Mujeres que follan: Historias de sexo real contadas por ellas

by Adaia Teruel

I learned about this book quite by chance, thanks to an excerpt published in Pikara Magazine. Then I forgot all about it. And then I saw it in the library, leafed through it and knew that I had to read it.

The book includes interviews with 26 women in their forties who happen to live in Barcelona, although not all were born there. Plus two “bonus tracks”: Candela, a trans woman of 63, and Iris, a pansexual girl of 33. Single, married, separated, divorced, widowed, with and without children, straight, gay, bi, poly, vanilla, kinky, submissive, dominant, you name it — if you must.

Clasificar la sexualidad en función del estado civil o las preferencias sexuales tiene el mismo sentido que hacerlo en función del color de pelo de las entrevistadas. Si de algo me ha servido entrevistar a estas mujeres es para darme cuenta de que no hay una única manera de practicar sexo, sino tantas sexualidades como personas.

The Telling

by Ursula K. Le Guin

“We’ll be making love on a world nobody even knows the name of now, a thousand years from now!”

If this book was written by anybody else, it would likely be considered pretty good or at least promising. Compared though to the Earthsea cycle or, say, The Dispossessed, The Telling comes out as weak and, worse, unnecessary.

I liked the story. This is what it really should have been: a short story. As a novel, it doesn’t work for me. The characters are two-dimensional at best and one can see how it’s gonna end miles ahead. Cut, cut, cut. And yet... I feel that the subplot of Pao and Sutty could have been developed (was developing?) into something interesting. Something truly big. Alas, Ursula Le Guin is no longer with us so we’ll probably never know.

Pao had tried on Sutty’s old grey-and-silver saree once, to entertain Sutty while she was convalescing, but she said it felt too much like skirts, which of course she had been forced to wear in public all her life because of the Unist clothing laws, and she couldn’t get the trick of securing the top. “My tits are going to pop out!” she cried, and then, encouraging them to do so, had performed a remarkable version of what she called Indian classical dance all over the futons.

Книга бессмыслиц

by Edward Lear
translated by Mark Freidkin
foreword by Nina Demurova

In the first post-Soviet year, when we had no money and were surviving being permanently drunk on new, as we thought, freedom, I bought this book from a rickety stall somewhere in the vicinity of Park Kultury metro station. I loved it so much that I kept returning to that stall, so many of my friends and colleagues have got it as a gift. Some of its limericks (or parts thereof), in Russian translation, became our cultural references that stood the test of time.

A few years later, already in Leeds, I got hold of Edward Lear’s Complete Nonsense, a gorgeous edition by the Folio Society, with a preface by Quentin Blake.

Արշալույսի լուսաբացը

a film by Inna Sahakyan

An animated documentary based on the life of Arshaluys “Aurora” Mardiganian (1901—1994). It also includes interviews with Mardiganian and surviving fragments of the 1919 silent film Auction of Souls.

Here’s a bit of info that appeared in the end titles: it was not until 2021 that the United States recognised the the massacre of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire as genocide. Is it correct? I looked it up: yes, correct. Worse still: neither UK nor Spain, as sovereign nations, are there yet, although the parliaments of Scotland, Wales and six Spanish autonomous communities have recognised the Armenian genocide.

Aurora’s Sunrise was the last film of the cycle Tiempo de memoria, memoria en el tiempo, organised by Instituto Canario de Desarrollo Cultural (ICDC), the only one that I’ve seen. Before the screening, the Canarian flautist Cristian Suárez played three short pieces in memory of the war victims.

Ми не згаснемо

a film by Alisa Kovalenko

Five teenagers living in a small town in Donbass have a dream. Well, they have a lot of dreams, mostly about the end of the war, or about getting out of this arse end of nowhere. But the most outlandish one is to visit Himalayas.

As it happens, this is the one dream that actually comes true. Pretty unbelievable, I say. And the film, I’m afraid, does not make it believable — a fatal flaw in a documentary. Which is a shame. I can’t blame the director — she interrupted the work on the picture she had been filming for three years when the full-blown Russian invasion of Ukraine started in order to fight on the frontline. It could be that she lost the interest in the film, at least for a while. That she eventually managed to finish it, after coming back, is already a miracle. In any case, the film as envisaged does not exist. The war added a harsh epilogue: three protagonists became refugees; the contact with the remaining two who fell under occupation was lost.

We Will Not Fade Away (rendered in Spanish as “Nosotras, mañana”) was the last Documental del Mes of this year.

Un amor

a film by Isabel Coixet

Me sorprende cómo la gente juzga a este personaje desde una especie de atalaya de superioridad moral, desde una estupidez que me alucina.

From the interview with Isabel Coixet

If you are running away from somebody or something, a godforsaken village in the middle of nowhere should be at the bottom of your destination list. However, this is exactly where Nat (Laia Costa) finds herself, and, predictably enough, things don’t go well. The men in her way — the landlord (Luis Bermejo), Píter (Hugo Silva), and Andreas “the German” (Hovik Keuchkerian) — are all quite repulsive, albeit in their own ways. By embarking on an affair with Andreas, Nat is simply bound to be judged, by the villagers and the viewers alike. Isabel Coixet says in an interview that she is surprised by the latter’s reaction; on the contrary, I don’t find anything remotely surprising in that. Esto es lo que hay.

But wait. In Un amor, Coixet masterfully juggles the disturbing and the comic; the Riojan locations are breathtaking; and — a bit of a spoiler here — it all ends much better than expected. So long, assholes! The finale, with Nat reuniting with her true love, Sieso the dog, and dancing to Es wird wieder gut by Palast Orchester, is gloriously uplifting. It will make you (want to) dance too.

Live music and stuff in Santander, November 2023

Finally, some rock and jazz! This is what I’ve seen this month:

• 2 November: Could Seed & Stone From The Sky @ Rock Beer The New, Calle Peñas Redondas, 15, Santander
  Two psychedelic/prog rock bands from France. I asked for the names of the musicians and I’ve got the names although not surnames. Could Seed are Jordan (guitar), Dimitri (guitar), Thomas (bass) and Élie (drums); Stone From The Sky are Florent (guitar), Dimitri (bass) and Clément (drums).

  

• 3 November: «Aquelarre» @ Galería Este, Mercado del Este, Calle Hernán Cortés, 4
  Inauguration of the exhibition of the Cantabrian artist Nuria Velázquez, with live music by the artist’s group Concha Juana and some friends.
• 4 November: Peligro Ciervos @ Discos Cucos, Calle Santa Lucía, 41
  Cantabrian country music trio presenting their new album in my favourite record shop in Santander.

  

• 9 November: Safree @ Teatro CASYC, Calle Tantín, 25
  As it was a part of the cycle Excéntricos 2023, I expected some standard of quality. Instead, I found myself at the worst show I’ve ever paid money to see in Santander. Boring reggaeton from somebody who can neither compose nor sing. Best avoided.
• 16 November: Mujerklorica @ Teatro CASYC
  There was no better way to get rid of the bad taste in the mouth left by the preceding concert than to return to CASYC a week later for a healthy dose of flamenco. With Alicia Carrasco (cante), José Manuel León (guitar), Carlos Merino (percussion) and Sara Vázquez (baile).

  

• 16 November: Sebastian Raspanti @ Bar Bolero, Calle San Celedonio, 35
  Maybe not the best singer-sogwriter out there but the anecdotes he was telling were very entertaining.
• 18 November: «Danza de las Sombras» @ Eureka Santander, Calle San Simón, 8
  Pretty unlistenable music that might have been called avant-garde some sixty years ago and sounds awfully dated now. The dance was not so bad but not exactly engaging either. Featuring Cecilia Gala (dance), Marta Sainz (voice) and Enrique Zaccagnini (sounds).
• 23 November: Marathon Jazz @ Escenario Santander, Avenida de la Constitución 39 (Parque de las Llamas)
  Plenty of familiar faces paid a moving homage to Marcos Rvbicón.
  • Antonio Gamaza (piano) and Javier San Miguel (saxophones)
  • Javier San Miguel Quartet: Manuel Cavero (double bass), Antonio Gamaza (piano), Adela Green (drums), Javier San Miguel (saxophones)
  • Rafael Santana Trio: Toño Gutiérrez (electric bass), Rodri Irizábal (drums) and Rafa Santana (piano)
  • Toño Gutiérrez Sextet: featuring Javier Escudero (guitar), Chus Gancedo (drums), Johannes Gunkel (trumpet), Toño Gutiérrez (electric bass), Rafa Santana (piano, keyboards) and Chisco Villanueva (tenor sax)
  • Special guest: Francesco Bearzatti (tenor sax)

• 25 November: «Entre sombras» @ Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria, Calle de Gamazo
  A show by Compañía Sentidos dedicated to the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Featuring Rubén Borjas, La Mimi, Jacqueline Borjas (baile), Borja Borja (cante), Antonio Domínguez (guitar) and Poncho (violin).

  

• 25 November: Blues & Jazz Jam @ Bar Bolero
  Later the same day, with Dany Garcia (guitar), David Costas (piano), Antonio Romero (bass) and the guests.

  

And two exhibitions:

• 10 November 2023 — 4 February 2024: «El agua espera» @ El Palacete del Embarcadero, Muelle de Calderón
  The last exhibition in El Palacete del Embarcadero before they close it for renovations next year.

  

• 24 November — 11 December: Tipos23 @ Muelle de Albareda
  The exhibition of posters dedicated to peripheries of Santander. Featuring works by Cristina Arce, Jesús Allende Valcuende, Celia Andrés Ruamayor, Natalia Andueza, Patxi Antxón, Javier Clérigo, Begoña Cueli, Isabel de la Sierra, Gorka Gil, Víctor Fernández, Carmen Gutiérrez Somavilla, José Antonio Quintana, Ruth Martín Casanova, Verónica Ruiz Vicente, Rafa San Emeterio and Manuel Teira.

  

La Singla

a film by Paloma Zapata

The fictional journalist Elena (Helena Kaittani) is looking for a trace of Antoñita Singla, a deaf bailaora famous in 1960s. According to Kaittani, her personage is based on the film’s director, Paloma Zapata. The investigation of Elena is much more believable than that of Jeff Harris in They Shot the Piano Player. But did La Singla really disappear only to be found by the film creators through, wait a minute, the car dealer Singlauto? I don’t think so. For example, a 2017 article mentions matter-of-factly that La Singla has retired from dancing but is very much alive.

Never mind that. The movie is gripping. At least it was for me. And, thanks to it, I discovered an amazing flamenco dancer.

Sur l’Adamant

a film by Nicolas Philibert

A heart-warming documentary portraying the daily lives of the inhabitants of L’Adamant, a floating mental health centre on the Seine in Paris.

L’Incroyable Histoire du facteur Cheval

a film by Nils Tavernier

L’Incroyable Histoire du facteur Cheval is, indeed, so incredible, and also so tragic, that it could only have been a true story. Starring Jacques Gamblin as postman Cheval, Laetitia Casta as Philomène and Zélie Rixhon as their daughter Alice. Get out your hankies.

Tren de sombras

a film by José Luis Guerín

A silent film that is never silent. What starts like an innocent amateur family footage from 1930 develops into something way more mysterious, even sinister. (Closer to the end, we’ll see a bit of a remake in colour.) There are connotations of Antonioni’s Blow-Up; long shots à la Tarkovsky bring almost unbearable tension. And the enigma remains unsolved. A 1997 masterpiece that I’ve never heard about.

Red-Headed Woman

a film by Jack Conway

Starring amazing Jean Harlow as the home-wrecking, gold-digging titular redhead, complete with a host of other stereotypes, this pre-Code comedy will make you laugh, cringe, or both at the same time.

Gagarine

a film by Fanny Liatard and Jérémy Trouilh

Yuri (Alséni Bathily), together with his friends Diana (Lyna Khoudri) and Houssam (Jamil McCraven), are trying to save their home, Cité Gagarine, from demolition. A heartwarming debut feature by Liatard and Trouilh, also starring Finnegan Oldfield as Dali. Watch it.

A beautiful theme song, Ya Tara by Amine Bouhafa, is performed by Lena Chamamyan.

Madame X — Eine absolute Herrscherin

a film by Tabea Blumenschein and Ulrike Ottinger

There are only two user reviews of this absurdist comedy on IMDb: one reviewer gave Madame X nothing, another 10/10. I found the opening collection of Pythonesque sketches the most entertaining. At 147 minutes, however, it’s way too long and repetitive for the message. In the version screened at Filmoteca, the German dialogue was subtitled while the English one was not; no wonder some people have left half-way through. Then again, when it’s cold and wet outside, I can think of worse options than sitting in a warm cinema, wondering what a lesbian pirate ship’s weird crew will do next.

Safe in Hell

a film by William Wellman

An engaging pre-Code tragicomedy screened as a part of the cycle Puntos de fuga.

Gilda (Dorothy Mackaill) arrives to a hotel run by Leonie (Nina Mae McKinney) and inhabited by a motley crew of international lowlifes. Quite an agreeable bunch, I say.

Live music and stuff in Las Palmas and Santander, October 2023

The first half of October I was doing a course in the afternoon, so missed all the events in Las Palmas — except one, and only thanks to a public holiday.

• 12 October: Masdanza Showcase @ Museo Castillo de Mata, Calle Domingo Guerra del Río, 147, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Five modern dance performances:

  Acerina Toledo (creator and dancers), Lanzarote: Flores Negras Michela Priuli (creator), Barbara Allegrezza & Nicolò Castagni (dancers), Milan: Roots Arnau Pérez de la Fuente (creator and dancer), Barcelona: Single Fairul Zahid (creator), Evangeline Koo & Tay Mei Xuan Jocelyn (dancers), Singapore: Sopan Cecilia Bartolino & Carlos Aller (creators and dancers), Berlin: Saudade de Ti

Forward to Santander. The death of Vicente González Marcos, better known as Marcos Rvbicón, on 26 May of this year, left a gaping hole in the city’s music scene. Rvbicón has been closed ever since. I didn’t go to any jazz concert this month, not that there were many.

• 15 October: Mira cómo me siento @ Paraninfo de Las Llamas de la Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP), Avenida de los Castros, 42, Santander
  Written and directed by Juan Carlos Martínez de La Fuente and performed by Irónico Teatro (Gijón, Asturias), Mira cómo me siento was the only play of the 13^th Festival de Teatro Amateur that I was able to see this year. Featuring Juan Carlos Martínez de La Fuente, Ana García, Marta Sureda, Verónica Araoz, Cristina Fernández, Virginia Herrero, Marisa F. Melcón, Nona de Pedro, Orlando Piñera and Isabel Cuéllar.

• 21 October: Ines Pardo Rivas & Roots Syndicate @ Biblioteca Central de Cantabria, Calle Ruiz de Alda, 19
  Cantabrian reggae!

  

• 29 October: La Caja del Fuego @ Albarrio Bar, Calle Juan José Pérez del Molino, 30 Bajo
  A dynamic duo from Mendoza, Argentina, plus some musicians who happened to be there during the lunchtime.

• 30 October: Sara Correia @ Teatro CASYC, Calle Tantín, 25
  Beautiful new fado by Sara Correia accompanied by Diogo Clemente (Spanish guitar), Ângelo Freire (Portuguese guitar) and Frederico Gato (bass guitar). A completely unplugged encore was the cherry on top. A part of the cycle Excéntricos 2023.

  

All performances I attended were free except the concert of Sara Correia (€5), which is practically free. Happy Halloween Everybody!

Fumer fait tousser

a film by Quentin Dupieux

Five superheroes with chemical superpowers go on a retreat where they sit around campfire telling scary stories. Another day, a barracuda joins in... This black superhero comedy (in a sense, it’s a superhero comedy which is also a black comedy, plus one of the heroes is a Black superhero) is definitely not for the squeamish. Weird, crazy, silly stuff. It flopped at the box office: a good start to become a cult classic.

Dispararon al pianista

a film by Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal

From the creators of Chico & Rita, this animated almost-documentary follows the trail of hitherto unknown to me Brazilian jazz pianist Tenório Jr. who mysteriously disappeared in 1976.

I found They Shot the Piano Player uneven, often repetitive and at times frustrating. In addition, the version I saw in Los Ángeles was dubbed. Although the film is Spanish, its original soundtrack is mostly not. So when they say “starring Jeff Goldblum” and “interviews with Gilberto Gil, João Gilberto, Vinicius de Moraes, Milton Nascimento, Caetano Veloso” etc. etc. and after that you don’t hear their voices, you’re bound to be disappointed.

On a more positive note, I’ve discovered a new name. And the music is great throughout.

Hypericon

by Manuele Fior
translated by Regina López Muñoz

Another great comic from Fior. I was half expecting the protagonists go their separate ways. That would be more logical and the book almost comes to that point... I felt slightly annoyed by them coming back together, but hey, who wants 5,000 Kilometers Per Second 2? Not me. Hypericon could be an alternative universe version of 5,000 kps though... I said too much already.

Like in Celestia, I find most of the dialogue superfluous. Ditto the internal monologue of Teresa. With some exceptions, of course. Such as Teresa and Ruben’s bickering.

Kudryavka (perra de pelo rizado)

by Xenia García

How would you react to the news that the one whom you wished to be dead — ojalá te mueras! — actually is dead? Your ex; your abuser; and, as you’ll learn a bit later, not only yours. So?

I am one of those who judges a book by its cover, and the cover of this one, let’s be honest, is not the best. The only reason I took it from the shelf in the library was a word on its cover. No, I didn’t know that Kudryavka (Кудрявка), “Curly”, was the original name of Laika. Poor Laika. The book is not really about the dog, but I read a couple of pages and got hooked.

Xenia García’s debut novel is not an easy reading. It asks many questions; no answers are provided. It may keep you awake in the middle of the night. Also, it’s extremely well written. I look forward to read more from her.

La primera vez que te vi, acabé bailando desnuda bajo la lluvia. Fuera diluviaba, diluvia, pero nosotros nos resguardamos en el Citroën gris de tu padre donde muy pronto arañaremos nuestras horas y tú te harás río. Hay mañanas en las que soy río bajo la tierra, me dijiste, me dices, me dirás luego, me dirás siempre, aunque no esa primera vez, de esa primera vez solo recuerdo un aguacero luminoso tras los cristales empañados cuyo único objetivo fue hacer de nuestra primera vez el relato de nuestra primera vez, ese que recrearemos en cada ocasión a lo largo de nuestro tiempo juntos, engalanándolo con detalles de los que ni tú ni yo estamos seguros, porque contar es vivir dos veces, me dijiste una noche de tormenta en la que comenzamos a ser nostalgia de lo que fuimos.

Free live music and stuff in Las Palmas, September 2023

What we’ve seen in September:

• 6 September: Las Hespérides «Con voce festiva» @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  Featuring Magdalena Padilla (soprano), Sebastián Gil (natural trumpet), Juan Pablo Alemán (baroque cello), Carlos Oramas (theorbo, baroque guitar) and Vicent Bru (organ, harpsichord). The programme of the concert included:
  • Georg Friedrich Händel: Eternal source of light divine (Ode for the Birthday of Queen Anne), HWV 74
  • Alessandro Scarlatti: Si suoni la tromba (from 7 Arie per soprano, tromba e basso continuo)
  • Johann Pachelbel: Chaconne in F minor
  • Alessandro Scarlatti: Mio tesoro per te moro (from 7 Arie per soprano, tromba e basso continuo)
  • Gottfried Heinrich Stölzel: Bist du bei mir (from Diomedes oder die triumphierende Unschuld)
  • Giuseppe Torelli: Sonata in re maggiore per tromba, archi e basso continuo, G.7
  • Domenico Scarlatti: Fille, già più non parlo (cantata)
  • Domenico Scarlatti: Sonata in do minore, K 58
  • Alessandro Scarlatti: Rompe sprezza (from 7 Arie per soprano, tromba e basso continuo)
  • Georg Friedrich Händel: Let the bright Seraphim (from Samson, HWV 57)

• 14 September: Jesús “Bachi” Bachiller @ Aula de Piedra ULPGC, Calle Juan de Quesada, 30
  The bassist from Málaga opens the autumn season of masterclasses organised by Mousikê La Laguna in a different (from the usual) venue. Two bass volunteers joined him for a jam.

• 21 September: «Vida y muerte en La Guancha» @ La Guancha, Gáldar
  A guided visit to the archaeological site La Guancha, organised by Cabildo de Gran Canaria and Tibicena. More information here.

  

• 30 September: «Escuchar con los ojos y ver con el oído» @ Conservatorio Superior de Música de Canarias, calle Maninidra, 1
  A part of III Festival Contemporáneo del Festival Internacional de Música de Canarias. Contemporary classical/chamber music, with some movie fragments, performed by Ensemble DifrAcción and Ensemble del CSMC and conducted by José María de Vicente. Really entertaining. It could have been even better if there was some sort of ventilation in the auditorio. (Who built it, I wonder. Didn’t they know it could get hot in Las Palmas?) The programme included:
  • Arnold Schönberg: Der Kranke Mond (from Pierrot lunaire)
  • Candelaria Dorta: El gabinete del doctor Caligari. Acto V (with a scene from The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari)
  • Gustavo Díaz-Jerez: Tombeau de Perseus
  • Bernard Herrmann: Psycho (with scenes from Psycho)
  • György Ligeti: Musica ricercata II (with stills from Eyes Wide Shut)
  • Claude Debussy: from La boîte à joujoux
  • Olivier Messiaen: Plainte calme (from Préludes pour piano)
  • Tōru Takemitsu: Rain Coming

  

And that was it for September.

Slide

a film by Bill Plympton

Ah, if only they’ve made it four times shorter, this film would have been just perfect. Never mind the ridiculous plot or a yawning absence of likeable characters (maybe apart from some moles sticking out of the ground). It’s 80 minutes of country and western music that will destroy your faith in humanity, if you still have one.

La balada del mar salado

by Hugo Pratt
afterword by Gianni Brunoro
translated by Miguel Sánchez and Gema Moraleda

I knew about Hugo Pratt and his most famous creation but, until now, I’ve never read any Corto Maltese comic. I guess I was intrigued by Trazo de tiza whose author, Miguelanxo Prado, cited Pratt as one of his major influences. So I decided to start from the beginning: The Ballad of the Salty Sea.

There is a whole shelf of Corto Maltese (Corto Maltés in Spanish) comics in the library, but this one wasn’t there.

Primavera para Madrid

by Magius

Oh, the shining. “Take me!”, it called to me from the library shelf. “Take me with you!” This book just couldn’t be ignored. “Take me and read me!” I had to obey. That’s how, I suppose, it won the 2021 National Comic Award.

Of course, any resemblance to actual persons, companies or events is purely coincidental. It’s Banka, not Bankia. It’s Prince of Cantabria Award, not Prince of Asturias Award. It’s not the Emeritus, just some other guy killing elephants somewhere in Africa. And all these corrupt politicians are the other corrupt politicians, not those you thought. (Madrid is still Madrid though, right?)

In words of its publisher, Autsaider Cómics: “Impreso íntegramente sobre papel oro para reflejar el obsceno derroche de nuestros amados líderes” (“Printed entirely on gold paper to reflect the obscene squandering by our beloved leaders”).

The Martian

a film by Ridley Scott

How come I never watched this film until yesterday? Well, it’s not exactly true: I caught its less-than-convincing happy end some years ago on the telly and wasn’t impressed. Now that I saw The Martian in its entirety, I have to confess I quite enjoyed it. It’s got a sense of humour. It’s got ABBA, David Bowie and Donna Summer. And The Green Morning moment: “Hey there”. Hell, I even liked Matt Damon’s (ABBA, David Bowie and Donna Summer-hating) Mark Watney — he’s not as much Robinson Crusoe as Cyrus Smith. Science is cool. Be like Mark, and they’ll name a new potato species after you [see Martine (!) et al. (2016) Solanum watneyi, a new bush tomato species from the Northern Territory, Australia named for Mark Watney of the book and film “The Martian”. PhytoKeys 61, 1—13].

I doubt I’ll be using Watney’s life hacks any time soon, except for this one:

“If you can’t fix it with duct tape, then you ain’t using enough duct tape.”

Wait, that’s from a different movie.

Free live music and stuff in Las Palmas, August 2023

Culture-wise, August here is dead. Dead. And after the incredibly busy July, it felt especially dead. Enter LPA Groove Summer, a two-day (or should I say three-night?) mini-festival organised by Miguel Ramírez. This is a second edition of the cycle: the first was last summer in Miller. Thankfully, this year they moved LPA Groove Summer outdoors, to Parque Doramas: better ambience and closer to me.

• 11 August: Los Jinetes del Groove / Mirla Riomar @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos, Parque Doramas, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  According to our City Hall notice, Los Jinetes del Groove were “born in La Laguna as a response to the lethargy caused by the health crisis”. A healthy dose of jazz-funk interspersed with humorous intermissions. I really liked all the songs but if I had to choose my three favourites, they would be Freedom, No More Passport and Slow, Bro. Featuring Pablo Galán (drums), Pablo González (keyboards), Diego Jiménez (sax) and Jonay Mesa (guitar).
  The second part did not disappoint: an exuberant celebration of Afro-Brazilian music and dance by Mirla Riomar (vocals, percussion, dance) accompanied by Antony da Cruz (bass), Marcelo Montenegro (drums), Cra Rosa (percussion) and Marcel Valles Perpinya (guitar).
• 12 August: Nymura / Gisele Jackson & The Shu Shu’s @ Auditorio José Antonio Ramos
  Nymura is a solo project by Ruyman Franco (DJ, rap, keyboards, bass guitar), on this occasion accompanied by Tana Santana (bass guitar, keyboards), Pablo Queu (guitar), Juan Pérez (drums) and Alba Gil Aceytuno (alto sax, flute, rap), plus a guest Devitha Pradinda (vocals, keys).
  And a cherry on the cake: the concert of Gisele Jackson, supported by Dave Wilkinson (guitar), Abel Boquera (Hammond) and Caspar St. Charles (drums). Mixing her own songs with standards such as I Put a Spell on You, Son of a Preacher Man and Chain of Fools, she made everybody dance.

And a bit of art:

• 10 August — 7 September: «Concurso Gran Canaria de Series de Obra Gráfica 2022» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas (CAP), Calle Colón, 8
  A small collective exhibition of winning and selected works of the last year’s contest. My favourites were Equilibrio. Simetría. Armonía by María Carmen Eizaguirre Santana and Memoria del Suelo by Nadia Brito Melado.

  

Looking forward to more life in September.

Life Lines: Poets For Oxfam

by Various Authors

This was the only non-second hand CD I ever bought from Oxfam, back in 2006. I’ve been coming back to it ever since.

There are poems OK, good and brilliant. As I’m sure I’ve mentioned before, I’m not a fan of vers libre, so I tend to skip those, except perhaps of Look at These by Helen Farish. My absolute favourites are Sexy at Sixty by Pam Ayres, No Ball Games by Sophie Hannah, No Ball Games, and that ultimate pièce de résistance by John Hegley with Keith Moore on tuba: St George’s Day.

Life Lines: Poets For Oxfam Dannie Abse, The Stethoscope Fleur Adcock, A Rose Tree Patience Agbabi, Countdown to Zero Al Alvarez, Anne Dancing Simon Armitage, Two Clocks Pam Ayres, Sexy at Sixty Sebastian Barker, The Walkway Charles Bennett, A Woman Made of Bees Ashok Bery, A Very Short History of British India Alan Brownjohn, Talking Animals Melanie Challenger, Limb Polly Clark, Hedgehog Olivia Cole, Breaking the Ice Wendy Cope, Spared Tim Cumming, The Knowledge Charlie Dark, Airborne Isobel Dixon, And Carol Ann Duffy, Prayer Ian Duhig, From the Irish Frank Dullaghan, Man On The Moon Helen Farish, Look at These Peter Finch, Ben Lomond Annie Freud, Canaletto Orange Anne-Marie Fyfe, Signallings Giles Goodland, Corrections Lavinia Greenlaw, Spirit of the Staircase Sophie Hannah, No Ball Games, etc. David Harsent, Toffee John Hegley, St George’s Day Kevin Higgins, A Brief History of Those Who Made Their Point Politely and Then Went Home Alan Jenkins, Inheritance Mimi Khalvati, Ghazal after Hafez Nick Laird, Cuttings Roddy Lumsden, My True love Chris McCabe, Axis of Evil Roger McGough, Half Term Jamie McKendrick, Ancient History Lachlan Mackinnon, Marfa, Texas Adrian Mitchell, Human Esther Morgan, Bone China Andrew Motion, Anne Frank Huis Daljit Nagra, Darling and Me Cath Nichols, Corona Eric Ormsby, My Mother in Old Age Ruth Padel, Tiger Drinking at Forest Pool Pascale Petit, Self Portrait with Fire Ants Mario Petrucci, On the Onset of Tinnitus Clare Pollard, A London Plane Tree Peter Porter, Chorus At The End Of The First Act Sally Read, Mastectomy Denise Riley, Shatung Maurice Riordan, The January Birds Henry Shukman, Piano Solo George Szirtes, Water Jo Shapcott, Of Mutability Owen Sheers, Not Yet My Mother John Siddique, Cheap Moisturizer John Stammers, Mary Bruton Greta Stoddart, You Drew Breath Liane Strauss, Ça ce n’est pas Todd Swift, Lost at Austerlitz Heather Taylor, Trouble Tim Turnbull, New Romantic Jonathan Ward, Anna and the Swan John Welch, Taking Refuge Jackie Wells, Only a 9-Year-Old Briar Wood, Tent Tamar Yoseloff, Barnard’s Star Benjamin Zephaniah, A Picture of a Sign

Piranesi

by Susanna Clarke

‘It’s all in the book I wrote. I don’t suppose you happen to have read it?’ ‘No, sir.’ ‘Pity. It’s terribly good. You’d like it.’ Susanna Clarke, Piranesi

It took ten years for Susanna Clarke to write her debut masterpiece. Another sixteen years passed before she published her second novel. And it was totally worth the wait. Because, you see, Ms Clarke has written a book that’s even better than Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. That’s what I call quality.

I don’t think the sixteen year gap was deliberate but the number 16 seems to be important to the author. As in the name of one of the characters. Or the number of etchings in Imaginary Prisons by Giovanni Battista Piranesi (2^nd edition; the first edition contained 14). Anyway, it’s a good number.

‘I was the greatest scholar of my generation. Perhaps of any generation. I theorised that this ...’ He opened his hands in a gesture intended to indicate the Hall, the House, Everything. ‘ ... existed. And it does. I theorised that there was a way to get here. And there is. And I came here and I sent others here. I kept everything secret. And I swore the others to secrecy too. I’ve never been very interested in what you might call morality, but I drew the line at bringing about the collapse of civilisation. Perhaps that was wrong. I don’t know. I do have a rather sentimental streak.’

もののけ姫

a film by Hayao Miyazaki

I think Princess Mononoke was the first Studio Ghibli film I saw, yet somehow it never became my favourite. Rather the opposite. Still, I endured it quite a few times when the kids were little. Yesterday, we sat down to revisit it.

It’s amazing how much I’ve forgotten in, um, fifteen years or so. I definitely enjoyed the movie now, yucky stuff notwithstanding, maybe because we watched it (for the first time!) in original Japanese, maybe just a nostalgia effect. There are many parallels with Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. Lady Eboshi, of course, is a mediaeval version of Princess Kushana, as San (aka princess Mononoke) is a (p)reincarnation of Nausicaä. Kodama the tree spirits are almost unbearably cute; of human characters, the Iron Town women are the most appealing.

Live music and stuff in Las Palmas, July 2023

Whoever decided to organise the 32^nd International Canarian Jazz Festival (30 June — 23 July 2023) and 27^th TEMUDAS Fest (6—22 July 2023) at the same time, clearly didn’t think of people like me. Oh well. I tried to catch what I could.

• 6 July: Both Sides of Joni Mitchell and Rey & Syl @ Paraninfo de La Universidad de Las Palmas, Calle Juan de Quesada, 30, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
  This double bill started with a jazzy tribute to Joni Mitchell by Alexis Cole (vocals) and Monika Herzig (piano) with Peter Kienle (guitar/bass), Peter Lehel (saxophone) and Cecilia Sanchietti (drums). I found the second part more engaging: a fantastic band featuring Dorrey Lin Lyles (vocals), Sylwester Ostrowski (tenor sax), Jakub Mizeracki (guitar), Michał Szkil (piano), Adam Tadel (double bass), Owen Hart Jr. (drums), Lucas Balbo (percussion), Mariana Martinez (dance) and Slawek Ostrowski (vocals).

  

• 7 July, 21:00: «Latas» @ Plaza Stagno
  Three people and lots of cans: a show by D’Click from Zaragoza (see the gallery).

  

• 7 July, 22:00: «Pedaleando hacia el cielo» @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Bikes, circus and opera: a truly amazing performance by the Belgian company Theater Tol which “tells a love story about being together in dark days” (see the gallery).

  

• 13 July: «Juan de Miranda (1723—1805), un relato de ida y vuelta. Músicas para un genio canario» @ Casa de Colón, Calle Colón, 1
  El Afecto Ilustrado immersed us in the music of the times of the Spanish Baroque painter Juan de Miranda (1723—1805), who happened to be born on this day 300 years ago in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Featuring Lucía Caihuela (mezzo-soprano), Adrián Linares (violin), Marta Ramírez (violin), Diego Pérez (cello), Carlos Oramas (theorbo, baroque guitar), Juan Carlos de Mulder (theorbo) and Raquel García (organo). The programme of the concert included:

  Antonio Martín y Coll: Xácaras, de Flores de Música José de Torres: Bosques Umbrosos (cantada) Joaquín García: ¡Ay, qué prodigio! (cantada al Santísimo Sacramento) Josep and Joan Baptista Pla: Trio sonata en re menor Joaquín García: ¡Ah, del rebaño! (tonada de Corpus) Francisco José de Castro: Sonata prima, de Trattenimenti Armonici da Camera, op. 1 José de Torres: Afectos amantes (cantada) Francesco Corselli: Si aquel monarca de Israel (cantada)

  

• 14 July: Le G. Bistaki, «Baïna[na]» @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  You won’t believe what four men with shovels can do (see the gallery).

  

• 15 July: «Grandes finales» @ Terminal de Contenedores del Muelle de La Luz (Grupo Boluda)
  The free buses from La Muelle took us to the container terminal. In our bus, we were entertained by a gospel choir; not sure if there were enough choirs for each bus. The main course: Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria conducted by Karel Mark Chichon. The programme included, well, mostly finales: those of Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov, the Fourth and Sixth Symphonies by Tchaikovsky, Puccini’s La bohème, Enigma Variations by Elgar, and Baba Yaga/The Great Gates of Kiev from Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. Plus encores (IMHO, the best part): The Sailor’s Hornpipe, the coda of Ponchielli’s Dance of the Hours and Radetzky-Marsch by Johann Strauss Sr. (see the gallery).

  

• 18 July: «Un paseo por la Europa de los siglos XVII y XVIII: Entre Chaconas y Pasacalles» @ Casa de Colón
  Another concert of the cycle Música Antigua en el Patio, this time of 17^th- and 18^th-century harpsichord music performed by Patricia Robaina. The programme included:

  Louis Marchand: Suite en Re menor Prélude Chaconne Jean-Baptiste Forqueray: Suite en Do menor La montigni Henry Purcell: Ground en Do menor Bernardo Storace: Ciaccona en Do Mayor Jean-Baptiste Forqueray: Suite en Sol Mayor La Buisson Chaconne Jean-Henri d’Anglebert: Chaconne de Phaëton Henry Purcell: Ground en Mi menor Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer: Uranie Toccata Georg Muffat: Passacaglia en Sol menor from Apparatus musico-organisticus (1690)

  

• 21 July: Carmen Souza and Caramelo de Cuba @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Six years after we went to see her trio in the Auditorio, a welcome re-encounter with Carmen Souza (vocals, guitar, paino), this time as a quartet with Deschanel Gordon (piano), Elias Kacomanolis (drums) and Theo Pascal (electric bass). Caramelo de Cuba seemed to be an interesting project but I didn’t stay beyond the first song.
• 22 July: Puertas al Sur 5tet and Ayom @ Plaza de Santa Ana
  Puertas al Sur 5tet mixes the traditional Afro-Latin rhythms rhythms such as bomba, cumbia, festejo and plena with modern jazz and electronica. I’d say too much electronica and loops for a quintet/sextet featuring Beatriz Alonso (voice, keys), Ariel Bringuez (sax, keys, percussion), Kumar Sublevao-Beat (MC, percussion), Luis Suarez (percussion, loops, samplers) and Miguel Manescau (guitar, bass guitar), plus a special guest Octavio Hernández (guitar). And yes, they better loose that rap. I enjoyed Ayom much more: not as much jazz as a catchy amalgam of Lusophone African and Atlantic with Mediterranean music styles. Featuring Jabu Morales (voice and percussion), Alberto Becucci (accordion), Timoteo Grignani and Walter Martins (percussion), Ricardo Quinteria (guitar) and Francesco Valente (bass).
• 23 July: Música en la Francia del siglo XVIII @ Gabinete Literario, Plaza de Cairasco, 1
  This free concert was given by the teachers of the forthcoming International Course of Early Music (I Curso Internacional de Música Antigua en Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 24—27 July). I learned about this event thanks to Patricia Robaina. Performers: Paula Pérez (violin), Mariana Pimenta (soprano), Patricia Robaina (harpsichord) and Pablo Sosa (flute). The programme included Cantata Medée by Louis-Nicolas Clérambault; Le deuxième récréation de la musique by Jean-Marie Leclair; and Cantata Le sommeil d’Ulisse by Élisabeth Jacquet de La Guerre.

  

And two photography exhibitions:

• 15 June — 28 July: «La Isla/El Agua» @ Centro Cultural CICCA, Alameda de Colon, 1
  An exhibition of water-related works by Canarian photographer Tato Gonçalves.

  

• 29 June — 28 July: «San Juan Night Tour» @ Centro de Artes Plásticas (CAP), Calle Colón, 8
  As the name suggests, the images of barrio San Juan by night, by Lidia Esther Díaz Gil.

  

Apart from «Grandes finales», all the events/exhibitions were free of charge.