Trasnocho (Overnight) Cultural Center is a cultural complex located in the urbanization Las Mercedes in Caracas, Venezuela, which includes movie theaters; theaters; a bookstore "El Buscón", where you can find new and used books in Spanish and other languages; an art exhibition hall; a chocolate store "Kakao"; a restaurant and recently opened an ice cream parlor.
This space located in the basement of the Paseo Las Mercedes Shopping Center was inaugurated on October 4, 2001, and since then has offered visitors an extraordinary program. Today it is the most important cultural center in my city.
Last sunday I visited Trasnocho Cultural Center with my friend Daniel Navas, he is a venezuelan writer who has lived in Spain since 2016 and is currently residing in La Herradura, a southern town near Malaga. He is spending some time at Caracas, has participated in my poetry workshops, and I have invited him to some cultural activities in the city. We met through a friend of mine, Urimare Capote.
Arriving too early
My friend Daniel picked me up in a cab at noon, with the idea of inviting me to have lunch, walk around the cultural center and then watch the film "Perfect Days" by Win Wenders. We forgot that it was Easter Sunday and also that on Sundays some places open later. When we went to buy the tickets the ticket office was still closed, so was the bookstore, the chocolate store, the exhibition hall. There were only a significant number of people going to a religious event and we had no interest in that. An employee of the cultural center told us that the box office would be open at 1 pm. The time of the movie we were going to see was 4 pm.
Cacahuate restaurant
So, We went up to the mall with the idea of looking for a place to eat. The restaurants were closed, perhaps because it was Easter. But a mall employee told us that there was a Mexican restaurant that was open, "El Cacahuate" and we went there.
A picturesque, pleasant place, full of color. My friend and I shared some typical Mexican dishes, tacos, tortillas, pico de gallo salad and a spicy dressing, which I had to drink water right away after pouring some on one of the tacos, because I am not used to eating spicy food, but Daniel, who likes spicy food, liked it. When we sat down to eat we saw a statue of the "Chapulín colorado", the Mexican hero played some years ago by the actor Roberto Bolaño, who got into trouble when he tried to help people. A likeable hero, no doubt.
When we were finishing our meal, one of the restaurant's visitors was having a birthday. So, they found a huge hat that was hanging on the wall, put it on his head and began to sing happy birthday to him, making him very happy.
Kakao, what a tasty chocolate
Once we finished lunch, Daniel and I went back down to Trasnocho Cultural, to our joy Kakao, the chocolate store was open! We both really like chocolate. Daniel bought tickets to see the Win Wenders movie and as we still had time, we visited the bookstore El Buscón, which was also open, Daniel bought a book by a Peruvian writer who lived in Venezuela, Luis Yslas, but now lives again in his country, Peru. And then we bought some chocolates at Kakao for my mom, others to eat there and we also ordered two hot chocolates and sat for a while talking while it was time to watch the movie.
facade of El Buscón book store
facade of the Kakao chocolate store
Perfect Days, the Movie
Perfect Days movie poster
I am an admirer of Japanese culture, some years ago I studied a little Japanese, but I have forgotten it, because I did not practice it. There are three alphabets, the one for everyday words, the one for terms of foreign origin and the ideogram, through which a single symbol is used to express a complete idea. I admire this culture because they are very disciplined, deeply spiritual people and generally put the common good before the personal good. That is why they have advanced considerably as a society and in the technological area.
I really like the work of contemporary Japanese artist Mariko Mori, in which Japanese millenary tradition and high technology come together. I especially admire them for the way they came through after the United States dropped atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima and invaded them. They learned from the enemy and in a few decades Japan was transformed into a high-tech country with a high standard of living.
Director of the film "Perfect Days", which we saw at the Trasnocho Cultural is not Japanese, he is German director Win Wenders, but this director has been interested in Japanese culture. I remember that some years ago I saw his film Tokyo-Ga, a documentary about contemporary Japanese society, the great influence that Western culture has had on the new generations in Japan. But Wenders also made a film about Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, and another about "Buena Vista Social Band", a band of musicians from Cuba, all elderly, that is, over 70 years old. But my favorite Wenders film is not a documentary, it's called "Heaven Over Berlin", about an angel who becomes human because he falls in love with a trapeze artist who works in a circus. It's a wonderful film about love, but also about the meaning of life.
"Perfect Days," Wenders' most recent film, was entirely shot in Japan and premiered last year at the Cannes Film Festival. It stars an excellent Japanese actor, Koji Yakusho, who we have seen before in films such as "Memoirs of a Geisha", "Babel". It is a really touching film. Perfect Days movie we see the day to day life of a lonely middle-aged Japanese man who cleans public toilets in Tokyo. Every morning he starts his day very early in the morning with a smile on his lips, performs his work meticulously, without complaint, and observes the world around him, especially nature, with attention.
This man's life changes unexpectedly when he returns home one day to find his niece, his sister's teenage daughter. For several days the young girl will accompany him in his chores until her mother goes to look for her. Similarly, on weekends he goes to eat at a small restaurant run by a divorced woman he likes and suddenly the woman's ex-husband, who is dying of cancer, shows up. The days that seemed to repeat themselves with Swiss clockwork precision suddenly turn upside down. But finally everything returns to its usual order. The usual solitary life.
Perfect Days movie
Last Sunday was a very pleasant day, a different day at the Trasnocho Cultural Center, which offers visitors various forms of cultural expression and gastronomy.
All photos you see were taken with my cell phone camera
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
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Thank you @hivebuzz 😀🤗
Go for it, @beaescribe! Set your sights on that new target and keep pushing forward. Remember, every small step brings you closer to your goal.
Excellent Sunday, even though it started a little slow. I have heard of that site, but have not been able to visit. I'll have to add it to the list when I go to the capital again. What day and time do you recommend to visit El Trasnocho @beaescribe ?
Dear @aaalviarez You have to visit Trasnocho Cultural I recommend you visit the Trasnocho Cultural website: www.trasnochocultural.com . So you can see what interesting activities there are. Every day there is some activity in the cinema or theaters after 1 pm.
Trasnocho Cultural also offers the possibility of watching movies in streaming. You can see which movies are available on the website. You can also buy tickets for the cinema or theater on the website in advance.
Very good! Thank you so much @beaescribe