Gary J. Kirkpatrick Art and Travel Blog
Expressionistic art
Gary Kirkpatrick 
“O sole mio” which is the basis for my pun is a famous Neapolitan song written in 1898. Lyrics by Giovanni Capurro, music by Eduardo di Capua and Alfredo Mazzucchi. It is usually sung in the Neopolitan dialect. ‘O sole mio in Italian is ‘Il mio sole,’ “my sun” or “my sunshine.” O Solo Mia means ‘O just Mia’ or ‘Mia alone.’ She resides with friends in El Carmen, taking one or the other for several walks a day.
Turron de Jijona is Spanish soft nougat, with a wonderful almond and honey flavor. Jijona is the small town near Valencia where it is made. This turron is protected by European Union, through the IGP (Indicación Geográfica Protegida). It is made in December of each year and is a common end of the year treat. Almonds are extensively cultivated in Valencia province, dating from the Moorish era.
At first I thought it was a kind of halva. It has almost that consistency but it has more oil. I think it is sweeter too You can cut it easily with a knife, which is desirable as it comes in a block. You can see liquid inside the package. I was surprised to find it was almond oil.
It is made from almonds, honey and powdered sugar. You roast the almonds and them blend into a paste while adding the honey and sugar. It is then allowed to rest for several days so that it becomes more firm. It is quite flexible when you open it but it easily breaks off too. Quite the treat!
An ode to Manet
This scene is based upon our local bakery, and inspired by Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. Petxina (pronounced ‘Pechina’) is a neighborhood of Valencia. The bakery is around the corner from us.
Stats for Spain: 18890 with 1083 deaths. This is up from 8000 a week ago when there were 200 deaths. I am using the Washington Post site every day to maintain consistency, other sites may vary. For example, the national paper El Pais for example shows that there are “21.570 infectados y 1.094 muertos.” Another concerning development – Madrid’s hospitals are at double capacity https://elpais.com/sociedad/2020-03-20/las-uci-de-varios-hospitales-de-madrid-ya-estan-al-doble-de-su-capacidad-con-pacientes-de-coronavirus.html
Here is what the lock down orders here say:
During the state of alarm, citizens and vehicles will only be allowed to travel on public roads and streets for the following activities:
The purchase of foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals and essential items.
To attend health centers.
To go to work or to provide employment services.
To return to your usual residence.
To assist and care for seniors, minors, dependants, the disabled, or people who are particularly vulnerable.
In cases of force majeure or of necessity. Posted at https://english.elpais.com/society/2020-03-15/spains-state-of-alarm-the-key-measures-that-are-now-in-place.html
Trash service continues as does bus transport. You can only enter the bus by the side door to reduce contact with the driver. When we have been out to get supplies the buses we have seen have been empty or carrying only one or two people. The street traffic is a fraction of its former self.
At 8 p.m. the clapping starts every night. Cars passing by honk happily also for our health care workers. We can see a couple we know on the same flight as ours a few buildings down. On the 19th, what would have been the last day of Fallas, we had a fireworks on our street. It was short but sweet.
The Spanish are treating this matter very seriously but not without a sense of humor. Check out the videos below! (posted on my Youtube channel)
Italy now has 38,500 active cases. Our friends there said that the streets of Rome are finally empty, blaming the crisis there on the unwillingness of people to follow the order to stay at home. The number of cases in Germany has mushroomed. Everywhere in Europe is up. The US has surpassed Spain in total numbers, with comparatively few deaths reported so far.
I am so glad they included the score!
The daily mascleta (enormous firework displays) takes off in this courtyard
We are up to around 10,000 cases in Spain with 500 deaths. Land borders are closed except to returning citizens and residents. China is sending materials and some experts. At least 19 dead in a nursing home in Madrid. Some 150 died in one day. The Health ministry says they can not test everyone that might be infected. Now there are 500 deaths.
The Spanish government expected to approve a moratorium on mortgage payments for those effected by the pandemic. See in Spanish https://elpais.com/economia/2020-03-17/el-gobierno-aprobara-una-moratoria-para-el-pago-de-hipotecas.html
Grocery stores have slightly reduced hours and limit the number of people at one time. Lidl limits entrance to one per family. In some they limit the number of identical articles you can purchase.
Peg writes: The City falla was being assembled when Fallas was cancelled. This morning it was burned. The video is 11 hours long because no one knew when the burning would take place – the officials did not want a crowd to assemble. Apparently, it was at about 4 a.m. this morning.
The main part of the falla was Ayto, a woman seated in a Lotus position. On the left side of her torso you see her head still on the pavement. You can see that the artistas falleros added a surgical mask on the day Fallas was cancelled.
The fire actually starts at about 11:08 on the video. It is a pretty good representation of how they all burn on March 19, except that it took longer for the fire to start because it rained for a couple of hours before the burn.
The burning is even sadder with the music playing, and there has been a constant stream of sad comments since the video was posted.
Every night at 8 p.m. everyone opens their window or steps outside onto their terrace to clap for the health care workers who are working on everyone’s behalf.
Travel plans, smavel plans. Our flight to on April 1st to Egypt went through Bergamo, one of two airports serving Milan, a region infected with Covid-19 and the area first shut down by the Italian government. I had already started drawing some of the sculptures and wall paintings. Latest update on the situation at end of post.
Our issues are as nothing compared to those who have become ill or those whose family members have died, but is part of the economic devastation the virus spread has caused. Here in Spain all non-essential activities are prohibited. The police can stop and question those whose activities might not be in compliance. Bars and restaurants can not make a centavo for the next two weeks at least as the government attempts to reduce and spread out the stress on the health care system. The biggie is the cancelatin of Fallas, the annual festival that brings some 800,000 people into the city each March. It was rescheduled to July, creating economic hardship for thousands of workers.
Before the Valencian government canceled we attended the first night’s fireworks at the port. The crowds were a bit less than the usual huge but it was far from vacant. The display was terrific!
They had installed street lights and transported some of the sculptures. We took a walk through an area known for its fantastic and large works.
The venders were set up, selling buñuelos (donuts made with pumpkin) and porras (deep fried cones stuffed with sweet creaminess) on street corners throughout the closer in areas of the city. After the closure they left.
Bus routes had already been changed to deal with the streets being converted to pedestrian only. The trash containers, recycling bins (separate for paper, glass, metal-plastic being combined) had already been moved. City workers had delivered the barricades that the casals (the local groups that organize and fund the sculptures, street paellas and the like) use when they have paella (they make small fires on the pavement to make the rice dish) and to cordon off music and other events. In the main plaza the huge fence was set up to contain the magnificent daily mascletas, one each day at 2 p.m. from March 1-19. They managed to do ten before the cancellation. In the video you can hear the Fallera Mayor order the commencement of the display.
The enormous fallas’ (sculpture) for city hall was in place awaiting assembly. I can not find a photo. Below is a photo of the crowd. Perfect place to pass along an infectious disease!
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Falleras (the lady members of the casals) had prepared their fabulous gowns for the many parties and the major event called La Ofrenda (the Offer), where they walk from their casal to the Plaza de la Virgin each with a bouquet that is placed on the 25 meter (80′) tall rendition of Mary with the baby Jesus in her arms and two children at her feet.
Dresses are back in the closets. I suppose those who make the bouquets will get their paychecks and those who deliver them will have this job again in July if in fact Fallas makes it back.
In the meantime people panic buy toilet paper, meat, pasta and jarred beans while standing in long lines to check out. I hope they are all being careful as they stand there. In our trips for groceries they were, and everyone was respectful and orderly. The supermarkets in some cases were not able to fully replenish supplies each night of the several that have passed since the lock down was announced.
Last night at 10 PM we heard clapping and cheering. We went out to the balcony. Friends from across the street were out there too – they’d had lunch with us that day. It turns out to have been a gigantic applause for the health care workers in the clinics and hospitals. It was a heart warming gesture in the midst of so much gloom.
LATEST UPDATE: I’ll keep you updated on the situation here. Deaths have skyrocketed overnight to near 200, from just 1 on March 3rd, doubling overnight. Number of cases doubled from 2 days ago to 8000.
Portraits of members of my family.
Her first name was really Sebastiana, an Italian name, but she went by Diana since around 1928. She was born in Brooklyn. Her sister was born in Sicily, probably Partanna where her father, my grandfather, was born.
Mathew, as we knew him, was born in Partanna, Sicily. He was our uncle. He came to the US around 1914. His last name differs however. I obtained his birth certificate. Unlike the others, the parents names are not stated. We have no idea who his father was.
Camillo was born in Marsala, Sicily (yes, home of the famous wine). My brother says his hair was not curly as I have depicted it. He died during WWII while at work at the Brooklyn shipyards. I found his death certificate, upon which my mother’s first names were both used. I needed this to show the Italian consulate that Diana and Sebastiana were the same person. This allowed me to claim Italian citizenship.
These next two are my more creative and less realistic portraits of older relatives
I have never seen a woman conduct a band or orchestra. At the concert on February 4, 2020 we were treated to her skillful conducting and for me her fabulous gestures. Too bad it was too dark to draw. In addition, there were two composers in the audience whose work was performed by the Banda de Valencia, a symphonic band (no violins).
Beatriz Fernandez Aucejo trained locally first as a clarinetist and in Murcia to the south of Valencia as a conductor. She’s conducted numerous bands in Spain. She often flashed a great smile at the band as she conducted while she almost danced her intentions to the musicians.
Santiago Quinto Serna and Vincente Ortiz Gimeno were in the audience. The band performed the former’s Un Deber de Amor . There are numerous performances on youtube. Here’s one
They performed Serna’s Rapsodia Hernandiana
These two pieces are representative of modern Spanish composition. Valencia is an internationally recognized center for music composition, especially for symphonic bands. In the province there are about 600 symphonic bands, many of whom annually come to Valencia to compete.
What is uniquely mine comes from what it means to be me somehow. Sometimes even I can not emulate me, some of the colors I have mixed I can not quite duplicate. These colors are a mixture of what I have learned academically and my flying by the seat of my pants, pure instinct for fuel.
Nefertari ( d. circa 1255 BCE) was the first wife of Ramses II. Her tomb is in the Valley of the Queens. The astounding art of the tomb in the Valley of the Queens ( d. circa 1255 BCE) is at 38 minutes.
The film is about the powerful women of ancient Egypt. Gary Bob says check it out!
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