Last year I didn’t do much, I was kind of a Ricardo Nunes of ideas, the mayor only fulfilled 11 out of the 86 goals he had set for São Paulo – realizing his mistake in April of last year, he changed 27 of them – just like us.
I planned a lot, changed some routes and still delivered little, I confess. But I won’t humiliate myself too much, I said in the last edition that I achieved good things for the long term… as for Nunes, he is so incompetent that he only completed 59 out of the 260 maintenance, recovery, and reinforcement works on bridges and overpasses, small bridges, walkways, and city tunnels. Besides that, he gave up on inaugurating the BRT corridors and the large reservoirs in areas that are affected by floods.
As if the environmental anxiety of dying in a flood was not enough, now we can also live in fear of being randomly buried while walking around the city.
WhatsApp stickers that speak for a thousand long texts
And we want to be so much, I wanted to be so much better than I am, but I am what I can be.
My hole wasn’t so deep, but I identified with the mayor on the culture point: he did not take off the paper the 10 CEUs movie theaters and the 10 educational territories he promised.
I also did not prioritize culture and education in 2023. Which should explain the so-called “constant feeling of anguish and helplessness” that I mentioned in the last text. Art is essential to a well-lived life.
I don’t want to do the Nunes again this year, so 1. I set few, more realistic goals, 2. I continue working on structural things and 3. I will prioritize art. Having said that, I come here to share a little list with the movies, books and shows that I’m dating for 2024 – to disseminate what I like, for you to see if we have things in common and for the pastime, in general, which is the whole idea of this little ritual here.
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Before I start, I know I finished the last edition (about meditation) with the promise to continue the subject. But treat this as a conversation, we change the subject, we laugh, then we remember something else, we go back and so on…
I once heard Hebe telling in an interview that she met with her friends to play cards and they continued the topics from the point where they stopped at the last meeting, months ago. This is exactly the energy of this newsletter:
In some next issue I will return to the subject. I’m going to badmouth vipassana meditation, just to convince you to go on a vipassana meditation retreat.
Now, to the cultural desires and plans for the coming months.
Where to find the parties
We know that a thousand things are happening in the city of São Paulo, but it’s archaic to browse several Instagram profiles in search of the perfect party. With that in mind, here are some tips on where to find tips:
In the situation of feeling that you don’t want to go home before 5 in the morning, I like to take a look at the shotgun website, but I generally have the notion that I’m over 30 and another place to find quality parties is boatismo:
Boatismo
It’s also important to check the programming of the best institution in this city: Here the direct link to the concerts page, but we cannot forget the workshops, the very well-curated exhibitions and to praise SESC in general – which, in addition to everything, occasionally provides us with a wonderful international circus festival, I love it so much.
It’s good to keep an eye out because things sell out quickly there, unfortunately I couldn’t buy tickets for 30 years of Pato Fu – if you’re going, enjoy it for me – but I managed to buy the Cornucópia Desvairada show for today and, speaking of which, already in the carnival mood, we can follow this link the programming of the little blocks that are going to happen in the city of São Paulo – or the Rio-São Paulo dashboard version made by card-carrying carnival-goers, here.
Thinking ahead, I tried to buy the Bethânia show (without Caetano 🥲), but it sold out, so I went ahead and bought tickets to see Black Pumas, Robert Glasper and a lot of quality jazz in bank event (aka C6 Fest) in May, I’m excited!
Another place to find art is João’s curation, over at “where is the art”:
Where is the Art
Discussing ideas and thoughts about art and literature.
I also really enjoy hanging out on Google’s Arts & Culture app, great for getting lost online, you can like your favorite art, revisit them later, read about the artists… much better than making impossible shopping carts.
Where to eat?
Before, when I saw someone posting a delight on Instagram, I would search for the place’s name on Google Maps and I have a list there of “beautiful restaurants” and “hipster cafes”, but I changed this way of saving my curation and now I do it directly on Instagram:
When someone posts, I click on the location of the place and save it (see those blue flags there? those are the saved ones). Also, if I am in a neighborhood-city that I do not know, I enter the Instagram map, click up there “search this area”, then down there, I choose “cafes” for example … the photos are better than Google Maps and everything is much more updated.
Books to Read
For those who are into books, there is the big list of 451 releases, since I am going to do a postgraduate degree in design and city this year, I am keeping an eye on the architecture and urbanism section.
In March, Judith Butler is going to release the book “Who’s Afraid of Gender?”, I have already reserved it. This is a discussion I really like, I get excited with the new generations, who seem to incorporate the fluidity of gender naturally. In March, my friend’s daughter is born and I am already imagining the discomforts and paradigms this little child will make us go through-break.
About the novelties of the last century, there are some classics that I would like to read, the good thing about this category is that you can read without spending a penny – via libgen.is 🏴☠️. Another list to work on is the one you also have, the books I stopped in the middle – if you are an active user on the forgotten network of amazon, add me on goodreads so we can share our list of unfinished.
One of the books I started reading again at the beginning of the year is “I’m happy that my mother died”. I was enjoying the reading for reasons of also being born to someone who shouldn’t have been a mother and we never know what happens inside other people’s houses (in this sick and broken family system in which we live), but I put it aside precisely because it was only embittering me, pointing out the wound, reliving pains… I almost hid the book on the guilty pleasures shelf, until I saw Sofia Copolla recommend 3 books and surprise, surprise, this work by iCarly was among them, so I started reading again.
Movies to watch
February is carnival and it is also my birthday, according to my mother, I continue in the balzaquiana energy, according to my grandmother, I complete the age of Christ: 33 years. The biggest birthday present, finally The Boy and the Heron, the latest film by Miyazaki for Studio Ghibli, will be released in Brazil – there is no exact date yet, but it is something between February and March.
<3
I really like watching movies, more than series, but I don’t study much about it, I throw myself into the curations, now at the end of the year I went back to subscribe to mubi, so it’s half the battle. Apart from that, every year I like to go to the “SP film show” or to the “it’s all true”, documentaries, but my favorite show in the city is the ecofalante, in 2024 it will happen in May, make a note.
In the end
I could suggest some channels on youtube, blogs and other content not so long form, but I only thought about it now that I’ve passed 2k characters, so let’s get to the point. Over time I will learn to write in this format suggesting other things around here. Besides, as Seu Jorge says
“It’s not for nothing, but I’m going to have fun as long as life allows”
See you later 🙂
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