Ángeles Santos

Now that I live in a town not all my problems are solved.  I still deal with loneliness, even more so now that I don’t know anyone here except my friendly neighbor Ines with whom I’ve gone out a few times, once to a fee concert and twice to sardanes (she to watch and me to watch and to dance a little!).

When I want to I can be friendly and fairly outgoing, so I am hopeful that eventually I will make some friends here.  Part of that is up to me and the rest is a matter of chance or luck.  I must admit, though, that there have been many times when I’ve thought that the lesson I was meant to learn in this life was how to be alone.

What has improved a lot is the possibility of taking advantage of cultural possibilities.  Concerts, dances, fairs, and exhibits are now easily accessible.  So for the first time in many years, on a very hot day this week, when doing almost anything was out of the question, I managed to walk out my door and to the Museu de L’Empordà, the local art museum, just five minutes away.

I never heard of Ángeles Santos Torroella.  She’s a Catalan painter, born in Portbou, a small coastal village near here, who now, at 101 years of age, lives in Madrid.  I wouldn’t say I was crazy about her work, although  I did like some of it, especially the self-portrait used to advertise the exhibition.  It was the process of viewing the paintings, mixed in with photos documenting some parts of her life, that was so very enjoyable.  This was a temporary exhibit.  I’ll be back to see some of the others and their permanent collection soon – one exhibit at a time in order to savour it.