El mundo según Amaya

Hoy llegó por correo mi auto regalo de cumpleaños! :D

Dicen que antes de morir debes hacer tres cosas: tener un hijo, plantar un árbol y publicar un libro. Gracias a Dios Amaya pudo hacer las tres antes de fallecer. Ojalá algún día yo también tenga alguna publicación. La belleza de publicar un libro recae en el hecho de que tu esencia en tus palabras será siempre recordada por el lector y guardada en un bonito librero. 

Curiosamente también hoy, pero en la mañana, me encontré con un link que tenía guardado que me llevó a este post que quizá esté en el libro también.

He leído este pequeño post tantas veces... tenía guardado del link desde hace varios años.

Lo volví a encontrar hoy, lo vuelvo a leer y su nostalgia y belleza me vuelve a atrapar.

Enjoy 

Roberto

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"Aquella casa frente al mar"

Ahora todo huele a humedad. Hay algunas vasijas y cacharros distribuidos por ahí con la única intención de guardar el agua de las goteras. En el techo puede verse con claridad un camino de gotas cristalizadas. La sal ha arrasado con tantas cosas. El óxido se apodera de las protecciones de las ventanas y del portón. Pequeños animalejos se aparecen de vez en vez por sorpresa. Los mosquitos se amontonan alrededor de los focos de la entrada. El olor a madera que perfuma la ropa de los cajones me recuerda la época en la que ahí viví. Cuando me encerraba en mi cuarto a escuchar música. Cuando pensaba en mi escuela y en mis amigos. Cuando escribía todas esas cartas. Cuando esperaba alguna llamada. Cuando empecé a atesorar recuerdos.

Al principio eran días de dunas de arena y después sólo quedaron esos vientos implacables a los que llamamos "nortes". Marea alta y olas gigantes que me atemorizaban al mirar por la ventana. Días de lluvia. Días de sol. Días de rebeldía adolescente.

Hoy regreso y me parece todo tan añejo y tan distante. Un remanso de paz. El origen de todo.

El mundo según Amaya, Amaya Marichal. 

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Si alguien está interesado en adquirir el libro puede buscarlo en el siguiente link: 
http://www.lulu.com/

Roberto Mora

Oscars & Homo Movies

Lately, I've been watching lots of movies (shocking).

Mainly because every year you can see the oscar nominated movies after the ceremony. Some of them can be really bad or whatever, but there are always movies that really worth a walk to the cinema. 

The first part of the post is for that kind of movies I've been watching lately and I truly believe everyone should, at least, know. 

The Iron Lady

Film based in the life of Margaret Thatcher. Inspiring, moving and the scenes and footage are completely artistic. Beautiful. Plus, Meryl Streep acting skills that always leave me speechless. 

Extremely loud and incredibly close

I really don't want to spoil the story about this 9-year-old kid. Take a while to the story to take a proper shape, but is a movie I will never forget. I should confess that half of the movie I was crying and the other half I wanted to cry :P

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 

I read the books and I liked them, I saw the swedish movie and I liked it, I saw this hollywood version and liked it too. Probably because I'm secretly in love with Lisbeth Salander and that fiction I have for really strong female roles in movies, theater and books. Mistery-fiction movie, probably you'll have to see it twice to get all the details. 

My week with Marilyn

The resemblance and good acting as Marilyn is IMPRESSIVE. Such a beautiful-romantic-drama movie based in a journal of a guy who spent a week with her during the shooting of "The prince and the Showgirl" back in the sixties. 

Albert Nobbs

When you hear of a film about the life of a 19th century woman living in Ireland pretending to be a man and falling in love with an other woman... you are going to be probably freak out. But this movie is really inspiriting, vanguardist and different. Great story and the acting is fascinating. 

This last movie "Albert Nobbs" made me think about good movies that have gay of homosexuals topics. So I decided to also post some of the movies that I've seen lately that revolve around the "homo" theme. I truly recommend them! 

The kids are all right

I should say that I was skeptical at the begging, I thought "this is not a credible lesbian couple". But as the movie progress everything start to make sense and at the end I was fascinated by it. I felt so identified with some of the family problems and that just means one thing: Is a well done movie (and story) and the main characters sexual preference does not mater. 

La otra Familia

Mexican movie about a little boy who is "saved" from his drug addict mom by a gay couple. Maybe is not the best movie, but I like how they are trying to push boundaries inside my very homophobic hometown.  

Milk


A few years ago I saw this movie about Harvey Milk, the fist openly gay California official. The movie is inspiring, based in a true story, great acting and it keep you interested from the begging to the end. This is one movie you CAN'T miss. 

I love you Phillip Morris

I saw this movie a couples of days ago and it's completely HILARIOUS. You have to know that even with the appearance of Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor the story is terribly bad. The end is terrible and you the characters are not real at all. But the movie is filmed in this very eccentric way with this weird eccentric acting and somehow I started to like it. It's silly, different and not for everyone. If you get to see it, just have fun and embrace the whole thing. At the end I truly enjoyed it!

La mala Educación

This is a Spanish movie by Almodóvar. I must say that is a really strong film that I DON'T recommend for everyone. You need to like very serious and strong movies. Thee some quite hard gay scenes also. I saw it when I was WAY younger and it was a horrible experience! I saw it again, like two months ago, and now I get the whole point. Is amazingly good, but hardcore. Mexican and Spanish really good actors. Religion is also criticized in the whole film. 

Hope you'll be able too see one of these ten movies. I had such a great and beautiful time with every single one of them. The one's form the Oscars that I've seen but I don't like, I will just not post them because others may like them. 

GET THE POPCORN! 

Roberto Mora 

Mushroom Parmentier

¡Tiempo de Recomendación Culinaria!

Llevaba tanto queriendo publicar una buena receta y no había tenido oportunidad. Hoy les quiero compartir: "Mushroom Parmentier". Como ahorita estoy viviendo en Francia he estado experimentando algo de cocina francesa. Esta es una sencilla receta francesa que hicimos hace unos días y que les digo... nos dejó encantados! Más que nada por su facilidad y sabor. 

Les compartiré la receta en inglés porque es exactamente como nosotros la encontramos (la mejor que pudimos encontrar de hecho) y si la siguen al pie de la letra verán que los resultados son excelentes. Probablemente sea complicado para algunos conseguir el queso "comte" y utilizarán gruyere, pero si lo encuentran de verdad que le da una textura y sabor al puré de papa muy especial. 

El crédito de la receta va para la página: http://www.foodnetwork.ca


Enjoy and ¡Bon Appetit!  

Ingredients

Mushrooms

• 2 pounds mushrooms
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, more as needed
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic
• A handful of chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 cup red wine
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock or water
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon flour
• A handful chopped fresh parsley

Potato Topping

• 6 medium floury potatoes, such as Yukon gold
• 2 to 4 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• Salt and pepper
• 4 ounces Comté or gruyere cheese, cut into very fine dice
• 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Directions

Mushrooms

1. Clean and quarter the mushrooms. Heat just two tablespoons of the butter with one tablespoon of the olive oil and sauté the mushrooms until cooked and golden. Remove. Heat the other spoonful of olive oil (adding more if you need it) and sauté the onion until soft. Add the garlic for one minute. Deglaze with the wine and reduce to no more than a spoonful. Add the stock, the thyme, and the mushrooms, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the stock has reduced by half. Knead together the flour with the last tablespoon of butter and stir it in. Cook until the liquid has thickened to a sauce, a matter of minutes. Stir through the parsley. Spoon the mixture into a gratin dish.

Potato Topping

1. Steam the potatoes in a covered saucepan with about an inch-2.5-cm water in the bottom, until very tender. Mash with the butter and milk until very smooth, adding more milk if needed. Season with salt and pepper. Stir through the diced cheese. Distribute evenly over the mushroom mixture, and smooth with the back of the spoon (if you want to be very retro-housewife, make patterns with the tines of a fork or make waves with a spoon.) Sprinkle over the Parmesan.
2. Heat the oven to 425°F/220°C. Bake the gratin until bubbling hot and golden on top, about 15 minutes.

Roberto Mora

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet XLIII)

Pues me dio curiosidad la vida de Edna St. Vincent Millay por un amigo que estaba leyendo su biografía y trabajos. Con lo poco que he leído de ella, simplemente me maravilla como su inusual infancia culminó en una inusual vida adulta. Una ajetreada vida amorosa es de las primeras cosas que encuentras cuando intentas investigar sobre su vida.


Si les interesa esta poeta, les recomiendo emprender una rápida búsqueda de su vida en internet. Ni siquiera le busquen mucho, nada más del click aquí: Edna Millay y vean un resumen de Wikipedia bastante decente. Quería publicar otro poema que no fuera este… pero me fue imposible. 


Simplemente me encanta! 

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why (Sonnet XLIII)

What lips my lips have kissed, and where, and why, 
I have forgotten, and what arms have lain 
Under my head till morning; but the rain 
Is full of ghosts tonight, that tap and sigh 
Upon the glass and listen for reply, 
And in my heart there stirs a quiet pain 
For unremembered lads that not again 
Will turn to me at midnight with a cry. 
Thus in winter stands the lonely tree, 
Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one, 
Yet knows its boughs more silent than before: 
I cannot say what loves have come and gone, 
I only know that summer sang in me 
A little while, that in me sings no more.

Edna St. Vincent Millay

Empowering Youth - Inspiring Bravery

It is not a big secret my devoted love for Lady Gaga and how much I support what she does. I try not to blog about it, there is no point on doing that. This post is different for several reasons that relate to beauty and the pillars of who I am.  

There are three things I believe to my very core and I'll fight for them till the day I die: Equality, Art and Love. My whole live revolves around them and I remember them every single day. 

"We all want to know that what we do and what we say and who we are matters" Oprah 

This is more than a foundation, is a movement. A movement of love and change in our culture towards good. Acceptance is one of the main problems in every culture, and it affects so countless aspects.

Something I noticed I have been doing my last couple of years is inspiring and "changing the mind" of people close to be in order to increase their level of acceptance in terms of equality. I thing I have truly changed some people and actually learned also from them in endless conversations. This post is not focused in homosexuality, bulling or violence. The post and also the foundation is about pushing boundaries in order to change the culture, accept in order to be accepted. We are, and must be, all different.

"It is not ok to be violent just because you don't understand" Lady Gaga 

There is one part that I can't take off my head. In the launching of the foundation they talk about how is not (in the case) only about the bullied one, it is also about the one who is bulling. The problem is in both sides and they have to learn to see each other as equal human beings. The problem is not only a violent incident, it is also about the people surrounding the situation and doing nothing. 

I believe in the voice of the youth and how we must speak out, because we have answers that older people can't see. If you have never had a problem of this kind, you are lucky but you should not feel oblivious to these problems. The idea of helping some how is in my mind now, and hopefully is in the mind of many others. 

I found this video of the launching of the foundation so inspiring, it was just days ago. Hopefully you will be able to see it. I know is quite long, you don't have to see the whole thing. If you are able to see at least parts of it would be great. It's truly inspiring, beautiful and very informative. 

"Together, we will move towards acceptance, bravery and love." LG

You can go to the official site: http://bornthiswayfoundation.org

Share stories, learn and join the movement. 

Roberto Mora

About Angels and Mourning

La idea de que controlamos nuestro destino es una ilusión.

La facilidad con que las personas se van de este mundo para no regresar es incluso más sutil y sencilla que la manera en que cada unos llegamos aquí. No me gusta hablar de muerte, primero que nada por lo delicado del tema y segundo por mi diminuta experiencia en cuanto a la pérdida de seres queridos.

Desde hace unas semanas se me quedó el bonito pensamiento de que cuando perdemos a alguien es porque Dios necesita un ángel más en el cielo, que esa persona ya no necesita vivir en este mundo lleno de demonios. Nosotros nos quedamos aquí atrapados entre pecados, miedos y fantasmas, ellos por razones que no entendemos merecen más. Así que me gusta recordar a las personas que perdemos, como bellos ángeles que debían llegar al cielo antes que nosotros y en un tiempo perfecto que no entenderemos hasta que algún día volvamos a formar parte del todo.

Recordemos a las personas que se van de la manera más bella y pura posible, así es como a ellos les gustaría ser recordados. Claro que el sentimiento al principio es terrible, pero el tiempo (siempre a pasos diferentes) nos enseña que debemos aprender a continuar nuestro camino. Al escribir esto recuerdo lo que para mí es la peor parte al perder a un ser querido, la impotencia. No hay nada que ni nosotros ni nadie pueda hacer para cambiar las decisiones del destino. La impotencia es la peor parte, pero quizás también el espeso jarabe que se necesita para poder levantar el rostro y caminar hacia adelante. 

Algo a lo que nunca nos acostumbraremos y que nos perseguirá el resto de nuestras vidas es que tenemos que "move on" más seguido de lo que quisiéramos. Este seguir adelante que nos perseguirá por más que intentemos escondernos, noten que ya no solo estoy hablando de muerte aquí. Tan poco que realmente controlamos del destino, insignificantes juguetes del tiempo y decisiones incontrolables. 

Que hoy sea de esos días en los que realmente asientas en tu cabeza la importancia de vivir el día a día. Porque tu y yo sabemos que eso no pasa diariamente. La idea de que controlamos nuestro destino es una ilusión.

Roberto Mora