Year: 2012

Activism

2012-07-06
editorialphotophotojournalismRomania
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Until this week I believe I never did politics on this blog, so is natural for the reader to wonder why I become active in this area so suddenly, do I plan a new career or received some incentives? That’s not the case.
I believe in freedom and freedom of speech, I want to live in a modern and democratic society. And for those to happen, there is the need for a free press, which is lacking in my country:

  • the public television is controlled by the government coalition, USL, they recently changed the management and filled the directory council only with their people (before it used to represent the political spectrum proportionally;
  • the largest media group is owned by Dan Voiculescu a leader of the government coalition who is also known as a member of the secret police in the former communist dictatorship and is tried for corruption (the trial was nearing a verdict which was delayed by maneuvers of his government);
  • Another media group supporting the government is owned by Sorin Ovidiu Vantu, who is currently imprisoned for blackmailing a former business partner;
  • other media groups are controlled by politicians and businessmen close to the governing coalition, like Dinu Patriciu.

In such conditions, if one want the truth to be heard, it has to bypass the traditional media and put the reality directly on the internet, where those powers can’t reach it and alter the truth. Traditional media is bought and full of lies, always hired to follow someone’s agenda. We are free.

activism

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Basescu

2012-07-06
editorialphotophotographerphotojournalismRomania
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Later today the communist coalition controlling the government and the parliament will move to impeach the democratically elected president, Traian Basescu. He will be suspended from his function until a national referendum.
I think this particular impeachment is a bad thing for a number of reasons, I think he was the best post-revolutionary president, but this does not means much, since the others were absolutely awful, he did a lot of mistakes and bad things, but at least under his mandate also happened positive things like the country had at least an independence of powers in the state (legislative, executive, justice), the press was free (unlike the previous regime) and we had, for the first time in history a formal condemnation of the former communist dictatorship (while that is not much, is infinitely more than the previous regimes).
So I am not a fan of the president, but I think for the moment he is the best alternative. This slogan from yesterday’s meeting at Piața Revoluției are very close to my own position “I don’t cry for Basescu, I cry for the rule of law and constitutional order”.

basescu

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Large meeting at Piata Revolutiei

2012-07-06
bucharestphotophotojournalismRomaniastreet
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If in the previous days the pro-democratic and anti-governmental demonstrations at Piața Victoriei were spontaneous and unofficial, yesterday evening Piața Revoluției of Bucharest (the symbolic place where the old communist dictatorship ended) hosted a big official demonstration with thousands of participants. This time it was a political action, with parties, associations, organizations and personalities participating and announcing an alliance intended to stop the coup d’etat and defending democracy. They will lack much power in the following months, but are expected to be a force in the upcoming elections expected this autumn.

piata revolutiei
piata revolutiei
piata revolutiei
piata revolutiei

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In the streets again

2012-07-05
photophotojournalismRomaniastreet
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The Romanian parliamentary coup d’etat is continuing in full force, now it moved to the removal of the democratically elected President of the state – that is in theory a constitutional move, but not in the way it is happening now, with a governmental (not even a law!) restricting the Constitutional Court ability to pronounce over the impeachment and a following law (or maybe even a governmental order again) to modify the referendum law (since a referendum should follow). On top of that, the Senate president was replaced a day before, since him will be the acting president while the elected president is suspended.

Therefore, the civil society reacted again. I am not good with estimated a crowd size, but my guess is the protesters in Piata Victoriei yesterday evening were double in number compared with the previous day. And their message wittier, I especially liked “The Higgs boson was discovered. Politicians, why you don’t let us live?”. Proportionally, the number of photos in my post increased (and there are even more in an online album).

This evening a really big protest is expected from 18:00 in Piata Revolutiei, the place where the anti-communist revolution started in December 1989. I will be there.

jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta
jos ponta

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Coup d’etat in Romania

2012-07-04
bucharestphotophotojournalismRomaniastreet
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Life was going “normal” I was busy preparing the Wikipedia photography contest, editing photos for an exhibition with my photo group, queuing posts for this blog, planning trips for the summer and so on, when the crude reality hit: a communist government in place in Romania which got into power after some parliamentary play that modified the majority, moved into what can be called a “parliamentary coup d’etat”, which demolished democratic institutions like People’s Advocate or the Parliament leadership and free media like the public television and is targeting now other institutions like the Constitutional Court and the (democratically elected) President, with Justice to follow. The life can’t go on, I have to stop and document how people are trying to protect democracy and freedom, they get out in the streets protesting.

anticommunist
anticommunist
anticommunist
anticommunist
anticommunist
anticommunist
anticommunist
anticommunist
anticommunist
anticommunist

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Femininity / Feminism

2012-07-03
photophotojournalismRomania
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Femininity is when women are treated like delicate, beautiful creatures. Feminism is when some of them ask to be equal to men.

feminism

Still, in the gypsy horseshoe maker community, it seems to be different, the stronger to the heavier work.

feminism

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Football

2012-07-03
candidfunnyphotoportraitsport
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I avoided as much as possible watching the UEFA 2012 tournament, but pretty much against my will I was stuck in front of a TV set for the most part of the final (from the rest, I didn’t see even a total of five minutes). I saw all the goals and the final score, and what can I say, remembering the times when I used to be into football, a 4-0 is humiliating for the Italian team, Spain made them look like little girls… like the girl below would have been a valuable addition of their team.

football

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For a better life

2012-07-02
photophotojournalismRomaniatraditional
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The cart hood is a plastic from the Carrefour supermarkets commercials and it says (in Romanian) “for a better life” (“pentru o viața mai bună”). The cart is emblematic, since the gipsies here are nomads, they travel the land using those (and have a real house inside).

gipsy

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Horseshoe making

2012-07-02
photophotojournalismRomaniatraditional
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This is a story about making horseshoes, it happens in a common Romanian village, at its side, in the part inhabited by the gipsy community.

gipsy

Is about taking the raw steel and with the help of the fire, just like the ancient god Vulcan, and making it into shapes.

gipsy

The hero is no god, but a simple, humble man:

gipsy

Still, he has the power over the fire and steel

gipsy

And this is how horseshoes are made.

gipsy

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Wilhelmina Arz at Femei pe Matasari

2012-06-26
bucharestcelebritiesexibitionfashionparadephotophotojournalismRomaniastreetwomen
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Even if it was only the second edition, it seems like a tradition became for Femei pe Mătăsari urban festival to be opened by a fashion show by Wilhelmina Arz. It take place in the evening before, on a stage built on the street, where the next day people will roam.

matasari
matasari
matasari
matasari
matasari

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Real Matasari

2012-06-26
bucharestphotophotojournalismRomaniastreet
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Every event, no matter how glamourous it is, must have a sordid side, like this moment of real live on Mătăsari street (is happening just in front of the concert stage).

matasari

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No to fundamentalism

2012-06-25
bucharestcityphotophotojournalismRomaniastreetwomen
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One of the attractions at Femei pe Mătăsari was a run in high heels, at which everyone was accepted (including guys) with a single condition: to wear high heels. Not even the height was an issue, participants were split in groups based on the heel size.

high heels

In the middle of this was also a small group of feminist fundamentalists, protesting and calling such thing “sexist”. They were a few and people pretty much ignored them, initially I didn’t even thought about taking a picture of their group, but when noticed I accidentally have one changed my mind, better talk about issues than keeping them covered.

high heels

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Hipsters on Matasari

2012-06-25
bucharestcitygirlsphotophotojournalismRomaniastreetwomen
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If the premier hipster event in Bucharest is Street Delivery, there had to be a copycat, that’s what hipsters do, copy the “alternative” things. Happening only a week after, Femei pe Mătăsari (Women on Matasari) has pretty much the same feel with Street Delivery, many of the booths are in both places, still this one is more commercial, there are a lot of sellers offering their hand-made wares, from clothes to earrings to cupcakes. At they don’t even have beer, only radler.

matasari
matasari
matasari
matasari

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Shawarma

2012-06-20
bucharestcityfoodnightphotoRomaniastreet
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It quickly became the most common fast food around here after its introduction a few years ago, you practically can find shawarma anywhere in the city. When talking about something you have to eat in a hurry and keep you full, we pretty much forgot our mititei and skipped over hamburgers and hot dogs, directly to shawarma.

dristor

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Caragiale and us

2012-06-20
bucharestcandidfunnypantyphotoRomaniashowstreet
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Last weekend in the evening we passed trough the Old City when I remembered about the Caragiale festival taking place there in the streets. The festival opened just a few days before and a detour was in order to see what is about, but in the way to it we encountered this couple, going in the same direction (they looked at the play less than one minute and left) – they were perfect for the setting, if Caragiale would be alive, such people would be the heroes of his comic writings.

pitipoanca

In the street, the Masca Theatre was playing an adaptation upon Caragiale’s “O noapte furtunoasă”, which the audience seemed to enjoy (Caragiale has only a few plays and some of his shorter pieces may be theatrically adapted, but will that be enough for 100 representations, as advertised?). This one was a strange adaptation, with white costumes (more like the living statues the Masca actors do often) and with Caragiale himself introduced as a character in the play.

masca
masca

I can’t get out of my head the above-mentioned couple and it fitting in the scene, the tough (and rich?) guy getting his “demoiselle” in the city center to see “comedies” (or more like her dragging him there) and she being like…. like in that picture, which does not need much words. They say Caragiale live forever among us.

masca

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