Summer suggestions
Tertulia, vol. 62
Hola. This is Barbara, your guide to the latest cultural news from the Spanish-speaking world. We are approaching summer vacation, so some of you might already be enjoying additional leisure time. If you're searching for summer entertainment and education, I have some great suggestions for you.
Mercè Rodoreda, Aloma
Aloma is a wonderful and poignant novel by Catalan star writer Mercè Rodoreda (1908-1983). The book tells the story of a young woman called Aloma. She lives in Barcelona in the 1930s together with her brother Joan, her sister-in-law Anna and the couple’s son Dani. Both her parents and another brother have died. Especially, her brother’s death has marked her life. Their economic prospects are bleak. One day, the life routine changes when Robert, her sister-in-law's brother, arrives from America for a longer visit. As Aloma gets to know Robert, she begins to feel strong and confusing emotions and starts a secret relationship with the older man. It's a coming-of-age story that offers profound psychological insights into the thoughts of a young woman at that time and what the reality of life has in store for her.
If you wish to find out if this is your kind of summer reading, you can listen to one of the latest episodes of the podcast Un libro Una Hora. Of course, this means that you will have to deal with the Castilian translation of the book. I must admit that my Catalan is way too basic to read the original, but I think the Castilian translation is lovely. According to my research, the book has unfortunately never been translated into English.
Richard McColl’s Colombia at a Crossroads
Long-time readers of this newsletter may recall that I am a regular listener to Colombia insider Richard McColl’s podcast Colombia Calling. He has now completed a year-long 'side project' exploring the historical and social contexts of his adopted home: At the beginning of this year, he published the book Colombia at a Crossroads: A Historical and Social Biography with his own publishing house Fuller Vigil. Richard McColl has made Colombia his home since 2007. There is a positive review of the book project on the Latin American Review of Books substack, and I look forward to reading McColl's reflections during the summer break. If you are interested in his career as a journalist, podcaster, and hotelier in Colombia and are keen to learn about the experiences that made him write the book, you may start with this podcast episode:
Needless to say, you may also choose to listen to his weekly episodes of his own podcast.
Sephardica Sinfónico en Concierto
I have one final music suggestion for you. It’s a concert recording of Sephardica, a musical group created by Emilio Villalba and Sara Marina. The concert was recorded live by the sound technician Antonio Villalba, and by Tecnomediatv Audiovisuales in the video edition, in the theatre of the Casa de la Cultura de Valencina de la Concepción, Sevilla. I love Villalba’s YouTube channel and have subscribed to it, but you can also follow the musical group on Instagram or Facebook for updates on new music and tours.
Enjoy!
This is all for today. I wish you all a lovely summer. I will come back to you with more news in the second half of August.