Sunday, September 27, 2009

PUERTO RICO GOING BLINDFOLDED ALL THE WAY

OUR SISTER blog, endemismo, had recently a post on BASURAMA and a couple of their installations discovered by accident on our almost daily strolls. I will not get into
that since critics do what they are supposed to do: criticize. If one prefers to see unusual, original views as personal attacks, that is not really the way the cookie crumbles in our office.

Now if you take a look at the pictures to the right slowly, think of this, what
do you see in your country when you walk for exercise, to collect plants, to relax?
These photos should offer a token of what I see, how I perceive it. I have left no
doubts about how ugly, dirty, noisy I find, feel the Metro Area of SAN JUAN.

MOSTLY. However, when I find something perceived as ugly by others, because
it implicates income, social status, such as the multiple alleyways hidden to most
people infatuated with their cars, never walking, I have written about it. Today
you will look at what I see. Forget about my opinion for a moment, look at the pictures
and the color commentaries, if you must.

FROM THE BOTTOM UP

THIS metallic arch with the antenna, according to the artist, is a CEIBA,
or a representation of one of our greatest, oldest trees. It is ugly in any
league, in the wrong spot, creating blind spots to drivers and pedestrians.
In the island, metallic, humongous sculptures abound in the oddest places.
Some of the ugliest: One in Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, some metallic
structure in BAYAMON CITY, apparently so long, it is/will be in the Guinness
ugly as hell, could be more palatable with some vines: Petreas, Ipomoeas,
Passifloras to name a few.

In BELLAS ARTES, Santurce the TWELVE MUSAS are no only ugly in
my humble opinion, but like the monster AVOCADOS in La PLacita de Santurce
placed in an odd position, creating pedestrian traffic difficult, too big or
too little. Art installations as any intelligent garden HAVE to follow the
rules of composition. Plants are placed according to their size, form,
height, color, texture to name a few. What is wrong with demanding respect
for aesthetics?

SKIP the obvious tires. The four patriots, left to right, Luperon, Marti,
Hostos y Duarte. It will suffice to write that men like these are no longer
around, if you want to know the caliber of these gentlemen go to search.
Apparently they are made of bronze, have beauty, the space and the vegetation
go hand in hand. Everything in harmony.

Now moving from the dark side to the light, lets look at those happy, friendly, functional CRABS. Once upon a time, SANTURCE was just sand and Cocos nucifera in any direction! Crabs were everywhere and certainly part of the diet. From those days
the nick SANTURCE CRABBERS originated. These sculptures are fun to watch, have
beauty, useful to seat and relax for short periods and made of bronze. That is why one
of the crabs is missing some parts of its body and one was left with none.

We are now in the bridge. IF you look carefully, the first left column of the bridge is
wrapped in some black plastic. EL PUENTE, as if it not obvious! This bridge is perhaps the most important in the history of the isle, not only because of the aesthetics of the design, but for some significant attack moons ago when SPAIN
was the kick butt EMPIRE.

Why would you wrap ALL columns of this marvelous bridge may you lay man/woman
enquire? SIMPLE. The impressive ART DECO lamps on top of every column were stolen by probable junkies! It took place a year or more ago. The Directors of the G8 and fellow jerks ENLACE, the leaders of the community residing in the vicinity, thought that hiding the reality behind the plastic, was an intelligent way to solve the matter.

NOT ONLY THAT. To make believe that hiding the robbery was appropriate, a cultural event, with some social 'meaning' was organized. The children of the
schools in the area, decorated the plastic wraps with their infantile art and VOILA, forget the issue of the stolen bronze ART DECO lamps. Forget reality, the beauty of the bridge, its aesthetics, historical significance. I reiterate, this the isle of the fools,
above all the imbeciles infatuated with improving the lives of others, incapable of seeing beyond their ordinary, limited life expectations.

RAW SEWAGE under the bridge. You will not believe it. But not far, there is a lineal
park PARQUE ENRIQUE MARTI COLL, an ugly concrete, over one mile long path
on top of it! Nobody smells it, or complains about floating turds, or the garbage.
Refrigerators, tires, a wide variety of plastic in many shapes and forms. The directors of the G8 community, and Lyvia the Pentecostal looking character, have never demanded to the agency responsible for WATER/SEWAGE (AAA) treatment to stop
this activity for the last thirty years.

Time to go on a green note. This space, Mercantil Plaza, has all that nice Pothos, exuberant with the
shade and right humidity under the Ficus or Mahogany, not sure. Of all the public
spaces one may encounter in my four cardinal points strolls, this one has a special
place in my list. It has some hard to define quality, on top, not many people venture
here since is not too far from the CANHO MARTIN PENHA, vicinity. People of different statu$$.