One always learns something new

One always learns something new | Ecency

This mural is set up on Belgium Avenue in Old Havana, and at first sight I didn’t know who those characters were… but straight away you could spot a few things: they were in Havana—the Morro lighthouse is right there behind them—and they looked amazed by something…

I turned around to see if I was missing something… it was one of those moments when I feel the walls are speaking to me. 😁

They are two characters from a Belgian comic 😃. Let me introduce Blake & Mortimer. However much I searched in my neural files, I found nothing—no reference at all. I even tried to recall the cartoons I’ve seen… nothing! They were created in 1946 by the artist Edgar P. Jacobs (1904–1987). That’s what the information board said. And the mural found its little place in the heart of Havana on the occasion of the 19th Belgian Week. The author of the illustration for this mural, inspired by The Yellow Mark, the most famous adventure of this duo, is the Belgian artist Etienne Schréder, while Cuban artists Janet Frómeta Benítez and Daniel Bárbaro Quirós Izquierdo carried out the work.

😄 One always learns something new.

Thing is, I got a sudden nostalgia for a walk round Havana, so I dug into my photo archive.

I felt like that pigeon, right in the middle of those scruffy little pieces.

So I went digging into the photos I’d chucked away and spotted a few interesting bits… or maybe not… you’ll let me know. I don’t want to take up your time.

In this pic I hadn’t clocked the vibe… looks like they’re about to jump out of the shot any second.

And there’s her stare as well… what vibe does it give you? That day I was staring at the sculpture down below—it reminded me of a big one on the Malecón—but I didn’t twig that the woman up top was looking at me with… so, what do you reckon her look says? Funny how people can see the same thing so differently.

And I came across these paintings at the Andalusian Centre in Havana… which made me remember I never got round to the flamenco show they have (still going, I guess) every third Saturday of the month.