Sunday, February 19, 2012

Weekend of Exploration 1st part (Sagunto)

Sometimes we seem to notice the world as a very small place where everything is connected. When I arrived at the airport in Valencia an ex-classmate and childhood friend of mine was waiting to pick me up.

I have several friends from my childhood that live in Spain now, and one of them has being living in Valencia for two years now. Vanessa and I knew each other in 1st grade and stopped seeing each other when I left the island in 9th grade. After 10 years an airport in Valencia, Spain was the witness of our reunion.

Vanessa and her husband have helped me with getting to know the city and its surroundings. Last weekend Sagunto and Requena had one more visitor

Sagunto is a town that belongs to the Valencia community. It is located 15 miles north from the center of Valencia. We went there to visit the town and a castle that the Romans built in 219 B.C. due to its strategic place for commerce through the Mediterranean Sea.













































Alejandro Simon (FSU/MFA candidate) from Valencia, Spain.

Friday, February 17, 2012

Tablao Flamenco

One of the things that came to mind when I knew I was going to study in Valencia, was the great opportunity I was going to have of going to a life “tablao flamenco” performance, (a tablao is the place where flamenco shows are performed). For me this is of a supreme importance because since I was a child I used to go with my family to see these performances very often. In Cuba there is a huge flamenco movement and it is a big part of its culture.

My sister started to study and practice these dance at the age of 7. Evidently, every show she would participate in all our family was there seeing her perform. The passion for flamenco did not abandon her, and she continued on this journey until we left the Island. This culture grew up within me, and I grew up seeing my sister leaving her soul and love in a piece of plywood that my dad used to laid on the floor so that the flamenco heels would not break the tiles of the floor and also because dancing flamenco on a bare tile floor could affect her spinal cord. My sister stopped practicing a little bit after we arrived to Miami. Unfortunately this type of art, as many others are not topics of interest and are not popular there.

It was the 3rd day in Valencia. I was walking through the historic center, which is very similar to my old Havana, and I stumbled upon a billboard announcing a “tablao flamenco” that same day in a local restaurant at 11 PM. I did not think it twice. This was something I was waiting for more that 10 years. My girlfriend, who accompanied me in this trip for the first two weeks, loved the idea as well. The show included dinner at 9pm, and we were there punctual.

Once the tablao began I could not do more than observe, enjoy. The show was composed of 4 individuals, two female dancers, one incredible female flamenco singer, and a very talented male flamenco guitarist. Describing what I saw would be more that unfair. I do believe in indescribable things. What I saw that night was one of them. It is always gratifying to see a culture keeping its traditions sane and intact. It makes me believe one more time that anything can be done. There is something I can say about that moment when I was appreciating what those people were doing. I felt I was not here, I felt I separated from planet Earth for a few minutes. My mind was flying too fast every where, and it was impossible not to see my sister dancing one more time.

Alejandro Simon (FSU/MFA candidate) from Valencia, Spain.

A new land and its belongings

The same thing I had said and experienced already two times in my life. The first one on March of 2002 when I arrived to the United States of America (Miami) to start a new life with my family, and the second one on August 2010 when I arrived to Tallahassee to begging my studies in pursuing a Master in Fine Arts. Both were shocking experiences in their own particular ways.

Right now I am in Valencia, Spain going through a very similar feeling. It is that feeling of starting a life all over again in a very different place, with other people with other culture, with other belongings. I think I have to admit that have forced my self to explore life in very different ways, with very different people and environments thinking or knowing that it would help me grow as a person and as an artist. It has definitely showed me a rich world of diversity and contradictions. Alejo Carpentier, a Cuban writer/novelist from the middle of the 20th century once said “… los azares de andanzas por otras tierras suelen traer a la mente más de un punto de comparación y referencia…” “… the ups and downs to other lands often bring to mind more than a point of comparison and reference…”

I was lucky to find a three bedroom apartment five minutes from literally everything. The university is right in the opposite corner from the building I am staying. I can see it from my bedroom window. The market, pharmacy and every small business you can think of are down when you exit the building all over the block. I am sharing the apartment with two other guys that are finishing their bachelors’ degree in architecture at the Univerisidad Polytecnica de Valencia a well.

Alejandro Simon (FSU/MFA candidate) from Valencia, Spain.