XANA
XANA, a true story…
…But XANA was different from her 3 sisters, since the day she was born in the Nalón estuary while her mother washed, she was already blessed to foresee the future throughout her life and save lives…
“ REFLECTION… This is what happened while writing XANA.“
Writing XANA has been a magical experience like her own story. Everything you have read or are going to read on XANA has really happened, nothing has been invented. The places, names of people and dogs, etc... I have told it in the third person, although it is autobiography, to see myself from the outside and value the Asturian blood that I have, where I come from and always feel proud, with the scenery of Asturias in my soul .
I have managed to draw the attention of my ancestors who have been manifesting themselves more than ever in my day to day life, I have fulfilled my goal of publishing a chapter every Tuesday without a script, without knowing how long it would last or how many chapters it would have. I just had to remember the story I had grown up with and write it down.
That way my mother was still present, I couldn't admit that she was gone and I needed to have her close to me. It was like feeling the umbilical cord being reconnected between us. That in life they cut it off and in death it rejoined. I knew that she was going to read it because she was the one who, as soon as she arrived in heaven, approximately forty-eight hours, she sent me the message through the lovebirds that slept in another room. Read whats happened)
A month later, I moved to Madrid for a year and started writing XANA…a True Story.
It has lasted eight months, here we have the number eight again and everything that happens in XANA and in parallel in real life, has not been a coincidence. XANA, in this case my mother, the voice of Naranja and together with the main character of the story Doña Carmen, XANA, has manifested herself through electricity, light bulbs have burned out and the mobile has shown unusual lights. But the candles that I light for her every day for just a year now. Can it be turned off once by chance and turned on again? That's harder to believe but it could be. Now, turn off three times without drafts and turn on each time? Luckily I was fast the second time and although I understand that that moment was too intimate and mystical to frivolize with technology, I recorded it for the record so nobody call me crazy when I tell it.
At the beginning of December 2021, my mother appeared in my dreams showing me lottery tickets, in which she indicated the end of the number, One ended in zero, another in two and one of them caught my attention because it ended in a letter, the H. When I woke up I remembered perfectly and began to decipher what she wanted to tell me. I called my father, to whom I told everything so that he could be a witness . We came to the conclusion that it could be H20 (put it right) which is the symbol of water, symbol of the XANAS. But I wanted to buy a lottery ticket that ended with the winning number and I had to choose between two and zero, and that didn't work for me.
Until the last day you could buy the Christmas lottery, I reacted and realized that what she wanted to tell me was to find a number that had the letter H , that the number two would be that something would be repeated twice and the zero could be the O. Indeed it was the number EIGHT. Again that number eight that was part of the story of my life as you can tell reading XANA. The next day on December 22, the number awarded with the Christmas was 86148.
With the date of signing before a notary, unforeseen events happened and it was necessary to change up to three times a day. My father was the one who was in charge of giving me the date at the same time that he asked me: —Are you sitting?… January 25, Saint Elvira's day at eleven o'clock. Elvira also wanted to be with her husband and all her children that day.
On All Souls' Day, the daily candle that I place for my mother on the small altar that travels with me is supposed to last from four to six hours. It had only been on for an hour, when I went to bed with a sorrow that flooded the room, I looked at her photo and told her; - Mom, if I could feel a hug from you, make me a sign that I know you're with me and I can sleep peacefully. Good night mom… that moment the room that was lit only by the candle, went out and I felt her right there, it was a hug, the hug of a mother, the one that a child should never miss. The next day I enthusiastically told my family so they know that she is still with me, with us. And to my best friend from LA over a farewell wine, that she was reading XANA every Tuesday and she wasn't surprised at all.
Many chapters have always been published on a Tuesday, with a related news item that day on live TV. For example, I don't remember seeing a shipwreck news on TV for many years. Well, it was to publish the first chapter of XANA, whose main theme is an incredible shipwreck, and shortly after they broke the news on February 15, 2022, of one of the greatest tragedies of Spanish navigation. The shipwreck of the Galician fishing vessel Villas de Pitanxo, in the waters of Newfoundland in Canada. And D. Julio Prieto Nespereira, my godfather, also the protagonist of this story, was a distinguished Galician.
The exhibition that I am preparing from my personal collection of his work, where some of his sublime engravings have closed each one of the XANA chapters with a flourish.
The Gold Fish, Gold Medal for Fine Arts, had to decorate the last chapter. It makes me think of XANA's Golden Scissors...it was like having received one more class from heaven with the teacher and I have returned to title each engraving with the name of the pillars of my family, as inspired me. It seemed that they were made for XANA. Without thinking that one day in the future they would merge.
It has been sad to remember the farewell scene, but at the same time happy to know that I am doing justice to his legacy, with the same passion with which he painted. I took him out of the Spanish TV drawer and I continue and will continue to give life to his work. It has the theme of the underwater world, I projected it just before the pandemic and it stopped... it was called "Estados de Alma" and now it's called XANA...
If that Tuesday the chapter talked about the Seville Fair, on TV they broadcast the Seville fair live and it has been like that for many weeks. Coincidence, universe, XANA or Lord . Everything has made this adventure unforgettable.
But without a doubt the most fascinating of all has been the ending, the last chapter that was delivered on Monday to Pablo, the computer engineer who runs the blog, to be published on Tuesday, June 21. When I receive news from him informing me that he has been infected with Covid and cannot even move from his discomfort. And I wondered why that had to happen in the last chapter. Would it be a sign? The result was that it was published on June 24, ¡San Juan! Exactly the day that the water unites us with all the XANAS and the day that the real story begins, XANA, in San Juan de la Arena.
And this REFLECTION that I write and is published today, is it also a coincidence that it is July 16? day of the Virgen del Carmen, the star of the Sea, the patron saint of the Sailors like my great-grandfather "el Leré". Doña Carmen Garcia Alonso's father… XANA.
XANA and her granddaughter Esther.
Prieto Nespereira is inspired by Esther's body and transmits it in this engraving where he fuses it with "Ella y mis peces “
Unleash Your Inner Flamenca is dedicated to all the women of the world and it does not mean that you have to be flamenco or dedicate yourself to the world of dance. It is an expression, it is a way of facing the setbacks that life gives us and because flamenco has that attitude of: Here I am!
Unleashing my inner Flamenca has helped me in many very extreme situations in my life and, not only technically speaking as a flamenco professional, but in those times that I didn't have to be dancing, or teaching, or competing, or performing on stage. I’m talking about everyday life.
That is why you too can bring out your inner Flamenca.
A flamenca woman is confident, a flamenca woman is sure of herself, has gravitas, has bearing, has wisdom and knows how to be in command.
In other words, unleash your inner Flamenca and join me in this adventure in which we are going to have a great time! We know how it starts and we don't know how it ends, but it is sure to be one of the most unforgettable experiences of your life.
”
I didn't need to be famous to sleep in Hemingway's Presidential suite at the Gritti Palace in Venice for all my birthdays.
Have a Bellini while I wait for the gondola that will take me to the private Film Festival party on the yacht of my colleague, who was a Versace collaborator, or dine on the famous terrace of the Hotel Danieli.
It is also true that if I had slept with all my stalkers, I would now be more famous than Sara Baras. BUT! no matter how much I took a shower, the smell of vomit would not go away from my body and the phrase of: “how did I get it” would be the soundtrack of my life, which would turn my insides with each applause.
Nor did I need to be famous to have a bodyguard escort me to the door of the plane, in the direction of the American Embassy in Beirut or go in a Limousine and drink the best champagne.
“Todo lo he conseguido con pasión, seguridad en mi misma , esfuerzo y dedicación”.
”
Proving first to myself and then to the whole world that I don't need to sell myself to a man to succeed in my career. And that I bring out the inner Flamenca every time they cross my path.
Do not allow any man to command you or demand what you have to do.
Lucha por lo que quieras, viste como quieras, maquíllate como quieras , estudia lo que quieras y júntate con quien quieras.
The first time a man lays his hand on you, it will be his fault, but the second time it will be your fault for putting up with the first time.
And if you feel trapped and you are afraid to stand up to your reality, look for a way as if it were the last day of your life to give a signal at the pharmacy, at the market, to a neighbor you come across, to anyone who can hear this number: 016! and it will be the first step to your salvation, to your new life, surely filled with all the good things you long for and where no one will let you back down. You will immediately be protected by the society that will protect and help you without conditions. And I, Esther Ponce, am already thinking of you.
UNLEASH YOUR INNER FLAMENCA #SACALAFLAMENCA
”
A I’m going to tell you how I brought out the flamenco that I have in extreme situations and that I hope and serve to help some woman to do the same as me.
For now I'm only going to use nicknames.
“If I had slept with all my stalkers, I would now be more famous than Sara Baras. "
”
With my testimony and my own experience, living in different countries of the world and interacting with all kinds of social classes, race, culture and religion, I want to turn around the drama that women experience in the world.
Ayudarlas a salir de ese callejón oscuro, animarlas y convencerlas de que nunca tiren la toalla , de que existe un mundo maravilloso esperándoles para sacar lo mejor de ellas. Su fuerza, su belleza interior y sus ganas de salir adelante. Que no dejen de luchar por los derechos de la mujer y la igualdad de género. Que griten a los cuatro vientos y que no se callen nunca, que sonrían y que se llenen de paz con la belleza que nos brinda Lanzarote y su naturaleza.
That they are not alone... that they unleash their inner flamenca A strong and self-confident woman, the director of their own life. That she clings to the ground with temperance and ready to scratch at any moment if necessary and fight life with the best smile...
”
I have experiences and anecdotes to tell all women; the neighborhood ones, the rich ones , the conflictive ones, the addicted ones, etc. And always with my motto that to run away from any situation, the best thing is to practice athletics! … My uncle used to called me Dance Athlete, he said; As long as you have strong legs and a strong heart, you can fly! .
Esther Ponce's experimental Flamenco is ready for the Valencian Director of Tourism to meet
It is very gratifying to have an idea like the experimental Flamenco in Valencia, carry it out and have managed to attract more than 20 foreign clients to Valencia in a short time and without marketing, who have passed through the Flamenco Art Center, and who have not only They learned a lot if not they have returned to their country with a better concept of Valencia.
His experience and approach to flamenco led by Esther Ponce will make you return without hesitation to the city of Turia.
Esther Ponce not only surrounds them with her passion and charisma from the first moment, her professionalism and a very long journey through different countries of the world where she has lived for long periods, she makes them fall in love.
You just have to read the dedications of all the foreigners who write in their precious notebook created for them and that are already adding more and more.
«They also buy semi-professional shoes and a skirt to study with me.» That’s already the best! –
~ Esther Ponce
The foreigner is used to teaching flamenco very quickly and without discipline, anything goes, any shoe, any skirt, hanging out even parodying and even ridiculing flamenco.
«Being a polyglot, doors just open up to me» –
~ Esther Ponce
Definitely the Experimental Flamenco of Esther Ponce has an Angel!
From England, without a doubt the most special Experimental Flamenco we have had at the Flamenco Art Center in these two and a half years.
The Esther Ponce Stylized Flamenco Art Center has been open for two and a half years. El Ángel Every August 28, for Esther’s birthday, a new foreign student gives her a gift and the flamenco toast intensifies.
«The students do not want to miss the opportunity to study with me. When they start to study my technique they are hooked at the first second. Those who play sports and take care of themselves immediately identify with my stretching and feel safer for the rest of the class and those who don’t appreciate it and will surely start practicing it and taking care of themselves forever »
~ Esther Ponce
This year Esther thought that her Angel would be very busy due to the current pandemic situation and also that it would be a coincidence that another year happened.
But to Esther’s surprise it was like that and without doubt the most special flamenco toast for England.
«Discipline is my hallmark and not even the Covid has stopped us» «I have never doubted it and I will only teach classes with a mask»
~ Esther Ponce
After the experience of teaching classes with a mask? A private flamenco class for two hours without stopping, does Esther remember that when she and the student went out into the street they breathed for two seconds as if there were no tomorrow?According to Esther’s recent experience, with the mask you cannot see the total expression of the student, but the eyes also speak and flamenco is also expressed with the body.
With all the safety measures, the student disinfected her shoes, put hydroalcoholic gel on her hands, a temperature control was performed with a non-contact forehead thermometer and the student did not remove her mask during the two hours, only in the changing room that she only used to drink water.