JaZzArt en València

I was before, and I have been here since, walking on these turquoise marble floors, eating bread and drinking wine, the wine left to survive the year of the draught where less than three barrels came out,

and you, yes, it’s always been you, the one without faith, without principles, who dared to rub her body on mine and kiss my lips, wet with wine for I’ve been drinking, and who invited me to die in her arms, but your arms were the wings of a butterfly, born on the first of December to die on the first of May,

when the stars weep above the sea, the green and grassy sea, where butterflies live and hide in the branches of bramble bushes, wise and slow, butterflies who knew and know what there is and what will be, especially at the hour when one drinks the sour wine of grapes that grew on floors of turquoise marble, and I raise my glass and there, toasting you, I will be.

2023, Francisco Bravo Cabrera, 06 JUL 2023, Valencia, España

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I have talked a lot about my invention, the Euro-Ku before, so I will just mention that the Euro-Ku is a style of poetry that aims to connect with the traditional Japanese Haiku, but from a Western perspective. One must stay true to their own identity and the only way to appreciate a work of art is through the lens of one’s personal background, life experiences, and position in society. Therefore, I concluded that as a Western poet, it would not be appropriate for me to write a traditional Japanese Haiku. Instead, I chose to create something…similar…to convey the same concepts.

Thus on the 2nd of February 2022, the Euro-Ku was born. It has three verses but without syllabic count and with the requirement that the verses must be clearly understood by all and flow into each other in a simple, straightforward manner. And then there’s the illustration. The Euro-Ku must be accompanied by an original illustration created by the poet…

Yolanda Diaz, Pedro Sanchez, basta de cazas de brujas que esto no os pertenece así que no tratéis de quitarle el protagonismo a las chicas y hacer de una simple gilipollez de un tío un caso para vuestras ideologías anticuadas…

Casi nunca me atrevo a hacer un retrato, salvo que no sea uno surreal-expresionista, pero bueno, os tengo que decir que la obra de Rubens me animó a hacerlo. Fue un genio, definitivamente y auténticamente y cuando veáis el vídeo lo comprobareis.

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I rarely dare to create a portrait, unless it is a surrealist-expressionist one, but well, I have to tell you that Rubens’ work encouraged me to do it. He was a true genius, and when you see the video, you will see it for yourself.

Gracias…

Cheers…

La luz del sol no tiene color pero nos permite ver colores… aunque trabajo mucho el blanco y negro, me fascinan los colores pues como dijo Kandinsky, son música para los ojos…

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Sunlight has no colour but it allows us to see colours… although I work a lot in black and white, I am fascinated with colour and as Kandinsky said, colours are music for the eyes…

Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, que después se puso Federico Francisco Chopin, es uno de mis compositores preferidos, no tanto por sus scherzos pero por su música oscura y melancólica un autentico genio. Ya sabréis que nació en Polonia el 1 de marzo de 1810 y que murió joven en 1849 en París.

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Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin, who later became known as Frédéric François Chopin, is one of my favourite composers, not so much for his scherzos but for his dark and melancholic music – a true genius. You may already know that he was born in Poland on March 1, 1810, and died at a young age in 1849 in Paris.

Chopin eligió esta pieza para que se tocase en sus funerales. Ciertamente es la composición mas oscura de todas las suyas. Termina en un smorzando que preludia la muerte que viene llegando…

El titulo según Solange, la hija de George Sands pudo haber sido:

«Quelles larmes au fond du cloître humide?»

Chopin chose this piece to be played at his funeral. It is certainly the darkest composition of all his works. It ends with a fading away…smorzando…that foreshadows the impending death…

It’s title, according to George Sands’ daughter Solange, could have been:

«Quelles larmes au fond du cloître humide?»

Gracias…

Cheers…

No tengo idea de como era, pero me lo imagino así, un tío atormentado, un genio que no encaja entre las hordas de chalados y charlatanes que lo rodeaban, malentendido y hasta despreciado, pero imparable, intocable, inconfundible e insuperable…

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I have no idea what he was like, but I imagine him like this, a tormented man. A genius who doesn’t fit in among the hordes of crazies and charlatans that surrounded him. Misunderstood and even despised, but unstoppable, untouchable, unmistakable and unsurpassable…

Gracias…

Cheers…

I think I’ve lived a little more than some would have liked me to,
but one day I’ll give
the earth a few more grams of dust for all to walk through…

Eternity…
We’re just the skin and bones that once we knew,
and soon are gone.
And one day we will live
in skies of blue…

Time is just a measure of uncertainty,
science is the essence of all lies,
wisdom’s not contained in logic phrases,
life is still a mystery to the wise…

C.2023, Francisco Bravo Cabrera, 09 JUL 2023, Valencia, Spain

Close enough to touch yet frightful, the shapes and forms of nature blend with time and time has allowed man his domination,

his creations stand, though sometimes withered, aged and rotten, yet still there,

the thoughts, not they, they are absorbed, defeated, and thrown into the boiling pot where no one cares…

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As a poet/artist, I have always engaged, wholeheartedly, in the search and I must say that what I find both amuses me and amazes me as well. In searching through Haikus…Japanese poetry…that I greatly admire, I realised that as a Western man I could not formulate a Haiku and give it the spirit that it recognises and desires. It is impossible. One must be true to one’s experiences, history and geography and because of that, and my love for expression…in its simplest forms…I developed the Euro-Ku (and the Ameri-Ku) on 02/02/2022 here in Europe, as I hail from Spain.

The idea remains the same, to express a thought, but not with the same intention of the Japanese original Haiku. The Euro-Ku must reflect our way of thinking and most importantly, our way of expressing thoughts, emotions, feelings et al. The three verses have no syllabic count restrictions, but they must flow into each other easily and smoothly. Rhyming is optional. The main difference is that the poem must be accompanied by an original, unedited illustration created by the writer. Spirituality in art can only be achieved by being faithful to the current time in which the writer lives. No one can write with the mind, the experience or the history of someone else, but we all can and should respect what is not ours…

C.2023, Francisco Bravo Cabrera, 16 AUG 2023, Valencia, Spain

Venga, que no fue en España… De acuerdo, fue en Australia, pero es la misma cosa. Estuvo mal, pero muy mal hecho. Yo lo estaba mirándolo en la tele y enseguida pensé que eso no se hace y que ese tío, Luis Manuel Rubiales, director o no de la Real Federación Española de Futbol, se estaba aprovechando de Jenni Hermoso. Mare meua!

Pero bueno, no es para llamar a la Santa Inquisición tampoco. Vamos a no ponernos ahora a cazar brujas. Además, la jugadora enseguida dijo que no le había gustado. Con esa frase, punto y aparte. Ahora tenemos que oír la apologia de Rubiales y ya pasar la pagina que esto no es un crimen machista ni violencia de genero. Fue una autentica estupidez y una barrabasada de un descarado, pero nada mas.

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Come on, it wasn’t in Spain… Okay, it was in Australia, but it’s the same thing. It was wrong, but very wrong! I was watching it on TV and immediately thought that it was not right and that this guy, Luis Manuel Rubiales, director or not of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, was taking advantage of Jenni Hermoso. Good grief!

But it ain’t nothing to call the Holy Inquisition about either. We don’t need to start a witch hunt now. Besides, the player immediately stated that she didn’t like it. With that statement, end of story. Now we have to hear Rubiales’ apology and move on. This is not a sexist crime or gender-based violence. It was genuine stupidity and an outrage from a shameless person, but nothing more.

Gracias…

Cheers…

Vale, esta no es para ti pues ya tiene hogar en un lugar de Europa, pero quería mostrártela porque me encanta este dibujo. Creo que logré capturar muy bien el momento cuando el cuarteto Jazz esta en su punto, descargando las mejores notas, los mas distinguidos acordes y la locura que es el Jazz libre… Para mi el dibujo es como hacer jazz con un saxofón o con un contrabajo. Además estos son los dos instrumentos, junto con la guitarra, que me gusta incluir en mis combos de Jazz que dibujo…o pinto…porque tienen una forma deliciosa y añaden a la estética de la composición… Quiero que sepas que para mi dibujar es como meditar, pues se me convierte en una especie de relajación concentrada y me lleva hasta la luna… Pero vale che, te voy a dejar un vídeo que vas a flipar y en el podrás ver muchos mas dibujos que están de puta madre…

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Okay, this one is not for you as it already has a home somewhere in Europe. But I wanted to show it to you because I love this drawing. I think I managed to capture the moment when the Jazz quartet is in their element, delivering the best notes, the most distinguished chords, and the madness that is free Jazz… To me, drawing is like playing jazz with a saxophone or a double bass. These are the two instruments, along with the guitar, that I like to include in the Jazz combos that I draw… or paint… because they have a delightful shape that adds to the aesthetics of the composition… I want you to know that drawing is like meditation to me, as it becomes a kind of concentrated relaxation and takes me to the moon… But okay, I’m going to leave you a video that you’re going to love, and in it, you’ll be able to see many more amazing drawings…

Gracias…

Cheers…