Morrissey- VFG Guadalajara 2006

Morrissey in Guadalajara (Photo courtesy of Mariola Zepeda)
(c) Mariola Zepeda 2006
Morrissey in Guadalajara (Photo courtesy of Mariola Zepeda)
(c) Mariola Zepeda 2006

For a fine set of pix from last night, check out Mariola Zepeda’s Flickr photos

He referred to the Smiths obliquely as a ghost who is always nearby but still gave it some welly with songs like Panic and Girlfriend in a coma. The crowd, myself included, couldn’t help but join in more with those songs rather than his relatively sedate solo stuff. He made the odd stab at Spanish with some, frankly, baffling dialogues seemingly influenced by his recent move to Italy. “Is there a Julia in the audience?” which is something to do with the police in Italian. (pull)Fair play to him for shouting “Tapatios” to the crowd though, we liked that.(/pull) And there was the requisite booing when he mentioned that tomorrow he’d be playing in Mexico City. Sita especially appreciated the changes of shirt with an average of 4 songs to each ripping off of silk shirtery…

Interesting backing band too, shaven-headed 25/40 yr old men forced to wear some bizarre dungaree outfit. They had the songs down pat.

Overall a fantastic concert and it was definitely worth arriving early to get to the rows where you could see every passionate expression. Even if it meant watching Eurovision clips from the 60s, New York Dolls footage and a Bjork/Kate Bush percussionist/keyboardist act named Kristeen Young.

The setlist via a source I will soon track down:

William
In the future when all’s well
Don’t make fun of daddy’s voice
Panic
Dear god please help
I’ve changed my plea to guilty
First of the gang to die
Disappointed
You have killed me
Ganglord
Let me kiss you
Everyday is like sunday
Girlfriend in a coma
I just want to see the boy happy
Life is a pigsty
Please please please
How soon is now?
Far off places
Irish blood English heart

Anyone know of a Flickr wordpress plugin to display photos and recent activity?

pampas_pcI’ve been scouring the intertubes trying to find a plugin for the blog that’ll display the my latest 5 photos from Flickr that have been commented on, to no avail. I was going to replace the film reviews box on the right (unless you’re an IE user) with it. I installed a Flickr photo album, but all it’s done is create a mirror site of all my Flickr photos. Still if you find that Flickr is too clean, intuitive and well designed, you could do worse than browse using this new section of the site…

So anyone happens to know of such a plug in, please comment it. Muchas thanks.

Reviews: Killers, Crank, No sos vos

crank.jpgFirst off the good news. If you like insanely paced, utterly unbelievable, adolescent male wish-fulfillment films, Crank (2006) will be right up your street. I was feeling slightly sleepy, but it picked me right up. Jason Statham’s heart will explode if his BPM goes below 150 and spends 87 sex, violence, drugs and jumping around-filled minutes trying to kill the baddies before he expires… Excellent stuff. Snappy dialogue too… He’s goes to a hospital to get some Ephedrine, “I’m looking for something beginning with E”… “England?” asks the chemist. Fine editing and SFX. Never a dull moment… 4 Lulus.

Next up The Killers- Sam’s Town (2006)… not so good. As every review will tell you it’s a change in direction from their excellent debut album. I went right off the actual band after reading an interview in Q with the vocalist who came off like an immensely irritating git. Still I’ve never let my feelings about the members of a band change my opinion about the music. However this album is not my cup of tea at all. According to most reviews, they’ve rediscovered Bruce Springsteen as an influence, and that’s definitely apparent. not being a fan of the Boss won’t help you here, but worse still they appear to have rediscovered Meat Loaf too. And that’s unpardonable. 1.5 Lulus

No sos vos, soy yo (2004) was the only option at the cinema on Sunday night. A film about a fairly nasty break-up and the aftermath on one very sensitive young man. It was very tenderly observed and, though predictable, a nice little film. Even though I’m not sure about the redemptive powers of dog owning… Always nice to hear argentine spanish in the cinema though. 3.5 Lulus

I’ve officially given up on the Tapatian Scrabble Association

They weren’t there again today. Sod it. I’m going to organise my own club, that can be my new year’s resolution. I’ll be 32 next year and if that’s not the age when one should settle down and start thinking about organised Scrabble, when is the right time?

Got my guitar back from “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” workshop downtown. It’s sounding fine again. I bought a high E string in San Juan de Dios and promptly broke it after trying to tune the guitar too high. They gave me another and threw in a polishing for nowt. Took a couple of photos of the shop, which looks the part. I’d not trust them with one of my more expensive guitars, mind…

HPIM0011b HPIM0010

Took my guitar to the hospital

A year ago or so one of the “machine heads” on me guitar fell off, so i’ve been tuning the other strings to that one since I can’t tune it at all. So it’s gradually been getting lower as the months go by, so that when I sing Shakira songs they sound more like Tom Waits. No more! I went to the city center with my guitar over my shoulder like some scruffy gringo mariachi and left it at a tiny little guitar workshop overnight. It’ll cost me 120 pesos (7 quid) but tomorrow should be back to normal as long as I can find the shop again… Actually I should find it cos I have their card “43 years of experience” apparently, and the geezer there didn’t look a day under 97. They’re listed on the card as El Bueno, Salvador, el Malo, Jose and El Feo, Juan… Hope it’s Salvador who does the magic. Even though he looked at my geetar and said ah they don’t make them like this any more, which i’m not conviced of. I got it 7 yrs ago in Seville for 80 quid… Any requests for more YouTube busking?

Also “rented” a bunch of DVDs… Crank (apparently the first 30 minutes is good), Ong-Bak in “El Nuevo Dragon” (chop soggy nonsense from Thailand), The Corpse Bride (this time not dubbed into Spanish, hopefully), Mi Vida sin mi (My life without me?, no idea what it’s all about), Cronica de una Fuga (Uruguayan director, Cannes film winner), Sra. Venganza (from the director of the excellent korean film, Oldboy), and Children of Men (I couldn’t wait for it to come out in the cinemas any longer). So this week I shall be mostly vegging out in front of the telly awaiting young sita’s arrival…

Ten to one on a Sunday night

And a 15 piece Mariachi band has just struck up a rousing rendition of god knows what in front of the house opposite me. I love this country! And there goes song #2, “¡ay, ha, jaiii!”. Seriously, where else does this kind of nonsense happen?

And they’re still playing… I had time to go up on the roof, film a quick 90 secs, upload it to YouTube and post it here… this is costing someone big bucks… pesos grandes even. Maybe they’re getting off-peak rates…

Symbolism in Dia de Los Muertos Altars

Symbolism in Dia de Los Muertos Altars

I found the aforementioned photocopy of the Day of the Dead altars. Below is a translation, I find this kind of stuff fascinating. The best we can come up with in England at this time of year is that the Guy represents Guy Fawkes. And chucking him on the bonfire, his torture and death…

day of the dead altar dia de los muertos guadalajara
Day of the Dead altar – Día de los Muertos – Panteón de Belén, Guadalajara
  • The altar should have 3 steps which represent the past, present and future.
  • It should also include the 4 elements, air, fire, earth and water.
  • On the 1st level goes the photo of the deceased with two large sugar skulls which represent death.
  • On the 2nd level you put everything that the deceased enjoyed and loved in their life, along with three medium sized sugar skulls which represent the Holy Trinity.
  • On the 3rd level you put 4 candles which represent the 4 stages which the deceased passed through and through which we all must pass: childhood, youth, maturity and old age.
  • On the 4th level you put three crosses. One of salt, to purify the place, one of ash, to show respect to the deceased, and the third made of candles to call the deceased to the altar.
  • There should also be 4 wax candles in each of the cardinal points of the compass so the deceased can find their bearings.
  • Blue candles represent the River of Death.
  • Purple candles represent pain and mourning.
  • Red candles represent passion.
  • White candles represent fire.
  • Xempazuchil (marigold) petals signify abundance or plenty.
  • A bottle of tequila and the favourite food of the deceased so they can remember the good times of their life.
  • Small incense burners with copal to scare away evil spirits.
  • A picture of “Las Animas del purgatorio” (The Souls of Purgatory) so if the deceased is still in purgatory he can find his way out.
  • A dog known as a Xoloitzcuintli, because this prehispanic animal was the only one who knew the path to get to the netherworld, he helps cross the river and guides the deceased there.
  • And small little skulls representing each person who made the altar and which shows that we are all mortal and will all face death.

“We thank you for your visit and invite you to say the rosary with us…”


Maya la Xoloitzcuintli
Maya la Xoloitzcuintli

Interesting, no?

Click here for more Día de los Muertos info and pictures!

** Update 2015! **

altar-y-su-significado-muertos

There’s an awesome day of the dead / día de muertos infographic (en español) over at:
http://deliciasprehispanicas.com/es_ES/2015/10/03/el-altar-de-muertos-y-su-significado/

Limon y Sal

Another fantastic afternoon/ evening/ night yesterday. First up, I went to see Memorias del subdesarrollo (1968) about Cuba’s surprisingly sedate postrevolutionary transition. There’s going to be a whole series of Cuban films on Saturday afternoons at 5 in the CUCSH so that might become a nice weekly event. Afterwards, El Rincon de la Doa for pre-concert drinks then on to the Teatro Diana for the main event. We had great seats and you could practically make out each chord the guitarrist played. Julieta is completely different to young Shakira, mind. She seems altogether shier, but warmed up after a few songs. It can’t be easy playing to a seated audience… I was surprised as I like to bob about while concert going, but actually sitting down made perfect sense and It was a fine spectacle with some nice lighting/projection effects. Excellent musicians too. I might have to seriously reconsider my thoughts on accordianists. All my favourite songs were present and correct. Actually she didn’t play Casa Abandonada, but I can live with that. Let’s see if it’s on YouTube…. Nope, have the final song instead, an audience singalong no less… Andar Conmigo

Then back to El Rincon de la Doa for post-match analysis and banter. Then a last-minute change of plan from going to find taco outlets open at 2 to going to “El rincon de los rumberos” where I looked after handbags and drinks for those who enjoy dancing to live salsa… A fine, fine night all round.

Una buena noche…

Didn’t get home till very early this morning… however despite the lack of sleep the following ad for French channel, Canal +, made me laugh:

And I also liked this here magic eye stereogram tetris thing. Defocus your eyes and use the cursor keys to steer the falling blocks. Or alternatively just try to not go permanently blind…

Dia de los Muertos 2006

Dia de los Muertos 2006

On Wednesday I had a fine old day wandering around the city’s graveyards and markets enjoying the colourful celebration that is the Day of the Dead. If anything I was doing the tour a bit early as things really kick off in the evening and the following day. On the plus side I got to take lots of photos without being too much in the way.

First off I went to the Panteon de Mezquitan which is a huge, fairly posh graveyard. The usual silence of the place was interrupted by the officials reminding everyone through a huge speaker system to pay for another year’s “storage” for their deceased and to be watch out for “criptas fragiles”. Another reason to visit during the day is you’re less likely to fall into fragile crypts and open graves, which would put a damper on anyone’s evening… Everyone had bought their flowers in the market opposite. They’re called Cempazuchil (there are many alternate spellings, zempoalxochitl, zempazúchil or “Twenty-Flower”) which are African Marigolds and are the official Day of the Dead flower, representing the Sun, the source of all life put on the graves to attract the dead to the offerings. And if you’re planning on buying them, you’re best off avoiding these 2 or three days of hyperinflation.

In the same market you can also stock up on your “Pan de Muertos” Bread of the Dead, a slightly sweet, brioche-like affair with skull and bone shapes moulded onto it.

Pan de muertos on sale in market in Guadalajara

After there I went to the centre, to the Panteon de Belen where they have an Altar competition and it’s one of the oldest graveyards in Gwod. 25 pesos to enter with a photography permit…

There were about 20 different altares here honouring such luminaries as Pedro Infante, el Santo, Pope John Paul II, Che Guevara, Elvis and Maria Felix. Each one has all kinds of symbolism going on. They gave me a photocopy of the meaning of everything but somehow I lost it and all I remember is that the crosses made of salt are for purification. There are treats such as tequila, bread, chicharron, and their favourite brand of fags left too. A friend of mine said that she’d left a bottle of coke, bread and Marlboro lights on her uncle’s tomb. The next day the bread turned to powder, the cigarettes wouldn’t light and the coke had gone flat. Proof positive that the deceased visit their tombs and chow down on the various things left there for them.

I could write a lot more about these customs but you know how it is, work to do, etc… I think it’s a great tradition all round, and something that needs to be kept up to combat the all encroaching gringofied version of hallowe’en. T’was a lovely day all round.

Click for: Dia de los Muertos photos, Dia de los Muertos Slideshow

More about the tradition and meanings of the Dia de los Muertos Altares here

A Dream

A good mate of mine, whose nom de plume is Pinguino Frog, wrote a short story which seems appropriate for the Día de los Muertos. He posted in in Spanish here in his blog. And since it’s all in the present tense and not too tricky I gave it the translation treatment.

Here’s the first paragraph:

They have arrived; I can feel them, their cold, their pain, their solitude. They wake me, brushing against my shoulder. It’s past 12 o’clock they inform me. With some difficulty I open my eyes and see them floating, there, at the side of my bed. They have arrived, they have arrived to give me a message from the other side, they have come to tell me that the dead are worried, that they are worried because I am getting dangerously close to their borders. They talk to me in an unknown language that all the same I understand perfectly. I sit on the edge of my bed to see them better, I rub my eyes to make sure that they aren’t merely some kind of trick. The spectres are completely unknown to me, not even by straining to see them better can I identify them; who they might be. I cannot avoid comparing this apparition with Dickens. I can’t help feeling like a Scrooge, victim of three Christmas spirits, even though, those who visit me number five.

Download the whole 5 page short story here (PDF 97k) . Not for the squeamish…

I didn’t recognise Barbara Bush and various US senators

DontVote.organd therefore shouldn’t vote in the upcoming US elections. “C, You should consider not voting until you update your knowledge on contemporary issues.” Well, that and my green card status…

This is what happens when you get all your US news via the internets, Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me, and whatever scraps of the Daily Show and Colbert Report they’ve left up on YouTube… I wouldn’t touch US politics with a 10 foot bargepole, mind, it’s gone to hell in a fundamentalist handbasket. Not that recently watching a seasonsworth of BBC 2’s Mock the Week and the latest Radio 4’s News Quiz inspires confidence in how my home country’s being handled neither. And then there’s Oaxaca, jaysis… At least there’ll always be scrabble…

Or will there? After a fairly hefty walk to where it was advertised I found an old abandoned café and nothing going on, so I rang the bloke’s number in the paper and he said ah, now it’s in Café Azteca where I went originally weeks ago. So I started walking then thought “bugger it” and got a taxi there or i’d get there too late. So I arrive and no one’s there and I phone my scrabble contact again and he says he’ll see where Virginia’s got to, who’s the other half of the organisers. She says due to, quote, Force Majeure, unquote, there’s no scrabbling this week but they’d love me to come next Tuesday. So anyway to cut (make, US) a long story short, no scrabble today. If you don’t count the 5 online games and half dozen on my pocket PC…

Sita’s got her tickets for MX today so I’ll be seeing her v. soon. Which is fantastic news. She’s got a nasty cold at the minute so send her an email and wish her well if you have a minute. Although I’m told Atticus is being the perfect nurse and sporting his hallowe’en devil horns. No photos though, I’m afraid…

Another site goes live…

In or around the Guadalajara area in December, 2006? Fancy learning how to make documentaries in the beautiful environs of Mazamitla with a sound bunch of peeps? Intangible’s new Flash site may just be for you… The mute button’s on the bottom left… and you might have to click on the box to activate it until I get my head round the javascript necassery for IE7 to autoactivate Flash objects…

And now I’m off to hunt down the Tapatian Scrabble Association again…