People listening to the St. Louis Classical Guitar Quartet, seen in yesterday’s post. Most of the audience is paying close attention, except for, maybe, the girl on the lower left on her phone and the man on the right, who I think is more interested in his date. And, well, me.
Our beloved St. Louis Symphony Orchestra performs in a hundred-year-old building, originally designed for movies and vaudeville. It was remodeled to become the orchestra’s home in the late 1960s. Mrs. C and I went on our first date there in the spring of 1973 (Mahler’s First, but I don’t remember what she wore) and we’ve now been subscribers for, I think, 47 years. Despite good acoustics, the hall had many drawbacks, with very inadequate backstage space.
It had been closed for two years for a major restoration and construction of a large new building covering two sides of the old hall. We’ve been to a few performances already but there was a public open house on Saturday showing off all the new stuff. Here, a septet of orchestra members perform as a tango group (unfortunately, no bandoneon). Having visited Argentina a few times, I love tango. The group played some of the biggest hits, including Carlos Gardel's Por Una Cabeza and Astor Piazzola’s Libertango.
Wednesday’s super moon, hanging over a building in St. Louis’ Central West End. This was as close in as I could get with my longest lens, 600 mm equivalent with the camera’s 2:1 crop factor.
There was a super moon last night, one of the occasions when our satellite is closest to the earth. Worth going out with a tripod, but where? This is our emblematic statue, the Apotheosis of St. Louis, in front of the art museum in Forest Park. Maybe I can edit something more about the moon itself for tomorrow.
Another figure at the History Museum’s Dia de los Muertos event, dressed in the uniform of our local soccer/football team. St. Louis City SC's record this season is somewhat well represented.
One of the features of Dia de los Muertos is elaborate altars, usually in honor of a particular deceased family member. This is a small detail from what I gather was a family’s abuela, or grandmother. The photos may be great grandchildren.
Technically, Dia de los Muertos was yesterday. In the Roman Catholic calendar, November 1 is All Saints Day and November 2 is All Souls Day. (You are only obliged to go to mass on the former.) Only a few people at the Missouri History Museum who were not official participants in the event did the full makeup or costume. If you look closely at his clothing, when the day comes I don’t think the man on the right expects to end up in heaven.
Dia de los Muertos is a Mexican festival that celebrates our connections to the beloved who have left us. Despite the imagery we will see in coming days, it is not morbid. The Missouri History Museum (a lot more interesting than it sounds) has a weekend event observing the occasion.
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Breakfast isn’t a big deal in our house. Maybe some yoghurt and fruit, or just a bagel with cream cheese. The only time I get a full morning meal is at a hotel buffet, and they aren’t worth photographing. So, needing an image for today, I found this picture of a food stand in the rain under the south end of The Highline in Manhattan. Bacon and eggs might be hard to eat on the street, particularly if it’s wet.
