la calle es de tod@s/plaza de los prostituyentes

yesterday walking through plaza once (or la "Plaza de los Prostituyentes")i came upon a feria organized by folks from La Vaca, the Asamblea Popular de San Telmo, Las Locas ("espacio creativo para mujeres desobedientes"/a creative space for disobedient women), and Unión 16 de julio (cooperativa de trabajadores de la Vía Pública). the theme of the fair was "la calle es de tod@s" (the street belongs to everyone) and was a space for organizations that use the street as a means of communication or subsistence. there were a variety of groups their (less than maybe would have otherwise participated because of the continuing shitty weather) -- probably most interesting was the group of women who work as prostitutes (plaza once being known for prostitution) part of the project "Ninguna mujer nace para puta" (no woman is born to be a prostitute). they have links with similar projects in bolivia (i.e. mujeres creando) and have done really important work in talking about sex work and the larger social context and consequences, especially with really creative public actions. when i was here last year i saw an exhibit they put on in the cultural center borges with mujeres creando which was just spectacular so it's cool to see that they are still going and have come out with a book.

announcement of the event

also more

more about the original exhibit

a la facu

i had my first experience with the facultad de ciencias sociales (social sciences faculty of the UBA) last week. i went to a seminar organized by the red de estudiantes de sociales -- a group of social science students that formed a couple of years ago in response to the crisis and upheaval in argentina in general and specifically problems within the UBA (University of Buenos Aires). in general it seems to be a group more interested in horizontal/autonomist politics than many of the groups that come out of the university (who from what i've seen so far tend to be largely socialist or communist). the workshop is about "experiences in horizontal organizing" and includes discussions about student movements, recovered factories, and alternative media among other things, and a fun looking reading list. the first gathering started on (a much needed) less serious note with a viewing of monty python's life of brian. i had never watched the movie in terms of horizontalism but it definitely has a lot to say and, of course, is always fun to watch.

the website for the taller
(includes the reading list)

the faculty in itself is quite interesting, especially coming from a supposedly public university in the united states. all the walls are covered with political posters and grafitti, student groups are always tabling or protesting something and it just feels much more political than most spaces i have ever been in.

after the class, we stuck around for a party in the faculty (also crazy for me coming from somewhere where you're not allowed to sell or give away alcohol on campus). i have to say the party was pretty disappointing (a bit too cheto for me) except for when they played rock songs. but still a lot more fun than any campus party i'd ever been to.