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Last posts

MUVIM; Museum of Illustration and Modernity

Mónica Boixeda Only-Be, Valencian

This is a bizarre and wondrous attraction. Who dreamed up the idea of a Disneyesque interactive exhibit all about the rise of rationalism in 18th century Europe? I suspect only a socialist and atheistic government would fund something like this. (It’s quite pointedly anti-church.) The actual name of the place is Museo de Illustracion y Modernidad (MUVIM) in Spanish. It’s a striking modernist building in the heart of Valencia, designed by Seville architect Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra. The Museum of the Age of Enlightenment is only one possible translation. Illustracion means both enlightenment and illustration, and in fact the building is a museum of illustration and graphic arts as well as of the Enlightenment. The Disneyesque self-guided tour through electronic displays about the European Enlightenment is housed on the upper floor of the fortress like building. You can’t just walk in. You have to book ahead. (See contact information at bottom.) It seems to have been designed with big crowds in mind. Many of the rooms are huge, with very little in them. But when we visited for an English-language version of the tour – it’s repeated at different times in three other languages: Spanish, Valencian, French – there were only three of us. We were greeted by a silent guide in monk’s habit who shepherded us through the first few rooms that cover the lead-up to the Age of Englightenment. None of the human guides we encountered spoke. All the sound comes from hidden speakers in each room. The museum includes lots of large-scale reproductions of portraits of famous figures from history. There are light shows, ramps seemingly arbitrarily leading... read more

George Michael in Budapest

Mónica Boixeda Budapester, Only-Be

On the 19th of September, Budapest welcomes George Michael concert at the Papp Laszlo Sport Arena. The concert entitled “Symphony” is part of an extensive tour of the singer in Europe that makes his stop in Budapest, it is a must for the fans of his music, and audiences of all ages are welcome in Hungary. Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou is the real name of George Michael, whose Greco-Cypriot parents moved to England in the late 50´s and three years later their eldest son was born. At an early age, he expressed his love for music, but in adolescence he began looking for opportunities to join the competitive music scene in London. His meeting with Andrew Ridgeley in high school accelerated the process that led him to youth clubs in the area of Stanmmore and Watford, where he played music and worked as a DJ. At the same time, he formed a ska band with Ridgeley that was completely unnoticed. In 1981 he produced his first hit with Ridgeley. With whom he formed a duo called “Wham”! In 1983 he hit the musical scene with the band´s first album called “Fantastic”, reaching in a few days the top ranking for British music that catapulted him to fame. From that moment the fame he had long wanted started to come to his life. With his second album called Make It Big, he really conquested the America consolidating his international career. He started his career as a soloist with his song “Careless Whisper” in 1984, which also meant his participation in the musical project of Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise... read more