Safe in Hell

a film by William Wellman

An engaging pre-Code tragicomedy screened as 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.