In October, I travel to my birthplace, Ecuador, for the first time in 10 years. Besides reconnecting with family and pursuing some touristy activities, I hope to meet a relative of mine who wrote a book that takes place in my birthplace, Portoviejo. He is a distant relative whom I only found out about last year when an aunt, returning from a trip to Ecuador, brought back a book called
Corazón de Colibrí. I found out that not only did I have a relative who was a writer, but also one that was half-Lebanese! The story is that my great-grandfather, Jose Velez, father of my dad's mom's, Sara Dorila Velez, fathered a daughter with Isabel Alarcón (not my great grandmother). Their daughter was named Alicia Haydée, who is the mother of the author of "Corazón de Colibrí", Wadía Launado Vélez. The father of the author was Kalil Lauando Sáber, who was had immigrated from Lebanon to Ecuador.
The following is a passage from that book, in which Portoviejo is described (first in the original Spanish, followed by my translation to English):
De "Corazón de Colibrí" por Wadía Launado VélezPortoviejo, capital de la provincia de Manabí, por la epoca de 1930 al 40 su valle, se empinaba como una ciudad, eminentemente agrícola, su gente laboriosa era hospitalaria. Se conocian a todas y cada una de las personas por sus nombres, apellidos y apodos. Carecia de calles pavimentadas, agua potable, y se alumbraban por las noches con candiles (mechones) a kerosén y una planta eléctrica que entregaba luz por pocas horas.
Las mujeres, mezcla de españoles y aborigenes, de belleza única, eran el soporte vital y fieles para sus esposos, ya con su trabajo denodado, tejiendo sombreros de paja toquilla, cultivando la tierra, ya en los quehaceres que demanda el hogar y en la crianza de animales domésticos, la educación de los hijos, con la aspiración de que sean utiles a la sociedad y a la Patria. Portoviejo conocido como la cuidad De Los Reales Tamarindos y como Villa Nueva de San Gregorio de Puerto Viejo que fue fundada el 12 de Marzo de 1535 por el español y aventurero Capitán Francisco Pacheco. Portoviejo rodeado de verdes colinas plantadas de ceibos, palo santo, cerezos y los fascinantes florones de flores lilas que formaban la policromía más hermosa y el olor embriagante de las flores de los ceibos y de las dulces y rojas cerezas.
El valle era cruzado por el caudaloso Rio Portoviejo, navegable en invierno y parte del verano por balsas de caña Guadua, palanqueadas por los campesinos que traian los productos agricolas de la campiña manabita. Rio como una hermosa serpentiente de plata, escurriendose por el agresde y verde valle hasta llegar al pacífico mar y diluir su agua dulce con la de sal en un beso infinito hasta volver a ser el mismo rio con su canto color de melcocha en el imponente y perenne invierno desde las indomitas montañas de Balsar y Puca hasta el sol derretido en el ocaso del mar del sur como lo llamara Vasco Nuñez de Balboa.
Portoviejo era sensillo y hermoso al mismo tiempo, con sus casas de cadi y caña y unas cuantas con techos de hojas de zinc, con paredes enquinchadas, pintadas con el blanco tradicional, de puertas y ventanas con arabescos intrincados de arcitectura barroco español. Su clima calido en verano y en invierno caluroso, hacía de las estaciones una convivinecia armonica. La niebla por las mañanas cubria a todo el valle con sus colinas y a veces era como una ciudad nordica en bruma. Las vegas que orillaban al rio en todas su extension estaban fincadas de arboles de mangos, platanos, bananos, chirimollas, anonas, marañon, guavas, nisperos, guayabas, y el zapote mamey cartagena, conocido como mamey mataserrano.
From "Heart of the Hummingbird" by Wadia Launado Vélez Portoviejo (derived from Puerto Viejo, or Old Port, in Spanish), capital of the province of Manabí, at the time between 1930 and 1940, it's valley rose into a city, eminently agricultural, its hard-working people hospitable. Each and everyone knew each other by name, family names and nicknames. It lacked paved streets, potable water, and was lit by night with kerosese lamps and an electric plant that delivered light for a few hours.
The women, a mix of Spanish and aboriginal, unique in beauty, were the vital foundation and faithful to their husbands, as was their intrepid work, weaving hats from toquilla straw, cultivating the land, as well as in the chores that the home demands and the raising of domestic animals, the education of the children, with the aspiration that they be useful to society and nation. Portoviejo, known as the City of Royal Tamarinds and as the The New Villa of Saint Gregory of Old Port, which was founded on March 12 of 1535 by the Spaniard and adventurer Captain Franciso Pacheco. Portoviejo, surrounded by green hills covered by trees such as ceibo, palo santo, cherries and the fascinating bunches of lilac flowers that formed the most beautiful polychrome and the intoxicating smell of the flowers of ceibos and of the sweet and red cherries.
The valley was crisscrossed by the swelling Portoviejo River, navigable in the winter and part of the summer by rafts made of Guadua bamboo cane, by the farming people who, using long cane poles to steer, would bring their agricultural products from the Manabitan countryside. A river like a beautiful silver snake, slithering through the lush and green valley until arriving at the pacific sea and diluting its sweet waters with the salty in an infinite kiss until becoming once again the same river with its song the color of molasses in the imposing and perennial winter from the untamable mountains of Balsar and Puca until the sun melted in the dusk of the sea of the south, as it was called by Vasco Nuñez de Balboa.
Portoviejo was simple and beautiful at the same time, with its houses of cane and palm fronds and a few with roofs of zinc, with adobe walls, painted with the traditional white, of doors and windows with intricate arabesques of baroque Spanish architecture. Its climate mild in the summer and hot in the winter, a convivial harmony was made with the seasons. The fog would in the mornings cover the whole valley and its hills and at times it was like a nordic city in the mists, The banks that bordered the river throughout its length were planted with trees of mango, plantain, banana, chirimolla (green fruit with white inside), anonas, marañon (fruit with seed outside, tastes like almond), guavas (long green pod with sweet covered seeds), nisperos (similar to mamey), guayabas, and the zapote mamey cartagena, known as the mataserrano mamey (mataserrano=Serrano-killer. Serranos are the people from the highlands of Ecuador. The name comes from a story that a serranno died for not knowing how to eat the fruit, which has a toxic skin).
Etiquetas: hispanidad, travel
It was funny seeing a band from my hometown out here in Belgium. Grizzly Bear (my fuzzy photo to the right) played at the Pukkelpop music festival last week and put on a fantastic performance. I was nervous for them, not thinking of them as a festival band (the last time I saw them was at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston). But they really pulled it off. Even playing "Lullaby"! Wow! And the very youthful and drunk yet attentive audience loved it. Ed Droste (who jokingly introduced himself as Dave Grohl) made the very nice gesture of thanking the audience in both Dutch and French. Nice! It's really fantastic to see a band make even that small effort when they're abroad. I actually ran into Ed Droste later on at the Faith No More performance and chatted with him very briefly. He was super nice. Here's a video that my friend Jay in Boston used to introduce me to this band years back.
