Beatnik Buenos Aires

by Diego Arandojo, Facundo Percio, Andrea Rosenberg (Translator)

Argentine creators Diego Arandojo (writer) and Facundo Percio (artist) come together to celebrate a time in Argentine history when its art scene blossomed. Arandojo's staccato dialogue lends a poetic quality to these lively, often mysterious characters, while Percio’s raw and expressive charcoal drawings perfectly capture the rough charm of this eclectic community of artists and the seedy, smoky locales they inhabit. Romantic, dangerous, and brimming with life -- Buenos Aires in the time of the beatnik.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Art, Comics, Nonfiction, History, Graphic Novels Comics

96 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2018

About the author

Se inició como dibujante y guionista de cómics. Luego egresó del IDAC (Avellaneda) como realizador cinematográfico; y del ISER (Buenos Aires) como guionista de televisión, obteniendo la medalla de oro y de plata por los mejores promedios.
En literatura publicó “Cuentos macabros para sonámbulos” (2004), “Pecados para compartir” (2005), “Esquina 718” (2009 y 2010, junto con Chino Volpato), “Manu en la playa” (2010, cómic editado en Europa junto con Ed Carosia) y “Bastón de Mando, un secreto guardado durante 30 años” (2014).
Como guionista ha desarrollado más de 11 series documentales para Canal Encuentro, entre ellas “Caudillos”, “Batallas de la libertad”, “Alto Rendimiento” y “Presidentes Argentinos”, por ésta última obtuvo en 2012 el premio a “Mejor serie documental” otorgado por Argentores.

En 2015 se estrenaron las series "Güemes" y "La Era de los Caciques", que cuentan con guiones de su autoría.
Junto a Chino Volpato escribió las obras de teatro “El Reportero” (con las actuaciones de Fabián Vena y Eduardo Blanco) y “Vivir Desconectados” (con las actuaciones de Jorge Sassi y Elías Viñoles) representadas durante 2011 y 2013.
Ha dirigido los largometrajes documentales “30 años de silencio” (2013) y “Opium, la Argentina Beatnik” (2014-2105) y "Alcatena" (2015). Actualmente trabaja con el grupo de arte LOGIA 933, con sede en Valencia, España, desarrollando audiovisuales y contenidos diversos.

Reviews

[Kenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Painting is Exorcism. It allows us to expel demons. Trap them on the Canvas.
Beatnik Buenos Aires ~~ Diego Arandojo & Facundo Percio



I think it is a fair bet that very few, if any of you, have ever really thought about the Argentinian beatnik culture of the 1960s ...

… Neither had I. Beatnik Buenos Aires was an unexpected find. My friend, Fabian, posted a review for this and I knew I had to read it.

Arandojo's writing is very good. But the standout here is Percio's art work; he’s an amazing artist; he captures the times and people perfectly ~~ crowded, sweaty bars, rainy city streets, artists who live their lives with passion. The power of Beatnik Buenos Aires lies in the artwork. Percio conveys the variety of moods the various characters radiate, from elation all the way down to anguish. You will be haunted by the artwork long after you finish reading Beatnik Buenos Aires.



Beatnik Buenos Aires creates a cultural mishmash of a look back to a creative era that burned briefly, brightly, and indelibly. It is a haunting story. Arandojo wisely has written a chapter tying the art into the repressive politics of the time, making this story real

So, did I like Beatnik Buenos Aires . Yes ~~ I think it's a masterpiece.

[Fabian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Black and white blocks, splotched with emotion horror and joy. A bohemian corner of the world, in world history hearing of these heavenly existences and artistic expression at its liveliest and most dire too--well, these are the stories you want to hear. And the way that they are presented here is pure art--brutal and hopeful at all turns.

[Ele0n0ra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encantó. Las imágenes tan bien realizadas, las historias, fascinante aunque me quedé con ganas de más, por eso no le doy 5 ⛤

[Rodolfo Santullo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se sabe que el movimiento Beatnik corrió por las calles de algunas ciudades de EEUU y por las venas de escritores y poetas como Jack Kerouac, William Burroughs y Allen Ginsberg, pero bastante menos conocido es el movimiento similar que se produjo en Buenos Aires por las mismas fechas -o apenas después- donde un puñado de escritores, pintores, fotográfos y similar se nuclearon en actividades del Instituto Di Tella, la revista Opium o el Bar Moderno. Una época convulsionada -fines de los 60s- que se reflejó en el quehacer -o el no hacer- de estos artistas, cuyas vidas pasan frente a nuestros ojos como instantáneas, como fragmentos, en estas historias breves que Arandojo y Percio les dedican. Quizá en sintonía con el producto artístico de aquellos que retrata, el camino elegido por Arandojo para hacerlo no es el tradicional "inicio-desarrollo-desenlace". Por el contrario, cada capítulo -si bien se centra en alguna figura clave de este movimiento- salta para adelante y para atrás en fechas, datos y contexto. Se narra el hecho buscado para narrarse, pero con muy poco contexto en la propia historieta (el contexto hay que buscarlo en el excelente anexo que cierra el libro y da verdadero sentido a todo lo que leímos antes, incluso propone una necesaria segunda lectura con más elementos a favor). El resultado, si bien a veces puede desconcertar, es en general efectivo. Se reciben estas historias, estas anécdotas, como fogonazos del genio, del talento o incluso de la locura de aquellos que, como Mariani, Ruy Rodríguez o Sergio Mulet, se posicionaban como una contracultura urgente, una que quizá sabía de lo efímero de su llama. Palabras aparte merece el trabajo de Percio. Utilizando al máximo los recursos de la carbonilla, el dibujante se transforma en una verdadera linterna mágica que nos muestra una Buenos Aires que ya no existe (y que, quizá, nunca existió) una de calles luminosas, de neónes, de cafés cargados de gente, de locura, de bomberos pintores y fantasmas en hoteles. Una Buenos Aires Beatnik que no podría haber sido dibujada por ningún otro. Un trabajo ejemplar de tremendo artista.

[Josh]

Full review at: https://www.noflyingnotights.com/blog...

[Ashley Regulus · Rating 1 out of 5]

Fantagraphics can be really hit and miss. This seemed like a concept with great potential, but the execution failed miserably. What could have been some interesting accounts of various artists from this era turned into edgelord schlock with sexualized violence against women.

[Dony Grayman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Es una buena historieta y da ganas de investigar más sobre el tema y los personajes (reales) que pululan por sus páginas.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

Beatnik Buenos Aires was a bit of a mixed bag for me. I'm not entirely sure why I was drawn to it off of the shelf because I've never had much interest in the Beat Generation, but it was likely Buenos Aires itself as I've read some Argentinian lit I've really loved and been interested in exploring further.

The art itself is a real highlight for this one. The detailed charcoal illustrations are incredibly vivid and really leap off the page, which in my opinion is hard to achieve with something that is so darkly shaded as charcoal is.

The story is... eeeh. It may be my lack of familiarity with the Beat Generation as a whole or Argentine beatniks in particular; I went in not really knowing anything. There are thirteen chapters, each six pages long, and they are vignettes in the lives of different real beatniks from Buenos Aires. Sometimes the stories would really capture me, but usually I just felt kind of lost as to what was happening. There's also some graphic sexualised violence and general misogyny that I didn't exactly enjoy.

What made me round the star rating up instead of down was the appendix. Several pages at the end are dedicated to providing the historical and biographical details behind each chapter. This provided a lot of the context that the actual body of the book was missing, and it was genuinely very interesting to read.

I didn't love this, and I probably wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it, but I'm still glad I gave it a read. The art is gorgeous and those notes at the end were very interesting.

[Stephanie Herrlinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cool insight into the beatnik generation of Argentinos, the places they congregated and the art they made, depicted through intense charcoal drawings. dope.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fascinating (if dark and confusing) look at the arts scene of 1960s Buenos Aires. I really liked the art style (it's never said, but the best I can guess is charcoal, ink, and maybe black watercolors?), but I don't know that it worked well enough for storytelling clarity here.

[Printable Tire]

Dunno how much of a cohesive story each chapter entails (they're more like vignettes) but as a "beatnik history comic book" this one is way beyond the sorta similar The Beats: A Graphic History which I absolutely hated. There's nothing sanitized here, but the charcoally graphics give the real impression you're only seeing shadowy fragments of these people. The end notes offers a lot of doors to future exploration.

[Blane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Covering a particularly fertile period in Argentinian art (mid-1960s), the illustrations of this brief introduction to (I presume) key figures in that world were appropriately dark and "jazzy", invoking the artsy underworld of late-night clubs and drugs. I say "presume" because I did not know of any artists/writers from that world before this book. Each chapter would have worked better by placing the biographical context of each player found in the appendix at the beginning of said chapter.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not familiar with any of these artists. I enjoyed it but was surprised there was so little mentioned about politics, other than 1 guy calling people fascists, considering a dictatorship was on the horizon. But maybe I didn't pick up on more subtler themes.

[celia · Rating 4 out of 5]

the art is not my usual style, but it's visceral – as you page through the comic, it feels like you should be left with smudges of charcoal or ink on your fingers.
Love the notes in the back that added more narrative information about the various people appearing in the comic.

[Naiara · Rating 3 out of 5]

✨2.5✨

[Neil Carey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would really recommend reading the annotations, as much like Moore and Campbell's From Hell, they really illuminate the text.
Beautiful, considered artwork

[Hank]

An anatomy of the Argentine bohemian scene in graphic form. I loved the charcoal drawings, but found the dialogue lacking.

[Jefferson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The narrative is a little disjointed, as real life often is, but this is a very well-executed book that will be fascinating to anyone interested in '60s beat culture.

[Megan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Mark Ames · Rating 4 out of 5]

Geography physical and historical that I know nothing about. Read in a well lit room as the art is a grey and smokey by design. Enjoyable and informative.

[Rich · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice book about the art and writer scene in Buenos Aires! Translated by my good friend who didn't get credit inside the book. Write it in with a Sharpie, yes or no?

[Viviana · Rating 2 out of 5]

2-3 stars, maybe

[Jeff Lewonczyk]

A series of brief graphic vignettes about notable figures in the Argentinian Beat scene; a bit like eavesdropping on a gossipy conversation about people you’ve never met.

[Justin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m not a fan of the Beatnik movement. I appreciate the place in art history this movement had but for me it’s too disjointed, tears things down with no solution, and seems too chaotic. So why read about Beatniks in Buenos Aires? Curiosity. I’ve never been to Argentina but I do know that Buenos Aires has been influential in various artistic movements, it is the home of Tango after all. There’s also Borges and many famous painters. Just like New York was home to many U.S. Beatniks, Buenos Aires was the center of the Argentine Beatnik scene. This graphic novel balanced parts of the art with the history of the artists. There were some pretty wild characters and did this interested in art and art history I would recommend this. For everyone else, maybe not.

[Sebadiaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Comic diferente (en este caso lo digo como algo positivo), repaso histórico de Buenos Aires durante la época Beatnik. Los dibujos me encantaron y las historias te atrapan mientras las lees, pero al no ser más que vignettes, resultan efímeras y sin capacidad de fijarse en tu cabeza. Al leer las historias me interese por algunos de los autores y conseguí sus novelas así que veremos si el comic termina siendo una introducción hacia cosas mas interesantes.

[Red Equis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me dejó con ganas de averiguar más de este submundo porteño, por más que la mayoría de los porteños sean unos pelotudos.