In search of (un)happiness

I like this connection i read in Lorenzo Silva´s "Carta Blanca" between unhappiness and freedom. This is his reasoning- ..."quien acepta la infelicidad sólo puede aspirar a conquistar la libertad, como estímulo para seguir enfrentando cada nuevo día que comienza...incluso llegó (el personaje) a creer que únicamente aquel que se resignara a ser infeliz podía ser de veras libre. porque la felicidad siempre engendraba el apego, y el apego, antes o después, la servidumbre" (222). So you are freer when you are unhappy and happiness only ties you to bondship. that´s why it´s so elusive and shortlived, cause other conditions set in, leaving you disatisfied sooner or later and wanting more...
i was explaining to a friend a similar logic vis a vis expectations. if you have no expectations- about people, relationships, future, etc..then you can´t be disappointed or get hurt.. cause you assume from the very beginning that you hope and desire nothing but the moment in itself... of course, in practice, these theories just go down the drain most of the times..but as an idea its great....

Rising to the challenge of being human

I read this lovely statement from the testimonial novel of Rachid Nini- Diario de un inmigrante ilegal-
Lo que nos hace seres humanos es que cometemos errores. Cada vez que cometemos un error nos volvemos más humanos. Y esto es lo que nadie nos ha enseñado en la escuela. Por eso cuando crecemos empezamos a arrepentirnos de las tonterías que hemos hecho. Y cada vez que nos arrepentimos nos hacemos menos humanos (147).

Then, in the same book, he cites a few thought-provoking lines from Milan Kundera´s book titled "La Broma"-
la mayoría de la gente sucumbe al espejismo de una doble creencia- creen en la perennidad de la memoria (de los hombres, las cosas, las naciones) y en la posibilidad de la reparacion (de los actos, los errores, los pecados, el daño). Tanto la una como la otra son falsas. La verdad se sitúa precisamente en el lado opuesto: todo se olvidará, nada podrá ser reparado. La función que debe cumplir la reparación (mediante la venganza o el perdón) la asume el olvido. Nadie reparará los daños cometidos y todos los daños serán olvidados (147).

I find the above logic so simple and yet so fascinating... el olvido natural como la panacea..but this takes time right?
and finally, this last citation in his book about the world being the ultimate consolation-

Viajar te enseña a mirar el globo terráqueo como si fuera una agenda de bolsillo con muchas direcciones. Cada ciudad queda reducida a una calle con un número. A veces, hojear la agenda es como hacer un pequeño viaje…las amistades que hacemos en los trenes son como las amistades que nos unen a los libros. Tan pronto como los terminamos, los arrinconamos en un lugar de la estantería…pero el tren seguirá pitando siempre. Igual que el escritor .

Much food for thought... so let´s have a feast...

llevar el burka

Here is the lyrics of the song entitled "Burka" by the famous cantautor Pedro Guerra:
Pies que no pueden hacer ruido al andar,
mujeres condenadas tras el velo,
dedos que no pueden escribir ni contar,
labios que no pueden sonreír ni cantar.
Brazos que no pueden recibir ni abrazar,
mujeres condenadas tras el velo,
mentes que no pueden decidir ni pensar,
ojos que olvidaron el placer de mirar.
Muertas en vida,
dolidas del alma,
personas heridas,
mujeres fantasma.
Pasos encerrados sin unir ni venir,
mujeres condenadas tras el velo,
letras denegadas sin nombrar ni decir,
besos que no alcanzan labios donde existir.
Vidas que no sacian ni el amor ni la sed,
mujeres condenadas tras el velo,
rejas que eliminan cuanto se quiere ver,
burkas enrejadas, libertad tras la red.
Muertas en vida,
dolidas del alma,
personas heridas,
mujeres fantasma.

I cite this song in connection to an article which appeared in the newspaper El Mundo entitled "The burka arrives in Spain". Like the song, a very prejudiced, biased article which really criticises and condemns the apparently barbaric, backward practice of covering oneself in the 21st century because apparently it goes against the current trend of show-it-all; skin is in; the more u show, the more liberated you are...I do not deny that there are alot of women who would probably take off the burka if given a choice without any kind of pressures- society, male folk, conditioning etc.. Just look at Afghanistan.. but then again, there are still women who apparently continue to wear it despite the apparent freedom to remove it..some might say its out of custom, fear, tradition..maybe.. During the war between Algeria and France, women fought to keep the veil on against the french orders to remove it..in Turkey, women doctors and other students, forced to remove it, also demand their rights to wear it... i think its unfair to cast all the apple in the basket as rotten just because one or two are! Some women- and i´ve met some- actually feel better being covered and feel more secure of themselves to express their opinions and socialise in public etc.. Is it right for the outsider to look at them and say they are all oppressed because they arent dressed like normal women? Women wear the hijab for so many reasons..i think we need to overcome this first obstacle of judging them simply by what we see on tv and read about... i do not deny that it is a complicated topic because a sacred book is involved and "reason" apprently seems useless in any kind of debate..but that does not mean that individual freedoms must be violated either..
i also acknowledge the fact that burqa is different from what is currently referred to as hijab- just the head covering as opposed to the burqa which is a full gear with the face covered...the debate centred around the two is obviously different. In my country, Trinidad and Tobago, of catholic majority, you also find women in the streets, almost totally covered and in black.. in the university there too, you find a few as well.. having spoken with some of them, i was assured that this was their choice- one of the girls came from a non-practising muslim family- and wasnt married or anything- because they felt safer and less harrassed by unwelcome gazes.. although it may be difficult for many to understand, i think one individual wishes, as long as it doesnt affect or encroach on anybody else´s rights and freedoms, should also be respected.

TE DOY MIS OJOS

Finally sat down to see the much talked about movie "Te doy mis ojos" since i had a chance to listen to the director yesterday- Iciar Bollain. The movie is simple but has some excellent moments which are really intense. its basically about a woman who is caught up in a violent relationship with a man she thinks she loves and understands more than anyone else..she leaves him only be persuaded once more with the usual refrain of "i am a changed man", "i´m seeking help", "i can´t live without you", "you are the only one who can help me" etc etc. The development of some of the characters was really "trabajado" and i liked that alot. Like the sister who looks in from outside and can´´t understand her sister´s position and love for a violent man, when it seems so simple...or the victim, who so wants to believe in something, afraid to face the world alone; or the victimiser who is also victim, left alone in the end, not knowing what to do with himself...there are some intense moments in the movie especially the one love scene, the paintings which play such an important role in the whole movie or in the pain and trauma of the protagonist subject to a violent husband...like when he strips her naked and locks her out..only to find her peeing herself once he pulls her back inside..or the scene at the police station where she just breaks down faced with the whole idiocy of the interrogation and the suppression of her pain...or in the end when she says..no me veo, no me veo...i no longer know who i am...
It´s always a bit fascinating to be a spectator to this kind of drama...what really keeps a woman in this kind of relationship, all the emotional manipulations that take place... it was also interesting to see the whole "curing" process of the husband, going to help sessions, seeing the whole dynamic of violent men, their weaknesses etc and how they are forced to open up and discover an unknown side of themselves... its always problematic when they think they are seeking help for the other and not for their one benefit...they dont realise the problem is theirs to deal with, with the other person or not...
Anyway, these are just some of my sleepy musings on this film which awakens you to a path of self discovery...

WAITING TO EXHALE

I am waiting. Waiting for I don´t know what…waiting to begin, waiting for it all to end, waiting to fall in love, waiting for the next crisis, waiting to live. Durante la espera, duermo, me ensimismo, como, follo, me bestializo…todo en la espera… Why wait? Waiting for what, for whom, when, why? Isolation, memory, fragmentation, splinters, the END…. A new beginning? Nothingness…I wait in solitude and fear…

VIOLENCE... what is hate, why take revenge, why draw strength from the weaknesses of others.. cripple, maim, destroy and triumph.. dog eat dog world; P.E.A.C.E. Putrifying, Egotism, All-Powerful Carcass; Enshrined in, Englobing…Evanescent Escape… Closer, Closer to that Nine Inch Nail- You let me violate you, you let me desecrate you, You let me penetrate you, you let me complicate you. Help me, I broke apart my insides; help me I've got no soul to sell.Help me, the only thing that works for me, help me get away from myself

Love is…never having to say you’re sorry? Love is sharing an intimate moment with someone? Love is letting oneself go to the whims of another? Love is regalando las partes del cuerpo al amante del alma? ¿Te doy mis ojos? Love is being able to transcend this virtual reality world? Love is that smile, that confidence, that hope, that spark that makes you want to live forever; that gives you a taste of immortality? Love is un círculo tramposo that takes you on a ride and drops you back where u have started…but you are never the same anymore…
Disappointment…love, life, world, human being caught in the web of deceit…waiting to exhale…

Film "Flores de otro mundo" based on director´s comments

Today in our course on immigration and cinema, the director of Flores de otro mundo, Iciar Bollain came to speak with the group and share with us not only the genesis of the movie but also general comments and anecdotes concerning the topic of immigration. the film made in 1998, maps the lives of three women who arrive in the fictitious pueblo of Santa Eulalia in a caravan, invited by the bachelors there.. As in many parts of rural Spain, as the director noted, the absence of women who all migrate to the cities is a common phenomenon.. the idea for the movie came in fact, from a popular newspaper piece on a said caravan loaded with about 40 women who were invited to some isolated town in the Pirineos..the director herself would later jump onto a caravan headed south and gather valuable documentation for what was later converted into a movie.. the movie looks at relationships in this small town, the complications which arise, the hopes which are dashed etc. What complicates the relationships even more is the presence of foreign migrant women- one Dominican and another brought from Cuba. We see not only "soft racism" but the problems which arise from cultural differences, different desires and interests etc. The Cuban, a vibrant 20 year old feels lost and alone in the middle of this empty, parched town where nightlife is practically limited to a bar where men gather to see football etc. The interesting perspective in this film could be its double focus on the women as active participants of migration and work etc and the men as victims in part.. Carmelo who has brought Milady from Cuba, and offers her love and economic happiness is deceived in the end and abandoned by Milady who escapes perhaps to meet her lover in Italy. The dominican also confesses that if it werent for her economic situation and the desire to give security and stability to her children, she would not have come to the pueblo and would not have hooked up with Damian..although she confesses that in the end, she loves him and wants to be with him..Many have approached the film with labels of immigration or the woman as the "double other"...but as the director herself notes...its more about parejas and the problems encountered.. although the other key factors already mentioned- migrant women etc..complicate the plot and add to the film´s particularity.
it was interesting to see the town´s reaction to the foreign women- exotic morenitas from the Caribbean..exotic jewels to display before the other envious and aging bachelors... of course, the town women feel threatened in their own way by these exotic women who threaten to ruin their stability and security.. while the men welcome them and hope to enjoy their exoticism...its strange to see all these mixes in the film- race, exoticism, the desperate condition of the men, the setting of a small isolated town and how all these unique elements lend itself to the debate on immigration, say, or even, relationships etc...
im interested on seeing how different the whole debate would be if there were also black male migrants in this little town and the reaction of its inhabitants...just corroborates how much individual factors- gender, demographics, stereotypes....influence and even dictate the way we understand this increasingly complicated phenomenon of immigration... i remember waiting for the metro one sunday evening in Madrid and this old, fresh guy- viejo verde par excellence! who was ogling all the women there...mostly immigrants and he looks at me and asks- i think- where i was from- and then, almost as if musing to himself...he marvels at the number of immigrants which crowd the streets and metro of Madrid, adding that he was delighted to have all the women from all over the world in Madrid, but the men no way! Guessing his intentions, i slowly eased my way away from him...not wanting to be too close to such characters which seem to abound in Madrid!, capital of Spain... just to close off, i remember a friend in Alcala who was recounting her experience in the supermarket where an old guy was going around, "pescando" foreign women and offering to marry them if they were interested in staying or living in Madrid..he approached both her and her Colombian friend...stories such as these abound... dont know if its only due to lack of companionship or if its the old Spaniard´s desire to live life to the fullest....any clue?

Islam and the West- dialogue of civilizations; coexsitence

Today, i attended a chat by the director of the ABC newspaper here in Madrid. He was supposed to speak of Zapatero´s pioneering promotion of an Aliance of Civilizations. he mentioned that the idea goes back to Iran´s Khatami in fact and he did start off by saying that all cultures should be respected and treated equally or something like that...Then he went on to say that it was going to be a massive challenge for the West since there are some values in Islam which just seem too incompatible- like issues with fudamental human rights, women´s rights, whihc he went to town about, then he moved to the idea that since the Shariah laid out such clear patterns and rules of law and order, that it was difficult to change or come to some of agreement...in other words, the problem was Islam. I´d like to mention briefly some of his statements which caught my attention, like at the beginning when he was asked to differentiate amongst the terms moro, arabe, musulman. he rightly noted that musulman and arabe were definitely not synonymous..that arabs arent the only muslims and then stated to name other countries with Muslim majorities, noting Egypt, Pakistan, Nigeria, Iran. He then went on to say that it was India that had the most Muslims!! it drew my attention that he didnt mention neither Indonesia nor Malaysia...

Next he went to town again with the whole debate on women´s subjugation and lack of rights in Islam- how two women witnesses were equivalent to one, how women only inherited half the amount of property as men, women were forced to cover up and he even went so far as to say that he felt the suffering of those Muslim women (we assume all of them) who are forced to wear the hijab etc. Well, what im really interested is in the question segment, where it seemed students were much more knowledgeable and reasonable. Some noted that he didnt quite differentiate between Islamism (extremist) and Islam but attempted to show that it was Islam, with some of its values, that was the problem in the dialogue with the all extending hand of the west.. one guy made mention of the nationalist, socialist movements in some Arab countries, like that of Nasser for example, and its failure which led Muslims to adopt more exteme views and give attention to extremists...another spoke about the degradation and humilliation of women in all religions, and that if Europe now respected women more, it was only because it was able to partly get out of the clutch of the Church... another mentioned that like Christ, the prophet Mohammad could also have been seen to dignify and elevate the status of women... yet another mentioned, and this is a point i´d like to stress, that this whole Alliance of civilisations, which is in reaction to Huntington´s clash of civilisations, only seeks to reinforce the divide in cultures and does not promote at all the idea of one single civilisation, but that totally different cultures, almost incompatible, had to find at least something in common... Well it seems that the idea that religion is attacked only when it appears as an obstacle to the free movement of capital, has to be reinforced.. what does the West really care about women who are seemingly oppressed under veils that nobody would bother to wear if given the choice... or about the poverty and violation of human rights in these countries.. Bush in his visit to Latin America, is trying to appease violent protests by attempting to highlight this humanist side of good America, in its fight to improve the conditions of people etc... rhetoric that nobody believes... in the end, though, the debate seemed to all come back to secularism and the hijab...and women in Islam... the eternal question.. and well, the eternal paradox of me being there with my hijab, silent, passive, listening to this debate while others spoke... the guy behind me asked me if i suffered due to my hijab, going on what the guy had said.. i told him i had just read an article of a Moroccan who did a study and found more than 60 reasons why women wear the hijab... he tried to almost force me to tell this to that guy.. because as he said.. he was only fomenting.. lack of knowledge... well, thats how it ended, i left, just as i came in, silently and alone.

Finding the humanist side

Throughout history, religion and violence have always been closely associated. Nowadays, its Islam that we see in the news all the time with bombings, kidnappings, angry mobs burning flags, taking hostages etc. Just yesterday here in Spain, the third anniversary of the Madrid bombings was remembered with the unveiling of a monument dedicated to its 100 plus victims. Of course this worse terrorist attack to hit Spain has been linked to Islamic extremists and not ETA terrorists and in fact, there is an ongoing trial now, with about 23 accused. In Aamin Maalouf´s book- Deadly Identities, (original- Identités meurtrieres), there is a nice quote about the possibility of violence as well as good in every discourse, from communism to nationalism to secularism. I quote the sentence which caught my eye in Spanish-
El siglo XX nos habrá enseñado que ninguna doctrina es por si misma necesariamente liberadora: todas pueden caer en desviaciones, todas pueden pervertirse, todas tienen las manos manchadas en sangre: el comunismo, nacionalismo, liberalismo, todas las grandes religiones y hasta el laicismo. Nadie tiene el monopolio del fanatismo y, a la inversa, nadie tienen tampoco el monopolio de lo humano.
So if each ideology can be openly interpreted to serve extremist or humanist purposes, where does the problem lie? In interpretation, we might add, or in the inherent, potential violent nature of man? In this book by Maalouf which is basically a long essay on the revindication of the complex and multi-facetted identity which we all possess and which makes each person different from the other, but at the same time, sharing common values with the other in one way or another, Maalouf attempts to show the current predominance of tribal identities has lead and will lead to violence and misunderstandings. When one part of a person’s identity is threatened- race, religion etc, it is this part which is isolated by the individual and revindicated. That’s why, he notes, its so important that the idea of multiple pertenencias be reclaimed, without one encroaching on the other but each coexisting with the other, not in compartments, he stresses, but as one single entity. Maybe, when there is only a single world, and not many worlds, as the French philosopher Alan Badiou notes, the humanist side of man will finally dominate the evil side …

trying to decipher this elusive concept called "identity"

Amin Maalouf in his book called "Identités meurtrieres", roughly translated as Deadly Identitites, attempts to unearth all the complexities included in this thing we call identity. Recently, i was chatting with a Catalan friend and she was amazed to find out that I was a Caribbean Muslim, of Indian origin living in a country formed mainly by displaced African and Indian communities, brought here by the British to work in plantations, either as slaves or more euphemistically, after the abolition of slavery, as indentured workers. Needless to say, I don´t speak hindi or arabic, just english and well spanish and french. It is always intriguing to see the reaction in people´s faces here in Spain when they find out youré not Moroccan- since the majority of Muslims here are either from the Maghreb, although there are quite a few Pakistanis, Bangladeshis etc. To add to the dilemma, they always seem disappointed when i explain to them i come from the Caribbean and im of Indian origin, but hold it! I don´t speak a word of hindi, expect the basic phrases i would have learnt from the many Bollywood movies I´ve seen...so here I am, a frustrated individual in Spain who is continuously confronted with her multiple "pertenencias", but who feels that she doesnt belong anywhere really. So, my friend Gloria, reminded me of Maalouf´s essays in his book, since he also encounters a similar dilemma, being a Christian Lebanese immigrant living in France, a country he has totally adopted without denying any of his past baggage. This reminds me of the franco-algerian rai singer, Faudel, who in his song "Mon pays", only revindicates France, which he sings, will always be his country. Curious enough, he also sings in arabic and the mix produced is totally entrancing... so we ask ourselves, why is there a need, especially nowadays, to assert one identity and conceal or suppress the multiple others which make each individual unique and irreplaceable? I shouldn´t say a need, but maybe a desire, an urge etc... Well in his book, Maalouf gives many examples showing how historically, peoples have identified with one aspect of their identity- be it Arab, Muslim, yogoslav, Catalan etc only to "switch labels" later under different circumstances.. he stresses, and rightly so, that identity is never a static condition but a lively, continuous dialectic process..whether we choose to give precedence to one aspect depends on many factors. He also interestingly shows in his book how a country and identity influence each other in a reciprocal way.

We obviously need the other to complete the image of ourselves..today, in a session, we were talking about how European communities here in Spain- specifically wealthy English and German retirees, come and settle in the coast and over the years have formed isolated communities where they managed to create almost a separate world apart from the rest of Spain, where everything is in their language, where there is no integration with the host country etc.. However, nobody seems to pay attention to these immigrants who arent even considered as such and who dont even see themselves as such...which leads one to wonder about the term "immigrant" and how it can be replaced quite easily with "poor", "different"; in other words, the other, the one who immediately stands out because he/she is seen as a threat in some way... the immigrant is never treated as an equal, that which is obvious, which leads me to really ponder over the immigrant psyche and how this will be played out in the future..I mean, when an immigrant is confronted with a white, he/she is made to feel his inferiority, his exclusion, his difference, even if only subtly...i don´t want to generalise either, but more and more i find it extremely disturbing to live in a society where u are constantly reminded that u are not wanted or u are an intruder.. i know this isnt always the case but i can also add that it is quite common... Despite the good intentions by some to higlight these contradictions and to force the society to take a look at itself, the media, the stereotypes etc are too strongly rooted to disappear anytime soon...

Anyway, these are just some of my identity musings here in Spain, Madrid to be more specific....

uproar over Dolce & Gabbana´s recent printed ad

Amnesty International has asked Dolce & Gabbana to remove their clothing ad which consists of a male-nuded torso, pinning down a model by her wrists while four other men look on..one other with his torso also bared. Many other groups have also intervened arguing that the ad is an apology of violence against women. Spain seems to be proud of this new call from Amnesty Int´l since the said ad was apparently denounced here by the spanish Institute for Women about a month ago. when the advertisement was banned in spain, the designers accused the Spanish market of being backward and not appreciating the meaning of art!!! In Italy, trade unions have already warned that if the ad is not removed before International Women´s day on the 8th of March, the clothing company will be boycotted. The designers are being asked to issue a public apology to women for thier ad which is seen as promoting a culture of female submission and "generating machismo" based on violence.
there seems to be unanimous calls for the withdrawal of the ad, with thirteen Italian senators also joining the bandwagon. I wonder if this decision is simply based on growing outside outcry over the whole ad or if the ad is genuinely seen to promote violence against women... i also wonder how many women would look at this ad and not find anything wrong with it at all... just goes to show how much our reactions and responses are based on conditioning and constructions and media brainwashing etc. I also think that if this ad is to be removed, then it should be done so properly, establishing some kind of precedent or certain regulations and standards as to what is appropriate and what is offensive.. and who is to decide what should be censored or not.. I personally have seen worse ads- can´t name any right now- which have gone by totally unnoticed, which only underlines society´s inconsistencies and double standards. This does not mean i condone the ad, simply that we should be more responsible and consistent, and also realistic and truthful when protesting about what constitutes an "apology for violence against women".
On the other hand, as to be expected, no image has only one interpretation, so there have been various counter-versions to the original argument (of inciting female violence), one going so far as to say that the men are all gay and one of them becomes attracted to the woman he pins down, cause he is confused about his strange attraction, while the other men´s reactions are also re-interpreted.. i guess this is the beauty of interpretations, images and language... that there is no single truth...

la esencia y sustancia del hombre

Here is an opening quotation in spanish from the short story titled Trabanxi by the Moroccan author Ahmed Ararou, taken from the shory story anthology of moroccan authors, edited in Spain:
hay hombres, y quizá por eso creen serlo, que parecen haber vivido sólo para la gloria y la eternidad del terruño que los vio nacer. Ulises fue uno de ellos; con el empieza el mito de la raza civilizada encarnada en el aventurero que acumula recuerdos para el ineludible día de su retorno a Itaca. desde entonces, renunciar a Itaca significa renunciarse a uno mismo, ser sin conciencia de lo que se es....los hombres sólo son hombres, su condición impone que coman y beban de los mitos, por eso asumen destinos urdidos por los dioses y caminan en sendas forjadas por héroes que se confunden con el tiempo. pero, de vez en cuando, irrumpen hombres fuera de molde, para dar el contraejemplo y recordarnos a todos que, como el hombre no es un semidiós, es capaz de las más sorprendentes diferencias.
I find this quotation very suggestive and rich in meaning... what is the essence of the human being? How is identity formed, what deeds and actions make one individual "different" and more noble from the others.. how do we invent and explain our origins...the importance or role of myths in either creating or preventing the "formation" of "great men"... drawing the boundaries between the individual and his native land etc...

overview of Cartas de Alou, based on director´s comments

Well, i had a chance to listen to the director of Cartas de Alou today- Montxo Arendáriz. His discussion was very pleasant.. the anecdotes that these directors recount are just priceless and invaluable and obviously shed new light on many impressions u would have formed by looking at the film with your own cultural baggage etc. Like there were questions and theories behind whether the initial scene in which Alou´s voice is heard, reading a letter in wolof was supposed to carry subtitles or not and the implications of the director´s intentions.. or whether the fact that there was no real intimacy between the senegalese immigrant Alou and white Carmen, was because these tabou areas are better left untreated, etc.. Well, you would have had to see the film to know where im coming from.. but its really amazing that this film which was made in 1990 when the whole immigration affair in Spain was in its incipient stages... is prophetic in many ways since the entire drama is very much alive and the same more than 15 years later.. i would have asked the director whether there was anything in particular he would have liked to revise or change considering the present polemic and media saturation of the whole affair.. alas, what i did ask was about the whole identity issue vis-a-vis the immigrant taking into consideration Alou´s comments during the film and in the end, trying to return to Spain, adding that he now knows how to treat with the Spaniards..he acknowledged that he wanted to leave it very ambiguous as with the whole identity question. the previous speaker, referring to the film, had noted that Alou se ha españolizado pero el espectador se ha africanizado..
Well, the director emphasised the whole genesis of the film, the racism that pervaded spanish society then although everyone was in denial. the exploitation and subhuman conditions in which many of the immigrants were living etc.. he underlined that in this film, he wanted to give voice to the immigrant, let the immigrant speak and allow the spectator to follow Alou´s journey through his voice and eyes... very nice.. he also noted that he didnt want to indulge neither in "buenismos" or in "criminalizaciones" with respect to the whole immigration debate..in other words, not falling into the trap of maniqueísmos...and the whole problem of having to work with real illegal immigrants, the technical and bureaucatic difficulties etc..
Well, he would have also touched on many issues..like how the majority of the cast could not read spanish which in the end enriched the whole idea of their lines and how this opened up the script to more interpretations from their part after hearing the jist of what the director´s intentions were.. a lot more dialectical and enriching in this sense...and many other anecdotes that allow for multiple interpretations of the film.. he recounted too, for instance, how he was totally blown over when he visited a building designed for about 50 ppl, if i remember right.. but which was rented out to immigrants-in the hundreds- and who converted the building into one of their communities to which they were accostumed- for instance, no doors were closed and a room at the bottom was left for prayers etc.. he added that when he explained this to his friends- who by the way, only lived like 15 km away- they refused to believe him. in fact, he stressed, many ppl assumed that if u entered these places, you would be killed or something because of the image there was of these immigrants- drug addicts, thiefs, violent, indulging only in prostitution etc..
i also asked the director about the scene in the cave- where the immigants lived- and the comments by the moroccan when the senegalese was resistant to stay there because of the subhuman, degrading condition- he told Alou that they were stinking smelly rats etc and therefore that this was where they belonged... when Alou moves to Barcelona, he returns there with Mulai and two Spanish women who look aghast when they see the place... i asked him if he wanted to critically and ironically confront the spaniard with the reality which they denied or avoided... Montxo added that it was actually the initiative of the moroccan who had made this comment and so, it was incoporated into the film...all in all, anécdotas mías based on today´s session which left me feeling both contented and disturbed at the same time... it is in fact a film which continues to shed light, more than 15 years later on the whole topic of African immigration in Spain and the society´s reaction...