revolutionaries

Carlos and I attempted to go to a lecture at the National Library.

There was a coloquio on Victor Humareda, an influential artist who shaped modern Peruvian painting by veering from and changing its historical direction. It has been 20 years since his death and the National Library organized an exhibit of his paintings and drawings, photo portraits by various photographers, and panel discussions on Humareda's œuvre and impact.

We arrived early to tour the exhibit and seated ourselves in the auditorium a few minutes before 19:00, when the discussion was scheduled to begin.

Five minutes past, the auditorium was still mostly empty and the stage and guest chairs were completely vacant. Ten minutes later, 15, 20, 25, nothing, not even an announcement. Finally at 19:30, the auditorium now mostly full but still no guests, we inquired when the talk would begin. The usher said "in five minutes." We left. We didn't arrive in Peru yesterday and recognized the hackneyed euphemism.

I was surprised that no one else seemed angry, or at least a little bit annoyed. I wished that the audience members were wise to value their time and demand better for themselves. But then that would require them to be revolutionaries, too.