Aventura 28: The Ultimate Adventure Headquarters

If you are ever looking for a seclusive cave to inspire artistic imaginings or a crazy adventure headquarters or a house that you will never, ever get bored of - look no further than Casa Batlló.  This house designed by Gaudí has everything you could imagine and you could never imagine.  The skin of reptiles on the walls.  A terrace that undulates like the waves of the ocean.  Stairs that go up, up, up circling around with a different surprise around everywhere corner.  4 swivel windows that are used like morse code to give signals to your comrades that the enemies are coming from the left - no, the right! Shadows that lurk here and there.....

Chandeliers that look like they were taken from a Dr. Seuss jungle or from an ancient artistic depiction of the sun, giving off shadows that strangely don't match the cut of the lamp itself.

Curves and forms like water or cell bodies or imaginary eyes.  Blue stained glass that changes the look of the world outside.

Bones from the skeleton of a dragon that help hold up the house.

Beautiful combinations of curves, circles, flower-like shapes.  There are barely any straight lines in this house.  

The main living room - or is it the top secret room for decisions made by adventurers?

A terraza that is a mosaic wonderland guarded by the ocean's gates: seaweed wrapping around the fence instead of straight-laced iron.

And if you talk about mysterious doors and windows.........

Combinations of windows, blinds, stairs? Mirrors? Are you looking up or looking down? You can get totally turned around in this house!

A sanctuary in the sky...in the middle of the house?

Or is it a sanctuary in the ocean?

Depends on if you are looking through the shields of glass or not....

It seems like that with this house.  That everything changes depending on what direction your head is turned: right, left, up, down, right-side-up, up-side-down, backwards, forwards, diagonal...

Tilt your head a little, and you will see the reptile skin on the wall shine brilliant colors.

Or walk upstairs and you will be inside the prehistoric reptile - or the vestuario of the greatest ancient athletes of the world.

Walk to the roof, and you will encounter a whole different world.

With crazy imaginings you've never had...

Like riding on the back of a dragon to the end's of the sky.

So you run back down the stairs, as if you are flying on that dragon, flying with the ideas and wonders and creations of this house that has made your wildest dreams actually a reality.

Aventura 27: Barbacoaaaa

Sunday concluded a weekend that I can count on my fingers as one of my favorites ever.  I'll tell you about the Friday and Saturday part later, but this aventura on Sunday was a centimeter less than perfect, only because perfection doesn't exist!

What happened? On one end, it was one of the calmest aventures I have recounted here: relaxing, eating, and talking.   

On the other hand, it was the most exciting aventura yet! My fútbol team, Sansur, had a barbacoa in place of the game that got rescheduled.  We all drove out in three cars 45 minutes outside of Barcelona to a teammate's house closer to the mountains.  Even just driving on the highway with the window rolled down, the music singing along with the wind, and looking at the mountains of Montserrat in the distance was enough of a break from the city life of Barcelona.  But add to that: 

Preparing food in a country home

Dancing and grilling the best looking chorizos, carne, butifarra, vegetables, pollo, and pan to put it all on

Sitting around a makeshift table on the patio, the only way to have a true cook-out

Talking, laughing, reaching across the table, using the slingshot fork, eating homemade cookies

Singing happy birthday in catalán/castellano (yo) while carrying the candles out by hand because they won't stay in the cake!

Walking up the stairs to the patio on top of the roof and just relaxing on chairs, taking in the powerful rays of the sun that decided to come out just in time!

Dancing and singing over and over again to a playlist of only 5 songs (but the 5 very best songs!)

Passing and juggling la pelota

Water fights

Quick! three pictures in a row and you have to change positions and you can't fall on anyone even though Nata just jumped over everyone!

Laughing and laughing and laughing

Sleeping on the way home, window rolled down, after three hours of lying around in the sun

I don't think even colorful words though can explain this day any better than this picture.  Silliness, smiles, comfort, hugs, sun, jumping and falling on top of each other, laughing......it can't get any better than this.

Aventura 26: Palau de la Música

http://queverbarcelona.blogspot.com/2011/11/conoces-el-palau-de-la-musica-catalana.html

21.03h:  3 minutes late for the concert, but I might still make it in time before they close the doors.  Run up the stairs, don't look around at all the colors, sculptures, flowers, chandeliers, and decoration around you.  Walkrun up three flights of red carpeted stairs, wow....the carpet is beautiful, with the floors patterns and all the designs....

No, focus, up the stairs, ask the usher where you are sitting.  Enter, don't trip because all the lights are off.  Find your seat, squeeze past the people and PHEW.  

Finally, sit down and rest.  Close your eyes for a second, say hi to your friends next to you, and try to look around.  But as you got here just in the nick of time, all the lights are already off.  Until you get a glimpse of shining, glittery red and blue way in front and down below.  Then you here a voice speaking to the crowd.  That must be José Mercé, the flamenco singer - that is why you are here anyways! Just sit back, relax, and enjoy his singing....

Except that you can't sit back and relax.  The moment he starts singing, you have your elbows on your knees inched to the edge of the seat, straining over three rows of people to see where this incredible voice is coming from with so much energy, depth, and emotion.  You peer through silhouetted heads to see a small figure dressed in casual black, gray long hair, and a huge smile.  He's singing along with the guitarrist next to him and dancing in the background are the statues that are coming out of the wall.  Those glittering lights you saw before are making the statues swirl and twirl with the rhythm of the guitar.  

Your feet, body, and hands are all swaying with the guitar and the voice.  You want to capture this feeling, remember this feeling forever, but you are not sure how.  You grab your sketchbook and pencil and just start to move your hand along with the rhythm, following the dance of the statues with no idea where your lines are going because, well, it's dark, remember?


And then you thought it couldn't get any better, but three women and two other men come out to add more voices, drums, and a cool rattling instrument.  And while they are singing, Jose Mercé gets up and starts dancing flamenco and laughing and talking with the audience.  And what does everyone around you do in response? Not just a normal clap, no...but a clap to the rhythm of the music and song! You find yourself clapping and singing with them too, even though you don't know the words. And when Mercé tries to leave two times to end the show, you find yourself chanting "otra, otra" for an encore.  He comes out for a third improvisational song, and "escapes" by dancing off stage!

We sat on the right side here! ---------------------------------------->

Standing and clapping like crazy (flamenco-style) the lights come on, and you are almost pushed back into your seat with the awe of what is around you.  This is what you were sitting in this whole time? How could you not have even noticed? You started to get pushed a little bit by the crowd around you heading for the carpeted stairs, but all you want to do is look around.  You can't talk your eyes off the ceiling, but you have to otherwise you are going to trip! All you know is that you have to come back here - the show is not over!





Here's some of his singing if you want to listen!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NV2GnCkT5aI

Aventura 25: Barcelona vs. Valencia, Barcelona vs. Valencia

Watching from the second row of Camp Nou the amazing skills, passes, touches, fluidity, togetherness, heart, and teamwork of F.C. Barcelona men's team play, I wonder where the magic comes from.

The luck of a tart from our local pastelería?

Game 1, Copa del Rey: Barcelona (53) v. Valencia (0) turned into Barcelona (2) v. Valencia (0)

Game 2, La liga: Barcelona (15) v. Valencia (3) turned into Barcelona (5) v. Valencia (1)

The storm of drums, songs, chants, and "Wakka, Wakka's" that the fans surround and engulf the team with?

Tot el camp

és un clam

som la gent blaugrana

Tant se val d'on venim

si del sud o del nord

ara estem d'acord, ara estem d'acord, 

una bandera ens agermana.

Blaugrana al vent

un crit valent

tenim un nom el sap tothom:

Barça, Barça, Baaarça!

Jugadors, seguidors,

tots units fem força.

Son molt anys plens d'afanys,

son molts gols que hem cridat

i s'ha demostrat, i s'ha demostrat,

que mai ningu no ens podrà torcer.

Blaugrana al vent

un crit valent

tenim un nom el sap tothom:

Barça, Barça, Baaarça!

The whole stadium

loudly cheers

We’re the blue and claret supporters

It matters not where we hail from

Whether it's the south or the north

Now we all agree, we all agree,

One flag unites us in brotherhood. 

Blue and claret blowing in the wind

One valiant cry

We’ve got a name that everyone knows: 

Barça, Barça, Baaarça!

Players, Supporters

United we are strong.

We’ve achieved much over the years,

We’ve shouted many goals

And we have shown, we have shown,

That no one can ever break us.

Blue and claret blowing in the wind

One valiant cry

We’ve got a name that everyone knows:

Barça, Barça, Baaarça!

The inability of Iniesta to lose the ball in the middle, the superhuman ability of Messi to score four goals in a game, the strong headers and even stronger slide tackles of Puyol, the dancing feet of Alexis, or the quick, smooth, unseen runs made by Xavi to always keep the triangles in the middle?

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

Or is it something else, a combination of everything from the patterns of stars in the sky to the patterns of passes on the field, from the fans sitting at home watching every game to the fans at the stadium to the coaches to the players themselves, from the luck of a pastry to the luck that these players all ended up where they did - a combination that no one can explain exactly?

Which, you know what, might be okay with me.  As I realized recently, the most beautiful things in the world are made up of questions, not answers.

Aventura 24: MACBA

http://www.barcelonaemotion.com/en/visiting-macba-in-barcelona/macba-barcelona-4/

MACBA.  Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona.  The museum was as much of an exhibit, a work of art, as what was inside! Walking up the ramps right inside the windows and looking out on la Plaza de Angels and the beautiful sunny day was like walking through an art piece - or it has that special feeling, that "ish" feeling (for those who have read the wonderful children's book Ish.)

We had ventured to the MACBA for the photography exhibit Centre Internacional de Fotografia Barcelona (1978-1983).  This exhibition, with photos from many different artists, chronicled the everyday life of the late 70's, early 80's in Barcelona.  These years were the Transition; years marking the change from a dictatorship to a democracy, which was not easy.  While students and certain political parties were ready to move towards a democracy, the church and parts of the military wanted to maintain the dictatorship.  There was a great amount of terrorist acts and many people feared a second civil war.  Thanks to King Juan Carlos I, when Franco died in 1975, the king took charge and gave the country back to the people, asking them what they wanted and what the majority wanted was a democracy.   Then followed one of the quickest transitions to a democracy, writing up the Spanish Constitution of 1978.  

This Centre Internacional de Fotografía Barcrlona existed in those years of the Transition as an experiment in photography and art.  A key theme to the photography produced there was recording the everyday life of people living in Barcelona and its neighborhoods during that time.  The photos were taken by teachers and students alike.  As the MACBA website describes, 

 It is a collective representation of a traumatised city at the end of a long dictatorship, prior to the urban renovation of the 1980s, at a moment of emergence of new micropolitical social behaviours and new forms of resistance that would lead to the recovery of the public space. 

http://imaginarycity.net/2012/02/12/centre-internacional-de-fotografia/

This type of photography is very different from the kind I've been used to while being in Barcelona - that of climbing Montserrat or watching the sunset over the water and taking a picture.  This type of tourist photography doesn't have much meaning to me - I take pictures for the blog, yes, but it doesn't have as much meaning for me because I can't always capture how I actually felt there.  But these photos, I felt like I actually got to know people - I could intuit their personalities and feelings.  I could place myself in the streets and in the time period.  Walking through these walls of photos, I met people who lived during the transitions, from old ladies and men, to younger people our age to families living on a couch in an abandoned parking lot to a group of circus performers in Sitges.

Each museum I go to I see different techniques, different mediums, but there's beginning to be a recurring theme.  The way I learn and enter into the world of a city I'm unfamiliar with either because it was a different time period or a different place.  But I'm realizing this ability of art, more so than a textbook, to pass on the feelings, history, thoughts, and culture of a place 70 years ago.  While looking at these circus photos or of the mom and daughter from la Maleta Mexicana exhibit, you feel as if, for that moment, you are right there with them. 

Aventura 23: Monasterio de Poblet

Last week we ventured an hour and a half in bus south to Tarragona, through the city, las afueras, el campo (country), and even the mountains to arrive at a small town with a monastery, el Monasterio de Poblet.  This romanesque (but part gothic) monastery is I believe one of the oldest in Barcelona, and it was beautiful, beautifully simple but with so many secrets.  We had a walking library guide - can you guess who it is by that description? Yup.  My art history professor! He came along with us, and seeing as he seems to know everyone, he just walked right in and asked for the keys TO the monastery, and we had ourselves a the key to all parts of the monastery, and all the history and secrets.  

We learned that St. Bernardo, who was a great patron saint of the monastery, was one of the first to change the relationship between a man and a woman, from a hierarchical relationship to one of love and respect.  He loved Mary, and his poetry, his words, changed the way people viewed love.  

We found this padlocked door, where the padlock is actually a dragon if you look closely enough, and do you know what it was guarding? BOOKS.  This was the vault of books, where the monks would come and ask the guard who was standing there to open the vault and lend them a book with gold pages or intricate prints to read on the bench, always within eyesight of the guard.  

I wandered through the strong arches, in awe of the simple yet still impressive, mouth-gaping architecture.  

At the same time I was in awe of the form of the arches, columns, and church, I was confused where this strength came from.  This monastery was so old, that many of the stone bricks that it was built with were crumbling and falling apart, in all areas.  Yet it still stays strong.  And I think that shows how, in anything in life, you need to depend on other people.  All this bricks aren't perfect, especially as they get older.  But the have become more connecting, the line separating the levels disappearing. Although some bricks are losing their energy, they are melting into others to stay strong.  Take that metaphor as you like, but I was thinking a lot more than just rotting bricks when I was staring at these walls.

And as we headed out, another dragon to lead the way.  Or help us out, literally.

But the fun surely wasn't over yet.  We got to eat calçots, which isn't as much a food, as it is an experience.  We stepped up to the table, tied our bibs around our necks as we say our professor do, and waited until the waiters placed these huge trays in front of us of strange looking vegetables and orange salsa. What were we to do? 

http://www.restaurantanna.es/Galeria/temporada.html

Do as our professor does, and grab a stem, remove the black part, dip it in sauce, lean back...........and dangle it into your mouth! Like you are playing the catch-a-fish game at the carnival! And sheesh I'm I gonna be good at that carnival game next time I go to the town fair - because these calçots were delicious and fun and silly and I ate so many!

http://www.european-schoolprojects.net/festivals/Spain/winter/images/calcots.jpg

After the rest of la comida (yup, 7, 9 calçots is not your lunch), we penguin-walked back onto the bus for a wonderful 1.5 hour siesta back to the university with dreams of the serene monastery mixing with the messy, messy incredible fun calçots.

Aventura 22: Fútsaluna

Fútsal has been the highlight of my time so far in Barcelona.  I have practices Tuesday, Thursday, and games on the weekends.  Last Tuesday night, we had practice in our usual Tuesday night spot behind the church, outside (yes, outside, pretty cold!), and we were playing under the stars. At first, it didn't really seem like it because there were lights, but then the lights got shut off for some reason, so we could only see by the light of the full moon and the stars! I think everyone else might have been a little annoyed that the lights had turned off, but I just took it as a moment to reflect on where I was: playing fútbol with a wonderful group of girls outside a church IN BARCELONA!

http://www.photoentropy.com/2008/06/06/moon-and-soccer-field.php

We had a game this weekend, and we had to drive an hour and a half to Blanes, outside of Barcelona.  I hopped in the car with three girls from my team, three girls that I didn't know too well other than having two weeks of practices with them - but here I was driving with them to a footy game like I was at home on a weekend! We had such an exciting game, tying 2-2, but again, not until the ride home when I looked out the window and saw the stars and the moon looking back at me did I think and realize how amazing it is to be playing on a team here with these girls! I can't explain it really - but it just feels like I'm actually a PART of Barcelona, that I'm not just touristing here, not just visiting, not even just studying, but I'm getting to know and hanging out and driving 3 hours on a weekend, returning during the night, for a footy game!  

I can't explain the feeling, except with this new word I came up with:

Fútsaluna: fútsal + luna = futsal + moon.  

Maybe it shares the same meaning as the song that my grandma used to sing to me:

"I see the moon, 

the moon sees me, 

the moon sees the one that I want to see.  

God bless the moon, 

and god bless me, 

and god bless the one that I want to see." 

Or a quote that I like from the movie Dear John that I saw with my cousin:

 "There's a full moon tonight which makes me think of you, half a world away." - John Tyree

That the moon, no matter where you are, is always there with you.  That the moon is something that everyone has in common, anywhere in the world, and you can always look at the moon and know that whoever you are thinking about will be seeing that same moon.  I think, in a way, footy has become that for me.  I've played it in so many places all over the U.S., in Argentina, Africa, Norway, Australia, in all different schools and on many different teams, and now in Barcelona.  And every time I've played footy in these places, I've gotten to know the people and the place in a different way.  Fútbol has become my own moon.  I can find it all over the world.  I can connect with people far away or close by just by being on a team or kicking a ball around with them.  Its beauty puts a huge smile on my face.  And, if it's not too obvious to mention, the moon looks like a beautiful footy ball, shining high in the sky and the constellations are actually depictions of soccer Gods, some that even play here in Barcelona.

Fútsaluna...this idea...this word...is quickly becoming a huge part of who I am.

Aventura 21: Fundació de Joan Miró

"Entiendo que un artista es alguien que, entre el silencio de los demás, utiliza su voz para decir algo y que tiene la obligación de que no sea inútil, sino algo que preste servicio a los hombres."

"I understand that an artist is someone who, between the silence of the rest, uses his voice to say something and that has the obligation to not be useless but one that helps serve the people."

Joan Miró 

 In the first room of the Miró exhibition, I was smiling at the beautiful paintings of the farmland, the natural landscapes, and the cityscapes.  I was awe-struck by the way Miró saw the world and played with reality to create his art.  I laughed at the seahorse-like animal that sprang out of his imagination onto the canvas, or the numerous paintings titled, "Head of a Catalan Peasant" because his imagination in those first two rooms was so playful, colorful, and turning reality upside-down.

El Cazador (1923-1924)The Hunter

Cabeza de campesino catalán (1925)Head of a Catalán Farmer

But I think these paintings came in a time before reality turned Miró upside-down.  Starting in the 1930's,  and in the third room, Miró's paintings and the feelings I had for the paintings changed.  I wasn't laughing but put into deep thought.  The dark colors and the imaginary figures were more real than before, even if to some they looked just as fanciful.  Reading the commentary on Miró in his work, I connect the lines between the time period and this work: the Civil War is going on, and these paintings reflect the people all around who are suffering from the war.

Hombre y mujer frente a un montón de excrementos (1935)Man and woman in front of a pile of excrement

Personaje (1934)
Person

Moving to the next rooms, and moving into the 1940's, la posquerra, and the time of Franco, Miró's paintings have lost all of the fanciful, playful imagination from before and has an aura of anguish, torture, silence, screaming, and deep, deep thought.  A 50-piece lithograph series of monsters from nightmares.  A portrait, head of a man, that was very different from the head of the peasant before.  A piece titled, "Young Girl with Half Brown, Half Red Hair Slipping on the Blood of Frozen Hyacinths of a Burning Football Field" (1939) stopped me in my tracks because I never would have placed a footy field amidst this anguish, and yet, there it is.  Or a canvas that was literally burnt up with flames.

Plate XXIII from the Barcelona Series

Cabeza de un hombre (1937)
Head of a Man

Burnt Canvas

Miró, as he is quoted at the beginning of this post, seem to realize the power of an artist.  During these torturous years of Spain, Miró used his art to speak for the suffering of the people.  And his art now still speaks of the history, still keeps the memory of this time present, as a reminder to never return there.