Spain Chooses Basque-Language Fim 'Loreak' as Oscar SubmissionThe Spanish Academy of Cinematic Arts and Sciences announced this
morning that Jon Garaño & Jose Mari Goenaga's "Loreak" (Flowers) has
been selected to represent the country in the Best Foreign Language
Film category at the 88th Academy Awards. This is the first-ever …
Majority in Catalonia voted 'no' to independence from SpainCatalonia, the north-eastern region in Spain, held a regional election
on Sunday. Its legal purpose was to elect a regional assembly that
should elect a new regional government. But the outgoing president and
his political mates decided this would not be the real purpose of the …
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain, in Washington this week for
their first official visit — without the frenzied media mob that follows
the British monarchy. There are no breathless morning television
countdowns, no stakeouts for their trips to Mount Vernon or the …
In Louisiana, Mardi Gras, or Carnival, season officially begins on 5
January with parties where King Cakes are served—a very special holiday
food with roots going back to medieval Spain, France and beyond. Today these delicacies are served up all over the
sta …
A cultural-religious-political battle is being waged over the name of
the famed UNESCO World Heritage Site: The Mosque-Cathedral of Cordoba.
Take a walk around the city of Cordoba, Spain and pretty soon you are
bound to come across the word mosque, or rather its Spanish eq …
It's not too often that a national network brags that an episode of one
of its series hit the number 21 spot, but that is just what happened
in Spain recently.
Late last week Telecinco proudly announced that the May 6th episode of
'El Principe' was NOT the most watched TV broadcast of 2014 ...
Friday, February 4, 2011
EntreLobos (AmongWolves),
an excellent movie by Spanish director Gerardo Olivares, tells the
remarkable story of a poor country boy named Marcos, who at the age of
7 is handed over to his father's employer, a rich landowner, who in
turn delivers him to a life of labor with a hermitic goatherd in an
isolated valley. The old man, who lives in a cave, is unused to human
company and at first seems not very interested in having a live-in
apprentice. The boy, who was abused by his parents, is frightened and
equally aloof initially. Despite this, the shepherd begins teaching
Marcos how to herd the goats, as well as how to care for himself and how
to survive in the wilderness by trapping and fishing.
The two develop an affection for each other, and the boy befriends
the goatherd's animal companions: a ferret, a civet, and an owl.
Unfortunately, the goatherd soon becomes ill and dies, leaving Marcos to
fend for himself. For the next twelve years he has virtually no contact
with human beings, but does make additional animal friends - the wolves
of a nearby den.
This beautiful film is based on the incredible experiences of Marcos
Rodríguez Pantoja, who lived alone in the Sierra Morena mountains from
1953 to 1965, when he was captured by members of Spain's Guardia Civil
and returned to civilization at 19 years of age. But there's another
intriguing narrative connected to all of this: the story of how the
director found his hero.
According to a post on Olivares' blog,
he came across the story in January 2007, after reading in a newspaper
about a girl who spent twenty years lost in the Cambodian jungle. The
article contained the web address www.feralchildren.com,
a site with more accounts of children who grew up with animals. Being
in the story telling business, Olivares clicked on the link thinking it
might be a good place to find an interesting tale.
There
he found more than 100 documented cases of children who were either
confined by their parents, abandoned, or lost in the wild, but who lived
thanks to their instinct for survival. These reports included that of 7
year old Traian Caldaro, a Romanian boy who hid in the mountains of
Transylvania for three years in order to escape an abusive home, and the
story of Reverend Joseph Singh, a missionary in India who discovered
feral twin girls living with a pack of wolves in the jungle.
Olivares
was reading through the histories on the list when he noticed a Spanish
name, Marcos Pantoja, followed by the location Sierra Morena, Spain.
Sensing that a good story might be hiding behind these details, he
clicked over to a page full of information that he soon realized
contained the perfect ingredients for a movie script.
Olivares
says that when he finished reading the report, he put his head in his
hands, and hoped Pantoja was still alive. If the information was
correct, he would have been 62 years old.
He saw a
small black and white photo on the top right hand side of the page, and
below that a box with the words "Learn more about Marcos Pantoja at ..."
and the title of a book: "Marcos: Wild Child of the Sierra Morena." He
clicked and found the name of the author, Gabriel Janer Manila, the
publisher, Prometheus Books, and a link to purchase it. He ordered a
second-hand copy for $6 from a bookstore in Portland, Oregon, then typed
the name of Marcos Pantoja in Google, but nothing came up. Next he
tried entering the name of the book's author, and found him listed as a
professor of anthropology and sociology at the University of the
Balearic Islands. He sent the professor an email asking if they could
meet, and received a reply a few days later inviting Olivares to come to
his office in Palma de Mallorca.
The meeting with
Dr. Manila shored up the amazing details of the story, supported by the
anthropologist's doctoral thesis, the subsequently published book, and
the fact that British playwright Kevin Lewis had written a play called
Marcos, about the young man's social reintegration process.
Nevertheless,
as incredible as the tale was, it had seemed to have fallen into
oblivion. Not only was there not much of a trace on the web, but Dr.
Manila had not heard any news of Pantoja for 15 years, and thought he
might be dead. "Gerard, Marcos was a very fragile man who suffered much,
so do not be surprised if his life has ended tragically," he told the
director.
A few weeks later Olivares was sitting in
the office of the mayor of Añora, the town where Pantoja was born. The
mayor had never heard his story, and initially had difficulty believing
it. However, she did a little research and came up with his birth
certificate, the address of the house where he had been born and even a
family member, who told Olivares that the last time she had heard of her
cousin had been 13 years earlier. At that time he was living in a cave
near Alhaurín, in the Andalusian province of Malaga. She had gone to
look for him, but could not find him and was told by someone who worked
in a bar he frequented that he had not been seen around there in a
while.
Olivares worried that perhaps like the cousin
he had reached a dead end in his search – but he was not ready to give
up. He was planning to continue his research by visiting Alhaurín when
his producer José María Morales suggested hiring a private detective.
Apparently
Morales knew a woman who had recently hired an investigator to find out
if her husband was having an affair, and within 24 hours of doing so
was presented with photographs of him in a compromising situation.
Olivares thought, "Why not," called the detective, and gave him the
pertinent information. Later that same night he received a call telling
him not to bother going to Alhaurín because Pantoja was living in the
town of Orense, in the region of Galica - and here was his phone number.
Olivares says that he was so thrilled by the news that when he hung up
the phone his hands were shaking.
Here is a translation of his description of what happened when he called the number:
The phone rang several times before someone with a Galician accent
answered on the other end. I introduced myself and asked if Marcos, the
man who was isolated in the Sierra Morena for 12 years, lived there. The
man was silent for a few seconds before answering.
"Yes, he lives here, but what do you want?
I explained in detail that after discovering his story I had
spent almost a year looking for him, about Gabriel the anthropologist,
about visiting his house in Añora, and that there were family members
who wanted to know how he was
"I don't know if he will want to talk to you, but call back in ten minutes."
I didn't wait even three minutes before calling back, I was so anxious to talk to Marcos.
"Hellooooooooo!"
It was him, and on hearing his voice at last, I choked up. I felt a lump in my throat and could hardly speak.
"Hello paisano, I've spent nearly a year looking for you ... Finally I've found you."
Marcos let out a laugh.
"I've met some of your family who have also been trying to find you..."
He was silent and then replied:
"Well, my life has been hard..."
"I know. I'd like to meet you and talk at length."
"Then come around here, I live in... But how did you find me?"
"Tomorrow I can tell you the whole story in person, if it's not inconvenient"
"Tomorrow? Okay, no problem for me."
I hung up the phone and sat in silence, just smiling for a while. The next day, I was finally going to meet Marcos.
Ten months had passed since
Olivares had first read about the little Spanish boy who found himself
alone in the wild and survived thanks to the lessons of a destitute
goatherd and the friendship of wolves. Over the next two years Marcos
Rodríguez Pantoja cooperated with the director on the filming of his
fascinating story. He appears in the last scene of the movie, as himself
- happily playing with a wolf on a mountainside.
There are always cheap things to do in Barcelona, including some that are free. For example, the web site BarcelonaGratis.com provides up to date listings of free activities, including exhibitions, concerts, festivals, cinema, sports, children's events, etc. (By the way, the site is only available in Spanish.) It also maintains a list of the days of the month when local museums offer free admission. (Most museums in Barcelona are free on the first Sunday of each month, but a few are free on other days. Check the list for details.)
And believe it or not, it is still possible to find a full meal for 5 euros -- at least one day a week, that is! I noticed recently that Charleston's, one of the restaurants on Paseo Joan De Borbon, now has a 5 euro lunch menu on Fridays; the rest of the week it's 8.50, which is still a good price. As I mentioned in an earlier post, don't let the name Charleston's fool you, as it's Spanish food that's on offer there -- although, no paella.
Charleston's Paseo Joan de Borbo, 2 Barceloneta Barcelona Open from 7h to 22h daily
For more examples of free and low cost things to do in BCN, below is a list of things to do on the weekend I am writing this. It's taken from an article in today's La Vanguardia newspaper called: 10 Citas culturales por menos de 5 euros. (10 cultural events for less than 5 euros.) Here's my translation of the listings in the article:
-Free-
Raval Culture Festival a hundred or so neighborhood organizations offer a constellation of activities all weekend long. Concerts ranging from gospel to Pakistani music, hip-hop to Brazilian batucada. Photography expositions, too. Sunday Nov. 15th at 16.30h a series of videos made by residents on the topic of the Raval neighborhood will be shown at the CCCB. Through Sunday. http://www.totraval.org/
Joan Petit in concert Mallorcan singer / musician Joan Petit in concert at Heliogabal Musical Bar. Petit, who worked with the British group The Wedding Present in 2006, is on the verge of releasing his first CD. Saturday the 14th at 22h. www.myspace.com/welovepetit ,
Macba Collection Macba exhibits 17 works of minimalist artists, their influencers and some they've influenced, including Buren, Wharol, Flavin, Mangol, Bell, Sonnier, Haacke, Saws, Matta-Clarck. The video artist John Baldessari adds a brushstroke of humor to the exposition space through his video "Baldessari Singing". http://www.macba.es/
Transglossador Slam Festival The art of improvisation to music is not the unique providence of Rap and Hip-hop. Artists such as Abd The Malik can slam to a Brel song. The third Transglossador Slam Festival offers slam workshops, as well as performances and improvisations of various of groups, such as De Caláis and Rapsodes. Saturday from 18,30. http://www.farinera.org/
La Felpa BTOY Exposition Ilia Mayer and Andrea Michaelsson, two art illustrators, with exhibitions at the BAC (Barcelona Art Contemporaneo) show their their work in Gracia's La Felpa on Saturday from of 12.30 to 21.30. http://www.thisisbtoy.com/
-4 euros-
American Modern at the Joan Miró Museum A showing of works by more than one hundred 20th century American artists, including George Bellows, John Singer Sargent, Arthur Davies, Marsden Hartley, Joseph Cornell, Thomas Hart Benton, John Sloan, Edward Hopper, Milton Avery, Mark Rothko, Willem of Kooning, Cy Twombly, Richard Diebenkorn, Martin Puryear and Robert Mangold.
-4.10 euros–
Palau de La Virreina De facto: Joan Fontcuberta 1982-2008 -- photography as documentation. A sample of 50 of the photographers images at the Palau of the Virreina. The photos are somewhere between documentary and fiction, with humanist and philosophical inspiration. Until February 8. www.bcn.cat/virreinacentredelaimatge/castella/home.htm
-4.50 euros-
Ciné Mélies Several movies showing in the original language with Spanish subtitles. One movie now playing is L'Heure d'été(Las horas del Verano / Summer Hours), directed by Olivier Assayas; starring Juliette Binoche, Charles Berling, and Jeanne Balibar, who won the best actress award at this past September's San Sebastian Film Festival. http://www.cinesmelies.net/
Mostra de Teatre del Raval (Raval Theatre Presents) The Raval Theatre itself is the epicenter of this festival, with 15 plays selected for presentation. This weekend a play by children for adults premieres: "Un día, una hora..." is based on numerous stories told by children to Argentine Javier Villafañe in 1980s. Until December 7. http://www.mostradeteatredebarcelona.com/
Prince of Asturias Foundation awards Communications prize to 'Nature' and 'Science': British and American publications ‘Science’ and ‘Nature’ have jointly received the 2007 Prince of Asturias Communications Prize. Other nominees this year included the BBC and Google. The prestigious award includes 50,000 € ($67,000 and a Joan Miró designed statuette.
This is the fifth of the Prince of Asturias awards to be announced so far this year. Other winners in 2007 have been Al Gore(the International award), Bob Dylan (Arts), Amos Oz (Literature) and Ginés Morata and Peter Lawrence (Science). Later this month the Social Science award will be announced, followed by the Sports and Concorde awards in September.
'Science' magazine is a US weekly that was first published in New York in 1880. The British journal 'Nature' dates back to 1869.
The Prince of Asturias Foundation, headed by Spanish Crown Prince Filipe, awards eight prizes every year. It was founded in 1980 with the objectives of, "strengthening the links between the Principality of Asturias and its Prince and of contributing to upholding and promoting all those scientific, cultural and humanistic values that form the heritage of humanity."
Zapatero makes cabinet changes ahead of election: Prime Minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero has announced a cabinet reshuffle, including the dismissal of three ministers -- Jordi Sevilla (Public Administration), Carmen Calvo (Culture) and María Antonia Trujillo (Housing).
Elena Salgado will move from Health to Public Administration. Cesar Antonio Molina of the Cervantes Institute becomes Culture Minister, molecular biology investigator, Bernat Soria, becomes Health Minister and parliament vice-president, Carmen Chacón, becomes Housing Minister. Chacón, at 36, is the youngest minister in the government and arguably has the most difficult portfolio in that Spanish citizens are experiencing a housing "shortage" while a corruption and speculation support a real estate boom in tourist areas.
Opposition Popular Party (PP) leader, Mariano Rajoy reacted to the changes by saying: "There is no crisis. This is simply a cosmetic operation which can't disguise the fact that this government lacks any credibility."
Reportedly Zapatero had decided a few weeks ago on making the changes and that he would announce them after the State of the Nation debate.
An election is due to be called by net spring. Polls show Zapatero's socialist PSOE party as more popular than the PP.
Top 25 movies in Spain -- not 1 Spanish: El Mundo reported that so far in 2007 there has not been a Spanish movie in the top 25 films at the Spanish box office! Out of a total of 45.8 million movie tickets sold in Spain since January, only 3.7 million were for films from Spain.
Click here to see the list of the 25 most popular films in Spain during the first half of 2007 and here to see the 10 most popular Spanish films.
Spanish Tourists Killed in Yemen: The top story in all the papers today was about the 7 Spaniards and 2 Yemenis killed by a suicide bomber's car bomb. The attack seemed to be aimed at tourists in general, as the car drove through a gate and into a line of tourist vehicles at the Queen of Sheba temple in Marib. This was at least the 4th terrorist attack in Yemen since 17 American sailors died and 39 were injured in a suicide attack on the US Navy ship, the USS Cole.
According to ADN, the web site of the Spanish Foreign Ministry has stated for quite some time that Yemen is a dangerous place to visit and requires maximum vigilance. The paper went on to point out, however, that the web site does not maintain a list of dangerous countries, as the British Foreign Office does. On the Spanish web site, one must first select a country and then read about it to see if there are warnings about travel there.
The Spanish tourists had arranged their trip to Yemen through the Barcelona travel agency, Banoa, which specializes in adventure travel.
In the better news department, low-cost airlines are growing in Spain: According to Eurocontrol (European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation), low cost airlines, such as Catalonia's Vueling and England's EasyJet, now control 25% of the country's market, as opposed to 16% in Europe as a whole. The organization cited the growth of business in the Spanish low cost sector at 36% since January of this year, while the major airlines only saw a 15% growth.
In the mixed news for home buyers department: According to idealista.com while Barcelona's housing prices fell 3% this past quarter (the area's first decrease since 2001), Madrid's prices remained nearly the same with an increase of o.1% and the third largest city, Valencia, saw an increase of 1.2%. Idealista cited the continued influence of the America's Cup as a reason for Valencia's increase.
Woody Allen's Summer Project 2007: That is the temporary name given to the director's next movie, set to start filming in Barcelona on Monday. At a press conference in Barcelona yesterday, El Sr. Allen, as Spanish Culture Minister Carmen Calvo referred to him, said that he was looking forward "with great, great enthusiasm" to shooting the film in the city. "I want to write a love letter to Barcelona and from Barcelona to the rest of the world," Allen said. He claimed that he wanted to depict Barcelona, "the same way I presented Manhattan to the world through my eyes."
Alan said he was also pleased to be filming for the first time in a non-English speaking country. He joked that he tried to learn Spanish when he was a child but, "the truth is I never paid much attention in class."
The film will star Scarlett Johansson, Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem.
