Less Touristy Things Part 2

Continued from Part 1:

4)  Sastreria Cornejo . . . 
is a very, very famous costume shop.  Visitors might only be welcome by appointment.  That would be really sad, because I have no actual interest in renting or buying a costume.  I just want to see the reams of costumes that have won academy awards for best costume design in many, many feature films.  I guess I'll find out if there are any free exhibits when I get there - or I could write them!  Hmm

http://www.sastreriacornejo.com/?a=2&aa=1&code=individuals  (English)

5)  Cafe Gijon . . . 
is not avant garde, but it is one of the most famous literary cafes in Madrid.  Ernest Hemmingway had a beer there regularly, not to mention countless other famous authors.  I plan on going, ordering something small, and putting pen to paper.  Beware of the pretty music that will start playing if you click the link below:

http://www.cafegijon.com/  (Spanish)

6)  Poetry Slam Madrid . . . 
Slam poetry, also known as spoken word poetry, is a magical thing.  When it works, the poet can completely transport the audience to another place and time, using his/her voice and body language as the mode of transportation.  As you can imagine, though, spoken word sounds completely different in another language.  You can really hear the differences in the rhythms and emotional output of English and Spanish if you listen to slam poetry in both languages.  I can't wait to go to a live show in Madrid!

http://poetryslammadrid.wordpress.com/  (Spanish)

These are some things I'm interested in now, but I'm sure my list will change when I get there.
Ta-ta for now!
 

A Little Context

     One person will usually experience the same event in a somewhat different way from the person standing next to him.  For instance, I find New York City to be a very friendly place.  Whenever I stop to ask someone for directions (which I do frequently), most people are more than willing to pause and point me in the right direction.  My things have thus far managed to stay on my person or in my bag, where they belong, during my city exploits.  I have had great conversations with people all over the city, from all walks of life.  Yet, other people I know have told me that they find New York City to be quite an unwelcoming place.  And this is when I marvel at the variety of human experience.
     What will the culture of Madrid be like?  Will I like it, or will I prefer Barcelona, like my mum?  I have no idea.  That's part of what makes this trip so exciting.  I mean, sure, I've done and am continuing to do my research, but I can't tell in advance whether or not I will like Madrid.  That's one of those things you just can't figure out through technology.  I have the opportunity to form my own impression, to create an entirely new memory sphere in a place on this Earth that my physical body has not yet inhabited.  It's rather remarkable, if you think about it.  These are just some of my thoughts as I prepare to live in a new place for 2 whole months.  Hasta mañana.

Less Touristy Things To Do in Madrid, According to Other People

Aside from the Biblioteca Nacional, Palacio Real, and Reina Sofia, there are certain unusual sites / events that I am excited to see this summer:

1)  Luzinterruptus . . .
is a group of urban artists based in Madrid that uses light to create art on the dark city streets.  Their website has some really beautiful drawings of proposed exhibits, but I am very curious to see what their installations look like in real life.  If I showed up while they were creating the art, I wonder if they would let me help.  =D

http://www.luzinterruptus.com/ 

2)  Matadero Madrid . . . 
used to be a slaughterhouse, but now it's apparently a contemporary arts center.  I can't really understand their website, but I can't wait to check it out!

http://www.mataderomadrid.org/  (Spanish - the English page doesn't really work)

3)  Guitarrería F Manzanero . . .
is a guitar workshop and store that specializes in crafting traditional Spanish guitars.  According to Time Out Madrid, this store has a unique collection of string instruments that visitors can check out for free!  I really enjoy visiting artists' workshops.  I find that artists are usually happy when someone shows a genuine interest in what they do, and then you get to ask questions and hear stories that you won't hear anywhere else.  It's sort of like taking part in oral history, and I cherish those opportunities.

http://www.timeout.com/madrid/madrid/venue/1%3A13535/guitarrer-iacute-a-f-manzanero
http://www.guitarrasmanzanero.com/ (choose English or Spanish)

See "Less Touristy Things Part 2" tomorrow for more!

Places to Go, People to See

I've been struggling for a couple of hours already trying to create order out of the blog posts I plan to write.  I don't want to struggle anymore.  I'm just going to write down a couple of places that I've read about, and then I'll tell you why I want to visit them.  If there's repetition in some later posts about particular literary sites, then so be it.

1)  La Biblioteca Nacional / The National Library:
If a pilgrimage is a religious journey, then I should begin my literary pilgrimage with a visit to the equivalence of a house of worship - the National Library!  Besides for being a giant library (insert sigh of happiness here), the Biblioteca Nacional has a monument to Cervantes out front, a free museum, a lit café, and plenty of interesting events all year round!  Did I mention I'm a bit of an art museum junky? 

http://www.bne.es/es/Inicio/ (in Spanish)
http://www.bne.es/en/Inicio/index.html (in English . . . sort of)

2)  El Palacio Real / The Royal Palace:
To me, as an American, the concept of a royal palace is the stuff of fairy tales.  I have never had a king or queen, nor can I imagine what it would be like to be a loyal subject of a single individual.  Perhaps this is why I am really looking forward to visiting the Palacio Real.  I guess it increases the perceived foreignness of Madrileno culture, which makes me feel adventurous for venturing out to Spain.  Also, I've read that it has absolutely breath-taking architecture and art.  I'm certainly expecting a feast for the eyes.

http://www.patrimonionacional.es/Home/Palacios-Reales/Palacio-Real-de-Madrid.aspx  (in Spanish - English version doesn't work)

3)  El Museo Reina Sofia / The Reina (Queen) Sofia Museum:
One of the most famous art museums in the world, the Reina Sofia has so much going on.  I'm not even going to try and describe its events calendar, exhibits, or anything.  It's just too mind-blowing.  Here' the website:

http://www.museoreinasofia.es/index.html  (in Spanish) http://www.museoreinasofia.es/index_en.html  (in English)

Next time, I am going to post about some less typical places I plan to visit while in Spain.  I'll give you a hint: public performing arts in alternative spaces =D . . . my favorite.

Connotations of "Pilgrimage"

One of my favorite things to do is to browse old bookstores.  Maybe it's a side effect of the avid reader gene ("Words!  Must read them!"), or the exhilaration of searching for hidden treasure in the company of others.  Maybe it's because in bookstores, the value of books increases as they yellow with age, and I wish society were more like that.  Whatever the reason, there's just something about the smell of paper and ink, in all its metamorphoses, that makes me feel both completely relaxed, yet awestruck at the same time.  The mixture of those two feelings is my favorite kind of holiness.  Hence, I believe the name "Literary Pilgrimage" is completely appropriate.  I will soon be posting a little itinerary of some of the places I hope to visit.  Hasta luego!

Cervantes Post I

I have been so excited by this literary pilgrimage idea that I am sort of ignoring a psychology paper I'm supposed to be writing.  And the paper's due tomorrow . . . hehehe.  Regardless, here's a little bit of the preliminary research I've done so far.

The most famous person associated with Madrid on europecities.com (1) is Miguel de Cervantes (1547-1616), the writer of the famous Spanish novel, "El ingenioso hidalgo don Quijote de la Mancha (2)."  At first I was like, "Are you sure he's from Madrid," because that would be too good to be true.  I am a HUGE fan of the music from the musical, "Man of La Mancha," which is the Broadway adaptation of Don Quijote.  And no, I've never read any version of Don Quijote in English or in Spanish, but this is what my literary pilgrimage is about, isn't it?  Finding new favorite authors?  Expanding the repertoire of literature I'm familiar with?  Going out in the field?

Anyway, a little research soon revealed that although Cervantes was born in Alcalá de Henares*, he moved to Madrid permanently and lived out the last ten years of his life there (3).  To avoid boring you with extraneous details, I will summarize his crazy escapades in bullet points:

• studied at Estudio de la villa de Madrid in 1568 (Calle de la villa has a plaque commemorating said Estudio - picture time, anyone? ;D )
• was a steward of Cardinal Guilio Acquaviva in Rome
• joined the Spanish army stationed in Italy to fight off Turkish-Ottoman Empire - much glory acquired 
• was kidnapped by pirates and held in North Africa for ransom for 5 YEARS
• wrote poems, stories, and novels most of his life, but did not become known as a literary figure until publication of Don Quijote (1605)
• spoiler alert: apparently, Don Quijote Part II (1615) was better than Part I
 

 I am going to end this post here, since I don't want to make this post too ridiculously long.

I know, I know . . . it already is.  To be continued tomorrow. 

* Source 3 below said that Alcalá de Henares was in Toledo, but the city is currently considered within the province of Madrid according to Google.  Not quite sure if that's because it was once considered part of Toledo and the borders have changed since then, or if the source meant that Cervantes wasn't born in the actual city of Madrid . . . to be determined.

1 - http://www.europe-cities.com/en/609/spain/madrid/history/famous-people/
2 - "Miguel De Cervantes (saavedra)." Gale Online Encyclopedia. Detroit: Gale, 2013. Literature Resource Center. Web. 21 Apr. 2013.
3 - "Miguel De Cervantes - Biography & Works." Literaturecollection.com. Art Branch Inc., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. 

Plans of a Pilgrimage

Wow!  It's been about 3/4 of a year since I last posted on this blog, and that post was supposed to be followed by many other new posts.  Alas . . . it did not happen.  Thanks to a vlog called "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries" and a little thinking, I realized why my previous strategy for blogging has been unsuccessful.  People don't just post about random stuff that happens to them.  Some people do, but not me.  I am a goal-oriented person.  Therefore, if I'm going to have a blog, it needs to work towards a goal!  So here it is - new idea time!  Insert drum roll here.

The new theme of this blog is going to be: "Literary Pilgrimage."  Basically, I would like to go on a literary pilgrimage road-trip across the world.  Any subsequent posts will be either:
1)  Reviews of books I read on my quest to find new favorite authors,
2)  Information / resources I find about the literary history of the places I plan to visit,
3)  Posts about the places I go, once I actually get out there in the field.

Why am I doing this?  Well . . . I love books.  I love reading books, I love reading about the people who wrote books and the places that inspired them to write, so I can't imagine a road-trip more amazing than visiting the homes / writing spots / favorite places of my favorite authors. 

As it happens, I will be going to Spain this summer, where the literary history is richer than a cup of Willy Wonka's hot chocolate.  This is the place where I will begin my pilgrimage.  Look out world, because destination numero uno is: Madrid, Spain.