Can Can Girls at Far West Saloon, Port Aventura, Spain

After a long journey through all attractions in Port Aventura amusement park, the best way to rest is choosing one of the many shows available. The Far West area is for me one of the most complete and genuine. This is a picture I took in the saloon where these beautiful girls were dancing can can ("The can-can (also spelled cancan or Can Can) is regarded today primarily as a physically demanding music hall dance, performed by a chorus line of female dancers who wear costumes with long skirts, petticoats, and black stockings, harking back to the fashions of the 1890s. The main features of the dance are the lifting up and manipulation of the skirts, with high kicking and suggestive, provocative body movements. The cancan first appeared in the working-class ballrooms of Montparnasse in Paris in around 1830. It was a more lively version of the galop, a dance in quick 2/4 time, which often featured as the final figure in the quadrille. The cancan was, therefore, originally a dance for couples, who indulged in high kicks and other gestures with arms and legs. It is thought that they were influenced by the antics of a popular entertainer of the 1820s, Charles Mazurier, who was well known for his acrobatic performances, which included the grand écart or jump splits—later a popular feature of the cancan. At this time, and throughout most of the 19th century in France, the dance was also known as the chahut. Both words are French, cancan meaning "tittle-tattle" or "scandal", hence a scandalous dance, while chahut meant "noise" or "uproar"." Wikipedia). Suggestions: Try to finish your drink before the show ends cause the house is emptied so the next group of people standing in line comes in.

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Cello Duet: A Close Look

Recently I went to see my daughter play the piano. She attends a music school called Tritó, one of the many small academies subordinate to the Municipal Conservatory of Music of Barcelona. Twice a year, students are supposed to play in front of an audience and seniors are sincerely worth listening to. In the picture, you can realize how near my chair was from the musicians, so close, these two cellos wouldn't fit completely in my viewfinder. Not that you haven't seen a cello before but it was curious to notice how aesthetic it is when both hands catch up in a similar position, both bows being parallel and all. The cello duet, made up of teacher and student, did quite well and we enjoyed some classical moment in an almost intimate atmosphere. To add some mood to the post, here is a cello video I came across on YouTube: Bach Cello Suite No1 i-Prelude.

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The Bat in Colonia Guell At The Secretary's House

This is a bat, a symbol that was part of Güell family's coat of arms, and on top the omnipresent pigeon, that seems to be some sort of evil partner watching me from his master's shoulder, sorry, wings. She may not harm anyone but she did cover the historic figure with all her glorious s***. The house, belonged to Colonia Guell's secretary (remember Colonia Guell was an industrial estate in Santa Coloma de Cervelló, near Barcelona). It was founded by Eusebi Güell i Bacigalupi in 1890. Güell was a wealthy man and his wife Isabel López Bru, was the daughter of Antoni López i López, first Marques of Comillas who was also a very rich man. Güell ran important textile factories in Barcelona but those were hard times for the sector. To be competitive, especially with the British industry, workers had to produce more for the same money or less. So people started to get organized and to claim for their rights and Güell decided to build a better place out of the city where workers could live around the factory and integrate themselves more in the company. He managed to do so for some time but trade unions and their claims arrived to Colonia Güell in the end.