El verano de su vida

by Thomas von Steinaecker and Barbara Yelin
translated by Itziar Hernández Rodilla

Weightlessness. The speed of light. Multiple worlds.

With chapter names like these, you’d expect El verano de su vida (original title Der Sommer ihres Lebens) to be some sort of sci-fi comic. It isn’t though. As her Earth life comes to an end, Gerda mentally travels in time, to that summer of her life (note The Dark Side of the Moon poster on p. 41) and beyond.

All your life You were only waiting for this moment to arise.

Did she miss her moment?

Susana y el sexo

a film by César Vallejo

La libertad sexual para una mujer pasa por no renunciar al placer, y por tener experiencias sexuales más seguras y libres, sin discriminación ni violencia. Porque no puede existir la verdadera libertad sin libertad sexual.

Susana Estrada

So says Susana Estrada (Gijón, 1950), the protagonist of an illuminating RTVE Play documentary, which I watched quite by chance, thanks to an article in elDiario.es. Until now, I had no clue who Estrada was and, luckily, still is. Who? The first Spanish actress to perform nude onstage; sex columninst in Play-Lady; the singer famous for songs such as ¡Quítate el sosten!, Voy desnuda and ¡Gózame ya! aka ¡Fóllame ya!; probably the first Spanish woman to employ bodyguards — well, everything that one should expect from the self-proclaimed “mujer icono e ‘icoño’ de la Transición”, and more.

Directed by César Vallejo. Screenplay by Valeria Vegas, Ángela Gallardo and César Vallejo. With participation of Celia Blanco, Fernando Castedo, María Ángeles Durán, Gracia Trujillo and others.

Live music and stuff in Santander and Valencia, November 2021

A lot of stuff was going on this month; or, rather, I was going to a lot of stuff this month.

• 4 November: Nico Casal @ Teatro CASYC, calle Tantín 25, Santander
  Another fantastic concert from the cycle Excéntricos 2021. Nico Casal (piano) was accompanied by Pablo Serrano (synthesisers, electric guitar).

  

• 7 November: Jam session @ Pub Escándalo, Calle Río de la Pila 19
  Apparently, every Sunday now, from 8 pm till late!
• 10 November: César Latorre Trio @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol 4
  Finally, jazz in Rvbicón — and I learn about this concert a day before. I saw César Latorre with trio in 2015 (trio) and with Perla Batalla in 2017. This time, it was a different trio featuring Arturo Valero (double bass) and Félix Morales (drums).

  

• 13 November: Suspensión @ Paraninfo de Las Llamas de la Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo (UIMP), Avenida de los Castros, 42
  Suspensión by La Compañía Nueveuno (Madrid). The show was part of the 10^th International Circus Festival En la Cuerda Floja.

• 15 November: Eva Ryjlen @ Cines Groucho, Calle Cardenal Cisneros, 4
  As part of the cycle Cajas de música 2021, Eva Ryjlen (voice, guitar, keyboards) and Jave Ryjlen (guitar, keyboards) presented Eva’s new album Onírica.
• 17 November: Rafael Santana Trio @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol 4
  With Rafael Santana (piano), Toño Gutiérrez (double bass) and Rodri Irizábal (drums).

  

• 20 November: DistanS @ Paraninfo de Las Llamas
  Another show from En la Cuerda Floja: DistanS by Vol’e Temps (Granada), featuring Sara Ortiz (Narbonne, France) and Albert Moncunill (Igualada, Spain).

• 22 November: Segaremos ortigas con los tacones @ Espai Cultural, Albalat dels Sorells
  By Teatro del Contrahecho (Valencia), directed by Idoya Rossi and Marcos Luis Hernando. With Laura Sanchís, Pilu Fontán, Isabel Martí and Alberto Baño.

• 28 November: Valencia busca un torero @ Plaza de Toros de Valencia, Carrer de Xàtiva, Valencia
  I’ve never been to any bullring before, so seeing this one open to the public for free on occasion of some practical torero classes. After ten minutes or so, upon hearing that the violent part is coming, I had my curiosity satisfied.
• From 9 October: Ahir, hui, sempre @ Palau de la Generalitat, Plaza de Manises, Valencia
  To celebrate the 600^th anniversary of (the beginning of) its construction, Palau de la Generalitat opens its doors to the public. An exhibition of Valencian street artists creatively reinterpreting the murals of the Sala Nova and Sala de Corts is a good fun.

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And once again, it’s almost Christmas time.

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.

Live music in Santander, September 2021

I don’t get to Facebook much lately. Yet, without it I’d probably miss all the live events I’ve been to this month.

• 9 September: Queralt Lahoz @ Teatro CASYC, calle Tantín 25, Santander
  Some time ago, a friend of mine shared with me a video which I liked very much. I went to the artist’s Facebook page and saw this poster:

  

  A couple of weeks later I decided to feature the aforementioned video on my other blog and did a bit of research, only to discover that Queralt is playing in Santander as a part of the cycle Excéntricos 2021. That was one of the “to be announced” dates of the poster. In a company of Pau García (keyboards), Marc Soto (drums) and Fede Jahzzmvn (DJ), Queralt was presenting her debut LP, Pureza, that mixes flamenco, hip-hop and electronica in a fresh and unexpected manner. Well worth the €5 I paid for the ticket.
• 23 September: La Otra @ Rvbicón, Calle del Sol 4
  Finally, live music in Rvbicón — and I learn about it from La Otra’s Facebook page a day before the event, by which time all the (free) tickets for both 19:00 and 21:00 sets are long gone. And so, Thursday after work, while I was thinking whether it’s worth it to try my luck and wait for the last-minute cancellations, should I go home first etc. etc., my feet brought me to calle del Sol... Not-so-long story short, I found myself inside, at my favourite seat next to the scene, enjoying the show. On this occasion, La Otra was accompanied by Pablo Levin on percussion.

  

• 24 September: Chebú @ Escenario Santander, Avenida de la Constitución 39 (Parque de las Llamas)
  I only learned about this concert celebrating the tenth anniversary of Chebú’s debut album thanks to the personal invitation by the band (via Facebook); otherwise, the publicity for the event was non-existent. A magnificent performance by Zhenya Popova (vocals), Nahúm Cobo (piano, guitar), Iván Velasco (guitar), Dani Simons (bass), Miguel San Emeterio (cello) and “Charly” Pérez (drums), with a special guest Phil Grijuela (guitar, vocals).

  

• 25 September: Flaca and the Beat @ Escenario Santander
  Were it not for Chebú, I wouldn’t return to ES the following evening to see Flaca and the Beat, and still live happily. The line-up is Miriam Manzanares (vocals, guitar), Matt Green (drums) and Tomás Monago (bass), all ex-Havana Moon, plus Jaime C. Montes (sax) and Pablo Alvear (guitar). It’s not that they were bad, but rather underwhelming, and played way too long. Still, it’s a shame that so few people turned up for a free Saturday night rock’n’roll.

Looking forward to more live music in October.

Meridiana

by Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino

I learned about this fantastic album — and the band that created it — from the Songlines review. Co-produced by Justin Adams, who also plays guitar on a couple of tracks, Meridiana (“sundial” in Italian) is supposed to be a concept album about (different aspects of) time. But you don’t need to understand Italian to thoroughly enjoy the music; the order of the songs is not particularly important either. Collaborations include Pizzica bhangra with Red Baraat and Tic e tac with Enzo Avitabile (of Enzo Avitabile & Bottari, another band I first heard about, many years ago, thanks to Songlines.) If I had to name three favourites, they’d probably be the opening track Balla Nina; no less goosebump-inducing Lu sittaturu that somehow makes me think of an Ukrainian folk song; and wonderful Vulía.

You can listen to the full album on YouTube, complete with contributions of a number of Italian scientists and philosophers and quotes from Lewis Carroll, Marcel Proust, Friedrich Nietzsche and, surprise surprise, Carlo Rovelli.

Meridiana Balla nina Orfeo Pizzica bhangra (feat. Red Baraat) Lu sittaturu Ninnarella Stornello alla memoria Vulía Quannu camini tie Tic e tac (feat. Enzo Avitabile) Ntunucciu Ronda Meridiana

Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino Mauro Durante: frame drums, violin, vocals Giulio Bianco: recorders, whistles, clarinet, harmonica, zampogna Emanuele Licci: vocals, bouzouki, guitar, battente guitar; tamburello (11) Massimiliano Morabito: diatonic accordion Giancarlo Paglialunga: vocals, tamburello, calebas Alessia Tondo: vocals, castanets; tamburello (11) Silvia Perrone: dance

Featuring Red Baraat (3) Sunny Jain: dhol, effects Lynn Ligammari: soprano saxophone Sonny Singh: trumpet John Altieri: sousaphone Enzo Avitabile: voice and pentarpa (9)

Guests Justin Adams: electric guitar (4, 9) Giacomo Greco: synth, sound design; additional production (1, 3, 4, 5) Valerio “Combass” Bruno: electric bass (1 Antonio “Dema” De Marianis: additional percussions (9)

Contributions Maura Gancitano and Andrea Colamedici, philosophers and communicators Gianfranco Salvatore, anthropologist and ethnomusicologist Massimiliano Morabito, musician and ethnomusicologist Francesca Corbo, Amnesty International Italia Roberto Vacca, engineer, mathematician and science communicator Domenico Licchelli, astrophysicist

Produced by Justin Adams & Mauro Durante Mixed by Francesco Aiello at Boombox Recording Studio Mastered by Tim Oliver at Top Cat Studios Executive production by Titti Santini