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ONLY BE BERLINER
Only-Be Berliner
Tacheles: Art Space or Tourist Trap?
Almost all Berlin lovers have been to Tacheles at least once, and no doubt some have wondered how it happened that a building (and a project) which was originally a squat has transcended its anarcho-art punk roots and become a fashionable, guide-book standby of Berlin and helped turn the surrounding neighborhood into one of the hippest in Berlin. The meaning of the word “alternative” has now fade, and lost part of its original connotation of opposition to the established order. Now it seems to have instead become representative of anything that is merely considered “cool.” Tacheles was once a both blueprint and trailblazer of the recovery of urban space and artistic production in the Berlin of the 90s, i.e., just after the fall of the wall. At that time, as we all know, the city experienced an intense period of cultural upheaval, coupled with strong advocacy for new social modes. What is now called Tacheles had formerly been a mall and during the Second World War was used by the Nazis to host the administration and organization of various departments and housed prisoners of war. The building was badly damaged by bombing, but not completely destroyed, and was to be demolished in 1990. In neighborhoods like Mitte, PrenzlauerBerg and Friedrichschain a subculture sprung up promoting autonomy and cultural freedom. Its protagonists decided to occupy this space to promote alternative development. Tacheles, a word which in Hebrew means “revealing” “communicate” or “frank speech” quickly became well known for the atmosphere of the building and the number of projects that were carried out, like performances, concerts, exhibitions of paintings, sculptures, installations....
Hedwig and the angry inch channel the ghost of glam rock
Platform shoes, feather boas, exotic hairstyles and kilos of glitter … What do you get when you mix these ingredients, with good music and spice everything up with a spoonful of sexual ambiguity? Glam rock was a genre in which over the top stars like Marc Bolan, David Bowie-Ziggy Stardust and David Johansen triumphed. But if we could choose from among the glam of imaginary characters created by film and theatre, Hedwig, star of the cult film “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” would certainly be elected to the pantheon of Glam… The Hedwig phenomenon was born in 1998 as an off-Broadway musical, written by John Cameron Mitchell with music by Stephen Trask. The musical tells the story of Hedwig, a transsexual singer and the leader of glam-rock group called “The Angry Inch.” Hedwig monologues and songs explain his childhood as Hansel in East Berlin, a few years before the Wall fell, his youth in the U.S. after a disastrous sex change operation and a frustrated marriage, and his adulthood as a singer who relentlessly pursues Tommy Gnosis, a hugely successful rocker who may have stolen her songs … In 2001, the musical became a film, with the help of the John Cameron Mitchell, and shortly after its release it went on to win multiple awards, including the International Film Festival in Berlin and the Audience Award at Sundance. And, more importantly, it found favour among a large group of fans worldwide, who began to hold parties during which they masquerade as their favourite characters and sing along to the most popular songs (“The origin of love”, “Tear me down...“Touch and play”: learn to enjoy physical contact
We live in a society and an era in which physical contact between two people has become more infrequent. Locked in our bubbles of personal space, we only give access to the people with whom we are most intimate, which makes it harder for us to understand and master the strong feelings produced by touch. From the healing power of a helping hand resting on our shoulder to the sparks produced by a casual brush of the palm of the hand with someone who attracts us, touch is power. This kind of rigidity and fear which prevents physical contact even extends to many actors, dancers and artists, who in preventing contact forego a powerful tool of communication between them and the public. Trying to avoid this, a group of drama teachers, artists and researchers has established the first festival dedicated to the performance genre “contact improvisation”, in the always artistically vibrant city of Berlin. This event, organized for the first time in May 2010 has been dubbed “Touch and Play Festival” will be an annual event. It is not restricted to actors and performers and is open to anyone who wants to explore the theatrical possibilities and possible artistic expression that can be born out of the physical contact between people. Touch is a phenomenon, a chemical process, and a physical sensation, a journey from the initial fears and misgivings to the sensuality that comes naturally when hormones rage and we are open to our senses. There will be five days of workshops, classes, practical exercises and a closing party (the “Touch & Play Party”) that promises make this...
Wars, the Second Seal of the Book the of Apocalypse
The Book of Apocalypse is one of the most revealing of the history of the mankind. Its symbols and prophecies have become a benchmark in Christianity, which takes this book of the New Testament as a key point of their faith and beliefs. Despite the intricacy of his metaphors, historians and theologians have unravelled each one of the Seven Seals, equivalent to seven prophecies given by God. If the First Seal referred to the false preachers, the false Christs and the false prophets who seek to deceive the masses, the second argues that there will be wars over the centuries, culminating in the final time with a world war. Many people think that the third world war, the most frightening of all, is yet to come. In the Second Seal there appears a red horse killing human beings – the second horseman of the apocalypse -, taking the peace of the planet with him and symbolizing the bloody war. This is the vermilion horse over the crystal sea and opposite to the golden altar that was in front of the throne in the sky. Thus, the red represents the colour of the blood. There have been many wars that have plagued the planet since man exists. The humankind history is dyed of red by the blood spilt in the skilled wars: the devastating Roman Civil Wars, the Crusades, the Hundred Years War, the two great World Wars, or the most recent and terrifying conflicts, like the Cold War, where since the end of the Great War to the end of the USSR and the fall of communism in 1991...
Are you sedentary or an adventurer?
“Travel” is one of the most searched words on Google. And no wonder, because, who does not like travelling? Now you imagine you are in a paradisiacal place, with an idyllic climate, other people and a different culture… Whether in 80 days like Jules Verne, on an Erasmus student exchange, on holidays, in exile or as an immigrant, travel always means the same: discover, share, learn, observe, adapt, imagine…and maybe come back. Travelling inspires everyone, so there are thousands of novels, songs and movies about it: it is often compared to life itself. Surely you must have been attracted by a strange land which you want to explore more than anything…do not forget your dreams! First, the idea arises because you see someone that has travelled solo to India. You would also like to live a similar experience! Suddenly, one day you think it is the right time because you feel ready and you are hungry for new adventures. There are many motives to encourage a person to go on an adventure: you may need to change your ideas, find yourself, learn a new language or even help your family. There are people who plan a cultural trip, or maybe an ecological, a religious or a luxurious trip to a warm or a cold country or to Disneyland with the kids, etc. The United States, Canada, UK, France and in the fifth place, Spain are the favourite countries to emigrate to. If you are going to Asia, be careful with the seasons and the climate. Whether by plane, boat, car, train, motorcycle or bicycle, you must organize your trip...
Greed and a world without money
Winning or losing money, to have or to need money, to take or to steal money, to spend or to save money…How many times a day do we think of this word? Since the global economic crisis was declared, we are totally obsessed with money. If we think about it for a moment, it’s only paper. Can you imagine a world without money as Jean-Jacques Rousseau dreamed with his noble savage concept? This wouldn’t eradicate greed, the sin that takes one to the excessive and inordinate desire to possess and acquire wealth or properties. As a purge to greed, the penitents of The Divine Comedy (by Dante Alighieri) had to kneel on a rock and recite examples of greed and their opposite virtues. Wealth is not always synonymous with success. It seems that if you suffer from this sin, it will own you too. And if not, you only have to look at the famous miser Harpagon of the play The Miser of Molière , who lived a poor life so he could die rich, accumulating money and riches for no reason except to satisfy his madness. Greed is a condemned sin by the Catholic Church because it usually leads to other vices like envy, anger and pride. Greed is inner poverty because one is never satisfied with what he has, and one loses the value of objects, feelings and knowledge. Being greedy is not just about money matters, but it also has to do with things one wants to acquire and store for no further use: one can be also an intellectual or emotional greedy. Collecting instead of...
When Morpheus rocks you
Once upon a time, in the days of classical Greece, there was a God of Sleep called Hypnos that had a twin brother called Thanatos (God of the non-violent death), another called Keres (God of the violent death) and another called Moira (Goddess of the fate). Nyx, the Goddes of Night (daughter of chaos) and Hypnos have a son named Morpheus (the God of Sleep)who can transform and reproduce human forms. He touched the front of the men with a stick or a poppy flower to make them dream while they were sleeping. With its wings, Morpheus could travel through the world and if someone did not want to fall asleep in his arms, he seduced him and took him to the dream world… Morpheus lived in a palace built inside a cave, so that nothing and no one ever altered its tranquility. He slept in a ebony illuminated bed covered with poppies and nocturnal birds flitting around. It is said that he was killed by Zeus for revealing the mortals secrets. Today, we use the word “narcotic” to refer to certain drugs, whereas if we look after its etymological meaning it means drowsiness or lethargy. The word “morphine” comes from Morpheus and their properties to induce the sleep. Do you remember “Matrix”? The boss, called Morpheus, moves in and out of the real world: he seems to have everything clear and under control. He will be responsible to show Neo the difference between reality, truth and fiction. These are topics very important for humans… According to the studies of the Freudian psychoanalysis, dreams are disguised realizations of our...
Adiós, Aurevoir, auf Wiedersehen – the pain of saying goodbye
Although at first sight we don’t notice it, but our life is full of goodbyes. There are a lot of different types of farewells which produce mixed emotions in ourselves: stag nights, moving to another city or even going abroad, saying goodbye to our work-mates, the daily ´See you´ in our favourite baker’s shop next door, the separation from our beloved partner or the passing away of a good friend. The list of the different kinds of farewell seems to be infinite. But what is the real sense of saying goodbye? Whether it is a ‘goodbye’, a ‘see you soon’ or just a simple ‘see you’, all those expression hide incredible emotions: starting with sadness through curiosity of something new, till real feelings of happiness. Farewells have very paradoxical properties. Depending on the way and form, saying goodbye can hurt and be very liberating at the same time. Although the separation of somebody or something can initially be very painful, they also have a certain sense. Life is like a book, which consists of different chapters. Before starting a new one, we should finish with the previous chapter. In this way, the experiences of the previous episodes are very important and decisive for the continuation of the plot. So it depends on you if your life will be an exciting novel, a chick flick, real poetry or a fantasy story. But we aren’t alone with those sentimental problems. Many artists, actors, painters, musicians and, of course, everyday people like you and me, try again and again to express their feelings through each kind of art. Whether the classic songs...
Enjoy Berlin with 20 euros for a week!
The credit crunch doesn´t seem to want to go away and it´s getting harder to make ends meet. Unfortunately, we are forced to dispense of many caprices and to renounce many of our leisure activities. But what would life be without a bit of fun? Forget the money, take advantage of this advice because you can enjoy a trip to the German capital for next to nothing! To begin, why be deprived of a trip when the tickets can cost only 10 Euros? Yeah, you’ve read well! Today, flying can be very cheap thanks to the Internet. Just be aware of the best offers and you can travel for less money than the cost of a decent pizza. Another key element is the accommodation. Avoid the hotels. If you want an accommodation suitable to all budgets, rent an apartment with some friends, the more you are, the less money you’ll pay per head! Choose the cheapest accommodation! With these issues resolved, take some notes about how to move around the German capital without spending almost a euro. To begin, you should know that Berlin is one of the cheapest capitals across Europe… Rent a bicycle to move around the city, it’s cheap and comfortable and very healthy! Here´s an initiative that, if you wish, it can be absolutely free. A few years ago a company called New Berlin Sandemans began to offer free tours through the capital. You might ask, does it really cost 0 euros? Yeah, it is real! You only have to pay if you consider it appropriate. If you don’t like the tour or you don’t...
