Both cameras are splendid... Anytime I see one, I wonder, "how much it would cost?". The man, in fact, laughs as crazy and shows his teeth in clear disarray. "Would the camera cost him more than getting his teeth fixed?", I can't stop asking myself. Well... I guess, it is a question demode.
Bertold Bretch used to dress up like a beggar, but in fact his tatters were specifically tailored for him. Much of the so-called alternative dressing and alternative culture -or subculture- of today follows the same principle: rag looking-like clothing, careless manners, but all made on purpose for the sake of fashion. The thing for photography -an expensive hobby- belongs to that culture... A week ago, a couple of couples drink a beer in this interesting dive in Candem Town. Their looks and outfits are just too casual; their cameras are just splendid.
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PhotoEspana is already opened for visitors until July the 24th at different venues and centers in Madrid. If I have a chance, I'd love to see something, something that I just learned: Lartigue, Ron Galella ("papparazzi man"), Fernel Franco, Dulce Pinzon, Emilio Morenatti, etc., etc. I am such an ignoramus, really, but I like portrait photography.
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A mighty discovery this weekend has been the name and life of Ouka Leele, the Spanish photographer.
There is a politician in Spain now very much hated and loved by polarized groups: Esperanza Aguirre. I say that she should run for President. Her name carries the hope for our country. She is cut of the material all brave politicians are made of: she is an explosive and cunning woman on her own. I guess, she would not show her other face's side after being slapping first, but would try to make it even. She offers something nice for a politician, though: she has been always in the same place. She is a liberal, an anti-socialist, she joined the Liberal Party in Spain as early as 1983 -she was 31. She studied with Pedro Schwartz (yes, Fernando's brother), a disciple of Popper in the London School of Economics. And she has not moved since then.
Of how many politicians can you say the same?
But, alas! She is married to the Count -or the Marquis, I am really not sure- of Murillo; she herself is a consort countess. Her sons are, as well, counts or marquis. She belongs to aristocracy... . Not many people like that. The positive side for me is that she has never said she has fought against the police of Franco as many others -who indeed were the sons and daughters of bosses of the regime, if they were not too young for that- actually claim. She is not afraid of her past nor of her ideas. And that counts a lot for me.
Perhaps, she has been granted opportunities that many other, as much talented as her, never had. This is the reflection of the shear unfairness this world is made of and the thriving of successful families. (I mean, she belongs to a good family, was the niece of Gil Biedma -a Spanish poet reference for the young in the 50s and 60s, actually, born in Barcelona, in a family of the bourgeoisie-, for example).
But, alas! The surprising discovery of this weekend is that the photographer Ouka Leele is actually a cousin of Esperanza. Esperanza -the first women being elected as President of a Region (since 2003) and of the Senate (1999 - 2002), tied to right-wing positions- and Barbara -reference in the 80s for the so-called "movida madrilena"- have showed to be bounded by a common knot: both are committed in favor of women, each in her own style... I think both, Espe and Ouka, are genuine and truly deserve my appreciation.
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