Last weekend we spent a surreal weekend in Cadaqués. This is up the coast from Barcelona an hour-and-a-bit, and features the spectacular rocky landscape of Cap de Creus, which is the easternmost point of the Iberian peninsula.

Why surreal? Well, over the hill from Cadaqués is Port Lligat, where Salvador Dalí had his home (Casa Museu virtual visit). You can visit the home (and we did), which is full of the quirks of his very diverse and eccentric artistic life.

On the way back to Barcelona, we stopped in nearby Figueres, where the Teatre Museu Dalí is located. He built his own museum, what a guy! One thing that is evident…he knew how to market himself, how to make a splash (or at least a controversy).

Eggs in Lligat, more eggs here on the roof of the museum in Figueres. Egg shapes were a Dalí favourite, along with glossy red lips, ants, the Michelin Man, swans and yes, melted clocks. And of course, his beloved Gala, who also modeled for so many works. If you want to see his personal life, see the casa in Port Lligat. If you want to see his work, go to the Museu in Figueres. Note that there is another museum in Púbol, in the castle he bought for Gala (his muse and wife). We went a few years ago but it was closed (opens March 15). This time, it was open, but we didn’t pass through Púbol, so it’ll have to wait for another time.

The house was more enjoyable, in a way, because it was so less full of people. It felt intimate, seeing his mounted swans and bear; his angled mirror so he could wake up to the “first rays of sun in the peninsuala”; the giant mechanism to allow him to manoeuvre huge canvases and paint them while remaining seated! Also, all of Gala’s press clippings about Dalí, plastered to the walls; the room for models to prepare themselves.

The gallery in Figueres was great to see so much of his art in one place, with so many different styles and experiments he did (from cubism to surrealism, sculpture, writing, stereoscopy and holograms — to name but a few!). And what museum would be complete without a crypt holding the very artist himself! I guess he is part of the permanent collection there…

An unexpected thing I discovered here was another artist: Antoni Pitxot. In fact, I went away from the Dalí gift shop with only one thing — and it wasn’t by Dalí! It was a painting of scattered stones (vaguely forming an image of a reclining woman) by Pitxot, that I had seen in the museum. The two were friends, and there is an exhibition of Pitxot’s work on the top floor. Rock and stone are so representative of the landscape here. You see the soft round Costa Brava beach-stones in Pitxot’s work; the skeletal, jagged volcanic landscape of the region reflected in many of Dalí’s forms; in the same way, you see the rounded natural “figures” of Monserrat in Gaudí’s architectural forms.

Besides the art, Cap de Creus itself was spectacular. The most amazing things was the blue, blue sea. It was a clear day, and the water was spectacular, something you’d associate more with sandy tropical beaches than rugged crashing sea! The wind was insane, that day. I thought I’d experienced the most extreme wind in Patagonia a few years ago, but this wind rivalled that, or may have even exceeded it. I didn’t have my portable anemometer (wind meter) with me, but I’m certain there were blasts well in excess of 100 km/h. Probably to 120 or beyond, at times…truly wind to knock you off your feet, which is a bit dangerous when you’re trying to walk along jagged volcanic rocks with very uneven footing to start with! Just putting a hand down, for balance, will likely leave you with some scraped-off skin; that’s how sharp and rough the rock is here.

We enjoyed a delicous paëlla, Catalan-style, in the restaurant on the point. I believe it’s owned by the same folks that run Cardamon in Barcelona, and Can Shelabi in Cadaqués (both great restaurants, too, and now I’ve been to all, done the “hat trick”). If not the same owners, at least they have some co-marketing agreement on their menus and business cards… The poor building rumbled and shuddered in the ferocious wind. A long wait to get a table, even though we had reserved ahead (sigh!), but well worth it for the view and the food (as long as you didn’t mind the dogs, which people seem to find less objectionable in restaurants here as they would in, say, Canada). Well — live and let live, as they say. When in Rome, and all that… Just don’t let him pee on my leg.

Tip: do yourself a favour and don’t go to Cadaqués and area during summer. These places are mobbed with sun-seekers then. I hate to imagine trying to navigate the sometimes-only-wide-enough-for-one-car roads around Cadaqués with a thousand other motorists. This was the perfect time of year to go (maybe just a touch too cool, this particular weekend anyhow). If you get a sunny spring or fall day, you’re in for a treat, because it’s quite spectacular…the towns, the landscape, the sea. And the emptiness…ahhhh…

Well, the election results are in from Quebec’s provincial election last night. And what a change! We have our first minority government in 130 years…and what a miscalculation by Jean Charest, the Liberal leader (who just squeaked through in his own riding, by 0.4% of the vote!). He anticipated the new year’s drop in PQ interest was a good thing for him, but didn’t figure that this would be coincident with a surge in interest for the relatively new ADQ party. They went from 5 seats last time around, to 41 seats (out of a total 125 seats in the National Assembly) — so they will be the official opposition! The Liberals dropped from 74 to 48 seats and will form the new minority government.

And people took a bit more interest, this time around — the voting rate went from around 67 to 71% of eligible voters.

Wow, imagine that…a new study has shown that exercise may be key to helping reduce childhood obesity. Even just 15 minutes per day helps. I know it sounds ridiculous, totally counter-intuitive, but apparently it’s true! This is ground-breaking stuff.

Okay, enough sarcasm. Now, it’s not exactly the same thing, since we don’t know for sure that Bill Gates has imposed minimum exercise levels for his kids — but he has at least limited their “screen time” (TV or computer) to 45 minutes per day, and just 60 on weekends (beyond what they need to complete their homework). Some would argue such imposed limits are draconian, but…he’s a parent, for Pete’s sake…and she’s a ten-year-old! Go Bill, I say!

Now, in case you need more motivation than just the health and long-term happiness of your kid… If you’re Canadian, starting this year you can cash in on your child’s exercise, too. And you’ll also benefit from more exercise when you’re taking all those cheques to the bank! (Okay, yes, I know it’s a tax credit and not a cheque, but it’s more entertaining to think of a parent “cracking the whip” for the kid to exercise, and then — ca-ching! — the cash just starts rolling in.)

…or controviersial intelligences? This Sunday (at 8pm), the CBC will host a “nation-wide intelligence test” called Test the Nation. They will pit various groups (surgeons, fitness instructors, tattoo artists, millionaires, DJs, etc.) against each other. And against you! You can play along at home, and eventually they will have results divided by region of the country, by gender, by occupation, by…everything. You get the idea. Surely this will make more enemies (let’s be polite and say “rivals”) than friends. We all know about the “two solitudes” of Canada, but this may well create ten, fifty, as many as thirty million solitudes! Just as well my old competitive self is out of the country. To remind you of the importance of “keeping on thinking”, here is one of their fun facts:

Summer vacation means brain drain. Two independent studies show an IQ decline over the summer, increasing with every month out of school.

Well, I’ve been out of school for more years than I can count (not a good sign), so surely this bodes ill for me and my precious neurons.

[UPDATE Mar. 21, 2007 — the results are in!]

This is the first time I’ve responded to a “viewer mail” on the blog. Mind you, it’s practically the first time I’ve received any “viewer mail”… (-;

JS (from U.S.A., I’d guess from the email address) writes some nice things about my blog and writing style (thanks!), and expresses confusion about my age/maturity (thanks!). He goes on:

…I would like to know more about you but right now I’m investigating the future purchase of a classical guitar for my nine year old. [My son’s teacher] suggested that since we are going to Barcelona it would be a good time to purchase a Spanish classical guitar for him. […] could you tell me what I might be looking at spending for a 3/4 size guitar that sounds good and plays well? And while I’ve got you on the phone, any recommendations on where to go to hear some classical and flamenco music/dance while in Barcelona?

Hi JS,

Excuse me — you want to know more about me? I am but the messenger (and here I mean in the old-fashioned, pre-MSN sense). The blog-spirits occasionally favor me by planting ideas in my humble soil; I nurture and water those ideas until they grow and thrive. I am nothing. Sometimes I fail the BS’es, for want of proper fertilization (seems unlikely, I know!) or pure laziness on my part, and their ideas wither and die. I am nobody. Soy El Jardinero Zurdo. I inhabit, and also also go by: “Edges.” But, truly, enough about me.

Buying a Guitar

It’s hard to say exactly how much a 3/4 classical guitar would go for — because of course with guitars there is a wide price/quality range, depending if you want an “entry-level” guitar or a fancy one. You can get a “starter” classical guitar kit for usually 60-70 Euros in shops in Barcelona — I imagine this is not what you had in mind, if your son is already playing. You could get something reasonable with a solid top for 100 to 200 Euros, I’m sure (especially in the 3/4 size).

There are two places I would recommend in Barcelona, for classical (or flamenco) guitars:

• Casa Luthier — this is where I bought my Alhambra flamenco guitar… It’s on Carrer Balmes between Aragón and Valencia (map). Really big (tons of guitars and music), great service. They have customers from all over, so they do speak some English (though I dealt with them in Castellano).
• New-Phono — on Carrer Ample between Via Laietana and La Rambla (map). I looked at guitars here, and bought strings once, had very good service too. Don’t know about English, but I imagine they can speak some.

Of course, there are plenty of other places selling guitars; I’ve been to several but these are the two I was most impressed with for service, selection, etc. There are lots of shops on Carrer Tallers, but I was not as impressed with them. If you want a classical guitar you’re probably best going somewhere that really specializes in that, like Casa Luthier. I’m curious about La guitarreria, but haven’t been since it’s a little outside of Barcelona, in Sabadell.

Seeing Music

For classical music, lots of churches have concerts (they’re often handing out flyers for classical guitar at Santa Maria del Mar, though I’ve never been to a show there). Also, if you can, you really should try to see a concert at the Palau de Música Catalana. Or at least take a tour — it’s a World Heritage Site and, well, a beautiful building.

As far as seeing flamenco in Barcelona, there are some (but not that many) options. As you’ll see, I’ve only been to a few of these places.

• Tarantos — this place, in the plaça Reial (plaza Real), is kind of a nightclub/bar that offers nightly flamenco shows. The best part is that they are cheap…used to be five Euros, now I believe it’s six. There are shows (the same one, repeated) at 20h30, 21h30 and 22h30 — you can stay for all shows for the same price, if you really liked it. Showcases young and little-known groups and dancers. I’ve been several times, and it can be okay…or, if you’re lucky, truly great! Not guaranteed to be representative of “typical” flamenco, since sometimes they are young performers experimenting with new ideas (go for it, I say!). I saw a percussion-only show once, which disappointed me at first (as a guitarist keen on seeing guitar), but in the end it really blew me away (the group was “Esencia”).
• Tablao Cordobes — never been; I’m not so keen on tablaos (typically too touristy and expensive). On the other hand, it’s almost 40 years old, and claims to be one of the “most important tablaos in Spain”, or so claim: “the more demanding artistic minorities.” (-; Yes, that’s what it says on their website — gave me a good laugh, though I imagine they mean to say “artistic authorities“???
• Tablao de Carmen — also have never been; another touristy tablao. But I’ve been just outside and listened through the windows. It’s located inside the Pueblo Español, a kind of Spanish “theme park” which recreates various bits of Spain inside one attraction. I just can’t imagine “ponying up” 64 Euros (or more!) for a dinner plus (somewhat tacky, I imagine) 75 minute show. Then again, I’m cheap. And judgmental, sometimes.
• Tirititrán — “relatively” new place, also haven’t been (geez, where have you been, Señor Zurdo?). It is restaurant, also a tablao of sorts, with shows only on certain days of the week.
• Flamenco Barcelona — another newish place, this is not a tablao but a shop with some flamenco items for sale (shoes, music, etc). But also offers classes (dancing, guitar, singing, cajón) and has regular casual shows in the back, at low prices. Especially tends to have music in the Rumba Catalana style…a Catalan variant of the rumba flamenco style. (Check out Barcelona’s Ojos de Brujo if you haven’t yet!) I took a few basic flamenco guitar classes here last year.
• [NEWLY ADDED 19/03/2007] Restaurante Nervión — never heard of this place before, though they claim to have been around since 1980… I just found a pamphlet at the tourist office. No idea if it’s any good; to me looks like another touristy tablao, but maybe I’ll have to try out some of these places. At least not as expensive as some of the others, and in fact if you come after 23h30, apparently it’s only 5 Euros for a beer (or sangría) and the show. Looks like shows are hourly, from 22h through 1h.

Other than regular “venues” like those above, keep your eyes on the concert/event listings (from local papers, web sites, or the tourist offices). There are various flamenco festivals in Barcelona throughout the year. It was at such special events that I’ve seen some of the best flamenco in Barcelona, actually. The most amazing show I saw (dance-wise) was Sara Baras’ show Sabores.

In May there is the Festival de Flamenco Ciutat Vella, and just before it, the one in Nou Barris (not sure if it’s on this year, I didn’t find anything on the web). Most importantly, there is the Festival Flamenco de Barcelona from mid-June through July. Also, starting next week (through June!) is the Festival de Guitarra de Barcelona, which features amazing guitarists in all styles.

I hope some of this helps — thanks for the letter, and have a great time in Barcelona (where I just happen to be en ce moment). Let me know how it goes, and what guitar you end up getting for your son!

Yours truly,
EJZ (Edges)

[Side note: Interestingly, ¿El qué? — which literally translates as “the what?” — is an expression I hear often in Spanish (perhaps because of the way I speak?). It essentially means, in English, “What?” (or perhaps: “Say whaaaaaat?” ;-) Used to express confusion, misunderstanding, like a mildly-irritated version of: “I beg your pardon?” And no, nothing to do with the hereafter-mentioned Sudanese book…]

Indeed, what is it, you may ask? Well, at least now I have some small idea, as I just finished reading the book of that title, by Dave Eggers. It is the bleak, depressing (yet strangely hopeful) story of Valentino Achak Deng, one of the “Lost Boys” who survived civil war and genocide in Sudan, eventually being taken in by the United States. Valentino’s site (I feel like I know him, now, and am on a first name basis ;-) has some interesting information on his Foundation (all proceeds from the book go to aiding Sudanese in America and Sudan), and more about the complex history and ongoing problems in Sudan.

His life is an example of survival against all odds (yes, an over-used expression, but absolutely true in his case); of optimism and faith in the face of the world’s sheer cruelty. Fortunately, there have been some happy moments, and some truly wonderful people in his life — without these, I hate to imagine how he would have kept going. I was amazed by his resiliency, his inspiring combination of “naïveté” and strength. I hope things started going better in his life after the conclusion of the book (it seems so — that he has travelled back to his hometown of Marial Bai, has contact with his parents who amazingly are still alive, is running his Foundation, speaking, educating and inspiring others). This is the kind of story that makes you feel fortunate to “only” have whatever little problems you’ve had in life, and inspires you to be a “good person”: to contribute light and hope into the world, rather than misunderstanding, fear and hatred.

Last week, as I was reading What Is the What, I heard that the Canadian government had earmarked another $48M to support African Union peacekeeping efforts in the Darfur region, where the hell continues today in spite of the 2005 peace agreement (which brought relative stability to some parts of Sudan).

The Canadian government has a Sudan site — there you can find out more about what Canada is doing in Sudan. Also, here is a backgrounder on Sudan, from the CBC.

(Aaaargh! I just was writing a lengthy post and for some reason my browser died so I lost the whole thing…so I’m not going to re-write it all, just a quick summary.)

I went to a few films at Festivalissimo over the weekend. My ranking of the ones I saw so far is as follows:

1. Princesas (Spain) — really enjoyed this story about prostitutes in Madrid. It is funny and very moving, and deals with themes like poverty, immigration, racism, violence against women, love and the need to be remembered, in a light, quirky-but-sad way. The lead actress Candela Peña (from Barcelona, was also in Todo sobre mi madre) was fantastic. Really good movie.
2. Vete de mí (Spain) — a father/son story, also quite funny and well-done. Father is an actor, son is a “layabout”, and gradually their roles change/reverse. Always fun to see things fall apart.
3. Madeinusa (Peru) — strange tale of a girl in a remote Peruvian pueblo, where absolutely “anything goes” (!) from 3pm on Good Friday (when “God dies”) until 6am Easter Sunday, when he is resurrected. You see (they believe), God is dead during this period and so he can’t see us! Well, turns out the town’s mayor has been waiting all year to sleep with his daughter… Meanwhile a gringo from Lima is stuck in town, so they lock him up to keep him from witnessing their debauchery. Of course, he is “exotic” to the daughter…guess what happens? (-; The spectacular colour and imagery, the slow pace and magic-realism feel were enjoyable, but in the end I was left a bit disappointed with the motivation of the characters; also the ending.
4. La sagrada familia (Chile) — highly touted “first film” for a Chilean director (Madeinusa was also a debut film), left me quite disappointed. Not only (though partly) because of the “look” — it was a video projection, not film that we watched — the lack of rich colour…but also because of the writing. Was promising (also deals with father/son relationship, also over Easter weekend — what’s up with that? ;-), but just didn’t offer what I’d hoped for.

By the way, the past weekend has been really nice (since our big snowstorm on Friday), but now today we have whiteout blizzard conditions, and the temperature is dropping from -2 to -24 in the next few hours, leaving us with a predicted wind chill of almost -40 tonight. Fun fun fun! Buckle up your ski pants!

[UPDATE: March 11, 2007 — I went to see my fifth Festivalissimo film this Sunday. It was Chicha tu madre (Peru). Also highly touted, but I found it a bit confused. There was a clear (enough) story, but some of the elements didn’t connect in a way that I found meaningful. The Buenos Aires charity doctor with the bleeding orifices, for example? Perhaps there is a culture gap that blocks my understanding… I’m not even sure which definition of chicha is the relevant one, here. I’m guessing it’s: (Perú) U. en aposición para referirse a toda actividad informal, de mal gusto y de baja calidad. There is a vast underground economy in Peru, where if you want to be a taxi driver, apparently you just get a car and slap your own “taxi” sign in the window (95% of public transport in Lima is done by “the informals”). It seems almost everything is done “under the table”, unofficially. I enjoyed the snapshot of Lima, of this ad hoc world, but in the end can’t say I really appreciated the movie that much.]

Then call your MP! The Official Development Assistance Accountability Act (aka Bill C-293) is going for a final vote in the House of Commons on March 22. It will help ensure Canadian foreign aid is effective, and is focused on reducing poverty. More specifically:

The purpose of this Act is to ensure that all Canadian official development assistance abroad is provided with a central focus on poverty reduction and in a manner that is consistent with Canadian values, Canadian foreign policy, sustainable development and democracy promotion and that promotes international human rights standards.

You can (dare I say should?) contact your MP to ensure he or she realizes that this measure is important to you (assuming it is). Ideally you should phone, but at the very least send along a short email (I did!). They are your representatives, and this is just to remind them of their constituents’ values… You can find the contact details for your MP here.

My Montreal neighbourhood (the Plateau) will host the first ever Zen Poetry Festival, from March 16 to 18. From their site:

Poets, translators, story-tellers, scholars, musicians, and Zen monks will come together to explore how Zen embraces a paradoxical relationship with language – a relationship which has strongly influenced both Asian and North American poetry movements.

I guess this would mean, in part, Haiku. And so, I offer you this:

…three things that define Montreal’s winter, or a news item? Well, today it’s a single news item. We had a shot of freezing rain overnight, and now have received 30cm of snow in the past 12 hours — and it’s still snowing!

So this year March is definitely coming in like a lion? (ah, so that’s where the expression comes from!)

Snow isn’t always the only thing flying. Thirty-eight years ago today, on March 2, in 1969, the prototype Concorde flew for the first time. Of course, one of these beauties flew for the last time on November 27, 2003.

In other air news, the giant Airbus A380 is having its share of troubles…cancelled orders, delays and, earlier this week, 10,000 layoffs at the company. They flew 200 lucky reporters around in a passenger A380 in mid-February, but today UPS followed FedEx and cancelled its order for 10 planes. That means that now Airbus has no confirmed orders for the freight version of the plane! The next support-raising move is to fly two Quantas-branded A380s to the U.S. for the first time — on March 19 there will be simultaneous landings on opposite coasts, at LAX and JFK. The first passenger plane delivery is expected in October 2007 to Singapore Airlines, who may fly it in late 2007 (more likely in 2008). It will be sometime in 2008 (at the earliest) that we see Air France fly these huge planes here, on the Paris-Montreal route.