When I walked into the Hispanic Latino Book Fair a month or so ago, I had no idea what I was getting into. I heard some worthwhile talks, and walked out with more books than I originally planned, but more importantly, I made the acquaintance of Juan Navidad.
Juan is, in a word, amazing. He's a poet, writer, and publisher (more informative page in Spanish here), and he's constantly promoting both his own work and that of the writers he publishes. He's constantly exploring new possibilities, and when we started discussing ways to work together, it didn't take long to come up with ideas. Collaboration is his mission in life,
He just brought out a book of his own, Frases para crecer en positivo, and for a reading on Saturday, Nov. 21 at the Church of the Mediator in the Bronx, I created a set of four short pieces inspired by his work. El delantero del fin de semana (The Weekend Forward) takes off from a sentence about how, when we practice a sport, we are grateful for healthy bodies and the time to enjoy them; El timón de la suerte (The rudder of fate) was inspired by a statement that that rudder is held, not only by the Goddess Fortune, but by each one of us. An observation about clocks and impatience motivated El reloj de la impaciencia (The Clock of Impatience), which is about a ticking clock as processed through a brain that keeps wishing it would go faster, and Intencion y fuerza (Intention and Force) derives from a statement that those two things are what we need to be happy: clear intentions, and the strength to bring them to reality.
I'm hoping to get recordings up soon, and there will be another similar event next week, on Tuesday, December 2, at Centro Español, on 14th St. in Manhattan, at 7 PM. The music this time will be violin with (likely) backing tracks, and I will be the violinist. El timón de la suerte and maybe El reloj de la impaciencia will be arranged for the occasion, but there will be some newer material as well.
For those who prefer a bit more advance notice, there will be another event at Centro Español on January 21, 2015, which will include a showing of artworks. More news as it happens!
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