New magazine debuts in San Miguel
By Pedro Garza, Aug 25, 2006

Launch party
Thursday, August 31
Welcome cocktail, 7pm
8-8:30pm magazine presentation, 
Dancing and video by DJ Ilán Volovich, 
Chocolate Lounge, Mesones 99

I recently interviewed Carlos Pascual, one of the creators of the popular but now defunct El Petit Journal, about his new magazine venture, titled Malabar. The magazine will be officially launched at Chocolate Lounge on Thursday, August 31.

PG: Why another magazine?

CP: Although El Petit Journal was very successful as an editorial adventure, our management and financial problems overcame us. After two years of editing the magazine, its cycle had to come to an end before Daniel and I went completely bankrupt. At the same time, La Carpa demanded a lot of attention, and although we had a few very valuable helping hands, it was not enough. 

As soon as I detached myself from La Carpa and went back to my craft, things started to come around. I am now again able to pay for a decent meal at San Miguel prices. 

But ever since I first came to this town, I have complained about the lack of publications. I believe that a healthy community has to have fluent and diverse means of communications. We cannot think that First-World services or luxuries alone will deliver to our city what it needs: to have a soul. Although our city has a soul in its traditions, I refuse to live in a place where everything meaningful is supposed to be preserved in religious parades. 

PG: Is this magazine going to be "El Petit Journal II"?

CP: No, it is going to be a completely different magazine. Malabar will be totally different in design and content. There will be more color in it and less looking at our belly buttons, but we'll try to dodge solemn tones as we succeeded in doing with El Petit Journal. The magazine will be mainly in Spanish, with a summary of the most interesting material in English. I am working with people from León, Querétaro and Mexico City to achieve a well-organized management. In the rush and anarchic experimentation of El Petit Journal we ended up mistreating advertisers and collaborators as well. We are working so this won't happen again.

PG: Will there be naked people?

CP: There will always be, as in films, books and anything that is human. But we won't have a section like the one we had. In future issues, maybe, I'll start a good portrait section that will include nudes.

PG: Is Daniel Sirdey part of this project?

CP: Daniel is very busy now building a project in the Cruz del Palmar area, aside from his responsibilities at La Carpa. His involvement in Malabar will be sporadic. I will always keep him as a creative advisor, although I would love to have him in the creative area full time. We'll see. In this first issue I have a review by him on a nomadic museum.

PG: Do you have your creative team together?

CP: No. Malabar is an open magazine that will be changing as it grows. I invite people to get involved with ideas, sections and collaborations, extending this invitation to the businesses in the community so that they can also participate in the making of this magazine as sponsors, consultants or contributors to an adventure that will reach us all.