Apologies, Elderly Cows, and Bar Tabs

As I mentioned in a previous post, my DNA test shows my ancestry is less than one percent Spanish.  Somehow, the people here in León seem to sense this.

A few days ago, I was at one of my favorite tapas bars, Jamón Jamón (Ham Ham), enjoying an excellent glass of local red wine and a crusty white bread topped with an amazing Spanish ham, chorizo, and manchego cheese.  Holy week was not yet over and crowds were everywhere.  Inside the bar, people stood shoulder to shoulder.  I elected to move outside where there was a shelf against the window for patrons to place their drinks and plates of food.  Usually the space around the shelf is also crowded, but today I found myself alone in the outdoor space, with people rushing through the streets around me.

Jamón Jamón serves only one thing for tapas:  crusty bread with Spanish ham, chorizo, and manchego cheese.  (You can click on photographs in this blog for a larger view.  Use the "esc" or "escape" key to exit to a normal view.

For €1.30 ($1.60) you can have a glass of wine and tapas.

It was not long before I heard a commotion and looked around to see a young husband and wife with two small, extremely unruly children pushing my way.  It seemed that the husband's sworn duty was to be totally oblivious to everything going on around him, while the wife grabbed at the children's shirt collars and flailing arms, screaming, "No! Juan Pablo, no!  Javier! No!

Jamón Jamón is a popular destination on the tapas circuit in León.

In a split second, I placed my glass of wine on the shelf and braced myself for the inevitable impact. Sure enough, despite my attempt to move out of the way, the wife, who was bent over trying to control the children, backed into me.  She rapidly turned and looked up at me in horror.  The apology immediately followed, "Sorry!  Sorry!," she said with true remorse.

"No te preocupes. Estoy bien,"  ("Don't worry. I'm fine,") I immediately said as she turned again, crying, "Juan Pablo. Javier!  No!"  The father was looking around with his hands behind his back as if he were waiting for a bus.

Instantly, I was aware that something was wrong.  What had I done?  I hadn't uttered a word before she slammed into me.  Why had she apologized to me in English?  When I wasn't looking had someone secretly stenciled my forehead with text that said, "American. Please speak English!?"

I've had similar incidents happen to me at other times during my travels.  I've been over much of the world, and in some places, I'm obviously a tourist and elicit communication in English, or sometimes in sign language. But here, I thought, if I don't speak with my American accent, surely I will blend in.  Whatever the case, I decided not to dwell on it, and to put it aside so that I could enjoy the last couple of days of Holy Week.

I missed being with my family and friends back in Illinois on Easter Sunday.  I knew that they had enjoyed a wonderful Easter dinner with many traditional dishes, including my favorite: lamb.

On the Tuesday following Easter, my mother-in-law's cousin, Tomasina, invited my mother-in-law, María Rosa; my niece, Sofía with her fiancé, Ronnie; and me to a late lunch. (Lunches in Spain are always very late.)  We entered a very nice restaurant and were soon seated at a table next to a window.

After a few minutes, a waiter appeared and started placing menus in front of us.  I was last. "And a menu in English, for you, sir," he intoned.

I was stunned. How had he known?  I didn't say anything, but looked at him suspiciously.

Seconds later we were talking about other things and I let it slide.  But I must say that the menu in English was a mixed blessing.  Not only did I not know what everything was on the Spanish menu, I had trouble with the English menu, also.  We decided on roasted vegetables and morcilla (a Spanish blood sausage that is delicious, despite what it sounds like)  for a first course.  Then I started looking at the main courses.  After fish were the meats, with beef first on the list.

It was when I got to the third offering that I knew I wouldn't be having beef that afternoon.  "Carne roja de añojo deshuesada..."  The English translation was: "Deboned red meat from elderly cows..."

A picture formed in my head. I could see ancient and decrepit bovines tottering around a pasture waiting to die; the moment they dropped, someone would cart them off to be deboned and placed on a table before us. After getting the image out of my mind, I continued down the menu until I found the leg of lamb. That was my choice, and an excellent one, at that.  It wasn't a substitute for lamb at home, but it made things better.

A leg of lamb with potatoes, a roasted pepper, and salad.  It was far better than eating elderly cows.

A couple of days later, my mother-in-law and I stopped at one of the nearby restaurant/bars for a drink and tapas before lunch, as we often do. (Remember that lunch is late in the afternoon; it's not like we start pounding down drinks at 9 a.m.)  When we were ready to leave, I stepped up to the bar to pay.  The bar tender held up three fingers.  "Three Euros," he said in a heavy Spanish accent.

I sort of see myself as Indiana Jones describes his friend and colleague, Marcus Brody (Denholm Elliot,) in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).  The Nazis realize that Brody has the journal page revealing the location of the Holy Grail.  Jones defiantly explains why the bad guys will never catch Brody.

 In truth, I think my case lies somewhere between the first and second scenes of the clip.

I keep looking in the mirror to see if something has been stenciled on my forehead, but so far, I haven't found it.

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You can view my fine art photography website at:  www.tombellart.com.

This blog has been named one of the top 75 fine art photography blogs on the planet.

 

Processions Are For Teaching and Learning

Dating back to the middle ages, Spain's Holy Week processions have always been tools for teaching.  As the gigantic religious floats (pasos) were carried through the medieval streets, people who were largely illiterate could see the Biblical stories come to life before their eyes.  In today's world of television, Internet and multimedia, the tradition of carrying the pasos continues. However, while the pasos continue to illustrate the traditional stories, the processions have evolved into tools of "active learning."  Active learning is defined as learning by doing.

Children and entire families now participate in the processions.  The traditional Brotherhoods, some hundreds of years old, actively welcome women and children to march with them.  For the children, it is a learning experience that allows them to become part of the story.

Holy Tuesday's (martes santo) Procession of Forgiveness (Procesión de Perdón) in León was at 6:45 p.m.  This was early enough that more children could be involved.

The Procession of Forgiveness is both traditional and very modern.  (You can click on images in this blog for a closer view.  Use the "escape" or "esc" key to return to a normal view.)

A young participant.

This girl is in traditional Spanish dress.

Even today, viewing a Centurion in a relatively authentic costume is a learning experience.

Even the child in the baby carriage is dressed in traditional penitent robes.

The lady pushing the baby carriage, presumably the mother, marches with bare feet, a true display of penance and devotion.

A girl munches on an oblea as she greets those along the route.  An oblea is two thin wafers filled with a sweet, sticky paste similar to caramel. 

This boy is obviously very pleased to participate in the procession.

This girl's pigtails fall from under her hood.

Despite all the children I've shown you, adults also learn from the experience.  Tonight at midnight, I will wear the hood and robes of the Brotherhood of the Seven Words of Christ on the Cross to march in the Solemne Via Crucis Procesional (Processional of the Way of the Cross.)  For me, that will certainly be a learning experience which I will report to you tomorrow.

I will be blogging about Holy Week from León and much more in the upcoming days.  If you would like to follow along and receive a notification when a new post appears, please subscribe by clicking here and entering your email address.

You can view my fine art photography website at:  www.tombellart.com.

This blog has been named one of the top 75 fine art photography blogs on the planet.

Holy Week in León -- Family, Tradition & Food

Holy Week in León is an event -- a family affair -- something that cannot be ignored. It is a week filled with ancient and modern traditions. Thousands, sometimes ten of thousands spill into the streets to witness some of the thirty-six processions conducted during the ten days of Holy Week. While some processions are small with only a few hundred participants, others are huge, with several thousand people marching through the streets in traditional costumes, some bearing gigantic religious floats (pasos), others playing musical instruments or simply playing their part by marching along.

Those who march in the processions are of all ages.  This younger participant
is on the way to the Church of Santa Nonia, where he will take part in the three hour
Procesión de la Pasión along with three thousand other marchers.  (You

can click on images for a larger view.)

Children proudly pose in front of the Church of Santa Nonia before the procession.

An hour before the procession, members of the brotherhood are already taking their places around the early 17th century paso.

A Lady prepares for the procession in the loft of the Church.

  

One of the three pasos dates to the 16th century.

 Crowds stand for more than an hour to view the three pasos leave the church.  Most processions, like this one are at night.

About two hours into the procession, the float still has about an hour to go before it returns to the Church of Santa Nonia.  The Baroque detail is typical of the 17th century.

Detail from the 17th century paso.  A cherub helps bear the weight of

Christ carrying the cross.

After a procession ends at ten or eleven at night, sometimes later, participants spill into the bars and restaurants for drinks and tapas. Bars in Spain are family-friendly, but are open through the wee hours of the morning.



A glass of wine accompanied by a cup of garlic soup as a tapa at the Camarote Madrid helps to warm one up after a procession.  Note the variety of olives in the background.  They are also excellent tapas.

As Holy Week in León progresses, I'll have more insight and more images during the upcoming days.  If you missed yesterday's overview of Holy Week in  León, you can find it here.

You can view my website at www.tombellart.com.



The Vendor Children

It is unfortunate that children everywhere do not always enjoy the opportunities of a good education and a secure environment where they can simply be children.

In Guatemala, public schools are sub-par, and Mayan Indian families often rely on the labor of children to help them get by.  Rather than sending them to the classroom, it is not unusual to see children, often very young, selling handmade goods and souvenirs on the street, especially in locations that cater to tourists.  Girls will usually be in their finest traditional Indian clothing.  They will approach whoever passes by and hone their sales skills on the street.

Young girls in Antigua, Guatemala become vendors at an early age.  You can click on photographs for a larger view.

Mayan children at a rural school in Chimaltenango.

A vendor on the steps of the Cathedral in Chichicastenango.

You can view my photography website at: www.tombellart.com.

6th EDITION POLLUX PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

I was surprised last night to learn that one of my images, Dog in Castrillo de los Polvazares (Spain), won first place in the Street Photography and Cityscapes category of the 6th Pollux Awards, an international photography competition that draws thousands of photographs from dozens of countries.  Winning works of the Pollux Awards will be exhibited at the 3^rd Biennial of Documentary and Fine Art Photography at the Municipal Museum in Malaga, Spain, opening on September 18^th, 2014.

Dog in Castrillo de los Polvazares (Spain).  First Place in Street Photography and Cityscapes.

Three other images were finalists:

Gondolas was a finalist in the Fine Art Photography category.

Cartwheel was a finalist in the Children category.

Bubble Man was a finalist in the People category.

You can view all of the winning images in the 6th Pollux Awards at:  http://www.call4artists.com/Gallery_6th_Pollux_Award.php.  Congratulations to all the winners.

You can view my website at:  www.tombellart.com.

Children are the Missing Element...

Often, I'm at a photogenic spot -- a historic building or scenic location.  I point the camera and get a stunning photograph -- but upon further inspection, something is missing.  Maybe the missing element is children.  Below are some examples of the child or children making the photograph.

This is a very scenic location in the central plaza of Salamanca.  It needed children to make it interesting.

This dramatic photo of the Arch of Santa Catalina in Antigua, Guatemala works because of the young soccer player in the foreground.

Children were jumping like crazy for the bubbles from this street performer in Bologna, Italy.

These active children were perfect subjects for a photo in a León, Spain park.

The accordion playing street performer was a good subject for a photography, but the little girl makes it a human interest story.

You can view my website at:  www.tombellart.com.