people all line up to watch Santiago, knowing he will soon die, evokes the atmosphere of Roman coliseums and citizens watching gladiators and lions fight to the death, as if the event is nearly entertaining to the people. Every single person in that crowd has the ability to step forward and offer shelter to Santiago or inform him of what is coming, yet no one steps out of line, preferring to yell unintelligible advice from the sidelines, lost in a roar of voices. Some leeway can be given to them, considering that “[n]o one even wondered whether Santiago Nasar had been warned, because it seemed impossible to all that he hadn’t” (Márquez