I spent most of yesterday afternoon before re turning to Bs As with Diego (aka, Parker) and then at Parker's suggestion, I met with Natalio, who worked with Parker at his new production company, Transparente. What great people, and their company, which is housed in a beautifully restored Victorian style building, is doing a lot of interesting and innovative work.
They just signed a deal with Canal 10, the leading station in Montevideo, for a new family program that Parker created using an animated frog named Ana la Rana (Ana the Frog). He worked with a leading child psychologist to create entertaining stories that subtly emphasize the importance of the family unit based on the psychiatrist's research into the things that cause problems in this area. The show will air during the time period when families are most likely to be watching TV together, and the stories are scripted to be entertaining and educational at both the child and adult level.
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Very smart guys, and an absolute joy to talk with. I got terrific feedback from Parker right out of the gate on Pan American Dreams that helped clarify the tone and orientation of the project.
The 90 minutes that I spent talking with Natalio was especially intense. He is native Uruguayan but lived in Los Angeles for 13 years, reaching a very high level as a film editor. He liked Los Angeles. He had nice friends. He made good money. But something happened that made him rethink the whole equation. I'm not sure what, broken relationship or... ? In the end, the U.S. wasn't quite as advertised. He felt empty.
So he struck out on the road for a year to rediscover Latin America, traveling to Cuba, Mexico, through Central America to Colombia and Venezuela and on through the rest of the Andean nations, including Peru and Bolivia. As the trip progressed, Natalio began to reconnect with his Latin American roots. By the time he reached Uruguay, he was ready to settle back into Montevideo, which is exactly what he did.
Natalio seems completely at peace with himself, completely comfortable with his decision, in spite of the fact that it is very difficult to make much money in Montevideo. I was the first person he had been able to talk with in a while who could comprehend both sides of this equation. I was thrilled to meet him because in a sense, he had already done his own Pan American Dreams project. It was poignant for both of us as he told, and I listened, to his story.
What is America? Ask Natalio, who has thousands of photos and four short documentary films from his year on the road in Latin America. He showed me a sizable sample of his photography, and he is gifted! Natalio's quest is further validation of my belief that thousands of creative people all across America are already doing things that answer our central question.
Natalio lives in a big older house with a friend in Montevideo. They evidently have lots of room for guests. As we said goodbye, Natalio extended an invitation to stay with his friend and him next time I visit!
I began to fall in love with this charming little city after just a few days, began wishing I had more time, especially with these wonderful people. They make time to talk, to share some maté, are incredibly thoughtful. God I love this culture!
Even on the ferry returning to Bs As, I sat next to an Argentine woman, Eleonora, who works for the UN in Montevideo helping manage a program to help rural women. Her husband is an executive for a Spanish corporation. She loves Montevideo but misses Buenos Aires. She is on her way back to Bs As to help her aging father during his hip replacement surgery, and our conversation flowed right away, comparing Montevideo to Bs As, talking about South American politics, women's rights, and dissecting Cristina Kirchner's ill-fated presidency. I later got a text message from Eleonora saying that her Dad's surgery went well. We are hoping to get together again while she is still in Bs As.
Our conversation was the perfect wrap up to an illuminating five days in Montevideo in one of the most highly educated and literate nations in Latin America, home of the great writer and social critic Eduardo Galeano (Las Venas Abiertas de America Latina/Open Veins of Latin America), bastion of the fine tradition of taking time to talk, to reflect, to grow food as if nature still mattered, of good wines, world class beaches, walkable urban neighborhoods and a lively creative community with fresh ideas. Whatever Montevideo may lack in financial wealth after years of colonial exploitation and domestic misrule, it is rich in a thousand other and equally if not more important ways.
One last note. The food in Uruguay is very similar to Argentina, with a heavy emphasis on beef and red wine. But there is plenty of diversity. Within easy walking distance of my hotel, I could find Japanese fusion, a deli serving chivitos (a popular Uruguayan sandwich with a variety of ingredients to mix and match, including beef, lettuce, tomato, ham, mozzarella cheese, and mayonaisse) and an excellent, bustling old parrilla named El Fogon. It is difficult to find better wines than in Argentina, but Uruguayan wine has some nice varietals, and I did discover Establecimiento Juanico, a third generation family bodega that produces a good cabernet that cost about $4 U.S. per bottle, with the bottle being a piece of old world craftsmanship in its own right.
