People are strange..

Hey,

i left Montevideo after beginning a photo project about the strange names of the Uruguayans.

my papa had told me before we came here about an author named Leonardo Haberkorn who wrote a story about the rare names of some of the Uruguayans. in his story (which is a true one) he tells about people with rare names like: Roosvelt Stalin, Musolini Baptista, Waltdisney Dutra, John Lennon Medina and... here comes the strongest one. Hitler Dasilva. yes yes, in Uruguay there are 3 persons who are called Hitler. i am sure lots of German people would see that as a sick joke, but these people carry that name without any problem.

i located Leonardo in Montevideo and told him i would like to take portraits of these people. we joined forces and now i am in pursuit around Uruguay for strange people with strange names.

our mails to each other looked even stranger. it looked like : "hey leonardo, today i photographed Hitler. it went good. he is a really nice guy. can you send me the phone number of John Lennon? is he in Montevideo? by the way, Walt Disney did not want his photo taken. bye for now, eilon".

i here give you a few of them:

Winston Churchill Umpierez

Trademar Lemos (as for Trade Mark)

John Lennon Medina (he doesn't know any Beatles song)

Hitler Dasilva

Hitler Aguire

and his son Hitler

thanks for all of you who commented on my blog.

bye for now

and if you find Che Guevara or Jim Morisson, give me a call. i need their photos for my project.

:)

E

Leaving Montevideo After 2 1/2 weeks

Hey,

this posting is specially dedicated to the stuff of Palermo art hostel in Montevideo. Luis, Anita,Nico,Irene and Marianela. thanks so much...

so.... I left Montevideo after 3 weeks of stay in a beautiful and friendly hostel. The hostel was built by Luis & Ana, a young couple who promotes art and dedicated the hostel to art lovers. i offered them to take photos of the neighbourhood and the Candombe scene which takes place just around the corner. he accepted my offer and therefore i traded my photos for my stay.

it's funny how things change their value depending on location and time. in Israel i could sell these photos for hundreds of US$, but here they served me for a room. needless to say that this deal was just right for me, at this time and at this place.

The hostel was great. it is located in a quarter named Palermo where the Candombe drummers play their weekly routine on the streets.

i joined a group of Candombe drummers (Cuerda in Spanish) and escorted them through their drum practice for the annual Carnaval which takes place at February.

in their routine they warm up the wooden drum with near the fire until they sound just right. then the group aligns in rows where the leaders are in the front conducting the beat to the rest of the group. then they march along the street for 500 meters (give or take) in a slow pace and small steps imitating the steps taken by their ancestors black slaves who could march only with chains on their feet. the group must keep perfect pace and rhythm. young drummers who choose to join the group sometimes get their hands bloody for keeping the pace.

for more info on Candombe look here:

http://www.candombe.com/

at the rest of the days i wondered along this laid back city. it has great beaches, very long boardwalk (Rambla), very nice weather and a slow slow pace. sometimes too slow. Nico, a young guy from the hostel showed me around some of the best Pizzas i have eaten (even better than those in Italy).

so i leave you with the photos. click here for more:

http://picasaweb.google.com/eilonpaz/MontevideoUruguay

i now go north and will enter Brazil in a few days.

Ciao

E

A small Asado for the friends

Hello everyone
instead of words i will use video.
we made a small Asado in the hostel just before i left.
here it is:



Bon Apetite
E

Fast Forward in Montevideo

Hello,
first i would like to thank my cousin Itai, who brought me this Little snapshot camera.

thanks man!!

the camera is a canon SD1000 pocket digital camera 7.1 mega pixel. it has a video feature of time lapse recording. it means, it takes one frame every 1 or 2 seconds. in a normal video there 25 frames per second, so eventually every second in the film is 25 or 50 seconds in reality.
i mounted the camera and made a first test drive on the streets of Montevideo at night.
here it is. more will come in the future. hopefully i will film the whole ride and have a short film of my entire South American trip.

ciao Muchachos / Muchachas
E

Riding Again. Nueva Helvecia - Uruguay

Hey,
after 4 days in Colonia de Sacramento, i started riding again.
i have reached this little town called Nueva Hevlecia. a town of Swiss descendants. again, all is very old and rustic.


nothing much to tell so i leave it for the pictures




Ciao
Elasio + Chicho