It was funny coming across this clip of the film by Luis Urrutia, "El Pájaro Sobreviviente", so evocative is it and reminiscent of so many memories of the sounds and scenes in Guatemala City.

At one point, as often happens I found myself searching for familiar faces and when it came to the opening of the exhibition, I thought: 'bet Tasso Hadjidodou was there' and sure enough in the next shot... But memories seem to follow 'El Tecolote' Arnoldo Ramírez Amaya around or at least it's an ambiguous relationship that he has with yesterday. In an interview in Prensa Libre a few years ago he reflected, "El futuro es hoy, el pasado es mañana y el presente no existe" ("The future's today, the past is tomorrow and the present doesn't exist").

The documentary weaves a clever backdrop for Urrutia's spotlight on one of Guatemala's finest and most original artists, by firing off questions like: "¿Sabe usted quién es Arnoldo Ramírez Amaya?" ("Do you know who Arnoldo Ramírez Amaya is?") and "¿Qué es para usted la cultura en Guatemala? (What's Guatemalan culture?)" to seemingly unsuspecting punters.

For a more acerbic exploration of the film check out Mario Roberto Morales's review "La loca de finanzas y el crack de la piedra filosofal". Thanks to El CHaRakoTeL for upping this one.