José Mujica, the World's 'Poorest' President

Almost 3 years ago, I published a post on Jose Mujica, the President of Uruguay. And with such a role-model for presidents, it's about time to post some more.

It's a common grumble that politicians' lifestyles are far removed from those of their electorate. Not so in Uruguay, where the president, who lives on a ramshackle farm gives away most of his pay.

President Mujica has shunned the luxurious house that the Uruguayan state provides for its leaders and opted to stay at his wife's farmhouse, off a dirt road outside the capital, Montevideo. The president and his wife work the land themselves, growing flowers.

Elected in 2009, Mujica spent the 1960s and 1970s as part of the Uruguayan guerrilla Tupamaros, a leftist armed group inspired by the Cuban revolution. He was shot six times and spent 14 years in jail. Most of his detention was spent in harsh conditions and isolation, until he was freed in 1985 when Uruguay returned to democracy. Those years in jail, Mujica says, helped shape his outlook on life.

"I may appear to be an eccentric old man... But this is a free choice."
Does it surprise you that Mujica's headgear of choice is a beret..?

Boina Signes

I found these pictures on The Fedora Lounge, a Spanish made beret, or boina, by Signes. To the best of my knowledge, the only manufacturer in Spain till in operation is Boinas Elosegui in Tolosa, which brings up the question: who is the manufacturer of these berets?

 The internet address on the label doesn't help me any further; none of the on-line catalogues mention berets.

I suspect that these berets, if made in Spain, are made by Elosegui, but I'll have to find out. I'll keep you updated, but if any of you readers has more information, please let me know!

Francisco Coloane Cárdenas

Francisco Coloane Cárdenas (1910 - 2002) was a Chilean novelist and short fiction writer whose works have been translated into many languages. Some of his books were adapted to theatre and film.

Young Coloane on horseback 

He was born in the southern Chilean island of Chiloé, and his literary career expanded from Perros, Caballos y Hombres ("Dogs, Horses and Men") in 1935 to the publication of his memoirs Los Pasos del Hombre (The Steps of Man) in 2000.

Among his most famous works are: La Tierra del Fuego se Apagó (Tierra del Fuego Has Burnt Out, 1945), Golfo de Penas (Gulf of Sorrow, 1957), El Camino de la Ballena (The Whale's Path, 1962), El Guanaco Blanco (The White Guanaco, 1980), and El Corazón del Témpano (The Heart of the Iceberg, 1991).

Coloane was awarded the Premio Nacional de Literatura (Chilean National Prize for Literature) in 1964. In 1997, he was awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Order of Arts and Letters) by the French Republic, where he won considerable notoriety for his work in the 1990s.

Coloane was an active member of the Communist Party of Chile for most of his adult life, and a lover of nature who celebrated his 89th birthday by swimming in the freezing waters of the Pacific Ocean - which in his opinion kept him “vital and active”.

Miguel Littín's movie, Tierra del fuego, is based on a work by Coloane.

Following his death, the Chilean government recognized him as a central figure of 20th-century Chilean literature.

Thank you, Ariel

Good Book!

Soy Milk

This is Vinnie, proudly showing a jar of home made soy milk. 
I found Vinnie and his beret on their blog A Plastic Free Life. Highly recommended!

La Guerre des Boutons, or The War of the Buttons

La Guerre des boutons or War of the Buttons is a 1962 French film directed by Yves Robert. The film was remade in Ireland in 1994 as War of the Buttons, in an Irish setting, and again in France in 2011, with the original title.

In the countryside of France, two groups of boys from the rural villages of Longeverne and Velran are in constant war against each other. Their war is a tradition that passes from father to son and without a motive but the rivalry between the peasants. 

During the Algerian War, the Longeverne boys are led by the intelligent William Lebrac, who has been the backer of his family since his father died, while the Velrans are led by the wicked Aztec. The boys are frequently fighting with their wooden swords, throwing rotten fruits or building traps in the woods expecting to remove the buttons from the enemies' clothes. 

But Lebrac is coming of age and he has a crush on the girl Lanterne while his teacher Merlin offers the chance for him to have a better study in another village.

Outkast in the Gym

It's amazing where I get my material from for this blog, sometimes the most unimaginable places. Like, the gym...

When sweating it out on the cross-trainer or rowing simulator, it's hard to avoid watching the videoclips that the management seems to believe I like to watch while exercising. It usually reminds me why we have no TV at home, but last week, I was pleasantly surprised to see a clip that prominently showed berets, bright green berets!

This is Outkast, enjoy! 

Traditional Beret Games from Aragon (Spain)

Beret Throwing (Lanzamiento de boina)
Every participant has three go's at throwing the beret, as far away from the starting line as possible. It is 'free style', but all players have to copy the method of the first thrower (between the legs, backwards, etc).

Beret Throwing (Lanzamiento de boina)
One popular method is to throw the beret from between the legs with an upwards effect over the head!

Troncho de coll (or "snatch the beret")
A game for two pairs: one child with a beret is attached by his/her companion (defender) by a long rope. The other pair of children try to remove the beret, without being touched by the defender of the beret-boy/girl.

Red Targets

To me, it has always been a mystery why a soldier would want to wear a red beret. I guess it is following a tradition of the British, French, Prussian and Russian armies, wearing bright red uniforms, during their conflicts in the 19th century, but at least, they have given up on that a long time ago.

The Carlists still donned their bright red berets (with tassel) during the Spanish Civil War, making themselves easy targets for the Republicans and International Brigaders. 

Not that I think highly of a Carlist's intelligence, but the same phenomenon is actually still present in our day and age. Look at this female German soldier; fully camouflaged with a bright red beret!

 Or these Indonesian Special Forces, camouflaging even their faces to top it off with a bright red target!

But really, they do it everywhere. The more "Special" they name themselves, the brighter they get!

 Venezuela

Islamic Republic of Iran

Nicasio Luna

This post is for my Chilean friend Ariel. Thank you

Nicasio Luna is a Chilean gaucho; a young troubadour and minstrel of Patagonia, who sings to the tradition of his land, culture and people.

From the town of Cochrane, at just 18 years old Nicasio Luna stood out for his wide domain of verse and the strength of his voice, his music supporting causes like a Patagonia without [hydro-electric] dams and the conditions of the Mapuche, in poetic and challenging language.

To the sound of the milonga, Nicasio sings with love, tenderness and humor. "In life you have to make a mark, this is why I chose this music, and why I write my own poetry and songs".

Germany

I have posted on German Customs twice on The Beret Project, believing it is this Government Dept. that regularly delays parcels for long periods of time; the 1st time I spoke of "a couple of weeks delay", the 2nd post it was already 4-6 weeks and these days some German customers have to wait for 11 weeks for the delivery of their beret!

Needless to say, a very frustrating situation for both customer and I (I have a hard time convincing customers that really, the German system is not as efficient as it is seen to be). 
Contacting German Customs again yesterday, after a customer threatened with legal action against me, I received a very informative reply within hours (great work, Zoll On-Line!). 
It's not German Customs (Zoll), but Deutsche Post who are to blame! 
Customs deals with the clearing within 2 days, but for clearance "German Post has to present the goods to customs and make a customs declaration. Due to the high amount of consignments, which are daily imported German Post is unfortunately sometimes not able to present the goods to customs immediately". Well, the choice of the word "immediately" is a bit cynical in the light of 11 weeks delay, but at least, I'm getting further in my quest to solve this issue (I am awaiting a reply from the German embassy in Wellington - I'll keep you updated).

Anyone interested in reading the findings, please drop me a line and I'll forward Zoll's reply to you. 

Bonjour Mardi

Sizes 59 and 60

For those interested in a good price for a size 59 or size 60 beret: two new berets added to the One-Off's Section at South Pacific Berets.
One boina Espinosa in maroon, with Moroccan leather headband in size 59 @ $39.50 and one white boina Tolosa Tupida with Moroccan leather headband in size 60 @ $45.00.

Gregory Peck (2)

Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor.

One of the world's most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1960s, Peck continued to play major film roles until the late 1970s.

President Lyndon Johnson honoured Peck with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 for his lifetime humanitarian efforts. Gentleman'sAgreement established his power in the "social conscience" genre in a film that took on the deep-seated but subtle antisemitism of mid-century corporate America.

Behold a Pale Horse told the story of Anarchist guerilla Sabaté  A film that wasn't much appreciated by Franco and his cronies in the US. 

Bob Doyle

Robert Andrew "Bob" Doyle (12 February 1916 – 22 January 2009) was an activist, World War II veteran and an Irish member of the International Brigades during the Spanish Civil War.

Doyle was born in a North King Street tenement in Dublin, Ireland and became interested in politics during the 1930s. In 1933, he was part of an anti-communist mob that attacked Connolly House. He joined the Irish Republican Army (IRA) after losing his left eye in a brawl with Blueshirts. He quickly became more interested in social rather than Irish nationalist issues and in 1937 decided to volunteer for the International Brigades, motivated in part by the fact that his friend and IRA veteran Kit Conway had been killed in action in the Battle of Jarama on Doyle’s 21st birthday.

He initially attempted to travel to Spain by stowing away aboard a boat bound for Valencia, where he was detained and expelled. He eventually returned by crossing the Pyrenees from France. After he returned to Spain, he reported to a battalion at Figueras. He was initially required to train new recruits because of his IRA experience, but disobeyed orders to get to the front.

Bob Doyle in February, 2007, when he had become 

the last surviving Irishman to have fought on the Republican side. ©Cillian Kelly

After fighting at Belchite, he was captured at Gandesa by the Italian fascist Corpo Truppe Volontarie in 1938, along with Irish International Brigade leader Frank Ryan.
He was imprisoned for 11 months in a concentration camp near Burgos. There he was once brought out to be shot and he was regularly tortured by Spanish fascist guards and interrogated by the Gestapo before being released in a prisoner exchange.

The Bob Doyle mural is located at The Cobblestone Bar in Stoneybatter, north Dublin City

Doyle enlisted in the British merchant navy during World War II before settling in London with his Spanish wife, Lola. He became active in the Fleet Street print trade unions.
A regular visitor to Spain and Ireland for International Brigade commemorations, he published an account of his experiences in Spain in Brigadista: An Irishman’s Fight Against Fascism.
In an interview with The Irish Times, he said: “I thought there was a danger that Ireland would go fascist and that was one of the motivating factors in making up my mind to go to Spain.”

Bob Doyle died at the age of 92 on the 22nd January 2009. His ashes were carried at the head of a funeral procession through the streets of Dublin. Large numbers of people, including members of the Irish Labour Party, the Communist Party of Ireland and Sinn Féin, were in attendance.

Berets and Book Covers

I came upon this book 'Unlikely Warriors - the British in the Spanish Civil War and the Struggle against Fascism'; the cover photo triggering a search for SCW books with berets on their cover. 

And there are many, no surprise, like Hemingway's 'Second War, bearing Witness to the SCW'.

And 'Comrades and Commissars', by Cecil B. Eby. 

Robert Capa's 'Heart of Spain,

and 'Wales and the Spanish Civil War' by Robert Stradling. 

Or 'Heroic Voices, Memories from the International Brigades', by Peter Darman

Many are the berets on books about "The good cause". 

Bert Flugelman

Herbert 'Bert' Flugelman (1923) died 2 days ago, on 26 February 2013.

Flugelman was a prominent Australian visual artist who had many of his works publicly displayed. He is known for his stainless steel geometric sculptures.

Flugelman was born in Vienna, Austria in 1923 and migrated to Australia in 1938 when he was 15 years old. It was on the eve of World War II. From 1943 to 1946 Flugelman served in the Australian army (non combative duties) and from 1948 to 1951 he studied at the National Art School in Sydney.

 From 1951 to 1955 he traveled overseas but in 1952 he contracted polio which left him partially crippled. Despite this he had several successful exhibitions at the Piccadilly Gallery in London and the Barone Gallery in New York before returning to Australia in 1955.

Flugelman's career has not been without controversy such as when he created the chainsaw carving of Margaret Thatcher and "The Silver Shish Kebab" placed in Martin Place, Sydney which was heavily criticised by Sydney's Lord Mayor Frank Sartor that led to the sculpture being moved to Spring Street.

Thanks, Steve