by Maja Gojkovic

Aretha Franklin has been offered a quick fix option to help her out of her current financial mishap. The star has an outstanding amount of 19,000 $ to pay in for tax.

The animal rights group PETA have offered to pay off the bill if the star promises never to wear fur again. The ‘Respect’ singer was crowned Biggest Loser by the animal rights activists last month for her love of fur. The star is set to lose her home if she cannot pay back the money as soon a possible.

PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) have agreed to pay off the amount if Aretha agrees to their terms, which includes handing over her collection of fur coats.

PETA president Ingrid Newkirk wrote in a letter to the singer: “We would like to help you out by paying the approximately $19,000 in back taxes that you owe - if you’ll agree to save animals from hideous suffering and death by promising never to wear fur again and donating your old furs to PETA.

“We are absolutely sincere in making this offer - we believe that you know in your heart that your fans will love you even more if you make a fur-free resolution.

“Our offer is a win-win situation. You get to keep your home, and animals get to keep their lives. We are rooting for you to please give animals the R-E-S-P-E-C-T that they deserve by giving up fur.”

It is unknown whether Aretha has responded to the letter yet.

by Maja Gojkovic 

The olympic torch has been re-lit at a special ceremony in Beijing after arriving from Athens.The Chinese President Hu Jintao opened the special ceremony which took place in Tiananmen Square in order welcome the torch to the city, which will host the 2008 Olympics in August.

Throughout the event tight security was visible at the square, amid concerns of a possible anti-government protests due to last weeks protesters who opposed China’s actions in Tibet. The Protesters clashed with police at the lighting ceremony in Greece. Secutrity was also tight in the centre of the city with the closure of the underground station Tiananmen Square and the closure of the square to all veichles.

Hundreds of people, many including schoolchildren turned out at Beijing airport, waving flags as the Air China plane arrived and the torch was revealed. Students and workers sang the Olympic slogan “One World, One Dream” and waved pom-poms.

Sunday’s formal handover was held in the Panathinaiko Stadium in Athens, where the first modern Olympics took place in 1896.

The Chinese and Greek flags were marched in by Greek athletes to the strains of a band, before a circle of white-clad actresses dressed as ancient priestesses surrounded a podium as the torch was brought in. Minos Kyriakou, president of the Hellenic Olympic Committee, passed the flame to chief Beijing organizer Liu Qi.

Protesters tried to unfurl a banner which said “Stop genocide in Tibet”, but failed to enter the stadium or disrupt the solemn ceremony. At least six people were arrested and Police warned they would confiscate all banners, signs or objects that might be thrown.

On Tuesday, the torch goes to Almaty in Kazakhstan, its next stop on a tour of 20 countries before returning for the opening of the Beijing games on 8 August.

The ex-military compound of Christiania in Copenhagen has been a self-governed squat for 37 years. While he was having his very own squat, Simon Rashleigh pondered the Christiania locals’ assertion of the ‘right’ to free housing in one of the world’s most expensive cities.

 Christiania

by Simon Rashleigh

“Why should I pay for the right to sleep?” I read this neatly scrawled on the toilet wall as I sit quietly on the loo. It’s early and my brain is ticking over slowly. Why should I pay for the right to sleep? Because everyone else does. Because, well, because. Where do you start the story? With some feudal feud, some ancient king, one cave and two cavemen? Must I defend property rights, or shall I leave that to the state, that state that apparently doesn’t pertain to where I now sit?

Having finished the business for which I had found myself in that smelly concrete room in the first place, I walk out into the streets of Christiania. There’s a middle-aged gent, who looks like he’s seen some things in his life, sitting, toking on a joint. It is never too early for this in Christiania. I walk past the tiny little houses, that look haphazard, yet well cared for. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” I think. There’s so much creativity, so much energy. The community is something organic, with each part still growing. It won’t look the same tomorrow. To be sure, it’s a lovely place, a little oasis in the middle of the city, but I’m uneasy about something… I can’t put my finger on what.

I find my way back to the van, where it is parked by the side of the canal: the border of Christiania. In ten minutes on the bike I can be smack in the centre of Copenhagen. I look across the canal to the apartments of Holmen; they are beautifully converted old warehouses. The architect has, like the residents of Christiania, made the best of the buildings that were already there. But the comparison between the two sides of the canal stops there. I am told that across the way is some of the most expensive real estate in the city. Every apartment has a little boat parked beside it, and it appears that no expense has been spared in providing every modern convenience inside. All cities have a Holmen: that very nice, too-expensive-for-most, residential area, centrally located and with a beautiful setting. Although, there are not too many cities with a Christiania.

“The community where every individual works for the betterment of the community,” or so went the talk, at least back in 1971, when the thing started. Like any place, the residents have not always agreed. Having a liberal drug culture while ensuring the safety of the community is a tricky task. There have been disagreements about the way this should be achieved, and a brief look at the history shows that the place has not always been big enough for everyone’s idea of Christiania. You have to wonder if the community is held together by some kind of common philosophy, or rather, simply by the fact that, like in any community, they share a space. You feel that it is simultaneously pulling together and growing apart.

The government wants it gone, redeveloped, normalized. They want the residents to realize what they refuse to accept: that they are in Denmark and that the laws of the land do apply to them. I walk past the police who patrol the community, in combat gear and in a group. Violence breaks out from time to time, for example, when they want to tear down a building. Scores are arrested in the process, but the police can’t win, and are forced to retreat. If the government ever really had the will to end the dream, to end Christiania, it would be war. For Christianites and Copenhagen residents alike, Christiania means too much.

But does it mean anything? I guess, like most people who visit the community, I want it to go on existing; not because I necessarily believe in the rights of the residents to the land they occupy, but because it is an interesting place. Not only is it an abnormality in an increasingly uniform world, it is a beautiful little retreat in the middle of a modern city. It is a centre of debauchery, no doubt about it, but also a centre of culture. How sad it would be, then, if it became just another suburb. It would push Copenhagen closer to being just another city.

I walk around the place, unconvinced that the dreams of the founders of Christiania were ever, or will ever be realized. It’s not paradise, but the place has a certain magic to it. Any time I enter Christiania I take something away with me. As I leave, reading those defiant words, “You are now entering the EU,” I smile at the cheek, at the delusion, at the truth of the statement. Everyone who has the chance should take a look, before the war comes, before the modern world definitively lays claim to these three city blocks and forces its residents to, like everybody else, pay for the right to sleep.

Check out April’s European Vibe Magazine for Simon’s article on the whole of Copenhagen, where he explains how to get the most out of a weekend trip to the Danish capital.

Artist: Vanessa Zarate

CD: Ornament

Website: www.vanessazarate.com

If you want to read reviews of the new Matchbox 20 or Hanna Montana CDs you are reading the wrong writer! I am more interested in reviewing work that is special in one way or another.

In the case of this CD, it is special for several reasons. Firstly, Zarate is a classically trained vocalist, living in Southern California. Secondly, this CD is full of songs of such rare beauty that crying is not out of the question. Thirdly, the lyrics will inevitably lead you to believe that this performer has some serious issues.

The nine tracks in question seem to be a catharsis of sorts, with lyrics of intense poetry delivered over a very sparse backing.

From the opening title track you are left in no doubt as to who is controlling who in this listener/performer dynamic. The genre could loosely be described as chill out jazz/soul. Think Nora Jones, Leonard Cohen and Joss Stone all rolled into one and having their collective hearts broken.

My favorite track is Mine, where Zarate leaves no stone unturned in telling someone what a pathetic loser they are, but with such incredible beauty that I’m sure he came back the next day for more abuse!

I’m not your savior
I’m your captor
Your keeper
Not your friend

Don’t have to love me
Just die trying
I won’t make you happy
Just end your crying

The CD can be bought from her website at www.vanessazarate.com and you can also listen to snippets free of course.

Artist: Loreena McKennit

CD/DVD: Nights From the Alhambra

Website: www.quinlanroad.com

This is quite simply one of the most beautiful possessions that I own. For the uninitiated, Loreena McKennit is a Canadian performer, who, over the past 15 years or so, has produced album after album of ethereal, sublime beauty. She writes many original songs, often based upon stories from her extensive world travelling. She also takes classical poetry and puts it to music. Loosely described as Celtic, her music is really so much more, as it encompasses world influences from the middle east, eastern Europe and elsewhere.

A McKennit concert is a rare event. She went into virtual seclusion for many years following the tragic death of her partner in a boating accident. When she chose to return, she decided to do a TV special at the Alhambra in Granada. I cannot think of a more perfect marriage of performer and venue.

Now available as a double set, the DVD and Live CD capture the essence of this amazing performance. Performing many of her best loved songs, including, “Lady of Shallot”, a Tennyson poem stunningly put to music and “She Moved Through The Fair” surely one of the most recorded of all traditional Irish songs, but here done as well as by anyone else, this set should be owned by everyone who truly appreciates the finer things in life.

The stellar band of musicians which she assembled for this event are breathtaking and her inter-song chat is both intelligent, informative and amusing. This is a complete concert going experience in one of the most amazing places built by man. I guess you could discern that I like it!

by Martin Brown

Out on 4th April, The Contract is just one of a few new releases our Yelmo cinema tickets competition winner might choose to see.
Jenny Balu came out of the hat to scoop her prize of five tickets to use at Madrid multiplex Yelmo Cine Ideal.
She correctly answered the following questions:

Daniel Day Lewis won an Academy Award in 1989 for Best Actor for which film?
My Left Foot

Name the film which Daniel Day Lewis was nominated for Best Actor for the part as Gerry Conlon in 1993?
In The Name Of The Father

Well done to her, another five cinema tickets can be won in April’s cinema competition in European Vibe Magazine.

by Peter Moore

This month I met up with Matt Seaton to discuss writing books and riding bikes. You can see the full interview in the latest issue of European Vibe, which is due out any time now! In the meantime, here you can read a review of the book in question, The Escape Artist, a memoir about a passion for cycling and the loss of someone close to you.

The Escape Artist 

In The Escape Artist, the bicycle is the star. From the first page to the last, the machine is present with a silent omnipotence that propels the story forward, and pulls the reader through the pages. From the prologue, a detailed reconstruction of a weekend practice run across the Kentish downs, to the final pages which deal with an amateur race at a ‘bleak’ London racetrack, the bicycle remains the only constant in Seaton’s life, as his world revolves and changes around him.

Ostensibly, The Escape Artist is a sporting memoir. Whilst passing through the town centre today, you could find a copy of it at a bookstore nestled snugly between its supposed peers: Paul Kimmage’s Rough Ride, or Samuel Abt’s rather self explanatory, Off to the Races: 25 years of cycling journalism. Seaton’s book, however, carries a wider scope than these: during the early throws of the book he is an idealistic teenager on a subconscious search for a passion; after the discovery of the bicycle it then accompanies him to Cambridge University, then to ‘quixotic’ dalliance with the Communist Party and later, more significantly, it provides him with a constant escape from the realities of growing older and then losing his first wife, the journalist Ruth Picardie, to breast cancer.

From test run to finished product

Seaton’s style is at once both elegant and perceptive. Years working as a freelance journalist and editor have left him with a developed flair that engages the reader and his immediacy strikes an empathy with the keen cyclist. It is clear that Seaton has developed a deep and lasting emotional connection with the bicycle, which at times verges upon becoming a character in its own right; illustrated no better than when he notes how one, ‘must always obey the bike’s mechanical imperative, it’s instinctual quest for perpetual motion.’

Embroiled in the intricacies of test-runs, bicycle maintenance and the accompanying culture, Seaton is a man very much in his element. His descriptions are lucid and detailed to the extent that at one point he spends six pages describing the practical benefits of the cyclist shaving their legs. ‘It made my proud’, he writes, like claiming ‘…the badge of membership to a select fraternity.’ But whilst the cycling narrative flows fluidly, and with little hint of a pause, maddening ambiguities begin to emerge in his documentation of his life away from the bike, and in particular his evolving relationship with his wife.

What perhaps is most surprising is the fact that Seaton deals with their relationship with such little emotion and even less sentimentality. Many key scenes from their relationship gain significance in the book, simply through their omission. We learn nothing of their wedding day, Ruth’s initial misdiagnosis for breast cancer and almost nothing of her final days. Oddly, one of the more extended passages documenting their decade-long relationship is of their struggles to have children, and Seaton’s subsequent anxieties that he may have a low sperm count as a result of his spent in the saddle. In the same passage, he documents an episode during which he was charged with giving Ruth a hormone injection as part of a course of IVF therapy. As a reader, it is telling that he neglects to convey any feeling of warmth within their relationship, that he uses this particular IVF injection as a bridged introduction to the scourge of drugs in cycling. Once more, the reader can sense that Seaton is desperate to get back to more comfortable territory, but as the reader you are left clamouring for more.

Telling silence

This sense of ambiguity lingers, quite possibly because the initial scope for the book was too broad. Whereas much of the detail relating to bicycles and the surrounding culture is of interest to thousands of amateur cyclists, many other interesting areas of Seaton’s life were mentioned almost in passing, but not elaborated upon. His early life at public school, his university career, his early career working on left-wing magazines and his struggles to raise a young family alone are all areas that find their way into the book, but then only as shadows, and they are always given up at the first opportunity in favour of another section revolving around the bike.

Seaton’s general thesis is clear. He uses the bicycle to ameliorate the pressures and problems of his daily life, he is the ‘escape artist’ and as such the book is telling and personal. Perhaps we can learn as much about Seaton through his omissions, his British stubbornness to address the central issues and grab the story by the scruff of the neck, as we can from the detail that he has included. The book has its shortcomings, but, it does reach the heart of the seductive draw that attracts hundreds of thousands of cyclists to the sport. In this other world, Seaton can escape from the trudge of reality, and enter a place full of narcissism of introspection. The cyclist, Seaton writes, can become an ‘engineers of themselves… his legs smooth and gleaming.’ And when Seaton muse falls upon this other world, then that is when The Escape Artist is at its strongest. It is a memorable and vivid account that will be remembered as much for its omissions and ambiguities as its elegant descriptions of a life spent on two wheels.

by Khilen Mehta

The Cim&Art Foundation was set up to organise and operate an International Film Festival with the aim of making the film Festival one of the world’s leading cultural focal points.  This year from the 28th March- 5th April 2008 the festival will be taking place in Madrid. FilmaMadrid will be a film festival dedicated exclusively to feature films with the objective of portratying cinema as a pure form of culture, as opposed to mere spectacle.

The festival will be small with a maximum of 20 films to be shown; the party atmosphere typically associated with such events to be removed and focus instead on both the high level of films shown and on the audience in attendance. Teatro Arenal, located on calle Mayor, will be hosting the festival, as well as holding press conferences, film screenings and movie premieres. This will be the first editon of the Madrid International Film festival. The first edition will have three sections, the Official section, the International Opera Prima section and the Second developing Spanish project.

Make sure you look out for any famous stars making an appearance near you…

Black Tracks presenter Chris Wright and the station he broadcasts for, Radio Vallekas, are featured in the brand new April issue of European Vibe.
You will find European Vibe Magazine at the usual distribution points around Madrid from tomorrow (Friday 28th March)!

Here is the full interview with the Durham DJ on the radio in Madrid:interview by Ryan Craggs
Ryan Craggs
Chris Wright

How did an Englishman end up broadcasting here in Madrid?

By chance, I had a bad knee injury at the time and was feeling quite low. I needed something to make me feel alive again and, as I’d done a Radio Show before while living in Columbus, Ohio, I thought that was the way to go.

How long have you been doing this?

About 8 months.

You employ rotating genres of music. Why is that?

Radio Stations seem to always enjoy pigeon-holing music by genres so I thought I´d be different and join the dots between the different genres and help Black Music as a whole gain more popularity in Madrid and Spain. Also, it’s a new format.

What makes you choose these genres?

These are the genres I like under the black music umbrella. The concept came to me over a few beers and thought it was a good way to explore different genres while adding my own anecdotes and stories.

What audience are you speaking to?

I’d say 25 to 35, who are sick of the commercial crap that we’re forced to swallow listening to popular Radio. Listeners who like Radio 3 in Spain and 6 music in the UK..

Could you name any influences on the format of your show or the way you present yourself on-air?

Craig Charles’ Funk and Soul show on the BBC Six Radio and also some PBS Stations in the US.

What do you make of what they’re doing at Radio Vallekas?

It’s good to see people getting involved, doing things and helping the community.

What do you hope to accomplish through your program?

Get people moving (foot tapping, head nodding, dancing).

What’s the best part about doing the program?

Discovering new tunes and bouncing round the radio studio like a mad man on a Sunday morning.

What’s the worst part about doing the program? Any challenges?

My shows are live Sunday morning from 11am to midday and that says it all. However, they’re moving me to a more civilized time, so I must be doing something right.

Did you ever dream you’d end up here doing this?

I dream a lot of things some stay longer than others….this was one of those.

What do other people think about an English-speaking DJ on the radio in Madrid?

Most people in Madrid think its something unique, but without the format and tunes being good it doesn’t matter if it’s in Spanish or English, they wouldn’t be arsed listening to me. The other people at the station think it’s cool. They’re all for diversity as it adds colour to what they do.

When/where will you be DJing in Madrid? How can people get more info on your show and future events?

I’m deejaying at Bambalam Café in La Latina and my first gig is Sunday April 13th from 5-10pm.

More information: www.myspace.com/blacktracksespana

Listen to any Black Track programme, whenever you want as a podcast: http://blacktracks.mypodcast.com/

 by Khilen Mehta

In June 1961, the president of Finland, Arvi Kivimaa proposed at the 9th World Congress of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) that a World Theatre Day should be created.  Ever since, each year on the 27th March, World Theatre Day has been celebrated in many and varied ways by ITI National Centres, of which there are now almost 100 throughout the world. World Theatre Day was set up to “to promote international exchange of knowledge and practice in the domain of the performing arts, to stimulate creation and increase cooperation between theatre people, to make public opinion aware of the necessity of taking artistic creation into consideration in the domain of development, to deepen mutual understanding in order to participate in strengthening peace and friendship among peoples, to join in the defence of the ideals and aims of UNESCO.”  The activities that will take place across the world today are seen as attempts to realise these objectives.

Tonight, Madrid will once again don its performing hats and take to the theatres and the streets.  Over 60 different arenas will open their doors with special discounts on tickets in order to provide the crowds with spectacular performances and talks with reknowned actors. In Plaza Dali, and at the CaixaForum, there are special dance and theatre productions lined up especially for children. This year is also the first year that both the Prado and the Reina Sofía will open their doors to the public to inaugurate this festival and will be holding special art exhibitions. For the more youthful crowd, a hip-hop and breakdance company with light up the Templo de Debod with some guaranteed jaw dropping moves.

Watch out tomorrow for some tired faces!!

By Marisa Garcia

My little sister, Mallory, came to visit me from NYC for Semana Santa. Excited to have her, I became her tour guide for the week. She and two of her friends started In Dublin, Ireland for St. Patrick’s Day and then arrived in Madrid on the 18th. Preparing ourselves for Las Fallas we decided to rest up. The next morning we woke up early and rode on the European Vibe party bus to Valencia. Ecstatic to be there we walked around all over Valencia admiring the beautiful ninots before they were burnt to the ground. After a lot of exploring and watching the exuberant fires we hopped back onto the bus and returned to Madrid. After a long day and a half of sleeping we woke up the next morning and headed out to visit the Palacio Real where we saw the beautifully decorated rooms with marble walls and Mahogany doors from Cuba. After the Palacio Real we made our way over to the infamous park, Retiro, where we sat outside and ate at a café across the street for a real bargain! Later that afternoon we moved onto Chueca, Sol and Gran Via where we did a little shopping at the chic boutiques. The last day they were here visiting we visited the Prado and Reina Sofia Museums where we saw some of the exquisite works of Dali, Picasso, Juan Gris, Velazquez, El Greco, Goya and other talented artists. For dinner we decided to try some food that would hit close to home so we ate at Foster’s Hollywood American Café and enjoyed turkey wraps and cheese and bacon fries! Early the next morning my sister left me and this exciting city only to return to another exciting city!