What to do with state-owned enterprises?
It is said that a Spanish peasant went to visit a convent and was amazed by the row of half-busts that adorned the cloister. While a friar explained to him that it was St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Francis, and so on, the farmer could not help but comment: “From the belt upwards I too […]
“Hic et nunc” against anti-logic
The asylum granted by Spain to Edmundo Gonzales Urrutia (EGU) – in reality a self-exile of the winner of the Venezuelan elections – has once again shaken the floor of Spanish-speaking politicians and activists. I will not deal with the reactions of the radicals who would have preferred to have a hero in their pantheon, […]
Holiday curiosities
I read that the winter holidays have been extended by another week, as usual. Good news for teachers and students, but not so good news for working parents who will have to invent activities to prevent their children from getting bored or addicted to video games. In my childhood, summer holidays were lived as a […]
Birthdays
Not all birthdays are the same. The form of the celebration varies according to the age and culture in which one is educated. For example, in all my childhood and youth I did not celebrate my birthday, the date of which, actually, almost no one knew or remembered. It is said that the best way […]
The best government in 40 years
I learned from Bolivian culture (which is usually quite formal) that sarcasm and irony are not always understood and, therefore, welcome. Nevertheless, I will once again run the risk of sounding offensive and declare in no uncertain terms that the current government is the best in 40 years. What happens – as a famous Bolivian […]
Anecdotes of an Italian in Bolivia
Every existence, especially if it is long and varied like mine, is full of anecdotes. Among them are some that relate to travel, family, work or public life. However, in my case, I am grateful to “Società Dante Alighieri” because, as someone born and trained in Italy, they proposed that I gather some of those […]
The Hummingbird of the Valleys
If I were asked what proofs of the resurrection of Jesus Christ exist, I would think of only three, and none of them conclusive if isolated from faith: the empty tomb, the apparitions of the Risen One, and a kind of “anthropic principle” (the expansion and subsistence of the Christian Church for two thousand years, […]
Latest anecdotes of an Italian in Bolivia
I finish the trilogy of anecdotal columns about an Italian in Bolivia, with some amenities of my little-known facet of “pharmacist”. In fact, my wife Sonia’s family (RIP) owned the oldest pharmacy in La Paz and, as a collaborating husband, I did not refuse to help at certain times, essentially with the cash register (so […]