 Recently I have given myself the homework of learning a little bit more about the history of Rock in this past century. There is one particular being that caught my attention from the first time that I heard one of his songs and saw one of his videos. Farrok Bulsara, many do not know him by that name, is a Tanzanian legend that is known worldwide by the name Freddie Mercury, the lead singer of what was the rock band called Queen. Many of us know this great singer and performer by his famous songs, "We Are The Champions” and "We Will Rock You". There is no doubt that the world will never get tired of singing these songs is any sport game, but there is much more to Freddie Mercury than just these two songs. The majestic work of Mercury traveled the world thanks to the great combination that the whole band had, Brian Mai in the guitar, John Beacon in the bass guitar, and Roger Taylor in the drums. Other great hits by Queen are "I Want To Break Free", "Somebody To Love", "Another One Bites The Dust", "You Are My Best Friend", and many others. The 70's and the 80's were the golden age for Queen. Even nowadays, Freddie Mercury is considered to be the greatest rock singer of all times. He was a genius performer and a great singer. One particular hit that broke all the expectations of rock music was the famous song "Bohemian Rhapsody". This was the first rock song that included opera in its composition. This song forms part of the list of most sold singles in history and is one of Queen's most popular songs. One of the best performances of this song was at the London Coliseum, UK where he offered a live performance with the Royal Ballet. We can't forget that for this occasion, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra helped with the adaptation of this song for a ballet performance. Freddie Mercury was one of the most original performers that I have ever seen. Thanks to his desire for exploring different kind of music, he opened the door for all kinds of collaboration. In 1988, he collaborated with opera singer Monserrat Caralle in the song "Barcelona". Freddie also released several solo albums throughout his career. In 1991, Freddie Mercury died at 45 of a bronchopneumonia brought on by AIDS just one day after saying in public that he had the disease. His creativity and music still lives on today in the mind of every person who, at some time, have had the opportunity of hearing his creations. Even though he will never be replaceable, Queen decided to revive the band by calling themself "Queen + Paul Rodger". It was for a short time, 2004-2009, but it was never meant to be a permanent band. Paul Rodger made himself clear that he was only collaborating. This short revival was more than enough to create an great impression in the eyes of the people who were eager to hear Queen ones more. Freddie Mercury's legacy will live as long as rock and roll. · http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2006/nov/16/musicnews.lifeandhealth · http://web.archive.org/web/20071020050854/http://www.queenarchives.com/viewtopic.php?t=26 · http://english.ohmynews.com/articleview/article_view.asp?article_&no=270701&rel_no=1 · http://www.freddie.ru/e/archives/qbq/1.html · http://www.freddie.ru/e/archives/daily_mail/ · http://www.raggedblade.com/reviews/000329.html · http://www.biography.com/people/freddie-mercury-9406228 · http://www.freddie.ru/e/bio/
 This is one of my favorite movies. Almodovar is one of the best directors that have ever live. He always bring something new to the scene that makes you even look more into his themes. This movie, "La piel que habito", is about the transformation of gender and identity. I went to see it as part of one of my literature classes. We had to make a comparison between the movie and the novel Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It is very interesting to see how we can interrelate movies with literature and see how the present issues that have happened through time. This movie is special to me because it introduced me to a world of movies and art that I didn't know about. Almodovar is a genius when it comes to presenting powerful images in movies.
 "Even the Rain" was a released in 2010. This movie is about a filming crew that goes to Bolivia to shoot a motion picture about Christopher Columbus' first explorations and the way the Spaniards treated the natives at that time. The main character of the film chooses this place in Bolivia because of the tight budget for the film and how easily it was to hire cheaply actors and extras. Things go more or less according to plan until a local conflict erupts, many of the of the actors of the movie were also major characters in an ongoing protest against the privatization of water supply in the area.
This movie plays a major role in my formation as a young adult and it helps me keep aware of the realities and problems that are occurring in other countries in America. This movie help us to understand that even today in the XXI Century, many of the abuses and oppressive actions that were occurring more than 400 years ago are still present today. The oppressive hand evolves with society and it manifests in different forms. We have to be aware of our rights as human beings and, as brothers and sisters who live in the same planet. We can't forget that everyone should have the same rights, no one deserves to have more because of color of skin or ethnicity.
 Well, literally I was raised watching all the movies from Disney. I have went to Walt Disney World 3 times during different times in my life. Well, I have to say that there are a lot of beautiful memories from my childhood that if it wasn't for Disney, they would not have been possible. I have to say that for some, these movies are the base of their imaginary and creativity. I have always like to read and look for different types of information. When I was in High School, we did a group project about "How is sexuality portrayed in Disney's movies?", therefore I already knew about many of the issues that were shown in the documentary. Nonetheless, having a film that summarizes all theses ideas in one was a great experience. have never really like the female characters in any of the princesses' stories where they wait for some prince to be their savior. I don't know why, maybe it had to be with my childhood formation at school or through reading, but I have always had a feminist view when it comes to relationships and my ideal of what a true woman is.
It is very dangerous the role that these movies play in the construction of the imaginary of the children in our society. Most of the imaginary worlds or source of creativity is produce from this source, Disney. In fact, what worries me more is how all these young girls are growing up thinking that to achieve something in life, you have to have a good body, have a huge castle (money), and then you'll live happily ever after. I just know that I will never take my son or daughter to Disney. There are a lot of more interesting places to visit in the world and much more intelligent adventures to follow than to spend a lot of money supporting a corporation that promotes sexual inequality in children. I think there are other ways to stimulate a child's creativity and imagination, than to put him or her in front of a TV watching an hypnotic film about bulimic motherless princess and their rich prince.
 There is a very funny Puerto Rican online newspaper called "EL ÑAME". This newspaper is all about parodying all the current major issues in the Puerto Rican media.During March, 2013 there was a picture of a receipt from the restaurant "Ocho de Blanco" circling all the social networks. As we can see clearly i the picture, it says WE HATE FAGS. It seem like someone hack into the ATM system in the restaurant and this was the product. "El Ñame" published a news titled "Máquina ATH Asegura Que Mensaje Homofóbico Debió Haber Leído: “WE HATE FAX” making fun of the original issue. I have found some of the funniest articles in this newspapers. It's cool to see a Puerto Rican humor newspaper.
These are the four editorials that I looked into:Los Angeles Times
Chicago Tribune
New York Post
El PaísAfter looking into these editorials, the one that I liked the most was "El País" because it is an international newspaper that I read daily and it offers a variety of news from around the globe. El País is an online newspaper from Spain that tries to resume many of the most important issues around the world. I read a particular editorial titled "Torturas en Irak" that was about a video on the internet that showed three Spaniards showing aggression to two Iraqis who were detained. According to the author, Spain has some kind of military protocols that must be follow when handling prisoners. The author of this issue was demanding that Spain has the obligation to tell what happened to the three soldiers that did this offense because they did not represented the whole military. The author of is very well informed about the issue and he uses a very professional, but not rare Spanish language. The author is very passionate is his writing, specially when he says "aclarar a fondo los episodios oscuros es una obligación de España, no una opción."
SOCIAL
1. Cheating
2. Ignorance
3. Infidelity
4. Dishonesty
5. Yelling on the street
6. Disorganization
7. Excessive procrastination
8. Arrogance
9. Rudeness
10. Bureaucracy
11. Violence
12. Discrimination
13. Censorship
14. Transgenic food and GMO's
15. Disrespecting the elderly
16. Chauvinism
17. Haughtiness
18. Witnessing abuse of power
19. Witnessing the destruction and pollution of nature
20. Greediness
21. Carelessness
22. Conformism
23. Politics
24. Religious Fanaticism
25. War
26. How nowadays people are too dependent of technology
PERSONAL
1. Being lied to (this would be in the top of my PISSED OFF list)
2. People that make fun of others
3. People that leave dishes too long in the sink unwashed (AKA my siblings)
4. People that don’t appreciate what they have
5. People that don’t fight for what they believe is important or think is right (e.g. love)
6. People that don’t tolerate difference
7. People that honk their horns for no reason in the middle of a traffic jam
8. People that are too presumptuous and self absorbed
9. People that can’t appreciate the small details of everyday life and the world around them
10. People that dismiss our heritage
11. Being woke up in the middle of the night while sleeping (yes I am a heavy sleeper)
12. Not being tipped by my clients in my job as a nature tour guide when they know I deserved it
13. Not smiling
14. When my girlfriend uses my tooth brush right after I told her I didn't like it
15. Finding cockroaches in my apartment after fumigating (I bet they are just laughing at me each time)
WHY PERSONAL AND NOT SOCIAL? WHY SOCIAL AND NOT PERSONAL?
When I see my social list, I see many of the problems that affects society as a whole. Many of those problems are the reasons why the world is how it is today. If as a global society we don't fix or think about these problems, the results will be catastrophic. On the other hand, many of the issues that I mention in my personal list address specifically to myself or the Puerto Rican culture. Most of the time that I think about myself, I also think about my society because in the end, this is my first family and the only place that I call HOME. By saying this, I don't mean to say that both lists don't interact with each other, I am trying to explain that if we have one of the lists, we will definitely have the other next to it.
COMMON SOCIAL ASPECTS
When I give a second look at my social list I realize that most of them are like worldwide common social illnesses. The are the reason for the injustice and the chaos that we are living in today. What weaves them all together is my capacity for identifying that they are wrong and that our world would be a better place without them. I know that most of those problems are the same problems that we see everyday in the Puerto Rican media, but we can't forget that those problems not only affect us as a little island in the Caribbean, but it also affects different societies around the world.
THE CHOSEN 3 FROM THE SOCIAL LIST
Nowadays, there is so much VIOLENCE that it is very hard to feel safe; even in our own houses. We are bombarded with so many violent images that, in some point, it has come to be a common part of our daily lives. This is one of the most dangerous aspect of society, when we just think about violent actions, we forget that the world around us and even ourselves have feeling, good feelings toward each other. Sometimes it gets to the point where we WITNESS THE DESTRUCTION AND POLLUTION OF NATURE and don't do anything. People forget that thanks to nature itself we can breath and eat everyday. Our society thinks that if only a small thing can be done, it's better to not do anything; there is where CONFORMISM and CARELESSNESS arise easier. But, I think that what is doing more harm to our society and the way we interact with each other is that PEOPLE ARE TOO DEPENDENT ON TECHNOLOGY. By doing this, we are forgetting how to talk with each other or even have a real conversation face to face. Most people prefer to talk by texting or on Facebook than in real person. There will be a time that we will to have the knowledge to control technology, therefore it will control us.
 My favorite blog so far was the little research we did about an specific topic. In my case was EDUCATION. I really like this blog because it gave me the chance to organize my thoughts and ideas on different issues that are happening in our world today. Education in a very important part of our society and I think that it's really important to be aware of the problems that it face today.
On the other hand, the entry that I found less interesting was the one about the career test. I have always though that there should not be any kind of standard test to know if you are good for a particular thing. I really did not enjoyed that too much. As you grow as a student and as a professional, there are some things that you discover and other things that are bound to be forgotten.
 I am really worried that when I come back to Puerto Rico after living in another country for a couple of years, it will be a different place. I know that everything is destined to change, but that is not what I am talking about. Changes in the Puerto Rican society do not come and go in response to a developing society, they are impose by a very small economic group that are in power. It's a shame that when we hear the stories from our grandparents of how was Puerto Rico before it became a excessive consumerist society, they seem like some stories that happened a long long time ago that do not form part of what we are today; the fairy tales of the Puerto Rican culture. The sense of community that was so important for us is in extreme danger of extinction. It's funny how people nowadays prefer to be in a digital world than interact with their neighbors, prefer to be in a shopping than going to the beach, prefer to buy the ultimate model of cell phones and cars than to feed to young ones, prefer to be a work force than an thinking society, prefer to be one and only than a whole community. I don't really know what has really happen to my family, all those Puerto Ricans that don't care about what happen to ourselves, to themselves. I would love to see my culture bloom. I would love to see the beaches shine. I would love to see the family that have long forgot their relatives come together as one, one voice, one culture, one society with a variety of opinions. This little island in the Caribbean is bigger than we think and is capable of producing magic and happiness to it's children. I would like to speak to my children in present tense about how Puerto Rico is a great place to live in and grow as a living intelligent being. My Puerto Rico can be real and you, are you living this reality with me? Think about it and prosper.
I have seen that what is happening to Puerto Rico is not something that is local, it is happening in an international level. I have read about how many communities in the United States and Europe and experiencing the same feelings of detachment from one another. Therefore, I have come to understand that one of the major factor promoting this type of behavior is technology. People are so dependable of technology that they opt to chose to send a text message than to have a real conversation, use the car instead of walking to the store that is just 5 minutes away from the house, not talk instead of screaming for justice. I know that eliminating technology is not an option either, but I think that if people start using more real words, speak to each other, feel each other, this little place that we call home would feel like a more complete community, a real family.
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