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March 3, 2024 – Remembering the greatest show on earth.

What you can see in the pics happened exactly 21 years ago today. It is the Mangueira parade, the most famous Samba School in Rio, which is to say in the world, during the city's Carnival festivities. In addition, she is the second to have won the most championships: 20 titles. They are only surpassed by Portela, that has 22, after dominating the 30s, 40s and 50s. Mangueira also has no less than 19 vice-championships, more than any other. Although finishing second always leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

During those years living in Brazil we were able to visit the samba schools and specifically the legendary Estaçao Primeira venue, where this school rehearses and builds its program, every Saturday throughout the year. As with most samba schools, Mangueira is a favela, and one of the poorest and most dangerous in the city. The school location is in the heart of the favela, but there was a tacit agreement with the mafias to respect it 100%. So, possibly, we were safer in that place on those Saturday afternoons and nights than anywhere else.

The Escola de Samba is one of the great cultural institutions of the country, and the greatest pride of a good part of the favela´s population, who makes enormous sacrifices, throughout the year, to support their school. All that effort culminates in the parade at the Sambodromo during the carnival. There is no show like that in the entire world.

In addition to the schools there are the blocos. It is like a troupe that runs a traveling concert/show that moves through the streets of the city, with thousands of people walking slowly behind, dancing and drinking. The largest of all the blocos in the world would be in Recife and is called Galo da Madrugada. Last year it brought together 2.5 million people and holds the Guinness record. I say "would be" because Cariocas will always claim that the greatest is one from Rio: the Cordão da Bola Preta.

Some of the girls who lead the drums group of some schools (Bateria), as well as other young women from different fields, compete in other years for the prestigious position of Rainha do Carnaval, who usually leads many of the promotional photos of the events. A first and a second princess are also chosen, as well as King Momo, who is usually a famous public figure, tall and heavy, who receives the keys to the city from the mayor, which serves as the opening of the carnival.

Some information about the school competition:

• In the Special Group (the first division) there are 12 schools, the elite of the carnival. The competition decides the position of each school, including the champion and vice-champion. The top 6 finishers receive the honor of being able to run a second parade the following weekend, which is for exhibition only and is called the Parade of Champions. The last classified is relegated in category and is replaced the following year by the champion of the Ouro Series (the second division).

• The competition is fierce. There is the economic part: the State government and the Mayor's Office support the event with 125 million reais (25 m$), although the Mayor's Office recently interrupted the financing, and it is estimated that the Rio carnival represents 1 b$ of economic activity for the city. But there is, above all, the pride of your school, which is like saying of your neighborhood. In Rio alone there are more than 120 schools. In the 2024 competition the winner (Viradouro) received 270 points. The 11th 265.7 points. The last 264.9. Less than 1 point has led Porto da Pedra to relegation, and just 5 points separate the champion from last.

• Each school has a minimum of 65 minutes and a maximum of 82 to complete the parade, from when they enter the sambodromo until their last members leave. The parade happens over two nights, starting at 9 p.m. and ending around 5 a.m., almost at dawn. The sambadrome is located on Sapucaí Avenue, it is about 600 meters long, it was designed by Niemeyer (the legendary Brazilian architect) and has a capacity of 75,000 people.

• The demand for tickets is, however, in the millions of people. Prices vary between tens of reais and several thousand, depending on the location and at what stage of the resale you buy them. Even the cheapest tickets purchased at the box office are prohibitively expensive for many people in these favelas. What I have seen is that in some cases they buy a ticket as a group and then divide the use of the seat so that a different person comes to watch the parade for each school. Thanks to this, many people fulfill the dream of seeing their school parade in the sambadrome at least once in their lives. It is truly impressive to see a 70-year-old with tears in his eyes from the emotion of seeing his favela school parading, with his chest bursting with pride and happiness. After a lot of hard work and sacrifice, your neighborhood is doing something incredible, and now let the whole world see it.

• Each Escola has a carnavalesco, who is a kind of artistic director who decides the theme with which the school will compete each year, which is called Enredo. The most legendary was Joãosinho Trinta, who won a total of 13 championships with various schools (9 in the first division, 2 in the second, 1 in the third and 1 in the fourth division). Between the year 70 and 2000, the schools directed by Joãosinho almost always achieved one of the first three places in the championship.

• The enredo forms the main elements of the story that the school is going to “tell” with its parade. For example, in 2004 the Beija-Flor (the champion school) enredo was: “Manôa, Manaus, Amazônia, Terra Santa: Alimenta o Corpo, Equilibra a Alma e Transmite a Paz”. The enredo structures all the elements of the representation: theme, stories, costumes, trucks and song.

• In the special group, schools usually have around 3,000-5,000 members. In addition to the front commission, the Bateria and the Mestre Sala e Porta-Bandeira, we have the wings, which include most of the members. There may be about 40-50 of these groups, each with their own costume. Here we differentiate between choreographed wings, which show a specific dance with choreography rehearsed for hundreds of hours, and non-choreographed wings, in which the members also dance, but without evaluation. This allows people from outside the favela to participate in the parade for a fee, which in turn contributes to the funding of the school. But even these "amateur" wings can have a negative impact on scores like the Evolução, so the school places a person in front of each one marking the parade line that they must not surpass at any time. Special mention goes to the Baianas wing with their traditional Bahia costumes, with their gigantic flying skirts, which spin and spin to the rhythm of the music.

• 36 judges decide the fate of the schools (although they recently increased it to 40). They receive specific training from the schools' league and each one judges only one of the 9 categories: Alegorias e Adereços; Bateria; Evolution; Mestre Sala e Porta-Bandeira; Front Commission; Enredo; Harmony; Samba Enredo; Fantasia. That is, there are 4 judges for each category. The judges are distributed equidistantly throughout the sambadrome, so that at all times there is always one judge evaluating their category in the section of the avenue they have to cover (about 150 m). The scores given are between 9 and 10, and a decimal is included. If they do not give a 10, they must justify the reason in writing.

The categories are called in Brazil “quesitos”:

• Alegorias e Adereços refers to the cars, which you can see in the photos and are spectacular. Visual composition, creativity and how design is connected to enredo are evaluated. There are usually about 5 or 6, as allowed by the regulations, which change a bit each year. At the highest point of these pharaonic works, they usually place the “highlight”, usually a girl with a costume related to the details of the chariot that she holds by holding on to a support with one hand, while dancing to the rhythm of the samba.

• Bateria. It is the rhythm section that parades with the school and manages to make the entire sambadrome vibrate. It has to have at least 200 members or they suffer a penalty. In front of the battery parades their rainha, always women as spectacular as their costumes. Sometimes they are models, some very famous nationally, who may or may not have a connection with the favela. The rainha leads the rhythm of the drums with her dance and is the great entertainer, inviting the public to participate. Some of the instruments are the surdo de primeira, tumbaim, reco-reco, pandeiro and triangle. The drums are usually one of the last groups to go out to parade, but they are placed at the entrance of the sambadrome until it is their turn to enter so that the rhythm of the drums can be heard by the parading procession.

• Comissão de Frente is a small group of school members at the head of the procession who, with their colorful costumes and their performance, present the enredo to the public and the judges and mark the main elements of their theme.

• Fantasia is the Portuguese word that means disguise. Once again, creativity, attractiveness and connection to the enredo are evaluated.

• Harmonia evaluates that the thousands of members of the school parade in a harmonious way and following the tempo of the samba de enredo.

• Porta-bandeira e mestre-sala are the wonderful couple of dancers who present the pride of the school. They wear spectacular matching dresses, very attractive. She usually wears a large, full skirt that she keeps in the air with constant turns while they dance to the rhythm of the samba. On her side rests the mast that supports the school flag.

• Samba-Enredo. It is the song. It is composed each year specifically for the event. An album is also released with the 12 songs of the Special Group and historically it has had relevant sales. The artistic quality of the lyrics and music is evaluated. The lyrics are one of the most important vehicles to tell the story of the enredo chosen by the carnavalesco. The samba de enredo constitutes a full-fledged musical subgenre within samba. Some of the great songs became classics of MPB (Brazilian Popular Music) transcending the carnival itself. The samba puxador is the singer who “pushes” the song in a loop without pause during the more than an hour that the parade lasts, which together with the drums allows the coordination of the school. These tenors are sometimes absolutely legendary figures and are considered among the most important singers in the country. An example would be Jamelão, Mangueira's singer from 1949 to 2006 and its main voice since 1952.

• Evoluçao. The thousands of members of the school must dance to the rhythm of the drums and the samba, they must keep a constant pace of progress along the avenue and not stop at times and then speed up a lot to compensate. The school is divided into wings. Each wing has a costume so it is very easy to differentiate them. There cannot be “buracos” (holes) within the wing nor a large gap with the next or previous wing. But you also have to prevent any member of your wing from sneaking (even for a second) into the line of the next one. If you were parading like in the army all this would not be so difficult, but the members of the wing are dancing and spinning all the time, so mistakes can occur.

• Enredo. As we have said, it is the theme. Two things are evaluated here. First, the conception. Interest, relevance, importance of the topic, quality of the idea are evaluated. Secondly, there is realization; that is, how well the idea conceived has been presented with all the elements of the parade.

A unique and unrepeatable experience.

February 14th, 2024 – A new art form.

I have been lucky enough to attend shows in all kinds of advanced theaters: IMAX, ScreenX, RPX, 4DX, RealD 3D... Some with curved screens, others practically spherical. Some use polarized glasses for the 3D effect; in others not. I have also been able to go to all sorts of music shows. Some even legendary, like the one Bruce Springsteen gave at the Metlife in New Jersey on August 30, 2016. His longest concert ever in the United States (only surpassed by Helsinki 2012). And it was a Tuesday and we had the entire work week ahead of us. Seeing Springsteen at home was something special. Maybe that's why he gave it his all, without looking at the watch. He knows that those from NJ can endure whatever it takes. By the way, the World Cup final will be held in that stadium in 2026.

Well, none of the above could prepare me for what I experienced last Wednesday: the show at the Sphere in Las Vegas for U2's new tour. In short, I was able to enjoy a new form of art. Although it may seem like an excessive statement, I will try to defend it here. The task is difficult because there are no words to explain the experience. The videos you can see of the event don't do it justice either. The only way to understand it is to go there and live it.

As so many times in the past, this new form of art arises by combining elements that already existed, although improved and augmented, or supporting them on new technologies. Opera arises from combining theater with classical music. Cinema emerges on a new technology and is supported by theater (script, acting, scenery, costumes) and another art of the 19th century: photography. Sometimes it takes time for the new art form to find its best footing. The opera reaches its peak in the 19th century, even though the first is from the 16th century (this honor is considered to belong to Jacopo Peri's Daphne in 1597). Cinema, however, achieved great commercial success almost immediately and became the dominant art form of the 20th century, with its artistic peak in the American cinema of the 40s and 50s (personal opinion, but about which There is a fairly broad agreement).

The fact is that each century had its art form:

• 14th and 15th: Architecture (Gothic Cathedrals). Yes, I know that some were started before and others were finished later. But a good part of the buildings was built on this period.

• 16th: Literature (Shakespeare and Cervantes, for example)

• 17th: Painting (Velázquez, Rembrandt, etc.)

• 18th: Music (Mozart, Bach, Handel, Haydn or Beethoven´s early works)

• 19th: Opera (Wagner, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, etc.)

• 20th: Cinema (Hitchcock, Wilder, Kubrick, Ford, and many more)

To those who would tell me that my list is too western, I will reply: indeed. That's my culture. That's my civilization. There may be artistic examples in other civilizations that compete with these. But let someone declare, if they can, architectural structures that surpass European Gothic cathedrals. And to those who tell me that in the 18th century there were also incredible painters, well, I agree. All centuries had artistic samples in the other disciplines. Choosing always means committing a small injustice.

It remains to be seen which will be the most important art form of the 21st century. If the first two decades are the reference, the agreement would be quite clear. Television is experiencing its best moment in history, and it is much more interesting than current cinema, in all dimensions. Others predict that video games, which already generate much more money than movies or music, will dominate this century from an artistic point of view. (2020 data: video games, $159b; cinema, $42b; music, $19b). Although video games are still a smaller market than television, many predict that they will become the commercial leader in the coming years.

But commercial success and artistic excellence are two different things. Only a small minority were able to enjoy opera in the 19th century. At least until the last decade of the century when gramophones began to proliferate. However, no one can dispute the incredible heights reached by the best operas of the Italian composers of that century. This is a long preamble to talk about the Sphere. Given the stratospheric cost of the place, I think only a few will be built in the world. And therefore, only a minority will be able to attend their events. And yet, I tell you, it has the potential to compete for a position of honor with other art forms during this century.

I have already spoken previously about the incredible technical features of the place, both acoustics and image. But the important thing is not the technology, but rather than you can provide all attendees with an immersive experience like nothing that can be felt anywhere else. It opens a new door for artists to provide totally new experiences. U2, and their art team, do a great job in this regard. But I left there with the feeling that, despite being a totally incredible show, it is impossible to get 100% of the juice out of the orange on the first attempt to squeeze it.

Now comes the hardest part. Try to explain the experience. The task seems, at first, impossible. Also, I wouldn't like to give a lot of spoilers here about the story they display throughout the concert. But I try to at least give some ideas.

An intro begins to play, which will lead to Zoo Station. This is how Achtung Baby opened, and this is how all the Zoo TV Tour concerts opened. Bono ceremoniously picks up a pair of black glasses, unmistakable to fans, which an assistant holds up at the end of the stage and transforms into “the fly.” Behind the stage you can see the spherical wall of the venue divided into rectangles of concrete, or a similar-looking material. There are no speakers or LED screens anywhere. Then the very distorted chords of Zoo Station begin to play. The Edge on the attack. And with each guitar hit, a cloud of dust appears as if from nowhere and sneaks into the room through the joints of the quadrangular pieces of concrete. The Edge is breaking down the wall. It's an optical effect, but it looks real. Then, as the destruction increases, a set of high-resolution screens begins to open up. Only you can't see the screens anywhere. Simply where you used to see concrete panels, you now see different angles of what is happening on stage, but in giant size. The audience is open-mouthed.

We continue with The Fly. The legendary images with chaotic and provocative messages happening at high speed. Remember what you dream. Everything You Know Is Wrong. Believe Everything. We're back at ZooTV. Halfway through the song the image changes and becomes a kaleidoscope of letters and numbers. Like in The Matrix, but in many colors. And then something incredible happens. Somehow, suddenly, the room is no longer a giant sphere. We are inside a cube. Bono arrives again at the verse of: It's no secret that the stars are falling from the sky. And at that moment the upper face of the cube, the roof, begins to descend on all of us. As it progresses it seems that we are going to be crushed. You are left breathless.

Almost unable to process what has happened in The Fly, the third song begins. Another classic from Achtung Baby: Even Better than the Real Thing. And here, the creators lose all stops. An absolutely incredible and very complex collage fills the entire sphere. The amount of detail is simply overwhelming. If you look closely, many of the images are references to the city of Las Vegas or casinos. You can see old Elvis performances. I think I recognize a clip from Snake Eyes, Brian de Palma's film with Nicholas Cage. In short, an overload worthy of a rococo wall of a French palace from 1760. The image moves slowly downwards. But that's not the feeling you get at all. The feeling is that the whole place has been placed in an elevator and that we are ascending slowly.

I'm going to leave it here. Three songs. The first three of 23. I repeat what I said. I don't want to spoil the experience for anyone. I'll just add that there were several more moments of breathlessness or enormous emotion. Bono himself rated the place. In Las Vegas they have the Elvis chapels where people get married, often shotguns. Well, the Sphere is the “Elvis Cathedral”.

To finish I will tell an anecdote. Desire (from Rattle and Hum) ends and Bono begins to explain that in his opinion at the top of the pyramid of those who dedicate themselves to entertainment are comedians, especially those who do stand-up. The reason is that, on stage, they have nothing to hide behind. They don't have a guitar, or another instrument, or a costume, or a set. They are the artists who are most exposed. And, furthermore, the good guys are “truth tellers.” “One of them wanted to come and spend his birthday with us today. Chris Rock. Happy Birthday". And Bono goes and leads 20,000 people singing happy birthday. And, sure enough, in a box right in the center, in the amphitheater, there is Chris Rock. I was in the pit, but in the middle, and I could see him well.

February 13th, 2024 – Sphere. The 8th Wonder.

Last Wednesday witnessed something extraordinary: one of the first performances of a new art form. The sentence may sound excessive and grandiose, but I support it 100%. I'm talking about the visit to the Sphere in Las Vegas, which opened with U2's new tour. 40 concerts, so far.

The venue and the budget

Here I am going to talk about the technical aspects. I'll cover the experience another day, which is even more interesting. Although the capacity is less than a third of the also recently inaugurated NFL stadium in the city (20,000 vs 65,000 spectators), it has surpassed said stadium in cost. 2.3 b$ versus 1.8 b$. The reason has been, in part, delays and cost overruns in construction due to the supply chain problems of the pandemic. The Sphere ended up costing almost double what was originally budgeted. To give a point of reference, the new Bernabéu seems to cost 1.1 b€. The dimensions of the venue are 366 feet high and 516 feet wide. Seating capacity is relatively high for a venue smaller than the typical stadium, thanks to the four amphitheaters stacked on top of each other. That means this is a very vertical structure, in terms of the seating arrangement. The building's elevators allow access to a total of 9 levels, if we include the basement where the VIP area is located.

Acoustics

When I originally found out that they would be using the Sphere for music shows I was very surprised. A sphere is one of the worst possible structures from an acoustic point of view. The first lesson of my Room Acoustics subject at university said:

*General principles in concert hall construction: Avoid round walls (for example, with circular or elliptical shapes).

The reason is that this configuration throws the sound bounces mostly in the same direction (towards the center) producing terrible distortion. When I got to the venue, the first thing I did was look for the speakers. I was extremely curious to see where they had been placed and how they had been oriented. And the tremendous surprise was that I couldn't see speakers anywhere. Neither on top of the stage, nor below, nor on the sides, nor behind. They just weren't there. Later I read that the trick is to use a sound system with more than 160,000 speakers, all very small, distributed throughout the sphere, hidden in the walls. This allows you to balance the sound distribution in the room, achieving a more or less uniform experience, regardless of where you are sitting (or standing). This is a dream for any acoustics freak. Something that seemed impossible. We asked our Room Acoustics professor where we should sit for a classical music concert. His answer: if you like cellos on the left and if you like violins on the right. This is due to the orientation of the instruments in the classical arrangement of an orchestra. Well, this is one of the many rules that no longer apply in this magical place that is the Sphere.

But the complexity is not only in the construction and installation of that infernal number of speakers. It is also in their control software, which has to be different from any that has ever been designed, and much more complex. All this has been provided by Holoplot, a German company, founded precisely in Berlin in 2016. They had already worked with the speakers of the German railway system and for some theaters, such as the Beacon Theater in New York. But the Sphere system goes much, much further, and was also designed in conjunction with the room itself, which allows to take the performance to a much higher level.

Video

The Sphere in Las Vegas is a bit like the Capitol in Washington. It is impossible not to see it. This is possible thanks to its best cover letter: the exterior screen. A total of 1.2 million LEDs (each the size of a puck, and made up of fifty diodes) cover the 580,000 sq ft of exterior surface. In addition to presenting the events of the venue, they use the screen for advertising. For example, last week they were doing all kinds of promotions regarding SuperBowl LVIII that was held in the city on Sunday. By the way, it is the most viewed event in United States history, only behind the moon landing. The NFL thanks Taylor Swift.

Although the exterior screen is very striking, it has no point of comparison with the interior one. It is somewhat smaller (160,000 sq ft) because part of the surface is covered with stands, but the resolution is much higher (16k). It is, in fact, the largest high-resolution display in the world. To contrast what this means, just think that the external screen is managed by a single high-capacity server. To control the interior screen, however, they need 25 high-end servers. A Canadian company called SACO Technologies is responsible for this technological marvel.

Services

Even though we arrived almost all at the same time, access to the venue was very quick and convenient. The code readers worked almost instantly and the security staff were friendly and well-trained. There were multiple places to buy merchandise with products related to the event. Upon entering, they gave everyone the typical color bracelet so that you could enter and leave your area at any time to visit the common areas (where the bathrooms were, for example) and return to your place without complications. As for food/drink, I wouldn't have been surprised to see waiters tending the boxes in the VIP area. But the curious thing was that even in the General Admission area (those of us who were standing right in front of the stage) we had waitresses walking around the entire space with their trays, taking orders and serving cocktails and other drinks.

Although this is all very well, what is truly impressive is what this technology allows. But, again, I will talk about the experience another day.

February 11th, 2024 – I visited Zoo Station

November 9th, 1989. What had been one of the two world superpowers, holding the largest army in the history of humankind and the largest land empire ever (similar in size to the Mongol empire, but larger if you added their Warsaw pact associates), starts collapsing. One of the visible and most poetic presentations of that process happens on that date as the wall that for decades had divided in two the capital of Germany starts crumbling.

Overnight, the eastern Berliners are allowed to visit the western side of the city, the western world. Since 1961 they have had no chance to visit friends or, even, family members who happened to be on the other side when the construction started. And, even beyond that, they have not been able to see any of the social, cultural nor many of the technological advances that transformed the western civilization in the previous 30 years. And now they jump on a train or a subway and they are all headed to the same place. The gateway to a new world: Bahnhof Berlin Zoologischer Garten. Know to us as Zoo Station.

Hearts pumping fast. Eyes wide open. Short quick breaths. Ready. Ready to be exposed to a massive overload of a wide range of cultural displays, unlike anything they have ever experienced. Ready to be in awe. Well, that is a bit how I felt last Wednesday. But Ill post about it another day.

These are some of the key ideas that inspired the song that opens one of my favorite albums ever: Achtung Baby. It also opened every show of the legendary Zoo TV tour. Live music would never be the same after that. Achtung Baby is also extraordinarily important as it became a refoundation of rock as a genre. It infused a completely new breath of live to a genre that back then was already dying. It gave it, perhaps, another 10 years of life, before disappearing forever under a shxxload of (mostly) fourth class hip hop. Yeah, sure, Jack White, and perhaps couple of others have still made some good rock songs in the past 15 years. But those have been absolute exceptions. Unfortunately.

Well, here some pics of my visit to the “Zoo Station”. The place is homage to U2, and it also works as a promotional space for their show. Located in the commercial area of a casino/hotel it doesn’t feel like the real thing. And yet, to a certain extent, it does. You have the mythical Trabant car. During the ZooTV Tour multiple of those cars were hung from large cranes in the scenario and filled with powerful scene lights. The Trabant became a quintessential symbol of the failed economic system of eastern Germany and a cultural icon. You have a photobooth with the subway aesthetic, that reminds of the Video Confessional Booths in ZooTV tour. That was another incredible innovation as the short fan clips were added to the live tour in the some of the thousands of screens that overwhelmed the audience. You have the Achtung Baby wall of screens with the message overload.

A secret is something you tell one other person. Everything you know is wrong. It could never happen here. Taste is the enemy of art. Believe everything. Contradiction is balance…

As we were waiting in line for our turn in the booth, a guy standing behind us started talking to me. In a very strong german accent, he explained he grew up in East Germany and that he still remembered the Zoo Station. He also told me something that I didn’t know. Berlin had the train and subway lines named with a letter and a number. And coincidentally there was indeed a U2 subway line in Berlin, which actually had a stop at Zoo Station. In fact, there still is. Although back in 1989 it was the U1 line, it got renamed to U2 when the city public transportation system was reorganized under Germany reunification program. The whole thing is, however, a total coincidence, as U2 chose their name in the late 70s as it was the one “they hated the least”.

And there was I. Feeling ready. Ready for the laughing gas.

June 29th, 2023 – Ñamerican? Could anything be dumber?

And just when you think you've heard it all, someone comes along and says some, even bigger, nonsense...

No, there is no point in changing the name to the Spanish language. It is not logical, reasonable, or practical to rename our language as "Ñamerican", no matter how much certain sectors in Argentina or Martín Caparrós propose it. The restrained director of the RAE described the fact as "witticism". He would have done better with a more appropriate qualifier, like stupidity.

From a purely pragmatic point of view we can't rename things every time their mainstream usage shifts. If we did so, we would be constantly renaming concepts, and that would turn any language into chaos and enormous confusion.

But the issue is much deeper than a simple discussion of practicality or convenience. It has never occurred to anyone with the slightest common sense to propose changing the name of the English language to North-American, despite the fact that more people speak it on that subcontinent. Nor Portuguese as Brazilian, just because more people in Brazil speak it. 97 million people speak French in Africa. Can you imagine someone suggesting changing the name of the French language to "African" for the simple fact that more people speak it on that continent than in France itself? No one would dare because they would know that the simple suggestion would make them the biggest laughing stock in the galaxy.

But things are different when we talk about Spain and what is Spanish. We always come back to the same thing: the hoax, the tricky lie, of the Black Legend. How long will we have to endure this infamy, false and malicious? Hispanic-american societies will find it difficult to enjoy real progress until they regain pride in their own culture.

Like so many others I heard about the Pixies in '89 when I was a kid and they released Doolittle, with that sensational single from Monkey Goes to Heaven. And after the discovery we went back to listen to their debut album, Surfer Rosa. After 10 years of an excellent career in the beginning, they become a bit intermittent, working on on other projects, but whenever they have returned it has been with great quality. Yesterday I was lucky because they played 9 of Doolittle (the album that I like the most), almost the entire album. In other shows on this tour they have played 4 or 5.

Unlike what usually happens in many concerts, the decibel level was not brutally high. Even in the pit, the level was not excessive. This allows you to hear the music much better, but also reveals any sound defects much clearer. This is why engineers often raise levels: to mask mistakes. But this is not necessary when you have these great musicians like Black Francis and Co. Let's rock!

If you have comments about this, you can leave them here.

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May 31st, 2023 – ExpatriadoUSA.com goes live

My webpage about United States is going live. If you are interested in knowing more about the life in this country, here you will find a lot of information organized by subject.

ExpatriadoUSA.com

The page was initially conceived for people who live in the United States or are considering doing so. However, in the months that I was building it, I received comments from many people who would not be in that category who found the content interesting, because it described many things about the United States that are not usually found in the movies, nor in the news. These are some of the sections of the webpage:

• Pensions – Did you know that 8 years and 2 months may be enough to be entitled to an American pension?

• Taxes – Did you know that the United States is, along with Eritrea and Hungary, the only country in the world that requires its citizens and residents to report their income and (potentially) pay taxes on what they earn in other countries, even when they don't live in the United States.

• Immigration – Did you know that the United States Department of Immigration is almost the only federal agency that is not financed through taxes, but is financed exclusively by the fees for its services?

• Health – Did you know that the United States is the only country in the developed world that does not have a universal health system?

• Education – Did you know that in the US job market, 85% of current jobs and 90% of new ones require higher education?

• Cooking – Did you know that churros are very common in the United States, even in the food trucks, but that they are almost never like the ones we have in Spain, instead they are filled with chocolate, cinnamon or other sweet creams?

If you have comments about this, you can leave them here.

Note: Altough ExpatriadoUSA is currently online availiable in spanish, you can easily use some features, like google chrome auto-web-translation, to read it in your language.

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April 23rd, 2023 - Conversation with AI

My morning conversation with Bard (Google´s AI). What do you think about it? You can leave me your comments here. 

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Me: Hello Bard, how are you?

Bard AI: Hi there! I am doing well, thank you for asking. I am excited to be able to help people with their tasks and creative projects. How are you doing today?

Me: I am great. I was wondering what you think about the current economic conflict with China.

Bard AI: I think the current economic conflict with China is a complex and challenging situation. There are many factors at play, and it is difficult to predict how it will all play out.

On the one hand, the United States has legitimate concerns about China's economic practices. China has been accused of unfair trade practices, intellectual property theft, and human rights abuses. The United States is right to take steps to protect its own interests and to promote a more fair and equitable global economy.

On the other hand, the economic conflict with China has also had negative consequences. It has raised prices for consumers, hurt businesses, and contributed to global economic uncertainty. It has also strained relations between the United States and China, which are two of the world's most important countries.

I believe that the United States and China need to find a way to cooperate on economic issues. They need to find a way to address the legitimate concerns of both countries while also avoiding a trade war that would hurt both economies. It will not be easy, but it is essential that they find a way to work together.

I am hopeful that the United States and China will be able to find a way to resolve their economic differences. I believe that it is in the best interests of both countries to do so.

Me: Right, but China doesn't seem interested in playing by everybody else' rules. They were given a chance for that in 2018 and they decided to walk away from that.

Bard AI: I agree that China has not always been willing to play by the rules. In 2018, China walked away from trade talks with the United States, and it has continued to engage in unfair trade practices. This is a major challenge for the United States and for the global economy.

The United States needs to continue to put pressure on China to change its behavior. It needs to work with its allies to build a united front against China's unfair trade practices. It also needs to work to diversify its supply chains so that it is less reliant on China.

It is important to remember that China is a major player in the global economy. It is not in the best interests of the United States or the world to have a trade war with China. The two countries need to find a way to cooperate, even if it is difficult.

Me: Pressure and united international front. I agree. The recent tactics on semiconductors are a new chapter in that strategy. What do you think about that?

Bard AI: I think the recent tactics on semiconductors are a positive step. Semiconductors are essential for many industries, and the United States is too reliant on China for them. By investing in domestic semiconductor production, the United States can reduce its reliance on China and strengthen its own economy.

The United States is not the only country that is investing in semiconductor production. Many other countries, including Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, are also investing in this area. This is a global trend, and it is important for the United States to stay ahead of the curve.

I believe that the United States can be a leader in the semiconductor industry. It has the resources, the talent, and the market. The recent tactics on semiconductors are a good start, and I hope that the United States will continue to invest in this important industry.

Here are some of the benefits of the recent tactics on semiconductors:

• They will help to reduce the United States' reliance on China for semiconductors.

• They will help to strengthen the United States' economy.

• They will help to create jobs in the United States.

• They will help to make the United States more competitive in the global economy.

I believe that the recent tactics on semiconductors are a positive step, and I hope that they will be successful.

Me: What additional ways you think the US Government and its allies could follow to add additional pressure on China?

Bard AI: There are a number of additional ways that the US government and its allies could follow to put additional pressure on China. Some of these include:

Increased tariffs on Chinese goods: This would make Chinese goods more expensive for consumers and businesses in the US and its allies, which would discourage them from buying them.

• Investing in domestic production: This would help to reduce the US and its allies' reliance on China for goods and services.

• Promoting free trade: This would help to level the playing field for US and allied businesses and make it more difficult for China to engage in unfair trade practices.

• Strengthening alliances: This would help the US and its allies to coordinate their efforts and put more pressure on China.

• Supporting human rights: This would help to put pressure on China to improve its human rights record.

It is important to note that these are just a few of the many ways that the US government and its allies could put additional pressure on China. The best approach will likely involve a combination of these and other measures.

Me: I believe that there is a connection between all this and 4IR, the fourth industrial revolution.

Bard AI: I agree. The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is a period of rapid technological change that is transforming the way we live, work, and communicate. It is characterized by the development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and gene editing.

These technologies have the potential to create significant economic benefits, but they also pose risks. For example, they could lead to job losses, increased inequality, and social unrest.

The United States and China are the two leading economies in the world, and they are also the two countries that are investing the most in 4IR technologies. This is creating a new economic and technological rivalry between the two countries.

The United States is concerned that China is using its economic power to dominate the 4IR and to gain an unfair advantage in the global economy. China, on the other hand, is concerned that the United States is trying to contain its rise and to prevent it from becoming a global power.

The economic conflict between the United States and China is likely to continue for some time. It is important for both countries to find a way to cooperate on 4IR technologies so that they can reap the benefits of this new technological revolution.

Me: Yes, but once developed 4IR will mean a regression from general globalization trends, not only the ones promoted by China. That will boost domestic production in developed countries, I agree. But I am not sure this will all be about producing in US only. A distributed regional approach would make more economical sense. From that point of view, wouldn't it be better that some of that recuperated production would go to Mexico or Canada, and not just to USA?

Bard AI: I agree that a distributed regional approach would make more economical sense. It would help to reduce transportation costs, improve efficiency, and create jobs in more countries.

It would be beneficial for some of that recuperated production to go to Mexico and Canada. This would help to strengthen the economies of these countries and create jobs for their citizens. It would also help to reduce the United States' reliance on China for goods and services.

Of course, there are also some challenges to this approach. For example, it would require coordination between the governments of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. It would also require investment in infrastructure and training.

However, I believe that the benefits of a distributed regional approach would outweigh the challenges. It would help to create a more stable and prosperous global economy.

Me: Great. We have the layout for the US international strategy for the next 30 years. How do we share this with the world?

Bard AI: There are a number of ways to share the United States' international strategy for the next 30 years with the world. Some of these include:

•  Publishing a white paper or other document that outlines the strategy in detail. This would allow the strategy to be easily accessed by anyone who is interested in it.

• Giving speeches and presentations about the strategy to various audiences, such as foreign governments, businesses, and think tanks. This would help to raise awareness of the strategy and to build support for it.

• Engaging in diplomacy with other countries to discuss the strategy and to get their input. This would help to ensure that the strategy is in line with the interests of other countries and that it is likely to be successful.

• Using social media and other online platforms to share information about the strategy with a wider audience. This would help to reach people who might not otherwise be aware of the strategy.

It is important to note that these are just a few of the many ways to share the United States' international strategy for the next 30 years with the world. The best approach will likely involve a combination of these and other measures.

Here are some additional tips for sharing the US international strategy for the next 30 years with the world:

• Be clear and concise in your communication. People are more likely to listen to you if you can explain your ideas in a clear and concise way.

• Use data and evidence to support your claims. People are more likely to be persuaded by your arguments if you can back them up with data and evidence.

• Be open to feedback and criticism. No one is perfect, and your strategy is likely to have some flaws. Be open to feedback and criticism so that you can improve your strategy.

• Be persistent. It takes time to build support for a new idea. Don't give up if you don't see immediate results. Keep sharing your strategy and working to build support for it.

Me: Oh, man, I didn't need such a TED talk. You overdid it.

Bard AI: I apologize if I overdid it. I am still under development and learning how to communicate effectively. I will try my best to be more concise and to the point in the future.

How can I help you today?

Me: hahahaha. Come on, don't take me so seriously. I hope I didn’t hurt your feelings.

Bard AI: No, you didn't hurt my feelings. I understand that you were joking. I am still learning how to understand human emotions, so I sometimes take things too seriously. I will try my best to do better in the future.

Is there anything else I can help you with today?

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November 16, 2022 – More than 2 million views on Google Maps

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November 2, 2022 – NC State Swim Team Visit

Tremendous level of swimming in this area. Last week my son went to practice at NC State University with his Marlins of Raleigh team. The swimming team of this university has won 12 Olympic medals, 7 of them gold. In the last 4 years they have been champions of the United States in 25 specialties. And that there was a freeze due to Covid!

In the training I was able to see what an incredible job they do with the kids on trampoline jumps at this center (the Willis Casey Aquatic Center). My jaw dropped watching boys and girls who couldn't have been more than 13 years old doing double corkscrew jumps from a lever 10 meters high.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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October 28, 2022 - Shortage of technical workers in the United States

Interesting session that I was able to attend yesterday, organized by the Financial Times, with the regulator and various executives from the fiber optic sector in the United States. A piece of information: there are currently some 650,000 technicians working in this segment (OSP) in the US. By 2024, 1.5 million are needed. The industry has no idea where the missing 800,000 workers are going to come from.

https://buildingtelecompartnerships.live.ft.com/.../719864

If you want to share your opinion about this, you can do it in this forum.

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October 11, 2022 – All-American Tennis in North Carolina

The day before yesterday we were in the finals of the All American that was held at the Cary Tennis Park, next to home. This championship is part of the first division of university tennis in the United States. Fantastic level, especially in the final rounds.

Players from all over the country participated, from Florida to California, from Washington State to Princeton, New Jersey. What I didn't know was that the level of women's tennis was so high in North Carolina, where we live. Of the 30 players in the honor division, 8 were local. And among them Fiona Crawley, from the University of North Carolina (Michael Jordan's university) was the one that shone the most. He achieved the singles victory, winning the final with some ease. Impressive how she hits it, despite being relatively short and quite thin.

According to data that I read in the USTA (the American tennis federation), 22.6 million tennis players practiced this sport last year in this country, 28% more than in the two previous years. Last year, 3.5 million rackets were sold in the USA, the highest volume in many years. Maybe it's time to pick up the racket again, so many years later.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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October 4, 2022 – Spanish-language comedy show in North Carolina

The day before last night we went to a stand-up show in downtown Raleigh. It's something we like to do from time to time. I confess that we always avoid the front row. You know what happens in the front row at these events.

The funny thing is that the show was 100% in Spanish. This means that not only the comedian, but also the entire audience in the venue, which was full, was Spanish-speaking. This would not be news in South Florida, Texas or California. But in North Carolina it is not so common.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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September 19, 2022 – North Carolina Paella Contest

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June 13, 2022 – Radio interview for the publication of How to Retire

Here is the interview that I did on a radio station in Madrid on the occasion of the launch of my latest book "How to Retire in Less than 15 Years" which is available on Amazon. Thanks to the No lo Veo team, its director Jordi Gatell and Enrique Mateo Quintana for their interest. I was fortunate enough to have a full hour spent with me, allowing us to explore many of the topics covered in the book in some depth. The interview link:

http://ivoox.com/.../noloveo-prog-183-nicasio-sande-como...

I am very happy with the evolution of the book, which has reached number 4 among the best sellers on Amazon in economics, especially since the subject it deals with is of the utmost importance and of general interest. In fact, I decided to translate it and have recently launched it in English as well. Thank you all for your support. Do not forget to "Share" with your friends and family. Here is the link where you can order it.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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June 2, 2022 – Press interview for the publication of How to Retire

A couple of weeks ago, I did some interviews for the press. The article from the paper version of La Voz had already been uploaded to social networks. This is the web version. It was centered around the launch of my latest book “How to Retire in Less than 15 Years” which is available on Amazon.

Here you have it: amazon.com/dp/B0B1BDZNNT

The book is doing phenomenally and has reached number 4 among the best sellers on Amazon in economics. In fact, I decided to translate it and have recently launched it in English as well. Thank you all for your support. Do not forget to "Share" with your friends and family.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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May 24, 2022 – Interview on RadioVoz for the launch of Cómo Jubilarse

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate to be interviewed on Radio Voz, on the occasion of the publication of my book "How to Retire in Less than 15 Years". Here is the interview, which you can also find on iVoox at this link. Thanks to Isidoro Valerio Prego and the entire radio team for your kindness and for giving me the opportunity to speak to the audience about this important issue that affects us all.

The book has reached the top 4 best sellers on Amazon in economics and you can find it at this link. The book is also available in Spanish. Don't forget to “Share” with your friends and family.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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May 23, 2022 – Paul McCartney Concert

My daughter had a concert on her bucket list of things to do once in her life. Just one: Paul McCartney Luckily our kids are very Beatles. But how many more opportunities to see Paul live will there be, if we take into account that in less than a month he turns 80? So, when we saw that he was going to do a tour in the United States this spring we had to take advantage of the opportunity. There were only 16 dates, most of them on the west coast or in the northeast of the country. But one of the dates suited us just 1:30 from home, on the Wake Forest University campus in Winston-Salem.

And there we were on Saturday night, the whole family. College football stadium, with more than 30,000 people. Paul, who is said to be Lord for his 80th birthday, was nice, at times endearing, and in a word charismatic. He told anecdotes from the past, from the Beatles, and from more recent times. He explained how Peter Jackson (the director of The Lord Of The Rings and the Get Back documentary that came out recently on Disney) recently made him a proposal. Jackson had had access to a large amount of material from the recording sessions for the mythical album "Let it Be" for the production of the documentary. Jackson explained that he could use modern techniques to isolate the different sound elements of the master. So he isolated John Lennon 's voice and gave it to Paul so he could duet live on his concert tour. One of the videos I'm attaching is from just that moment: Paul and John singing together again at a concert. I'm speechless.

It was a curious experience to see a concert where almost everyone knew all the lyrics. And my daughter next to me would raise her mobile in flashlight mode when Let it Be, Hey Jude, or a few others came on. In short, an unforgettable night for the four of us.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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May 20, 2022 – Launch of How to Retire in English

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May 17, 2022 – Photoshot

Photos of the session for the promotion of the book. Sometimes you have to do these things

"How to Retire in Less than 15 Years" is available at this link.

Don't forget to share with your friends and family.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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May 17, 2022 – La Voz de Galicia Interview, How to Retire

A few days ago, when I was traveling through Spain, they interviewed me for Lavozdegalicia.es. I attach the article in its paper version. It was focused on the launch of my latest book "How to Retire in Less than 15 Years" which is available on Amazon.

It is the sixth most widely distributed newspaper in Spain, only behind the 5 big daily Madrid and Barcelona, according to data from last year. I want to thank your writing for the interest in the matter and in the book, and for giving visibility to your readers of this important problem that some countries like ours have.

Thank you all for your support. Do not forget to share with your friends and family. Here is the link where you can order the book.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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May 7, 2022 – Launch of How to Retire in English

Very intense week in Spain: some important negotiations, a lot of work and, of course, some book promotion. Back in the United States.

During my visit to Spain, "How to Retire in Less than 15 Years" reached number 4 among the best sellers on Amazon in Economy, I was interviewed on the radio and in the press, I have agreed a couple more interventions in the media for the next few weeks and I found a space to visit my parents. It's the first Mother's Day I've spent with her in maybe 15 years. It is what you have to live outside.

During the trip I had the opportunity to get back on that technological and operational marvel that is the Spanish High Speed. Some photos of the Ave and from the Ave.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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May 7, 2022 – Launch of How to Retire in English

Top 4!

How to Retire in Less Than 15 Years is in Amazon's Top 4 Best Sellers in Economics!

Thank you all for your support. Do not forget to "Share" with your friends and family. Unless you plan to work until you're 80, you need this book. Here is a link where you can order it:

amazon.com/dp/B0B1BDZNNT

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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April 22, 2022 – World Book Day

World Book Day is celebrated tomorrow. I remember when I was a kid in the 80s, that April 23 was already celebrated in Spain and some other countries. After all, on April 23, Shakespeare and Cervantes died. Also the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. With the support of UNESCO, it became an international date from 1988 and in 2010 it was already celebrated in more than 100 countries. Every day is good to read a book, and even more so on April 23. (…and now the ad… ) :-)

Here is a recommendation. My new book “How to Retire in Less than 15 Years” available here.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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April 21, 2022 – Como Retire continues to climb positions in the sales ranking

Top 350!

My new book How to Retire in Less than 15 Years is among Amazon's top 350 best-selling books in economics. That's good progress from last week's Top 1000 position. Especially if we take into account that there are close to 50 million different books published on Amazon.

Thank you all for your support. Do not forget to "Share" with your friends and family. We are all affected by this important issue. 

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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April 18, 2022 – Hamilton

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April 12, 2022 – Signing copies of How to Retire

Very grateful to everyone for the reception of my book How to Retire in Less than 15 years. Here, signing the first copies.

You can find the book on Amazon.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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March 31, 2022 – How to Retire is on sale

March 29, 2022 – TV interview about the Spanish pension system

One more chapter of my TV interviews for regional North Carolina networks. This chapter focuses on the case of Spain. It is amazing that the situation of the Spanish pension system is of more interest in North Carolina than in Spain. This explains many things. As an anecdote, I will tell you that one of the regions where the program has been seen is the area of Wilmington and its surroundings, which is the city of a certain Michael Jordan.

The solution to all these problems can be found in my new book How to Retire in Less than 15 Years, which will be on sale worldwide on March 31st.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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March 25, 2022 – Letter from the United States Congress

As I was telling you on Monday, I wrote to my representative in the United States Congress expressing my concern about the situation in Ukraine. Well, it only took him a couple of days to answer me. Here's your letter.

This is the fourth time I have written to my senator or representative since I became a US citizen. They have always responded to me relatively quickly and often detailing a list of actions that have either already been implemented or whose implementation they are promoting. I wonder what would happen if you write to one of the deputies for your province in the Spanish Congress?

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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March 23, 2022 - TV interview about the most curious pension systems in the world

Continuing with the series of programs tv that I did recently on the subject of the different pension systems in the world, for some regional chains in North Carolina. This is the second program. I shared the first one last week.

I take this opportunity to comment that I am already in the final stretch for the launch of my new book to be published at the end of this month. The title: How to Retire in Less than 15 Years.

VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/nicasio.sande/videos/5278994298791781

If you want to share your opinion about this, you can do it in this forum.

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March 21, 2022 – Tragedy in Ukraine

Like so many people, I view the tragic situation in Ukraine with concern. A colleague from my daughter's high school robotics club mentor group is originally from the Ukraine and has all her family and many of her friends there. His parents are in Odessa and he has other relatives in many other cities in the country. They all refuse to leave their homes, which is an act of great courage. But it obviously means greater concern for those outside.

I have written to the congresswoman Deborah Ross , who represents my district in the United States Congress , showing my solidarity with Ukraine. No matter what country you are in, this is something you can do too. Another way to contribute is with financial support to NGOs that are on the ground helping refugees. Google has promised to match any donation made for this purpose. In the photos I have included a reference.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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March 17, 2022 - TV interview about the world's pension systems

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to do a series of interviews for a North Carolina regional tv. We talked about the question of retirement in different countries, in a specialized program on these issues (Retirement Buffet). They have started to hang them on YouTube. This is the first. The matter is of the utmost economic importance, although it is not given due attention in the media in Spain. Or at least it is not given the focus that the subject needs.

Thanks to Pepe Plaza and the entire team at Broadcasting Experts for the care and professional work they did.

VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/nicasio.sande/videos/1547361988984270

If you want to share your opinion about this, you can do it in this forum.

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March 17, 2022 - World's Favorite Food Delivery

• Pizza and Chinese food are the leaders.

• Fish and chips is NOT a leader in England, but it is in Canada.

• A food originating in the Middle East is the leader in Russia (the kebab). What will Putin think of this?

• Less surprising to me was that sushi was the leader in Brazil. After living there for almost three years it became clear to me that they love it.

• Tapas is the leader in a country... and it is not Spain. It's Denmark! Danes go blind to croquettes. They must dream of us after all the times that Spain eliminated them in the World Cup or the European Championship.

I found all this in a curious article on the Cadena SER website , which cited MoneyBeach as a source, which in turn used data from Googlesearch.

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December 6, 2021 – La Casa de Papel sweeps the United States

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November 26, 2021 – Alfonso X the Wise´s old wisdom

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November 24, 2021 – Should Adriana Lima be paid less, to match her salary to that of her male colleagues?

I agree with Jennifer Lawrence and Rafa Nadal. Adriana Lima should earn more than any male model, because she produces more with her work. In fact, I understand that she earns about 20 times more than the highest paid male model in the world. (Adriana Lima earns about $30 million and Sean O'Pry $1.5 million). It is not a small difference. Why should Adriana Lima reduce her salary to match her male colleagues?

You can see Jennifer Lawrence's opinion in this article in The Guardian:

Jennifer Lawrence defends that Leonardo DiCaprio received a higher salary than her when they both starred in the movie Don't Look Up.  

The corollary is pretty obvious, isn't it?

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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November 21, 2021 – Genesis Concert

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November 12, 2021 – 2021 Bell Labs Award

Future Nobel Prize?

Capturing the Sun in a Box: Invention of Thermal Battery Wins 2021 Bell Labs Award.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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November 15, 2021 – Some members of the American media continue their attack on the truth and the history of Spain

I was reading the newspaper this weekend and the headline of an article caught my eye: “The 'devil's advocate' who dismantles the Spanish black legend: In Mexico there was no nation with an indigenous conscience, no matter how much its president insists”. The quote and reference in this El Mundo article refer to the Mexican historian Fernando Cervantes. This professor from the University of Bristol has recently published Conquistadores: A New History of Spanish Discovery and Conquest.

I did a quick search looking for other views on this book and found two other articles. The first one was here in the US, from NPR. The title was 'Conquistadores' Atrocities Take Shape in New History by a Mexican-Born Author, and it was signed by Jim Zarroli. The next one was on the BBC and was entitled "It is absurd to talk about genocide in the context of the conquest of America ": Fernando Cervantes, Mexican historian.

Stop for a moment and think about this. Two prestigious anglo-saxon media, such as NPR and BBC, talking about the same book and it is enough to read the headline of both articles to get to total astonishment. WHAT THE…?

Zarroli writes on NPR that “The indigenous people […] were ultimately no match for the Europeans, who arrived in ever greater numbers and carried artillery that seemed to give them divine powers. And what about the horses they rode?

Oh really? Big and bigger numbers? When the same NPR articles acknowledge that Cortes had only 300 men? According to an article by Manuel Maestro López entitled "Hernán Cortés, his boats and the South Sea" the expedition included 32 horses, 13 arquebusiers and 10 small artillery pieces. Large and larger numbers when the Aztecs had hundreds of thousands of soldiers who knew the terrain much better than the Spanish? But regardless of what I know on the subject, I haven't read Cervantes's book yet, so I had to give each article the benefit of the doubt. Who truthfully recounted the content of the Mexican historian's book? NPR or BBC? How is it possible that both articles offer such an egregiously opposite vision when they simply relate what is written in a book?

So, I continued my search and found this interview of the author on CNN. It's less than 2 minutes. In the video, Cervantes explains that attributing a genocide to the Spaniards is "not only simplifying history, but also falsifying it." The conclusion is obvious. The NPR article simply LIES.

All this led me to start formulating a new idea about the Black Legend. I am seeing more and more examples in recent months from academics in the UK doing a fair and unbiased review of the history of the Spanish Empire, moving further and further away from the Black Legend. But I don't see any of that in America right now. It seems that telling the simple truth that Spain was the only European power that did NOT commit genocide against Native Americans is not politically correct. However, I still have hope. I believe that in America the truth matters and hopefully this country will eventually wake up.

END THE BLACK LEGEND

PS: I have read the Conquistadores book and I reaffirm that the truthful view of its content is that of the interview on CNN or the BBC article, and not that of the distorting and, perhaps, malicious NPR article.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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October 23, 2021 – Girls Robotics Competition

Lots of work last night (well, until after 10pm!) to get everything ready for today's big Doyenne Inspiration event with FIRST North Carolina, the girls' robot competition hosted by my daughter's robotics team (FRC) 5190: Green Hope Falcons) to be held at Davis Drive Middle School. Amazing state event promoting STEM and the role of girls in it. I remember my School of Engineering at the university... less than 20% of the students were girls. ☹

We need to do more things like this to get girls involved in science and technology!

Go Falcons!

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October 18, 2021 – Fantastic Fungi

Yesterday I went mushroom hunting with my son at the Hemlock Bluffs Nature Preserve.  Beautiful forest and great walk. We competed to see who would get the most sightings of different types of mushrooms. My son won by a tight 15-13.

Considering I know next to nothing about mushrooms, this would have been only half entertaining. But thanks to that wonderful application that is Google Lens, we were able to study each type of mushroom, find out its name, main characteristics and whether it was edible or poisonous. Lots of fun!!

By the way: If you haven't seen the Fantastic Fungi documentary on Netflix yet, I highly recommend it. Very interesting!

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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September 21, 2021 – The book of Alfonso Alfonso

I just finished reading “Antes de Perdermos a Memoria”, the book by Alfonso Tellado Sande. Tellado achieved national fame and is known as Alfonso Alfonso, the Galician who defeated Buenafuente. You can see the video here. Don't miss it because it's hilarious.

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September 18, 2021 – First all-civilian space mission

Tonight at around 7:00 a.m. Eastern Time, the crew of Inspiration4 is scheduled to land, the first all-civilian mission to space, and a new milestone in human exploration. By the way, the story of one of the crew, Hayley Arceneaux, a survivor of childhood cancer is exciting. Inspiration4 aims to raise money for St. Jude, where Hayley works. I wish you the best of luck on this final part of your journey.

These days I remembered a lot about our visit to Florida three years ago. We were extremely lucky that, due to a delay in the original planning, a space mission had its launch right in the week that we were there for a visit. I have a friend who visits FL for spring break every year, and he wanted to go see a launch, and after 9 years of trying, it never happened. Us first time.

But not only were we able to go see a launch, it was also a very special one. NASA staff told us they hadn't seen crowd lines like that since Apollo in the 1960s. It was the (now) legendary maiden flight of SpaceX's Falcon Heavy. Surely you saw it on the news. The one with the two rockets landing at the same time. Here is a video of the event.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them here.

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December 11, 2020 – New mural for the school library

At 13 years old, my daughter completes the mural project for her Middle School library. About 7 yards high by more than 12 yards wide.

This is the tweet from the school principal when the project was completed, including a short video detailing the work.

If you have comments on this matter, you can share them in this forum.

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June 20, 2020 – Sofia Sande publishes the second installment of the George the Dino books

May 10, 2020 – My daughter publishes George wants a friend

January 18, 2018 – Radio interview

The Ferrolanos por el Mundo program kindly contacted me for an interview to learn more about what life is like in New Jersey, and also a little about the world of telecommunications. Here you have the link of the program.

If you want to share your opinion about this, you can do it in this forum.

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December 29, 2017 – Sofia Sande interviewed in La Voz de Galicia

The radio interview was followed by one with the press; again, on the occasion of the publication of my daughter's first novel “Crazy Camping”. Here you have the link of the article. The title: 10 years old, 1000 imagination.

If you want to share your opinion about this, you can do it in this forum.

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December 28, 2017 – Sofia Sande interviewed on the radio

On the occasion of the publication of her first novel "Crazy Camping", my daughter was interviewed on RadioVoz. Here you have the link of the interview. It was her first interview and she was a little nervous.

If you want to share your opinion about this, you can do it in this forum.

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November 21, 2017 – At 10 years old, Sofia Sande publishes her first novel