Is America On Course To Fall Like Rome?

By DAVID M. WALKER, comptroller general of the United States and head of the U.S. Government Accountability Office.

Throughout history, many great nations have failed to survive, notably the longest-standing republic and the major superpower of its day, the Roman Republic. Is America headed down that path today? Unless the U.S. government adopts a long-term perspective and strategy that fits the 21st century, we might well be.

At the start of the 21st century, our country faces a range of sustainability challenges: fiscal, health care, energy, education, the environment, Iraq, aging infrastructure, and immigration, to name a few. These challenges are complex and of critical importance.

Some younger people may have no firsthand memory of the Cold War or the Iron Curtain. Their world has been defined by more recent developments, such as the invention of the microcomputer, the spread of the AIDS virus, and the mapping of the human genome. The challenge before us is to maintain a government that is effective and relevant to future generations.

Unfortunately, our government’s track record in adapting to new conditions and meeting new challenges isn’t very good. Much of the federal government remains overly bureaucratic, myopic, narrowly focused and based on the past. There’s a tendency to cling to outmoded organizational structures and strategies. That needs to change because efficient and effective government matters.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita brought that point home in a painful way. The damage these storms inflicted on the Gulf Coast put all levels of government to the test. While a few agencies, like the Coast Guard, did a great job, many agencies, particularly the Federal Emergency Management Agency, fell far short of expectations. Public confidence in the ability of government to meet basic needs was severely shaken — and understandably so. If our government can’t handle known threats like natural disasters, it’s only fair to wonder what other public services may be at risk.

Transforming government and aligning it with modern needs is even more urgent because of our nation’s large and growing fiscal imbalance. Simply stated, America is on a path toward an explosion of debt. And that indebtedness threatens our country’s, our children’s and our grandchildren’s futures. With the looming retirement of the baby boomers, spiraling health care costs, plummeting savings rates, and increasing reliance on foreign lenders, we face unprecedented fiscal risks.

Long-range simulations from my agency are chilling. If we continue as we have, policymakers will eventually have to raise taxes dramatically and/or slash government services the American people depend on and take for granted. Just pick a program — student loans, the interstate highway system, national parks, federal law enforcement or even our armed forces.

Our nation’s financial problems are undermining our flexibility to address a range of emerging challenges. For example, America’s population is aging. Tens of millions of baby boomers, and I’m one of them, are on the brink of retirement. Many of these retirees will live far longer than their parents and grandparents. The problem is that in the coming decades, there simply aren’t going to be enough full-time workers to promote strong economic growth or to sustain existing entitlement programs. Like most industrialized nations, the United States will have fewer full-time workers paying taxes and contributing to federal social insurance programs. At the same time, growing numbers of retirees will be claiming their Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits.

Another ominous trend: American companies are cutting back the retirement benefits they’re offering to workers. This means all of us are going to have to plan better, save more, invest more wisely and resist the temptation to spend those funds before we retire.

Beyond fiscal imbalances, the United States confronts a range of other challenges. Globalization is at the top of that list. Markets, technologies and businesses in various countries and in various parts of the world are increasingly linked, and communication across continents and oceans is now instantaneous. This new reality was made clear by the recent drop in stock markets around the world.

Challenges also come from technology. In the past 100 years, but especially the last 25 years, spectacular advances in technology have transformed everything from how we do business to how we communicate, to how we treat and cure diseases. Our society has moved from the industrial age to the knowledge age, where specialized knowledge and skills are two keys to success. Unfortunately, the United States — which gave the world Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison and Bill Gates — now lags behind many other developed nations on high school math and science test scores.

In many respects, our quality of life has never been better. We’re living longer, we’re better educated, and we’re more likely to own our own homes. At the same time, Americans face a range of quality-of-life concerns. These include poor public schools, gridlocked city streets, inadequate health care coverage and the stresses of caring for aging parents and possibly our own children at the same time.

Our very prosperity is placing greater demands on our physical infrastructure. Billions of dollars will be needed to modernize everything from highways and airports to water and sewage systems. The recent bridge collapse in Minneapolis was a sobering wake-up call. The demands for such new investment will increasingly compete with other national priorities. (...)

There are striking similarities between America’s current situation and that of Ancient Rome. The Roman Republic fell for many reasons, but three are worth remembering: declining moral values and political civility at home; an overconfident and overextended military in foreign lands; and fiscal irresponsibility by the central government. Sound familiar? It's time to learn from history and take steps to ensure the American Republic is the first to stand the test of time.

© Global ECONOMIC Viewpont. Distributed by TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, August 23, 2007

Smokefree England

On July 1st 2007, England introduced a new law to make virtually all enclosed public places and workplaces in England smokefree. A smokefree England ensures a healthier environment, so everyone can socialise, relax, travel, shop and work free from secondhand smoke. This website provides you with information about the legislation and lets you know how you can play an important part in maintaining a smokefree England.
Compare countries. Curious about what's happening in the rest of the world? Explore smokefree legislation in other countries by clicking on the flags.

Spin_short film

SPIN is a great training or teaching tool. There are many different concepts in this that can be applied to life as well as a tool to be used for management. The four main concepts in this video that strike me as the most important are:

1. Understanding the motivations of people can help you to create a better future and to capitalize on people’s true potential.

2. How events can trigger other events is important to understand, sometimes in life and in managing you need to look at how a decision will affect future outcomes and decisions.

3. Sometimes what seems to be a negative event for most, can be a positive catalyst for someone else. Utilize this to turn a negative into an opportunity.

4. Symbiosis, sometimes many different people possess something that others need and that if they contribute to each other, then the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts. It is not a zero-sum game, everyone can win.

At first, the spin master tries to move the basketball into different trajectories without taking the individuals into account. This ends up causing more tragedy than before when he didn’t intervene. When he gets frustrated, he concentrates on the people. When he does, he is able to see their differences in background, their motivations and what wavelength they are on at this moment. At this point he moves the ball to the older man realizing that it may give him what he needs, a glimpse of his youth. When the old man dribbles the ball it gives the dancer the rhythm that he needs to be inspired. When he begins to dance, the little girl is captivated and walks through the gang members which makes them think about the future and how maybe this rivalry is unnecessary. As one of the gang members walks away he causes the bicyclist to swerve and knock the sandwich out of the businessman’s hand which startles the guy walking while talking on his cell phone. A dog runs to the sandwich, and the dog owner walks over to get her dog and ends up meeting the guys who had been on his phone. The older woman in the wheelchair, inspired by the older man dribbling the ball stands up and begins to dance with the older man. The drug dealer having witnessed this beauty around him looks at his money and realizes that he should give it all to the dancer / philosophy major. At the end the little girl ends up dropping her doll and the head breaks off. The spin master at first is about to leave anyway as it doesn’t seem that bad, but he seems to contemplate all of the potential future consequences of his inaction and finally decides to intervene. This is also a great example of taking the extra time to get something done right.

It is important to note that the ball moving towards anyone else was a negative event that would end in tragedy. When he looked at the differences in the individuals and their motivations, he was able to see what each person was seeking or needed at that moment in time. He is able to look ahead multiple steps to see how one thing can affect another. This is important to take into account for decisions in life and in management. The ball that falls out of the bag can be viewed as a negative event, but he is able to capitalize on the fact that this event is a positive to the older man. We see this all the time in our lives as something that seems negative is a positive to someone else. A snowy day is a burden to a commuter, but gets a skier excited. A drop in oil prices can cut profits in certain companies while increasing profit in others. It’s important to look at events more thoroughly so that we can see if there is an opportunity embedded in it. The spin master was able to create a symbiotic environment where everyone seemed to gain something from each other and all of them end up happier than they were previously. Each person had something that the others needed but if the events were slightly different, then nobody would have been rewarded. He was able to look into what motivated each person and see how the attributes of others could be used to help everyone. This is an excellent example of the complex interactions of people and variables in our lives. Having a better understanding of these events and the motivations, differences and mindset of those around us can help us navigate through and manage an increasingly complex world. (Richard Didonato)

Private Eye_satirical magazine

Recommended Summer Readings

Recommended Fiction:
The Happy Prince and The Selfish Giant are two of Oscar Wilde's most acclaimed tales. They make a good B2 upper-level summer reading. By clicking on the links above, you will have full access to a digital edition of theses magical tales.

Recommended Non-Fiction:
The United States of Europe : The Superpower No-One Talks About, by T.R. Reid
From one of America's best known foreign correspondents, an eye-opening account of the ascendancy of the European Union as a global superpower and rival to the United States. The European Union, from its beginnings as an experiment in statecraft, has rapidly emerged as a resounding success, yet Americans have so far managed to ignore the geopolitical revolution under way across the Atlantic. Reid shows how quietly - and not so quietly - Europe is developing itself into an economic, political and cultural powerhouse.
Synopsis:
How did Europe become a superpower while America wasn't paying attention? Here, American journalist T. R. Reid takes an enlightening tour of the United States of Europe' - the borderless collection of countries with more people and wealth than America. With his trademark wit and wisdom he explains the often-bewildering ins and outs of the European Union and the culture its nations have come to share - from the common pastime of America bashing and the kitsch joys of the Eurovision Song Contest to the skyrocketing success of the Euro, trouncing the once-mighty dollar in strength. And he tells many individual stories of this drama, including the astonishing takeover of all-American products by European companies, the English greengrocer who became a Metric Martyr' and of the new breed of twenty and thirty-somethings known as 'Generation E'. Essential for readers on both sides of the Atlantic, The United States of Europe is an insightful and entertaining guide to a New Europe th at now makes the world's rules, whether America likes it or not.

Open Letter to Laura Bush

For reasons spelled out below, the poet Sharon Olds has declined to attend the National Book Festival in Washington, which, coincidentally or not, takes place September 24, the day of an antiwar mobilization in the capital. Olds, winner of a National Book Critics Circle Award and professor of creative writing at New York University, was invited along with a number of other writers by First Lady Laura Bush to read from their works.

SHARON OLDS

Laura Bush
First Lady
The White House

Dear Mrs. Bush,

I am writing to let you know why I am not able to accept your kind invitation to give a presentation at the National Book Festival on September 24, or to attend your dinner at the Library of Congress or the breakfast at the White House.

In one way, it's a very appealing invitation. The idea of speaking at a festival attended by 85,000 people is inspiring! The possibility of finding new readers is exciting for a poet in personal terms, and in terms of the desire that poetry serve its constituents--all of us who need the pleasure, and the inner and outer news, it delivers.

And the concept of a community of readers and writers has long been dear to my heart. As a professor of creative writing in the graduate school of a major university, I have had the chance to be a part of some magnificent outreach writing workshops in which our students have become teachers. Over the years, they have taught in a variety of settings: a women's prison, several New York City public high schools, an oncology ward for children. Our initial program, at a 900-bed state hospital for the severely physically challenged, has been running now for twenty years, creating along the way lasting friendships between young MFA candidates and their students--long-term residents at the hospital who, in their humor, courage and wisdom, become our teachers.

When you have witnessed someone nonspeaking and almost nonmoving spell out, with a toe, on a big plastic alphabet chart, letter by letter, his new poem, you have experienced, close up, the passion and essentialness of writing. When you have held up a small cardboard alphabet card for a writer who is completely nonspeaking and nonmoving (except for the eyes), and pointed first to the A, then the B, then C, then D, until you get to the first letter of the first word of the first line of the poem she has been composing in her head all week, and she lifts her eyes when that letter is touched to say yes, you feel with a fresh immediacy the human drive for creation, self-expression, accuracy, honesty and wit--and the importance of writing, which celebrates the value of each person's unique story and song.

So the prospect of a festival of books seemed wonderful to me. I thought of the opportunity to talk about how to start up an outreach program. I thought of the chance to sell some books, sign some books and meet some of the citizens of Washington, DC. I thought that I could try to find a way, even as your guest, with respect, to speak about my deep feeling that we should not have invaded Iraq, and to declare my belief that the wish to invade another culture and another country--with the resultant loss of life and limb for our brave soldiers, and for the noncombatants in their home terrain--did not come out of our democracy but was instead a decision made "at the top" and forced on the people by distorted language, and by untruths. I hoped to express the fear that we have begun to live in the shadows of tyranny and religious chauvinism--the opposites of the liberty, tolerance and diversity our nation aspires to.

I tried to see my way clear to attend the festival in order to bear witness--as an American who loves her country and its principles and its writing--against this undeclared and devastating war.

But I could not face the idea of breaking bread with you. I knew that if I sat down to eat with you, it would feel to me as if I were condoning what I see to be the wild, highhanded actions of the Bush Administration.

What kept coming to the fore of my mind was that I would be taking food from the hand of the First Lady who represents the Administration that unleashed this war and that wills its continuation, even to the extent of permitting "extraordinary rendition": flying people to other countries where they will be tortured for us.

So many Americans who had felt pride in our country now feel anguish and shame, for the current regime of blood, wounds and fire. I thought of the clean linens at your table, the shining knives and the flames of the candles, and I could not stomach it.

Sincerely,
SHARON OLDS

American Cartoonist Randy Glasbergen

your feedback

As the course comes to an end, I welcome your feedback on this class blog. Please, feel free to leave your (anonymous) comments in Spanish or English. I also would like to know whether you would be interested in finding new readings or entries in this blog during the summer to keep your English in good form. Thanks. cmg

Paul Auster on storytelling

Discurso del escritor norteamericano Paul Auster al recibir el PREMIO PRÍNCIPE DE ASTURIAS DE LAS LETRAS 2006
(texto bilingüe):

I don't know why I do what I do. If I did know, I probably wouldn't feel the need to do it. All I can say, and I say it with utmost certainty, is that I have felt this need since my earliest adolescence. I'm talking about writing, in particular writing as a vehicle to tell stories, imaginary stories that have never taken place in what we call the real world. Surely it is an odd way to spend your life -sitting alone in a room with a pen in your hand, hour after hour, day after day, year after year, struggling to put words on pieces of paper in order to give birth to what does not exist -except in your own head. Why on earth would anyone want to do such a thing? The only answer I have ever been able to come with is: because you have to, because you have no choice.

This need to make, to create, to invent is no doubt a fundamental human impulse. But to what end? What purpose does art, in particular the art of fiction, serve in what we call the real world? None that I can think of -at least not in any practical sense. A book has never put food in the stomach of a hungry child. A book has never stopped a bullet from entering a murder victim's body. A book has never prevented a bomb from falling on innocent civilians in the midst of war. Some like to think that a keen appreciation of art can actually make us better people -more just, more moral, more sensitive, more understanding. Perhaps that is true -in certain rare, isolated cases. But let us nor forget that Hitler started out in life as an artist. Tyrants and dictators read novels. Killers in prison read novels. And who is to say they don't derive the same enjoyment from books as everyone else?

In other words, art is useless -at least when compared, say, to the work of a plumber, or a doctor, or a railroad engineer. But is uselessness a bad thing? Does a lack of practical purpose mean that books and paintings and string quartets are simply a waste of our time? Many people think so. But I would argue that it is the very uselessness of art that gives it its value -and that the making of art is what distinguishes us from all other creatures who inhabit this planet, that it is, essentially, what defines us as human beings. To do something for the pure pleasure and beauty of doing it. Think of the effort involved, the long hours of practice and discipline required to become an accomplished pianist or dancer. All the suffering and hard work, all the sacrifices in order to achieve something that is utterly and magnificently... useless.

Fiction, however, exists in a somewhat different realm from the other arts. Its medium is language, and language is something we share with others, that is common to us all. From the moment we learn to talk, we begin to develop a hunger for stories. Those of us who can remember our childhoods will recall how ardently we relished the moment of the Bedtime Story - when our mother or father would sit down beside us in the semi-dark and read from a book of fairy tales. Those of us who are parents will have no trouble conjuring up the rapt attention in the eyes of our children when we read to them. Why this intense desire to listen? Fairy tales are often cruel and violent, featuring beheadings, cannibalism, grotesque transformations, and evil enchantments. One would think this material would be too frightening for a young child - but what these stories allow the child to experience is precisely an encounter with his own fears and inner torments - in a perfectly safe and protected environment. Such is the magic of stories: the might drag us down to the depths of hell, but in the end they are harmless.

We grow older, but we do not change. We become more sophisticated, but at bottom we continue to resemble our young selves, eager to listen to the next story, and the next, and the next. For years, in every country of the Western world, article after article has been published bemoaning the fact that fewer and fewer people are reading books, that we have entered what some have called the "post-literate age". That may well be true, but at the same time this has not diminished the universal craving for stories. Novels are not the only source, after all. Films and television and even comic books are churning out vast quantities of fictional narratives, and the public continues to swallow them up with great passion. That is because human beings need stories. They need them almost as desperately as they need food, and however the stories might be presented -whether on a printed page or on a television screen -it would be impossible to imagine life without them.

Still, when it comes to the state of the novel, to the future of the novel, I feel rather optimistic. Numbers don't count where books are concerned -for there is only one reader, each and every time only one reader. That explains the particular power of the novel, and why in my opinion, it will never die as a form. Every novel is an equal collaboration between the writer and the reader, and it is the only place in the world where two strangers can meet on terms of absolute intimacy. I have spent my life in conversations with people I have never seen, with people I will never know, and I hope to continue until the day I stop breathing. It's the only job I've ever wanted. (20/10/2006)

No sé por qué me dedico a esto. Si lo supiera, probablemente no tendría necesidad de hacerlo. Lo único que puedo decir, y de eso estoy completamente seguro, es que he sentido tal necesidad desde los primeros tiempos de mi adolescencia. Me refiero a escribir, y en especial a la escritura como medio para narrar historias, relatos imaginarios que nunca han sucedido en eso que denominamos mundo real. Sin duda es una extraña manera de pasarse la vida: encerrado en una habitación con la pluma en la mano, hora tras hora, día tras día, año tras año, esforzándose por llenar unas cuartillas de palabras con objeto de dar vida a lo que no existe…, salvo en la propia imaginación. ¿Y por qué se empeñaría alguien en hacer una cosa así? La única respuesta que se me ha ocurrido alguna vez es la siguiente: porque no tiene más remedio, porque no puede hacer otra cosa.

Esa necesidad de hacer, de crear, de inventar es sin duda un impulso humano fundamental. Pero ¿con qué objeto? ¿Qué sentido tiene el arte, y en particular el arte de narrar, en lo que llamamos mundo real? Ninguno que se me ocurra; al menos desde el punto de vista práctico. Un libro nunca ha alimentado el estómago de un niño hambriento. Un libro nunca ha impedido que la bala penetre en el cuerpo de la víctima. Un libro nunca ha evitado que una bomba caiga sobre civiles inocentes en el fragor de una guerra. Hay quien cree que una apreciación entusiasta del arte puede hacernos realmente mejores: más justos, más decentes, más sensibles, más comprensivos. Y quizá sea cierto; en algunos casos, raros y aislados. Pero no olvidemos que Hitler empezó siendo artista. Los tiranos y dictadores leen novelas. Los asesinos leen literatura en la cárcel. ¿Y quién puede decir que no disfrutan de los libros tanto como el que más?

En otras palabras, el arte es inútil, al menos comparado con, digamos, el trabajo de un fontanero, un médico o un maquinista. Pero ¿qué tiene de malo la inutilidad? ¿Acaso la falta de sentido práctico supone que los libros, los cuadros y los cuartetos de cuerda son una pura y simple pérdida de tiempo? Muchos lo creen. Pero yo sostengo que el valor del arte reside en su misma inutilidad; que la creación de una obra de arte es lo que nos distingue de las demás criaturas que pueblan este planeta, y lo que nos define, en lo esencial, como seres humanos. Hacer algo por puro placer, por la gracia de hacerlo. Piénsese en el esfuerzo que supone, en las largas horas de práctica y disciplina que se necesitan para ser un consumado pianista o bailarín. Todo ese trabajo y sufrimiento, los sacrificios realizados para lograr algo que es total y absolutamente… inútil.

La narrativa, sin embargo, se halla en una esfera un tanto diferente de las demás artes. Su medio es el lenguaje, y el lenguaje es algo que compartimos con los demás, común a todos nosotros. En cuanto aprendemos a hablar, empezamos a sentir avidez por los relatos. Los que seamos capaces de rememorar nuestra infancia recordaremos el ansia con que saboreábamos el cuento que nos contaban en la cama, el momento en que nuestro padre, o nuestra madre, se sentaba en la penumbra junto a nosotros con un libro y nos leía un cuento de hadas. Los que somos padres no tendremos dificultad en evocar la embelesada atención en los ojos de nuestros hijos cuando les leíamos un cuento. ¿A qué se debe ese ferviente deseo de escuchar? Los cuentos de hadas suelen ser crueles y violentos, describen decapitaciones, canibalismo, transformaciones grotescas y encantamientos maléficos. Cualquiera pensaría que esos elementos llenarían de espanto a un crío; pero lo que el niño experimenta a través de esos cuentos es precisamente un encuentro fortuito con sus propios miedos y angustias interiores, en un entorno en el que está perfectamente a salvo y protegido. Tal es la magia de los relatos: pueden transportarnos a las profundidades del infierno, pero en realidad son inofensivos.

Nos hacemos mayores, pero no cambiamos. Nos volvemos más refinados, pero en el fondo seguimos siendo como cuando éramos pequeños, criaturas que esperan ansiosamente que les cuenten otra historia, y la siguiente, y otra más. Durante años, en todos los países del mundo occidental, se han publicado numerosos artículos que lamentan el hecho de que se leen cada vez menos libros, de que hemos entrado en lo que algunos llaman la “era posliteraria”. Puede que sea cierto, pero de todos modos no ha disminuido por eso la universal avidez por el relato. Al fin y al cabo, la novela no es el único venero de historias. El cine, la televisión y hasta los tebeos producen obras de ficción en cantidades industriales, y el público continúa tragándoselas con gran pasión. Ello se debe a la necesidad de historias que tiene el ser humano. Las necesita casi tanto como el comer, y sea cual sea la forma en que se presenten –en la página impresa o en la pantalla de televisión–, resultaría imposible imaginar la vida sin ellas.

De todos modos, en lo que respecta al estado de la novela, al futuro de la novela, me siento bastante optimista. Hablar de cantidad no sirve de nada cuando nos referimos a los libros; porque no hay más que un lector, sólo un lector en todas y cada una de las veces. Lo que explica el particular influjo de la novela, y por qué, en mi opinión, nunca desaparecerá como forma literaria. La novela es una colaboración a partes iguales entre el escritor y el lector, y constituye el único lugar del mundo donde dos extraños pueden encontrarse en condiciones de absoluta intimidad. Me he pasado la vida entablando conversación con gente que nunca he visto, con personas que jamás conoceré, y así espero seguir hasta el día en que exhale mi último aliento. Nunca he querido trabajar en otra cosa.

Paul Auster was born in New Jersey in 1947. After attending Columbia University, he lived in France for four years. Since 1947, he has published poems, essays, novels, screenplays and translations. He is the author of The New York Trilogy, Leviathan, Oracle Night, The Book of Illusions, and The Brooklyn Follies. Man in the Dark is his latest novel. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Bombing For Peace?

The US administration tries to call anyone who criticizes their policy in Iraq 'anti-troop,' but the interviews from the VideoVets Project show that 'supporting the troops' does NOT mean supporting an endless war. The voices of these veterans and military families are missing from the debate in Washington. Together we can make sure they become a vital part of the national dialogue around ending the war. Watch these videos and voice your opinion. Then, Academy Award winning director Oliver Stone will turn the most-voted one into a TV-ad, thus spreading this message even further.

National Stereotypes

DISCUSSING NATIONAL STEREOTYPES

A. Preparation.
1. People often say such things as “Italians are good lovers” or “Englishmen are cold-blooded”. What other generalizations of this nature can you think of?
2. Do these generalizations serve any useful purpose? If so, what?
3. What do foreigners say about your own national character?

B. Read the text. Learn the words in bold.

We are repeatedly warned of generalizations yet, paradoxically, it seems that the human mind cannot resist categorizing people and things. We love to pigeon-hole, to make order out of a universe that frequently seems to us confusing and even chaotic. Nowhere is this tendency more evident than in our willingness to generalize over nationalities. We create national stereotypes and cling tenaciously to our prejudices. To illustrate this point, we shall take a look at the findings of a survey carried out by the market research firm, Parkland Research Europe.
This organization carried out a detailed study of European attitude by questioning 185 business executives, lawyers, engineers, teachers and other professional people from seven European countries. These countries were: Germany; France; Britain; Switzerland; Italy; the Netherlands; Belgium. The resulting publication, Guide to National Practices in Western Europe, gave some idea of what some Europeans think of each other. It revealed many widely-held stereotypes, but also came up with a few surprises. In the chart below, some of the data from this survey is summarized.

C. Research Findings. Can you guess who they are?

Liked themselves best of all. Most Europeans agreed that the __________ had the highest proportion of good qualities. They considered themselves very tolerant, but nobody else did. They saw themselves as fashionable. Others found them square.

Not really admired by anyone except the Italians. Other Europeans found them conservative, withdrawn, chauvinistic, brilliant, superficial, hedonistic. Also, they are not supposed to be very friendly. The __________ agreed on the last point!

Mixed reactions. Some found them calm, reserved, open-minded, trustworthy; others deemed them hidebound, insular and superior. Everyone was unanimous that the __________ had an excellent sense of humour. They most admired the Dutch.

Showed considerable lucidity and powers of self-analysis. Saw themselves as serious, trustworthy, but too money-minded and suspicious. Most Europeans agreed. The __________ liked the Germans best.

Generally considered by everyone to be lazy and untrustworthy, and the __________ agreed! Most also found them to be vivacious, charming, hospitable and noisy. They admired the French and the Dutch. Hardly anyone loved them except the French.

Most admired people in Europe (except by their neighbours, the Belgians). Everyone agreed that the __________ are supposed to be hard-working, thrifty, good-natured, tolerant and business-minded. The __________, however, was not considered a good place to live in.

Least admired in the group. The __________ see themselves as easy-going and diligent workers. Other Europeans consider them undisciplined and narrow-minded (and lousy drivers!).

Bike Culture in Oxford

March for Peace, Washington DC 27 Jan 2007

coffee_and_rice :)

A pun (pronounced /pan/) is a play on words. Here are some good examples which circulated on the net some time ago. This is humour on world leaders.

Conversation between George W. Bush and his Secretary of State, Condolezza Rice; read it for a laugh:

George: Condi! Nice to see you. What's happening?
Condi: Sir, I have the report here about the new leader of China.
George: Great. Lay it on me.
Condi: Hu is the new leader of China.
George: That's what I want to know.
Condi: That's what I'm telling you.
George: That's what I'm asking you. Who is the new leader of China?
Condi: Yes.
George: I mean the fellow's name.
Condi: Hu.
George: The guy in China.
Condi: Hu.
George: The new leader of China.
Condi: Hu.
George: The Chinaman!
Condi: Hu is leading China.
George: Now whaddya' asking me for?
Condi: I'm telling you Hu is leading China.
George: Well, I'm asking you. Who is leading China?
Condi: That's the man's name.
George: That's who's name?
Condi: Yes.
George: Will you or will you not tell me the name of the new leader of China?
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Yassir? Yassir Arafat is in China? I thought he was in the Middle East.
Condi: That's correct.
George: Then who is in China?
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Yassir is in China?
Condi: No, sir.
George: Then who is?
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Yassir?
Condi: No, sir.
George: Look, Condi. I need to know the name of the new leader of China! Get me the Secretary General of the U.N. on the phone!
Condi: Kofi?
George: No, thanks.
Condi: You want Kofi?
George: No!
Condi: You don't want Kofi.
George: No! But now that you mention it, I could use a glass of milk. And then get me the U.N.
Condi: Yes, sir.
George: Not Yassir! The guy at the U.N.
Condi: Kofi?
George: Milk! Will you please make the call?
Condi: And call who?
George: Who is the guy at the U.N?
Condi: Hu is the guy in China.
George: Will you stay out of China?!
Condi: Yes, sir!
George: And stay out of the Middle East! Just get me the guy at the U.N.
Condi: Kofi.
George: All right! With cream and two sugars. Now get on the phone.
(Condi picks up the phone.)
Condi: Rice, here.
George: Rice? Good idea. And a couple of egg rolls, too. Maybe we should send some to the guy in China. And the Middle East. Can you get Chinese food in the Middle East?

El espíritu Erasmus

Un reportaje de LOLA HUETE MACHADO

“Españoles. Italianos. Españoles. Belgas. Españoles. Ingleses. Españoles. La Mensa. Biblioteca di Lettere. Exámenes. Repescas. (Ssshhhh, están estudiando). Viajes. Muchas visitas (en mi casa hay sitio). Il Palio. Partidos de fútbol. Sobremesas en la Piazza del Campo. 100 kilos de pasta. 100 tortillas de patata. Dos intentos de paella. He traído helado. Litros de sangría (no digo cuántos). El carro de la compra (lo que dio de sí). Nos hacen falta vasos…. Fiestas. Vespa. Ciudad preciosa. Gente increíble. Año inolvidable. Erasmus 1999-2000. Siena, Italia”.

Ésta es una carta entre el millar recibido en respuesta a la convocatoria de El País Semanal. Unos 170.000 universitarios españoles han sido y son Erasmus desde 1987. Dos millones en toda Europa, de 3.000 universidades, de 30 países. Una beca nacida con una idea: crear ciudadanos europeos. Valoración de los lectores: se recibe poco dinero, pero merece la pena. Esta semana se entrega el Premio Príncipe de Asturias al Programa ERASMUS, acrónimo del nombre oficial en inglés European Region Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (Plan de Acción de la Unión Europea para la Movilidad de Estudiantes Universitarios).

Las cartas han sido casi mil, tantas que empezamos ya a creer que Erasmus somos todos, aunque desde que se puso en marcha el programa en Bruselas en 1987 hasta el curso antepasado hayan participado unos 170.000 estudiantes españoles (de un total de 1,5 millones, según el INE). Y si Gloria Merchán nos introduce, en el primer párrafo, en el gusto por ser y vivir en esa condición estudiantil, es Elvira Domínguez, desde Francia, la que mejor sintetiza en su carta-prospecto las características del Programa Erasmus. A saber: “Propiedades: fármaco de reconocida eficacia en la prevención y el tratamiento de la timidez, ñoñería, nacionalismo, racismo, chovinismo y otros males de orden social. Composición: estancia en una ciudad de la UE para continuar estudios universitarios. Indicaciones: favorece el aprendizaje de idiomas, la sociabilidad y el interés por la cultura, la tolerancia y el sentimiento de pertenencia a Europa. Posología: administrar al menos una vez en la vida, preferentemente en jóvenes. Presentación: estancias de 3 a 12 meses. Contraindicaciones: no descritas. Incompatibilidades: la relación sentimental en el país de origen puede resultar dañada, por lo que no se aconseja su utilización simultánea. Efectos secundarios: la lengua materna puede sufrir daños, así como cualquier tercer idioma estudiado (estos síntomas desaparecen al abandonar el tratamiento); puede producirse aumento de la asistencia a fiestas, de suspensos, promiscuidad, incapacidad de convivir de nuevo con los padres, crítica de las costumbres del país de origen, dependencia del correo electrónico, multiplicación de abonos a Europa 15, viajes por Europa para visitar a los amigos, idealización del medicamento. Precauciones: en algunos casos se ha descrito dependencia al tratamiento y depresión al abandonarlo; si es así, administrar viajes periódicos a la ciudad Erasmus hasta que la dependencia se atenúe. Advertencia: se han observado casos de pacientes que se instalan años en el país de acogida; algunos, definitivamente. Intoxicación: la intoxicación es rara, dado su elevado índice terapéutico. Sin receta médica”.

El Programa Erasmus (por Erasmo de Rotterdam) nació en la Unión Europea en 1987. El objetivo: impulsar la integración europea a través de la educación, apoyar la movilidad y el conocimiento, crear poco a poco una ciudadanía continental. Aquel año sólo 240 españoles se sumaron al programa; en el último curso contabilizado (2002-2003) son ya 18.258.

Los más animosos históricamente han sido los estudiantes de Ciencias Empresariales, de Lingüística y Filología, y de Ingeniería y Tecnología. Por comunidades: Madrid, la más adicta, seguida de Cataluña, Andalucía y Valencia. Y los países de destino habituales: Italia, Francia, Reino Unido y Alemania. Extranjeros que vinieron a España el curso 2002-2003: 21.289. ¿Quién puede solicitar las becas Erasmus? Universitarios y alumnos de escuelas de arte o conservatorios. ¿Dónde? En las universidades, que son las que convocan plazas de acuerdo a convenios con centros europeos. ¿Convalidan estudios? “Reconocimiento de estudios es el término adecuado”, dicen en la Agencia Erasmus, el organismo que se ocupa de la gestión del dinero y de aplicar la normativa de la casa madre, la Comisión Europea. Por eso conviene ir siempre “con un contrato de estudios firmado del centro de origen y destino”. Por precaución. El mínimo de estancia, tres meses; el máximo, un año. Y no se puede repetir.

Entre las cartas recibidas en EPS las ha habido de jóvenes y no tan jóvenes; de alumnos y profesores; de expertos que ofrecían sus publicaciones, como Lioba Simón (autora de "El Programa Erasmus en España: balance de la movilidad universitaria") o Patricia Plaza (“Escribí un artículo en la revista de información general de la Universidad de Granada, Campus: ‘Erasmus, un programa consolidado’, número 81, páginas 16-17, marzo de 1994”). Y hasta políticos, como Óscar López Águeda, que fue Erasmus en Inglaterra y es hoy diputado del PSOE por Segovia. “La generación Erasmus ya está en el Congreso de los Diputados”, dice. De otro modo se ofrece Ana Pintos (“Me voy de Erasmus a Cagliari, Cerdeña, Italia, este mes…”), que sugiere seguirla en su beca para redactar luego su experiencia. Sandra Martorell tiene la misma idea: “Me encuentro ahora en pleno papeleo (el cual empezó hace cinco meses)… Permisos de residencia, cuenta bancaria en el extranjero… Es un averíguate la vida, por no hablar de la cantidad tan mínima que te dan de beca, 100 o 200 euros, cuando si te vas a otro lugar de España pueden darte 500. Ilógico”.

El dinero es la madre del cordero. Los hay, como Sara Romero, que empiezan: “Esto no es una beca, es una desgracia”. Pero en la Agencia Erasmus lo explican. “Se reciben unos fondos comunitarios que este año en España serán de 15 millones de euros. Hay países que optan por pagar más y mandar menos estudiantes. Nosotros optamos por repartir lo más posible”. Y señalan que las propias universidades de origen aportan dinero, también las comunidades autónomas e incluso empresas privadas. Hay que mirar siempre todas las opciones y posibilidades. Otro consejo de alumnos experimentados: consulta los foros de tu universidad, habla con otros.

Y no hay razón para desesperar: el objetivo del Erasmus es mover por Europa a tres millones de universitarios en 2010…  

El País Semanal, 17 de octubre de 2004.

Puede leer el resto del reportaje en este enlace.

If you are interested in the Erasmus experience, I recommend watching the film L'auberge espagnole (Cédric Klapisch, 2002) on DVD with subtitles. It is great fun! Xavier, a straitlaced French student (played by Romain Duris) moves into an apartment in Barcelona with a cast of six other students from all over Europe. Together, they speak the international language of love and friendship.

Cyber English

B@sic lexicon for advanced learners of English

We now live in the midst of a historical communications revolution which has been brought about by the information technology (IT) offered by the so-called information superhighways. Cyberspace has originated a parallel, virtual reality, a sort of second skin that is already redefining our lives and will do so even more in the years ahead.  Turning your back on it will make you electronically illiterate. If the invention of the telegraph managed to put one town in contact with another, if the telephone allowed home-to-home communication and if mobiles permit person-to-person interaction, finally the Internet makes communication between everyone possible. When you log on to the net, you are getting connected to a new, decentralised, democratic system of human interaction: the World Wide Web. 

To surf the net you need, first of all, to install a browser (Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Explorer are the most popular) in your computer. You also need to have a local server provide you with a phone or fibre-optic cable line, which will give you access to the Internet. Once you get connected, you have several options at your disposal: surfing the World Wide Web in order to look for a particular web site; sending electronic messages to your friends or pen-pals all over the world from your own e-mail box; joining a chat line or a news group to talk, in writing, with other net users in real time; or videoconferencing by using a web cam.

To look for a web site you simply need to type its address (www…) and press the enter key on your keyboard; you can go to other related pages by clicking on the links that most pages offer. If you are looking for the address of a new web page, you can do so with the help of one of the searchers or search engines available. If the web site proves to be of interest, you can either download it and print it on your printer or select and memorise it with a bookmark as one of your favourites. E-mailing is also child's play. After opening your mail box and checking whether you have new mail, you can reply to your messages by typing a new text and, when finished, pressing or clicking on the send key. Your electronic letter will be delivered in a matter of seconds. 

As the number of net users grows day by day, so does electronic commerce. Nowadays you can do lots of e-business on the net: setting up your own company; selling or ordering goods by computer (CDs, books, airplane or concert tickets); etc. Likewise, you can find a job; found an association; register at a university; do computer graphics; show your art to a world-wide audience or design your own homepage. 

But Internet can also turn addictive if abused by those who forget that virtual communication is no substitute for face-to-face contact. Spending long hours logged on to a chat line, for instance, poses the risk of forming shallow on-line relationships instead of making new friends. Recent psychological surveys have shown that Internet addiction is becoming a new pathology in Western societies. Surfing the net for hours on end might bring about a significant decrease in socialising and lead to depression and loneliness. So, beware! Using the Internet can be great fun and a new way to learn English, but don’t get hooked on it. cmg1998

Convivir en la ciudad

Por LUIS ROJAS MARCOS

Nueva York cumple 100 años. Aunque sus orígenes se remontan a 1626, fecha en la que los colonizadores holandeses compraron la isla de Manhattan a los indios nativos por 60 florines (unos 22 euros), fue realmente en 1897 cuando se soldaron los 40 municipios que hoy forman la Gran Manzana. Polifacética, tolerante, generosa y dispuesta a todos los excesos, Nueva York es un paradigma de contrastes. Este escenario gigantesco, donde convivimos apretados ocho millones de vecinos, nos expone constantemente a imágenes muy vívidas y discordantes de riqueza y miseria, de saber e ignorancia, de orden y caos. Representa el epicentro del materialismo duro, la meca del estrés y la competitividad, y el foco de los conflictos humanos más abrumadores. Pero al mismo tiempo es el frente de la innovación, el paraíso de las esperanzas sin límite, de las aspiraciones y de las oportunidades. Quizá más que ninguna otra cosa, Nueva York concentra y exagera las virtudes y desafíos de la convivencia en las urbes modernas.

La esencia de las ciudades se compone, por un lado, de la arquitectura, las piedras y el cemento que las configuran, y por otro, de las emociones, las ideas y los ritos de los hombres y mujeres que las habitan. Esta extraordinaria combinación constituye el instrumento por excelencia de renovación social y de progreso. Es verdad que, desde tiempos remotos, pensadores ilustres han pintado las capitales de su tiempo como centros fríos y deshumanizados de depravación y de peligro, mientras que glorifican la vida campestre como más grata, virtuosa y saludable. Si bien el ambiente tranquilo y bucólico de los pueblos pequeños posee un atractivo seductor que nos invita a su idealización, no somos pocos quienes con el tiempo hemos llegado a la conclusión de que es realmente en las ciudades donde se desatan las pasiones, se libera la imaginación y se forja el destino de la humanidad. Después de todo, ¿no es la historia de la civilización la historia de las ciudades?

Los seres humanos pensamos, sentimos y nos comportamos de forma diferente en el entorno urbano que en el campo. El ambiente denso, dinámico y variado de las ciudades extrae de nosotros en todo momento un nivel superior de entendimiento y de conciencia. Sus libertades, sus opciones y su ritmo acelerado agudizan la intuición y avivan los dilemas sobre nuestro papel en la sociedad, sobre nuestra realización y sobre el significado de la existencia. Las ciudades estimulan además fórmulas inéditas de convivir y de relacionarnos, premian la originalidad y fomentan soluciones novedosas para abordar los problemas más insolubles de la vida. Y al sentirnos mucho menos coaccionados por reglas inflexibles de conducta o presiones homogeneizantes, tan típicas en las zonas rurales, expresamos más libremente nuestras convicciones, nuestro inconformismo y nuestra creatividad.

Hace años se pensaba utópicamente que con la migración o el flujo constante de nuevos habitantes las grandes urbes se convertirían en una especie de crisol para fundir razas, etnias, culturas y lenguas distintas. Hoy sabemos que no es así. Las ciudades actuales reflejan, más que una población híbrida, vibrantes mosaicos de gentes diversas que mantienen su individualidad y preservan su identidad. Esta heterogeneidad demográfica, a su vez, suscita en los hombres y las mujeres una perspectiva más relativista y tolerante hacia las diferencias.

Las ciudades, en fin, son el símbolo de la convivencia humana, el medio portador del conocimiento y el caldo de cultivo de las ideas. Constituyen un punto obligado de referencia, un escaparate ideal que permite observar y experimentar genuinamente la evolución de la humanidad y la lucha de millones de héroes anónimos por una mejor calidad de vida. (El País Semanal, 1997) Foto: Arnold Pouteau

Holy Week Celebration in Seville: Structure and Interpretation (A Traveller's Guide)

By CARLOS MARTÍN GAEBLER

Multimedia lecture given at the Alfonso XIII Hotel, Seville, on 28th March 1994. Photography by Carlos Ortega

A presentation of the celebration of Holy Week in Seville can be approached from many different angles because this celebration is in itself complex and multifaceted. It is my intention to divide my introduction to the Holy Week in Seville in two parts. I will start by mentioning the facts, that is, describing the people who take place in the event and the icons displayed in the streets, and, after that, we will consider various interpretations of this representation which is at the same time religious and theatrical.

PART I

SLIDE 1 For many centuries, the Christian festival of Easter has been celebrated in Seville with a series of processions in the streets which are meant to act out different stages of the Via Crucis. This is done by taking out of the churches a number of long-venerated sculptures or figures of Jesus Christ, of his mother the Virgin Mary, and of some of the people who were directly or indirectly involved in the Crucifixion. These icons, which are normally on display at churches all year long, are set temporarily on large, wooden structures or floats which we call pasos

and which are carried in procession following a carefully-planned itinerary: they are carried from almost every district church in Seville to the Cathedral and then back to their temple. These pasos have been set up by local Christian associations known as hermandades. These hermandades, which have no official link with the Catholic Church as such, are made up of citizens residents in a given neighbourhood who meet regularly throughout the year. When Easter time comes, most of its members go out in procession accompanying these pasos. Before going any further, let's have a brief look at the different types of pasos so that you are able to identify them when you see them this afternoon.

SLIDE 2 Every procession usually consists of two or three pasos (sometimes just one). In the case an hermandad takes out three pasos, the first one is the so-called Paso de Misterio, which depicts a specific moment of the Via Crucis or the period around the Crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth. Theses scenes consist of a set of several wooden sculptures which, when displayed on the streets, give viewers the impression of being alive thanks to the way they are carried by the men underneath them.

SLIDE 3 The second paso, and one which is common to almost all hermandades is the Paso de Cristo which, as you can see in these slides, may represent either Jesus carrying his cross on his way to the Golgotha or

SLIDE 4 Jesus crucified. These sculptures of Jesus are usually installed over a little mound of red carnations or pale purple irises and they portray him either on the brink of death or already dead. Bear in mind that some of these figures that you will see in the streets of Seville this week were carved in the 17th century by some of the masters of the Barroque period, such as Juan de Mesa (who is the author of this crucifix from 1620) or Martínez Montañes and are sacred icons for the inhabitants of Seville.

SLIDE 5A The last paso in every procession is always the Paso de la Virgen (also called Paso de Palio). This paso is the most elaborate one and is structured around a silver canopy which encloses the statue of a crying Virgin, the mother of the dying son, who is richly dressed in velvet and silk, adorned with jewelery and embroidery and surrounded by candles and flowers: white or pink carnations, orange blossoms, gladiolus, etc. She is portrayed as showing deep grief for the death of her beloved son who has been unjustly assassinated or is about to be killed by his captors. In this context of pain and sorrow she is paradoxically depicted with luxurious splendour

SLIDE 5B because she is also imbued with the ultimate triumph of life over death. She is symbolically surrounded by an atmosphere of joyfulness and pagan sensuality: flowers, jewels, fire, incense, music and songs (the famous saetas, which some people sing at her from balconies). This is the way death is depicted in this Baroque ritual where, like in flamenco, sorrow and distress are expressed with joyful passion. And so, unlike the depiction of more rigid, austere, mournful virgins (as is the case in Castilian processions), the virgins in the Andalusian Holy Week are highly ornamented and clearly associated with the joyous arrival of Spring in the South. Although a still sculpture, she is carried by the costaleros in such a way as if she were dancing to the music played to her by the band.

SLIDE 6 But this is not only a splendid ritual of statues but also of real people, the human actors that take part in it. These are the real characters in this dramatization of the passion of Jesus of Nazareth. First of all, there are the nazarenos. The nazarenos (who take their name after the place of birth of Jesus and who can be either men or women) always march in front of a paso in a procession. They carry a heavy candle and they are dressed in a uniform which completely covers them as a sign of the rejection of vanity. Once they get dressed at home (sometimes in rigorous black, sometimes in colurful garments) and leave for their church in the afternoon, some nazarenos are required not to speak to anyone until the procession is over. This is part of the ritual of penance observed by some of the most traditional hermandades, mainly those located in the old centre of town.

SLIDE 7 Secondly, and always marching behind the paso of Christ, we will see the penitentes who, instead of carrying a large candle, carry one or several wooden crosses, thus commemorating Jesus' painful ascent to the Calvary. Both the nazarenos and the penitentes are meditating and doing penance. Some also go in procession to show their gratitude to their god or because they want to plead for God's mercy. As a further sign of sacrifice some nazarenos and most penitentes march barefoot.

SLIDE 8A The costaleros make up the third social group involved in the procession; they are groups of between 36 to 48 men who carry the weight of the paso on their shoulders. Some pasos may weigh up to 2,000 kilograms, so each costalero might have to hold an average of 50 kilograms for several hours.

SLIDE 8B While in the past the costaleros used to be appointed professionals, in modern times none of them do it for money any more, but out of devotion and social pride. They are so keen on it that they usually meet a few months in advance to rehearse late at night with heavy sacks of sand on top of bare pasos.

SLIDE 9 A band of musicians accompanies each paso. Placed behind them, they play music especially composed for the occasion. And here again a very important distinction has to be made, because bands play different music depending on whether they are marching together with  the Virgin or with the paso of Christ: they will play lively, joyful music to the Virgin, but music of mourning to the dead Christ. This way the symbolic opposition between life and death, which stems from the different disposition or arrangements of both pasos, is emphasized.

SLIDE 10 And last, but not least, the people in the streets. The celebration of Holy Week in Seville is, above all, a ritual of interaction between the people who attend the processions and those who directly participate in them, because both groups are equally relevant to the celebration. Large masses gather in the streets (locals have coined a term for this, la bulla, a huge crowd) and, if you are to enjoy the celebration to the full, you are advised to make a little effort and put up with some minor inconveniencies. And I can promise you that you will find it is worth it!  

PART II

SLIDE 11 As I pointed out at the beginning of my presentation, the celebration of Holy Week in Seville may be interpreted in many different ways (all of them equally valid), apart from the obvious commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus, which lies at the heart of the whole ritual.

But this ultimately romantic ritual also brings about a social phenomenon which is worth mentioning here:  an identification of the inhabitants of the city with their own town and their long-venerated icons which is renewed every year and which also gives them an opportunity to show their sense of community and tolerance. Furthermore, these seven days represent the best of occasions for sharing the artistic treasures of the city with visitors from all over the world (and here's where all of you come into the picture!).

This leads us directly into the universal quality of the Semana Santa in Seville, because, rather than being restricted to a portion of the population, it is open to all who are in Seville this week: that is, believers and non-believers, Catholics and non-Catholics, Sevillians and those from other parts of Spain, Spaniards and foreigners, conservatives and socialists, rich and poor. This truly democratic feature is what really accounts for the long-aclaimed universal nature of our Holy Week.

SLIDE 12 From looking at these slides that you have seen so far, you will easily understand that the city becomes at the same time an enormous temple and a stage for this Baroque dramatization, laying the ground for the magical coincidence of the contemplation of a paso passing by a beautiful spot in the city, a city which is, at this very same time, celebrating the sensual arrival of Spring in this southern latitude with the blooming of orange trees, the smell of incense, warm afternoons, the high moon up in the sky, and, above all, with a general feeling of joyous solemnity and well-being which pervades everyone. (This may sound like a contradiction in terms but it is not, for remember what I said before about how in this ritual death is commemorated through a celebration of life.)

SLIDE 13 To conclude this presentation, or any other about Holy Week in Seville, one has to allude necessarily to its intensely emotional nature, for what we can witness these days in the streets of Seville may also be interpreted as a modern metaphor of human suffering: the image of this archetypal mother crying for her dead son may also stand as a symbol for human loss, be it the loss of a son in the Bosnian battlefield, be it the loss of a son, a lover or a best friend at the hands of the Aids epidemic.

You must remember that no one is considered an outsider in this ritual because every single one of us may see his or her own grief reflected in these icons, as if we were looking in a mirror. By doing so, we may well think of those who suffer (as He suffered). In the same way as those who are tiredly marching in the procession or carrying the heavy pasos experience a catharsis of sorts which redeems them from a whole year of weaknesses, we, as indirect participants may also examine our own thoughts and feelings and share in this purifying catharsis, because in the end we are all fragile human beings in search of ourselves, and that's what this magnificent urban opera is all about. THANK YOU.