JaZzArt en València

«El pueblo que baila» («The People Who Dance«) is an expressionist, Jazz-Art painting in acrylics on canvas (60 x 60 cm) that invites you to release your mind and simply allow your body to move. The people, our collective «all» need many things and among all those things is the need to break free from rational thought, logic, polite behaviour, control, and simply dance. Dancing throughout history has been a way used by the people to praise God, to engage socially, as an art form, e.g. ballet and modern dance, and as well to prove your dynamic, powerful and athletic prowess, as well as to seduce that girl who has been looking at you from the other side of the bar… So it has been part of mankind, i.e. our human condition always. This painting is part of «The People» series.

I started «El pueblo…» («The People…«) series back during my days working in Miami (1996-2018). I interrupted it for many years until I exhibited «El pueblo que piensa» («The People Who Think«), which I painted here in Spain (2022), and it received very good accolades at my exhibition «Atrevete» («Be Bold«) in Valencia (October 2023). It was followed by «El pueblo que lucha» («The People Who Struggle«) (2023) which was picked up immediately by a collector from the United Kingdom. Now I am about to put the finishing touches to the latest one whose picture from Phase I is seen above. As soon as it is ready it will be up for sale on my online sites.

Well, I think you get an idea of the progression and how I finally come to develop a series…

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CHEERS CHEERS CHEERS

«El socialismo funciona tan bien que la gente construye barcos de escombros para escaparlo»

Viví muchos años en Miami, y como sabrás…y si no lo sabes te lo diré…la ciudad fue prácticamente hecha por cubanos que llegaron a ella al principio de la década de los 1960, buscando libertad. Yo conviví con el exilio cubano y estudié su historia y llegué a conocer a muchos de los protagonistas que, a través de la radio, mantuvieron viva la llama de la resistencia contra el Castro-Comunismo.

Pero ahora los cubanos que llegan a EEUU, aunque dicen que “escapan” del comunismo cuando los agentes del gobierno (de EEUU) los entrevistan, luego te dicen que ellos no tienen nada contra el gobierno cubano que simplemente vienen buscando mejor economía. Además, como por orden ejecutiva les dan la residencia permanente al año y un día de vivir en el país, lo primero que hacen es regresar a Cuba con la bolsa llena y gastarse ese dinero…que fueron recibiendo de la seguridad social estadounidense…en Cuba. A mi juicio están usando la ley como un trampolín que los catapulta a un lugar mejor para poder seguir regresando al lugar donde dijeron que no podían vivir. Eso para mi es un descaro.

El socialismo no funciona. Los ejemplos históricos los dieron la Unión Soviética y los países del bloque soviético. La historia actual demuestra que ni Cuba, ni Nicaragua ni Venezuela han logrado tener éxito. Así que ¿No entiendo porque, si lo arriesgas todo, si le mientes a las autoridades de EEUU para que te dejen vivir allí, para que intentan regresar a la boca del lobo?

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I lived many years in Miami, and as you know…and if you don’t know, I’ll tell you…the city was practically built by Cubans who arrived there in the early 1960s, seeking freedom. I lived alongside the Cuban exile and studied their history, and I came to know many of the protagonists who, through radio, kept the flame of resistance against Castro-Communism alive. Those were phenomenal years and I had the opportunity to learn what socialism and communism was all about.

But now it seems that Cubans that arrive to the US, although they declare in sworn testimony to be «escaping» the Cuban regime to the US Customs Agents, later tell one and all that they’ve nothing against the Cuban government that they’ve come only to better their economic standing. Furthermore, since by executive order they are granted permanent residency…after being in the country one year and one day…once they have it the first thing they do is to rush back to Cuba, pockets full. And most of the money they’ve received as social aid from the US government (read as taxpayers) is going to be spent supporting the communist regime in Cuba. My opinion is that they are using US Immigration laws (The Cuban Adjustment Act) as a trampoline to catapult them to a better life while at the same time they do not wish to let go of the one in the country where they said they had to escape from. That to me is being thoroughly shameless.

Socialism doesn’t work. Historical examples were provided by the Soviet Union and the countries of the Soviet bloc. Current history shows that neither Cuba, nor Nicaragua, nor Venezuela have been successful. So why, if you risk everything, if you lie to US authorities to let you live there, do you return to the lion’s den?

You crown the tops of the tallest waves of the North Sea, for silver is the night, no, never gold,

and a mirror for the Queen you’re meant to be,

whose reflection you allow us to behold.

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C.2023, Francisco Bravo Cabrera/27 DEC 2023/València, España 🇪🇸

(I began experimenting…the search…with poetic forms that I like, especially the Haiku as I love brevity, and on February 2022 I came up with the Euro-Ku. This is my homage to Japanese poetry but done from a Western mindset as one must be true to one’s place and one’s time to be able to load one’s work with spirituality. It is a work in progress, as is life, and this is the last Euro-Ku of 2023. I reckon the style and my craft will reach another level of development in 2024 and beyond. What do you think?)

THE IN-BETWEEN WORLD

There’s an empty glass by a bottle and butts in the ashtray,
there’s a book that’s been dog-eared abandoned there too,
there are socks, one red mitten and an old silver tray,
and a bloodhound asleep that’s refusing to move…

There’s a garden, gardenias, and a half-empty pool
that’s been largely abandoned due to winter’s arrival,
and a barbecue tray and a chest full of tools
that have served as reminders of one man’s survival…

There’s a cat hiding, hunting, watching attentively
as a little brown bird finds her courage to land
on the driveway to feed but the cat quite intensively stealthily
readies herself, bird be dammed…

And then there is me, amused and quite thoughtful,
rehearsing the lines of a song I must sing,
rethinking old thoughts, some unkind, some unlawful,
but others of friends and of music that swings…

In-between buttons and ice on the river
that’s frozen in places and in others it’s not,
a narwhal appears with a unicorn’s shiver,
and my song seems to take off, untidy yet hot…

There’s the here, there’s the now, there’s the place
where you’re standing, or sitting or lounging about,
but there’s also a unique, hidden treasure my mates,
the in-between world among worlds inside out…

C.2023, Francisco Bravo Cabrera – 25 DEC 2023 – Valencia, Spain

A BRIEF NOTE… We are so accustomed to seeing things the way we have been taught as children to see them that we have lost the power of creating a world, not of the imagination, but of a separate, and different reality, that surely does exist. The process of socialisation that we have all been subjected to has…hopefully…made us good, obedient citizens, but it has robbed us of the magic that God has spread all over the world. There is a world here and one there, but there is also one in-between. Hopefully we can one day scan the horizon before us and find it…

El diálogo, la discusión, la conversación nos une si se hacen de buena fe y decentemente.

Que hablen pues eso quiere decir que te has dado cuenta que estoy aquí…

It’s definitely the «Season to be jolly!» Have a wonderful day, all my friends from the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and all those subjects of the 19th century Queen Victoria! Remember Australia, New Zealand and Canada, if the Queen/King is on your currency, you are British… All the best and a very Happy Boxing Day to you!

We here in Valencia eat lots of good, tasty, delicious foods for Christmas. We celebrate the night of the 24th of December as «Nochebuena» (literally translates as the «good night») and we eat fish, turkey or pork. Personally I only do the fish or the pork as I am not a fan of turkeys (except for Thanksgiving, a US tradition that I keep). But we add to our meals some good items from our phenomenal charcuteries! I personally love the Iberian ham from acorn-fed pigs that graze freely in the dehesas (pastures) of Castilla and Andalucía. And of course we are a nation of fabulous sausages like chorizo and salchichón, among others, and phenomenal cheese which we serve, together with our olives and wine (every region of Spain has great wines) and we enjoy the holidays…

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year. May you enjoy these holidays with family, loved ones, or alone. It doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you recognize that these are festive days filled with excitement for many, and perhaps for you too. I know that this time of year is not liked by everyone, and there are probably some out there who hate it, but we must show patience, tolerance, and understanding to everyone. Each of us is a world, a universe, a whole, and then part of a greater whole.

Although December is characterised bu the Advent and the Nativity of our Saviour Jesus Nazarene, born in a manger in Judea on Year Zero, the legend did not take into consideration the facts that point to Jesus being born perhaps more accurately in April. But it’s alright, what matters is that we recognise that this time of the year invites us to get closer together, to understand each other a little better and to even, dare I say, love each other a whole lot more.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS – MERRY CHRISTMAS – HAPPY CHRISTMAS – MERRY CHRISTMAS – HAPPY CHRISTMAS – MERRY CHRISTMAS

Felicidades a todos – Felicitats a tothom – Zorionak guztioi

Os deseamos a todos una Navidad feliz y un prospero año nuevo. Que estas fiestas las disfrutéis con familia, seres queridos o solo, no importa, lo importante es que reconozcas que estos son días festivos y llenos de ilusión para muchos y quizá para ti también. Yo se que esta temporada del año no le gusta a todo el mundo y probablemente hayan algunos por ahí que la odian, pero bueno, hay que demostrar paciencia, tolerancia y entendimiento con todos. Cada uno de nosotros somos un mundo, un universo, un todo y una parte de un todo mayor.

Aunque diciembre se caracteriza por el advenimiento y la natividad de Jesus en un pesebre en Judea en el año cero, creo que la leyenda no tomó en cuenta la verdad histórica que apunta que Jesus Nazareno probablemente nació en abril y no en diciembre. Pero eso no importa. Lo que importa es que esta época nos convida a que nos reunamos, nos entendamos y nos queramos un poquito mas los unos a los otros.

Felicidades a todos – Felicitats a tothom – Zorionak guztioi

Síguenos en nuestras redes sociales:

YouTube: http://www.YouTube.com/@FranciscoBravoCabrera

IG: @Francisco_Bravo_Cabrera

Web/Gallery: http://www.fbcart.wixsite.com/jazzart

Artist Representative: «By Guloshka»

E-Mail: guloshka404@gmail.com

IG: @Guloshka

GRÀCIES – GRACIAS – ESKERRIK ASKO –

ENTRE LO INVISIBLE Y LA MERMELADA DE NARANJA by Francisco Bravo cabrera

Definitivamente, que se cuiden los traidores…