Posts tagged ‘Spanish’
Una Palabra Tuya
The European Film Festival is screening all week at Sofil theatres, and today I caught my first film: “Una Palabra Tuya” (A word from you). I’d been watching Almodovar and whatever else the 2,000 LL DVD guy sells up until now. After a few films about transvestites, it gets a bit old..
Directed by Ángeles González Sinde, the story plays out against the familiar Madrid backdrop. Everyone always gushes about Barcelona, but I secretly enjoyed Madrid more when I visited.
I can’t talk too much about this film, because, well, I didn’t get to finish it. An hour into it and I had to run to Spanish class. It was such a tease! The movie is very interesting. The story revolves around the complex friendship between two women – an odd couple – each on her own personal quest for meaning in a life of solitude. Milagros (Esperanza Pedreño) plays the wacky, carefree spirit whereas Rosario (Malena Alterio) is the repressed, over-analytical one. The exchange between them is intense and you actually start the film thinking they are both lesbians.. Aha, the plot thickens!
Here’s a preview of the film:
Please don’t tell me how it ends just yet!!!
Oda al Café
My first poem in Spanish dedicated to.. coffee! (It was for my intermediate-level class)
Antes de abrir los ojos
Pienso en ti.
Me das la fuerza
de abandonar mi cama.
Tu olor sólo es suficiente
Para resucitarme.
Cuando te acercas a mis labios,
Sé que voy a tener momentos buenos.
Te quiero en todas tus formas:
De rubia, de morrena, de negra,..
Todo el mundo se pelea por ti:
Los Brasileños, los Turcos, los Americanos,..
Pero al final, vas a ser mío.
Capuccino, frapuccino, cafe latte,..
No sé como llamarte!
No importa, eres lo que eres..
Quédate conmigo, ¿Quieres?
The Man in the Cube
Ever felt like you were living in a box? An apartment so small, it might as well be a closet? Fernando Sanchez-Cabezudo feels your pain.
Last week, I caught a performance at the Tournesol Theatre (otherwise known as the “Sunflower Theatre”) called Metro Cúbico that comically draws on that idea. The one-man play was actually inspired by Fernando’s own search for an apartment in Madrid, and draws on the experiences of living in a big city. It critics the daily problems of life and loneliness of the human being, and how one can come to terms with the way things end up.
suitcase in hand, the one cubic meter man arrives home
Rather than being surprised with his one cubic meter apartment, our character accepts his limitations and entertains the viewers with his attempts to lead a normal life. Such things as doing laundry, fighting a menacing fly or throwing a party all become a spectacle of mimicked sounds and exaggerated body movements.
Space has an interesting way of altering our sense of perception. After watching Fernando clumsily moving within the cubic room, I expected him to actually be physically larger than most people. He was just a normal-sized guy.
Metro Cúbico was one of the most original performances I have seen in a while and laughed just as much as the cute child in the front audience (If you were there, you know what I mean). Bravo!
Spain Travel Journal: Barcelona 03
/.Quinqui./
Friends. Sex. Drugs. Crime.
Quinqui is the term given to the genre of films relating to 80′s Spanish youth rebellion and delinquency. The exhibit, on display at the CCCB (Centre De Cultura Contemporanea De Barcelona), was very well-executed and informative. I’d never heard about this genre until today.
The exhibit starts with film posters and mini-clips of films centered around that theme. The films’ urban nature reflect the social emergencies of juvenile delinquency, but ironically enough, these films prompted more youth to commit crimes. The thrill of living on the edge and rebellion became a fantasy they wanted to realize.
As you continue to weave through the exhibit, you end up in an arcade (with 80′s fully-functional machines). You slowly come to understand the background of the quinqui youth as they experienced it. They had a room with a quinqui film scenes about drugs, crime and sex playing behind neon signs.
behind the bars at the Quinqui exhibit
The public’s reaction to their crimes becomes the focus of the rest of the exhibit. I particularly liked one part with photographs of the most notable delinquents with a fence in front. It makes it feel like you’re walking through a jail yard.
Check out this video from the exhibit:
/.Aftertaste./
Today I met a family that resembles how I’d like to raise my children. We all met at the Boqueria market for the tour before the cooking class. Mrs. M and her two teenage daughters are visiting from the states, but I was so impressed by how mature and well-traveled they both were. They could discuss any topic with anyone!
Mrs. M is a very talkative woman, and quickly got to asking everyone questions about where they were from, what they did.. etc. She was particularly interested in my Lebanese background since she teaches political science at university.
The market tour started at 3:45pm. It was amazing! Theresa, our cooking class chef, is a sweetheart. She was very patient while we’d point to all kinds of foods and ask a million questions. Did you know they sell bull meat at the Boqueria market? Looks just like steak too! Theresa also showed us all the good places to shop (steer clear of the middle shops with fancy displays – not good quality and too expensive, she said).
the friendly Boqueria fish lady
We picked out fish, shrimp, cheese (I am in love with Manchego!), eggs, vegetables and olives. I took a ton of photos, especially of the vendors. The Boqueria is an amalgamate of scents, flavors, and people. Even pigeons fly in to get a peek – or taste, if they’re lucky!
Once we were back in the workshop kitchen, we were met with 2 couples that’d be joining the cooking class. One couple was from Belgium, and the other, newlyweds from Chicago. I found it very cute that the American couple was on their honeymoon in Barcelona because that’s where they’d met in school.
Each of us got to work on a different plate (appetizers, main course and desert). It was really fun learning how it all comes together. My dish was “chupito de sopa tomate” – a tomato soup (cold appetizer) topped with garlic, nuts, parsley and grated sheep cheese. It came out really well, if I can say so myself. 
.. and this is how crema catalan is made!
The wine kept flowing, and Chef Theresa was wonderful. We left the workshop at 10pm feeling stuffed and inspired. This has been one of the best experiences of the trip for me!
