azafrán y alegría … también en español

entrando en el salón
se siente el calor ibérico.
atmósfera de intimidad y festividad…

un viaje a través de los gustos
que abren las puertas del corazón.
las especias de los aperitivos pican la lengua
mezclando con el vino sobre los labios.

compartir,
flirtear.
vestidos rojos,
tacones negros.

paella hecha con ingredientes secretos,
más allá del azafrán que como siempre
otorga su encantador sabor.

viajamos…
sobre las colinas de Andalucía a caballo
atravesando la tierra
una tierra de libertad
un pueblo en movimiento
bailando hasta el alba
flamenco, boleros, jotas

la pasión.
la danza.
aquí, es algo serio.
vórtice de ligereza y gracia,
sentidos vivos, sudor.
hombres orgullosos y espontáneos,
mujeres elegantes y encantadoras,
entrelazados en movimientos en espiral
unidos en el corazón abierto y alegre.
las caderas marcando los ritmos…
ole! palmadas excitantes.

qué país delicioso.
alegría, gente vivaz
enamorada de la vida,
una vida llena de belleza.

(escrita con gratitud por la cena española en Prima Stalla)

traducción de Amparo

azafrán y alegría

entering into the dining hall,
I feel the Iberian heat.
an atmosphere of intimacy and festivity.

a journey through flavors
that open the doors of the heart.
appetizer spices stinging the tongue
mixing with wine on the lips.

conversation,
flirting,
red dress,
black heels.

paella made with secret ingredients
beyond the saffron, which
adds its enchanting flavor as always.

on a journey…
riding horses through the Andalusian hills
crossing la tierra
a land of freedom
a people in movement
dancing until dawn
flamenco, bolero, jota

passion.
dance.
it’s serious here.
swirl of lightness and grace.
senses alive, sweating.
men, proud and spontaneous
women, elegant and alluring,
entwined in spiral movements,
united in one joyful open heart.
hips hitting the rhythms,
ole! with rousing claps.

what a delectable country
alegría, vivacious eyes
in love with life,
a life saturated with beauty.

(written with gratitude for Spanish dinner night at Prima Stalla)

entrando nel salone
si sente il calore iberico.
atmosfera d’intimità e festività…

radically inclusive video montage

I clicked the option in iMovie that makes thumbnails of all the video clips in my library. As I was watching them, I was moved to see how many events fade from memory over time.

I was thinking if in the end, I were to edit together a video montage of highlights from my life, I would have a hard time selecting and cutting footage. How do I decide? The everyday moments, sweeping the floor, hammering, preparing tea in the morning, are they less significant than the ceremonial ones and oaths? Is there less action in the silence and harmonization than in the shows and Popolo celebrations? I would leave it all in.

I think I would just increase the saturation a little during the rituals, the elaborate and spontaneous ones, and turn up the red hue for the dances too. Let’s see how many times different scenes in costume and makeup reappear—they are rituals too, of beauty, transformation, joy.

I would slow motion the most pressing moments to dilute them, transform even those into a dance. The unstoppable tears and fears, those of stage fright, when in the wings, courage negotiates to compensate for preparation, and I feel the hand of the first Questio pushing me from behind.

I closely observe the order of operations after the alarm clock: putting on the personal self again, then prayer, bracelet on the head and a sip of prana charged water, pausing on the card of the day. I take note of how many times the slippers placed in a ‘T’ before sleeping really brought fortune the next day.

Let’s fast forward through the depressive phases, flat grey differentiating itself with contrast adjustment, and add a filter to soften the most furious and manic peaks.

Go in for a close-up on the most beautiful exchanges, emotions and gazes, whispering of poetry in other languages, heartfelt stories that trigger a fade out into flashback, obliterating every geographic and temporal distance.

Turn up the volume for the songs and the birds, and activate the subtitles at the misunderstandings.

Where is the temperature control? Can’t I heat up that first winter under the snow in Perugia, or turn down the humidity for the sweaty summer adventures?

With videocameras from different angles, I see things that I have never seen before: unobserved shooting stars, things that were lost, things that escaped, things that were thrown away but anyhow continuing a trace of existence in the trash heap. All the invisible help received—if I could see it now, I would never feel abandoned or alone.

I add a golden filter to every gift created and exchanged. The moments of totality in the creation, writing and dreaming, painting and traveling, depicted in Miyazaki style animation.

As director of this work of art, the most important step is tying the last scene to the beginning, because every resolution of the plot brings us to a sequel, another episode.
Ho cliccato un’opzione nel programma iMovie sul computer e si sono messi in fila tutti i videoclip che c’erano nella mia biblioteca. Mentre li guardavo, mi emozionava vedere quanti eventi svaniscono dalla memoria…

fire … emotion from Damanhurian New Year’s eve fire show preparation

my favorite love, fire. calling me, touching me, embracing me. fire that burns in the veins. the voice of fire is not a whisper nor a sigh. fire speaks with the scream of a woman giving birth crossed with a jazz singer drunk on vermouth and vitality DNA africana. the fingers of fire don’t tremble in hesitation but snatch at the speed of light, of the stars, tricking the breaking mechanism of the mind, an unexpected flight so quick it doesn’t burn, it only leaves heat imprinted on the skin. the embrace of fire is not an embrace with the arms but the body total fusion in zero time. the inflamed heart a motor for blood that flows, a dark red saturated with passion, life, infinite presence

il fuoco

il mio amante preferito, il fuoco. mi chiama, mi tocca, mi avvolge…