Dongzhimen Street Performance

1^st Assignment | 4-picture story

“Dongzhimen Street Performance”

Like every day (from 7:30pm to 9:30pm), an enthusiast group of people joins forces to play music and dance, at the main corner junction in the center of Dongzimen District. A crowd encourages them and even some take part of this almost improvised party. Women, men, young and old people. All of them enjoy the freedom that offers them the music and the dance.

Dongzimen District, Beijing (China)

11-11-11

“I’m Looking For You”: Singles Day

Singles Day from Biel Calderon on Vimeo.

Like every November 11th, chinese people celebrates their unofficial “Singles Day” (Guang Gun Jie in chinese). Such event was initially celebrated during the 1990s at some universities from Nanjing province. The celebration got this name because we find four “ones” in the date, and figuratively these “ones” represent the singles. Over the years, the students moved out this tradition into the society. Internet collaborated in expand it.

The are different ways to celebrate Singles Day, but the main one is just simple meet with your single friends. It is also very common set up a “fast date” or “blind date” parties. In that kind of parties, single people meet in place in an attemp to find their better half. The singularity of the event, apart of find a couple (or just a friend), is that nobody knows each other.

In November 2006 leveraging the Singles Day event, is was launched in Beijing a company which holds dating services, “I’m Looking For You”. Since then, the “supermarket of love”, got more than 1,500 clients and successfully matched almost 100 couples, said Linden, the manager assistant.

With a charge of 20 yuan as registration fee, “I’m Looking For You” essentially offers a venue where singles can meet. The members list their names, ages, income and occupation, along with a picture, and this profile is available for others to view.

Gao Shan, the supermarket's manager, said “the concept was inspired by people's need to meet in a safe, friendly and relaxing environment, and by the negative experiences some singles have had using Internet dating services”. Even this year they improved the security measures, because they found in the past some members “were trying to cheat the other members giving false information”, Linde said; “and this year is really important”, she added, because we find six “ones” (November 11, 2011 or 11-11-11) in the date, so it is called Shen Gun Jie.

In a city like Beijing, with a hectic way of life and really difficult to have free time to socialize , companies such “I’m Looking For You” give the singles the hope to find their better half, or at least some much-needed friends. The friendly staff offers them “just what they are looking for”, complete Gao Shan.

Find a couple may no longer be an impossible task for many singles. But keep it is something that they should carry out on their own.

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The Beihai Park

6st Assignment

Go to a park and create a 2-3 minute narrative using cinematic journalism skills. Find a character and make a self narrative that relates in some way to the park. For this exercise we are looking for you to demonstrate good visual cinematic skills.

The Beihai Park

“Beihai is an imperial garden to the northwest of the Forbidden City in Beijing. First built in the 10th century, it is amongst the largest of Chinese gardens, and contains numerous historically important structures, palaces and temples. Since 1925, the place has been open to the public as a park. It is also connected at the south to the Shichahai.

The Park has an area of more than 69 hectares, with a lake that covers more than half of the entire Park. At the center of the Park is an island called Qiónghuá Island with a highest point of 32 m. In the north of the park there is a large pool called the Taiye Pool connecting the two other pools, which are called the Middle Sea and the South Sea respectively. Therefore the Taiye Pool is also called the Beihai” (Wikipedia)

The brave roosters

5st Assignment | Write a 500 word story of a national news event

The brave roosters

Like every Wednesday, dozens of people gathered in Manila to enjoy a show that confronts, almost to death, two roosters: the cock fighting, also know as “sabong” (in cebuano language).

“Sabong”, is one of the most popular activities for the philippine people, enjoyed at all levels of the society (even politicians own some cockpits). This spectacle, which is considered as a national sport, was introduced in the 16th century by Spanish colonizers. Cockfighting is not only understood as a leisure activity, because people also go there to bet. Sport where prizes hover thousands of pesos, even millions during the World Slasher Cup, which meets participants from around the World.

In the Philippines we find over 1.700 registered cockpits, and around 3000 if we consider also the unregistered. One of the most well-known clubs of Manila, the Pasig Square Garden, hosts a new cock-fight event, the Gran Derby. Such event is one of the most awaited event, since it meets “sabongeros” (cock’s trainer) from the entire province of City of Manila, and not just from the capital.

Prior to the fights, the “sabongeros” should prepare their roosters to be ready for the battle. The roosters are fitted in a razor-sharp blades tied to their legs; surgical instruments as a weapon, many of them made in Sheffield, England. Before that, the roosters shall be weighed and examined by the doctor. The doctor has to check if the cocks are healthy. Strange idea because after the fight some of them will die out.

In the dirty and bloody ring, a bladed rooster has just been bloodily bested by a double-bladed chicken. “My cock was bigger and stronger”, said the man who is next to me. “You have to teach them as much as you can if you want to win”, he adds. The breeders prepare them with boosters, such as costly special feeds and vitamin supplements. “The competition is very hard and they have to be ready to fight”, explain Rogie Sansó, a Manila-based breeder.

The fight must go on. Two brave rooster are face off ready to struggle. Feathers fly around because the furious attacks of the rooster. The blood spreads inevitably over the ring. If one bird lies on the ground, he is picked up by the referee, also knows as a “sentenciador”. He must determine if the cock can continue or not. “I really enjoy my job because I have the final decision to determinate which cock won”, explain one “sentenciador”. And if the rooster can carry on, the fight continue. If not, a winner is declared.

A draw is declared after 5 minuts of a fight. Both roosters are highly injured. “They just fight once in a day. They are too bad for a second round”, said Camilo Guatno, a Quezon City-based breeder. “They are usually ready to fight again in two or three weeks”, he adds.

Usually we have to expect up to a hundred battles, where some of the cocks will pass away. But no time for sentimentality: even prize-roosters will be eaten once they can’t fight anymore. Losers cocks will be boiled in order to remove their feathers. “They are brave, but at the end almost all of them finish at the pot”, told me one spectator.

PICTURE STORY

The Chaoyang Park

4st Assignment | 10-Picture story and 1.5-2.5 minute video

“The Chaoyang Park”

The Chaoyang Park, built in 1984, has become Beijing’s largest park. Chinese people and foreigners enjoy the features that the park offers: hugh flower gardens, fairground (even a roller coaster), swimming pools, etc. Even, promised have the opportunity to carry out their wedding book at the park.

Chaoyang District, Beijing (China)

Wangfujing Is A Place

^3st Assignment | The video story

At the Wangfujing area, the center of Beijing, we find the well-known Donghuamen Night Market. This market became famous among tourists because of his unusual food like fried crickets, scorpions and offal soup, apart from the main recognized dishes like spring rolls or dumplings.

Thousands of people visit the Night Market each day. We asked one of the visitors his opinion about the area.

Wangfujing District, Beijing (China)

Hello Beijing

A page to see my work in progress at the International Master of Multimedia Journalism 2011-2012