free blog subject 1

Hemingway in Cuba

Hemminway himself:

Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American author and journalist. Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954. He published seven novels, six short story collections, and two non-fiction works. After his death another three novels, four collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works were published. Many of these are considered classics of the American literature.

Hemingway was raised in Oak Park, Illinois. In 1918, he was seriously wounded in the World War I in Italy and returned home. Based on his war experiences he wrote his novel A Farewell to Arms. In 1921 he married Hadley Richardson, the first of his four wives. The couple moved to Paris, where he worked as a foreign correspondent. The Sun Also Rises, Hemingway's first novel, was published in 1926.

After his divorce from Hadley Richardson in 1927, Hemingway married Pauline Pfeiffer. They divorced after he returned from the Spanish Civil War where he had been a journalist. Then he wrote 'For Whom the Bell Tolls'. Martha Gellhorn became his third wife in 1940. They separated when he met Mary Welsh in London during World War II. He was experienced the Normandy Landings and the liberation of Paris.

Hemingway had permanent residences in Key West, Florida (1930s), and Cuba (1940s and 1950s). But shortly after the publication of The Old Man and the Sea in 1952 (in Cuba), Hemingway went on safari to Africa, where he was almost killed in a plane crash. In 1959 he bought a house in Ketchum, Idaho, where he committed suicide in the summer of 1961.

Havana:

Havana is the capital city and province of Cuba. The city has 2.1 million inhabitants which makes it the biggest city of Cuba and the third largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean region. Havana consists of three cities in one: Old Havana, Vedado, and the newer suburbans. The city attracts over a million tourists annually and the historic centre was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1982.

Havana was founded by the Spanish in the 16th century and due to its strategic location it became the central stopping point for the Spanish treasure ships. King Philip II of Spain gave Havana the title of City in 1592. Directly afterwards walls as well as forts were built. 

Havana is famous for its old balconies which, every now and then, crumble down. Quite infamous are the hustlers who are really nice and take you out to a restaurant, have the most expensive food and then make you pay. 

I enjoyed being in Havana, because it has such a nice, relaxed and historical atmosphere. The thing I enjoyed the most was walking alongside the Malecon. Many people were sitting there, talking, making music, having fun, etc. I especially liked going for a stroll at sunset.

Hemingway in 'La Habana':

Hemingway first visited Cuba in 1928, while traveling to Spain. Hemingway next visited Cuba in the summer of 1932 with two friends Joe Russell and Joe Lowe. They went to fish during annual Marlin run. A year later, in 1933, Ernest Hemingway was fishing with a friend he had hired named Carlos Gutierrez. Carlos Gutierrez taught him how to rig baits at different depths for Marlin fishing, which was a new for Hemingway. The following year he also fished with two Americans who researched the Marlins in North America.

In 1940 Hemingway purchased a home outside Havana. He lived there for the next twenty years. The Hemingways named the site Finca Vigia, or “lookout farm.” 

When not fishing or traveling, Hemingway wrote in his Cuban home. Hemingway continued his war reporting during his time in Cuba. He and Martha traveled to China in 1941 to report on the Second Sino-Japanese war for PM Magazine, he also hunted German U-Boats in the Caribbean from Pilar, his boat. In 1944 Hemingway traveled to Europe to report on World War II. His first stop was in London followed by Paris, and later he traveled with American forces to Germany, before returning home.

Hemingway divorced Martha in 1945, and returned to Cuba in 1946. He married Mary Welsh, and she joined him at the Finca. Hemingway the started working for some time on The Old Man and the Sea. With this successful book Hemingway won a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 as well as the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.

The old man and the sea

The story begins with an old man called Santiago. He is a fisherman who hasn't caught a fish in 84 days and therefore he doesn't have much to eat. The dear friend of the old man is a little boy, Manolin, who enjoys fishing with the old man and often brings him some food. The old man taught him to fish when he was young.

So this old man goes to sleep dreaming of the lions he used to see back in the day in Africa. He wakes before sunrise and does what fishermen do; get in his boat and head out to fish. In contrast with earlier attempts to gather fish the old man hooks a gigantic marlin. Three days he struggles to fight the fish but the old man doesn't surrender to the fish. And finally he kills the marlin.

On the way, he is attacked by sharks, will he be able to save the marlin from the sharks? Will he come back safely to the city? Well, you have to read the story yourself, and it is by the way a very thin book.

For people who dislike reading here is a short animation of The Old man and the sea and the full audio book (in English of course):

The Eruption of the Soufriere Mountains in the Island of St. Vincent

When I was searching for a nice painting by Turner I didn't really get exited to write about one of his paintings. I thought they were nice, but somehow they didn't really get to me. That's when I saw this one. Immediately I knew I would do my blog about this painting : The Eruption of the Soufriere Mountaines in the Island of St. Vincent (30-04-1812).











About Turner:

Joseph Mallord William Turner was born in London, 23th of April. 

His father was a hairdresser and a wig maker, his mother went gradually insane and died in a mental hospital when Turner was very young. Quite uneducated Turner started drawing when he was 13 years old. He was 15 years old when one of his paintings was exhibited at the Royal Academy. By the time he was 18 he had his own studio. Before he was 20 many print sellers were buying his drawings. In 1802 (when he was 27) Turner became a full member of the Royal Academy. Unlike many artists of his era, he was successful throughout his career. 

As he grew older Turner became more and more eccentric. He never married, even though he had a mistress (Sarah Danby) and two daughters. He had no friends (exept for his father, with whom he lived for 30 years) and he never allowed anyone to watch him while he painted. Sometimes none of his acquaintances saw him for months. He still held exhibitions, but he usually refused to sell his paintings. When his father died in 1829, Turner often suffered from depressions.

In 1850 he exhibited for the last time. One day Turner disappeared from his house. His housekeeper found him after searching for many months. He had been ill for a long time and died the following day (Dec. 19 1851).Turner left a large fortune to support what he called "decaying artists." Twenty years after his death, his paintings were given to the British Museum. These paintings are currently the Tate Gallery in London.

Late work

Early work

His later works are more vague and they are clearly in the style of impressionism. Impressionism (19th century) was a renewing and revolutionary way of painting in contrast with the academic classicism. 

                                              

Turner is known as an established landscape and marine painter and he is famous for his revolutionary use of light and colour to create extreme natural landscapes.

Mountains in the Island of St. Vincent

2011, There were twenty major volcanic eruption by circa 64 active volcanoes. Particularly the Caribbean region has always suffered from volcanic eruptions. The volcanoes lie to the east and thankfully most volcanoes are dormant.

In the past there have been some big eruptions, especially La Soufriere, which stands in the relatively underpopulated and wild northern end, has been the most turbulent. For instance in 1902  in St Vincent, La Soufriere began a ten-month period of eruptions that killed nearly 1,600 people and more recently, since 1995, Montserrat’s Soufriere Hills volcano has buried the town of Plymouth in 12 metres of ash. In 1971 and 1979 La Soufriere erupted again.

It had also caused extensive damage and loss of life in 1718 and then again nearly a century later in April 1812. It is remembered because it has been a hot topic in the world of art. The eruption came after a long geological instability. Then, on April 27, Soufriere began to explosively erupt. We now think that about 80 people died and they were mostly slaves working on the sugar plantations planted in the fertile soil. Of course the plantations were also destroyed.

But in Britain the people were more occupied with Napoleon and a threatening war with the United States. However, Joseph Mallord William Turner, by now 37 years old was fascinated by the power of volcanoes. 

The work itself:

In April 1815 Turner unveiled his work at the Royal Academy: The Eruption of the Souffrier Mountains, in the Island of St Vincent, at Midnight, on the 30th of April,1812. Because it is midnight the edges of the painting are dark and in the middle the heath of the eruption is painted in white and yellow. The dark edges make the eruption stand out even more. And then there are some rocks flying trough the air. The painting is so realistic, it's almost as if you are present at the drama. 

The painting owes its inspiration to Keane; he owned a plantation in St. Vincent. He kept a journal, and made a sketch of the eruption, which helped Turner’s to create his own painting. We don't know where the sketch of Keane is or what it looked like. 

My opinion:

When I first saw the painting I thought: 'Just what is that?' It took me some time to realize it was a volcanic eruption and I love this painting. It is dramatic, yet not too much, it is beautiful yet it is dangerous. I think it is really admirable how he painted the light. The sky is dark, but because of the eruption you can see the clouds of ash coming out of the mountain. And the lava seems to come right at you. Another thing I find really beautiful is the light which is reflected in the water.

I really like this painting and I hope you, my readers, do too!

free blog subject 2

Bagan

An amazing city

Why? What? Where?

In 2011 I travelled to Myanmar and when I visited Bagan I was astonished! Bagan is located at the Irrawaddy River almost in the middle of Birma. By the way there is a small village called Old-Bagan and a few kilometres to the south there is a small village New-Bagan because in 1988 the village was forcibly relocated. The Bagan I’m blogging about is the Bagan Archeological Zone (former the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan).

In Bagan you find the largest amount of Buddhistic temples, pagodas, stupas and ruins in the world, many dating from the 11th until 13th century. All the buildings and ruins are considered sacred and Bagan is very significant for Buddhism as well as Birma itself.

UNESCO didn’t include Bagan on its World Heritage Site because they say some temples were rebuilt in an un-historic way. But when most of the site was damaged due to the earthquake in 1975 they helped with the restoration of mural paintings and some of the stupas.

Pagan

Bagan was founded in the mid 9th century. King Anawratha united Birma and thereby began the Pagan Empire with Pagan (now: Bagan) as capital. In the previous dynasty (Pyu era) there had already been Theravada Buddhism, but they coexisted with other religions. In the new dynasty Buddhism became the most important religion.

The majority of the buildings were built in the 11th to 13th century when the successors of the king tried to surpass each other by building more and more temples, monasteries, etc. Archaeologists think that 13,000 temples, stupas and monasteries once stood on this 42 sq km area. The stupas itself contain ancient architecture, mural paintings, rare frescoes and stone inscriptions. A lot of them used to be covered in gold like the current stupas.

Nats (nature spirits) can still be found in Burma

Bagan's importance ended in 1287 when the Kingdom was invaded by the Mongols, but by then the city had already deteriated. Only around 2,200 stupas have remained, in various states. Some of the larger stupas are well maintained, whereas others have crumbled down and are overgrown by grass.

When Marco Polo came upon Bagan he described it as: "gilded city alive with tinkling bells and the swishing sounds of monks' robes".

Recommended temples:

N.B. 'Swe' means gold in Birmese, so every temple that contains this syllable is either gold or has been gold e.g. Swezigon Pagoda, Swesandaw Pagoda

Ananda Temple (1105)- Bagan's holiest temple, built by the third king, Kyan-zit-tha in 1091. Ananda means "boundless wisdom". The temple contains four Buddhas facing the wind directions, which represent the four Buddhas who have gained Nirvana. (According to the Birmese Buddhism: after the fifth Buddha reaches Nirvana the world will end.)

Bapaya Pagoda (c. 850)-This lone golden stupa is part of  a unique temple complex by the river. This is the only stupa with such a vertical form, others are more round.

Dhammayangyi Temple (1167-1170)- Another temple complex, it was built by a crazyking; King Narathu, to atone for his sins (killing his father, brother, and wife). While building this temple he executed a bricklayer because the gaps between de stones were too wide. The temple is unfinished because the people abandoned their work after the king himself was murdered. For this reason rumors are spread about ghosts haunting the temple.

Gawdawpalin Temple, the temple in front, (1211-1235)- This is a combination of Burmese and Indian styles, this temple has a beautiful courtyard with a stupa and interesting bell hangers. 


Thatbyinnyu temple, white,  (c. 1150)- the tallest temple in Bagan (66 metres).

Thatabha Gate (c. 1020)- the only remaining part of the old walls.

Sulamani Temple (1183)-The temple is one of the most frequently visited temples in Bagan. It was built in 1183 by King Narapati sithu, and it shows many influences and similarities to other temples in Bagan.








Sulamani Temple was restored after the 1975 earthquake, and is rebuilt with brick and stone. Fortunately the frescoes in the interior of the temple are still undamaged. It was rebuilt in 1994.

Payathonzu Temple (c. 1200)- Literally: "Temple of Three Buddhas". It is unique because the temple actually consists of three temples connected through narrow passages. The interior of the temple contains frescoes. However, the temple was not completed. The temple is recently renovated, and there are three stupas added on top of the temple, which are slightly lighter in colour.

Htilominlo Temple (1218)-built during the reign of King Htilominlo. The temple is three floors tall, with a height of 46 metres, and built with red brick. It is also known for its stucco. On the first floor of the temple, there are four Buddhas that face each wind direction. The temple was damaged in the 1975 earthquake and again repaired.

Travelers advise:


When visiting Bagan remember to respect Buddha:

To get to Bagan you can go by plane, by bus, by boat or by train. In the rain season (which is around the summer holiday) I wouldn't advise to go by bus though. The boat takes you in 9 to 17 hours from Mandalay to Bagan.

In Bagan there are also different travelling options. There are mostly tiny dirt roads in this area, so renting a car is not the best option to explore the temples. You can also rent a horse. When I was in Bagan we rented bicycles; the ideal option. I recommend getting up early because in the morning the colour of the temples seems to be very different than in the afternoon (because the sun heats up the bricks they become red in the afternoon). If you are lucky and there is wind, then you see the mysterious atmosphere in the morning (upper panorama picture).

A nice option is travelling with a hot air balloon. The only drawback is that they don't operate in the summer because of the raining season.

If you are not that adventurous but you are still interested in the atmosphere of the city (and you're Dutch), I recommend the book 'Nachttrein naar Mandalay' by Cees Nooteboom.

review of a performance

Gion corner

2010- Gion corner, Kyoto, Japan

Before leaving Japan we decided to attend a special performance in Kyoto. At night we went into an old theatre in the Gion area to attend a special night with some different kinds of Japanese performances. Kyoto is known for its traditional buildings, such as shrines (temples),  and the geishas. On the other hand there is a very modern train station/shopping mall.

Well, what was so special about this show?

Tea ceremony:

The show started with an introduction of the Japanese tea ceremony. The tea ceremony history goes back more than 1000 years. The first tea leaves were brought back from China by Japanese priests and only used (at temples) for religious purposes.

The Japanese tea ceremony is called Chanoyu, Sado or simply Ocha in Japanese and it means the Way of Tea. It is a traditional ritual of preparing and serving Japanese green tea, called Matcha, together with traditional Japanese sweets because of the bitter taste of the tea. The whole process is not about drinking tea, but is about patience and relaxing your spirit. A real, formal tea ceremony can last up to four hours. But in the present-day Japanese gardens you also find people having a small informal tea ceremony-like gathering.

The tea ceremony is very complicated and to master all the techniques it can take 10 years of practicing. Therefore I won’t explain these steps in this blog. If you want to know the exact steps of the ceremony, please visit this site:

http://japanese-tea-ceremony.net/preparation/steps_furo.html

Two people were picked out of the audience to participate in the ceremony during the whole show. To be honest I was very glad it wasn't me because now I could enjoy the other performances more. The explanation of the tea ceremony wasn't the most interesting act of the night.






Koto:

After the introduction two women played the Koto, the national instrument. Throughout Asia there are some related instruments (the Chinese zheng).  Koto are about 1,80 metres long and made from kiri (wood). They have 13 strings that are strung over 13 movable bridges of the instrument. The players sit on the ground with their Koto in front of them and they play it by moving these bridges before playing, and by using three finger (thumb, index finger, and middle finger) to pluck the strings.

I enjoyed listening to the songs. It's hard for me to explain why I liked it, I thought it sounded unique and typical Asian. The music they play is very calming. I guess I also admired the performers because it seems like a really difficult instrument to play.

Maiko dance:

A maiko is an apprentice geisha which can be distinguished from a real geisha by their flowery hair ornaments and often by their high sandals. If the maiko perform well in the Gion Corner they often reach the stage of a geisha earlier. Maiko's and geisha's entertain by singing, dancing and playing traditional Japanese instruments they are often hired for business meetings to make sure the night proceeds well and to prevent awkward silences or a bad atmosphere. 

The maikos (as well as the geishas) move really slow while dancing I think that’s because of the weight of the clothes and because they can coordinate their movements better when they dance slowly. But even thought they dance a bit slow and stiff, they still look really graceful. I actually found the dance quite beautiful.

Note the difference between a maiko (left) and a geisha (right)

Ikebana:

Ikebana is the Japanese word for the art flower arrangement. The performer has a few branches and flowers in front of him and some tools and out of these objects, they make a beautiful creation. Geisha's used to be the only ones doing ikebana, but nowadays the owners of the geisha houses, the geisha make-up artist or even professional ikebana artists arrange the flowers whereas there aren’t many geisha’s who perform ikebana anymore.

When the performer came on the stage and when I saw her branches (just 3) and tools (a pincher and a small cutter)I was extremely surprised that she needed so little. Then she started bending and arranging the branches, the audience went silent, and in just five minutes or so she was finished, leaving behind a beautiful piece of art. She didn’t use flowers, she only used three branches, but it looked simple, beautiful and most importantly; complete. It felt like watching a magic show.

Noh theatre

Noh is a major form of classical Japanese theatre that has been performed since the 14th century. There are four instruments used: flute, hip-drum, shoulder-drum and the stick-drum. Many characters are masked and  men play female roles. Monsters and demons are also a populair topic. Traditionally, a Noh performance lasted all day and consisted of five Noh plays and in between the shorter, humorous kyōgen pieces. (Nowadays Noh performances often consist of two Noh plays with one kyōgen play in between.) The field of Noh performance is divided into 9 sections (3 by 3), and every Noh play starts on the first section and ends on the ninth. Futhermore the place where the actor stands can indicate their character and their mood.

The performances all wear white socks at the beginning of the show and those ought to be as white at the end of the performance as at the beginning.

In the Gion Corner we saw a kyōgen, the funny short part in between the serious play. The performance was completely in Japanese, but I still managed to understand the story because the actors were really good. I really enjoyed it. The story was all about two stupid boys who accidently crushed the vegetables of a farmer. The farmer only saw one boy crushing his vegetables so he got punished, but then the second became a bit reckless and made fun of the first. So the farmer bound them together and they had to cooperate to escape which didn't go all that smoothly in the beginning but at the end they managed to escape.

At last there was a dragon dance. But I didn’t find the dragon dance really special or typically Japanese. In China, for instance, dragon dances are more interesting because the costumes are more decorated and longer.

The Japanese arts are really traditional which I find really nice because you can see the exact same arts on the famous Japanese prints in earlier times, but on the other side sometimes it came across as a little bit stiff and slow as they are bound to many rules and not flexible.

Overall I had a great night! If, perhaps, you decide to go visit Kyoto one day I surely recommend this show!