JaZzArt en València

The day began. It was 30 degrees. The sun was shining beautifully in Florida’s sub-tropical sky and I wanted to go have coffee at Miami’s most famous coffee place, Versailles. This iconic restaurant is celebrating its fiftieth year and it has seen so many of Miami’s most famous citizens pass by and take a shot of Cuban Coffee, which is nothing other than espresso.

Ronald Reagan came to speak to the Miami Cubans and he chose, among other places, Versailles Restaurant. After that, if any politician wanted to capture the votes of the Cuban community, they had to make a stop at Versailles. Here Cubans have continuously plotted to overturn Dictator Fidel Castro’s communist control over their country. Here the Venezuelan community of Miami has now joined them as they too face the onslaught of communism in their country. Before that it was the Nicaraguans who fled the Sandinista regime. In other words, Versailles was the quintessential meeting place where you can sip your espresso, your cappuccino or your «cortadito» (espresso with a little milk), and eat an empanada or a pastelillo (meat or guava pie), plot a revolution or just fantasise about how you would get rid of a tyrant.

So, having been away from Miami for so many years I had to return there. And I was shocked. There was a queue! In my day people gathered around the counter at the outside window. Everybody stands to eat or drink! Now it was organised through a queue! I could not believe it. And the prices! Three times what I would spend for a shot of espresso and a pastelillo! How things have changed. Now, instead of old…or older…men standing there debating how to get rid of communism, there were tour buses bringing in tourists from Nebraska to try «Cuban food» and young suburbanites pulling up in their Tesla cars. My, how things have changed in Miami…

So, I returned home to the beach. I walked across to the seashore, the day was brilliant and the Atlantic Ocean was majestic (as always) and there to greet me was a bunch of pelicans. I love those huge birds!

In conclusion, I would say that should you ever get frustrated, surprised, confused et cetera about the things in the city, there is always nature to turn to for solace, peace, tranquillity and beauty. In Miami, being as how there are no mountains to climb or forests to hike through, I go to the ocean, the biggest and most powerful natural attraction around.

Cheers…

What is it about the sea?

About the seashore?

What is it about the grains of sand that carelessly I move around with my bare feet?

What makes the tides stop where they do and not continue towards you?

What is it about salty waves and sunny days beneath the tiny shade of sea grapes?

You stand within the moon’s reflection on the waters dark and black,

and stretch your fingers towards me,

towards I, who stands upon the land,

I, who little understands,

and who now counts the grains of sand looking for blessings,

knowing that you are the Sea,

and that you live so close to me.

C.2022, Francis Bravo Cabrera, 09 APR 2022, Miami Beach, Florida (USA)

Released in 1979, and immediately became one of my faves and still is. A life long song for me. Always sounds fresh and new…

Hope you like it…

Cheers…

He was in one of the bands I was sort of, kind of into when in High School in the 1970’s. They were far from being my favourite but I did fall in love with some of their songs and with their free-flowing, jazzy style of playing. Lamentably, I never saw them in concert and everyone says that to really experience The Grateful Dead one had to see them perform live.

Jerry Garcia was the leader of the band…although he would have denied it…and the principal composer, as well as lead guitar and lead vocalist. He was born in San Francisco, CA (USA) in 1942 and he performed with the Dead for thirty years until his death in 1995.

As a guitar player myself, I really liked Garcia’s guitar styling. He was so cool in his approach to the chord structures and had perfect timing. His solos were always improvised and interesting and his fill-ins sounded smashing as he weaved his guitar, a clean sounding guitar, in and out of the songs. And, of course, there was his iconic voice which was unmistakably the voice of the Grateful Dead. Also as a songwriter, his songs, to me, are songs that once I heard them I would be humming or singing them for days.

So, I am featuring Jerry Garcia in my series because I value and admire his trajectory in rock music, his songwriting skills, his virtuosity as a guitar player and his steadfastness, because although he did venture out solo into many projects, he never abandoned The Grateful Dead.

Now it is time to enjoy some of the best that the Dead ever recorded. It is too late to actually see them, so we, and some of you, missed our opportunity, so this is the next best thing.

Cheers…

As you might already know, Jazz…and basically all music…is very important to me and I incorporate music into my paintings and my drawings. I started the JaZzArT series back in 2008 with Phase I, which was black and white. Then in 2021 I ventured into Phase II, which meant that JaZzArT because colourful with an abstract background.

These drawings, made with various different types of graphite, are the prototypes of Phase III. Although they may seem similar, they possess a different type of composition. Also bear in mind that these images are a prototype only. Phase III will have colour and it will be a trifle different from Phase II.

The philosophy of JaZzArT corresponds to the way Jazz musicians create Jazz. There are basically three rules: The performer as composer, improvisation and it must have swing. How do you do that in a painting?

Take a good look at my JaZzArT series. I am sure you will see the improvisation, the rhythm and lots of performers there drawing everything around them…

Check out all my work on Instagram: @Francisco_Bravo_Cabrera

Well I am back to my diary. Maybe this time I will be true to the name. Diary, means listing of things, ideas, thoughts et cetera, on a daily basis. In any event, I am now away from home and in what used to be home that I left, determinedly and for good three and one half years ago.

It was exciting to be back to my old place…I’ve still property here…and to see the things I was used to seeing. Also, I left Valencia when it was 13 degrees and raining, and here it is 33 degrees and sunny. I loved the feeling of the sun on my face, and the heat. In Valencia it’s been winter since November (2021) and I was totally bored and tired of winter. My friends back home tell me it is still cold, gray and raining…

But I tell you, dear diary, I have been here five days already and I realise that the reasons I chose to leave here are still alive and kicking and many more have surfaced. Now I see that a cup of espresso coffee (cafe solo in Spain) is $2,75! My God! And people queuing in front of restaurants and also queuing in front of the Cuban-style coffee shops (just like in Spain and Italy, people stand at the counter, order and drink their shot of espresso) and I could not believe it!

Miami Beach has become extremely expensive and I mean everything! The cheapest hotel room is over $600 per night! A beer is $10, a martini can be as low as $15 and as high as $20 and if you go to the supermarket a few little things can cost you as high as $88!!! I do not know how people live here! When I lived here things were getting expensive but I never would have thought they would get to this level. In Spain I go to Mercadona and buy groceries for two weeks, including four or five bottles of good wine and never spend more than 70 euros!

Good grief! I am so glad I am a visitor here!

I waited for the wind to sail to sail me to the north,

I waited for the sails to dry and waited for a month,

a month when skies are yellow

and the moon rises above,

the clouds that shaped like cellos

played a symphony of love…

The palm trees moving to the song

that lingers in the wind,

the ancient stone,

the long lost home,

is always in my dreams.

Where the wind goes I don’t care

because I know I will be there…

C.2022, Francisco Bravo Cabrera, 06 APR 2022, Miami Beach, FL (USA)

Mientras paseaba por las calles de Miami Beach me encontré con una escultura muy interesante y me detuve a echarle un vistazo. Fue esculpida por un artista cubano llamado Carlos Luna y demuestra la lucha y el sufrimiento del pueblo cubano desde la imposición en Cuba del Castro-comunismo.

Me llamo la atención definitivamente. La foto anterior demuestra el frente de la escultura y esta otra la parte de atrás.

Me alegré mucho de ver esculturas así en Miami Beach ya que durante la época mía, cuando viví aquí, lo único que se veía por las calles era arte de la peor categoría. Ahora, veréis (mirad mas abajo) lo que si siempre me ha gustado de Miami Beach.

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As I was walking along the streets of Miami Beach, I saw that around the area of the Bass Museum there was an interesting statue and I stopped for a closer look. It was done by a Cuban artist named Carlos Luna and depicts the plight of the Cuban people after the imposition of communism on the island.

I found it to be an interesting sculpture with meaning. The front of the statue is the picture above and the back is represented in the second picture.

It was rather refreshing and interesting to find something of art reflected in these programmes that the City of Miami Beach is engaged with. In prior years, the years I lived in Miami Beach, I never saw anything that I could ascribe any real artistic value to.

But there is one thing I can ascribe value to here in Miami Beach is this:

Gracias…

Cheers…

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En 1993 escribí una obra de teatro titulada “Alas” y en ella había un personaje llamado Gisela personificada por una actriz llamada Monse…

Así empezó todo…

El primer cuadro “Gisela Tabú” lo pinté en 1998…

Luego pinté este, titulado “Monse Jazz”:

Y este estaba dedicado a la actriz que desarrolló el personaje de Gisela…

Pasaron años, muchos pero al fin terminé el tríptico de Gisela Tabú pintando el II y el III que podréis ver aquí:

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Podéis ver todos…bueno, casi, casi…mis cuadros en mi Instagram (@Francisco_Bravo_Cabrera o @Guloshka

Gracias…

El primer pintor moderno…

Gracias…