This week's catchy song (5)

The suggested song for the first week of 2009 comes from one of the best albums of 2008, Elbow's The Seldom Seen Kid (on which I briefly commented here). More than catchy, this song is truly beautiful. Please enjoy a live version of One Day Like This:



Happy 2009 to everyone!

Rounder, Darker, Weirder.

On bizarre plastic surgeries and surreal tans.

The other day I went through a nose surgery, aimed at correcting the deviation of some cartilage inside my nose. As such, it was a functional surgery (intended for physiologic defects) rather than an aesthetic one (intended for self-esteem defects). In about two weeks I should be able to breath and sleep better, and my performance when practicing sports should be less lousy. It was a pretty simple procedure that lasted less than an hour. It was in two parts: the correction of the deviation itself, and the cutting of some membranes that got bigger than normal because of the deviation.

To my surprise, just before my surgery, I was given the informed consent forms related to a regular ---aesthetic--- nose job. I was supposed to sign them. I explained the nurse in charge that my surgery was merely functional, and that I was very happy with the far-from-perfect nose I have. She smiled, recognized the error and got the correct forms for my case. She then explained to me that the usual thing is to do both functional and aesthetic procedures at the same time: to correct any deviation and to "trim" the visible part of the nose so to make it look prettier. We then started talking about how popular nose jobs for men are these days. She seemed to admire the fact I was happy with my imperfect nose by saying mine was a weird attitude.

In fact, according to her, this year was remarkably successful for the plastic surgery business here in Cali. In fact, because of the huge offer and convenient prices, for the last three-four years or so Cali is promoted as a city for "aesthetic tourism." She told me that even if they were a rather small center (and mainly aimed at functional surgeries), they had performed all kinds of aesthetic procedures during this season, working heavily even during Christmas eve. I was curious about her perception about surgeries. I thought that perhaps by seeing lots of nasty surgeries everyday you could somehow inhibit your own vanities. It turns out that is not the case, and it's almost the opposite I conjectured: nurses and other employees fall very easily into the vicious circle of aesthetic surgery. She told me she had resisted more than ten years of working as a nurse before her surgery. Even if I looked her carefully, I couldn't determine if she had indeed corrected something in her appearance. Early effects of general anesthesia, I guess.

This is to introduce one of the things that most surely would impress a foreigner when visiting Cali and other big cities in Colombia: the unusual, almost ridiculous proportions in women (and some men); boobs and butts that are excessively round and huge, and absurdly perfect noses decorating rather ordinary faces. Occurring in girls as young as 15, these are attacks to common sense that become a reality by means of plastic surgeries that are now accessible to everyone.

Here I could elaborate on how I perceive this as (yet another) side effect of the drug dealing culture, most likely intensified by the evident insecurities women have regarding their bodies. I would argue that male insecurities are part of the equation too: certain (ugly) guys that have no problems in "shaping" their girlfriends and lovers as unproportioned specimens that are attractive at a first sight, but unconceivable from any reasonable aesthetic standpoint.

I choose not to elaborate on that strand. It seems too complex a social problem and I am afraid that I am not qualified to comment on that. I prefer to make a comparison with a similar phenomenon that I have observed in Italy, namely the absurd tones one sees in (cosmetic) tans.

Indeed, I reckon that both unusual boob sizes and bizarre tones in tans are essentially instances of the same problem. Both are shocking for the outsider eye: I still can't get used to see some absurd orange/reddish tones in pale Italian skins during the summer. To me, even spending some time getting a sun tan it's absurd; hence, paying some money and making some appointments to "paint" your body is out of the question. The colors people select for their tans is an enigma to me: the most unlikely red or orange seem to be the key for social success. Even harder to believe is the fact that both men and women choose to color themselves precisely to go to the beach!

My European readers could now claim that my whole argument against tans is based on the fact that I like my skin color very much, so that I don't need any (natural or artificial) tan.

And they would be probably right. I think a strong conviction on the fact that you don't need either physical change (a tan or a plastic surgery) this is the key of the issue here. (Yes, here I am talking about some sort of 'solid self-esteem'.) In fact, in the same way most Colombian women would agree that getting a perfect tan is not that important as e.g. bigger boobs (even if you could find specimens with the full package), most Italian people would agree that reducing their noses or augmenting their boobs/butts is not that important. Here I rely on a very subjective measure: the number of imperfect noses, small boobs and absurd tans one can see on the streets.

I guess this is just another instance of the many cultural differences between Colombian (perhaps Southamerican?) and Italian (perhaps European?) societies. It's a difference in insecurities: here we worry a lot about certain aspects of appearance (apart from boobs, noses and butts, here there's a general awareness on having perfect, white teeth), whereas in Europe the focus is on other aspects: apart from the tan during the summer, your hairstyle and what you wear (clothes and shoes) seem to be more important than your proportions.

When I first got in Italy I kind of missed the excessive proportions in women one sees in Colombia. Average-size boobs in Colombian standards could be "the" boobs in Italy. For a little while I used to think that Italian people were somehow more confident than Colombians. Now I think that this is not the case, and that physical insecurities are the same; their particular manifestations seem to depend on side of the ocean you were raised.

This week's catchy song (4)

This week I am proposing to you a song by Aterciopelados ("the Velvety Ones"), one of the few decent Colombian bands. (Click here for their official blog, in English.) Indeed, most Colombian artists and groups produce terrible music. Sadly, some of that crap gets recorded and released abroad. Even worse, some of that crap gets popular. Very popular. Indeed, this is how one hears everywhere catchy juxtapositions of noise, sold as songs that are tasteless anthems to black shirts or that deal with issues as meaningful as the honesty of some hips.

I have always liked Aterciopelados because they're authentic. This is something rare nowadays, in which artists get nose jobs and change their ideas and language to get a bigger share of the market. For some reason, Aterciopelados are more famous and recognized in the US than in Colombia. Their lyrics are both simple and meaningful at the same time. One of the things I like the most is that they've dared to evolve along their career. They started in the early 90's as some sort of punk-metal trio and have now evolved into a kind of pop-electronic duo. It seems to me they were more controversial and successful when their music resembled rock. I admit I would like to hear some of the rock spirit they showed in previous albums, but I appreciate they music they are doing right now.

The song I am proposing this week is Rio, from the homonymous album released this year. (You can read a RollingStone.com review here.) Rio is the Spanish word for river. The album deals with a number of topics, including ecologic and political issues. The song tries to increase the awareness on the pollution of the Bogota river. (Aterciopelados is a Bogota-based band. Unlike other most latin "artists" they didn't go to Miami to "develop their art.")

Here's the video. Enjoy!

This week's catchy song (3)

The catchy song for this week is one of the most surprising things I have discovered lately. This time I am recommending a song from The Fireman, an experimental band formed by Paul McCartney and producer Youth. This year they released Electric Arguments, a terrific album which I warmly recommend.

One of the the catchiest songs in that album is Sing the Changes. See below for the video.



I would like this video to be an invitation to listen the whole album. Indeed, the song should be appreciated in the context of the album, which succeeds in pushing the boundaries of the kind of music one would expect from Paul McCartney. It is quite refreshing to see how McCartney explores new things while producing a very decent piece of music in the process.

Homecoming

Tomorrow I will be flying back home, to Cali Colombia. I need to recharge my energies for my last year here in Italy, in which I am supposed to finish my PhD.

There is a number of things I will do there. They include: complaining about the warm weather, tasting real fruits (flavors that people in Europe can't even dream about), risking my life in the public transportation system, visiting old friends from all times, eating home-made food, fooling around with my sisters and brother, forgetting about pasta and pizza, walking for hours along the city with my father, reading again some good books (this includes finishing, once and for all, the Christopher Hitchens' book I started in Warsaw), getting the latest updates from my mother. Also, I will do my best to put some order in my pictures, as the mess I have since summer 2007 has prevented me from uploading all the material I have. You can thus expect not-so-good pictures from Greece, Colombia, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, France, Denmark, Sweden, and Poland. From the academic point of view, I will also bring with me a substantial amount of work (proofs and readings to do) and will co-organize a workshop in my old university, a great way of catching up with friends and colleagues that also return home for Christmas.

I have planned to visit other cities while in Colombia, as I really dislike Cali. I am looking forward to go to Bogotá, the city in which I was born. For sure I will visit my sister in Pereira (a small city located at the heart of Colombia's chain of mountains). Let's see if I can make all of those.

Usual ramblings, novelties and absurdities will be reported here. Yes, there are Internet access and computers in Colombia :-)