The Whiskey Chronicles (in Buenos Aires)

The Whiskey Chronicles (in Buenos Aires)

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Bolivia's Cocalero President



Our one year in Bolivia gave us the opportunity to witness the rise of the populist, indigenous llama herder and coca grower-turned-congressman Evo Morales, who won the country's December 2005 election by the widest margin in 50 years. Alejandro Landes, a twenty-six year old Brazilian-born, Ecuadorean-raised, and U.S.-educated Colombian (!) tackled Evo's successful campaign as the subject of his directorial debut in "Cocalero." The documentary is showing in New York this weekend and will probably appear at an artsy theater near you before long.

After attending the Buenos Aires premier, I did a review of the film that you can read here. Click on the title of this blog to go to the movie's official website, where you can download a trailer and listen to some of the film's excellent soundtrack.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Pollerapantalon



Several days a week this band, Pollerapantalon, plays to a small but lively crowd of office workers and tourists right in front of the Catedral subway station in downtown Buenos Aires. The group describes their genre as "street funk and ska" and it's the best music I've ever heard from a street band.

The first cut on their album "Como Loco" (Like a Lunatic) is a 17-second recording of a subway arriving at the Catedral station, a tribute to their workweek shows. They've played at jazz festivals in Uruguay and toured the club scene in Patagonia, which on its own sounds like a lot of fun.

You can check out their music for yourself on their blog. Click on the title above and go to their October 17 entry for a sample video from one of their concerts. And if you want a CD, I'll pick one up for $5 and mail it to you the next time I'm in the U.S.