Modernist, er, Monday: Se hace camino al sonreír

Antonio Machado does not smile. Here he is chillin' in a hat, resolutely not smiling. OK, you say, but maybe it was just a bad day. Maybe he was just crossing the Pyrenees on foot and half-dead that day. I wouldn't smile about that.


But here's the thing. He's marrying his beloved child/French-student-bride in this picture, and he's STILL NOT SMILING. It's basically the happiest day of his life, and he just can't turn up the corners of his mouth to express that. Even Ian Curtis smiled when he got married, Antonio, or at least he tried really hard. She's only 16, and she's certainly not going to die of consumption two years later. So why so sad?




Luckily, when the Spanish government put an engraving of Machado on a postage stamp, they added just a little smile, even though it doesn't seem to be based on any actual photos of him. Let's hope that wherever Machado is now, he can manage at least that. I think he's earned it.

Latin American Madness! Gabriel García Márquez v. Carlos Fuentes

Let Carlos Fuentes and Gabriel García Márquez explain the Latin American Boom to you...with gestures! "It was really big, and it spread out in all directions," says García Márquez. "Yes," says Carlos Fuentes, laughing, "and had it been a literal boom it would have been very loud! I suppose if you stood near it it might have felt like getting punched in the face by Mario Vargas Llosa, right, Gabo?"

Yes, it looks like fun, but just moments later, Gabriel García Márquez punched Carlos Fuentes in the face.

Un buen año para Miki

I had to go really deep into Google to find this picture, and now I wonder: is José Ovejero happy or extremely distressed? You decide. I'd say the latter based on his books, but he's actually just a really happy family man who loves New Wave. And he has THE BEST GLASSES IN THE WORLD.