Tuesday, June 25, 2013

A la memoria Alberto Rabagliati y los Lecuonan Cuban Boys


Alberto Rabafliati nacio en Milan . En los veinte viajo a Los Angeles , California. En aquellos tiempos era facil poder entrar de extra en los estudios. Su primer papel fue en la pelicula del director  Frank Borzage " Street Angel" en el elenco estelar actuaba la joven Janet Gaynor y el reconocido actor Charles Farrell .El papel que que intrepretaba es el de un agente de la policia.  A principio de los treinta y gracias a su bellisima voz logra acaparar la atencion del compositor cubano Ernesto Lecuona y del pianista Armando Orefiche, juntos comienzan varias giras todas ellas plagadas de grandes exitos. 



In 1927 he moved to Hollywood as the winner of a Rudolph Valentino look-alike contest. He later recalled: "For someone like me, who had seen no more than Lake Como or Monza cathedral so far, finding myself on board a luxury steamer with three cases full of clothes, a few rolls of dollars, gran-duchesses and countesses flirting with me was something extraordinary".[citation needed]
He remained four years in America, but his career as an actor never took off. During his stay he had however the opportunity to get to know new musical genres such as jazzswing,scat singing.
Back in Europe he became a singer. After a brief experience with Pippo Barzizza's orchestra, he joined the Lecuona Cuban Boys, a Cuban band. He performed with his face painted black and made a hit with the song "Maria la O".
While with the Lecuona Cuban Boys he met Giovanni D'Anzi who proposed him an audition with Italian state radio station EIAR. Rabagliati soon became a radio star, and in 1941 had his own radio show. Every Monday night EIAR aired Canta Rabagliati ("Rabagliati sings"), with the singer presenting his most famous songs such as "Ma l'amore no", "Mattinata fiorentina", "Ba-Ba-Baciami Piccina", "Silenzioso slow", "Bambina innamorata".
He was so popular that his name was sung in the lyrics of La famiglia canterinaQuando canta RabagliatiQuando la radio. At a time when anything foreign was banned, the idol Rabagliati was allowed to maintain his American-influenced style. Indeed, the Fascist  government decided to make use of his popularity by choosing his song "Sposi (c'è una casetta piccina)" ("Wed (there's a little home)") as their demographic campaign anthem.

His fame as a singer helped his acting career restart. From 1940 to 1965 he starred in some twenty movies, including The Barefoot ContessaMontecarlo and Il vedovo. In 1966, he starred in The Christmas That Almost Wasn't.
Rabagliati was active also on the stage until the mid-1950s. He performed in musical revues and comedies by Garinei and Giovannini.
His last public appearance was in 1974 as a guest in the TV show Milleluci hosted by Mina and Raffaella Carrà. Soon afterward he died of cerebral thrombosis.
    1966The Birds, the Bees and the Italians
    Commend. Galeazzo Casellato
    1964Biblioteca di Studio Uno: Al Grand Hotel (TV movie)
    Secondo affarista
    1962Jessica
    Pietro Masudino
    1959La cento chilometri
    The Plump Friend of Corsetti
    1957Susanna tutta panna
    Il commendatore Botta
    1956Monte Carlo
    Albert, the Portiere
    1955Quando tramonta il sole
    L'impresario milanese
    1954Scuola elementare
    Adalberto Bonfanti
    1954The Barefoot Contessa
    Proprietor
    1954Crossed Swords
    Gennarelli
    1953The Story of William Tell (short)
    Gabrelle the Glove Maker
    1947Natale al campo 119
    Alberto, il milanese
    1946Partenza ore 7
    Giorgio
    1944In cerca di felicità
    Massimo
    1943La vita è bella
    Il conte Alberto Morandi
    1943Lascia cantare il cuore
    Antonio Gaspari
    1941La scuola dei timidi
    Alberto Morandi
    1941Una famiglia impossibile
    Il cantante della radio
    1930Sei tu l'amore
    Mario
    1928Street Angel
    Policeman

    Thursday, June 13, 2013

    Patria by Ventura Ruiz Aguilera


      I. Patria       Ventura Ruiz Aguilera 
    Queriendo yo un dia
    Saber qué es la Pátria,
    Me dijo un anciano
    Que mucho la amaba:

    «La Patria se siente;
    No tienen palabras
    Que claro la expliquen
    Las lenguas humanas.

    »Allí, donde todas
    Las cosas nos hablan
    Con voz que hasta el fondo
    Penetra del alma;

    »Allí, donde empieza
    La breve jornada
    Que al hombre en el mundo
    Los cielos señalan;

    »Allí, donde el canto
    Materno arrullaba
    La cuna que el Ángel
    Veló de la guarda;

    »Allí, donde en tierra
    Bendita y sagrada
    De abuelos y padres
    Los restos descansan;

    »Allí, donde eleva
    Su techo la casa
    De nuestros mayores...
    Allí está la Pátria.


    II.

    »El valle profundo,
    La ruda montaña
    Que vieron alegre
    Correr nuestra infancia;

    »Las viejas ruïnas
    De tumbas y de aras
    Que mantos hoy visten
    De hiedra y de zarza;

    »El árbol que frutos
    Y sombra nos daba
    Al són armonioso
    Del ave y del aura;

    »Recuerdos, amores,
    Tristeza, esperanzas,
    Que fuentes han sido
    De gozos y lágrimas;

    »La imágen del templo,
    La roca y la playa
    Que ni años ni ausencias
    Del ánimo arrancan;

    »La voz conocida,
    La jóven que pasa,
    La flor que has regado,
    Y el campo que labras;

    »Ya en dulce concierto,
    Ya en notas aisladas,
    Oirás que te dicen:
    Aquí está la Pátria.

    III.


    »El suelo que pisas
    Y ostenta las galas
    Del arte y la industria
    De toda tu raza,

    »No es obra de un dia
    Que el viento quebranta;
    Labor es de siglos
    De penas y hazañas.

    »En él tuvo orígen
    La fe que te inflama;
    En él tus afectos
    Más nobles se arraigan:

    »En él han escrito
    Arados y espadas,
    Pinceles y plumas,
    Buriles y hazañas,

    »Anales sombríos,
    Historias que encantan
    Y en rasgos eternos
    Tu pueblo retratan.

    »Y tanto á su vida
    La tuya se enlaza,
    Cual se une en un árbol
    Al tronco la rama.

    »Por eso presente
    O en zonas lejanas,
    Doquiera contigo
    Va siempre la Pátria.

    IV.


    »No importa que al hombre,
    Su tierra sea ingrata,
    Que el hambre la aflija,
    Que pestes la invadan;

    »Que viles verdugos
    La postren esclava,
    Rompiendo las leyes
    Más justas y santas;

    »Que noches eternas
    Las brumas le traigan,
    Y nunca los astros
    Su luz deseada;

    »Pregunta al proscrito,
    Pregunta al que vaga
    Por ella sin techo,
    Sin paz y sin calma;

    »Pregunta si pueden
    Jamas olvidarla,

    Si en sueño y vigilia
    Por ella no claman!

    »No existe, á sus ojos,
    Más bella morada,
    Ni en campo ni en cielo
    Ninguna le iguala.

    »Quizá unidos todos
    Se digan mañana:
    «Mi Dios es el tuyo,
    Mi Pátria tu Pátria.»
    A mi amigo Jorge Clark 

    Saturday, June 8, 2013

    Happy Birthday Sonia Braga !!


    SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2008

    Manuel Puig and his Kiss of the Spider Woman

    By Alejandra Espasande Bouza


    Hector Babenco's The Kiss of the Spider Woman was recently released in Blue-ray and DVD for all to enjoy, hopefully this release will shed light upon the life of Manuel Puig (1932-1990) author of the novel that inspired the film.

    The film The Kiss of the Spider Woman, based on the novel published by Manuel Puig in 1976, and adapted to the screen in 1985, revolves around the relationship of two prison inmates who share a cell in the sinister humidity of an undisclosed Latin-American country.
    Valentin Arregui Paz, interpreted by the late Puerto Rican actor Raul Julia (1940-1994), is a leftist revolutionary obsessed with justice and the woman he loves. Luis Alberto Molina, played by American actor William Hurt, is a fragile homosexual who has been imprisoned for pederasty, and whose only desire is to reunite with his sick mother.
    In spite of their striking differences, Molina has no problem in asserting his "feminine role" with confidence by considering himself a "normal woman," only capable of loving men. In contrast, Valentin struggles with an ideology that keeps him from accepting his devotion for an upper class woman. With time, Valentin opens up to Molina by allowing him to care for his wounds, and admitting his fear of revolutionary martyrdom by expressing his desire to have a “normal life.”
    During the night, when the lights are turned-off, Molina makes use of his repertoire to recount old film plots. His visual memory, and his attention to detail make his narratives ever more palpable for a sick and bitter Valentin. From a thriller set in a Nazi occupied Germany, to the terror of a Zombie island, or the heat of a tropical night, Molina succeeds in drawing Valentin into his fantasy world. Every film tale, every anecdote, every word, slowly penetrates the remoteness of Valentin, who eventually succumbs to the workings of Molina, the "spider woman."
    In one of the most defining moments, Molina sings a Mario Clavell bolero, titled My Letter, that summons what is going to became the core of the inmates relationship:

    "Querido, vuelvo otra vez a conversar contigo. La noche trae un silencio que me invita a hablarte. Y pienso, si tu también estarás recordando, cariño...los sueños tristes de este amor extraño." Mi carta, Mario Clavel

    "Dear, I come back, yet once again. The night brings an inviting silence for conversation. And I wonder... if you also remember the sad dreams of this strange love."

    Unlike the collaboration of filmmaker Barbet Schroeder and author Fernando Vallejo in the literary adaptation of Our Lady of the Assassins, or the more recent collaboration of director Eloy de la Iglesia and author Eduardo Medicutti in The Bulgarian Lovers, there never existed a collaboration between The Kiss of the Spider Woman's director Hector Babenco and Manuel Puig.
    Though the end result caused major distress upon the author, who never agreed with the changes of screenwriter Leonard Schrader, the film managed to gain an Oscar nomination for best adaptation. Another criticism of Puig fell upon the casting of William Hurt. The author did not agree with the choice, and never approved of the performance, which he considered shallow, but a performance that gained the actor an Oscar. In spite of Puig's disagreement, Hurt delivered a heart-wrenching final scene not to be forgotten in the history of contemporary cinema.

    Excerpt of interview with Manuel Puig.
    Could it be that there was too much of Puig in the character of Molina to let just anyone take a hold of it? Regarding the closeness of an author to a special character, French novelist Andre Guide, pioneer of "homosexual" literature, once expressed "How many buds we bear in us that will never blossom save in our books!" If Manuel Puig's passion for nostalgic boleros and classic cinema was the bud that sprang through Molina's persona, his political stand against dictatorial governments, cause of his exile, was also reflected in the persona of Valentin.
    In an interview with Jorgelina Corbatta, following the 1979 Congress of Hispanic-American Writers in Medellin (Colombia), Puig was asked about the role the reader played in his literary work. His response was "Whenever I write, I'm always thinking of the reader. I write for somebody who has my own limitations. My reader has a certain difficulty with concentrating, which in my case comes from being a film viewer. That's why I don't request any special efforts in the act of reading."

    For those interested in discovering the genius of this author here is a list of his novels: