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Meet José María

José has started a web page at: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Styx/2713

I´m 60 years old, married and have four daughters and two sons. Three of my daughters are married and we have four grandchildren with three more grandchildren "in waiting", because all the married daughters are pregnant.

The oldest daughter is now coming back to Argentina after a journey of two years to Atlanta, Georgia in the USA, because my son-in-law works as a marketing manager for TETRAPAK, which is a packaging company from Sweden which makes containers for milk and juice, for example. So now they are coming back and we are very happy about it. All the others live here in Buenos Aires.

I work as a notary lawyer with my own private office. I started out as an adviser to the Minister Of Education from 1960 to 1962. I was President of the Inter-American Institute for the Coordination of Scholarships from 1962 to 1965, Public Relations Manager for L´Oreal of Paris from 1965 to 1968, Public Relations Manager for Renault from 1968 to 1975 and then I returned to law activities from 1975 to 1980. I was Secretary of Culture of Argentina from 1980 to 1983 and then I returned to private practice from 1983 until now.

Last week I signed an edition contract for my book "The Possible Argentina". It is simple to talk about what we wish for Argentina with words, but without some sort of common sense it is not easy to think about how to get what we want.

I am trying to challenge the new generation to find out new ways for new achievements and discover what we all have in common. All of these ideas are with the sole purpose to discuss experiences, if somebody finds them attractive, from the cultural point of view.

If we can assume that culture is a universal theme where all subjects are involved, there can be no misunderstandings once we see that the world of culture opens doors to a better life for all of us.

The Meaning of Culture

Culture is a world with everything in it. It does not just mean art and music. Everything in culture and all it's themes can be an exchange of experience if we take the time to talk about it from the viewpoint of culture. No one can attack a concept or point of view when we accept it simply as showing a part of someone's culture that we are discussing.

If there are differences of opinions we can share them with each other. It should be a challenge to try and bring these differences together or find a way to see something we may ignore. Things that we ignore because of a preconception of what we think, not knowing what the truth is, or just having a part of it and not realizing we only have just part of it and not the whole story.

This is the challenge for all of us to understand others in the world and to rescue the common sense that we all share.

I think that those of us who have lived through life, had experiences big or small, good or bad, one or many, should pass them on to younger people. We do this to help them see that we need to find a better way for all people to learn to live together. It is a real challenge to find the things we have in common instead of what makes us different. This is our chance to work together for all our children to show them that it IS possible to have an exchange of the cultural potential of all people but that we all belong to the same universe.

When we visit a museum we have the various facts of history, art, science, etc. left by our ancestors to judge them by and compare with us now. I think that working for culture and the exchange of ideas will now be our chance to live in our own museum that future generations will judge us by...what we did during our short time alive on Earth.

Culture, just culture and nothing but culture

I think that the old meaning of financial supporters of culture, which we call "mecenas", means those who give just for the pleasure of giving resources for cultural activities. This has been replaced with those who want to know exactly what the programs, activities, projections and results are that their contributions will achieve.

In other words: "If you want my support you'll have to explain to me the projects not only in theory but in facts, the present and in the future. Then I will decide if you and your program fits with my feelings and if it merits my effort to decide for your proposal over another".

All of this should be kept in mind when we talk about culture and what the word means. A cultural activity should not just depend on an analysis of whether it is economical. There should be thoughts given to what is involved economically and the financial resources needed, but we should demand a clear chance for it to work properly and get the best results for the community it represents.

That is why I said that now is the time to show the merits of culture, not to beg to a level of society that throughout the world seems to think that the world of culture is something useless and only for social purposes.

On the other hand I am for the re-evaluation of all kinds of cultural affairs, and when I mean culture, I want it to be all kinds of subjects and involve all culture, because, as Pope John Paul II said to the United Nations Assembly a few years ago: "Culture is the only solution for the problems of mankind".

So I can only add: Culture, just culture and nothing but culture

José has written on the following Webheads writing assignments:

Click below to find out what José thinks about ...

• What's going on in East Timor?
• Webheads plans for the Millenium New Year's Eve

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Last updated: December 31, 1999