Artista invitado: Ulises Alvarado

Hoy la Caraba se viste de fiesta al contar con la colaboración de Ulises, persona de una ternura, humanidad y conocimientos infinitos que hemos tenido la gran suerte de conocer y de poder entablar una relación familiar desde el momento que nuestros caminos se cruzaron.

Pude enseñarle las bellezas del lugar en el que vivimos y saboreamos juntos una paella de las de aquí, de esas que dejan huella. Compartimos vivencias, aficiones y luego partió hacia Estados Unidos donde reside.

Gracias a internet nos hemos mantenido en contacto y aceptó con entusiasmo la invitación para colaborar con sus escritos en la formación de mis alumnos embarcándonos en una aventura sorprendente.

En esta entrega publicaré el primero de los viajes que nos propuso, su estilo directo hizo que algún alumno pensara que realmente íbamos a realizar el viaje, tal era la cercanía que transmitía. 

También podeis leer la introducción que le pedí recientemente como presentación y que me acaba de llegar junto con una foto que nos ayuda a tenerlo más cerca.

Gracias Ulises, siempre en nuestros corazones, sabes que estaremos encantados de verte de nuevo por aquí, nos han quedado muchos lugares encantadores por mostrarte.

INTRODUCCIÓN

El artículo “Viaje de Estudiantes a Valle Forge y Comunidades Cercanas” 

Students’ Trip to Valley Forge and Neighboring Communities,

es uno de los viajes imaginarios en los Estados Unidos de América escritos por Ulises Alvarado Garcés para estudiantes de  5º y 6º de Primaria del Colegio Público Santa Anna de Quartell, Valencia en la Comunidad Valenciana. 

El autor envió estos artículos a la maestra, Sra Pilar Puerto Sebastián con el propósito de proveer lecturas en inglés a los estudiantes de ese idioma.

Alvarado es un ingeniero de sistemas que reside en la región de Valley Forge, cerca de Filadelfia, Pennsylvania. Él ha escrito artículos y cuentos para jóvenes, además de artículos del tema de vuelos espaciales y el futuro de la tecnología. 

Alvarado admira la belleza natural de España y el carácter de sus gentes.

                                                                                            

                                                                                      March 31st, 2012

        Dear students,

I am delighted to be able to communicate with you through the Internet and I thank your kind teacher, Señora Pilar Puerto Sebastián for making this exciting project possible. Last autumn I had the pleasure of visiting Valencia and surrounding communities including Quart and I admire the very beautiful and historic region where you live. But now it’s your turn to visit my part of the world.

Together we will travel to the region of the United States of America where I live. In this first trip I will take you to Philadelphia, in the State of Pennsylvania, which is about 35 kilometers from my home. In the second article we will travel to the historic region of Valley Forge, where I live. Valley Forge is well known because this is where General George Washington formed an army to fight for the independence of the United States.

Now, gather your luggage and together lets go to the city of Philadelphia, whose name means “The City of Brotherly Love”. The State of Pennsylvania, where Philadelphia is located, was founded by the Englishman William Penn in the year 1681 when King Charles II granted him the charter (el permiso gobernativo) for this region.

            As our airplane gets closer to Philadelphia we see that the city is located between two rivers, the Delaware River and the Schuylkill River (pronounced sculquil). The English founders of the city liked the wide and deep waters of the Delaware River because they connected the city with the Atlantic Ocean, and thus with the rest of the world. The Schuylkill River, a smaller one, connected them with the towns and farms in the interior of the State. Through the windows on the right side of the airplane you can see the city skyline showing the shiny sky-scrapers (edificios de rasca-cielos), the large foot-ball and baseball (beisbol) stadiums and the city streets, parks and avenues.

            After landing at the Philadelphia Airport—one of the largest airports in the United States—we board a small train that connects the airport with the center of the city where our hotel is located. The airport train trip is only twelve kilometers away, so it takes less than fifteen minutes. On the way to center of the city we pass many petroleum refineries with long, smoking chimneys. We cross the Schuylkill River near the Shipyard, where they build large ocean ships. You arrive at the hotel on Chestnut Street after a short taxi ride through the heart of the city.

            

The next morning we are ready for a busy day of sightseeing. First, we visit the taller of two skyscrapers called “Liberty Center” that has many stores and over a dozen restaurants. Most of the floors of the building are occupied by offices, but we take the elevator to one of the top floors where we can see all of Philly (pronunciado Fili), a nick-name for the city. We play a little game: I point out some of the major points of interest in the city and the student who finds it wins a point. The person with the highest number of points wins the prize: a miniature model of Liberty Center.

  

            Back downstairs, we walk on Chestnut Street and see some of the most luxurious stores and restaurants in the city. As we reach Sixth Street we know we are in the historic part of the city because the architecture of the buildings dates back to the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries. In front of us is Independence Mall, a large park area surrounded by the most historic buildings in Philadelphia. Washington Square, a plaza with ancient trees, is located at the eastern end of the Mall. Between Independence Mall and Washington Square is Independence Hall, which is the most famous historic building in the United States.

After a few minutes walking around admiring the historic splendor of the area, we join a group of tourists who are entering Independence Hall. The inside of this building contains the original document of the Declaration of Independence, the famous document that told the world that the original thirteen colonies were now free from England. We see the rooms with the Eighteenth Century furniture where George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and other heroes of the American Revolution held conferences, discussed the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and planned the war of independence.

            A short walk from Independence Hall is the Liberty Bell that rang during the main events of the United State’s independence. On one occasion it rang so loudly and so long that the bell cracked. Now, we can always recognize pictures of the Liberty Bell by its characteristic crack.

            Next to the building housing the Liberty Bell is the National Constitution Center, containing many historical exhibits, including the Bill of Rights and the Constitution of the United States. We see the displays and historic movies, and we stop at an exhibit showing pictures and statues of ancient Romans. The title reads “Ancient Rome and America” and it shows the connections between Ancient Rome and modern America. Jose, a student in our group, comments that the connections between Valencia and Quart and Ancient Rome are much closer than the ones between Rome and America’s. Very true, Jose, the Romans actually occupied most of Spain for a long time.   

            We take a tour bus to take us to other places that are too far to walk. We visit City Hall, a large building that occupies an entire city block. Here is where the Philadelphia Mayor and the city Council direct the city government. It’s a remarkable building, with dozens of statues and ornaments, and a great deal of marble. The principal streets of the city, Market and Broad streets intersect at City Hall, and we go to a courtyard (una plazita) located on the ground-floor of the building.

            The next stop is the Reading Terminal Market, on Twelfth Street, where we will have a typical “Philly” lunch. This market was built 116 years ago next to a train station. People from Philadelphia and other towns could come to the Reading Market to buy fresh produce (productos de los campos), also meats, fish, plants, baked goods and flowers. It is very similar to the Mercado Central in Valencia. The fragrance (the fragrant smell) of various types of cooked food serves as a good appetizer, because there are many eating places serving typical American food. The place we have selected for lunch serves the famous Philly Cheese-steaks, with thinly-cut beef steak, fried onions, cheese, peppers, and a delicious sauce, served on a long bread bun (panecillo). After enjoying the cheese steaks, for dessert (postre) we have a large “smoothie”, a cold drink of blended fruits dissolved in delicious juices. Some of us prefer the ice cream cones with triple scoops (paladas) of hand-made ice cream. I see that some of you like both ice cream and smoothies! After a lunch like that, you need a siesta!—but we can’t stop because we have so many other great things to see.

            

The Philadelphia Convention Center is our next stop, right across the street from the Reading Market. They are having the Philadelphia Flower Show, so we peek in a hall as big as a foot-ball field full of flower displays from all parts of America and other distant countries. The colors and arrangements are fantastic, and it would take a whole day to see them all, but we can’t stay there so we continue our journey to other places.

         

         The tour bus takes us to Logan Square, with a large water-fountain in front of The Catholic Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, which faces the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The parkway is a wide boulevard similar (but smaller than) the Champs Elisee in Paris. Large trees line up the Parkway in front of important buildings such as the Philadelphia Library, the Rodin Museum and the Barnes Museum. At the extreme end of the Parkway is the famous Philadelphia Museum of Art, a large pale-yellow building with Corinthian columns. The museum, similar to the Spanish Museum of El Prado in Madrid, has dozens of displays of European, American and Asian paintings, sculptures and architectural master-pieces. We go to the Spanish Art display, where you can see master-pieces of the best Spanish painters, including Goya and Velazquez. A member of our group, Gina, comments on something that is very true—that Spain has always excelled in the art of painting.

            When we exit the main building of the Museum of Art, we walk across the road in back of the building, to a gazebo (a wooden tent) on a hill overlooking the Schuylkill River. Down below the hill is a wide area of the river lined with big mansions on the right bank (orilla a la derecha). They call that group of houses Boat-house Row because they house racing rowboats belonging to several universities in Philadelphia. We’re lucky because today is a racing day on the river. We are able to see a real Philly boat regatta, like the ones they have on the Thames River in England. The prize cup (el premio) in this regatta goes to The Pennsylvania University, and we see many people having a great celebration in Faimont Park, which is located next to Boat-house Row.

Next we go across the Philadelphia Museum of Art to the Perelman Museum Building, which opened less than six years ago. It contains very modern exhibits including a huge sculpture of the moon that I thought you would enjoy. When we enter the darkened large room we see a sculpture of the moon as large as a house. Its surface is full of craters, like those on the real moon. The way that moon sculpture is suspended there in the simulated sky makes us feel as if we too are in outer space. I hear somebody say, “Miren, aqui llego yo a la luna sin usar un cohete” (I think it was Aaron who said that.) It’s true, looking at that simulated moon makes you feel you are wearing a space suit and floating towards the moon without needing a spacecraft (nave de espacio).

            In the evening, we decide to go to Penn’s Landing, a park on the banks of the Delaware River named after the spot where William Penn, landed after traveling from England. On one end we see the city, overhead is the Ben Franklin Bridge, all lighted up and shiny. There is Latin-American music and jazz in the air, and early fireworks, so it is all very festive (ambiente de fiestas). Again, we are lucky because today in Penn’s Landing they are celebrating a Puerto Rican fiesta, so the music includes Puertorican music we can dance to. Among the eating delicacies (manjares deliciosos) is “lechon asado” (roasted pig), “arroz con pollo”, “pasteles” (made from plantains and chicken) and many other delicacies such as guava paste with cream cheese. They also have paella but is not as good as the ones they have in Valencia and Quartell. After eating some of these delicacies (manjares), I see some of you joining the dancing. I’m so happy to see that you guys (ustedes los muchachos y muchachas) can really dance the “Salsa” as well as some of the Puerto Ricans. We hear some Americans say “You guys are “really cool”, meaning that you Spaniards are delightful.

            A big fireworks follows, and it makes many of you remember the wonderful “Fallas” in Valencia. Here in Philadelphia, the feast that is closest to Las Fallas is the Mummers parades, especially on New Years Day when teams from the various Philadelphia neighborhoods compete by wearing very fancy, large, colorful costumes and playing instruments and dancing in parades through the streets. The fireworks display on this Puerto Rican Feast illuminates the sky and frames the Philly skyline, marking the end of a wonderful day for all of us.

            

I hope you enjoyed this virtual trip with me and hope we can do this again soon.

                                              

Abrazos a todos de su amigo,

                                                   

                                         Ulises Alvarado Garces