on sunday i attended with v. and i. a ballet performance for the first time. we went to slovenské národné divadlo to see "made in: canada", a modern ballet by james kudelka.
i loved every second of it. the movements were funny and beatiful and soft and rough and everything, really. the second part, vivaldi's four seasons, was magnificent and i ended winter with a chill on my spine. i want more! today i only listened to mozart and vivaldi, ah, summer, please come! dear readers,
it's saturday night, 1.15h and i don't really have much sleep. so i had an idea! i have a section about facts on slovak people, but wouldn't it be funny as well to have a section on portuguese facts? please send me your "portuguese facts" either commenting on this post or sending it to joana.cat.vieira[at]gmail.com the facts will be published in order of preference and the best one will win, wait for it, THE UGLIEST POSTCARD EVER! so, i can start, but please continue! - portuguese people think they can speak all the languages in the world. - portuguese people can only think about bad facts about themselves. i'm excited about this one! first i was surprised when i heard this would be the first gay pride parade in slovakia.
(sorry to disappoint you, it's not a gloria gaynor song) then i saw christian demonstrations against it - and i thought slovaks didn't demonstrate that much! and finally i saw the thing happening and was very impressed by the number of people for and against it. i guess people were expecting only a few brave ones but, in fact, hundreds of people showed up! i missed the beggining of the event, and so missed the sad intervention of the neo nazis. according to some news, about 80 neo nazis threw stones and eggs at the supporters of the parade. the police didn't manage to stop them from being violent and so the organization decided to cancel the original route. after the concerts, the gay pride supporters still marched trough novy most, with a lot of clapping! so, yesterday my sweet mentor l. told me about this festival. she knows i'm really into folklore and this event had three stages across the city, one of them being entirely dedicated to traditional slovak dance and singing. right at the city centre i've seen two folklore groups: cecinka and lucnica.
i was happy to see, for the first time, some traditional costumes and dances. the first group was very cheerful and energetic (sorry for the blured photo but they would't stop moving!). the second group is very well recommended and sang a capella. fortunately i will be able to see them moving in a show they'll be making in bratislava in the beginning of june! everyone loves to get good and personal snail mail.
today i got a package from portugal and i sure was happy: my rucksack arrived and finally i would be able to carry things and avoid a more serious scoliosis! inside it, there were these little surprises my friends gave me when i came. i collect mugs, and so i got one with my name on it! (if you're interested in unique and original pottery please take a look at "bonito serviço"!). the piéce de resistance was, however, the book filled with recipes from all my friends! i got a bit emotional while reading it - yes, don't make fun of me "ah, joana crying at the sight of codfish and chocolate cakes!", etc. with the hustle of leaving, i don't think i thanked my friends enough! i really really enjoyed the surprise, and i'll sure make use of it! so thank you so much for spending you time writing all the introductions and to do's: ana, mackay, mãe, rita, cati, lili, luís, cátia, pureza, nuno, domingos, joui and zvo! yesterday i came back to the meteorit theatre, to the festival "tyzden novich mensin" focused on new minorities. this time it wasn't so fun, for the program showed documentaries and i saw "which way home". this film doesn't say anything new. we all know there are dozens of thousands of illegal immigrants crossing the mexican border, in order to get to the united states of america. right? right. we know, but we've never actually seen a real journey. this documentary makes hundreds of miles in the top of a train with children and teen agers. a boy who just wants to help his mother, another one who was abandoned and never knew love, a little crying boy who was abandoned by the smuggler, a girl who's nine and wants to play in the snow with her mother who's in america...all children with sad and poor backgrounds who are determied to risk their lifes, who see people getting smashed under the train, who hear everyday that they'll die in the desert. and they continue. some die, some give up, some manage. most regret it. "getting here wasn't worth it. i've lost all the love of my family", there are people who judge books by their cover - i know i do!
there's probably another group of people who choose daily products by their package as well. how can one resist such a beautiful butter? "this country is always empty...why this country??"
- u. (made me laugh like hell) |
i don't understandnerozumiem ti means "i don't understand you" in slovak. a tradition, let's say. after not understanding anything in granada, now i don't understand anything in bratislava. Archives
May 2011
Categories
All
|