BLOG 1: A COUNTRY I WOULD LIKE TO VISIT: SPAIN.

Hi! Today i am going to talk about a country i would like to visit: Spain.

Spain is a country located in southern Western Europe and North Africa. It has an area of 500.000 km2, a population of 47 million, a unitary State and a parliamentary monarchy. It is known worldwide for its soccer league and for having invaded, plundered and "civilized" America and other latitudes.

I choose this country because it has many things that interest me. First of all, when i was 12 years old, a cousin showed me Spanish punk bands. I started listening to them and became interested in the lyrical content and their historical and political references. 

Over time, my destiny was to listen to Spanish bands and singer-songwriters while researching the contemporary history of Spain. Since then, i have been very interest in the Spanish civil war and the anarchist experience in Catalonia, the historial conflict between the republic and the monarchy, the resistance against Franco, the anarchist and pro-independence guerrillas, such as ETA, the current political scene, and of course, the development of the different political currents in that territory.

Based on this, i would like to travel to Spanish and tour all of its territory, partly to get to know the gastronomy and geography of each place, and partly to get to know/learn in depth and in face-to-face way about political and historical issues of each place, either theoretical aspects or practical experiences.

Along with that, i would like to deepnen my university and non-university studies, and work to make a living. And something not less important, i would like to learn Catalan and Basque, and see my favorite bands.

That was all. Thanks for reading me!

POST 9 -> YOUR FAVORITE BOOK

 Hi! Today i am going to talk about my favorite book, Also, i will talk about my favorite authors, the kinds of books i read and the last book i read. 

First of all, i have to admit that i like reading a lot, but reading about things that i like or that catch my eye. 

My favorite authors are Gabriel Salazar, Karl Marx and José Domingo Gómez Rojas. The first author is a chilean historian, focused on social history, that i met several years ago. The first work i read from him is "In the name of popular constituent power", but with the five volumes of "Contemporary history of Chile" i loved the critical study he makes of chilean history, rescuing social actors and popular movements.

The second author is a one of the greatest thinkers in human history. A critic of capitalism and the State, he provided many theoretical lessons for understanding and overcoming the bourgeois dominated political, economic and social system.

With this, it is clear that i like read about history and politics, but lately i have been attracted to poetry. José Domingo Gómez Rojas was a young Chilean poet of the early 20th century. A critic of society and the system, he mixed anarchism and cristianity in his poems. Persecuted and murdered by the Chilean State, he transmits in his poems sensitivity, political compromise and beauty. My favorite book is his "Complete Works".

And finally, the last book i read is "How Democracies Die" by Steven Levitsky. It is about how populism and authoritarianism kill off democracy. I highly recommend it!

Thanks for reading me!

POST 8 -> A SUBJECT YOU'VE ENJOYED STUDYING THIS SEMESTER

Hi! Today i am going to talk about my favorite subject this semester: Evolution of Institutions II.

At the beginning of the semester, other subjects seemed more attractive to me, such as "Modern Political Thought" and "Comparative Politics", but over time i did not like them as much and i felt disillusioned. On the other hand, at the beginning i found this subject very boring, but over time i became interested and finally liked.

The "Evolution of Institutions II" course is taught by Octavio Avendaño and his classes are characterized by a presentation of contents, along with a power point. I like that modality because i can record in a better way what the teacher is exposing, along with the fact that he makes an ordered and structured class.

This subject deals with the evolution of institutions from the late Middle Ages to the end of the Modern Age. We saw feudalism, the fragmentation of political power, the birth of the bourgeoisie, the resurgence of city states, the proliferation of trade (mercantilism, capitalism), the birth of the modern state, the development of absolutist state, the European invasion of America and the Latin American colonies, especially the colony in Chile, among others contents.

I liked this subject because it is about history, a discipline that i like very much. Besides, i knew very little about these historical period and i learned a lot and well. 

Thanks for reading me!

POST 6 -> CAREER-RELATED WEBSITE OR AN EXPERT ON YOUR FIELD (pending)

Hi! Today i am going to talk about an expert in the field of political science that i admire, or something like it: Juan Carlos Monedero.

First of all, i have been thinking and i do not have really any referent. I do not admire anyone in the field of political science. In this case, the selection of Monedero corresponds to the facts that he is one of the first intellectuals in politics that i knew. 

Juan Carlos Monedero is a Spanish political scientist, politician and professor. He was born in 1963, studied political science at the Complutense University of Madrid and did his doctorate at the University of Heidelberg. He has advised the United Left party of Spain between 2000 and 2010, and leftist Latin American governments, mainly the Venezuelan government of Hugo Chavez between 2005 and 2010. 

Later he participated in political debate and interview programs, in the "Indignados Movement" or "15-M Movement" and in the formation of "We Can", a Spanish leftist party, in 2014. Currently he is a member of this party, being the director of the think tank.

I follow his intellectual career because he has been an important voice on the Spanish left, a country that interests me quite a lot. In addition, he has been very closely related to the Latin American left, providing interesting analyses and raising new, but questionable, political ideas linked to 21st century socialism.

POST 4 -> TV SHOWS AND SERIES (pending)

Hi!

Today i am going to talk about my favorite series: The X-Files.

First of all, i am not good at watching series. On my sister's recommendation, i met this series in 2016, but it was not until late 2017 that i started watching it. 

The X-Files is a science fiction series was aired from 1993 to 2018 on Fox channel, spanned eleven seasons. Also, two films have been released. Consists of two FBI agents, Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, who investigate paranormal cases, especially a government conspiracy involving aliens. 

I like it because it addresses paranormal and alien issues, relating them to a conspiracy of the U.S government and a secret world government. Also, because the cases they review challenge science and existing knowledge. And because the relationship between the agents is interesting, since he is a great believer and she is a great skeptic.

On the other hand, many people have recommended the series "Dark" to me. I do not know its plot but maybe at some point in my life i will see it. 

Finally, i recommend that you watch "The X-Files", more than one of you might like.

Thanks for reading me!

POST 7 -> YOUR BUCKET LIST

Hi! Today i am going to talk about my bucket list.

The activities that i would include on my bucket list are: (is not in order)

1. Having a stable band: composing, recording and playing with it.

2. Getting to know the south and the extreme south of Chile.

3. Travel to Spain, specially to the Basque Country and Catalonia, and Cuba. Perhaps to more countries.

4. Take drumming lessons. So far i have been self-taught.

5. Finish the career.

6. See a UFO and enter a military compound in the style of "The X-Files".

7. Working in a print shop: democratize reading of books!

8. Specialize in political theory.

9. Watch live to many bands: Rage Against The Machine, The Sundays, Title Fight, Cap'n Jazz, American Football, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions In The Sky, Boom Boom Kid, among others.

10. Write a book about politics, perhaps about political theory.

11. Become independent: have a place to live and a job.

I think most of them are hard to come by (but not impossible… i think…), because there are many factors that condition things. 

The number one is the only one i have ever done, more or less... Because there are always problems, mainly the availability.

These activities i would like to share with my family, my friends and my girlfriend, because there are very important people for me.

Thanks you for reading me!

Post 5 -> A PHOTOGRAPH YOU LIKE

Hi! Today i am going to talk about my favorite photograph.

I like photographs very much. I have many favorites: photographs of protests, of armed conflict, of my favorite soccer team "Colo Colo", of my family, of musical albums, of concerts, among others. But one of the most recent and important photos for me is of the last show of the band "Asamblea Internacional del Fuego". 

This photograph was taken by "garygophoto", a recognized photographer of the chilean hardcore scene, an "old school" person. It was taken on September 14, 2019, from the stage of the main hall theater of the University of Santiago. 

The photograph shows all the participants of that last assembly, in the middle of the last song, "La Estrategia del Caracol". Even if it's black and white, that moment with the lights on, with all the people singing, no microphones, was magical. 

The last line of the song says: "that the wind become a hurricane". Indeed, a month and four days later the wind turned into a hurricane.

Thanks you for reading me!