Hola. Q’hubo? This is Barbara again with three snippets of cultural news and insights this week. Those of you who know Colombia may have already guessed one of my topics from the heading. I will talk about colombianisms, expressions particular to Colombian Spanish. In the land of coffee, a cup of black coffee is called «un tinto» much to the surprise of Spanish speakers from abroad who think «un tinto» is a red wine.
Furthermore, I have two reviews for you, one of the Argentinian Netflix series El reino (The kingdom) and another one of the Spanish film Maixabel. Let’s start in Buenos Aires.
El reino
Have you streamed the new Argentinian mini-series El reino (The kingdom) yet? It is the story of a popular evangelical preacher who becomes the presidential candidate of his country after his running mate’s murder. The series got my attention because it was written by the popular Argentinian novelist Claudia Piñeiro (Betibú, The widows of Thursdays) together with experienced screenwriter Marcelo Piñeyro. After the release of the series in August 2021, Claudia Piñeiro got heavily criticised by representatives of Evangelical communities in Argentina. As an immediate consequence, Piñeiro got threats on social media brutally accusing her of using hate speech to portray these communities. I hope she won’t withdraw from publicly speaking up. She is an important feminist voice in Argentina.
I must admit it is a demanding and tough watch that cannot be easily consumed over a weekend. It’s dark and it’s complicated, but once you have survived the chaotic first episode it gets much better. The eight episodes unfold around the criminal case of finding the former candidate’s murderer, the political conspiracies of prepping up a new presidential campaign around the preacher and his family, and the entanglements of the preacher’s family in both.
The series is very well produced. The actors are outstanding, but the screenplay limits their possibilities. I got very confused about some digressions of the screenplay. Less would be more. I think what I disliked even more is the fact that these digressions do not help to see the plot evolve or the characters develop, on the contrary. Some of the early digressions will never find their way back into the story. Critic Joel Keller puts it this way:
We understand how the show’s creators, Marcelo Piñeyro and Claudia Piñeiro, may want to keep the family’s secrets under wraps for a few episodes, but we’re given so little information in the first segment that trying to figure out who’s who and what their relationships are to each other is tough.
I share this view. While we might interpret the confusion of events and multitude of characters in the first episode as a means to build up suspense, I found that all characters remain rather flat, static and clunky during all episodes. The story does not evolve around Emilio or Elena, Ana, Julio or Remigio. The story evolves around types: the preacher, the preacher’s wife, the DA, the rich man’s son, the campaign manager… Perhaps the naive Tadeo (Peter Lanzani), adopted son of the preacher’s family, is the one to whom the audience can connect easiest. Well, but he… oh well, no spoilers.
I still think the series deserves to be watched because it deals with many current pains of political life in Argentina and does not shy away from harsh social critique. Some of the spectacular settings in Buenos Aires speak for themselves. In addition, the screenwriters will have a chance to round their characters and avoid over-clichéd representations. Netflix announced there will be a second season.
Before I forget, the central theme of the soundtrack is really good and mirrors pretty well the atmosphere of the series:
Colombianismos
Commemorating October 12th is a difficult and controversial topic in the Spanish-speaking world. Colombia, along with other American countries, has moved a step ahead and celebrates the day Columbus reached America as «Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural» (Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity). I find this attitude progressive. On the occasion of this year’s commemoration, the Colombian Embassy to Switzerland and Liechtenstein together with the Instituto Caro y Cuervo in Bogotá invited to a digital presentation of the new Diccionario de Colombianismos (dictionary of colombianisms, updated in 2018 from its 1993 edition) and the Linguistic-Ethnographic Atlas of Colombia (ALEC).
It was a fun event with anthropologist Alejandro Munévar Salazar as a well-informed and engaging presenter of some typical expressions from Colombia. He was very good in showing us how dictionaries are not boring archives of words, but repsoitories of stories that enable us to share and understand the daily experiences of other linguistic communities. I knew some expressions already, but also learned some new ones like «alegría» (a sweet), «ser abeja» (a witty person, also said in an ironic way), or «llevar un gato (food for the trip) para el viaje». «Muy berraco todo». As a special treat, I have this short promotional video for you, explaining you the origins of «alegría» as the sweet taste of freedom.
The Diccionario de Colombianismos is not available online, but you may get a first impression on the institute’s webpage. The ALEC is completely online and can be found here: http://alec.caroycuervo.gov.co/alec/
The Instituto Caro y Cuervo has many interesting activities. It is a government-sponsored centre specialising in Spanish and the 65 indigenous languages spoken in Colombia. It is oriented to research and promote reading in Colombia. It is named after Miguel Antonio Caro Tobar and Rufino José Cuervo Urisarri, two Colombian linguists. I recommend you follow the institution on Twitter.
What’s your favourite colombianismo, parce? 😊
Maixabel
Maixabel is the best film I’ve seen this year. I watched it at the Zurich film festival. It’s one of those films where nobody wants to get up from their chairs long after the film has ended and you can feel the silence on your skin. It’s a superb example of docufiction, directed by Icíar Bollaín. The film narrates the story of Maixabel Lasa, widow of socialist politician Juan Mari Jáuregui, who got shot by ETA in 2000. In 2011, she receives the request of one of the assassin’s to meet with her. Overcoming her sorrow and pain, she agrees to see him and opens the way to reconciliation. The film gives a lot to reflect and feel.
It really wasn’t that long ago that attacks on politicians and bombs were part of everyday life in Spain. Not everybody in the Basque country is able to move forward like Maixabel Lasa because they suffered so much from ETA terrorism. Even before the world premiere at the film festival in San Sebastián, some critics claimed that Mrs. Lasa’s behaviour was a symptom of her suffering from the Stockholm syndrome. I spare you with the twitter debates in question. It shows that overcoming a violent history is a difficult undertaking that relies on immense individual courage.
I wish more people in Colombia struggling with the imperfect peace accord from 2016 would be able to watch this film. The context may be different, but the human act of overcoming hate and violence requires the same attitude - from all parties involved. Not all «etarras» are as ashamed of their former crimes as were the assassins Luis Carrasco and Ibon Etxezarreta and dared to ask their victims for forgiveness. Not all victims are as open-hearted as the Lasa family. Maria, Maixabel Lasa’s and Juan Mari Jáuregui’s daughter cites Maya Angelou on Twitter to comment on the basic prerequisite of reconciliation:
English original: «Hate, it has caused a lot of problems in the world, but has not solved one yet.» I leave you with this. If you find the movie at a theatre near you, go watch this film.
This is all for now. Let me know about your comments and recommendations.