Blogia

Buenos Aires Jaque Press, en inglés y español

Flores de Tajy" espectáculo sobre la trata de mujeres

Flores de Tajy" espectáculo sobre la trata de mujeres

 Entre el clic de cámaras un nutrido grupo entusiasta de periodistas y espectadores esperaban ayer en el teatro bar Nun el estreno de “Flores de Tajy” sobre la trata de personas. “Es una lucha difícil porque están comprometidos políticos, abogados, jueces y policías,” explicaba una madre cuya hija fue secuestrada y muerta hace 24 años. Ella y otras madres de la organización “Madres víctimas de trata” habían venido a ver la opera prima de Sol Bonelli, la autora de la serie televisiva “Se trata de nosotros.”

        

        El escenario es un prostíbulo rudimentario en el campo: una cama, una mesa con vasos de whisky, dos mujeres fogueadas en el oficio de la prostitución y una chica recién secuestrada que resiste aceptar su destino y rememora nostálgicamente su vida en Paraguay entre sus familiares. 


         No quiere tener sex con un cliente tosco y violento pero las más experimentadas tratan de explicarle que no hay salida, mejor entonces adaptarse a las circunstancias. Después medita sobre leyendas guaraníes, metáforas sobre la selva, momentos claves de su vida, las flores de Tajy, y urde planes de escape.

         Si bien el espectáculo es una muy fuerte denuncia contra la trata, tiene una estructura dramática consistente y un guion que a veces tiene vuelo poético. Además la actuación goza momentos de realismo tan fuertes que el espectador siente que es testigo directo de los hechos. 
          Que haya hombres y organizaciones dedicados a semejante trato inhumano, secuestrando chicas y obligándolas a ser esclavas sexuales, con trato brutal, sin poder ver a sus seres amados, frecuentemente con la aquiescencia de políticos, abogados y hasta autoridades es un crimen tan nefasta que desafía la imaginación.

       “Flores de Tajy,” domingos 21 horas, teatro bar Nun, Ramírez de Velazco 419, CABA. Teléfono: 4854-2107. http://www,nunteatrobar.com.ar Entradas: $150.

I see you!

I see you!

I was walking down a street in the Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires, when I realized someone was spying on me. Police? A theif? An assassin? I turned around slowly so as not to call his attention. His? What if it were a woman? No, it was a man. He was peering at me from behind a door--painted on the wall! I sighed with relief and took out my trusty Apple I pad and took his picture.

Mafalda

Mafalda

Mafalda es un personaje todavía muy presente en el histórico barrio de San Telmo, en Buenos Aires, Argentina...

The Guilt of the Angel

The Guilt of the Angel

A very good play!

Edgar A. Poe´s "The Raven" and a theater workshop in August

Edgar A. Poe´s "The Raven" and a theater workshop in August

        There is something strongly theatrical in Edgar A. Poe´s "The Raven," about a man sitting alone late at night "...while I ponered weak and weary over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore..." Poe´s "theory of composition" stresses the mood, the image, the effect that the author wants to create. Likewise, the actor must deal with the same elements. The mood conditions the body of the actor. Images are essential to bring to life what is expressed in the script. Suppose you are the man in Poe´s poem. You have to "see" him slumped over his books, "hear" the raven say "nevermore." 
        This year the theater workshop will begin with a performance of Poe´s dramatic poem--Sunday, August 9th at 6pm at the "El Damero" theater, Dean Funes 506, near the Spanish hospital in Buenos Aires. Before the performance we will invite spectators, poets, writers and those interested in participating in the theater workshop to read or recite their own poems or verses by authors.
        The workshop will get underway the following Saturday from 2:30 to 5 pm at the same theater, a wonderful playhouse with perfect acustics. An alternative schedule: Mondays from 7:30 to 10pm. We will work until the end of the year liberating body and voice from stiffness, thus preparing the way for entering into the fascinating world of creativity. We will be working on poems, short skits of our own creation or stories.
        If you are interested in participating in the workshop, contact us at hopalfred@gmail.com
        Thank you!

"Méimon," un film-ensayo de Rodrigo Moreno sobre el trabajo domestico

“Me parece una película muy lenta,”  reclamó furioso un hombre que se identificó como “anarquista” en su juventud y entró en una fuerte discusión con Jorge Altamira del Partido Obrero luego de la exhibición ayer en el Centro Cultural San Martín de “Méimon,” un film-ensayo de Rodrigo Moreno sobre la vida de una mujer doméstica. Para otro espectador “es una película poética extraordinaria que además logra gran profundidad.”  En realidad la “lentitud” de la película tiene que ver con la estética del director y su manera de comunicar con el espectador.

La lectura de “El Capital” que hacen en varias escenas un grupo de intelectuales, puntualiza  la alienación que sufre el trabajador en el sistema capitalista y tiene por fin poner en contexto las acciones cotidianas de la protagonista (Marcela Díaz).

Ella vive en un barrio sumamente pobre, con las faltas de servicios básicos que tienen las villas alrededor de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires, y viaje todos los días en colectivo y tren, o a pie, para trabajar en las casas de familias ricas o de clase media, lavando ropa, planchando, limpiando platos, paredes, pisos, baños, en jornadas sumamente largas y agotadoras.

La cámara estudia su cara, sus manos, sus pies, muestra el contraste de los ambientes donde trabaja de su propia vivienda, también enfoca en los medios de transporte, en las calles repletas de personas, perros, paredes; ramas de árboles que se extienden, perros que comparten amablemente el agua; la lista de tareas que le ha dejado el patrón, el dinero y otros objetos de valor que ella no toca.

Réimon tuvo su premiere mundial en el Festival Internacional de Cine de Rotterdam, seguido por una exitosa presentación en la Competencia Internacional del 16° Bafici. Un dato a tomar en cuenta: Rodrigo Moreno produjo la película por su cuenta con apenas $34.000 y una ayuda de $18.000 del socio alemán Rohfilm. El exhaustivo detalle de los costos y contratos de los carteles iniciales parece apuntar a la intención de mostrar que no hace falta presupuestos millonarios para filmar películas de calidad.

Es ciertamente una muy buena película para escuelas y para iniciar un debate profundo sobre el trabajo, la alienación, la marginalización y la capacidad de una sociedad de superar estructuras profundamente regresivas.   

The difficulty of comprehending other cultural traditions

The difficulty of comprehending other cultural traditions

"Some people are unable to grasp the inner meaning and the psychological reality of all that is outwardly strange, at first sight incomprehensible, in a different culture." Bronislaw Malinowski: "Argonauts of the Western Pacific."

"El perfume de mama," espectaculo delirante en la Clac de Buenos Aires

"El perfume de mama," espectaculo delirante en la Clac de Buenos Aires

"The Raven," dramatization of E.A. Poe's poem

"The Raven," dramatization of E.A. Poe's poem

You decide to work on the Edgar Allen Poe’s captivating and dark image-rich poem, “The Raven.” Shadowy impressions of that ebony bird posed upon the bust of Pallus had haunted your thoughts for decades but it was only recently that you imagined dramatizing it. Then when you find yourself tapping your feet to the rythym of a jazz musician’s trumpet at The Garth Gallery in Columbia, Pennsylvania, the idea bursts into your consciousness.

             So you read the poem. How in Hell can you work this into a theatrical presentation? Theater involves a special kind of communication with spectators: the script is the guide, but the breath and the voice in all of their variations bring life to the characters, as do the movements, the forms that the body assumes, the costumes, the lighting, the pauses, the direction of intent for each action…

             One thing is to read a poem to yourself in front of your fireplace. Quite different is to recite it, hear the words resound. But how are you supposed to read it? In this case Poe helps and hinders at the same time. His verse is rich in images, is incredibly rhythmic and utilizes repetition as an essential recourse.

    However, what you propose is theatrical. So you have to ask yourself other essential questions: who is the protagonist? What is the role of the author, Poe, in the performance. What significance do the graphic images have? (midnight dreary, tapping, rapping, wind, nevermore, bust upon my chamber door, ebony fowl…) Is there an underlying meaning, does Poe want to “say” something with this poem? Should I say the lines rhythmically—as in the poem itself—or should I perhaps break them up into what might be closer to the rhythm of speech of a man living alone? What words or phrases should be stressed? How should the strong emotions of the protagonist be treated—his melancholic sense of loss for Leanore, the growing sense of dread, fear and frustration with the raven.

             I decided first to memorize the poem (not an easy task) and then step by step let the movements emerge, the dress, the idea of connecting up with Shakespeare’s Macabeth, the tomorrow, tomorrow and tomorrow speech where he laments the death of his wife and anticipates his own demise. Then a basement, in front of the boiler,  the rehearsing began. By the night of the performance—April 18th—I had barely gone through the whole idea three or four times.  
 
One interesting aspect of the performance developed with the ingenuity of the producer and master of ceremony, Louise Imm-Cooper, who suggested combining with poets who would read their poems. However, since not many were available we selected poems which we placed in a basket—to be chosen and read by participants in the event. We were greatly surprised when most of them did so, and very well!

Following the performance there was an exchange of ideas concerning the event and then I asked numerous spectators their critical analysis.

        Bill Adams: “I really enjoyed your interpretation. Many years ago I had heard the Raven’s lone, “nevermore” done in a gloomy eerie fashion which suggests anthropomorphic quality. The generally accepted reasoning is Poe choose the Raven and designed the wording of the poem around a “bird brain” who was simply taught to say its name, a mindless automaton and the way in which you said it supported that assumption, so I was curious if that play any part in your presentation. The way you presented it was in keeping with what is thought to be Poe’s so you are in good company.”

               Describing himself as a relative moralist, he asserted that there is neither a right nor a wrong way of doing things. “If the purpose of your performance was to do it as Poe would have done it, then a host of issues become important. But you were doing your own interpretation and therefore the only judge is you yourself as to how well you did it.”

               Carol Galligan, painter: “I was thinking about the rhythm yesterday. My son ‘brought me up’ with is percussion studies. The sounds of the beat of a drum is so familiar to me. Had you ever thought of just doing the ‘dance’ (I call it a ‘dance’) of all the movements without words, only making sounds with each movement? Maybe just the beat of a drum. I would have to be a good drummer…an educated percussionist who can make the drum speak with you (Poe). I think I experienced the piece as a dance. I loved the use of black…oh, and then the blowing out of the candle…so significant!!! I love the way you turned a black piecve of material into a pair of wings!!! Beautiful! I do not object to improvisation…absolutely not! I can’t be objective about that. It’s the way I paint!!! I also call what I do a dance.”

Rick Kearns, poet laureate of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

Rick Kearns, poet laureate of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania

“By the time I was nine I had written a few poems and I realized that I would be writing poetry for the rest of my life,” says Rick Kearns, aka Rick Kearns-Morales, the poet laureate of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Also freelance writer and musician, his first love was music: “I came to love music by the time I was five or six years old.” Not long after that “I started noticing that some words and phrases were musical, that I enjoyed their sounds.”
Of Puerto Rican and European background and named Poet Laureate of the City of Harrisburg in 2014, he has fused his concern with music and writing with an intense concern for social issues.
--Were you surprised when you woke up to discover that you had been named Poet Laureate?
--Thanks, and yes, it was a huge surprise.  I know that many people, not just the politicos and operatives in Harrisburg, were not aware of my earlier poems and books of poems.  My first book of poems was published in 1994 and it was called Street of Knives.  The first poem in that book is “The Warner Hotel Comes Down”, about the demolition of the last SRO hotel in the city and my last lines in the poem are “…a blemish removed/from the perky face of the city/that eats the weak.”  I have written other poems that were extremely critical of my hometown so yes, I was amazed. 
--What is poetry for you? 
--Poetry is the lyrical expression of everything. 
--Do you see poetry as an exclusively artistic instrument, or do you believe it has a valid place also in the struggle for peace and social justice?
I think it is both and has been for many years.  I know that many people decry the “politicization” of poetry, that it should be an art form that should only be focused on the beauty of the ideas and words involved and that political poetry is often poorly crafted and overly polemical.  While I agree that some so-called political poems are poorly crafted and annoying but there are many others that are quite the opposite; they are aesthetically beautiful, inspirational and thought-provoking.  In my case too I have found that poetry is the only medium in which I can tell certain truths in a forceful way.  Also, when I encounter some of the naysayers, I remind them that when totalitarian regimes come to power among the first groups of people that they seek to stifle or kill, are the poets.  That’s no accident.  They are a threat not because of their innovative syntax or word play, it’s because they inspire free thought and action; that effect is political.
--Your poetry is very apt for reading in view of its narrative nature, its humor and irony and resort to tools such as reiteration.  Is that the way you feel about it or is that my interpretation?
--I agree with you and I think my work is connected to the older forms of lyrical expression that were meant to be spoken aloud.  While I strive to create an aesthetically pleasing written creation I do so also with the intention of reading it aloud. I can hear the poem as I’m writing it, too.
--Has your involvement with Puerto Rico and other countries south of the Rio Grande had an influence on your writing? Could you describe your experience with Latin America and Argentina?
My involvement with Puerto Rico starts with the fact that I am half Puerto Rican and that I have spent time on the island as well as interacted with family and friends of that background up here.  So my involvement with Puerto Rico starts in my blood and works its way out, both in terms of writing and being.  I became more interested in all of Latin America as I came to know more about Puerto Rico.  From this interest I started to read more Latin American and Spanish poets who have had a very strong influence on me.  Of course Neruda, but also Ruben Dario, Nicolas Guillen, Borges, Julia de Burgos, Roque Dalton and the list goes on and on.
--And Argentina? 
--I have never visited Argentina but a few of my favorite people are poetas Argentinos, especially los Estebans – Esteban Charpentier and Esteban Moore – and Griselda Garcia, Alicia Partnoy and a few others.  I have come to know a bit about the country from knowing these talented writers.  It has been a great pleasure to have been interviewed by Esteban C. on his great radio show, Denserio, and a bunch of my poems have been translated into Spanish by Esteban M. and Alicia.  I am so grateful to all of them. 
 --Although "Americans" are very well educated and have incredible sources of information at their disposal they seem to have quite distorted views concerning what the rest of the world is like...and the role of what ex-president Eisenhower called the "military-industrial" complex...
--Many Americans, or more precisely, US citizens are incredibly misinformed and uninformed on a variety of important issues.  Many of my fellow citizens do not understand their own history and reality let alone those of other countries.  This dangerous and deep ignorance has facilitated the sense of what is called “American exceptionalism”, which is the delusion that everything about America (US) is best.  This is clearly not the case and is especially true in the realm of foreign policy.  I think the disastrous consequences of the Iraq War, so obvious to many sentient people all over the world, is not understood by too many people in the US.  I must hasten to add that there are many people in this country who are aware of these problems but they do not have enough power and influence to change things yet.  One can hope…
--The political "machine" has a view of reality which has little to do with that of the poet. Do you agree that it would be a good idea to stimulate the right side of the brain....!!!???
--I like the concept but I can guarantee you if they legalized placing electrodes on the heads of politicians it would end in mass murder. 
 
Contacts:   ricardokearns@gmail.com 
.         --Since 2006 Kearns has written about indigenous Latin American issues for “Indian Country Today” (www.indiancountry.com) the nation’s largest Native American news publication, with special focus on stories from Ecuador, Columbia, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Guatemala, Paraguay and Puerto Rico among others.
--Many of his articles dealing with the indigenous heritage of Puerto Rico are listed in a collection on the Caribbean Amerindian Centrelink: www.centrelink.org.  The CAC is a scholarly project organized and managed by Anthropologist Dr. Maximilian Forte.
--Three of his poems, “Aurelio’s Vengeance, Puerto Rico, 1901“, “Pasteles” and “The Body of My Isla” are included in the poetry section of http://www.virtualboricua.org (since 2005).
Rick Kearns, aka Rick Kearns-Morales:
His poems have appeared in the following anthologies: BULLYING Replies, Rebuttals, Confessions and Catharsis (Skyhorse Publishing, NY 2012); I Was Indian (before being Indian was cool) (Foothills Publishing, NY 2009);  El Coro/A Chorus of Latino and Latina Poetry (Univ. of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, 1997); In Defense of Mumia (Writers & Readers Press, Harlem, NY, 1996); and ALOUD; Voices from the Nuyorican Cafe (Henry Holt & Co., NY, 1994. Winner of the American Book Award.)  His work has appeared in literary reviews such as: The Massachusetts Review, Letras Salvajes (literary review from Puerto Rico), Letras (lit review of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College, NY), Conversation Quarterly (UK), Painted Bride Quarterly, Chicago Review, Revival Literary Review (Ireland), ONTHEBUS, Poetry Motel, The Blue Guitar,  Drum Voices Revue (So. Illinois University Edwardsville), The Patterson Review, HEART Quarterly, Big Hammer, Palabra: A Journal of Chicano and Literary Art, Yellow Medicine Review, Fledgling Rag and others.
Kearns has given readings of his own poetry as the featured reader in Harrisburg, Lancaster, York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York City, Baltimore, Camden (NJ) and other places since 1988, including colleges and universities such as Penn State University, Swarthmore College, Harrisburg Area Community College, and Rutgers University.   Much of his work deals with his Puerto Rican heritage and identity, including his Taino background.  He has performed his work with musical accompaniment on various occasions, including sessions with: tabla; flamenco guitar; Latin percussion-congas, timbales, etc.; jazz saxophone; upright bass; jazz quartet of trumpet & congas, upright bass, guitar, sax & clarinet - the Con Alma Quartet since 2010.
Rick Kearns and the Con Alma Quartet features the blending of Kearns’ poetry with established jazz tunes that typically include improvised interactions between the poet and the musicians.  Since 2010 the group has performed at a variety of venues including: the Harrisburg Riverboat; the Central Pa Friends of Jazz Jazz Picnic; the Ware Center for the Arts, Lancaster, Pa; Open Stage Theater, Harrisburg, Pa; the Wildwood Writer’s Festival, Harrisburg Area Community College; the Culture & Main TV show, WRCT, York, Pa; and the Yocum Institute for Arts Education, Wyomissing, Pa. 
Rick Kearns and the Con Alma Quartet released a CD of their collaborations in December of 2013. 
Recordings of Kearns reading his poems with the Con Alma Quarter can be heard at: https://soundcloud.com/rickkearnsconalma.  He can be heard reading solo at:
https://soundcloud.com/teodoro-maxwell.

The Blankets Whispered, a verse

The Blankets Whispered, a verse

The blankets whispered touched and free

   Lovers hands travelling rivers, mountains, centuries

  Rested, and roved, and sought and caressed

          While the sun played drunkenly on the edges of the moon.

Their words resounded on the starched sheets as beckoning swallows

     And the world went its way, and conventions went their way and

  Silence pervaded the sheets where the lover’s moist palms clasped and moved and spoke of joy.    

“Love is a rare flower blossoming on the breath of a shared moment,” she whispered.

“Love is soft unconditioned touching, “she replied.

And the blankets whispered touched and free

And the lovers slept embraced, and free

And their rhythmic breath intonated a duet

And their hands caressed rivers, mountains, centuries

And in their sleep they painted rainbows on their hips.

 

Show and Poetry reading with dramatization of "The Raven"

Show and Poetry reading with dramatization of "The Raven"

                          The Raven visits the Garth

You are alone, in silence, in darkness, with your fantasies, all is a shambles, and sadness sees no light. A verse enters your memory, images flitter in the dim reflected light of the fireplace. Edgar is there slumped over and mumbling about a strange visitor, an illusion from the past whispers in your ear: “It’s the Raven, it has returned! Wake up! Oh, is it you my love, Lenore is it you?”

Night of poetry reading and dramatization of “The Raven.” Come read your favorite poem, listen to others read theirs, then grab your seat for Alfred Hopkins’ dramatization of Poe’s memorable verse.  

April 18th 6:30 in the evening at The Garth, 22 South 2nd Street, Columbia, Pennsylvania. Booking: 7176840651. Donation: $7.00.

  • Bring your own matchless wine or, if you dare, try The Raven’s brew.  Uncorking and glasses available.

Trabajos de James Fuhrman

Trabajos de James Fuhrman

Trabajos de James Fuhrman

Trabajos de James Fuhrman

Artist James Fuhrman of Glenmoore, Pennsylvania

Artist James Fuhrman of Glenmoore, Pennsylvania

James Fuhrman, an enormously creative artist, works with a materials from nature, rock, wood, water and--imbued with Zen philosophy--seeks integration with the elements that embody life.

Winter embraces in its white hot passion

Winter embraces in its white hot passion

The War Machine

     So it’s war again. Boom, boom, bang, bang! Again? Can anyone remember when Washington wasn’t in war? Well, there might have been a couple of years, true, but again and again, sometimes with Congress’s “authorization,” sometimes without it: just to begin somewhere, the war against the indigenous population in the United States, the war with Mexico, the war with Spain for Cuba and the Philippines, the buccaneering in Central America, the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the Cold War (by the way, has that ended?), the Vietnam War, the tinkering with rightwing military coups in Latin America and the ongoing “war” against Islamic extremists for which Obama wants the approval of Congress.

      These wars, usually defended officially as struggles in defense of lofty ideals such as “democracy” or “freedom,” have usually been strongly backed by the mass media while Hollywood has churned out movies glorifying them and politicians and even persons in high academic position have attempted to soothe the irritation of critics by claiming that the U.S. represents an “exception” among the world’s nations.

      War would appear to be the inevitable price of becoming or maintaining the nation as an "empire" or as the world's most powerful force. However, that brings about an essential question: who pays the bill?

 

Tim Lehman on Chestnut street house concerts in Lancaster

 “House concerts are, by their very structure, listening rooms,” says Tim Lehman of Chestnut House Concerts in Lancaster. “Artists love and appreciate this. Audiences are attentive. They listen. They respect the artists.” Tim, who loves and plays the violin but is not a professional musician, prepares each event with as much attention to details as a chef. In fact, his house concerts feature food and drink which the spectators bring. That provides a wonderful moment for people to sample exquisite dishes and greet each other.

“Audiences are just feet...no....inches away from the performers. There is a chemistry in all this. And it works so very well. During intermission and following the concert, guests are free to visit with our performers at will. But Karen and I especially love the opportunity to prepare dinner and breakfast for our guest musicians who stay overnight in our home. And so many of our musicians have stayed in contact with us...even to the point of staying overnight with us on other occasions when passing through the region.”

Tim actually spent his childhood growing up on a dairy farm close to the Canadian border in northern New York State, then at age nineteen moved to Portland, Oregon. There he perused his outdoor interests in marathons, ulta-marathons, bicycling, Expedition Sea kayaking, and worked at a physical therapy clinic. However, fate and love sent him to Lancaster, Pennsylvania in 2011.

How did you get into organizing house concerts?

 I hosted my very first house concert in the early 1990's while still residing in Portland. I once engaged in a conversation with a former professional client who happened to be a Celtic musician. I was expressing my reluctance to subject myself to the pervasive smoking that used to be so prevalent in Celtic pubs. Her response, “But, Tim, I do house concerts!” My question? “What's a house concert?” Her answer, “You invite friends. I come to your house, I play music. You pay me.” And so a few weeks later my home filled with 60 guests to watch Nancy Conescu and Randal Bays play through an evening of original and of traditional Celtic tunes. My memory is of a particular moment when, during the middle of a very traditional tune, my Old English Sheepdog, Kessie, crept forward to touch Randal's fiddle bow. Without hesitation, Randal slipped ever so easily into the seasonal favorite, “How Much Is That Doggy in the Window?”

In 2012 Karen, his bride to be, went searching for a house suitable for concerts. “And thus was born...our Chestnut House Concerts series.”

Tim loves to go to symphonies, chamber music events, rock, folk and bluegrass events, although it was not until he turned 62 that he picked up an instrument or took a music class.

What instrument inspired your interest?

I can never explain what possessed an aged-challenged me to choose one of the more formidable of stringed instruments, the violin. Nevertheless, I found a very patient teacher and made some progress. I do not feel even remotely accomplished on my violin. My wife, Karen, is on the other hand a musician and she plays the flute, keyboard, and mandolin. There's no small amount of irony in the fact that both Karen and I admit to selecting the cello as our favorite instrument to listen to.”

Could you tell us about your Chestnut street concerts?

Our Chestnut House Concerts musicians come from varying genres and our most recent performers, Harpeth Rising, describe their music best...as genre-bending. For the most part, our performances are fully acoustic. Because of this and due to limited space one will not see a full drum kit or a baby grand piano on our stage. Performances have included bluegrass, Americana, world,string band, Celtic, and folk variations. Performers have arrived from all over the USA, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, New Zealand, and Lancaster.

Have the concerts always been accompanied by potlucks?

 Both in Portland and now here in Lancaster the concerts have been preceded by a potluck event. Certainly participation in the potluck is not required of guests but experience suggests that this part of the evening is enjoyed very much. In addition the early arrivals for the potluck have the opportunity to seek out the best seats.

What is your next concert?

 The next concert, number 29, will be with Low Lily on February 26th. By having guests RSVP, the contact information does allow connecting should a cancellation be of concern. So far we've encountered no blizzards. Many guests walk to the concerts so maybe a blizzard shouldn't even be a concern. Since most performances are acoustic, an electrical failure isn't necessarily a deal breaker. Candles might even add to the atmosphere. Without naming names, I must suggest that there have been occasions when performers have cut it a bit too close and have arrived at the front door even as guests are arriving through the side door!

Do you have spectators who come back for more?

Recent media attention has considerably bolstered the attendance at Chestnut House Concerts but we will never neglect those who have attended so many performances from the very beginning of the series in October 2012. Although initially setting a limit of one concert per month, there have been and will continue to be those occasions where we can not say no to a performer passing through the region. There are multiple requests coming in weekly and it is so difficult to turn some away. Our schedule is constantly in flux. 

 

Contact websitehttp://chestnuthouseconcerts.com or facebook under the same name.

Wine in the glass

Wine in the glass

The wine goes into the glass,

Fine gift of the grapes,

Settled there in the good earth.

Refreshed by the sky's kisses.

 

The warm liquid brings sunlight

Happiness, love, a feeling of unity,

While the clouds reflect the smile

Of the sun hidden behind its swirls.

La luna

La luna

Ella te espera