Sex sells

Sensitive readers, be warned: this posting deals with suggestive advertising that should probably be rated PG-13. If you find this topic objectionable, please stop reading now!

Ok, remaining readers, a quick quiz: if you saw this poster, you would guess it was an advertisement for a) laser hair removal; b) lingerie; c) membership at a gym; or d) plastic surgery.

Answers ready? The correct choice is.... rice cakes. That's right, I said RICE CAKES! (Technically, these are made of corn, but close enough.) And thus we have a perfect example of the bizarrely sexualized advertising to be found in Spain. You don't have to speak Spanish to appreciate the TV spot on which this poster is based. What 's the deal with the pantless cowgirl? Or the girl bowling in a swimsuit? Or the seductive nibbling of the corn meal cake? Yes, these girls are “being smarter than hunger” (the spot's tag line) by snacking on something healthy instead of junk food, but it takes a special kind of mind to make eating well so PG-13.

I don't mean to suggest that Bicentury, the company behind the corn cakes, is alone presenting such sexual advertising. I remember seeing an ad for fruit juice several years ago in France that featured a sultry-voiced woman extolling its smooth, creamy texture. Apparently, she was just talking about orange juice.... or was she? Nor is the phenomenon limited to food; an especially egregious ad is this one, which features a nerdy-looking 30-something guy (played by Spanish TV personality Andreu Buenafuente) becoming overly excited about the sales at electronics store. Incredibly, this is not an isolated commercial; MediaMarkt did a whole series of TV and print ads featuring Buenafuente, all with the tagline “El gustazo de comprar a mejor precio”, roughly “The enormous pleasure of shopping at better prices.” Maybe the food ads are somewhat justified; eating can be a sensual experience (though personally, I've never found rice cakes especially enticing). But buying laptops and stereo systems in a giant warehouse? Come on!

This is not to say there aren't similar ads running on American TV. Last week an ad for Beyonce's new fragrance was banned from daytime TV in Britain for being too "sexually provocative". (The Daily Mail's deadpan comment on this: "Any criticism that she is too sexually provocative is likely to enhance rather than harm her earning potential." Love it!) But I do think there is a little something cultural in play. An American ad for rice cakes emphasizing their weight-loss properties would probably feature scientific-sounding jargon or testimonials from people who've dropped several clothing sizes from eating them (think Subway Jared). Seductive, scantily-clad women might be less likely to make an appearance.

I guess all the insinuation and exposed skin make for effective advertising; these commercials are certainly memorable. But I hope public health spots for safe sex, STD testing, family planning and the like are given leeway to be equally direct. If there's going to be that much sex in commercials for rice cakes and electronics, actual information on the subject shouldn't be far behind.

Fall comes to Madrid

A gloomy fall day is the perfect time to visit the Retiro: sloughing ankle-deep through fallen leaves, inhaling the sharp scent of damp earth, magpies flitting between the branches in flashes of black and white and metallic blue. It hasn't rained yet but the leaden clouds hang unusually low over the city, a still, heavy presence that makes sound seem duller, somehow muffled. The children too are quieter, subdued, and the wild cats stalk silently through the grass, undetected amid the refuse of autumn. The only sound, besides occasional footsteps, is the trees shaking free of their summer apparel: a dry creaking from the branches and the air is filled with motion, leaves floating and twirling like a shower of gold coins.

Fiesta de la Trashumancia

On Halloween Day, the center streets of Madrid were overtaken by a parade... of livestock. Yes, in addition to the usual regional costume-wearing dancers and musicians, there were horses, sheepdogs, cows, a bull, and several hundred sheep. The occasion was the 17^th annual Fiesta de la Trashumancia loosely translated as the Festival of the Seasonal Migration of Livestock. Spain is full of vías pecuarias-- old herding paths that are maintained as part of the public domain, traditionally used for livestock but now also popular with hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders. I knew a little about this, having worked in a rural school two years ago that was across the street from an old herding path (see photo). But I didn't know that these paths can be found all over the Iberian Peninsula, forming a network of 100,000 km and covering an area equal to 1% of the country. It's fifteen times longer than the railroad system--no small feat considering the reach of the railroad system! And it's been around for a LONG time. Historians believe the seasonal migration of livestock has been happening since the late Paleolithic Era, and the network of vías pecuarias as public land was officially created in 1271.

As for the mechanics, anyone who's ever read Heidi understands the basic idea of trashumancia. When snowy weather began to threaten in the mountains, shepherds led their flocks to lower ground to pass the fall and winter. In summer, the flocks returned to the mountains to graze, thus allowing pastures in both areas time to regrow. It's incredible to realize that for many rural areas of Spain, these traditions are not that remote. A friend in his late 20's told me his great-grandfather herded his sheep this way, and you can sometimes still see animals grazing freely in the mountains or being led by a shepherd in rural areas.

The purpose of the parade, apparently, is to remind people that the vías pecuarias are still a valuable public resource which should be maintained and protected just the way they are: no asphalt, no motorized vehicles, no development. It's an admirable message, and one whose point was amply driven home by surreal presence of so many confused, nervous sheep milling around in the heart of downtown Madrid.