Lorena's Epiphany

Spain Travel Journal: Madrid 01

July 29, 2009 at 3:17 pm 1 comment

“Madrid is a cross between Penelope Cruz (beautiful, and quintessentially Spanish), Madonna (sassy, and getting better with age) and an ex-convent schoolgirl who grew up, got sophisticated, but never forgot how to have a good time.”
- Quote from Lonely Planet’s guide “Spain”

/.Madrid at Midnight./
It was a very smooth flight with slight delay at luggage. Madrid reminds me a lot of Boston (at least the parts I’ve seen so far). The streets are packed with clubs and people on the night. It’s a very cosmopolitan city and can’t wait to explore it during the day.

My little bed

The hostel I’m staying at is charming: tiny furniture, fer-forger bed frames and classical paintings of Spanish mountains. Everything in the room is so small. My legs are popping out! I can’t believe I’m going to sleep in Madrid..

/.Reina Sofia./
The Museo de Reina Sofia is very impressive – modern, but set in what appears to be a medieval citadel with large green courtyard. Picasso’s famous “Guernica” hangs in there. His sketches were in the rooms leading to it, and to me, they were far more interesting than the actual painting. Maybe because we study it so much?

Walking through the 4 floors of exhibits, I realized that I have the potential to be anything.. to create, to have an artistic voice.. yet I choose nothing. Why do I do that to myself?

The works of the Spanish artists were very inspiring. A lot of them I’d never heard of, like Maruja Mall and Julio Gonzalez. There was also an exhibit by the Atlas Group – a collective of Lebanese artists. Their photography, illustrations and video were about the Lebanese Civil War. The exhibit was an pleasant surprise and I loved some of their works, especially one with circular stickers where bullets hit buildings.

Photograph from Sketchbook by The Atlas Group

/.Brazilian?./
People here have been very friendly. I’ve already been asked if I’m Cuban, Brazilian or Italian – all firsts! One guy really took me off guard because he was Arab and they usually spot their own kind.

As I was leaving the museum, the elevator got stuck. Everyone in there took it with good humor, and we were getting to know each other before it started getting uncomfortably hot.. They got us out just in time!

Stuck in the elevator at the Reina Sofia!

/.Half-Day Break./
I’m taking a mini-break from culture at Parque del Retiro. People all around are lying in patches of shade as birds softly chirp and water flows in the creeks surrounding. The weather is gorgeous, but the 3pm sun is brutal. It’s almost as hot as Lebanon, but less humid and sticky.

I woke up a little later than planned, but nonetheless energetic. The hostal desk was helpful and gave me a map to town. For the most part, I’ll just have to figure my way around. The location of the hostal can’t be more perfect. It’s right by the Westin in a classy, but very central part of town. It’s right off the Paseo del Prado where the major museums are.

The city is full of tourists, who upon spotting my Canon, ask me to take photos of them. A blessing and a curse, I tell ya! I’ve been more interested in taking photos of the street musicians.

/.Carmen./
The Carmen flamenco show was AMAZING!!! Words cannot express how moved I was by the performance! The main dancer looked just like Catherine Zeta-Jones with her dark hair tied back and flowers pinned in.

Posters plastered on the streets of Madrid

Flamenco has very powerful moves, and I couldn’t take my eyes off the dancers! Their passion, determination.. You can feel every inch of it in their movements. Not to mention their gorgeous dresses. They raise them to tease the audience and it reminded me of how Muslim women cover themselves up. When part of them shows, like their wrist, or ankles, that becomes intriguing.

I loved every minute of the show. It has a sad ending where Catherine (let’s just call her that for now) dies. That scene, with 8 cloaked dancers surrounding her was on spot. Then when she dies, a red light reflects on her dress (red too) so it looks like she’s bleeding.

Walking to the hostel afterward, I actually came across a store that sells the Flamenco shoes. Wonder if it’d be too hard to learn..

Entry filed under: Floating. Tags: Carmen, Civil War, flamenco, Guernica, Madrid, museums, Parque del Retiro, Picasso, Spain, Spanish artists, The Atlas Group, Travel.