Wednesday 27 February 2008

Good Bye My East End, Hello San Salvador

Estradas e ruas escuras, chuvas intensas de cinco minutos, segurancas de cadeia de lanchonetes, farmacias, lojas de um dolar e qualquer outra pesadamente armados; pessoas transportadas em carroceria de caminhoes em pleno centro da cidade; calor muito calor. As impressoes das primeiras horas em El Salvador apos onze anos sem visitar o pais podem ser assim simplificadas.
Os problemas de abastecimento de agua quase que diarios em diferentes areas de San Salvador tambem ja foram sentidos logo no primeiro dia. As imagens de Londres se sobrepoem involuntariamente diante do contraste incomparavel de realidades.
Mas ainda nao é hora de falar de El Salvador. As cronicas do novo ambiente e o exercicio da pratica de escrever em espanhol virao logo acompanhadas dos relatos do porque tamanha mudança.
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Agora, como dito no ultimo post, ainda há algumas histórias de Londres a registrar. Após dois anos e meio vivendo como um eastender precisava arquivar informacäo sobre os boroughs que hoje me säo familiares e muito bem lembrados. Foram dois anos em Stoke Newington, localidade pacata, aconchegante, cool e querida por muitos londrinos, especialmente britanicos. A area faz parte da vibrante e muitas vezes mal-interpretada, Hackney, borough de Londres de ritmo e pluralidade intensa no qual me orgulho de ter vivido.
Aquí seguem tres textos que apresentam a regiäo. O primeiro é parte da introduçäo do livro Walking through East End; o segundo é uma notícia do London Paper do dia 20 de fevereiro deste ano e o terceiro é uma pequena nota do dicionario Rhyming Cockney Slang que apresenta este fascinante dialeto londrino historicamente relacionado com o East End que quem sabe um dia ainda venha a aprender.
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The London Borough of Tower Hamlets, familiarly known as the East End of London, or simply the East End, has a rich, complex history going back to the Domesday Book, where it is recorded as Stebunhithe, the Manor of Stepney, belonging to the Bishop of London. The name Tower Hamlets is itself evocative, for it is indeed a group of 21 hamlets by the Tower of London, bordered by the City gates of Aldgate and Bishopsgate on its western extreme and the River Lea on the east, while to north, Victoria’s Park northern perimeter forms a natural demarcation, and the River Thames flows to the south.

The East End has played a significant role in the history of London, yet has retained its own unique identity through centuries of change. A thousand years of history have taken the ancient parish of Stepney, once an idyllic rural retreat from the grimy, smoky city of London, where gentle folk came to breathe the fresh country air, through a gradual expansion, as the building of the docks and the proliferation of factories and industries served to create a vast slum of seething humanity, interspersed with gracious mansions and elegant town houses. One hundred years ago, a population explosion necessitated a re-drawing of the boundaries, and the area was carved up into the three Metropolitan Boroughs of Stepney, Bethnal Green and Poplar. Sixty-five years later, the three boroughs were merged to form the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. However, the communities have clung stubbornly to their own identities, and nowhere else in London is the old village name used as a matter of course. Eastenders will tell you they come from Stepney, Bow, Limehouse, Wapping, Poplar, Whitechapel, Bromley-by-Bow, Blackwall, Bethnal Green or Mile End, rarely from Tower Hamlets.

Communities as diverse as the Huguenots, Germans, Irish, Russian and Polish, Jews, Chinese and more recently Bangladeshis have left their mark upon the common heritage. Two World Wars have significantly altered the landscape, indeed the Blitz almost succeeded in wiping the East End off the map. But, while so many landmarks disappeared, new ones have taken their place. The docks, once the hub of the British Empire, now serve as London’s new financial and business heart, with Canary Wharf a prominent symbol of new wealth and influence. However, through all these changes, it is still possible to travel through time, following the trails of famous and infamous characters, communities and events, some of national and international significance, to explore the rich history and cultural diversity to be found in the highways, backstreets and alleys of the East End.
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West End is fading, Sun rising in the East End

The West End´s time in the spotlight is over, with the East End emerging as London´s rising star, according to a new guide.
But the Lonely Planet says both sides of town could do with minding their language – with foul language a common feature of daily life.
The guide claimed the future “belongs to the East” noting such previously low key areas as Hackney, Dalston, Shoreditch and Spitafields.
Steve Fallon, one of the authors, said” The Docklands have become the key financial hub, the clubs and bars in the east of the capital are thriving while the West End´s nightlife is associated with overpriced drink and Z-list celebrities. Even Wembley (stadium) seems to have been surpassed by the O2”.
The guide rates Clerkenwell, Shoreditch and Spitafields as London´s most creative and exciting districts”.
Signs of wealth are starting to trickle into the areas around Whitechapel and Aldgate East, while property prices have soared in Mile End, Bethnal Green and Bow.
But Lonely Planet also notes the level of swearing. It says: “In London it´s not rare to hear people whose speech is so dependent on the word f*** they are virtually dumbstruck without it”.
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Rhyming Cockney Slang
When a technician the film set of Diamonds are Forever said “It´s a bit taters. I get me weasel”, everyone laughed but many were bamboozled. Few of them had any idea that the Cockney technician was feeling cold and was off to get his coat. One American on the se said, “that language grabs me but I wish I knew the hell it was all about”.

It has been said that rhyming Cockney slang was originally invented to outwit authority and eavesdroppers. Whatever the reason it still remains a closed language to the uninitiated. But anyone who strolls within the sound of Bow Bells (St. Mary-le-Bow Church) has a very good chance of hearing this slang.

The term cockney has both geographical and linguistic associations. Geographically and culturally, it often refers to working class Londoners, particularly those in the East End. Linguistically, it refers to the form of English spoken by this group.

According to traditional definition, a "true" cockney is someone born within earshot of the Bow Bells, i.e. the bells of St Mary-le-Bow church in Cheapside in the City of London (which is not itself in the East End). The association with Cockney and the East End in the public imagination may be due to many people assuming that Bow Bells are to be found in the district of Bow, rather than the lesser known St Mary-le-Bow church.


Monday 25 February 2008

One World Action's El Salvador description

Este blog mudara. De lingua, porque de pais. Dentro de poucas horas, parto para El Salvador. Razoes, motivacoes, vontades. La, terra de minha metade fraterna, estarei por inicialmente seis meses. Ainda assim, alguns dos proximos posts aqui seguirao sobre Londres em ingles e portugues porque ha alguns registros que nao foram mas merecem serem feitos. Logo apos a fase de aclimatizacao, Deiticos passara a ser sobre El Salvador e em espanhol. 
Aqui segue, para quem eh clueless sobre El Salvador, uma pequena descricao da One World Action (nao animadora, mas real) sobre meu segundo pais e que hoje tenho a chance de descobrir.
Hasta pronto!

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Since the signing of the peace treaty which ended El Salvador’s devastating twelve year civil war in 1992, the country has made significant economic progress. Sadly, recovery has been seriously hampered by the succession of natural disasters which have hit Central America, notably Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and two sizeable earthquakes in 2001.  El Salvador remains plagued by poverty and by vast inequalities in wealth whilst the legacy of weapons left by the civil war has contributed to a serious gang problem in recent years.  Despite this, however, the World Bank predicts that the country is on track to meet most of the Millennium Development Goals ahead of the 2015 target date. 

Saturday 16 February 2008

Uma rapidinha sobre Banksy

Banksy tem estado surpreendendo, irritando e provocando a Inglaterra ha muitos anos. Mais recentemente, ele passou a ser amado tambem, por assim dizer, e muito, mas realmente muito valorizado. Seus stencils atingem cifras de milhoes de libras. Com toda a febre sobre Banksy, sempre presente na midia britanica, fiquei supreso de ouvir na Ipanema FM, na semana passada, um comentarista apresentando Banksy como uma novidade que ele por acaso tinha esbarrado na internet. De fato, em conversas com amigos de diferentes partes do Brasil, comprovei que a fama do grafiti-artist de Bristol ainda nao cruzou muitos mares, embora ele ja tenha grafitado ate o muro da segregacao entre Israel e Palestina.
Quem se interessar, e vale muito a pena, pode clicar na barra de video ao lado (Gotta watch this!) e descobrir mais sobre o misterioso (porque sua real identidade eh desconhecida) e bom pra caramba, Banksy.

Thursday 14 February 2008

You are welcome to join me in my farewell marathon!

Hi everyone,

Aleks is leaving for El Salvador at the end of the month and we're throwing him a grand farewell party. Actually, no, we're just sending him off from a pub in Whitechapel on Friday, February 15 from 9 pm. Alexa's band, Morning Bride, is playing there that night. I can't tell you the exact venue right now, will have to ask Alexa. But please pencil this in and join us then.

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Hello all my lovelies,

To celebrate the fact that you will have Aleks out of your hair for a few months we are going to go the the Horse and Groom pub on Curtain road (as I told all of you yesterday :) )
Just emailing you all the details and a map to the location.
Cant wait to see you all!!!!! :0)
Horse and Groom
28 Curtain Road,Shoreditch,London,EC2A 3NZ

Sunday 10 February 2008

(Mad)die Campaign

Ainda na esteira dos recortes, das anotacoes e dos papeletes redescobertos como resultado do processo de mudanca segue um comentario sempre em mente, nunca escrito, da epoca do bombardeio diario sobre a Madeleine McCann. Alguem que assinou somente "Tom", sem dar chance de se tentar adivinha a nacionalidade pelo sobrenome, mandou uma cartinha para o London Paper (um dos quatro ou cinco jornais diarios distribuidos gratuitamente em Londres, sem contar os locais de cada borough) no dia 25 de junho do ano passado que expressou uma das minhas opinioes e a de muita gente por todo o mundo, acredito, que nao aguentava mais a campanha - que alias ainda existe, apesar de ter nos dado uma tregua.

Ai segue o texto:

So the McCanns have now got a campaign manager. A campaign manager? Does anyone else think this whole thing is getting a little out of control? The movie rights will probably be discussed next week. We don't seem to care that a thousand kids go missing in the UK a year, but one little blonde (and, dare, I say, white) girl disappears in Portugal and suddenly she's the most wanted person on the planet - apart from (maybe) Osama Bin Laden.
How do parents of other missing children feel when they can't get their stories on Page 11 of a national newspaper, mainly because Page 1 through to 10 are full of stories about the fact there's no more news about Maddie?
It's time for a reality check.

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Entao, agora os McCanns tem um gerente de campanha. Gerente de campanha? Alguem mais tambem concorda que toda essa historia esta ficando um pouquinho fora de controle? Os direitos do filme provavelmente serao discutidos na proxima semana. Parece que nos nao nos importamos com as milhares de criancas que desaparecem no Reino Unido a cada ano, mas uma menininha loira (e me atrevo a dizer, branca) desaparece em Portugal e de repente ela eh a pessoa mais procurada do planeta - com excecao (talvez) de Osama Bin Laden.
Como pais de outras criancas desaparecidas se sentem quando nao conseguem ter suas historias publicadas na pagina 11 de um jornal de circulacao nacional, principalmente porque a pagina 1 ate a 10 encontram-se cheias de historias sobre o fato de que nao ha mais noticias sobre o paradeiro da Maddie?
Eh tempo para um exame de realidade.

Thursday 7 February 2008

Igreja de Palhacos (nao eh nada contra as instituicoes catolicas...)

Ta no forno. Na pipe-line, como se diz por aquí, um texto que chamarei de “Declaracao de Amor a Londres”. Soa cafona, talvez, (ou de fato eh cafona) mas nao, nao sera cafona. Ademais, acredito que eh um titulo que se presta ao papel de tentar sintetizar impressoes e razoes (no seu sentido ambiguo) no aproximar do fechamento - ou pelo menos suspensao - de um intenso capitulo.
Enquanto isso, as pequenas ou grandes, mas definitivamente incessantes, descobertas sobre Londres surpreendem, divertem e motivam um rapido comentario.
Tenho um amigo palhaco aquí. O Beto da Flauta, brasileiro de Curitiba e tio de uma amiga em Pelotas, foi uma das primeiras pessoas que conheci aqui e foi quem me apresentou - quando tentava entender a superposicao de ideias na tipica fase de recem-chegado - um pouquinho da cidade nova. Na verdade ele nao eh mais palhaco full-time, embora esteja sempre presente como artista de rua no Thames Festival e outros eventos.
Foi ele quem tambem me falou sobre a igreja de palhacos. Ele tentou me contatar para irmos a missa anual em memoria do Grimaldi no ultimo domingo, mas eu perdi a ligacao e tambem o, surreal e incrivel, evento.
No primeiro Domingo de fevereiro, palhacos de todo o Reino Unido se reunem em Dalston (pertissimo de onde moro) para participar da missa que homenageia o palhaco Joseph Grimaldi. A tradicao ocorre desde 1946 e desde 1967 os participantes tem permissao para mostrarem sua reverencia ao primeiro palhaco britanico em vestuario e maquiagem completa de palhaco. Inclusive o padre!
Grimaldi eh reconhecido como o maior palhaco britanico. Nasceu em Londres em 1778 e morreu em 1837. Se apresentou em teatros como o Sadler’s Wells e nas famosas casas de Drury Lane.
O evento, por assim dizer, eh um dos destaques do calendario do Clowns International, a associacao internacional de palhacos que mantem essa inacreditavel tradicao.Nao pude me conter. Copio aqui o texto do site, mas nos links acima eh possivel conferir diretamente o web site da “nossa igreja de palhacos”.
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Our Clown Church
A highlight of Clowns International's calendar is the Joseph Grimaldi Memorial Service; a unique Church Service, annually held on the first Sunday of February at the Clown's Church, the Holy Trinity, Beechwood Road, Dalston, London.

Clowns started meeting annually for divine worship in 1946. These reunions began informally and initially took place at St James Church, Pentonville Road, Islington; the connection being that Joseph Grimaldi was buried in the Churchyard. February was the chosen month as performers were generally in the London area, Circuses, such as Bertram Mills at Olympia, Tom Arnold's productions at Haringay Arena or Jack Hylton's shows at Earls Court. Alternatively, many circuses had their winter quarters in the locality. Increasing numbers of Clowns attended.

St James Church has since been demolished, but Grimaldi's grave preserved, with the graveyard transformed into a Memorial Garden. A summer celebration has been inaugurated by the residents of Islington. This occurs during the children’s half term (either the last week of May or the first week of June). The date also coincides with Joey's death and burial, but is far from a gloomy affair; the sum usually shines on a festive outdoor occasion, full of fun and laughter.

The Clowns transferred to their present spiritual home, the Holy Trinity in Dalston in 1959. It is here that the occasion has grown to its present proportions; the Church packed to bursting point and the proceedings covered by all the media. The event really came into its own when in February 1967 Clown Smokey succeeded in gaining permission for Clowns to attend in full motley. Clowns from all over the World, irrespective of religious convictions, attend in full 'motley and slap' (make-up and costume). They give thanks for the gift of laughter and honour the father of present day Clowns, Joseph Grimaldi. After the Service it is traditional for Clowns to entertain the public in the adjacent school. In 2001, a special BBC edition of Songs of Praise filmed the Grimaldi Service, and it was fittingly transmitted on Sunday,1st April, 2001, April Fool's Day!

On 11th October 1985 Holy Trinity was devastated by fire. Luckily, the Clowns' Gallery, which was also housed there, did not go up in flames. However, smoke damage and years of neglect and subsequent flooding from burst pipes, all took their toll. After two years, Holy Trinity re-opened its doors for worship. A beautiful stained glass window was installed; it was commissioned by Clowns International as a tribute to the life of Joseph Grimaldi. It was designed and made by Susan M Cook and depicts scenes from Grimaldi's career. Over the following years Clowns International refurbished the Gallery and exhibits.

The Clowns' Gallery remained at Holy Trinity until July 1994, when, because of plans to redevelop the Church Hall into a Community Centre, a new home at No. 1 Hillman Street, Hackney, London was found. The premises had generously been provided by Hackney Council. The Gallery and Archive was officially opened on 4th November 1994 by Clowns International's Honorary Life President, Ron Moody. Due to financial restraints, however, the Gallery was relocated to The All Saints Centre, Haggerston Road, Haggerston on 17th October 2002 and it officially re-opened to the public at the Grimaldi Memorial Service day on 2nd February, 2003.

Why not pay us a visit???