If I don’t have the opportunity to speak with some of you on these dates, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year. How lucky are some of us Spaniards and Latin Americans who do not wish a Happy New Year but a Prosperous New Year!
As most of my friends know, Led Zeppelin is one of my favorite rock bands —Some others include Supertramp (go figure!), The Rolling Stones and Jimmy Hendrix; I’m really an old-school Venezuelan— One of my friends remembered the fact and he played some Led Zeppelin songs on the piano, that he had rehearsed for a recent end-of-year college-friends get-together (What a guy).
I have three citizenships: Venezuelan American and Spanish (Thanks to a “Historical Memory” Spanish law and to my maternal grandfather who fought in the Spanish Civil War); But I wish I was a Californio. California, specifically SoCal, has defined my adult life, and I consciously made the decision to study at UC Irvine and to live here.
Just today, I changed the ringtone for my (ex?) wife to this part of the song:
“Someone told me there’s a girl out there
With love in her eyes and flowers in her hair”
I think the first sentences of the lyrics will never apply to her! [Insert emoticon or emoji here] ©