JaZzArt en València

Not a prophet but a teacher…

Gentle, words of love and wisdom, always fair,

His load is light enough to bear…

C.2022, Francis Bravo Cabrera, 29 APR 2022, Miami Beach, Florida, USA

Already almost one month in Miami Beach! Wow! The first few days, coming from cold Spain, I loved the warm weather. During those few days 25 degrees wasn’t hot, it was just warm and nice. Now it is bloody hot! The humidity is always over 85%, the sun is burning my skin, the mosquitos are doing a number on my skin and the other bugs, well, they bug me. And by now the 25 degrees have gone up to 30 degrees in the shade.

Another thing that bothers me about the City of Miami Beach is that they are always on your arse! When you actually go to the beach, meaning to the water, you have to cross through a stretch of sand worthy of the Sahara. It’s almost a kilometre long! Then when you finally cross through all the chaises longues and the umbrellas…all belonging to the hotels that line the coastline…you reach the soft, cuddly part of the sand where you can lay down, relax and let the soft sounds of the gentle waves as they kiss the shore…

NO! You cannot do that because all of a sudden here comes a huge tractor pulling a sand cleaning machine and the operator has his earplugs on and probably listening to heavy metal at 11! So you better «Run for Your Life if you can…» (as The Beatles said), or he’s going to roll right over you. Did you know that the Miami Beach Police Department has run over two sunbathers on the sand? Yes they did, killing one French tourist. Check it out: https://floridajustice.com/floridas-little-secret-government-vehicles-running-sunbathers/#:~:text=27%2Dyear%2Dold%2C%20Stephanie,often%20used%20by%20police%20vehicles.

Anyways, I leave you with a picture of one of our…their…local critters, the iguanas. Lamentably the City of Miami Beach destroyed their habitats back in 2016 when they cut down dozens of trees along Indian Creek Drive. The poor iguanas were decimated but some still survived and this morning I saw one eating a banana, like a monkey!

Until the next chapter, I hope you guys have a lovely day, after all it is Thursday, the «middle of the week», a night to begin your weekend festivities so go hit that bar across the street and order your first gin tonic!

Cheers…

El resplandor desplaza nubes grises y lamentos.

Las peteneras bailan sobre sal,

la sal que del salero de lo eterno ha vuelto ahora a cantar.

C.2022, Francisco Bravo Cabrera, 28/04/2022, Miami Beach, Florida, EEUU

I am back here where it all began, Miami, Florida! The birthplace of Omnia Caelum Studios, this time «Miami»…

Cheers…

I stand there every morning and I wait until the northbound train floats by me.

Floating on a cloud of dreams, hopes and soulful wishes.

Floating as the red light of the sun fades into darkness.

C.2022, Francis Bravo Cabrera, 27 APR 2022, MiamiBeach, Florida, (EEUU)

Visitanos en Instagram: @Francisco_Bravo_Cabrera y @Guloshka y claro, puedes explorar todos los vídeos que tengo colgados en YouTube.

Gracias…

I received an email saying I was nominated for Spillwords Author of the Month (April 2022). So, I would like to ask you for your vote, if you would be so kind. Here is the link to cast your vote: https://spillwords.com/vote/

With my greatest appreciation and many thanks to whoever it was that was nice enough to nominate me.

Here you can see some of my poetry on Spillwords: https://spillwords.com/?s=Francisco+Bravo+cabrera

Cheers…

Heme aquí, estoy en Miami. Hacía años que no me paseaba por estos trópicos de norte america, pero aquí estoy. Desde el día en que llegué me están picando los mosquitos y otros insectos voladores que nunca veo en La Comunitat Valenciana…

Pero bueno, no me quejo. El tiempo me favorece pues hace un calor de tres pares y eso es bueno para la artrosis. Salgo a andar todas las mañanas por la playa…

Y ahí sí que me frustro. Estos sabios arquitectos o planificadores floridanos, brillando con su extensa sabiduría, han hecho un paseo marítimo de dos metros de ancho que tenemos que compartir los andantes con las bicis, los patines y los patinetes. Y aquí te pasan las bicis a un centímetro y volando. Mare meua!

El mar es una delicia, el océano Atlántico, fuerte, oleado, con aguas templadas, pero lleno de tiburones, de gente haciendo tabla hawaiana, y otros volando en los paracaídas esos. En fin muy peligroso para el valenciano que se quiera darse un chapuzón…

Pero bueno, querido diario, he regresado a un lugar donde pasé muchos años y del cual guardo memorias agradables, junto a muchos amigos cubanos que quiero ver para juntos alzar unas copas (de vino de Rioja que aquí vale cuatro veces lo que en España)…

May they never close the bar across the street.
May they never serve you whiskey if it ain’t neat.
May your beer always be cold,
and may you gracefully grow old.
And may you never have to walk too far to eat.

May your paper always be from yesterday.
May the news you read reflect a peaceful way.
May your hamburgers be rare,
and may you arse never be bare.
And may you always have a friend to share your needs.

May the winds of change bring hope, and love and peace.
May the Good Lord always bless you while you sleep.
May your days be long and fruitful,
may your athlete pants still suit you.
and may they never close the bar across the street.

May your summers always shine with sunny days.
May your autumns bless you on that long hard race.
The race to those bright Decembers,
full of leftover Septembers.
May the years caress the wrinkles on your face.

May the never close the bar across the street.
May its doors always be open to receive.
To receive your dancing days of glory,
may they listen to your worn out stories.
And may they raise a toast to all that you have been…

C.2022, Francis Bravo Cabrera, 24 April 2022, Miami Beach, Florida (US)

In my city, València, Spain, the bar is the most important institution. It is where you take your breakfast, your lunch at mid-morning, your dinner mid-day, your gin tonics at five and your wine at seven. Where you chat with your old chums or meet new folk, or just chat with the owner/bartender. It is like that all over Spain, but in places like València, where the weather is not as cold as in the north, there are many terraces all over the city, especially in neighbourhoods like Russafa where on a street corner (un chaflan) there may be as many as six bars. And they are a great place to take your children and your dog. Just thought I’d talk a little bit about a topic near and dear to my heart and that I consider of utmost importance. If your bar closes down, or closes early, it is time to find another one!

Cheers…