Live music and stuff in Santander, October 2021

Both La extraña desaparición de las luciérnagas and all the concerts in Rvbicón this month (as well as that of La Otra in September) were part of the Sol de Otoño cycle organised by the association Sol Cultural. The plays at Paraninfo de Las Llamas were part of the 11^th Festival de Teatro Amateur organised by Federación de Grupos de Teatro Aficionado de Cantabria (FETEACAN).

• 2 October: «La extraña desaparición de las luciérnagas» @ Espacio Espiral, calle Menéndez Pelayo 8, Santander
  A play by Abraham Salomón interpreted by Trilobite Teatro (Oaxaca, Mexico). Featuring Rocío Tisnado and Rodrigo del Mar, accompanied by Raisa Robles (guitar) and Javier Jarquín (percussion).

• 3 October: Guiu Cortés (El niño de la hipoteca) @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol 4
  Continuing with Sol de Otoño cycle. I never heard El niño de la hipoteca before and lived quite happily. Just like it was the case with La Otra, both sets were “sold out” (if you can say that about free events); once again, I got in thanks to the last-minute cancellation. I quite enjoyed the concert although I wish Mr Cortés sang more and talked less. It could have been even better if not for a few annoying fans who happened to know the lyrics and sang along, almost louder than the author himself. I would ban these people from Rvbicón forever.
• 6 October: Pedro Martínez @ Rvbicón
  The veteran singer-songwriter accompanied by Iván Velasco (guitar) and Sara García (piano, vocals).

• 13 October: Eva Sierra @ Rvbicón
  I liked all the concerts of the cycle but this one was perhaps the best.

• 17 October: «Cow Jazz Club» @ Paraninfo de Las Llamas de la Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP), Avenida de los Castros, 42
  A very modern adaptation of Chekhov’s Душечка (The Darling) by Athenea Teatro (Valladolid), directed by Xiqui Rodríguez, with Nuria García and Sheila Gómez Andrés.
• 20 October: Paula Bilá @ Rvbicón
  A charming acoustic set mostly of her own songs.

  

• 23 October: «Romeo e Giulietta» @ Paraninfo de Las Llamas
  Platea Teatro (Tomelloso, Castilla La Mancha) presented this reworking of Shakespeare’s tragedy as Commedia dell’arte by Alberto Palacios and Julia Olmedo. I liked the idea more than the actual performance.

  

• 24 October: «Mitad y mitad» @ Paraninfo de Las Llamas
  A side-splittingly hilarious black comedy by Jordi Sánchez and Pep Antón Gómez interpreted by La Capacha (Asturias), with Ángel Héctor Sánchez as Juan and Alberto Ortiz San Martín as Carlos. Directed by Jesús Prieto and José Luis Fernández.
• 28 October — 21 November: «De Polo a Polo» @ Plaza Porticada
  Open-air exhibition of fifty-two large-format images from the National Geographic archive, including the work of Frans Lanting, Paul Nicklen, Michael Nichols and Tim Laman.
• 30 October: «Mi abuela es inmortal (ensayo de un funeral)» @ Café de Las Artes Teatro, Calle García Morato 4
  A rehearsal of the funeral of Gisela’s granny, Teresa, who is now 101 and very much alive. Between touching and disconcerting: most of the time I was thinking that I really shouldn’t be there. By Cía. de creació Kunstant (Catalonia), featuring Francesc Saló (piano), Ferran Saló (violin, viola) and Gisela Saló (voice, guitar, piano).

They changed the clocks back to standard (i.e. winter) time today. Looking forward to more live events in the dark.

Madres paralelas

a film by Pedro Almodóvar

Pedro Almodóvar set such a high standard of filmmaking that now and then his own creations fall short of it. This is certainly the case with his latest offering: an improvement over Dolor y gloria, not quite at the level of The Human Voice, and longer than both of these films. Milena Smit shines as Ana while Penélope Cruz’s character, Janis, is not particularly convincing. And it’s always a joy to see Rossy de Palma.

The two storylines, viz. that of “parallel mothers” and the mass grave excavations, could have been connected in a more subtle manner. The latter one seems to be added as an afterthought, and not a very well thought-through one. Which is a shame: it’s admirable that Almodóvar at last confronts Spain’s not-so-distant past. But that story is worthy of a film on its own. As it is, Madres paralelas is both disjointed and predictable, with too many bits scattered in Stanislavski’s “I don’t believe it” territory.