At the End of the Day it's Just Another Film with a lot of Singing

Happy Holidays, folks!
It's been quiet here on the blogging front, but fret not, for I am still alive and well.

As healthy as an artichoke* for I got to see Les Misérables.
On my own. As is always the case.

If you recall my last post you will remember me confessing not being a Les Mis fan.
And I'm not just jumping on the Les Mis bandwagon because of the film- no. I have truly become a fan.

That being clarified, let's get on with another edition of my Ish-Reviews. **

I had mixed expectations going in, because I was blown away by the 25th Anniversary and expected an equally astounding vocal cast plus spectacular performances. [Of course, I excluded Russell Crowe from these expectations]

Never Say Never: Musicals Edition (Or How I Learned to Love the Classics)

I'm not a (true) Belieber* and I know it's a cliché, but that saying rings true to me.
It goes way back to when you were a young'un...

Mom: Have some of this.

Wee You: I don't like it.

Mom: But you haven't even tried it.

Wee You: Yeah, but I know I won't like it.

Years later you try whatever food that was only to discover it is delicious.
Be it olives, tamales, figs, asparagus, mole, etc, etc....

Needless to say, I was a picky eater.

But what does all this have to do with musicals, you say?
So freakin' much!

I've been a fan of musicals for as long as I can remember (thanks to my Disney upbringing**). 

I jam to show tunes (well, to music in general) in my car, in my room, on the street- you name it.

Up to a couple of weeks ago I was anti- Phantom of the Opera and anti-Les Miserables.
I'd seen both Mexican productions back in my teens and came out thinking, "Meh. What's the big deal". Production-wise I remember they were superb- especially considering Mexico still wasn't big on Musicals/Theater back then- it was just the music that didn't do it for me.

The year is 2012. The month, December.
Ah, how life has changed!
I watched both 25th Anniversary Performances (of Les Mis & Phantom) and I confess I teared up on various occasions.

I'll let the videos do the talking....

[ Let's just pretend Nick Jonas wasn't cast in this ]

Also. Bring Him Home (aka The Prayer),  you kill me.

Sierra Boggess is PHENOMENAL.
And Ramin Karimloo. And Hadley Fraser. 

SO good.

-End of Fangirling-
*clears throat*

Do you like musicals? Which are your fave? What are your favorite numbers?

Have you ever changed your mind about something?
(Tell me more, tell me more....)

And will you be rushing to the Big Screen come Christmas Day to watch Les Miserables?

Source: Uploaded by user via Queenie on Pinterest

* Although I credit the Biebs with talent because, well, he does have it. The kid can dance. He can sing. He can play instruments. That's more than most pop stars can do nowadays... Actually, I'm surprised he hasn't done a musical. At least not yet anyway...

** I still have my Disney Sing Along VHS tapes. 

For A Musing Monday

"I beg you to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language.
Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now because you would not be able to live them.
And the point is to live everything.
Live the questions now.
Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer."

-- Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

Source: alimapure.tumblr.com via Mariana on Pinterest

Calaveras & Diablitos

¡Feliz Dia de los Muertos!

Ah, November. One of my favourite months.
Winter is fast approaching as the days are now shorter and the cool breezes (even in Mexico City) nip at your nose and fingers.

My mother made some delicious candied pumpkin: chopped up pieces boiled in water with cinnamon sticks and piloncillo.
It's one of my favourite treats!

She also put up an ofrenda* with food, sweets and candles.
I placed my (last minute) jack-o-lantern beneath it.

Not pictured, but present beneath the ofrenda, are the typical ofrenda flowers: the marigold (or cempasuchil).
 Their bright orange petals really seem to radiate life.

I found the stencil online and I nearly backed out a couple of times, but pressed on and am pleased with the result.
It's the cat bus from Totoro!

Afterwards, I experimented a little with the shutter speed.
Had I been in a white lace dress and not in my PJs, this picture might've been more effective...

And if you're still in the Halloween/ All Soul's Day mood:

Can't get enough of skeleton dances?
Check out the Mickey Mouse Haunted House 1929 short. They don't make cartoons like they used to... I'm off to watch The Corpse Bride (for some more skeleton dances), eat  pan de muerto** and drink hot chocolate. Happy Weekend!

* An offering for those we've lost. ** A delicious sugary bread made especially in November for Day of the Dead.