La Niña

Posted on by Thor

I have been studying Spanish. Each time I eat a meal, I check in with Duolingo on my phone and do a lesson. My friend invited me to go to her sisters house where the family would be celebrating her sister’s birthday. Since I am studying Spanish, she felt it would be good for me to immerse myself in the family conversations, many of which would be in Spanish. She was absolutely right. I am thrilled each time the family speaks in Spanish. I catch maybe a quarter of what is said but the playful sing song exchanges are a thrill to listen too.

I met my friend at UCF where she was giving her finals presentation and then we hit the road. It was a long scenic drive on endless rural roadways. I loved driving through the wide open horse and cow country. She had pulled an all nighter to assemble a map using the paper we had created over the weekend. She was exhausted so she slept through most of the trip.

The original plan was for me to use a iPhone hot spot so I could teach a virtual student for most of the ride and I am glad that the class was canceled at the last minute. It would have been unfair to my friend to struggle to stay awake for that long drive.

She had a present for her niece. It was a curved long board. It is such a simple and sturdy toy that encourages balance. As soon as we arrived she and her niece played with it for the longest time in the living room. Stella lit up when she played with her niece. First she taught her how to straddle the board and treat it like a surf board rocking side to side.  Then it was turned over like a bridge and her niece jumped off with glee. Then her niece sat on the board and rocked side to side. This was certainly the safest and most balanced way to play.

A box of small animal toys was brought out and the animals hid under the long board bridge like trolls. my friend played with the animals allowing them to chase a ball. All of the interactions were in Spanish and it was such a good learning experience for me. Elephante was one of the first words I learned in Spanish and sure enough there was a small stuffed elephant. She also read a book to her niece in Spanish and I was on the edge of my seat hanging on every word. Playtime and pre-school learning are such a thrill for me as I slowly pick up a new language.

On the trip down we stopped in a Spanish supermercado. I needed a bathroom and like a dope asked in English. Afterwards I realized I know how to ask for a bathroom. “Yo necesito uno baño.” I need to get more daring in using the language I am slowly learning. As in art, mistakes are inevitable. I will learn faster if I take more chances and use what I have learned. I now have 2 days of absolute Spanish immersion. Every playful exchange my friend has with her niece is a gold mine of fluent Spanish. She reads the children books that are printed in English and translates them for her niece in Spanish. She created several movies with those translations and I want to look at the movies which should be another gold mine.

During her all nighter creating a map with the grass paper she discovered an online channel that has an endless stream of Colombia soap operas. She described the over the top villainous and sexy leading lady. Sweet innocent couples were forced into  turning to a life of evil due to circumstances. The plot twists were silly and unrealistic but that is what makes it sound so fun. If I were to watch this soap opera first with English subtitle and then without them, I should start picking up phrases and conversational Spanish. At least that is my hope.

C’est La Vie Inn

Posted on by Thor

On a trip to Eugene, Oregon I stayed at this quaint little Bed and Breakfast called C’est La Vie Inn (1006 Taylor St Eugene, OR 97402). Translated from Spanish the name is “It’s Life Inn.” It was an opulent gingerbread house with all the Victorian fixings.

I am studying Spanish every evening now so it is appropriate that I might stay at C’est La Vie. I am finding that the early stages of learning Spanish, I am mostly just mimicking the sounds I hear. When first faced with remembering the words I was pronouncing I drew a complete and terrifying blank. I have decided to start a sketchbook devoted to sketching the words I am memorizing. I figure that by sketching the object I might commit the word to memory. We all learn differently and I am assuming that I am a visual learner.

Duolingo was sad and despondent for many months but now the little green own is ecstatic that I am studying a new language so diligently. Tonight I am trying to watch the original Star Wars in Spanish. A narrator pronounced each line in the script slowly and then explains the meaning in detail. It turns out You Tube is a good resource for learning new languages. I taught online art courses for eight hours today and then finished the above painting.  Rather than relax my plan is to learn something new.

SELF

Posted on by Thor

SELF presented by ARTiko Espacio Creativo was performed in the black box theater at the Orlando Family Stage, 1001 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL. Actor, producer, Stephen Lewis told me about the amazing work this dance company is doing. He put me in touch with producer Alexander Rivero and we arranged for me to get in and do a sketch.

I arrived a touch early and a line had already formed to get into the lobby of the theater. I remained unmasked but kept 22 feet of distance from the crush of the crowd. It was heart warming to watch hugs as friends and family met.

Since I was keeping a distance, I was the last to enter the lobby. My mask went on just before entering.  when the doors opened. The crowd completely filled the lobby. I was luck because a portable air conditioner had been set up to try and cool the air. It blew right on my at 62 degrees. The doors behind me opened several times as late comers pressed in. Finally a woman with huge sun glasses in a white dress and clear raincoat slapped her hands against the glass entry door. This was dancer Scarlet Sans. People turned to look and hushed one another. On man in the crowd worked his way to the door to open it for her. This was unrehearsed since the stage hand next to me started to laugh. He was just being a gentleman. I suspect she would have spent much more time struggling to get in if it weren’t for him. Ah, the joy of live theater.

Raincoat woman entered and started exploring the floor with her umbrella. She now had everyone attention. She then pushed through the crowd which parted to make way for her. I lost sight of her from that moment on. There was a large monitor in the back of the lobby and an opportunity was lost by not projecting her performance in the monitor. I tried to see what she was doing by looking at iPhones which were raised high above peoples heads to take video. I couldn’t see much on the postage stamp sized screens but she was at a canvas. The entrance to the theater was covered with thin clear plastic and I started to fear that the whole show might happen in this tight confined lobby. The CO2 levels had to be skyrocketing.

Eventually the plastic was ripped away from the entrance to the theater and people started pressing forward. Since I was press, I was told to stand behind the bleachers. I was considering the sketch opportunities of sketching the show at butt level through a gap between two people when the director Carlos Dimas found me and ushered me to a much better view on the side lines of the theater.

The show was in Spanish. I picked up just a few phrases from my study on Duolingo. So rather than trying to understand the show through words, I had to trust the movement and raw emotions expressed to flavor the lines I put on the screen.  There was much angst with dancers curled up as in pain or huddled together as if comforting each other. Mauricio Vega opened the show lying on top of a box and then rolling onto the floor and coming to life. Dancer Katherine Dalis had a long moment where she stood motionless with the tassels hanging from her costume waving is the breeze.   Alexia Palacios caught my eye because she resembled Pocahontas and moved with the same stealth pride. There was an unbridled sensuality about the show with an underlying dark foreboding tone.

In the final scene the dancers knelled before water bowls and splashed water on their faces. I took this to mean they were washing away some of the angst and looking toward the future with hope.