Symmetrical

A museum in Seville. Visit more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Read more...

Big Loss, Little Win

I never thought this could happen: yesterday, a week after the death of my father, I received a call letting me know that my novella has won the contest in which I submitted it and, as a result, it will be my first published work.

"Now, you must open a bottle of champagne and celebrate it", said on the phone the councilman of Culture of the Catalan city holding the contest.

"Sure!", I replied. What else could I say?

Not much, really. I made sure I thanked a thousand times and took note of the place and time of the delivery of the prize. On that day, when I first meet Roman, the charming councilman, I will explain him the circumstances in which I got this long awaited call. A few hours later, I opened a can of beer.

My father enjoyed being outdoors, taking care of a farm for the sake of it, being with friends, helping others, laughing and joking, making life simpler for all... He was the perfect candidate to have a son who likes to stay at home reading and writing books. I never saw him reading a book and he used to wonder why I wasn't outgoing, but even so we coexisted happily each with his own. I won't draw any conclusions about the coincidence of his absence and that phone call. In fact, if I decided to enter the contest it was because I was having a hard time due to his illness and wanted to do something positive. The only odd thing is that, for once, I won a literary contest. Bittersweet is not the word for this. But, since it seems impossible to be distressed and exultant at the same time, and considering my limitations with English, let's say bittersweet.

I took the long road to write my 50-pages story.

There's nothing more stimulating and enjoyable for me than sharing with you this novella I ended writing about seven months ago.  Besides, this is what my blog was supposed to be all about from the beginning — creative writing, translation, sharing, hopefully getting feedback.

And I got the best feedback. One of the visitors of this blog once gave me the idea of the whole novella, when it was just a draft going nowhere. The visit said in her comment regarding the excerpt I posted: "(...) The description of the house and the home-made bricks enhances the familial story (...)." It was a kind description of the short excerpt I posted. But I remember I instantly said "Wait a minute!" The description of the construction of the house enhances the familial story... Wasn't it a good idea not only for one paragraph but for a whole book? I thought it was. This is how I got the last push I needed to end this work.

I'll continue translating the story and posting little pieces of it, and of course from now on I will inform you about every part of the process of publishing the book — which will be long, I think, and fun. By now, I must give a big thank you to all the bloggers I've met so far, all of which have supported and inspired me.

Read more...

Note

My father, Ricard, passed away this week at the age of 64 after a struggle against cancer. This blog will remain silent for several days and I hope to come back with renewed strength.

Read more...

Yellow Monday

Yellow Monday.

Read more...

Black and White

Cover of a magazine photographed in an exhibition before the relaxed Andalusian guard saw me. Visit more Wordless Wednesday participants.

Read more...

Photo Album

After reading the reports from our trip to Seville posted by my holiday mates on their blogs, full of info and photos, I realized that I wanted to do the same, so off we go to Andalusia.

My eight years old niece, Júlia, at Barcelona airport in front of the mural made by painter Joan Miró. Júlia got up with us at two am!

Already in Seville, my sister Gemma, my brother-in-law Jesús and Júlia posing in front of the bridge giving access to the Triana neighbourhood.

A view from the top of La Giralda, a former Almohad minaret
converted into the bell tower for the Cathedral of Seville.

La Giralda and the Cathedral. Trams, bycicles and touristic carriages are the only means of transport allowed in the city center.

Gemma and little Júlia recovering from the heat in a
courtyard in the Museum of Fine Arts.

Yours truly taking a photo of a quaint balcony. Hello, world.

Battered squid, crispy
 shrimp omelettes, spicy potatoes
 with avocado dip.

My oeuvre d'art.

Having visited so far the whole of northern Spain, we never thought that a southern city like Seville would be as beautiful or even more so than the ones we already knew, and we can't stop praising it. Its people is the nicest we have ever known and the food, the famous tapas, half rations or appetizers served as the main meal along with cool beer, is excellent and astonishing cheap. Finally, the best advice I can give is to never go there in summer, or at least not at the same time as a heat wave strikes, which is exactly what we did. We'd do that again if we had the chance though.

I am not responsible for what other people do behind me
while I pose for the camera!

There are more things about Seville I want to take the time to put down in words, one of them dealing with trees. That is a whole story in itself.

Read more...

Courtyards in Seville

Portrait

My childhood is memories of a patio in Seville
and a sunny yard with lemons turning ripe,
my youth twenty years in lands of Castile,
my story certain matters I don't care to recite.

Antonio MACHADO, "Portrait" (fragment), included in Selected Poems, translated by Alan S. Trueblood. Link to the original version.

One of the things to do in Seville is just walking in the early morning or at night to avoid the worst heat of the day (although it is virtually impossible in a place that is 38 ºC - 100 ºF at 11 pm) and observe the quiet streets, the architecture, and doorways carelessly left open by a lucky chance. Apparently all houses in Seville have a courtyard, as a remnant of the Moorish past of the city, each more beautiful and cozy than the last. In this hot weather, nothing better than having this space with plants and a central fountain. As the locals are very friendly and welcoming, but above else relaxed, funny and cheerful, you can feel free to look from the sidewalk into one patio after another and take photos. Some are dainty, some are lush, and all are suitable for tourists.

We just got back from our holiday in Seville a few hours ago and it is as if we were still there. Or rather I wish we were still there. Needless to say, there are plenty of other things to do in this Andalusian city, about which I will speak in the coming days, and probably months. I just wanted to share the first photos I took, and this poem by Machado. Note that, when talking about his past, the only thing the poet cares to describe is a patio in Seville. Nothing else matters to him apart from the courtyard symbolizing his childhood. Visiting the poet's homeland has been a good way for me to understand his work a little better.

Now, let's look ahead to the rest of the summer.

Read more...