The Auction Painting

I wrote a while ago that I had begun a painting to donate to the spring charity auction for "Los Amigos".  I finished it yesterday, and, although this photo does not do it justice, here it is...

The painting is based on a picture which appeared on the blog "An Alaskan in Yucatan".  Author Marc Olson purchased this abandoned "rancho" in the countryside outside of Mérida a couple years ago, and is in the process of making it habitable again.

Marc, if you read this, I would appreciate your comment.  It is not an exact duplicate, stone by stone, tree by tree, of your photograph ("artistic license", you know), but I hope it captures something of the atmosphere of your place.

Shall We Dance?

(image from the web)

Last night some friends and I went to the Palace Theater in downtown Cleveland's Playhouse Square to see a performance of the Broadway revival of Rodgers and Hammersteins's "The King and I".   For those who are not familiar with this classic musical, it is based on the true story of a British woman, Anna Leonowens, who in the 1860s was employed by the King of Siam as a teacher for the royal children and wives.  It is filled with familiar songs such as "I Whistle a Happy Tune", "Hello, Young Lovers", "Getting to Know You", and the showstopper "Shall We Dance?".

The original Broadway show premiered in 1951 and starred the English actress Gertrude Lawrence as Anna and newcomer Yul Brynner as the King.  The role catapulted Brynner to stardom, garnered him a Tony Award, and was arguably the greatest of his career.

(image from the web)

 

Brynner reprised the role in the 1956 Hollywood film version with Deborah Kerr as Anna, and he won the Academy Award as best actor.  In 1985, months before his death, he won another Tony for his performance in a Broadway revival.

Last night's show was performed by the national touring company of the Broadway revival which in 2015 won four Tony Awards.  It was a beautiful production.  Laura Michelle Kelly, who plays Anna, reminded me very much of Deborah Kerr in the motion picture.  However, unlike Kerr, who was not a singer and whose songs were dubbed, Kelly has a wonderful singing voice.  Manna Nichols, who played the slave girl Tuptim, stood out with her operatic voice.  The King was played by Filipino-American actor Jose Llana.  He was excellent, although any actor who plays that role stands in the shadow of Yul Brynner.  Let's face it, Brynner will always be the King.      

Blossoms in February

This has been an exceptionally mild winter in Ohio.  This past week temperatures have been in the 50s and 60s.  I noticed a few days ago that a few of my crocus are already blooming.  Crocus are, of course, the first flowers to appear, but never have I known them to begin blooming in February!

Adding to the Collection

I have written before that I have a video program on my computer, and that for the past five years I have been creating DVDs of my travels.  I organize my best pictures and videos and make a slide show complete with background music.  I now have a collection of 38 discs.

However, in the last year I have been rather remiss in keeping up with my travel pictures.  This month I have been remedying that.   

First I made a disc of the trip to Mérida that I took with my cousin and her husband in this past January.  I made an extra copy to give to them, and last week we got together for the premiere screening of "Our Yucatan Adventure".  They loved the DVD, and hope to return to Mexico sometime with me.

Going farther back, I still had not organized the pictures from the trips that I took to Mexico City last April and again in October / November.  I did not have a lot of photos from April, so I combined the two trips onto one disc.  This past weekend I went down to Columbus to visit family, and I showed that DVD to my sister-in-law, Phyllis.  We have traveled together to Yucatan and to Spain and France.  She wants to come visit me in the new apartment that I will be renting in Mexico City.  After seeing all the pictures of the Day of the Dead decorations there, she is giving serious thought to taking a trip in late October.

I still have to organize my photos from my time in Mexico City in January.  That will be my next project! 

It's Not Funny Any More

Several days ago, Alejandro sent me this picture that he had found...

He simply thought that it was a funny picture.  I had to explain to him that it was a parody of the popular TV program from the 1960s, "The Beverly Hillbillies".

The more I thought about it, the more I thought that it was an insult to the characters of that old show.  As much as we laughed at the "Beverly Hillbillies", they were likeable and honorable people.  There is nothing likeable nor honorable about the Pendejo-in-Chief and his crew.

This week there have been revelations that seem to confirm the suspicions that many of us have held that the Pendejo is in cahoots with Russia.  And his first solo press conference yesterday was a rambling, incoherent mess of misinformation, deflections, non-sequiturs, egotism, rudeness, racism, and, of course, more attacks on the media.  This is the leader of the free world?  A frightening thought.  How can anyone in their right mind support this lunatic?  Even FOX News is turning against him.

Although I hope the late night shows continue with their biting satire, It is becoming harder to find humor in it all.  It is becoming terrifying!  

What Will They Think?

Regular readers of my blog know that I have frequently played "tour guide" to friends and relatives in Mérida, the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán. 

I have always thought of the charming, laid-back city as the perfect introduction for first time visitors to Mexico.  My traveling companions have heard me talk about Mexico and have seen pictures of my trips, so they knew enough to not believe the media image that Mexico is a dreadful place where danger lurks at every corner.  Still some have admitted that prior to the trip they were a bit apprehensive.  However, without exception they came home thoroughly delighted with Mérida.

Now that I am going to spend an even greater amount of time in Mexico City, a number of  people who went with me to Mérida have expressed an interest in seeing the Mexican capital. 

Now don't get me wrong.  I think that Mexico City is one of the great cities of the world, a place filled with incredible art, architecture and museums.  But I can't help but wonder, "How will they react to this monster of more than 20 million people?"  It's not that they have never traveled to big cities before, but Mexico City is more than big.  Will they be overwhelmed, intimidated or exhausted?

In my mind I am already planning an itinerary for prospective visitors.  Of course we would have to spend a day walking around the historic center of the city, visiting places such as the National Palace with its Diego Rivera murals and the Metropolitan Cathedral.  The National Museum of Anthropology, one of the great museums of the world, is a must.  On my last visit to the museum I actually did a quick run-through, trying to pick out the highlights that I would show them.  (Trying to see the entire museum is just too much.)  I would want to get tickets for a performance of the wonderful Ballet Folklórico.  Hopefully their stay would include a weekend, so that my friend Alejandro could drive us out to the impressive ruins of Teotihuacan, with its pyramids that rival those of Egypt.  Out of the myriad of restaurants, which ones would I choose to give them a taste of the city's culinary wealth?

The one aspect of Mexico City which I hate is the horrendous traffic.  Will my guests be traumatized?  Even when I am in the car with Alejandro I often let out a silent gasp... not because of his driving, but because of the crazy people on the road.  Other times I want to jump out of my skin because of the snarled traffic traveling at a snail's pace. Public transportation, the Metrobus and the subway, are very efficient and inexpensive, but can be very crowded. 

Maybe I should just stop worrying, and remember the phone conversation I overheard as I was waiting for my luggage at Houston airport at the end of my last trip.  There was a businessman talking on his cell phone.  He obviously had been very frightened about the prospect of traveling to Mexico City.  He said, " I just wanted to let you know that I was totally wrong about Mexico City.  It was great!"



  

Playing with PhotoShop

I think I should have made his nose longer.