Dear all,
I have finally returned home in Nashville, Tennessee. Thank you for your patience. My holiday was extended by three extra days by the cancellation (Air Canada) of my return flight from Montréal to Nashville that was supposed to bring me home last Saturday. My family and I were stuck in Montréal until Tuesday. However, we were lucky to turn the stressful situation into another holiday in Montréal. I am still in awe of the beauty of the French speaking city!
Today’s solo guzheng improvisation was inspired by the rocks on the Saturraran beach in the Basque Country in Spain where I spent a week in. My longtime friend Xabier Iriondo (musician from Milano) whose father was a famous sportsman from Ondarroa in the Basque Country took us around all over this amazing region. The culture and history of the Basque people is truly fascinating and inspiring. My children now say “Eskerrik asko” around the house now. It means thank you in the Basque language. I will continue to share my experiences with you in the next newsletters.
One of the days during the trip, Xabier took us to the Saturraran beach. This beach is famous with the locals and its folklore of the two rocks:
“The Saturraran beach is closed in its eastern part with a rocky ridge in which two rocks stand out, giving the place a singular characteristic. These rocks of Cretaceous origin and called Eskilantzarri (bell-shaped), have a popular legend associated with their origin.
Legend has it that there were two lovers named Satur and Aran. Satur, who was a fisherman, went out to sea every day to fish while Aran waited on land. One gale day Satur did not return and Aran remained waiting for him. When he was aware that he would not return, Aran cursed the sea and asked that it take her too. That night, after a great noise, Aran disappeared and in its place the two great rocks of Saturraran arose: one is Satur and the other is Aran.”
Original texts in Spanish from Xabier:
“La playa de Saturraran se cierra en su parte este con un cordón rocoso en el que destacan dos peñas que dan una característica singular al lugar. Estas peñas de origen Cretácico y denominadas Eskilantzarri (aspecto de campana), tienen asociada una leyenda popular que cuentan su origen.
La leyenda dice que había dos amantes llamados Satur y Aran. Satur, que era pescador, salía todos los día a pescar a la mar mientras que Aran se quedada a la espera en tierra. Un día de galerna Satur no regresó y Aran permaneció esperándole. Cuando fue consciente de que no volvería, Aran maldijo el mar y pidió que también se la llevara an ella. Aquella noche, tras un gran estruendo, Aran desapareció y en su lugar surgieron las dos grandes rocas de Saturraran: una es Satur y la otra es Aran.”
Wu Fei 吴非
Wufeimusic.com
