The Hecho-sponsored flag football team, Beer Bellies (I refuse to spell it “Bellys”), is in the playoffs for the first time thanks in large part to the defensive heroics of Sean “He’s like the wind” Porter, who picked off three Youngblood passes (and almost had a 4th), including one for a touchdown to seal the 12-0 shutout victory.

Wearing a light blue tank top, with shoulders so wide it is rumored he can’t even fit into a jersey, and despite playing with a tweaked hammy, Porter was a beast on defense, wrecking havoc in the secondary like an out of control wind turbine off its hinges, sending the veteran Young Blood squad into fits and also to an early vacation.

One of the keys to a Beer Belly’s victory that the average fan might have missed was the superb center play of Gabe “Gabo 9000” Vargas. He hiked the ball like there was no tomorrow – and if they had lost the game there wouldn’t have been. Vargas snapped the ball with the finesse and precision of a men’s figure skater, always sending his brown load right into his quarterback’s wanting hands.

The crowd may have been a factor in the game, as the Young Bloods seemed visually shaken by the Beer Belly fans incessant cheering and heckling with their drunken demeanor and colorful signage.

Next Tuesday in La Mecca the Bellies will kick-off the playoffs as the decided underdog. Come by, crack open a bicha and check it outtttttt. First game is at 7:30pm

Talleres de Arte Contemporáneo… talleres de crítica y talleres prácticos donde los artistas emergentes podran explorar diversas técnicas: video, serigrafia y ensamblaje.

TACON 2010 inicia el sábado 24 de abril, pero desde el 29 de marzo al 6 de abril estaremos recepcionando las carpetas con las muestras de las obras.

Esperamos que los jóvenes que deseen incursionar en el arte contemporáneo participen y sean parte de este espacio de formación artística.
EspIRA La ESPORA
De la embajada de Alemania 1 cuadra abajo y 75 varas al lago, Bolonia

Sinopsis:
Durante unas vacaciones en Cuba, Erik conoce en una discoteca a la belleza Gladis. “Fue amor a primera vista”, explicará más tarde. Justo un año después, Gladis y Omarito, su hijo de ocho años, dejan atrás su isla tropical llenos de esperanza, curiosidad y melancolía. Una vez en Hamburgo, comienza para los tres un camino extraño, emocionante y marcado por sorpresas y conflictos.
El director Uli Gaulke habla de las idas y venidas y del choque entre dos culturas. La película es muy original, divertida y realista. En el Festival de La Habana se tuvo que
proyectar ocho veces y la vieron 5000 espectadores.

11 MARZO
Biblioteca Alemana-Nicaragüense, Reparto Linda Vista, de la Estación de Policia distrito # 2, una cuadra y media abajo, contiguo al Parque.

6:00pm

World Premiere: Give Me My Money Chico Trailer from LRG on Vimeo.

LRG is set to release their first full-length skate video, “Give Me My Money Chico,” starring the Nica Don himself Chico Brenes, along with Rob Gonzalez, who just finished his third skate tour of Nicaragua, and the rest of the LRG crew. The movie was shot in HD and judging from the trailer and what I’ve heard from people who have seen the footage it surpasses all expectations.

The film premieres March 31st in Los Angeles with an April premiere scheduled for Managua. Peep the trailer below and also “Dame Mi Dinero Chico” a short video shot when Chico was here last week.
- GP

DAME MI DINERO CHICO from Jonathan Jackson on Vimeo.

Rosie (Michelle Pfeiffer) es una madre soltera de 40 años que vive en Los Angeles. Su vida no le está yendo exactamente como había planeado: “Adelante, chica”, el programa de televisión que produce, tiene serios problemas; el sexista de su jefe, Marty (Fred Willard), quiere reemplazarlo por un reality, y su ayudante, Jeannie (Sarah Alexander), está dispuesta a sabotearla. Las cosas en casa no van mucho mejor. Su ex marido va a tener un bebé con una mujer más joven, y su hija Izzie (Saoirse Ronan) ha metido la quinta marcha y va a toda pastilla hacia la adolescencia –ya ha empezado a pasar de sus muñecas Barbie para dedicarle su tiempo a un joven degenerado llamado Dylan (Rory Copus)–. Es entonces cuando el joven actor Adam Perl (Paul Rudd) aparece en la sala de casting y Rosie se queda prendada de él. El problema es que en el mundo del espectáculo las mujeres mayores no suelen salir con hombres más jóvenes; las cosas no funcionan así. Rosie lucha contra sus sentimientos, pero Adam le da la vuelta a la tortilla y, entre risas, consigue llevársela a la cama. Incluso a Izzie le cae bien. Convencida de que la relación está condenada al fracaso debido a la diferencia de edad, agobiada al pensar que Adam la haya utilizado para lanzar su carrera y segura de que está jugando con ella, rompe con él. Sin embargo, Adam tiene otros planes…

Alhambra VIP 3:30, 5:30, 7:30, 9:30
Alhambra Bello Horizonte 1:00, 3:00, 5:00, 7:00, 9:00
Cinemas Galerias 3:30, 5:35, 7:35, 9:45
Cinemas Plaza Inter 2:15, 4:15, 6:10, 8:15

By Claire Grün, Photography by Chris Sataua

Salvador Cardenal is one of the most prominent contemporary Nicaraguan composers. Born in Mexico in 1960, he is a singer-songwriter, poet, painter and ecologist with more than thirty years of artistic life. The artist, self-proclaimed as the guardian of the beautiful, has granted me this interview from the comfort of his home. With a little Hibiscus tea, good humor and painting, the afternoon lies still and the magic begins…

How did you get started as a painter? What does it mean for you be one?

- Way before I started writing songs I painted. I made my first painting in 1971 when I was 15 years old. How did it all begin? Well, first I started by copying comic drawings, and then I gradually realized how easy it was for me to draw and paint whatever I wanted. Since then my passion for painting has remained ever-growing.

It seems to me that in painting there is some sort of unexplainable magic. I never understood why, but colors provoke me by giving me the sensation of the existence of a world with many more dimensions than the one I live in. Colors drag me into this world of sublime dimensions, ethereal and luminous, closer to the state of Nirvana, of ecstasy.

Do your paintings possess a message? A planned out discourse or rhetoric? A purpose?

- No, I believe that it is something completely natural. By painting beautiful things, it may be a way for others to accept me as someone who has beautiful things inside. That is why I don’t like protestation painting that much. Although I do admit having painted, for instance, forests on fire for the sake of protesting against that particular issue, but it still isn’t what I like to paint. It’s not that I have nothing to protest against, for I protest against things that happen in reality with my poems and songs, but I’m not interested in painting the ugly nor cruel realities. Instead, in my paintings I like to show a world that could exist, a world full of beautiful people who with a smile are able to illuminate an instant with that spark of living love and loving life and its mysteries. All of this can be transmitted through a painting, with a particular color or simply with the image of an angel.

The same face appears in many of your paintings. What does this mean?

- Well, I guess it resembles my face. What I was looking for were Greek-like noses and little mountain mouths. The faces are always similar to the extent of almost giving the impression that it is the same person, but please do not interpret this as if I’m searching for this particular person because I am not. It is nothing more than my way of seeing a face, and I don’t alternate because that is the face that I like.

Are your paintings conceptually loaded? Comment on technique.

- I am concerned with the perennial. I worry about how permanent and strong a depiction can be. Why? Well, before I used to paint as an amateur on paper or on any surface, and some paintings would turn out quite nice but due to moths, dust and humidity they would easily get ruined. Now I am more concerned about preserving my paintings by painting solely with oil on canvas. I can assure you that if you now wish to pour water over one of my paintings it will remain intact. And, yes, this is all I care about regarding the technique of my paintings.

Tell me a little of your philosophy on the life you led.

- It was good, but not so good. I would have liked that it was better. For example, I sometimes don’t take care of myself. I wish I would practice what I preach more often. For instance, I like junk food, soda, cigarettes, and I know these things are bad for me. On the other hand I don’t eat meat. I don’t eat anything with eyes that care stare back at me. But…you know what? In fact, I think I could be that type of person oriented towards becoming a puritan.

The problems with the environment, do you think they can be solved? If so, then how is this expressed in your artwork?

- I believe it is possible. If each individual could take care of his or her garden, little by little things would turn out for the best. However, it seems that we haven’t been able to come to an understanding. There are people out there that are much too cruel, people that kill a precious bird as if it meant nothing. If they could kill a butterfly for amusement, they would. In my paintings nature is one of the themes. I paint dragonflies, butterflies; you name it, anything beautiful. And yes, I have hope that someday we will all comprehend the beauty of nature and finally learn how to respect it whilst rejoicing in its endless love.

What is your first childhood memory that comes to mind?

- I remember telling a friend that nature was in communication with the human being. I also remember that right after I said that it started to drizzle and at the same time a butterfly appeared magically as if out of nowhere. I predicted that it would land on the palm of my hand. It did! I stood there stilled by astonishment, contemplating the contrast between its frailty and the roughness of my skin. Then, a drop fell on top of the butterfly, and it flew away just it had arrived, magically.

Past, present, future? ?

- Presently I am reaping what I’ve sowed. I’ve always been honest with my songs and my paintings; I never sold myself for money. I always preferred to write or paint about those things that touched my soul whether I got paid or not.

Obviously, youth dissolves itself little by little. In my present state of being many passions have extinguished in relation to how I was when I was younger. Lately, I have been losing the flavor of basic necessities, passions such as sex and food. Maybe I haven’t entirely lost that flavor, it could merely be lack of interest. I like it more this way though, for passions make you suffer. I remain mature and constant in my spiritual growth because my soul is no longer a stranded little boat in the middle of the sea not knowing where it’s headed. And my poetry is always there, expressing this maturity.

As to the future, I would like to be a part of history. I don’t care if my name is forgotten as long as my songs continue to send out messages. I am constantly searching for that message that will transform a generation, that will aid the hungry with food, love or justice. What would I gain by being famous once I am dead? What matters is the perennial message that can outlive any mortal reality.

Feel free to say the first thing that comes to mind.

- There is this phrase that I like very much: “The poet is the only bird that flies with one feather.”

PLAZA INTER
SALA 1: 2:00 4:10 6:20 8:30
SALA 3: 1:00 3:10 5:20 7:30

ALHAMBRA BELLO HORIZONTE
SALA 1: 1:00 3:10 5:20 7:30 9:40

CINEMARK
SALA 1: 2:00 4:20 6:45 9:15