Agnes yelled to Tigresa so loud that her pitch was bending the bars. Tigresa was the one who fed the beasts, he had a high pitch, though not as high as the one that the owner of the business had- not as high as Agnes', I mean. Tigresa was …
It was a rainy evening. Zia Scilla had been hanging and collecting the same clothes over and over all day long. Alfio's trousers now looked like a stinky puddle. Mr Bosch had been undisturbedly drinking Budweiser since 1pm. Inside Lucceto'…
She was already there, peeking from the side stairs, smoothing her spotless black dress with the gestures of a housewife. It would have been impossible for me to tell wether she was nervous or not. Checking the sole of her right high heel …
Dear President of the Republic of Spain, In the first place, allow me to congratulate you. We have a bright country despite the weather. The public administration works so hard on itself, that sometimes it reminds me of an ascetic monk thi…
In two days a list will be published. A surname will be missed in the registry office, another will appear at a border, two initials will cross a secret gate, a country will enter a rank, a song will fall to the ground. I never dealt well …
“Hi lil’ rat!” “Hi Carmen! How did you know it was me?” “I read ROSA on my phone screen.” “What a nice full moon, right? What’s going on over there? Tell me!” “It’s my break week.” “Right. Then you must be watching Lebanese movies, skippin…
It never rains to everyone’s liking. That’s a saying in Spanish. For the past weeks the sun has heated the walls of my flat so much that the very thought of rain flows down my body and triggers cracks in the floor tiles. Water… what an ext…
English and Spanish share some common words. Some of them mean the same thing, some of them don't. The second kind is unfairly called ‘false friends’. I confess I have a weakness for these… same length, same weight, same sound… and a suppo…
The odd couple exists beyond Jack Lemmon and Neil Simon. It actually is a natural phenomenon going on at my flat now. Enough of perfect matching souls, wedding ribbons and better halves. We’ve seen too many of them throughout our lives. I’…
A good friend of mine wrote once that, in his heart, Barcelona was twenty five. Now that I think of Madrid, I guess I could write something like that. I still remember when I reached that city in a moving van. I was carrying with me a chee…
Rob was white-brown-black. He had a hole in his leg and something going on in his ear that made him unable to keep balance, avoid idiots and jump on time to fall with elegance. I never cared. In winters, he liked to sit on the couch beside…
Dear Jan, I haven’t heard from you for the past two months. I guess you may be already in Nuremberg getting ready for your course, or perhaps back to Sheffield babysitting that sod, or hopefully plucking apples with Vincent at Limoges. I m…
Shirin, what a merciless prince stole the flame of your thoughts and the lightness of your heart. Why did he do so? Why did he put such a heavy stone on the top of your head? Did he want to test his aim with a bow? To hit the stone and set…
Last night. Four people of an uncertain age in a car heading to the movie theater. A figurine of Jabba the Hutt hanging from the rearview mirror. Average percent of brain usage barely reaching 10 point 01. Let’s name them Do, Re, Mi and Fa…
Dear selection committee and other bureaucrats whom it may concern or not but that for some reason have to read this letter in order to file it, burn it or use it to even the desk's legs:I chose the Monographic Course on Aesthetics to fulf…
The difficult slope. That’s what I named it. It was two hundred meters away from my house. Just a cut in the ground, an ascending wall of mud delimiting a sunny field of daisies from the shady forest of cypresses that crowned our side of t…
My middle sister is getting married. So far nothing thrilling or surprising. She has found the perfect guy. They sound like two songs by Carosone; they look like a finished 10000-piece puzzle, they smell like melted candy in an amusement p…
Somewhere at this moment there is an English person studying Spanish. Somewhere at this moment there is a Spanish person studying English. The first has conjugated the future perfect of 'to fall' instead of the subjunctive. The second has …
Living on the highest floor of a building has some drawbacks, especially if it’s August, a hand fan is the only way you have to cool down, and half the day southern sunbeams paint the rooftop yellow. Also you may sometimes find the lift bu…
The use of mobile phones has become widespread among the youngest members of our society. This undeniable fact, partially triggered by the nature of the modern market, has aroused the worries of teachers and therapists and has initiated a …
When I was little, my siblings and I used to play a game called ‘The dictionary’. The rules were easy. Someone picked a word, quite a complicated one, and wrote down its official meaning on a piece of paper. The rest of us had to compose a…
“The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority… Children are now tyrants… They contradict their parents… and tyrannize their teachers.” Socrates (469–399 B.C.) Some elders say they don’t recognize this world; …
“So, how was your date?” “I’d better keep my mouth shut.” That’s exactly how Fran usually starts a detailed disclosure about the events that took place the previous night. “Score it from one to ten.” “Am I allowed to use the decimal scale?…
I’m not sure if it was Jack Kerouac who said that the only requirement he asked of his acquaintances was an uncontrollable fascination towards life. I guess that’s too much to ask nowadays. The twentieth century has passed away and the you…
“Can’t you see how merciful and wise the Universe is? It will always give you back as much as you offer it.” If I had to pick a friend to spend the night stargazing with, I’d choose no other than her. The secrets of the starry sky are some…
The brittle flamenco verses of a drunk man slip into the room from outside, along with the full moon light. It’s Saturday; fifteen minutes to midnight; the precious moment; it’s movie time. 'The Color of God' in Iran, 1999. 'The Color of P…
A recent investigation has proven high IQ causes staying up late at night. Ok, that’s probably not the most accurate summary for such a costly research, but since today is Friday, I’m not going to get into technical slang. The juicy matter…
The most important characteristics that a person can have to be successful in life are self-confidence, perseverance and humanity. Self-confidence will be the start button to have success. Beyond whatever success means for someone, one wil…
10:00 a.m.; tomato on toast; juice made out of one and a half oranges; demitasse of dark coffee; me having breakfast at any coffee shop. Breaking news in the local newspaper: It has been proven that Averroes changed the path of trending to…
It was my second year at college, my friend Rosa and I lived in the downtown area of a cute city in Southern Spain. It was a neighborhood full of college buildings, bookstores, coffee shops and used clothing tents. The music conservatory w…
