I would like that, in these days when we are trying to assimilate the terrible tragedy that DANA caused, without forgetting it, you read the interview that Gumersindo Lafuente, former deputy director of elDiario.es, carried out with the writer and also the journalist Martín Caparrós, at his home last weekend. It’s a fascinating conversation and a privilege to be there, listening, while we read to them.
He talks about memory, the summary of a life, what fathers and mothers, sons and daughters give, what Argentina gives and takes away, and activism. But we also talk about being in one place and fearing losing what is happening elsewhere, fear, anger, ALS.
Caparrós says: “And now, in this most extreme moment, let’s say, of the illness, I realize how many things to which I did not attach particular importance were extraordinary. A lot of times I’m here writing and I think I’m going to get up and make myself some coffee, because when I’m writing I usually forget all that. And then I say to myself: what are you going to make a coffee, idiot!
Every day something happens, sometimes tragic, sometimes less tragic, that reminds us of the immense value of the ordinary.
Keep reading, in cultural recommendations we tell you about the Fontaines DC concert in Madrid, not to be missed, three new books in bookstores that I recommend and many others that Librotea brings us, three films that Javier Zurro recommends , three plans for the weekend that Laura García Higueras proposes and we incorporate something new: three exhibitions that Jaime Molero Torres invites you to visit. The weekly cultural agenda of elDiario.es is growing every day, be sure to follow us. You can also subscribe to the Early Bird newsletter to receive it in your inbox every Friday at 7am.
a concert
The Irish group Fontaines DC has become with its fourth album, Romance, in the most relevant indie rock group on the Anglo-Saxon scene. They took the plunge thanks to this work, where each song resonates with a different musical style but where they all have a bomb in them.
They went from post punk to being the equivalent (in songs and attitude) of any of the important (broadly defined) Britpop bands of the 90s and 2000s. Getting your head out in those days wasn’t difficult because all eyes were turned towards the Anglo-Saxon world. Today, they have lost this hegemony. For those who missed the British, Irish and Scottish indie tradition, Fontaines DC has arrived to conquer it all for them.
As part of their European tour, they stop at the WiZink Center in Madrid for their only date in Spain on November 2, as part of a tour promoted by Houston Party. On elDiario.es we will present the column to you this weekend.
Three recommended books
- ‘The Paratrooper’ by Ana Campoy (The Periphery). This is the first novel written by the author of children’s literature who created the character of Pepa Guindilla (the girl who has two fathers, a mother, two houses and an unbearable neighbor). Ana Campoy wrote this article on Judith Kerr in elDiario.es that I recommend. In this story, Campoy immerses us in a wonderful rural reality, where we smell the scorched earth of the post-war period and where women pass on memories. In bookstores from November 4.
- “Capitalist science fiction” by Michel Nieva (Anagrama). The subtitle of this essay from the New Anagram Compacts reads: “How Billionaires Will Save Us from the End of the World.” And its first page starts there, with the millionaires, particularly Mark Zuckerberg and his story about how he stole the word “metaverse” from the novel. Snow crash. This novel inspired much of the technological capitalism we live in, which of course ignored its critics but embraced its fashionism. The text takes us on (interspatial) journeys between business, literature and technology. And on the last page we find a message for Elon Musk. In bookstores from October 23.
- “Outdoor Journal” by Annie Ernaux (Cabaret Voltaire). The essential publishing house Cabaret Voltaire does not stop at publishing the complete works of the Nobel Prize winner for literature Annie Ernaux, and this time brings us a few pages from her diary. This “photographic writing of reality”, in the words of its author, takes place between 1985 and 1992 and, through her descriptions, we see what she sees, like a shameless voyeur flooded with curiosity for what is foreign. The stranger, who is his own.
Three recommended films, by Javier Zurro
- “Hail Mary.” It is undoubtedly one of the best Spanish films of the year. What a marvel this return of Mar Coll to feature film with a film about motherhood which becomes a horror film with touches of body horror and what a discovery of Laura Weissmahr, who deserves all the rewards for this hypnotic and complex character. Don’t miss it and take the opportunity to discover the cinema of one of the great recent authors of our cinema.
- ‘Jury No. 2’: Clint Eastwood is 94 years old and he is still there, as if nothing had happened, making his classic cinema, with transparent editing, and stuck to his obsessions, morality, justice and guilt. Many modern people would already sign this thriller: intelligent, funny and ambiguous. With many of his conservative tics as well, but no one is going to ask good old Eastwood to change at this age.
- “Anora”: Even though it sounds like a Paquita Salas phrase, if a film wins the Palme d’Or, you see the Palme d’Or. Even if it’s out of curiosity, we’re going to get tired of hearing about the Palme d’Or. name of Anora, the heroine that Sean created Baker, one of the filmmakers who best looks at the margins and who here reverses the situation pretty woman to create class-conscious anti-romantic comedy. One of the favorites for the Oscars.
Three projects for the weekend, by Laura G. Higueras
- Death Day (Palencia). I admit that I am not particularly a fan of Halloween, but it is a celebration around which very interesting alternatives always end up emerging, like this festival organized in the towns of Tabanera de Cerrato and Villahán in Palencia. The congress includes a conference on necrophilia, necropolitics and archaeology, an anthropology workshop for those curious about death, another workshop for making your own epitaph, dance and concerts. Tremble!
- Assembly of Medinaceli (Soria). The DEARTE Foundation offers this theatrical experience which combines mystery, music, witches and heroes this Friday the 1st, to pay homage to the ancestral magic of the Day of the Dead. And be careful, its inspiration is the Congress of the Universal Organization of Timeless Witches and Wizards, which is held every two centuries in a corner of the cosmos. This time, it is in the Andromeda galaxy that Medinaceli was chosen for its closure.
- Night of Souls (Soria). This November 1, Soria also celebrates La Noche de las Ánimas, a tribute to Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and his legend El Monte de las Ánimas, considered one of the best horror stories in Castilian literature. The text will be read on the banks of the Duero River, next to a large bonfire accompanied by the torches of a group of monks. A concert of medieval and Renaissance music will follow.
Three exhibitions, by Jaime Molero Torres
- “Goya x Lita Cabellut” (Madrid). Recently inaugurated, this exhibition inspired by Francisco de Goya’s Disparates arrives in Madrid. A dialogue between the works of the prolific painter and those of the artist Lita Cabellut which expose her view of the human condition, but with different languages. If you were or are a fan of Goya, this seems like an incredible opportunity to take a look at what you knew about him and understand him at his darkest and most macabre.
- ‘MiróMatisse. Beyond the images” (Barcelona). These are dialogues between artists. I leave Goya and Cabellut to offer an immersion in the work of two great painters. The fauvism of Matisse and the surrealism of Miró combine with a selection of their paintings to seek the conversation between artistic movements. A unique opportunity with more than 160 pieces that has just opened its doors in Barcelona and which can serve as an excuse to visit the picturesque building of the Joan Miró Foundation if you have not been there yet. It’s not every day that you get to see the works of two leaders of modern art together.
- “The Machados. Family portrait’ (Seville). Leaving the painting aside, I offer you an exhibition with a more historical tone in homage to two characters that you surely know. The lives of the Machado brothers through photographs, documents and original objects that retrace the ins and outs of their relationship. A chance to sneak into the family room for a few minutes and listen to their conversations. If you dare to see it, it is now on display in the historic Artillery Factory of Seville, and if you are not nearby, don’t worry, the exhibition will then move to Madrid and Burgos.
Librotea’s recommendations
This week, at Librotea, we have an interview with the great winner of the National Prize that is Manuel Rivas, the success of reading clubs like that of Dua Lipa and the best that you will find in bookstores in November:
