One it's enough!

Prejudice against Americans is a historical matter, it’s part of the information inside one’s head without knowing why it’s there, like political or sportive options, always in that historical contradiction travelling from one pole to the other, from love to hate.

Being here I’ve crossed out many myths and internal prejudices regarding this nation, believing that it has many good and even admirable things, because I’ve been happy in a context that can feel hostile, because I’ve felt generosity in the people I’ve met. I’ve learnt a lot, and even though I do not dominate the language, I’ve been able to communicate and feel a constant feedback from the people and the city, enjoying every space, feeling it a bit mine as well.

Having wanted to go back to Times Square, after seeing it from the distance and passing through there once, I hadn’t because I didn’t really feel like it, thinking it uninteresting among the “Things to do in New York” context. But today, after a trip around my neighborhoods, I decided to go, taking advantage of the heat in the humid Spring that’s coming along, as well as the few days left to go back to Santiago. As expected, it was full of people fighting over the same thing: taking the exact photograph everyone else wanted to, beside every icon of consumerism and corporative superficiality. If it may be fun and full of lights, I believe this is the worst face in this city and this country, though it is the perfect example to the idea that to live in a world where we all can fit, we need a balance from both sides. This neighborhood that has always been admired for its lights, pop icons, music and integration, is all that without really being it. I’m not sure if there was too many people or if I didn’t see right, or if the M of McDonalds has me very tired, or if the Coca Cola wave versus the Pepsi wave seemed an distasteful competition, or if the Hard Rock Café was a cool project 20 years ago and is now just a business-making machine with guitars and records: but I didn’t last very long there. I prefer that sensation of silence created by the masses in museums, or by those who fill parks the first day of sun the Spring has to offer.