Cuanto tiempo ha pasado

Es increíble todo el tiempo que ha pasado desde que no escribía en el blog... jajaja. Parece que he estado muy ocupado ultimamente, que podre decir en este momento, que es lo que se me ocurre primero??? Empecemos diciendo que estoy super enamorado!! Parece ser un buen comienzo... La mujer que me tiene como loco es hermosa, amorosa, super simpática, simplemente es un amor...

Me inspira a ser una mejor persona, lo cual es muy importante, ella me entiende en todos los sentidos, es mi compañera y mi mejor amiga, es todo lo que siempre esperé...

Me naces, me tientas
me acaricias, me sonríes
me miras, me tranquilizas
me observas, me paralizas
me sueñas, me despiertas
me callas, me hablas
me tienes, me amas

Casablanca (1942)

The classic and much-loved romantic melodrama Casablanca (1942), always found on top-ten lists of films, is a masterful tale of two men vying for the same woman's love in a love triangle. The story of political and romantic espionage is set against the backdrop of the wartime conflict between democracy and totalitarianism. [The date given for the film is often given as either 1942 and 1943. That is because its limited premiere was in 1942, but the film did not play nationally, or in Los Angeles, until 1943.]

With rich and smoky atmosphere, anti-Nazi propaganda, Max Steiner's superb musical score, suspense, unforgettable characters (supposedly 34 nationalities are included in its cast) and memorable lines of dialogue (e.g., "Here's lookin' at you, kid," and the inaccurately-quoted "Play it again, Sam"), it is one of the most popular, magical (and flawless) films of all time - focused on the themes of lost love, honor and duty, self-sacrifice and romance within a chaotic world.

Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam (1972) paid reverential homage to the film, as have the lesser films Cabo Blanco (1981) and Barb Wire (1996), and the animated Bugs Bunny short Carrotblanca (1995). The line "Play it again, Sam" appeared in the Marx Brothers' A Night in Casablanca (1946). Clips or references to the film have been used in Play It Again, Sam (1972), Brazil (1985), My Stepmother is an Alien (1988), and When Harry Met Sally (1989).

Directed by the talented Hungarian-accented Michael Curtiz and shot almost entirely on studio sets, the film moves quickly through a surprisingly tightly constructed plot, even though the script was written from day to day as the filming progressed and no one knew how the film would end - who would use the two exit visas? [Would Ilsa, Rick's lover from a past romance in Paris, depart with him or leave with her husband Victor, the leader of the underground resistance movement?] And three weeks after shooting ended, producer Hal Wallis contributed the film's famous final line - delivered on a fog-shrouded runway.

The sentimental story, originally structured as a one-set play, was based on an unproduced play entitled Everybody Comes to Rick's by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison - the film's original title. Its collaborative screenplay was mainly the result of the efforts of Julius J. and Philip G. Epstein and Howard Koch. In all, six writers took the play's script, and with the models of Algiers (1938) and Only Angels Have Wings (1939) to follow, they transformed the romantic tale into this quintessential classic that samples almost every film genre.

Except for the initial airport sequence, the entire studio-oriented film was shot in a Warner Bros. Hollywood/Burbank studio. Many other 40s stars were considered for the lead roles: Hedy Lamarr, Ann Sheridan, French actress Michele Morgan, and George Raft.

[It's an 'urban legend' that Ronald Reagan was seriously considered for a role in the film. The Warner Bros. publicity office famously planted a pre-production press release in The Hollywood Reporter on January 5, 1942 (it was also released to dozens of newspapers across the country two days later), stating that Reagan would co-star with Ann Sheridan for the third time in Casablanca (1942) - in order to actually encourage support for the soon-to-be-released film Kings Row (1942) with the two stars.]

And pianist Sam's role (portrayed by "Dooley" Wilson - who was actually a drummer) was originally to be taken by a female (either Hazel Scott, Lena Horne, or Ella Fitzgerald). The lead male part went to Humphrey Bogart in his first romantic lead as the tough and cynical on-the-outside, morally-principled, sentimental on-the-inside cafe owner in Casablanca, Morocco. His appearance with co-star Ingrid Bergman was their first - and last. As a hardened American expatriate, Bogart runs a bar/casino (Rick's Cafe Americain) - a way-station to freedom in WWII French-occupied Morocco, where a former lover (Bergman) who previously 'jilted' him comes back into his life. She is married to a heroic French Resistance leader (Henreid). Stubbornly isolationist, the hero is inspired to support the Resistance movement and give up personal happiness with his past love.

The Hollywood fairy-tale was actually filmed during a time of US ties with Vichy France when President Roosevelt equivocated and vacillated between pro-Vichy or pro-Gaullist support. And it was rushed into general release almost three weeks after the Allied landing at the Axis-occupied, North African city of Casablanca, when Eisenhower's forces marched into the African city. Due to the military action, Warner Bros. Studios was able to capitalize on the free publicity and the nation's familiarity with the city's name when the film opened.

It played first as a pre-release engagement on Thanksgiving Day, 1942 at the Hollywood Theater in New York. [On the last day of 1942, Roosevelt actually screened the film at the White House.] Its strategic timing was further enhanced at the time of its general release in early 1943 by the January 14-24, 1943 Casablanca Conference (a summit meeting in which Roosevelt broke US-Vichy relations) in the Moroccan city with Churchill, Roosevelt, and two French leaders - DeGaulle (the charismatic Free French leader) and General Henri Giraud (supportive of Marshal Petain). [Note: Stalin declined the invitation to attend the so-called 'Big Three' Conference.]

The big-budget film (of slightly less than $1 million), took in box-office of slightly more than $4 million. It was considered for eight Academy Awards for the year 1943. [Actually, it should have competed against Mrs. Miniver (1942) (the Best Picture winner in the previous year), since it premiered in New York in November of that year. However, because it didn't show in Los Angeles until its general release that January, it was ineligible for awards in 1942, and competed in 1943.] The nominations included Best Actor (Humphrey Bogart), Best Supporting Actor (Claude Rains), Best B/W Cinematography (Arthur Edeson, known for The Maltese Falcon (1941)), Best Score (Max Steiner, known for Gone With the Wind (1939)), and Best Film Editing (Owen Marks). The dark-horse film won three awards (presented in early March of 1944): Best Picture (producer Hal B. Wallis), Best Director, and Best Screenplay. Bogart lost to Paul Lukas for his role in Watch on the Rhine. And Bergman wasn't even nominated for this film, but instead was nominated for Best Actress for For Whom The Bell Tolls (and she lost to Jennifer Jones in The Song of Bernadette). Bogart had made three other films in 1943: Sahara, Action in the North Atlantic, and Thank Your Lucky Stars.

The Godfather (1972)

The superb, three-part gangster saga was inaugurated with this film from Italian-American director Francis Ford Coppola, The Godfather (1972). The first two parts of the lush and grand saga are among the most celebrated, landmark films of all time. Many film reviewers consider the second part equal or superior to the original, although the first part was a tremendous critical and commercial success - and the highest grossing film of its time. This mythic, tragic film contributed to a resurgence in the American film industry, after a decade of competition from cinema abroad.

One of the original "Movie Brats" who had not had a hit after seven films, director Coppola collaborated on the epic film's screenplay with Mario Puzo who had written a best-selling novel of the same name about a Mafia dynasty (the Corleones). The Godfather catapulted Francis Ford Coppola to directorial superstardom, and popularized the following euphemistic phrase (of brutal coercion): "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."

The almost three hour, R-rated saga film (for violence and graphic language) won three Oscars: Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando refused to accept the award) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Mario Puzo and Francis Ford Coppola). The other seven nominations included three for Best Supporting Actor (James Caan, Robert Duvall, and Al Pacino), Best Director, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and Best Costume Design.

Gangster films are one of the oldest of film genres (starring Edward G. Robinson, James Cagney and Humphrey Bogart), emerging as an influential force in the early 1930s (e.g., Little Caesar (1930), Public Enemy (1931), and Scarface (1932)). This gangster film re-invented the gangster genre, elevating the classic Hollywood gangster film to a higher level by portraying the gangster figure as a tragic hero. [With the disappearance of the Production Code, retribution for the gangster's crimes was not an automatic requirement.] The rich and enthralling film is characterized by superb acting and deep character studies, beautiful photography and choreography, authentic recreation of the period, a bittersweet romantic sub-plot, a rich score by Nino Rota, and superbly-staged portrayals of gangster violence. Its grim, dark passages and bright exterior scenes are all part of the beautiful cinematography by Gordon Willis.

The Godfather is an insightful sociological study of violence, power, honor and obligation, corruption, justice and crime in America. Part I of The Godfather Trilogy centers on the Corleone crime "family" in the boroughs of New York City in the mid 1940s, dominated at first by aging godfather/patriarch "Don" Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando in a tremendous, award-winning acting portrayal that revived his career). A turn-of-the-century Silician immigrant, he is the head of one of the five Italian-American "families" that operates a crime syndicate. The 'honorable' crime "family," working outside the system due to exclusion by social prejudice, serves as a metaphor for the way business (the pursuit of the American dream) is conducted in capitalistic, profit-making corporations and governmental circles.

This epic story traces the history of their close-knit Mafia family and organization over a ten year period (although the specific words "Mafia" and "Cosa Nostra" are not found in the film's script - they were replaced with "the family"). The presiding, dominant Corleone patriarch, who is threatened by the rise of modern criminal activities - the drug trade, is ultimately succeeded by his decent youngest son Michael (Al Pacino), a US Marine Corps officer in WWII who becomes even more ruthless to persist. Family loyalty and blood ties are juxtaposed with brutal and vengeful blood-letting and the inevitable downfall of the family. Romanticized scenes of the domestic home life of members of the family - a family wedding, shopping, a baptism, kitchen cooking, etc., are intertwined with scenes of horrific violence and murder contracts - a total of 23 deaths litter the film. Over 50 scenes involved food and drink.

Evolucion Banda de Rock de Costa Rica

Uno de los pesos pesados en el rock tico, Evolución es un grupo que se ha ganado el apoyo y el aprecio de cientos de seguidores en la escena nacional. Fue formado hacia la mitad de los 90s, por Andrés "Balerom" de la Espriella , Camilo "Moldo" Pavez, y Wash, que después de probar suerte en varios grupos, decidieron formar lo que llamaron Evolución Sentimiento Infinito.

Evolución empieza a tocar a finales de 1996, y con esto comienzan a ganar seguidores y a compartir escenarios con los principales exponentes del rock nacional en ese momento. En 1997 lanzan su primera producción, Música Para Sentir, el cual tuvo gran aceptación entre el público, y se ha convertido en todo un clásico del rock nacional. El disco llevó más y más gente a sus conciertos, atraídos por la música fuerte y las letras mágicas e inteligentes y pues, por la música para sentir.

En ese tiempo tocó con ellos Luis Arenas (ex-vocalista de El Parque) que hacía su parte como segunda guitarra. Eventualmente Arenas siguió su camino, y Evolución hizo el suyo, hacia México. Ahí se trasladaron y probaron suerte en diversos medios de ese país. Eventualmente vuelven a Costa Rica, donde cada uno de los integrantes del grupo se dedica a lo suyo. Andrés regresa a México a estudiar composición. La actividad de Evolución llega a ser nula por un tiempo. Sin embargo, durante todo este tiempo sigue sonando su Música Para Sentir, además de El Sentimiento Antisocial, un demo que grabaron en 1998 con miras a un segundo disco. La rotación que reciben en Radio U mantiene a Evolución vivo, y su música sigue sonando cada vez más.

Más adelante en 1999, los tres empiezan a hablar de la posibilidad de grabar un segundo disco. Se deciden por grabarlo, partiendo de algunos demos que había hecho Andrés en ese tiempo. Así nace Absorbiendo la Magia, el cual grabaron en el 2000 y lanzaron al mercado tico en el 2001, nuevamente en forma independiente. Evolución continúa trabajando como grupo, y tocan varios conciertos tanto en México como en Costa Rica.

Pasa el tiempo, y hacia el final del 2002 regresan con Mundo de Fantasía, el cual fue grabado en Argentina y representa toda una nueva etapa para el grupo. Su tercer álbum presenta un sonido renovado, influenciado en gran parte por las incursiones de Balerom en la música como solista. El disco tiene un estilo más tranquilo, y esto hace a Evolución más accesible al público. Después de la grabación del disco, reclutan a un nuevo guitarrista, Mauricio "Malicio" Guidi, con quien tocan en vivo durante el 2003. De Mundo de Fantasía se extrae el sencillo Voy Por Ella, el cual complementaron con su primer video. Esta pieza pasa a ser uno de los éxitos más grandes en los últimos años, en cuanto a rock nacional se refiere, y les originó una nueva oleada de seguidores, atraídos por este estilo más suave, lo cual es admirado pero criticado a la vez.

Evolución continúa chiveando intensamente por todo el país, y empiezan a trabajar en la producción de su siguiente disco, manteniéndose siempre ocupados promocionando su Mundo de Fantasía. Al llegar el 2004, bajan un poco el ritmo de conciertos para concentrarse en el trabajo de su cuarto álbum, el cual finalmente sale a finales de año y se titula Dígalo. Este cuarto disco es un cambio aún más radical que el anterior, y muchos fans se sorprenden por su variado estilo, el cual por el momento ha obtenido resultados mixtos. Se espera que Evolución continúe chiveando para promocionar el Dígalo durante el 2005.

Integrantes:

Andrés de la Espriella - voz y guitarra

Camilo Pavez - bajo

Wash - batería