As a child, I knew I should go on stage; now, I know I could hold a courtroom.

I just gave a seminar for 200 people and I am a brilliant presenter. I should be one of those people who teach large lecture courses. I bring others in for spots con mucho swing. I have marvelous pictures behind me and can zoom in when required but mostly people are looking at me because … More As a child, I knew I should go on stage; now, I know I could hold a courtroom.

Berkeley, 1906

Now we are on a trip to Berkeley in 1906. (My grandmother graduated from what was then the University of California in 1912.) “The camera looks north near Berkeley Way along Oxford … the streetcar can turn right up Hearst Avenue. Note the small orchard seen as the streetcar turns into Euclid Avenue … the … More Berkeley, 1906

VRBE

A los obreros de México I He aquí mi poema brutal y multánime a la nueva ciudad. Oh ciudad toda tensa de cables y de esfuerzos, sonora toda de motores y de alas. Explosión simultánea de las nuevas teorías, un poco más allá en el plano espacial de Wirman y de Turner y un poco … More VRBE

Caudillo

This is Basilio Martín Patino’s film Caudillo, and we do not understand why FalangeTV are the ones who have put it up. You can also see his Queridímos verdugos, where he interviews executioners and prisoners from the Franco era, and two hours’ worth of Civil War footage chosen and arranged by him. Pío Baroja witnessed … More Caudillo

Américo Castro was against the idea of a Hispanic “race,” but…

If such a faith lasted longer in Spain than it did in the rest of Western Europe, this is partly because Franco’s triumph allowed Falangist historians to continue celebrating the achievements of the “raza hispanica” for many years. But it should be added that the “faith…in biological continuity”of Spanish fascists had its own distinctive flavor. … More Américo Castro was against the idea of a Hispanic “race,” but…

VRBE III

La tarde, acribillada de ventanas flota sobre los hilos del teléfono, y entre los atravesaños inversos de la hora se cuelgan los dioses de las máquinas. Su juventud maravillosa estalló una mañana entre mis dedos. y en el agua vacía de los espejos, naufragaron los rostros olvidados. Oh la pobre ciudad sindicalista andamiada de hurras … More VRBE III

Liste, pour la semaine

Monday Grade three classes, prepare three Tuesday Car repair, plumber, roofer, call them all Teach three classes, work out Work on the deck Wednesday Finish preparing seminar, then give it Office hours 1-3 Meetings 3-6 Work out, start preparing classes Work on the deck Thursday Prepare and teach three classes, work out Work on the … More Liste, pour la semaine

An unplanned child

Cecilia Valdés in New Orleans This paper considers some New Orleans sources, parallels and intertexts of Cirilo Villaverde’s Cecilia Valdés o la loma del Ángel: novela de costumbres cubanas (Havana, 1839-New York, 1882) and the fact that Cuba’s national novel was written over thirty years’ residence in the United States. Like José Martí, Benito Juárez, … More An unplanned child