Monday, April 13, 2009

The City and the Song


GRANADA is the name of the City in the south of Spain lying at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, and also the name of the well-known Song about this city's land full of beautiful women, flowers, blood and sunshine - favorite song of famous singers , among them Frank Sinatra and the three tenors: Pavarotti, Carreras, Domingo ( the last two - spanish born artists).

What struck me first in Granada was the spectacular contrast between the warm, sunny climate of the city and the white snow on the mountains above it. I happened to be on a main street in the city's center, and I could see from there the snowy Sierra Nevada range overlooking the city of Granada . It was sort of a surrealistic view.


The second thing that struck me was of course the Generalife (high Paradise) complex : The Alhambra palaces , the fort of Alcazaba, and especially the superb Generalife Gardens that had served as a retreat for the Moorish Kings of Granada.


The Generalife Gardens have stunning flower beds, bushes, pastures, orchards, and a clever water running system. One could notice a certain symmetry in shapes all over the gardens.




The Generalife Gardens

View of the city from the Alcazaba fort

Apropo the tenors Placido Domingo (in the video below) and Jose Carreras that are among the best performers of the 'Granada" song. There is this story about the later being diagnosed in the past (he's now about 62 of age) with an agressive form of leukemia. The disease and the hard treatments he had to undergo, caused substantial damage to both his flourishing career and his financial situation. Placido Domingo who was considered his very bitter stage rival , set up a fund under an anonymous name to help him. Only after he won the battle against the leukemia, did Carreras receive information on the man behind the fund. Needless to say, he was deeply touched by Domingo's gesture. and they became the best of friends since (according to the Media).


12 comments:

  1. Hi!!! Very Thanks! ^^ The City and the Song... I am dance the natural song! Bjs

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  2. I love Placido Domingo. I buy season tickets to the opera here in Los Angeles every year :) Thank you for sharing. I love to see you sitting in all those beautiful places in your travels, Duta :)
    Have a Wonderful Day!

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  3. Reading your description of these places brings them back to life. I can imagine it all in my head. Truly amazing! I wish I could be every where, but sadly I cant. You're very lucky to have been there :)

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  4. Hi Chic Geek,

    There aren't many things in life to stir one's whole being like a good operaic voice. Placido Domingo, by the way, started his career at the israeli opera.
    Have a Wonderful Day you too.

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  5. Hi Ron,

    I believe there are many places like these in Canada and America, but it's always good to visit the Europe originals.

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  6. I love seeing pictures of other people's travels. Wonderful...! I can't open the video at work, but I will open it when I get home. I love Placido Domingo. :-)

    Cheers!

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  7. Aaah, we did not make it to Granada, when we were in Spain a looong time ago (for our honeymoon), but we did make it to the Alhambra palaces. We stayed in Malaga in a hotel (on the Mediterranean coast). Only recently I realized that that was the birth place of Picasso:)

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  8. Thank´s for your visit! Good week and!
    hugs

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  9. Hi Jo,

    Domingo may not be the greatest but as he was born in Spain and lives in Mexico ( the song is originally a mexican song)I think he's the best in performing it.

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  10. Hi Jeannette,

    Nice place to spend one's honeymoon!
    Indeed, Picaso was born in Malaga and his father was also a painter. The name 'Picasso' comes from his mother's side.

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  11. Hi Sonia,

    You're very welcome !

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