María et Simon Mariage. Page15
Conclusión
English
My God! The 29 of December are fulfilled one year and six months of the wedding of Simon and Maria. Very important event in their lives, also by the circumstances of time and space that surrounded this event. To reunite more than 110 people in a place so distant in France, to get alberge in the hotels of province separated each other by snake shaped roads, by hills and valleys, was not an easy task. The coordination, began, getting the passages, flight itineraries for each one of the guests, the quality of those guests, the attention of the hosts in Viens, the atmosphere of cordiality, and perhaps more than cordiality, familiarity, that reigned at every moment, made this event sui generis for all and each one of the assistants.
What to say of the geographic situation of the place, the ancient villa of Viens, with its temple as old as the small town; the cordiality of people, always willing to help us, in spite of the language barriers.
In short, the so pleasant season, finishing the summer and before the beginning of the cold winter, with moon-light nights that Debussy had wanted to be inspired by its Clear of Moon, completed the panorama.
The church was adorned with wild flowers, gathered by the children of Viens and relatives of Simon. We were sorprised to see Felipe, Simon's brother cleaning the old wood door of the temple, in company of its nephews and several children of the town, in a work of love towards Simon and Maria. The women within the temple, like gentil worker bees, gave the last touch, caring that everything was in order for the happening.
In the market we found small hand-made cards inviting to the wedding; I had curiosity to see if they were in other establishments and I could corroborate that in effect, indeed they had made cards for each one of the establishments and warehouses of the village. I saw the esteem and the affection that the people of Viens feel by the Simon's family. In several places where we entered it gave the sensation that we are well known, something as well as part of the protagonists of an awaited happening. In some occasions people dentified us like relatives of Maria, perhaps because of our allien language, since, doubtlessly it was the first time that we stand by at those places.
The day of the marriage was of rejoicing not only for the couple but also for many assistants and relatives who had not seen in several years. Many hugs, kisses and tears of people who returned to be in the occasional meeting.
After the wedding, a horse-carriagee, as in a fairy tale, waited for the just married couple, at the door of the temple in order to take them towards the summer house, distant a few kilometers from there.
I remember seen the carriage getting lost on winding streets of the village course to the main highway, while the neighbors of Viens saluted to the pair, sending flowers to them.
It was a full caravan of joy of the friends of Miami, to those who I call, " the Patota de Miami ", remembering my patota of friends of my youngest years. They follow them with music and wine.
The entrance to the summer house is a spotted small road that hardly is seen from the main road, surrounded by trees and seeding of lavanda. Its pleasant scent surrounds the abience in all the region.
The house surrounded by thick woods, is not easily seen from the road, but, giving a turn of the road sudenly we arrived to a small and pleasant valley where we can see it at the top of the hill .
The house is fabricated in stone, very Provenzal style finished, and full of gardens; there were beautiful red roses, in every place. I had to touch them to be sure that they were not artificial. The flowers, like lavanda, grow wild in these region. This characteristic gives to the atmosphere a very pleasant scent.
Being Provence a pastoral region , in where the cattle is almost absent, is natural that the principal source of food be lamb meat. The goat milk cheeses are exquisite.
The people is also given to consume cold meats as, garlic sausages, mortadelas, and hamon , called " Jambon ".
The department of Vaucluse bases its economic prosperity on the export of crystallized fruits, in highly an affluent percentage. We saw natural fruits and treated fruits quite often, in our daily feeding, in addition to delicious and famous " Wines of Provence ".
Also we remember how the cold wind of the neighbor Luberon , (the national park) caressed us, while the afternoon was dying to take step to a beautiful moon that was shown in the middle of the crystaline trasparency of the sky. It was the moment for serving the Bufett.
The boys of Miami had prepared a sainete, the representation more comic and humorous than it is possible to be imagined. La patota of Miami, with my complicity prepared a slides presentation of Maria and Simon. It was the surprise never imagined by them. They did not fit of its astonishment when comedians began to project pictures on a big screen, more of them in the most ricule situations, fixed in a sequence that motivated the history that they wanted to tell. I want to congratulate all those that participated in the play, by the artistic quality which they demonstrated, with the mixture of slides and live performance, giving to that unforgettable night a touch of talent and exquisite humor, where more than one exploded in laughts.
Today, all these events are realived in this CD, and I believe that by awhile we are going to be in Viens again , to be touched, to cry and to laugh again.
The friends that for any reason they were absent we participated these experiences to them so that also they are touched with us. My best wishes for all, Merry Christmas and a year 2001 plenty of great personal progresses. To Maria and Simon, many, many years of happiness, and understanding.
We arrived to the end. With the notes inspired by the music of Rachmaninoff, we say good bye to Viens, to France, good bye, like something beautiful and unrepeatable that happened... somewhere in time.....
Rafael Tobar.
Miami, Dec 2000
End, page 15
Good Bye!