Tibet
Awareness Week at a leading South American seaside resort[Thursday, 27 January 2011, 10:04 a.m.]

Colourful Tibetan National flag and prayer flags flutter in the breeze during the Tibet awareness week at the prominent seaside resort of Punta del Este, in Uruguay, South America

Punta del Este: ‘Tibet Awareness Week’ opened
in Punta del Este, a well-known seaside resort of Uruguay in South
America, on 22 January. The event takes place in the gallery hall of the
Punta del Este City Tourist Information Center.The event
includes a series of photo exhibition on Tibet, display of Buddhist
scroll paintings (Thang-kas), film shows and talks on Tibet and Tibetan
Buddhist culture.  It is organised by Aloma Sellanes, a Uruguayan writer
and Tibet supporter, in collaboration with the Central Tibetan
Administration’s Liaison Officer to Latin America, Mr Tsewang Phuntso.
Aloma’s new book, “Latin Americans and Tibet” will be published sometime
early this year.In the photo exhibition section, four
photographers from different backgrounds portray different aspects of
the life of the Tibetan people.  Sofia Abboud, a young
Argentinean photographer who frequently visits Tibet, portrays the life
in Tibetan monasteries in Tibet through her photo collections on Tibetan
monasteries; Ciro
Jaumandreu, a young Uruguayan artist, express his understanding of
the Buddha’s teaching through a series of conceptual and abstract art on
the life of Milarepa; Sonam
Zoksang, a New York based Tibetan photographer presents beautiful
but emotional portraits of the Tibetan people inside Tibet; and Jianglin
Li, a New York based Chinese independent writer, portrays various
aspects of the life of Tibetan people in diasporas. Apart from their
collections, there is also a section of black and white photos
documenting the early exile life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.Ana
Maria Clasing, a Chilean who has been practicing Tibetan Buddhism for
many years and who frequently visits Dharamsala, displays her collection
of Tibetan Buddhist scroll paintings (Thang-kas).  On 24 January
evening, she also gave a talk describing the history and significance of
the Tibetan scroll paintings.  On 26 January, she shared her experience
of visiting Tibet.Commenting on the importance of organising
this event at internationally known summer holiday resort of Punta del
Este in Uruguay, Aloma Sellanes said, “Since Punta del Este attracts so
many influential and important persons—writers, artists, film stars, and
intellectuals—from Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Brazil and
Europe during the summer months, it is important to organise such event
to create awareness on the plight of Tibetan people”. She further
commented that, “Latin Americans being lived under the authoritarian
military rule for many years, they can understand the plight of Tibetan
people better”.Apart from Ana Maria Clasing, speakers at the
event include Gerardo Abboud, a Spanish translator for His Holiness the
Dalai Lama in Latin America, Aloma Sellanes, and Tsewang Phuntso.  On
opening day of the event on 22 January, Tsewang Phuntso gave a
presentation about the “Fate of the Tibetan Culture in Contemporary
Tibet” and the next day, 23 January, Gerardo Abboud gave a detail
introduction about the Tibetan Buddhist Culture”.  On 25 January,
Tsewang Phuntso gave a presentation on “Preservation of the Tibetan
Culture in Diaspora”.  On 27 January, Aloma Sellanes will talk on “Brief
History of Tibet and Life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama” followed by a
screening of a movie on Tibet.  For the past three days, all the talks
were attended by 80 to 100 people and the responses of the audience
turned out to be extremely good and engaging.  The Tibet Awareness Week
is covered by Channel 7 television network, which broadcast
simultaneously in Uruguay and Argentina.The event will end with
the film, “What Remains of Us”, on 28 January.Punta del Este is
most frequently visited seaside resort in Uruguay. Nearly half a million
tourists visit this beautiful resort during the summer, which begins
here from the middle of December and last until the first week of March.
Thousands of wealthy Argentinian families have built their summer homes
in this resort. It is a meeting ground of Uruguayans, Argentinians,
Chileans, Brazilians, Paraguayans, and Europeans.More photos from the event:

Mr Tsewang Phuntso, Central Tibetan Administration’s Liaison Officer to Latin America (right) speaks o visitors at the Tibet Awareness Week at Punta del Este, in Uruguay, South America

Visitors from different parts of Latin American countries attend ‘Tibet Awareness Week’ at Punta del Este, in Uruguay, South America

Visitors look at a repository of traditional Tibetan scroll paintings (Thang-Ka) during ‘Tibet Awareness Week’ at Punta del Este, in Uruguay, South America