Where is Spain headed? part 2 of 2

Even city governments have had the national taxing agency (Hacienda) remove money from their bank account.  In one incident this past summer, a large government agency (the government of the Junta de Andalucía) sent a large payment to the city of Jerez so that the city could pay city workers to whom it owed several months´ back pay.  Before the city could use the money, Hacienda found it and removed it -- and used it to pay off some of the taxes that the city owed the central government.
One response to the continuing crisis has been increasingly large demonstrations, such as one last week in which between 5,000 (say the police) and 60,000 (say the unions who organized it) took to the streets to protest job cuts, wage freezes, tax rises and the like.  In addition to Madrid, there were significant demonstrations in 50 other cities in Spain.  There may also be another general strike on November 14.

"No more unemployment."

Here are links to a couple of those stories:  LINK #1 and LINK #2.

There´s a lot of dis-function in Spain.  Lots of looking at the relatively few big guys and ignoring the needs of the many small guys.  (Kind of like here in the United States....)

So when push comes to shove, why should you be interested in a middle-aged family man in Spain, like our hero in Domino, who has financial problems?

Well, he´s an awful lot like your next-door neighbor, or your cousin, or that kid who graduated from college with lots of student loan debt who can´t get a job no matter how hard s/he tries.

NOTE:  you might also be interested in the documentary film that recently aired over PBS, As Goes Janesville, about the devastating effects of the financial crisis there, and how it is connected to us all.

OUR NEXT POST will be about the background music created for us by young composer-guitarist Malena Hijo.

Supporting actor Salvador Valle

Salvador Valle plays the neighbor of the hero, Luis, in Domino:  Caught in the Crisis;  the neighbor who gives Luis an odd-job to do and then, knowing Luis is in such a hard spot that he can't well complain,  underpays him.  Both guys -- Salvador Valle and Antonio de la Malena (playing Luis) -- kind of hammed it up in these scenes and there are sections which are really comic relief.  It was fun watching them do it and it's fun watching those scenes now.

In Domino, he first stops his car to offer our hero a small job.

 Valle began his acting career in high school, playing roles in Christmas productions, in pantomimes and in short pieces by Lope de Vega, Calderon, and other famous Spanish playwrights. 

Later, as an adult, he joined the well-known theater company, La Zaranda.  In his nine-year stint with the company, he acted roles, helped with stage sets and was property manager in charge of all of those small items you see on a theater stage that make the action seem realistic. 

Salvador Valle, script in hand, ready to work.

He later worked in the Basque country for a theater company called "bekereke," then returned to southern Spain and joined the company Teatro del Arte de Andalucía, and also worked with the flamenco group Gitanos de Jerez (led by the famous flamenco guitarist and producer, Manuel Morao).  His work with Gitanos de Jerez included acting, and also helping create the sets for Morao´s production of Tierra Cantaora.

He has appeared in more than 10 movies, including La Lola se va a los puertos, Batton rouge, and Miel de Naranjas.  He was lead actor in two episodes of the television series, Viaje a España (A Trip to Spain) which  has been broadcast in over 50 countries.  He has also appeared in various video shorts, and in television commercials.

Acting in la Niebla.

In the recent past, he has worked with the theater company Tras el Trapo of Jerez de la Frontera, playing a role in the theater adaptation of the poem, La Niebla (by the Jerezano, José Mateo Rosales), and also acting in several plays intended for a youth audience.

Currently, he uses his acting talents to be master of ceremonies for various events, and to officiate at weddings.  And in addition, he is a professional dancer of Argentine tango as well as the Pasodoble.

OUR NEXT POST will be about...where is Spain headed?

Supporting actor Javier Padilla

Actor and playwright Javier Padilla, co-founder and co-director of the theater company Tras el Trapo in Jerez de la Frontera, plays two roles in Domino:  Caught in the Crisis.  He plays the friend Manolo, who owns a shop where our hero, Luis, goes to look for a job.  He also plays the drunk in one of the final scenes.

To be sure the audience won´t recognize him in his two contrasting roles, in addition to very different costuming, in one scene he has a bushy beard and in the other, he does not.  A real beard.  We shot the drunk scene first, then he shaved off the beard (not just for us, but it still served our purposes well), and afterwards, we shot the other scene with him as Manolo.

Javier Padilla as the friend, Manolo, in his shop.  Oops! caught him with his mouth open!

We have written about Javier in earlier blogs but wanted to use this space to "catch up" with what he´s been doing lately.

Well, he´s been doing quite a lot.

This past summer, Tras el Trapo presented the opening of his semi-surrealistic, satirical work, Pepa or Josefa:  when Fernando VII wore an overcoat (¿Pepa o Josefa?...cuando Fernando VII usaba paletó). It has played in numerous venues ever since.

Playbill from Pepa o Josefa.

The play deals with a chaotic period in Spain´s history, the XIX century when the country experienced war, revolution, invasion, frequent changes of government, and warring world views characterized by a tug-of-war between monarchists and Renaissance liberalism.  This is the period in which Napoleon conquered Spain but was later thrown out, in which the Inquisition was first disavowed then reinstated, in which kings fled the country or ruled as puppets or were restored to autocratic power....

Pepa and Josefa are two contrasting female characters, one an aristocrat loyal to the Spanish king and the other, her pragmatic servant.   The entire play is carried by only these two characters, played respectively by María Duarte and Ana Oliva.  Javier Padilla, in addition to being the author, also directed it.

Then, even more recently, he along with other members of the theater company have been presenting something they call the Jaramago´s Blues Band to audiences in several towns and cities in Andalucia, in southern Spain.  This is a light, comic work that makes use of Padilla´s talents as both an actor and musician.

Jaramago Blues Band.

The mini-tour was funded by the European Union as part of its program to revitalize local commerce and local business districts by bringing in activities that would lure local citizens out to enjoy themselves ... and spend money.  There were several additional performing companies that were part of these tours, and entrance to all was free.

All this sounds wonderful, but I need to add a short note here, and that is, that I have learned from many people in the performing arts that it is really important that tours and performances such as these be properly publicized and properly scheduled.  No publicity means no audience.   I mention this because especially in the case of tours organized by government entities, inadequate publicity is often a problem.  Then it look like the public doesn't support the arts (so we can cut THAT out of the budget, right?) when really, it's a question of the organizers not having done their jobs. 

On stage, on tour.

But getting back to Javier Padilla:  he long and the short of it is that, as an actor as well as playwright and musician, he has been a very busy man.

And the best part of it is...that he´s even getting paid (as opposed to some tours in which the actors are  promised a fee by a government organ but then the money isn´t forthcoming).

Relaxing before the show (l to r):  Ismael Colón, María Duarte and Javier Padilla.

OUR NEXT POST will be about supporting actor Nicolás Montoya.