España con familia

Ever since David and Leslie invited me to join them and their daughters, Margot and Nina, plus co-grandparents Mabell and Fernando in Spain June 8 – 21, I’ve had fun learning more about that country’s music, art and history. Going as an Experimenter to Austria in 1965 taught me the value of knowing not only the language, but basic facts about what a society has achieved. or endured. The other adults going on this trip speak beautiful Spanish and the girls understand it. After two years of DuoLingo Spanish, I still have difficulties carrying on a conversation in Spanish, but allow me to share (in English) new things I’ve learned about the rich culture of Spain.

Music & Art

In 1911 Enrique Granados premiered his suite for piano, Goyescas, a set of six pieces based on the paintings of Francisco Goya, some of which I’ll see at El Prado in Madrid. He wrote an opera about Goya in 1914, but the outbreak of World War I forced the European premiere to be canceled. It was performed for the first tine in New York City in January 1916, shortly before Goya and his wife were invited to the White House so he could play for President Woodrow Wilson. Return to this link to read about the tragedy that next befell this couple. I first learned Intermezzo from Goyescas in high school. At last I’ll be able to study Goya’s paintings and try to guess which paintings Granados portrayed.

Only today I discovered on Apple Music that pianist Alicia de Larrocha and soprano Pilar Lorengar recorded the Tonadillas of Enrique Granados, also based on Goya’s paintings. Find La Maja de Goya and you’ll hear a wonderful song about a very famous painting!

When I was studying piano at American University in the 1970s, I had the good fortune to meet Alicia de Larrocha, whose CD-recorded performance of Suite española by Isaac Albéniz is a joy to hear. Each province of Spain is portrayed musically. Her artistry inspired me to polish Albéniz’s Tango in D and play it for some friends. I told them that I had learned that “a tango is a secret danced between two people…” I have always enjoyed the tangos of Argentinian Astor Piazzola. I look forward to seeing/hearing secret tangos danced in Spain.

For a crash course in Spanish art, check out this wonderful article about ten famous Spanish artists who left their mark on the world of art. On my shelves I found the book about Goya, shown above, and another about Picasso. I will share both with Lilli and Violet. They plan to explore Madrid just two weeks after we are there. Nina and Margot already have three volumes of pictures from El Prado Museum, a set given to us by Fiona Salama, whom we hosted in August 1993. Shelby then stayed with Fiona and her family in Madrid in 1994. I’m still hoping to see if we can arrange a meeting with Fiona.

History of Spain

In Rick Steves’ terrific guidebooks, I learned new history lessons. For example, the Spanish Inquisition, was “a court system run by the Catholic Church to ferret out unorthodoxy and punish suspected heretics. Religious inquisitions had existed in Europe since medieval times, but in Spain the inquisition took on an intensity and violence that seared itself into the European consciousness. Ironically, it arose in what was once Europe’s most diverse country, where Jews, Muslims, and Christians had for centuries lived side by side.” In 1502 the Spanish crown ordered all Muslims to be forcibly converted to Christianity. The next century saw a number of persecutions, and in 1609 the last Moors still adhering to Islam were expelled from Spain.

The Spanish Civil War, 1936 – 39, was another puzzle, especially as it led to almost 40 years of the autocratic rule of Francisco Franco. My friend Nick Hagoort suggested this book by English historian Antony Beevor, which I am plowing through. It unsettles me to discover that Spain had such extreme political divisions  (Newsflash: Trump convicted of 34 counts of felony!)  Could an understanding of the origins and consequences of their troubles help the United States avoid the agony and stagnation that Spain endured? Might we be able to discuss some of these topics with people we get to know?  Nick also told me about the Valley of the Fallen, north of Madrid, a powerful underground monument to the victims of the Civil War and until 2019, the resting place of Franc

There’s so much to learn. This post is a work in progress–stay tuned for more developments and feel free to share your knowledge!

Update from Madrid on June 10 (Shelby’s 46th birthday). Now that I’m here I find myself unprepared for the glories of Spanish sports and Spanish cuisine. Last night I watched 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz win the Roland Garros Tennis Tournament in France. Last year he won Wimbledon.

Since arriving on Saturday afternoon, we have had scrumptious food. What a selection we had Wednesday at La Trainera in Madrid.