Spectacles – Leeds's Singing Organ-Grinder – Page 3

Needed, a ballad for the Olli Rehn empire

Featuring Umberto Eco on Orgasmus, an obscure Restoration Scottish nationalist on London, Mexico’s revolutionary and narco-corridos, and Italian Renaissance bandit- and Camorra-praise poetry, all for the benefit of the European Union’s commissar for provincial affairs.

Michele Pezza aka Fra Diavolo leading Neapolitans against Frankish imperialists.

Chino de los mandados = errand boy

Chinese because of his servility and/or size, or a genuine Indiana Jonesian Short Round? From Bogota, and perhaps relatively recent, but here (it reappeared) is Walter Silva from distant Casanare singing a sentimental but memorable ditty about how his mum etc looked after him when the store wouldn’t put the groceries on the tab. Can…

If Merkel complains about how much TV3 costs, ask her about Bavaria

The television arm of Bayerische Rundfunk inflicts roughly the same relative damage on regional GDP as its Catalan cousin.

Can an independent trade union survive in Spain?

Or do they all live off the state in order to live at all? This re the emergence of an independent domestic workers union in Barcelona, Sindihogar.

Is Gertrude Stein pulling the strings on the Balearics?

José Ramón Bauzá, in government but losing the power of speech.

Cornelius Cardew 30th/75th anniversary concert, 17/12, Conway Hall

A weirdo classic for the diary.

Breogán redux

Featuring Sophie Tucker’s “There’s Something Spanish In My Eyes”

Lithos by Xavier Cugat at Brok

See him marry Rita Montaner! empathise with his doggies! buy me a print!

Rita Montaner marrying Xavier Cugat, by Xavier Cugat, @<a href='http://brok.es'>Brok</a>.

Ben Jonson and the ground charlatans

Like today’s miserable vendors of pirated CDs, early modern Venetian ambulants are trading on someone else’s stolen content, but at least they’ve had to learn it by heart.

Ear, ear

How to get drugs without a prescription on match days.