Carlos Motta - La buena vida

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members. They have blocked the pact (to date).
Some of Colombia’s society is also skeptical of
the pact and denounces it as yet another form of
economic intervention.
2006
OCTOBER
Installation (and funding) at rum46, Aarhus,
Denmark.
NOVEMBER
Additional video interviews and installation (and
funding) at Estudio Abierto in Buenos Aires,
Argentina.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER
Video interviews in Santiago, Chile
Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet died on
December 10th. He governed from 1973 until
1990 after staging a military coup against
socialist president Salvador Allende, who died
during the armed attack to the presidential
palace. Pinochet headed a dictatorship that
eliminated and repressed several thousands
of its opponents. The Chilean justice was in the
process of condemning the general for some of
the committed crimes during his ruthless rule.
Video interviews in Guatemala City, Guatemala
In 2006 Guatemala celebrates two anniversaries:
the 20th anniversary of the democratic process,
and the 10th anniversary of the signature of the
peace accords on December 29. That year saw
the early start of the electoral campaign for the
elections that would take place in September
2007. In regard to governmental policies, there
was stagnation in social policies and a continued
deterioration of the public security system.
Video interviews in San Salvador, El Salvador
San Salvador faces increases in urban crime
rates due to a recurrent crisis with street gangs
composed of former Salvadorean immigrants to
the U.S. that have returned to establish criminal
cells in their home country. The original gang La
Mara Salvatrucha originated in the 1980s in Los
Angeles.
Video interviews in Tegucigalpa, Honduras
President Manuel Zelaya visited Washington
in 2006 with two security-related requests for
President Bush: to convert the Palmerola airbase
into a commercial air cargo terminal and to
deploy U.S. Special Forces along the Mosquitia
region in eastern Honduras to help combat drug
trafficking along the Caribbean coast. Numerous
media reports indicated that a military facility
would be built in the Mosquitía with Washington
aid that would, most likely, house some form of a
U.S. military presence. Popular sectors disagreed
with this prospective idea.
Video interviews in Managua, Nicaragua
Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega returns to power
in Nicaragua after winning the national election
in November 2006. Ortega lead the Nicaraguan
Revolution of 1979 and governed for 10 years,
half of which would stage a brutal internal war
supported by the U.S. Ortega’s rule however was
highly questioned for its inconsistent policies
and his hunger for power. The country is now
expectant to see whether the kind of policies Mr.
Ortega will develop.
2007
JANUARY
Video interviews in Panamá City, Panamá
In late 2006 Panamá approves a 5 billion dollars
expansion to the Panamá Canal, which promises
new jobs and a rise in visitor traffic. The project
began in 2007 this year and is scheduled to be
finished in 2014. Panamá is being advertised
internationally as a retirement destination for
foreigners. The real state market sees a boom
in foreign investment; a Trump Tower is in
construction.
AUGUST
Installation (and funding) at Lower Manhattan
Cultural Council, Swing Space Program,
New York.
DECEMBER
Awarded Art Matters Foundation Grant, New
York to travel to Caracas and La Paz to conduct
interviews.
2008
JANUARY-MARCH
Installation (and funding) at Institute of
Contemporary Art, Philadelphia.
Receive funding from Alberto Chehebar; Ella
Fontanals Cisneros; Kevin Bruk Gallery, Miami;
and Solita Mishaan to develop installation at
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia.
MARCH
Video interviews in Caracas, Venezuela
The Colombian government organized a military
operation in Ecuadorian territory to capture (and
kill) the FARC’s second most important man, Raúl
Reyes. Ecuador denounces the fact as a violation
of its sovereignty. The Venezuelan government,
lead by president Hugo Chávez backs Ecuador
in his decision to suspend diplomatic ties with
Colombia, remove their respective ambassadors
from Bogotá and place military troops in the
border with Colombia. During March 2008 the
region lived the most important crisis of recent
history, which was solved thanks to the OEA’s
mediation.
JUNE
Awarded Guggenheim Fellowship, New York.
Awarded Finishing Funds Grant by The
Experimental Television Center, New York for
translation and subtitling of the material to
english.
AUGUST
Video interviews in La Paz, Bolivia
President Evo Morales schedules a referendum
on August 10th to inquire whether Bolivians
agree or not with his government’s policies as
well as with those of the governors of several
provinces. The country is deeply divided between
government supporters and a strong opposition
that demands regional autonomy. The results
ratified the President as well as most of the
governors.
SEPTEMBER
Internet Archive launch as part of New
Commissions Program, Art in General, New York.
Installation at Democracy in America, an
exhibition organized by Creative Time, New York.
Internet Archive presented as part of Ours:
Democracy in the Age of Branding, an exhibition
organized by The Vera List Center for Art and
Politics at the Sheila C. Johnson Design Center at
Parsons, NY.
2009
FEBRUARY
Presentation of Internet Archive at Center of
Contemporary Art Celje, Slovenia by curator
Marko Stamenkovich.
MARCH
Installation at Smack Mellon Gallery, Brooklyn,
New York.
Installation and launch of bilingual publication
(Spanish/English) at La Fundación Alzate
Avendaño, Bogotá.
APRIL
Installation at Fabbrica Europa, Florence, Italy.
JULY
Installation as part of the exhibition
FEEDFORWARD: Angel of History at Laboral:
Centro de Arte y Creación Industrial, Gijón, Spain
(2009).