With Halloween just one day away, families throughout the world are prepared for the celebrations.
Halloween became an occasion to note on the Spanish family calendar around the year 2000, the onset of the Third Millenium. November 1, All Saints' Day, has been observed for centuries across Spain, with adults visiting cemeteries to sit at an ancestor's grave through the night.
October 31 is an increasingly recognizable day, along with Halloween parties and related events held throughout our country.
When I was younger, Halloween was not a big thing, but now it is not only foreigners who celebrate it, but also Spanish families. Pumpkins are for sale in local shops, even if this seems to be a tradition followed more by expatriate families. Spaniards are happy wearing fancy hats, make-up and masks, and young children enjoy going out to "Trick or Treat". What do you think about it?
I have attached a video of the great song ´This is Halloween!´ from the movie ´The Nightmare Before Christmas'. Enjoy it!
Well done, dear Elena!
Now, would you like to learn a little more about the origins of Halloween and its importance in American society today? How about watching this nice short video on the History Channel?
Although there are hundreds of motor programmes on TV, all of them seem to be the same. They are presented by a good-looking girl, who, I find it hard to believe, is there because of her speaking skills. Besides, most people cannot afford those expensive sports cars they show as if they were runabouts. Finally, a man’s voice-over tells us how incredibly majestic all the cars are.
Fortunately, exceptions do exist; yes, I am speaking about a TV-show called TOP GEAR. This programme is hosted by three men, Jeremy, James and Richard, who test cars and make funny interviews to VIPs. They do not intend to sell every single car as the best ever, and above all they do it humorously. They also test themselves any other kind of vehicle through very extravagant trials, which clearly demonstrate the programme’s ultimate intention, which is entertainment. However, like the rest of its competitors, TOP GEAR mainly tends to show expensive cars.
If your curiosity is now growing, I have attached a funny video of the show, so you will be able to notice why it is famous and successful worldwide. In Spain you can watch it daily from 8.15 to 10.15 a.m. on CUATRO (available in English, of course).
Thank you so much, Jose. Well, I can only say I utterly love the show, everything about it: from the opening music (a classic rock song, The Alman Bros' "Jessica") to Jeremy Clarkson's dry, often politically incorrect humour, and the wacky car tests, but above all, when the show puts celebrities in a "reasonably priced car". To give you an example, let's watch Spain's #1 public enemy as regards F1, indeed Lewis Hamilton, who visited Top Gear after his debut season in 2008. It's a good laugh to hear him say that our Fernando (his teammate then) "is a bloody good driver" before Jeremy jokingly boasts he once overtook him on an Oxford ring road!
But how about something a little more glamorous? This is Cameron & Tom (Diaz and Cruise, that is) in another reasonably-priced car. Who'll do the fastest lap?
C'mon folks, do as Jose and send your posts for our blog!
As you know, this Wednesday our American colleague in Peñaranda's satellite school, Steve, came to our class to play a small gig on his acoustic guitar. He explained that he's involved in a project on teaching English through music, which sounds terribly interesting.
We were all amazed at his single-handed guitar playing technique, which he started developing years ago after he suffered an unfortunate accident which paralysed his right arm.
Steve performed both his own material and well-known songs (well, some of them probably more than others), which we really enjoyed and sang along to. It was good fun indeed!
As he was singing, I thought I could write a post on our blog about the songs he chose for the recital. (except for Let it Be, which of course you know perfectly well). Starting with one of the most famous folk songs ever about America (the USA, that is), legendary singer-songwriter Woody Guthri's "This land is your land". Legen has it that he wrote it in the late 40s when he got sick and tired of endlessly listening on the radio to "God Bless America", which he found excessively patriotic and complacent. Often deemed a communist in his native America, Woody altered the verses over the years and gradually made the song into a political statement, as he firmly believed workers had the same rights as the rich and powerful.
There's a famous live cover I love by "The Boss", which is the clip I embed here. The lyrics scroller does not faithfully reflect Bruce's actual delivery but it'll give you an idea of the song's true meaning. By the way, listen carefully to his moving opening speech ...
Next Steve sang "Proud Mary", by the awesome Creedence Clearwater Revival, one of my favourite American bands of the 60s. Front-man John Fogerty wrote the tune about the namesake "paddle-wheel", one of the many picturesque river boats rolling on the Mississippi River. I love the energy of John's powerful voice and the pounding of the guitar riffs!
Sadly, Steve ran out of time before he could deliver his last song, Bob Marley's "No Woman, no Cry", a politically-charged reggae classic ("the hypocrites mingle with the good people we meet"), whose lyrics depict the "government yard in Trenchtown", the slums where Bob himself used to live as a young man. He reassures a woman (his mother?) as he's leaving the place that the slum won't get her down and everything will be alright, so she should "shed no tear". Down below I embed his famous live rendition. Enjoy!
Thank you so much, Steve, for your spirit and a great lesson!
One of my students from the intermediate group this year, Sergio, is a versatile, multi-faceted young man from Valladolid, whose many interests range from music to film-making. He writes and directs his own shorts, plays in a rock band and even has a home recording studio.
I first met Sergio some three years ago through a local poet, Gloria de Castro, who in turn I had met thanks to a former student of mine at the time - and a good friend now -, Ana. To cut a long story short, Gloria once invited me to one of her recitals at a lively salsa dancing pub you may know, El Savor, where she usually reads her heart-felt poems to the accompaniment of Sergio's guitar playing. On Tuesday Gloria read her latest stuff with the help of her inseparable Sergio and there I was with a few students (not many, sadly!) to watch them live.
The thing is that he had told us in class that he runs his own blog - which you should visit here to find out what an accomplished artist he is - and I was overjoyed to see that he had written - in Spanish, though! - a short but lovely post about the recital. I liked it so much that the idea dawned on me right away: I had taken a few pics of Sergio and Gloria on stage and recorded bits and pieces on my i-pod, so why not publish the whole thing on this blog? So I put pen to paper (or to my Mac, to be precise) and translated his words as accurately as I possibly was able to.
Today, I’ve just arrived home from one of those “Savor-y” nights that are celebrated in the namesake pub every evening. The only difference being that I myself was on the stage and not just listening in the audience. Tonight I accompanied local poet Gloria de Castro on my guitar. Maybe it’s because I hadn’t played in this temple of Salamanca’s nightlife for a long while, or because the sound was particularly good, or simply because I take great pleasure in breaking the total silence that fills the bar by playing my guitar while we perform.
Cover versions of Gary Moore, Dire Straits, The Eagles, Elvis Presley, as well as songs from soundtracks, or even my own songs, are enough to accompany a poet’s voice. I love the freedom of being all alone in the face of music so as to complement the poetry, and of feeling free to come and go, change the tonality, move from one song to another, or join them together … in a nutshell, of trying to contact and relate to the audience. Indeed poetry played the leading role tonight but I feel that there is a part of me on the stage for which I am responsible and I try to rise to the occasion.
As if that were not enough, I have a whale of a time with what I do. The subtle light, the silence of the pub, a finely-served drink of rum and the perfect sound coming out of the audio mixer make these nights special. On other occasions I also have great fun accompanying singer-songwriter Juanjo Dominguez, Amanda G. Monge or even my own voice.
Being a "pucelano" who lives in Salamanca, I must say that it is a gift for me to relish a spot in these music-filled midweek evenings that once in a while us the performers delight ourselves with, as do my friends and the public that drop by.
Once again I'm heading back home with a good “Savor” (taste, that is) in my mouth ...
Needless to say I earnestly recommend you guys to go to El Savor on a future occasion and enjoy a lovely evening of poetry and music courtesy of two relatively unknown but really talented artists, Gloria de Castro and Sergio Merino. By the way, she's having her debut novel published shortly. A noir mystery, I hear.
