Paco de Lucia: Death of a guitar god

I probably would have never listened to flamenco attentively had it not been for the immense talent of two geniuses of Spanish music: Camarón de la Isla and, indeed, Paco de Lucia.

I discovered the genre pretty late, in the mid-80s, when I started working as a language school teacher in Salamanca at the old building in Calle Peñafiel. One of my colleagues, Santiago, was in his office listening on a cassette (those were the days!) to Camaron de la Isla's legendary record, La Leyenda del Tiempo. He asked me if I liked him and I must have replied, quite unenthusiastically I guess, that I had not listened to much of his stuff and in any case flamenco was not my cup of tea. Rather annoyed - or at least shocked - he replied in his funny madrileño accent (and I'm quoting his words in English to the best of my ability) something like: "Are you joking, mate? He's the dog's bollocks!" (Es la hos***! - if you'll pardon my French, ha!)

So he insisted on me taking the tape home and only then did I start to appreciate the real magic of that spiritual music, even if La Leyenda ... was not really a classic example of pure flamenco but rather ground-breaking and revolutionary actually, as it combined the old tradition with many elements of modern music, even a bass and electric guitar! Prior to that "discovery, I must admit I'd always thought that flamenco was second-rate, the weird music of the humble gypsies. How could I be so wrong! And we can claim without a doubt that it was the influence of both Camaron de la Isla and Paco de Lucia that elevated the often underrated genre to the category of art. I've always compared flamenco to the blues - alongside rock, my favourite musical genre - in the sense that they're both deeply spiritual, music with a true "soul". Actually, I used to refer to Black Americans as the gypsies of the USA!

Of course I'd listened to Paco's music before Camarón. I mean, can anyone say they've never heard the familiar tune of arguably the most famous rumba of all time, Entre dos Aguas? But it was that instant fondness of Camarón that years ago made me also interested in the work of other flamenco icons, mainly by the maestro de Algeciras.

There's no doubt whatsoever that Paco de Lucia is one of the greatest, if not the greatest, guitarists of all time. Venerated by his flamenco colleagues, admired by his contemporary fellow performers, his influence is out of this world. He had the technique of a god, with those devilishly quick fingers, and the duende of a one-off artist. My son David, a keen guitarist himself, says it's almost impossible to play like he does, and with the years Paco has become one of his all-time guitar heroes. So much so that he feels devastated by his sudden death.

But rather than my boring words, let Paco's glorious music speak for itself. Firstly, how about a Chick Corea classic tune you may know, Spain, which I particularly love as performed live by three "monsters" of guitar playing, who so many times collaborated with one another: Paco himself, John McLaughlin and Al di Meola. Sheer joy!

But I should not forget, of course, that Paco's roots are Flamenco and Andalucia, so without further ado, I'd like to embed this amazing buleria by the unique, majestic duet of Paco and the long-gone, sorely-missed Camarón back in 1976. Makes my hair stand on end! Puro duende!

Last but not least, there's this fantastic clip featuring Paco with the legendary Ravi Shankar (have you heard of his famous relationship with George Harrison?), a sitar virtuoso, while they discuss (in English) the much-debated connection between flamenco and Indian music. Really interesting!

You must be thinking that Paco's English skills were not that good. Indeed he was not very talkative or fond of TV interviews. That's why you'll find interesting to watch him speak the language (English, I mean) in this rare, very personal interview on Polish television. It feels weird to hear him talk (again in his halting English) about his little house on the coast of Mexico, where he loved to spend long stretches to unwind - and where he eventually found his untimely death.

HASTA SIEMPRE, MAESTRO!

Rosa Baez - My favorite film: Life of Pi (A magical tale about trust and faith)

Pi survives 227 days with a Bengali tiger on a lifeboat drifting across the Pacific Ocean. He overcomes this life and death struggle thanks to his trusting, optimistic thoughts: 

First and foremost, he realizes that the tiger is essential for his survival because it keeps him awake and he finds the true meaning of his life by searching for seafood and providing the tiger with it in order to avoid being devoured.  

He also remembers all the life lessons from his family; for instance, his father showed him the tiger’s primal carnivorous instinct while his uncle taught him to swim and not to be afraid of water.

He finds a book on the lifeboat with a wise tip: "Above all, don’t lose hope”, and he sticks to it. He firmly believes that God cares for him although he can’t understand how.

Finally, they both reach the Mexican coast and after Pi recovers his health, he keeps his enthusiasm for life without being spoilt by this hard experience.

This thought-provoking film reminds us that “life is a story and you can choose yours”.

Thanks, Rosa! Indeed "Life of Pi" is a great story as well as a visually stunning movie.  

Since you don't mention a particular scene, let me choose one for you, actually the moment when both Pi and the beautiful (3D animated) tiger - which goes by the funny name of Richard parker - reach the shore of Mexico after their amazing ordeal at sea. So moving!

Luis - My favourite scenes: ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA / THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY

I was thinking of my favourite movie scenes.

In "Once Upon a Time in America"(1984), there are two or three which deserve attention: the dancing scenes - involving the little girl and, above all, her adult character’s relationship with a man. They are played, respectively, by Elizabeth McGovern (who appears in Downton Abbey) and screen icon Robert de Niro.

So probably the common element in my favourite movies is the artistic couple made up by a classic musician and a long gone director, who are very special to me: Ennio Morricone and Sergio Leone. So I have decided to also send you one of the greatest scenes ever, from one of the best films, accompanied by one of the best music soundtracks.

The leading actor is Eli Wallach, still alive at the age of 98, and the name of the song is "Ecstasy of Gold" - which has a very nice cover by Metallica. Also starring Clint Eastwood and a dog, the film is called "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" (the original title in English), set in the American Civil War in New Mexico, though the real scenario was the countryside of Burgos.

Just enjoy it through both your eyes and ears!

Well Luis, those were the days of the so called "spaguetti westerns"! And there's that wonderful love scene in "Once Upon ..." 

It's only coincidence that yesterday I was mentioning in class, after Jose Enrique's post on Godzilla, that The Colossus of Rhodes was one of my "childhood films", as it were, or at least the first that I could remember seeing in a cinema. Guess who directed it? Spot on, the great Sergio Leone! 

I would be lying if I talked about my fave scene in this 1961 film (hey, I was a bit older when I saw it, OK?), as I can barely remember it, so let me just embed the vintage trailer.  It does bring back fond memories ...

Jelena - My favourite scene: INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS

Note: for those of you who have not seen the film yet, I should warn you this entry contains a serious spoiler, as it reveals the movie's final scene. 

One of my favourite movies is Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, named after Enzo G. Castellari's 1978 macaroni combat film, The Inglorious Bastards.

Set in World War II, the plot is divided into two parallel stories, one about young French Jewish cinema proprietor Shosanna, who seeks revenge for the murder of her family, the other about a group of Jewish American soldiers led by first lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt). Their objective is the same: to kill the Nazi high command. 

My favorite scene is the very last one. Hitler is assassinated along with his generals, but unscrupulous SS colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) is alive and on his way to freedom, as he managed to broker a deal with US intelligence agency. Aldo Raine and his companion, Utivich, are in charge of escorting Landa with his radio operator, but Raine can’t stand the fact that the astute general will escape unpunished. He could easily kill him, but he has to respect the agreement. However, we witness an unexpected turnaround. Raine shoots the radio operator and has Utivich collect his scalp. Finally, Raine asks Landa the well-known question if he is going to take off his uniform after all. The German officer doesn’t say a word, as he knows what is going to happen. Raine, guessing what the answer is, takes out his knife as he tells Landa that he’s going to give him some uniform he will never be able to take off. As he did to all the German soldiers whom he spared lives before, he carves the symbol of the swastika on the colonel’s forehead, claiming that "it just might be my masterpiece".

Throughout the film, Colonel Landa shows an extreme intelligence and ability of adapting to any situation, but in the end he makes a fatal mistake by underestimating his opponents. 

Besides the fantastic characterization made by the excellent cast led by Pitt and Waltz, I have to highlight the wonderful soundtrack, which includes eight tracks composed by the great Ennio Morricone. To give you a taste of Morricone's fabulous music in the film, this is just one small sample:

Thanks Jelena! I think I told you guys in class how much I loved "Basterds", which made me change my dubious, as it were, mind about Tarantino's film-making and his always controversial flicks.

You know, if I had to choose one particular moment from the movie, I'd rather go for the "glorious" Nazi cinema scene. You know, to me it's so so visually (and sonically - at least it was in the movie theatre!) STUNNING! However gory and graphically violent it may look to the weaker-minded, I just can't help loving it! 

Chani - My favourite scene: EL CID (1961)

This epic film tells the story of the fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar in medieval Spain. 

The admirable knight, Rodrigo, (Charlton Heston) shows compassion during the dark times and forgives the lives of many Moorish prisoners. These two symbolic acts give him the reverent titles of “El Cid” (the Lord) by the Moorish and “Campeador” (the Champion) by the Christians. 

The year 711 marks the beginning of the long conflict between people of Christian belief and those of the Islamic religion. One of the most memorable scenes is the last battle fought by the Cid, when, his army hopelessly outnumbered, he launches the most unbelievable attack on Moorish troops commanded by the ruthless and bloody general Ben Yusuf.

In October 1094 Islamic invaders besiege the city of Valencia, recently conquered by El Cid. Against all odds, he is fatally wounded by an arrow in the battle prior to the final victory. The probability of surviving is rather low if the mortal arrow is not taken out. But this noble and brave knight agrees with his lovely wife, Jimena (Sofia Loren), that he must head up his army even if he dies. Consequently, his body is secured upon his legendary horse, Babieca, and sent out in front of his men. When Yusuf’s army sees him, they flee in terror.

Thank you, Chani! So many classic epics I saw as a kid / teenager that I don't remember too well (I'm getting an old man by now, ha ha!) El Cid is a good example, so it's been great to find the scene on YouTube (funnily enough, it's subtitled in Portuguese) and remember those impressive, grandiose I daresay, "Cinemascope" productions.

Jose Enrique - My favourite film: "Godzilla. King of the Monsters"

Godzilla is a horrible, enormous marine monster born after a nuclear explosion in 1954. She is forty-five metres long and lives in the bottom of the sea. Godzilla is the main character in this gripping 1956 film that I recall seeing in a neighbourhood cinema as a kid.

I will never forget this thrilling movie and, what is more, the scenes when the monster unexpectedly emerges from the sea in order to destroy the buildings, sink ships and squash civilians in a sea of fire; as a result, the beautiful city of Tokyo is completely devastated. Then she goes back to the sea, where she plans another terrifying victory. 

While the movie went on, our hearts were waiting for the exciting, fast-moving appearance of the monster on the screen. When it did occur, most of the spectators couldn’t help yelling and screaming. Obviously, a vast majority were children; it was a tough task to forget that nightmare!

Thanks a lot, dear José Enrique! I can't believe you've, at long last, sent me an entry for our blog, so well done!

Tell you what. It's so weird yet interesting to see a trailer from a 1950s film. Those were the days of black and white action flicks, weren't day?

Sara Collantes - My favourite scene: In the Name of the Father (1993)

I've chosen a scene of my favourite film ever because, in my opinion, it is one of the most decisive points of the story. To understand the scene, we need to know a few things about the plot and the true events which the film is based on.

The director, Jim Sheridan (My left foot, The Boxer) is known for dealing in his films with the turbulent history of The Troubles, the conflict which took place in Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and England between the 60s and the 90s. However, the problems between catholics and protestants go a long way back.

The film is a screen adaptation of the book “Proved Innocent” by Gerry Conlon, who was wrongly convicted by the British police. Between the period 1974-1989, during the hardest years of the conflict, the police, thanks to a new law called Prevention of Terrorism Act, were allowed to hold prisoners, suspected of belonging to a terrorist group, especially the IRA, regardless of whether the police had evidence or not. Gerry and three of his friends (known as “The Guildford Four”) were accused, tortured and convicted of blowing up a pub where a British military party was taking place. His father was also accused and kept in custody alongside Gerry.

In my favourite scene, the harrowing death of Gerry's father, Giuseppe, is shown. Up to this point, we can compare the completely different attitude of the father and his son; Giuseppe is the honest, hard-working man who is certain about his innocence and in the hope of being released. Gerry, however, suffers from self-pity, despair and arrogance at first, but we can see how he changes and matures throughout the film. 

This scene always brings me a tear to my eye and a lump in my throat because of the fabulous acting, the moving moment and the Celtic music playing in the background.

The whole film is a real tribute to life, justice and freedom.

Maribel - My favourite scene: THE GREAT DICTATOR

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (1889-1977), better known as Charlot, was an incredible comic actor, really well-known to the whole world, and one who will be remembered forever.

He invented a new way of making films as he mixed humour and the denunciation of social problems at that moment. Some of his most famous films are silent, but I would like to highlight Modern Times, where Charles Chaplin’s voice is first heard. 

This film shows the hard and alienating work on an assembly line, very common at that time. But, his most famous and, in my opinion, his best movie is The Great Dictator which he wrote, starred, directed and produced himself. Chaplin wants to condemn and mock Hitler’s (and Mussolini’s) dictatorship. It is a 1940 film, so the Nazi horror had not even started and it is said that Chaplin regretted making it after knowing the real abomination of Hitler’s acts. I really thank him for this masterpiece he made because he lets me enjoy his magnificent work.

Then, I’ll just add the film has some memorable scenes, for instance, “Hitler” playing with a globe, which has a really thought-provoking double meaning. Finally, I would love to highlight one of my favourite scenes in cinema history and, I believe, the best in the film: his final speech. After listening to it you can say lots of things about this extraordinary actor but I just can find one adjective: unique.

Thank you so much, Maribel! Indeed Chaplin's black and white masterpiece way back in the 1940s is an excellent way to start what I hope will be a prolific post about all of you guys' fave scenes in movie history. C'mon, what are you waiting for?

Rosa Baez: The Great Gatsby

It’s the most important novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald, an American novelist famous for his writings of the “Jazz Age”. He portrayed the decadence, hypocrisy and materialism of this period.

The Great Gatsby is set in the summer of 1922 in New York. Gatsby is an elegant man in his thirties. He is from the West, his parents are unsuccessful farmers and he dismisses his real origins, so much so that he changes his real name. He is recruited in World War I and as a soldier he meets Daisy, a nice upper-class girl, who he deeply falls in love with. She can’t marry him because her family is very well-off and she is supposed to marry a wealthy man. She waits for him for two years but finally she marries Tom Buchanan, an affluent , well-known polo player. She isn’t happy since he is violent with her and has endless affairs with other women.

Meanwhile, Gatsby is working hard, surely in illegal businesses and in less than five years he goes from rags to riches. He builds a mansion in Long Island opposite Buchanan’s house, on the other side of the lake.

Gatsby throws fabulous parties in his palatial mansion. On weekends his Rolls Royce turns into kind of a taxi carrying people to and from New York. Guests are not invited, they just attend his parties. There are colored lights, a dance floor on the lawn and an orchestra that plays dance music. Loads of waiters serve all kinds of fine food and alcoholic drinks. There is a general sense of excitement in the air. The guests move about talking, smiling, dancing, eating, drinking and laughing. Gatsby’s extravagant lifestyle and wild parties are simply an attempt to impress Daisy. As a matter of fact, he lives alone and he isn’t interested in the people who attend his parties and neither are they in him, as they only gossip about his fortune.

After an initially awkward meeting, Gatsby and Daisy begin an affair. He isn’t aware of Daisy’s real character since she only bets on winners; Gatsby is an incurable romantic, willing to die for love whereas she doesn’t have a truly profound affection for him.

Finally, he ends up as alone as he lived; he becomes a victim of his own dream. The message is clear: the American Dream doesn’t work, so if you only pursue money your life will be empty.

There are many screen adaptations of this novel. In my opinion, the most famous is directed by Jack Clayton in 1974 , starring Robert Redfort and Mia Farrow, with a script by Francis Ford Coppola. The latest version is from 2013, directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Di Caprio and Carey Mulligan.

The Great Gatsby is a must. I strongly recommend you to read the book or to see the film as it is a vivid portrait of the roaring twenties in New York. A thought-provoking masterpiece that raises many interesting questions.

In order to situate all these ideas in the wider context of America in the 1920s, let me give you some basic background information of the period:

- After World War I ended in 1918, the United States and much of the rest of the world experienced an enormous economic expansion.

- The American Dream consisted of the premise that “a nobody from nowhere can amass a great fortune though hard work, sometimes by illegal methods”.  

- The Twenties were a period of general prosperity and social change. Major cities such as New York and Chicago grew rapidly with the building of skyscrapers.

- America began the age of consumerism: new household appliances such as radios, fridges, etc. appeared, and Henry Ford put Americans on wheels with his revolutionary model T Ford, the car everyone could afford to buy. More and more people spent money on traveling and having fun.

- At parties people were listening to new jazz music and dancing Charleston. Girls had a new look: they had short hair, wore colourful dresses showing their knees, used cosmetics, smoked cigarettes, etc.

- In 1919 there was an important ban on alcohol (The Prohibition) and some people, especially gangsters, made enormous amounts of money by suppling it illegally. 

- Although some people made fortunes overnight, many others were living in poverty and racism was tolerated.

-  The carefree life of the “Roaring Twenties” suddenly came to an end on October 29, 1929, when the New York Stock Exchange collapsed dramatically, leading to the start of the Great Depression.

Good stuff, Rosa! I remember reading Scott Fitzgerald's novel many years ago, in my years at uni, and honestly I didn't think much of it. Perhaps I should give it another go! 
But in any case I agree the Roaring Twenties were, for various reasons, a very exciting period from the social, cultural and artistic standpoints, not only in America but across the pond in the UK too.

Philip Seymour Hoffman: Loved (and touched) by the Gods of cinema

He wasn't glamorous, he wasn't sexy, he was just a very fine actor, respected by the directors he worked for, profoundly admired by his peers.

Philip Seymour Hoffman had an untimely death to a damned drug addiction, but his magnificent legacy, despite a relatively short career, is here to stay.

I discovered his real talent rather late, despite having seen him perform in numerous short roles as an immaculate supporting actor. It wasn't until I saw him in 2008 movie "Doubt" in his compelling, awesome role as Irish-American priest Brendan Flynn (alongside screen legend Meryl Streep) that I fell head over heels in love with his commanding gesture and his captivating voice. 

The last time I had the chance to watch him in a movie theatre was in "A Late Quartet" in the role of Robert Gelbart, the second violinist who is unsatisfied with the secondary role he plays within the quartet.

Yesterday "Dias the Cine", the entertaining film news programme on RTVE, dedicated 9 minutes to his life as an actor by making a quick review of his most memorable roles and scenes (in English with Spanish subtitles, thank God!), along a career that spanned for almost 13 years. 

D\'edas de cine - 06/02/14

Last week Luis had suggested posting an entry on our blog on which we could discuss which is Philip's best film / performance. I wasn't too sure that was feasible, but I changed my mind after watching Dias de Cine. So I'd like to talk those of you guys who may, one way or another, have admired Hoffman's prolific work into choosing his roles / scenes you like best and what a better way than by embedding my own choice here.

Personally, after giving it some thought, I have to go for this amazing tour de force in "Doubt" between the always great Meryl Streep, playing the domineering school principal of a strict Catholic school, who believes the jovial, open-minded priest performed by Hoffman has molested one of the students. Sheer acting at its best!

So come on folks, send me your comments and fave scenes and I'll insert them on this post. I guess you can find them yourselves rather easily on YouTube (try this link), like I did myself. If you can't, just tell me and I'll do it for you.

Sara Collantes:

I'm perfectly aware that this isn't Mr. Seymour Hoffman's best performance but I simply love this film!! The Cohen brothers always create a great variety of colourful characters in their films.

In this case, one of these characters is Brandt, the personal assistant of Mr. Lebowski, played by our beloved, deceased actor. Thanks to this kind of roles he turned into a luxury supporting actor. Philip Seymour Hoffmann always disappeared into his characters, and it isn't easy to find an actor who can give life to a character without remembering others he'd played before.

Luis Sanchez:

I'm glad you changed your mind, José Luis!

In fact, I have already written about Philip in my post about the film '25th Hour', but he deserves more attention than that. So, as I promised you, my selected scene from him comes from a very good movie, which is actually a great adaptation of one of Patricia Highsmith's novels, 'The talented Mr. Ripley', with Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law and our dear Philip Seymour. 

In my fave scene, he has a tense 'face to face' with Damon ...

And I'm sure the rest of you guys have seen many of his movies, so come on and send in your comments and scenes ;)

Maite Garcia:

It  seems to me a simple and lovely suggestion to honour Philip Seymour Hoffman so I would like to provide another of his brilliant performances. In truth I was not a fervent supporter of this artist until I saw his amazing acting in "Before the devil knows you're dead". In this film, he plays the role of an ambitious man (Andy), desperate to obtain easy money in order to afford his luxury way of life (travels, drugs, etc.). Andy, together with Hank, his guileless little brother (played by Ethan Hawke), plans to rob a jewelry shop; not a regular one, but actually their parents' business. 

I love this movie because of the way it is shot: an evasive , fragmentary story full of feedbacks and flashbacks. Undoubtedly, director Sidney Lumet’s ability to achieve such an energetic film at the age of eighty has to be recognized. Nevertheless, Ethan Hawke and Hoffman are the key to the narration, as they maintain a continuous dynamic: the aggressive, strong man against the passive, weak one; their superb performances are the highlight of the story, as you can see in the scene below:

It is a really hard moral thriller, so you feel completely devastated at the end of it. However, it is a highly recommendable movie, which I hope you will watch and enjoy it. 

Jelena: food in Serbia

As I am a foreigner, people I meet are curious to know something more about my country, Serbia. One of the usual questions they have about my homeland is related to food. 

Everybody wants to know what the typical Serbian dish is, but it’s impossible to give an accurate answer. Why is that? Well, it may sound strange, but apparently there’s nothing we could call a fully-fledged Serbian dish. What we usually tend to eat is a mixture of different cuisines – Hungarian, French, Italian, but mostly Turkish, as I expect people to know that Serbia was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire for almost five centuries. Comparing with Spain, I can freely say that we have the same appetite, although there is a slight difference in the timetable. 

Cheese pie

To understand it better, you have to know that in Serbia the sun rises and sets two hours earlier than in Spain, so we have our meals before Spaniards, despite the fact that a new, faster style of life is changing our habits. Breakfast is a must, from eight to ten in the morning, and it has to be strong, so there’s normally a big greasy sandwich, bacon or sausage with eggs, a pie (filled with meat, cheese, potatoes, spinach, or the sweet version, with apples, cherries, nuts or pumpkin) or, if you prefer a healthy meal, cereals with milk or yoghurt. I have to mention that in Serbia we more often drink the natural yoghurt, without sugar, and it’s something I really miss here. Lunch is between one and four in the afternoon, and dinner from six to eight in the evening. Our everyday menu is based on meat, vegetables and potatoes. The soup is consumed quite a lot as well, and weekends are marked with some home-made desserts like pancakes, sweet pies, tarts and other delicacies. 

The typical Rakija

I grew up in a village and I can’t think of any visit to friends or relatives when we didn’t have to eat. Offering food to a visitor is a sign of hospitality, and if you have the chance to go to Serbia and stay in someone’s house, especially in the rural environment, you should know that you won’t be able to refuse anything. First you’ll be served a cup of coffee and a drink. We usually have a black coffee, but if you’re lucky, your host may offer Nescafé too. Talking about drinks, there is always some kind of alcohol, whether a bottle of beer, a glass of home-made wine or rakija (aguardiente), commonly made of plums, apricots or grapes. It’s not something I’m proud of, but the Serbs drink a lot, and they will certainly watch you while you’re drinking, just to see what kind of person you are, depending on how much alcohol you can stand. 

Sarma (meaning "a wrapped thing")

Then comes the food. Fortunately for the shy ones, in Serbia it is customary to keep offering food, to insist that you have to eat, if it is necessary for half an hour, or somebody will just put a plate in front of you so there’s no point in saying that you’re not hungry, because it is just impossible, everybody is ready to eat anytime, for God’s sake! There is a proverb you can hear frequently in Serbia saying that health is gained through your mouth, so a good nutrition is something you have to take care of. In the winter they’ll serve you at least some smoked meat, local cheese and a salad, but if your host knows in advance that you are coming, then you should be prepared for some soup, a cooked chicken or veal, baked meat (pork, chicken or veal) or even sarma, a dish of grape, cabbage or chard leaves rolled around a filling mainly based on minced meat. And at the end of the meal, a dessert, which you can’t refuse either, because it is made especially for you, ha! 

Baklava, a sweet pastry

Slava, the typical bread

Not only do we like to eat, but food takes a very important place in our culture too. On New Year’s day, at Christmas, Easter, on a birthday, wedding day, baptism day, the day of slava (the saint’s day), or even when somebody dies, we cook enormous quantities of food. During the fast, for example before Christmas or Easter, we don’t eat any animal products (meat that is, except fish, eggs, milk, etc.) so the central role is taken by fish, beans and vegetables. For Christmas we bake pigs (not piglets ☺), and I compare Christmas in Serbia with any other day here in Salamanca, when the whole town smells of roast chicken. 

From my point of view, when it comes to food, I have been quite lucky, as the Spanish cuisine is not much different than Serbian, but I have to admit that the Spanish products have a better quality, and the offer is significantly bigger. I have made some changes in my diet, introducing chickpeas and lentils, and what indeed brought joy to my life, turrón, 300 grams of pure pleasure, so I can’t understand its sudden disappearance after Christmas. If you ask me, there should be turrón in the supermarkets all year long. In Serbia we have halva, a type of hard confection we adopted from the East, of course, but turrón takes a special place in my heart, I think you can understand my affection. Then, there’s the famous ham, Spanish tortilla, churros with hot chocolate and other tasty specialties I can’t help eating. 

To conclude, we Serbs might not have a representative national dish, but that doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy eating. 

Sara Collantes: DREAM THEATER's SCENES FROM A MEMORY

I don’t know yet how my brother managed to wangle all those ripped CDs and tapes that I still have in my room. He used to borrow original CDs and vinyls from some friends and then record them on tapes, thus making up a huge collection. Mountains of CDs of completely different styles, from Iron Maiden to Mike Oldfield, from Children of Bodom to Barricada, started to pile up and we would spend hours and hours listening to all of them. We used to photocopy entire booklets and I learned lots of lyrics by heart, which helped me with my weak English back then.

The first time an album by Dream Theater fell into my hands was one of those recorded tapes but I didn’t even know it, as the tape wasn’t labelled at all; no name, no title, not even a single mark. So I gave it a go. “Close your eyes and begin to relax …” 

What was that? I was absolutely astonished after my first shot; it left me so stunned that I only could do one thing: listen to it again. And then once again. I’d never listened to something like that, strange and complicated but at the same time catchy and fascinating. That was my first approach to the, to my mind, one of the best concept albums to date: Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory.

For the metal “pagans”, let me dress the scene for you. Dream Theater is one of the earliest progressive metal bands and, since his foundation in 1985, the most prominent and influential in the field. They have as many staunch followers as bitter detractors; one loves them or hates them at once, there’s no happy medium. They have been voted as the best in the whole world playing their respective instruments, especially John Petrucci, who strums his guitar at the speed of light, John Myung’s extremely efficient job on the bass guitar, and my favorite, the imposing presence of Mike Portnoy on the drums.

Left to right: Myung, Petrucci, LaBrie, Rudess & (the sorely missed) Portnoy

In the late July 2012, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory was voted as the number one all-time progressive album in a poll conducted by Rolling Stone. (Wikipedia quote)

Metropolis Pt.2 is the sequel to Metropolis Pt1: The Miracle and the Sleeper, the fifth track of their 1992 album Images and Words. However, this second part was conceived in its entirety as a concept album which deals with an outstanding storyline. It revolves around the story of the murder of a young girl back in 1928. This girl, Victoria, is reincarnated in a man named Nicholas, who has the strange feeling of knowing her and attends a regression hypnotherapy session to explore his own mind. I don`t believe in reincarnation or life after death. Nevertheless, both the music and the lyrics involve you perfectly and I like the album unconditionally. This is arguably the most famous track of the album, The Spirit Carries on, performed live in 2009:

When one first holds the box and sees the cover one knows straightaway that one is in front of something truly special. It has a brilliant lyrical content; the plot is confusing and dense yet interesting, and so well written that it’s worth spending 77 minutes of your life listening really carefully to it. This is not an album that you can listen to as background music or shuffled, but from the very first to the last second. The tracks aren’t separated but conceived as a coherent whole, instead of small bits. You’d better make use of your five senses, sit down with the booklet in your hands and relish the sound.

The five virtuosos during a live performance

DT push their own technical abilities to the limit. I remember thinking “How many arms and legs do these guys have?” Not only does the music fit the lyrics but it also highlights them enormously. There are some recurring melodies throughout the record which give it continuity and fluidity. The music is sometimes beautiful, soft and moving, whereas others there are powerful samples of the most elaborate thrash and progressive metal. It is a perfect blend of their hardest, most intense songs with their softest ones. 

I simply love how some melodies slightly appear and then subtly fade away, whereas others are just vigorously spread out showing all their musical delirium. Atonic, irregular rhythms are played along with shocking odd melodies, jazzy chords, samplers and lovely ballads which give the album a touch of eccentricity and also its distinguishing hallmark. Every instrument can always be clearly heard but hearing all of them together, this is perfection.

I had the chance to see them play live twice. The first time was unforgettable for me, as I was so hooked on their music that I didn't listen to anything else the weeks before the concert, which took place in Madrid in 2007. More than five thousand people were there packing the venue and I've only felt more squeezed during a Metallica gig in 2012. It was absolutely memorable: they nailed every single song and created a special atmosphere. The whole concert was projected on video screens and the acoustics of the place was impeccable.

My second time was in 2011 at the Sonisphere festival but my expectations weren't as high as the first time. This was due, principally, to the leaving of Mike Portnoy, who for me was the most charismatic member of the band and because I was also looking forward to seeing Iron Maiden, who were going to play immediately after Dream Theater. On this occasion the concert was in broad daylight, which reduced the excitement, and the set list didn’t seem right to me. Although, as usual, they played accurately, it didn't feel the same.

“Scenes from a Memory” is, without a doubt, the artistic peak of the band, in which they show an astonishing creativity and flawless execution. Nothing is missing. A perfect circle. A true masterpiece.

Sara knows how much I have longed for this post, since I'm also very fond of this fantastic band myself, though I admit I only come second (at least here in Salamanca!) after my son, David, who literally owns every single CD and DVD there is of Dream Theater - and I'm not exaggerating! 

Like Sara, I've been lucky enough to watch them live in Madrid - twice actually, and on both occasions with David -, and I must emphasize their immense talent, as they play their set list with such beauty and precision. 

They have produced many great songs both live and in the studio for over 25 years, but if I had to choose one for this post, that would definitely be the glorious, 14-minute long "Trial of Tears", in fact the longest song of their 1997 album "Falling into Infinity" - not necessarily the band's best or most commercially successful album to date. But to me Trial always sounds so so big, especially when rendered in front of an audience, as you can see on this clip I've selected from "Live at Budokan" (2004). I just love everything: the psychedelic intro, Myung and Portnoy's mind-blowing rhythmical cushion - so sad indeed that the latter quit the band 3 years ago - and Rudess & Petrucci's accurate solos, not forgetting Mr Labrie's high-pitch"screams" and versatile voice while singing some beautiful lyrics: "I may have wasted all those years. They're not worth their time in tears. I may have spent too long in darkness, in the warmth of my fears". How about that for some past modal verbs in "prog(ressive) rock" music, ha ha! Enjoy! I'm positive at least Sara - and indeed David from Holland - will - a lot!

Fernando: Me and Maths

At primary and secondary school I didn’t use to like Maths. In fact, I had trouble to understand the intricacies of reasoning, logic and performing calculations with mathematical formulas, and consequently, for some reason or another, I just wasn’t be able to grasp the complexity of the subject and I scraped through my exams.

But right now, with hindsight, I wonder whether it was my fault or the then predominant teaching methodology of mathematics. Reflecting on this issue, I can remember vividly how scared I was during the time I spent learning the subject, as well as many of the other boys in the classroom. After every explanation, the teacher would ask a pupil at random to go to the blackboard and put into practice everything he had previously explained. As the majority of us didn’t properly catch on the whole idea of the teacher’s explanation properly, we simply couldn’t do anything right. We used to be scolded or the target of unkind comments like this “You have no idea about this matter we are talking about.  Go straight back to your desk!” With such a discouraging situation we immediately got rattled, our heart pounding, all of us (was) with the head bent down, almost hidden behind the back of our previous classmate, our eyes fixed in our wooden desk and avoiding catching the teacher’s eye. I couldn’t imagine a more unpleasant task at school because learning new things has always been a real motivation which encourages me to go ahead but certainly not in that way. Only the lucky few, those who were good at maths and passed the exams effortlessly with top marks, kept their heads high and were always willing to be asked.

I felt both frustrated and helpless, as it such a manner of learning was totally unacceptable to me, but I was in a position of weakness so I could do nothing but obey. Was there a point in teaching a subject for only a handful of students? What happened with the rest? Was the subject perhaps so complicated to reach such failure? To answer these questions I have to remark that the most difficult task is to get mathematics into something perfectly understandable for everyone and being skilled enough to do it successfully - and that’s the bottom line. Getting the students interested in the subject is a key factor, always looking for the bright side of things as well as speaking in practical terms. And, above all, it is pivotal to bear in mind that at school teachers are somehow moulding their students’ mindset and attitude. So that’s the reason why they have to make the subjects easier from the first stages, and in this way inspire students to do better while sorting out the difficulties, as well as to make them far more confident. Otherwise, distressing teaching procedures end up in failure inevitably.

At that time, maths and physics played greater importance. I have no doubt of the role of these subjects in kids’ education, as they are absolutely necessary in conjunction with the rest. However, if you didn’t know maths properly, you were considered as a second-rate student, no matter how good you were at Spanish Language, let alone Physical Education or History or whichever other subject. The most important thing was maths and physics. 

Only when I was finishing secondary school did I manage to understand maths properly and pass my exams successfully. It was with the help of a private teacher who made a living giving lessons at home to six students in each turn. The room where the classes took place didn’t have enough natural light, so a big ceiling lamp was on all the time right above our heads. The teacher was a heavy smoker of cigars, and there was always a smoky atmosphere inside. When you first entered the room you had the impression of being in an illegal poker game. But it was there where I learnt the basics of mathematics. That man was incredibly good at explaining the main concepts of mathematical reasoning. By logical deduction he used different paths to get to the same point. He always made sure that all of us followed the whole process of resolving mathematical problems from top to bottom until we got a clear understanding of everything. I really think that he did enjoy teaching maths and took an enormous pleasure in doing so, and quite naturally he got me interested in maths, yet too late I’m afraid. I have fond memories of him and I wish I had had the chance to meet that extraordinary teacher at primary school and maybe the trouble with maths would never have happened to me.

Thanks Fernando, we have missed you since you had that unfortunate accident, and we hope to see you back in the classroom very soon. I also missed your posts for our blog so it feels great to publish this new entry.

It's rather funny that I felt more or less the same as you during my teenage years at secondary school. You know, maths were always kind of a mystery to me, and I just liked arithmetics, which I've always been pretty good at. I must admit some of the teachers I had didn't help make the subject more appealing to me either, and when I was at COU I also needed the help of a good private teacher to make the grade - but only just! Fortunately, I decided to study English Philology, even if I had opted for the science branch in my secondary education - I was so confused in those days as to what I had to study!