Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2008

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 2008

As some you may have realized, I travel a great deal for my work. However, this is the first year in my life that I got to travel to Brazil. I was in Rio de Janeiro for two days and I had a chance to tourist briefly. Here are some of the pictures that I took on this short trip.

This city certainly lives up to its reputation as a beautiful tourist destination. It has wonderful beaches, great night life and amazing views of its harbor.

Enjoy!
Radzfoto

Architecture, Buenos Aires, Argentina, July 2008

During a business trip in Argentina, I had the opportunity to stroll through the famous Calle Florida in Buenos Aires which is a pedestrian street lined with shops. You can get great deals on leather goods there. It was late in the day on a grey, winter day. The weather was fairly warm, however, and great numbers of people were out and about.

I wound my way to a nearby park that has one of the oldest Ombú trees in the city. These trees have spectular roots and branches that curve and coil in all directions.

Finally, I went to some other neighborhoods including the posh Puerto Madero.

Enjoy the photo travelog!

Radzfoto

Almuerzo con Tita y familia Ernst, 13 Julio 2008

Cuando estuve en Chile en viaje de trabajo a mediados de julio, me toco almorzar con la Tita en casa de la familia Ernst. Todavía no habia llegado Daniel de los Estados Unidos pues hubo tormentas que le cancelaron el vuelo. Robert Ernst y yo habiamos manejado todo el día desde el fundo en Villarrica donde estuvimos para el fin de semana y llegamos directamente a la casa de la Tita a buscarla. La encontré increiblemente mejor que como había estado cuando la ví en mayo. En esa visita, la encontré en cama y con pocas energías. Esta vez, caminó sola al auto. Se sentó sola y cuando llegamos a la casa de los Ernst ella pudo pararse sola y caminar hasta adentro conversando todo el rato y riendose.

Estuvimos juntos desde las 14:00 hasta las 16:00 durante el cual comimos un muy rico chancho con piña que preparó Piedad. Estabamos Robert, Piedad, Valentina, Max y yo con la Tita y conversamos sin parar.

¡Gozé!

Para ver la fotos grandes pueden verlas haciendo "click" en el slideshow de arriba o en la foto aquí:

2008-07-13 Almuerzo con Tita y familia Ernst Santiago Chile

Grandes saludos y cariños a todos.
Raúl Antonio

Berlin Holocaust Memorial

The Berlin Holocaust Memorial, March 2008

The Berlin Holocaust Memorial is a quadriculated geometric environment devoid of any markings. Yet each stone cube is unique and slightly asymmetric. It is a good place to meditate. It does not remind me of death, but it feels like a very cold and lonely place.

At first I was shocked at the sterile and, well, inhuman, structure that was the memorial. I wanted to feel a more personal, human connection to those people who suffered and died in that terrible time. But on that cold, grey day, as I photographed the very abstractness of the location, I began to notice the subtle differences in each stone slab, some very small, almost flat to the ground, others rising much taller than a human being. The slabs were not uniform cubes. Each one seemed to possess some asymmetry, some individuality.

It was an unusually effective place to meditate and ponder. I heard, but never saw, the sounds of children playing amongst the blocks of stone. Those sounds reminded me of life against the coldly indifferent, unchanging, unique slabs that spread out in all directions.

I normally end my photo blogs with the word "Enjoy!", but that does not seem appropriate for this entry. I prefer to leave you with thoughts of shape, substance, time, connection, life, eternity.

In these times of war, torture, corruption and abuse of power, let us remember so that we may never forget.

Radzfoto