It’s evening in Bogota and Rudy and I are cozied up in our apartment. The small heater is blasting warmth. and Warren Zevon songs are pumping out of Rudy’s computer. Rudy is doing the games from the New York Times after reading the news. I have been drawing and gathering bits and pieces for the visual recording of our trip. Included so far in my art journal are leaves, diagrams, drawings, paintings, tickets, and receipts.
We are indeed settling into the new rhythms of our life here.
This morning Rudy headed out for coffee and croissants. After breakfast and while Rudy formatted photos for our blog, I headed out for a walking adventure. I am becoming somewhat more familiar with the neighbourhood. Today I focused on the tagging and street art. There are loads of “junk” tagging all over but there are also great murals and more thoughtful street graffiti all over the walls and buildings. It is a great medium and the concept of art on the street that is accessible to all is something to support.
The morning turned out hot and before long I took off my scarf and wished I didn’t have my down vest or pullover on. By the time I got home I was parched and sweaty. After refreshing myself Rudy and I headed out to look for food and then back to Cinemateca for more film festival fare. We chose the Colombian film El Vaquero (The Cowboy) which had English subtitles. It certainly was film festival material. By this I mean strange and sometimes slow. The first half had very little dialogue but certainly lots of sounds and sights and loads of great storytelling with the camera angles and focus. By the last quarter of the movie, I was more invested. The theme/message was subtle and I had to work hard to piece together where it was going. The story arch was harder to follow than the familiar story arch of a Hollywood piece and maybe a bit more like life where it is not always clear where people are going. But like any usual piece of art, it has more to chew on as I continue to reflect on it.
There are still some more hours left in the day but I have more art to attempt and a book to read so I will sign off.