Valley Song (After Veronica's departure to Johannesburg)

I decided to post the continuation of Valley Song (1996), a moving play by Athol Fugard, a South African dramatist, who writes about the apartheid and the problems of the new South Africa. Besides Valley Song, Fugard’s work includes A Lesson from Aloes, People are living there, The Road to Mecca and many others.
Valley Song was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, in London, with Athol Fugard himself playing two characters: “the Author” and “Buks”.
The story deals with family relationships and conflicts. It is the story of a coloured South African girl (Veronica) who wants to leave her grandfather (Abraham Jonkers – “Buks”) and her village behind to go to Johannesburg and become a famous singer.
As the story develops, there are moments of rising tension between the girl and her elderly grandfather who can’t understand her dreams. That symbolizes the constrast between the old South Africa and the new South Africa, full of hopes and dreams.
There’s also the story of a white South African playwright (Author) who wants to go back to his origins in the Karoo Region and leave the artificial world of theatre and urban life behind. In some way, he represents Athol Fugard himself.

As we don’t find out, by reading the play, what actually happened to Veronica as far as her dream of becoming a singer is concerned, I wrote my own end to the story. Valley Song ends with Veronica’s departure to Johannesburg. The main question is whether her dream came true and she is now a famous singer and TV star. (Note: Click the links)

Author: Five years later, Veronica returns to the village for the first time. She hadn’t kept her promise to come back whenever she could. Those had been hard times for her. She didn’t forget her Oupa, though.
I remember the day Veronica returned to the Valley. Imagine one of those shiny spring days with that old fragrance of roses and pine trees.
I was walking near Buks’s house, you know, I didn’t have the courage to evict him from his “akkers” and suddenly I saw one of those big black chauffeur – driven limousines. I had one of those once but I soon got tired of it. Well, when I saw the limousine I thought I was dreaming. You know, it isn’t very usual to see a limousine around here. Then I almost got certain I was dreaming when I saw a beautiful young lady coming out of the car. Her chauffeur opened the door to her and I could see she was wearing a shocking-pink dress and high-heel shoes.
I was so astonished I wasn’t able to recognise her. But then I thought: I know those eyes, although they don’t look exactly the same, I know them.
Then I realised she was coming up to me…

(Now we watch the scene as it actually happened.)

Veronica: (walking up to the Author) Hello! It’s good to see you again, Master!

Author: (thinks for a while without answering)

Veronica: (she gets closer to the Author) Don’t you remember me, Master?

Author: (with a smile) Veronica? Is that you? You are so different I almost wasn’t able to recognise you. I missed you, your songs, your dreams…

Veronica: I missed you too, Master. You know, Master, I hadn’t many true friends there in Johannesburg, Master.

Author: I know what you’re talking about. But please, Veronica, don’t call me “Master”. It sounds kind of bizarre. I mean, you show up here as shiny as a movie star and the first thing you do is calling me “Master”? (He smiles) It doesn’t make sense, girl.

Veronica: I’m sorry, that’s because I’ve always called you “Master”.

Author: Yes, you used to call me that… Five years ago… But what happened there in Johannesburg? I’m curious Veronica, tell me your story.

Veronica: I’m not sure if it is a happy or a sad story. When I arrived in Johannesburg, it seemed so strange… So different from the Valley… I felt like I was walking alone in the crowd… I looked for my friend’s house and stayed there for two years. During those two years, I fought so hard to fulfil my dream, you know? I worked very hard to get the money to attend singing lessons. When I got the money, I kept working hard and attending singing lessons because I knew it wasn’t going to be easy…

Author: I told you Veronica, that was kind of a big dream!

Veronica: I know that. And that’s why I worked so hard so that it could come true.

Author: Well, it did come true, didn’t it? I don’t need to ask! One understands that just by looking at your outfit and that limousine of yours.

Veronica: (close to tears) Yes, my dream did come true. I am a famous singer, who sings to big audiences. I am also a TV star who shows up almost every day. I travel to far away places to give live concerts. Almost everyone shouts my name when I pass by. Children do everything to have my autograph. I am wealthy, I live in a big mansion, I have a chauffeur, a butler, a gardener and a Persian cat with a diamond collar… I now have everything I dreamt about…

Author: Yes, in fact, that’s everything you ever wanted. I remember you used to daydream about singing to big audiences. So… tell me Veronica… with all you have achieved… Don’t you feel happy?

Veronica: (on the verge of tears) I know I should feel extremely happy. I dreamt big… and my big dream came true… But now I look at myself in the mirror and think: “Who am I?”, “What do I actually have?”. And then I realise I that I don’t know who I am anymore and that I actually don’t have anything… I feel empty, I don’t know where I belong to. I lost everything I had when I left the Valley…

Author: I know what it feels like, Veronica. That’s why I came back to my origins… I was sick and tired of that make-believe world of Theatre, you know. But tell me, Veronica, if you missed the Valley so much, why didn’t you come back earlier?

Veronica: I missed all of this. The Valley, my people, my house, you… But the one I missed most was my Oupa. I remembered him everyday I got up in the morning singing my old songs till I went to sleep at night, praying to God as if I was in church next to my Oupa. I didn’t come back because I had so much pressure on me – new songs, concerts, interviews on TV… I sent some letters to my Oupa… I hope someone had read them for him… Tell me, is Oupa in the “akkers”? You didn’t evict him from his house and his few “akkers”, did you?

Author: Of course not, Veronica. That’s the only thing he had this last five years, you know? His small house, his few “akkers” and his deep memories. I saw him in his “akkers” a few moments ago. He was working on the land as usual. However, he hasn’t been feeling very well, Veronica.

Veronica: (worried) What happened? Is he ill? Tell me, I need to know the truth!

Author: I don’t know, Veronica. I don’t know… He is always so submissive when he talks to me that it is difficult to understand what is actually happening. I mean, he didin’t tell me anything, I saw it in his eyes… Just like I can see in your eyes that the only thing you need now is to hug your Oupa… Go, Veronica… Go and look for him in his “akkers”.

Veronica: Yes, I really need to see my Oupa again. He means so much to me…

(Veronica looks for her Oupa. The Author moves into the character of Buks)

Buks: (working on his land) Another Spring without seeing Veronica… This Spring I won’t plant the Ware Karoo Pampoen Saad… They have no meaning anymore… They were miracles and my miracle was gone five years ago…

(He is feeling terribly tired so he sits in the shade of the old Bluegum tree)

Veronica: (seeing her Oupa) Oupa…

Buks: Veronica… Is that you? Oh my God, I prayed so much for you to come back…

Veronica: I’m sorry, Oupa… I missed you so much…

Buks: I missed you too. Missed your songs and your dreams and your hope in the future…

(They hug and burst into tears)

Veronica: Can I stay here with you, Oupa?

Buks: My door has always been open…

(It starts to rain hard; Buks faints)

Veronica: Oupa! Please talk to me, Oupa!

Buks: Take these seeds, Veronica. “Ware Karoo Pampoen Saad” Remember? They are miracles… Just like you, Veronica.

Veronica: Why is Oupa talking this way? Oupa is not going to die. We will be happy together again in the Valley.

Buks: I’m sorry, Veronica. I think this is my turn to travel to a far away place. Remember, Veronica, these seeds are our miracles. “Totsiens”, my child…

Veronica: (crying desperately) No, Oupa! Stay here with me! Want to hear a song? I will sing to you and everything is going to be OK. It’s a new version from an old song. Listen, Oupa…

I missed you so much
Valley that I love
I missed you so much
I had to come back

Buks: I will never forget your songs, Veronica.

(Buks dies; The Author speaks to the audience)

Author: I will never forget Veronica crying near her Oupa with the pumpkin seeds in her hand. It was an extremely meaningful moment. Veronica puts her hand up to the sky, we hear a thunder and then, suddenly, the rain was over. Veronica will never forget her Oupa and that’s why she’s now living in the Valley. The only thing she brought from Johannesburg was her Persian cat named Jonkers, in the memory of her Oupa. She’s pretty happy with this second-hand dream. Just like me, she returned to her roots because we all belong somewhere… Look back on your past and you will find out…

A little trip to Sintra

Palácio da Pena

Last summer, Rita and I had the idea to go on a little trip to Sintra with two more friends. So while I was seing some photos I decided to post them in our group blog because I found it interesting. In Sintra, we had visited Palácio da Pena, Palácio Nacional de Sintra and Museu do Brinquedo. We promised to come back to visit more places like Convento dos Capuchos or Castelo dos Mouros, because we really enjoyed this trip. Sintra is a very beautiful site of Portugal.

Museu do Brinquedo

The mysterious hitchhicker-the end of the second version

He left her in that old building and returned to his home. When he was going to sleep he thought that the next day he would return there and find the girl that wouldn't disappear from his mind.
The following day, he woke up and felt a little bit confused, he didn't know if the night before had happened or if it had only been a dream, a very strange dream. He ran to his living-room and looked for his jacket. It was in the usual place, on a chair close to the door. However there was something strange, his TV was turned on and it was on a News Channel that was talking about an awful car crash. This news caught his attention and he sat on the couch listening, when he heard that a girl had died and he saw her foto. It was the girl he saw last night on the road. He was shoked and more confused. He returned to that place and looked for that old building, however there wasn't any house, only a cemetry.
He left that place and returned to his house, he only wanted to try to convence him self that it had been all a dream.

The Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers (trailer)

To watch the trailer double click it. You can only watch it at www.youtube.com because the access is restricted. I hope you like it!

Dangerous Minds (Part 3)

This post is connected with my review of Dangerous Minds. Actually it is not the trailer because I wasn’t able to find it. It’s a part of the film (9 minutes) which I found interesting. The other parts are also available at www.youtube.com. There are some sentences which I would like to highlight from this extract because they are crucial as far as the plot is concerned:
“You want to pass, all you have to do is try… At this point, everyone of you has an A… It’s up to you to keep it…”

The Notebook' s Trailer

Portuguese Folk dancing groups

Portugal is very rich country in terms of Folklore. It has many regions, each one with many different characteristics.
The meaning of folklore derives from the science that is studying popular traditions, like songs and dances that are from a certain region and period.
One of the most known regions is Minho, its dances are very energetic. “Chula”, “A Cana Verde”, “O Vira” and “O Malhão” are very charateristic dances from the Alto Minho. From the diversity of feminine apparel, the most common are work clothes and the Sunday best. All apparels have features that distinguish the rich from the poor, the outstand clothes between that women are the country-woman (lavradeira), the woman reaper (ceifeira), steward (mordoma) and the bride (noiva).
Some women from Minho used to have much gold, like the bride and the country-woman. One of the symbols of this region is the Lenço do Amor ou dos Namorados that was used by the steward (mordoma) and the bride.
Also in the same region there are os Pauliteiros de Miranda, they are very different from the other groups, because it is formed only by man and their clothes are very special. They wear a white shirt and skirt with rifles and laces and a black jacket with colourful bands. In dances they use two sticks (palotes) and their symbol is a Capa de Honra, that was used by people from high society.
More close to the centre of Portugal is Nazaré. This region is frequently associated with the sea, and fishery. The fishermen are normally shoeless, but sometimes they have wooden-shoes. The well known symbol from Nazaré is the seven skirts (Nazarena das sete saias). They wear seven colourful skirts, and the myth say that it represents the seven days of the week, the rainbow’s seven colours and the meaning of seven in the bible.
Closer to the south is the Ribatejo. Its music is elegant and harmonious.
The richest men’s apparel is the ceremony clothes, that is formed with black trousers and jacket and a white shirt. To the weeding, the bride had to cover her head with a kerchief.
The well known dance from Ribatejo is the Fandango. This dance is charaterized to dance by a man and a woman and was considered a sedution dance.
The herdsman (campino) is the most known Ribatejo’s apparel. In the work he had wore a black jacket, with black trousers and a white shirt. The celebration clothes are the one that people recognize better and is formed by green breeches, red jacket and a white shirt too. These clothes are completed by a red band and a red and green cap.
The corridinho is considered the biggest expression of the Algarve’s popular dances. This music was danced in par ever making a circle. However this dance wasn’t only danced in the Algarve, it was also danced in Estremadura. In the Algarve there was also the water-man (aguadeiro), the shepherd (pastor) and the woman-baker (padeira).
Portugal also has two archipelagos with different traditions. In Madeira’s Folklore there is the woman, seriguilha, and the vilão apparels. The female clothes are constituted by flax chemise, a red jacket and a skirt with vertical colourful stripes. On the head they wear the carapuça.
The seriguilha’s apparel is brown and is formed by trousers, a flax shirt, like the previous, a jacket and a cap. The Vilão’s clothes have shirt and trousers made of flax, a carapuça like women.
The symbol from Madeira is the Brinquinho. It is a tipical instrument, which has dolls made of wood wearing that traditional apparel, castanets and narrow ribbons. It is made around a cane and is moved by a person vertically. This is the regional instrument, however it is used only in the Bailinho, that now-a-days represent the popular Madeira dances.
Açores is constituted by nine islands, and all with some differences, however they also have some similarities, like some music, like Manjericão, Tirana, Sapateia, Pezinho and Chamarrita. They have also special shoes, albarcas, that are made of leather.

Theatre in Portugal

Gil Vicente (1435-1536) is considered the first great Portuguese playwright. Frequently called the father of Portuguese theatre, he portrays the society of the 16th century. Following Molière’s well-known phrase “ridendo castigat mores”, Gil Vicente became famous for his satirical plays such as the “Triologia das Barcas” (“Auto da Barca do Inferno” (1517), “Auto da Barca do Purgatório” (1518); “Auto da Barca da Glória” (1518)). In these plays, he creates some characters who are representative of their social group. This results in not only comical, but also strong critical situations. Gil Vicente also wrote other important plays such as “Auto da Índia” (1509), “Auto da Fama” (1510), and “Farsa de Inês Pereira” (1523).
Another relevant playwright of the 16th century is António Ferreira (1528-1569), who wrote “A Castro” (1587), a well-known tragedy about the forbidden love between D. Pedro I and D. Inês de Castro. António Ferreira is considered the father of Renaissance culture in Portugal.
One of the most famous playwrights of the 18th century is António José da Silva (1705-1739), commonly known as “O Judeu” because of his Judaic origins. He wrote several plays such as “Os Encantos de Medeia” (1735), “As Variedades de Proteu” (1737) and “Precipício de Faetonte” (1738).
Almeida Garrett (1799-1854) was a turning point in Portuguese literature as far as the themes are concerned. His most outstanding play is “Frei Luís de Sousa” (1844), which became a classic of Portuguese theatre. Garrett also wrote “Um Auto de Gil Vicente” (1838), “Filipa de Vilhena” (1846) and “O Alfageme de Santarém” (1842). These three plays as well as “Frei Luís de Sousa” are somehow connected with Portuguese history. Furthermore, Garrett is also the founder of the “Conservatório Geral de Arte Dramática” as well as of the “Teatro Nacional D. Maria II”.
As far as the 20th century is concerned, it’s worth noticing Bernardo Santareno’s (1920-1980) work. His most famous play is “O Judeu”, based upon the life of António José da Silva, mentioned above. Santareno also wrote “A Promessa” (1957), “O Crime da Aldeia Velha” (1959) and “Anunciação” (1962). Most of his plays deal with universal questions such as liberty, oppression and discrimination.
Born in 1926, Luís de Sttau Monteiro (1926-1993) wrote several plays, some of them portraying and criticising Portuguese society of his time. His most famous play is “Felizmente Há Luar” (1961), which is a strong criticism of the political context of that time (dictatorship – Estado Novo). “O Barão” (1965), “A Guerra Santa” (1967) and “Sua Excelência” (1971) were also written by Sttau Monteiro.
In the 20th century theatre in Portugal became more popular with the “Revista” – a comical and satirical form of theatre. It is a creative way of expressing one’s ideas as well as criticising political and social problems. The most important actors who performed this form of theatre in the 20th century were Vasco Santana (1898-1958), Beatriz Costa (1907-1996) and Ivone Silva (1935-1987). Nowadays it is worth mentioning Maria João Abreu, José Raposo and Fernando Mendes, who perform this form of theatre at the well known “Parque Mayer” (a theatre in Lisbon where the “Revista” used to be performed).
Other outstanding Portuguese actors are Ruy de Carvalho, Eunice Muñoz, Rui Mendes, Irene Cruz and Luís Miguel Cintra.

How did football come to Portugal?

Football started to become well known in our country in the final decades of the 19th century, brought by Portuguese students who returned from England.
The first person responsible for its implementation would have been Guilherme Pinto Basto (according to some people, his brothers Eduardo and Frederico would have brought the first ball from England). It was he who had the initiative to organise an exhibition of the new game, which took place in October of 1888, and it was also him who organized the first football match in January of the following year. The match, played where today the Campo Pequeno bullring is located, involved opposing teams from Portugal and England. The Portuguese won the game 2-1. Consequently, football started attracting the attention of the high society, being distinguished by the Luso-British rivalry.
Later, the game spread, being practised in colleges and leading to the foundation of clubs all over the country. Until the end of the century, associations such as Clube Lisbonense, Carcavelos, Braço de Prata, the Real Ginásio Clube Português, the Estrela Futebol Clube, the Futebol Académico, the Campo de Ourique, the Oporto Cricket, and the Sport Clube Vianense were founded to practise this sport or created sections for competing.
The first match, between Lisbon and Porto, took place in 1894, attended by King D. Carlos.
The Clube Internacional de Futebol (founded in 1902) was the first Portuguese team to play abroad defeating, in 1907, the Madrid Futebol Clube in the Spanish capital.
Currently, of the most important teams of the sport in Portugal, the oldest is the Boavista Futebol Clube, which was founded in 1903. The Futebol Clube do Porto, after an unsuccessful attempt in 1893, appeared in 1906, stimulated by José Monteiro da Costa, among others. The Sporting Clube de Portugal was founded in 1906 by the Viscount of Alvalade and his grandson José de Alvalade. Sport Lisboa e Benfica, was born in 1908 from the fusion of the Sport Lisboa (founded in 1904) with the Grupo Sport Benfica. They are all clubs that traditionally have several sports activities but they give great distinction to football, making use of teams of professional players, which frequently participate in European competitions.