This was my high culture weekend in Bogota it seems. Didn’t
know it would be quite that chockfull of highbrow activity for me. But if I
ever had any doubts about the sophistication of Bogota or just how much is
there for the taking – sometimes for free, sometimes not, this weekend
dispelled my doubts.
First, the movies. There is a wonderful cinema arts house in
the neighborhood I call home, Cinemania. All the movies shown there are quality
– more than entertainment, but generally movies with some kind of message as
well. I stopped off early Friday on the spur of the moment to see Martin
Scorsese’s “Hugo,” which I delayed seeing because I mistakenly thought it
wouldn’t hold me. What a delight and Ben Kingsley was amazing. It was a tale of a boy, a girl, a clock
tower, a police offer, and an elderly man who owned a toy store in the train
station.
That was just the start. On Friday, the Festival
Iberoamericano de Teatro in Bogota kicked off. It is a two-week theater
extravaganza with dance, musicals, theater .. for a price and some offerings
for free to the public as well. On
Saturday, despite the (now usual) Bogota downpour, I went to see my first
festival play, “Alto” or “High” from Venezuela. I got drenched on the way over
and watched the play with a dripping umbrella at my feet, wet pants, wet
sweater (sleeves). But it was worth it. The play was about a priest, a nun and
a drug addict and their respective addictions and past (all is not as it seems
to be) But the acting was amazing. The addict disrobed on stage (totally) …
which I guess is why the play, which was originally to be presented in a church
theater, had to be moved to a different location. No matter. The actor who
played the addict had a very cute butt..
Tango, the next day at a free performance at the Fontana
Hotel, part of their regular Sunday afternoon gig. They were not professionals, just older folks like me with a
passion for salon and classical tango.
They were delightful to watch; a real pleasure. Ran into a friend
there..Luis Carlos Pena and we had lunch together. But he has the cell phone
addiction. He is too frugal to have a smart phone, but he kept checking for
messages and texts on his phone every five minutes or more. I wanted to grab the phone out of his
hands and throw it away..It is so annoying..people are so concerned about
missing something from someone they don’t see, that they just forget about the
people right in front of them.
But not to dwell on that…still was nice to catch up with
him.
Then on to Cayetana and the passion of flamenco. I do not
have words to describe how absolutely amazing that performance was. The
singers, the musicians, and the dancers..oh, the dancers. Cecelia Gomez and Antonio Canales, the
lead dancers were just too good to be true. So much passion and sensuality in
that dance. Gomez is also the company director. How do they move their feet so
quickly. How do they convey so much with a flick of the head or a twist of the
wrist? The applause lasted forever
and we did get an encore…twice..Did not want it to end..Ever! A fantastic Sunday afternoon – a rare
instance of urban pleasure in the urban jungle … truly… that is Bogota.
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