Canadian Thanksgiving?
Writing for the Matador Network on my memories of Canadian Thanksgiving and what it meant then and what it means now.
Medieval Tests
Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. After having lived here for more than a decade, I still catch myself looking up in wonder as the last rays of the setting sun hit the Torre…
Vino (or Viñu as it is known locally) in the Sierra de Gata
A place close to my heart, just north of here where the scorched summer earth becomes green once again. Cool water runs off the sierra and where the wines are meant to enjoyed, not examined. Writing in Roads and Kingdoms about a toast to an old friend.
WOMAD or WOPAP?
video Jorge Rey Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. I’ve been fortunate enough to play at some of the most famous festivals around the world. From Vancouver to New York, I have seen the…
A Master Doesn’t Necessarily Make you a Master
Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. One of the first questions I ask my students when I start a new course is often one of the most difficult for them to answer. And…
Nothing to do with it
Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. Just as the bartender put down our cañas, my companion somewhat skeptically asked, “But how is it possible that you, a Canadian, are complaining about the cold…
Caceres in the Globe and Mail
Watching storks come in for a landing here in Caceres feels a bit like rubbernecking. These large birds swoop out of the Mediterranean blue only to slam on their air brakes in an awkward battle against inertia. This emergency manoeuvre turns what was pure gliding elegance into an ungainly attempt to hit their mark, especially…
Thou Shalt All Think the Same
Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. One of the first things that drew me to Spain back in the nineties was a feeling that people generally minded their own business. Sure,…
Raising a Different Glass in Roads and Kingdoms: It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere
The scene of the crime I had narrowly avoided massacring a dozen newly hatched chicks in a box, whose chirping had accompanied us up from Qax. Stumbling backwards as the rusted-out Soviet-era bus corkscrewed us deeper into the Caucasus, I instead tumbled into the lap of heavily mustached Georgian-speaking shepherd. He didn’t smile… Writing in…
The Rain…
Writing in the local paper. Local Issues with a global take. I never translate literally and the editor trims at will to make it fit. Here’s my version, then theirs. The rain here in Caceres always reminds me of the words of fellow Mercedes Calles Premio de Periodismo winner, Juan Manuel de Prada, when he…