Musings

 In the 1970s  a song called The Israelites by Desmond Dekker and the Aces became a big hit. The singer from Jamaica came on the scene with a reggae sound. The sadness and disappointment many of us feel watching the horrendous images on TV  prompted me to see what the song The Israelites was about.

It turns out that Rastafarians consider themselves one of the lost tribes of Israel. 

In the midst of all the horror some good news. 

If only they were the intermediaries to find a middle ground where Palestinians and Israelis could reach a long lasting peace. If only they could all get together. If only they could open their hearts and their ears and let the words of Bob Marley and the Wailers sink in.

The Euro English Song Contest

 

The Eurovision Song Contest 2021 will be held on Saturday May 22nd 2021 and singers from many countries choose to sing in English. With globalization English is the new lingua franca or bridge language just as Latin and Greek were in the past.

What is surprising is that the option of putting subtitles to the song in this day and age has not been explored at all.

Hearing other languages is very exotic and the European Song Contest is a showcase for our diversity.

 It would be a more inclusive approach for each country to put the subtitles of the songs in their own language.

Maybe the lyrics would influence the voting, as they should.

 It is a missed opportunity if people are not even given the chance to hear other languages.In the past the host countries used their own language, English and French. Let's hope it will be the same in Rotterdam this year as in the semi finals  we only heard English.

A beautiful film

Wolfwalkers  was nominated for an Oscar this year.

Wolfwalkers / Espiritú de lobo did not win the Oscar but no one can take away the achievement of reaching such heights.

It s a beautifully illustrated storybook of a film.

Travelling Exhibition

 There is a remarkable exhibition of ink paintings by Francisco Goya in La Universidad Popular de San Sebastián De Los Reyes depicting terrible scenes from the early 19th century.

We have etchings from the Disasters of War and his  acidic criticism of the foolishness of the society he lived in  from Los Caprichos.

The focus of this exhibition which ends on April 23rd is on women, in many cases the terrible suffering of women.

https://www.canalnorte.org/videos/un-acercamiento-a-las-mujeres-de-goya-en-la-sala-martin-chirino-de-sanse/

The Art Of Telling Stories

 The seanchaí or story teller was always a very welcome guest in Ireland and families would sit around and listen enthralled to his stories.They were the custodians of ancient lore and tales of wisdom.

Whether it is a gift or a technique, there is  no  doubt that story telling is pure entertainment and today we have the opportunity to enjoy stories in Spanish at the local library.

Biblioteca Marcos Ana 

Metro Baunatal

Friday 16th April 2021 at 19:30h

Happy Easter!

 

Easter is a movable feast governed by the first full moon after 21^st March.

The first Sunday after that full moon is Easter Sunday, between the two extreme dates of 22^nd March and 25^th April.

Picture by Peter Mc Kee

 

HELP IS ON ITS WAY

Vaccines which have been approved to protect against COVID 19 are being rolled out.

There is an international commitment to deliver vaccines to low and middle income countries that comprise 60% of the world population. The term they use is COVAX which stands for Covid Vaccines Access.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVAX

The ACT Accelerator Its aim is to accelerate access to tests, treatment and vaccines.

Lá breá A Fine Day

 Celebrations in Spain

This is a link to the Irish Embassy website in Spain where you are kindly invited to join in the worldwide  celebrations of  St Patrick's Day. The celebrations will be virtually all online again this year.

Still, you can enjoy the speeches, the scenery, children dancing and Lisa Hannigan's latest song. All beautiful.

Please goodness we will be able to celebrate together next year.

 

 HAPPY  ST. PATRICK’S   DAY!

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona                         Feliz Día de San Patricio

 

11th March 2021

 A time for silence in Madrid.

A time to think.

Hearts broken

Still, seventeen years later.

International Women's Day 2021

 REACH FOR THE STARS

Two generations of women's rights and an enormous distance travelled  in a very short time are represented in these two links below. 

Don't forget to wish all the women in your life a very happy day!

 I AM GENERATION EQUALITY

I ain't your mama