Montevideo

Hellooo,
It's Thursday now in Montevideo and I've had a pretty fun week. I've been
-to the beach (burnt my legs,)
-running on the rambla (boardwalk,)
-roaming around the city (introduced to the strange horse-driven carts for dumpster divers that get paid for returning certain products in the trash,)
-reading in the park (next to a group of singing kindergarteners,)
-to Medialunas restaurant (delicious croissants - Jani and I met with some of her friends there)
-Perfin gym (spinning class with Jani, and to exercise with Saul,)
-Read Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman (decision not yet fully formed)


Yesterday I finally thought to bring my camera with me and took a few pictures. I walked from one side of the city to the other to the Parque Rodó, in which an art museum is happily situated along a grove of cyprus trees. The park is pretty large, and has a small amusement park (which was closed yesterday. I couldn't help but think, if it isn't open during the summer in 75-degree weather, when does it operate?)

Also in the park was this freestanding fort...or castle... or hacienda... or something. Anyway it had a sign that said "edificio libre" (free building,) so I went in. It was just a structure with turrets, a courtyard, stairways up to the roof, and a possibly rabid dog. Turns out the few rooms inside the building were all sections of a public library! I just had to take a picture, even though it doesn't capture the whole coolness of the place.

The museum in which I spent a few hours is called Museo Nacional de Artes Visuales, and is a pretty modest space, which boasts mostly Uruguayan artists. There is even a small section with videos of a performance art series the museum supported earlier this summer. There was a really interesting exhibit by an Ecuadorian artist by the name of Oswaldo Guayasamín. I took a few photos of his stuff, and what I took from reading his mission statement (it was in Spanish so no promises,) was that much of his work involved the idea that human anguish eternally crosses political and cultural boundaries, without exception. Below are a few of his pieces.

L-R: Hope, IX, X, XI ('68-'69)





















L-R : The Jewish Man, Eichman, The Black Child (all '63-'65)












Here is a final shot of the bottom floor of the museum, taken from the second floor. I think it's a really nice little space, even if the sculptures were a little dusty.

Okay, that's all for now. Tomorrow we're going back to Punta del Este for my last weekend before I go to Argentina on the twenty-first. I had better get in all my relaxing while I can.