#spanish maja

[resplendentoutfit]

Fashion Rebellion

Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746-1828) • Portrait of Doña Isabel de Porcel • 1805

In the late 1700s into the early 1800s, some daring society women rebelled against French fashion trends by dressing as majas. This is interesting, as the maja was a style of belles of the lower class. The maja became one of the popular and informal symbols of Spain and a powerful symbol of national identity and cultural pride.

Zacarías González Velázquez (Spanish, 1763–1834)

The traditional items for dress were the basquińa – an overskirt that had neither openings nor a train. It was gathered or pleated at the waist and was fuller at the back than at the front. Sometimes, the basquińa was paired with a sleevess low-necked bodice or cuerpo bajo (see the image below). To complete the outfit, a comb, called a peineta of various heights and widths, a lace mantilla, and a fan.

In this 1926 portrait of Delores del Rio (1904-1983) by Theodore Lukits, she wears a basquińa with a cuerpo bajo and a very large peineta. Del Rio was a Mexican actress and here she is portrayed in the outfit she wore for presentation to the Spanish Court. Dressing in traditional Spanish costume for special occasions continued into the 20th century. The style is still popular today and can be seen at festivals and holidays throughout Spain and Latin America.

[tina-aumont]

“Saludos afectuosos al pueblo español, mi pueblo, que pronto tendré el inmenso placer de visitar. Estoy tan contenta de trabajar en España! María Montez”

“Affectionate greetings to the Spanish people, my people, who I will soon have the immense pleasure of visiting. I am so happy to work in Spain! María Montez”

This is a postcard announcing that María would come to Spain to film “La Maja de Goya”, a film produced by Cesáreo González. He contacted her with the contract and the script and she agreed to take part on the film. The film was about to start by September 1951 but since 1949 the Spanish producer wanted to work with the Dominican Star.

Cesareo González was the one who promoted Mexican actress and singer María Félix and launched her career in European films. She first worked with him in "La Corona Negra" in 1951. This was a Spanish film co-produced by France and Italy.

[Mexican actress and singer María Félix pictured in 1947]

This photo was first printed in Spanish magazine Primer Plano number 560 from July 1951.

[Left: the magazine cover, featuring Ava Gardner, right the photo printed from the magazine]

Antonio Pérez Arnay had the magazine and was interested in getting the photo for his book "María Montez La Reina del Tecnicolor", and finally, he had a copy from the original one (believed to be in the Spanish Filmotheque) and could publish it in his great and unique book for María Montez.

Very special thanks to @74paris for the information given and the pics provided here.

[mote-historie]

Maja Maldita by Federico Beltrán Masses, 1918, oil on canvas, 161.5 x 202 cm.

For contemporary critics and collectors, La Maja Maldita was perhaps the most famous of Beltran Masses' œuvre. The fact that it is also a portrait of an extraordinary figure from the world of dance has been subsumed by the painting's drama and title.

The sitter, Carmen Tortóla Valencia (1882-1955), was a dancer who invented her own unique style based on a study of Arab, Indian and African dance, combining the African-Carribbean music with that of her Spanish heritage. Like her near contemporary Isadora Duncan (1877-1927) she eschewed the strictures of conventional technique, instead embracing a freedom of movement that set both apart from the traditions of classical dance. Her innovative approach and extravagant performances brought her extraordinary fame and sold out performances across Europe and South and Central America, while she also took the lead roles in two Spanish silent films – Pasionaria and Pacto de lágrimas (both in 1917).

Her unrestrained private life cast her in some eyes as the Accursed Maja of the title of this painting – the liberated seductress who had abandoned the corset as an an unwieldy restraint on female movement, whose male lovers were chosen for their intellect but with little regard to permanence, while her long-term companion was a woman, Ángeles Magret Vilá. She rejected the Catholic faith of her ancestors and instead embraced Buddhism, vegetarianism and morphine, but managed nonetheless to make a considerable fortune which enabled her to retire from the stage in 1930.

Her dancing and striking looks inspired poems by the Basque poet Pio Baroja,[i] the dramatist and later anarchist Ramón del Valle Inclan[ii] and the Nicaraguan born writer Ruben Dario. [iii] This portrait of her as the Maja Maldita is perhaps the truest to her character of all the many images of her in dance poses, sometimes wearing even more revealing costumes. Unlike these photographs, however, Beltran's painting portrays her recumbent, a mysterious seductress; there is no hint of movement or of the source of her fame. She stares into the distance, her vermillion lips emphasising her pale features, her unclothed right arm just touching the guitar that is a feature of so many of Beltran's paintings. Through the darkened window, framed by long translucent fabric, we glimpse a mysterious building placed against a deep blue starlit sky. (x)

[artthatgivesmefeelings]

Leonardo Alenza y Nieto (Spanish, 1807 - 1845) Majas and Celestina on a Balcony, 1834 Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest The beautiful young woman, the maja, shows off her charms on the balcony, while behind her — in sharp contrast — is Celestina, the hideous, old, money-grubbing matchmaker.

[blueiscoool]

undefined

Climate Activists Glue their Hands to Paintings by Francisco Goya in Spain

The protest at the Prado museum, in which both protesters each glued a hand to the frames, did not damage either painting but caused their frames slight blemishes, the museum said.

Both activists were detained after the incident on Saturday, police said.

They had scrawled “+1,5°C” on the wall between the two artworks in reference to the Paris Agreement target of capping warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

In a tweet, the Prado said: “We condemn the protest that took place in the museum.

“The works have not been damaged but the frames have suffered slight blemishes. We are working to get back to normal as quickly as possible. We reject endangering cultural heritage as a means of protest.”

Climate activist group Extinction Rebellion posted a video online showing the two activists each with a hand fixed on a painting before the museum’s security officials move in.

The group said the two artworks in question were The Naked Maja and The Clothed Maja.

The action was a protest in the face of rising world temperatures which will “provoke an unstable climate with serious consequences for all the planet”, the group said in a statement in Spanish.

[random-brushstrokes]

José Bardasano Baos (Spanish, 1910 - 1979) - La maja maldita

[beatricecenci]

Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746-1828)

Majas al balcón

[jokeroutsubs]

[ENG translation] Rock'n'roll in the blood

An interview with the Guštin family in Slovenian newspaper Delo, originally published 6.2.2022.

Original article is available here for Delo subscribers. Original article written by Agata Rakovec Kurent for Delo; photos by Jože Suhadolnik; English translation by a member of Joker Out Subs, native proof reading by IG GBoleyn123.

If you repost quotes from the interview, please link back to this post! And if you repost the photos, do not crop out the photographer credit.

Next Saturday (12.2.2022), Gušti and young singer Leyre will present themselves at EMA¹, but first, we visited him and his family in Bežigrad².

The Guštins (right to left) Chantal, Maja, Kris, Miha and Maks, were all happily rolling around the house during lockdowns and having a pretty nice time. PHOTO: Jože Suhadolnik/Delo

Just as I was looking at the names on the doorbells and considering calling Gušti about whether I was even at the right address in Bežigrad, the last of the five family members, Kris, came hurrying home. Actually, there are six family members, alongside Chantal and Gušti and their kids Kris, Maks and Maja, there is also Apple the dog, who greeted me with loud barking. Dogs remain with their parents even when the kids start to leave the nest, we agreed as we sat down at a big wooden table.

For musician Gušti and Chantal Van Mourik from the Netherlands, everything started with a teenage seaside romance. After that, nothing happened for ten years, but when Gušti wrote Big Foot Mama's big hit Črni tulipan, he could not imagine anyone other than his teenage love in the music video. He invited her to the filming, she came, and the rest is history. Three decades and three children later, their first-born Kris is following his dad's footsteps as the guitarist of Joker Out, the most popular band among the Slovenian youth right now.

We all know Miha 'Gušti' Guštin as Big Foot Mama's guitarist and the writer of their biggest hits. 20 years ago, he went his own way, musically, and recorded his first solo album Dolce Vita, where his successful collaboration with Polona Kasal³ started. He also did a memorable duet with Zagreb resident Ema Gagro, but let's start at the end.

If not for the good song, then for the laughter…

Next Saturday, we'll see something completely new at EMA, as he has joined forces with young singer Leyre⁴. How did they find each other? "People have been hinting that I should sign up for EMA for years and years and I never did, but this time I told myself that I would sign up if I found a truly good vocalist.

Producer Žare and I started looking, and through Dušan Obradinovič - Obre, drummer of the band Dan D, we got to Leyre. Leyre is Spanish by birth, she came to Slovenia when she was two years old. She's from Novo mesto, she is 19 years old and studies in Ljubljana. It's a one-time musical collaboration, just for EMA, so that I can finally have an answer for everyone who has been asking me for years: 'Why don't you sign up once?'" explains Gušti.

His family, especially Chantal and Kris, were initially pretty sceptical about this endeavour. Because it's a circus, because it's always said to be "rigged"?

"No, not because it's rigged, but because I thought that dad had slight misconceptions about what you can achieve with a song at EMA. My reservation was that if you go to EMA with a bad song, it falls through, no one remembers it, and it all doesn't seem worth the effort to me. Of all the songs that have been on EMA, 95 percent have sunk into oblivion, and I didn't want something like that to happen to dad.

Once we talked things through, however, and especially once I heard the song, I supported him, just like mum did. If you go to EMA, you have to win, otherwise it all passes you by, that's my opinion," says Kris.

Is Eurovision as much of a circus in the Netherlands as it is here? "It used to be, but now it's not like that anymore. For the past few years, they haven't even had a pre-selection. There's a committee that picks the performer who then represents the country at Eurovision. As for Miha, I think it's great that he signed up. The song is fantastic and the singer is truly exceptional.

On the other hand, I find it all amusing. I know Miha, and Miha is not about make-up and image, but with EMA all of that matters, the sound and the look are a package and it's absolutely not just about the song. That part, the fact that Miha is going to clothes fittings, is greatly amusing to everyone in the family," Chantal laughs.

Next Saturday, they will all keep their fingers crossed for Gušti and Leyre at EMA. Photo: Jože Suhadolnik/Delo

So did Gušti have a particularly shiny tuxedo made for EMA? "The styling will absolutely be appropriate for the event. I turned to a stylist, we just ordered everything, but I will wear a nice, elegant suit, which will still be rock chic."

The youngest members of the family, Maks and Maja, are smirking as their dad talks about rock chic. How interested is their generation in EMA anyway? "I don't know, I never asked my friends about it," is the concise answer of the youngest, seventh grader Maja, who is great at artistic gymnastics, as well as being the most artistically talented in the family.

"To be honest, I don't watch it and I'm not very interested in these things, but I will definitely watch it when dad performs, if not for the good song, then for the laughter," Maks' honesty makes everyone present laugh loudly.

History is repeating itself

Kris, who just graduated in chemical engineering, was not too enthusiastic about Big Foot Mama or Gušti's later solo projects at first.

"Everything changed when I got involved in music myself, when the summer before my first year of high school, I took up the guitar. At ten or twelve years old, I listened to what was playing on the radio, and that wasn't like the music that dad was making, so his music didn't interest me. In time, when I started discovering more complex music, rock, I started to enjoy his stuff.

My friends, who I'm still in a band with, introduced me to Big Foot Mama's music and tried to convince me that Črni tulipan was a totally awesome song. Then, for a while, I was like 'Oh, awesome, dad!' At first I didn't even care that he had been with the Big Foots, then I couldn't believe that he had left the band, it seemed horrible to me, but now I completely understand why he did it, and I really like what he's done since leaving," he tells us.

Chantal used to watch fans screaming in front of Big Foot Mama's stage, now she can relive those scenes at her son's concerts. "The screaming never bothered me, I always thought it was fun and interesting to watch. Nowadays, Miha and I often talk about how we're experiencing the same moments from another perspective.

Where Miha used to stand on stage, Kris now stands, where I used to stand in front of the stage as his girlfriend, we now stand together, but everything else is the same - the music, people screaming, girls going crazy, all that. I think that's great and I couldn't be more proud of Kris, of his band, and of course also of Miha and everything they achieved back then. We do sometimes truly feel like history is repeating itself, though."

However, some things did change from the time Gušti was starting out in music to today. Social media arrived, and these days, if you're not on it - you don't exist. "My kids and wife help me with social media, I'm not very good at it. Before they help me out, they always explain how clueless I am and that I should engage with it more and get with the times.

I'm not interested in these things, I can't find my footing in this world, but I know that it has to exist. I have Instagram, Facebook, and after they get done criticising me, everyone helps me out," says Gušti, while Chantal adds: "We have to help him to prevent something worse."

Apple the dog will also keep her paws crossed for Gušti at EMA next Saturday. Photo: Jože Suhadolnik/Delo

Joker Out take care of the social media themselves; "we have the natural advantage of having grown up with this, and it is unfortunately an integral part of the music scene today. We couldn't achieve much without Instagram. Well, after Facebook, Instagram is also almost 'out' now, so we have to start thinking about TikTok, which seems horrible to me," Kris tells us.⁵

His younger brother Maks is also part of Joker Out's story as a roadie. "It started with me helping the roadie, bringing water, putting away the cables and so on. Of course they didn't pay me, it was all in the family. Then I took over the merch, selling T-shirts and other things, which is pretty fun, it's a lot of work, but it pays off," he tells us, while Kris laughs, adding sarcastically: "Well, it doesn't pay off for him, because we still don't pay him."

Joker Out released an album (Umazane misli) recently, while Gušti says about his new one: "To me, having released quite a few albums already, the most important thing is that there is music. And there is music, I release a single or two every year, and once there's enough of them, there will also be an album. When that will happen, I don't know. Since I've never sung, I'm still figuring out the best direction for my vocals.

To put it bluntly…

Even before the pandemic, which devastated our music industry as well, Gušti and Siddharta's singer Tomi Meglič already found a recipe for these weird times, a cycle of 1on1 concerts: "During the Covid times, Tomi and I had 30 gigs, which was probably by far the most among all Slovenian performers. Seated, distanced gigs were possible. They were very well-attended before Covid already, and then it just kept going.

To put it bluntly, we were lucky bastards. It was just a pity that we couldn't put as many seats up for sale as usual and the pay reflected that, but at least we could play." I already joked with Tomi in a recent Nedelo interview that the format suits Siddharta's and Gušti's aging audience, who - judging by myself - finds it harder and harder to stand for two hours and longer. Gušti laughs: "It's true that it's mostly people our age who come, faithful fans of Siddharta and Big Foot Mama, there aren't many young people."

Putting together the repertoire gave them a lot of trouble, because together - they have too many hits. "At the beginning, the format was 14 songs with an encore, seven of his, seven of mine, which we immediately filled up. I chose his hits, he chose mine. The problems are arising now when we should freshen it up, but we don't want to lose any of the songs." At the end of March, the 31st, Gušti is also planning a solo concert in SiTi Theatre with a new team. "I will do a half unplugged, half electric version, and I will keep that up afterwards."

Unlike Gušti, the Jokers were hit by the crisis at the start of their musical journey. "At first, we planned to release the album on the 1st of April 2020, with a concert in Cvetličarna following on the 9th of April. A month before, everything closed down and fell apart. We rescheduled everything for May, then for October, and finally for next October. We also rescheduled the album release. Firstly because we weren't completely happy with it yet, and we also didn't see the point in releasing it, only us not to be seen anywhere for a year and a half.

Then people would come to a concert and wonder where anything new was, because they would already know everything. In a way, we were happy to delay everything. That way, a lot of the pressure was released, or stretched out over a longer period of time.

Covid seemed very inconvenient at first, we felt like we fell off the horse, but when we look back, it was a very productive time for us. We made some radical changes, in the music, in the line-up and in our way of thinking, and it shows. The tension was mounting before the concerts in Cvetličarna⁶ and that's why they were much more cathartic in the end," says Kris.

They have just renovated their rehearsal space and started working on the new album, which they have promised for September. That is also when they're planning a big concert in Križanke, before that they have summer concerts, including some outside of our borders. "We will try to get a gig in Serbia, and we will also release a song in Serbian."

The damage that was done to the music industry is huge, despite some bright exceptions. "The consequences will drag on for years. A huge part of the industry fell apart, and many found work elsewhere. Not musicians, not the people we see on stage, but the people in the background, as well as those who worked for publishers, in the distribution chain..." Chantal reflects.

A nomad in the house

Because of the uncertain situation, she hasn't visited her homeland for two years. "Maja and I are hoping that we can finally travel there on the 17th of February, so we're already half in isolation. The last time we were planning to go there was in September, but then Kris got sick, and then I did too. I'm hoping and knocking on wood that we can finally do it. In the meantime, my sister visited us twice, and at one point, Transavia also cancelled the flight connection between Ljubljana and Amsterdam, and I would've sooner made it around the world than to Amsterdam."

Kris visited his Dutch relatives, as well as his girlfriend and a friend who are studying there, for one week immediately after the Cvetličarna concert. "At that time, he called home to say that there were no restrictions there and he didn't need to have a mask on at the store, meanwhile here, everything was a lot more strict. When he came back, things relaxed a lot here, while over there the restrictions got stricter," says Chantal, who hopes that travelling will soon be something regular again and they will be able to visit their relatives more.

Since Kris just mentioned his girlfriend, I ask him whether it wouldn't be better for sold-out shows if all members of the band appeared single. "I have no reservations about publicly saying that I'm in a relationship, even though other band members might say differently. Our singer Bojan would say 'Kris got dumped by his girlfriend..." at every concert before a song I wrote when I once had a broken heart, but he didn't mention that it was four years ago," he laughs.

"As young girls, we used to wish that the boys on stage were single, but now I prefer to watch guys like Miha who are in a long-term relationship, because it means that they actually know something and have something to show for themselves," Chantal concludes wisely.

Maks and Maja have not been drawn into the music world (yet). "I did kind of pick up the guitar last year, but I quickly lost interest because I have too many things going on in my life to focus only on one. I can play a few of dad's songs, and I might turn to the guitar again at some point," says Maks, and his proud mum adds: "Maks is very skillful with the computer, he edits music clips and is working with various musicians.

Of course it started with Joker Out and Gušti, but now he's also working with Challe Salle⁷, Nipke⁸, he's making various videos for Spotify and has his own business. He's our businessman. All three of them are very creative, not only in the field of music, which is interesting. Maja, for example, draws incredibly well and is constantly making art."

All three kids are artistically gifted, say the proud parents. Photo: Jože Suhadolnik/Delo

They handled home schooling successfully, and as the family businessman and second year high school student Maks says, "I've found that being at home is better for me. The trip from home to school and back is time-consuming. If I'm at home, I have a lot more time left that I can use for myself."

Kris finished practically half of his studies remotely: "For the first year and a half, I was at the faculty and saw 250 students in one place in large halls, which was fascinating to me. With each new year I progressed to, there were fewer of us, and at the end there were about 40 of us left. Lockdown came at the right time for me.

All the lectures were recorded and I didn't have to get up early, I didn't have to take the bus at half past six in the morning, I could sleep in as long as I wanted and then watch the lectures. Because the professors speak slowly, I could set the speed to 1.5 and I wasn't losing time."

"I think we're all well-adapted to remote work," says Chantal, who is a veteran of it, "I've been working remotely for five years for the international school SAE, School of Audio Engineering, which used to be in Ljubljana as well, but shut down in 2016. Now I work for them in the international space. During lockdown, we were all happily rolling around the house and we were having a pretty nice time.

The happiest one, however, was Apple, who had company all the time." Gušti smiles: "I'm the only one in the house who doesn't have his own room, except for our bedroom. Whenever I needed peace to create, I retreated there, or I waited for example for Maja to go to her gymnastics practice so I could go to her room, or for Kris to not be home so I could go there. I'm the only nomad in the house."

When I last spoke to Chantal and Miha about ten years ago, we also talked about their filmesque love story which, with three small children, wasn't always easy. "I often got home at five in the morning, hyped up, with a good concert behind me, and Chantal placed a baby who hadn't slept all night in my arms. I was searching for that line, how to satisfy my rock'n'roll side on the one hand, and be a good husband and father on the other. I didn't always succeed, but I'm trying," says Gušti, who now sees his first-born backstage at concerts too.

Chantal, who speaks Dutch to her family as well as to Apple at home, has not grown fond of Slovenian cuisine even after 23 years: "I'm sorry, but that is really not for me, cabbage, sausages, blood sausages, dumplings… Luckily I now have kids who, apart from Kris, support me in this. Slovenia is developing though, and you can also get more and more Asian food here, which we really like and used to eat every other day back home, since my dad is originally from Indonesia." She says that Slovenians are very close-minded in some respects: "The attitude towards anything foreign is still pretty problematic here."

Maks adds the finishing touch: "If Slovenia was as developed socially as the Netherlands is, it could make a lot of progress as a country. I'm talking about the relationship between different cultures, who work together in the Netherlands, like water that always finds a way, while here, they are very separated."

¹EMA is the Slovenian national selection for Eurovision

²Bežigrad is a neighbourhood in Ljubljana

³Polona Kasal is a Slovenian singer; her and Gušti performed as a duo called "Gušti & Polona" for a few years

⁴You can watch Gušti and Leyre's performance at EMA 2022 here.

⁵Joker Out have, in fact, had to start thinking about TikTok since then. As you probably know, you can find them on TikTok here.

⁶You can watch the Cvetličarna concert with English subtitles here on our YouTube channel.

⁷Challe Salle, real name Saša Petrović, is a popular Slovenian hip hop singer, known for being very focused on being a good role model for his younger fans. One of his big hits was Lagano.

⁸Nipke, real name Boštjan Nipić, is a popular Slovenian rap/hip hop singer. He's part of the Dravle Records publishing company and collaborated with Bojan in the song Jst mam sam sebe rd.

If you repost quotes from the interview, please link back to this post! And if you repost the photos, do not crop out the photographer credit.

[psikonauti]

Rafael Romero Barros (Spanish, 1832-1895)

Maja, 1865-1870

Oil on canvas

[creaturefeaster]

ive been thinking about this for a while, i sent an ask about it a while ago but i was in a spot with bad service so im not sure if it sent or not, so sorry if something like this already went through to your ask box. But, how does vilmer and maja speak and know swedish if cq doesnt take place on earth? is there a different place that’s native language is swedish, and also is it called something different? or is sweden just laying around somewhere on theia

It's a mix of a few things, and it applies to all real languages used in the CQ universe:

1) There are no Earth-aligned countries on Theia, but there are definitely parts & communities of the world that have different languages, accents, and dialects. This is also why there are other languages spoken such as Spanish or French, why Bonnie knows languages such as Hungarian, and so on.

2) Even though I chose to express the world's writing primarily in English, it's still a language just like any other and should not be assumed the default for the entire world of Theia. Many places they travel to, were there to be any survivors, do not speak English at all.

3) My ass is not about to conjure 100 different fake languages for the world when there are plenty of interesting and very real languages to explore & implement into the world. The swedes spawned in this world and they are here to stay, and no they won't elaborate how or why.

Also yes it is still called swedish, same for any other real language used in my writing ^_^!

[theseventhveil1945]

Hollywood gossip was circulating that the Valentino marriage was in deep trouble, that Natacha was taking drugs to numb the pangs of despair, that she was absenting herself from the Whitley Heights haven, and had taken a lover. To scotch the rumors, Natacha joined Rudy in hosting a reception at the Ambassador Hotel for the Spanish painter Federico Beltran-Masses, who had just completed four paintings for them. [...] The forth painting was a sensual portrait called La Gitana, a portrait of a Spanish gypsy reclining seminude likewise in the attitude of Goya's naked muja. Except for the woman's green eyes, La Gitana has the unmistakable features of Natacha. The well-bred Rambova, who was never seen in Hollywood with her hair unbound, brandishing a cigarette, or wearing a short skirt insisted that Beltran-Masses's naked maja be given a name other than her own. It was Rudy's favorite painting, however, one that he would later place above his bed at Falcon Lair.

[...] In Hollywood, Rudy did not want to live alone with his memories at Whitley Heights. He moved into Falcon Lair, even though renovation had not yet been completed. Beltran-Masses kept him company there and gave him painting lessons. The work the actor chose to reproduce in these lessons was La Gitana. Obsessed with the picture, he painted it over and over again. - Madam Valentino, Michael Morris

[theaskew]

Josep Masana (Catalan 1892-1979), Maja española (Spanish Maja), between 1920-1940 (print circa 1957-1960). Flexichrome, (Source: National Art Museum of Catalonia, Barcelona)

[tina-aumont]

Litte Tina, aged 13 with her dad, step mother and half brother Jean-Claude Aumont in Madrid, Spain in 1959 while a break of "Solomon and Sheba" filming.

It's a beautiful thing that Tina visited Spain as a child and later filmed there "L'Uomo L'Orgoglio, la Vendetta" and "The Last Run" because she fulfilled her mother's dream in a way...

The thing is that María Montez wanted to film in Spain and she was about to do it in 1951, and she was really happy because she wanted to use her real surname Gracia (she changed it to Montez cause the English-speaking people don't know how to pronounce Gracia) and she wanted to do a film in Spanish, sadly, it never happened as fate had other plans for her...

"Saludos afectuosos al pueblo español, mi pueblo, que pronto tendré el inmenso placer de visitar. Estoy tan contenta de trabajar en España! María Montez"

"Affectionate greetings to the Spanish people, my people, who I will soon have the immense pleasure of visiting. I am so happy to work in Spain! María Montez"

This is a postcard announcing that María would come to Spain to film "La Maja de Goya", a film produced by Cesáreo González. He contacted her with the contract and the script and she agreed to take part on the film.

First photo comes from Moon City Garbage Agency and the second photo comes from "María Montez La Reina del Tecnicolor" book written by Antonio Pérez Arnay. Please notice that María is wearing a necklace that later inherited her younger sister Teresita and later she gave it to Tina, as you can see in this post.

Very special thanks to @74paris for his invaluable help!!

[karkanxholl]

BASICS

FULL NAME: ILLIR VORPSI » MEANING: Ilir [Albanian; Freedom or free. A character from Albanian mythology. ]; Vorpsi [The Vorpsi surname is a native Albanian surname/tribe of Tirana. It originates from the words vorbull and vorb, meaning 'whirlpool' and referring to the families' occupation was pottery. Another theory is from Maja e Vorbatines, a mountain range in north Albania which they could be related too, but the occupational surname theory is more credible.]

Adding coz KARKANXHOLL I guess doesn't literally translates to 'werewolf" but... It sounded cool so, Illir and I was like, YEP. In Albanian Mythos, The ‘’Karkanxholl’'  was that Culture’s ‘’Vampire’’ figure. However, unlike the ‘’traditional’’ Vampire Beings, The Karkanxholl was also part-Wolf. As such, They were often portrayed in A rt and Literature as being ‘’Humanoid’’ with the overall qualities of both ‘’Vampire’’ and ‘’Werewolf’’. The set-apart for The Being was that it was most shown as being ‘’Human’’, but wearing Chain Mail (a loose fitting Armor). Blood Drinkers, The Karkanxholl were most often Male in portrayal – and could be ‘’extinguished’’ like most traditional ‘’Vampires’’.

VERSE:  Sanguine, The Night Shift

NICKNAME(S): Illy

AGE: 35-years old.

DATE OF BIRTH: 1989 April 8th, Sunday.

PLACE OF BIRTH: Tirana, Albania.

OCCUPATION: Businessman; heir to one of the oldest and successful pottery business in the Balkans and Europe. The business is expanding in some parts of Asia and Americas as well.

SPECIES: Werewolf.

POWERS: Possess the traits, attributes and/or abilities of, transform into, or be/is a werewolf. Healing, slow aging, super-strength.

WEAKNESSES: Paralytic venom, silver.

PERSONALITY

STRENGTHS: Courageous, Determined, Confident, Enthusiastic, Honest, Passionate.

WEAKNESSES: Impatient, Moody, Short-Tempered, Impulsive, Aggressive.

APPEARANCE

FACE CLAIM: Can Yaman.

HEIGHT: 6′2 ft. [188]

WEIGHT: 165 lbs. [75 kg.]

BUILD: Muscular.

GAIT: Relaxed.

HAIR COLOR: Brown.

EYE COLOR: Brown.

BIRTHMARK: TBA.

OVERVIEW: » SCARS: Plenty. A major one on his back which he got after a fight when he was a teenager. » TATTOOS: Yes. TBA.

BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: Tirana, Albania.

RESIDENCES: Tirana, Albania; Istanbul, Turkey. He also has houses in Sanguine, Louisiana. New York, New York, and San Francisco in Cali. He also travels to Europe and has a flat in London.

NATIONALITY: Albanian.

ETHNICITY: //

FINANCIAL STATUS: Upper class. He's loaded, come love him.

EDUCATION LEVEL: Uni graduate.

DEGREES: In being a bad-ass alpha lycan king. I have no idea what I'm doing. He's got a business degree but I'm thinking he's into history stuff, too.

SPOKEN LANGUAGES: Illir is multilingual. He's very good with his tongue, WINK WINK. He's very well traveled since he was very little and lived in various countries. Aside from Albanian which is his mother-tongue, he speaks a couple of dialects. He's fluent in Turkish, Greek, Italian, and knows a lot of Arabic. He speaks English as well and some Spanish and French. He can understand Romanian but is very rusty.

RELATIONSHIPS

PARENTS: Elira Vorpsi [m.]; Agron Vorpsi [f., deceased]

SIBLINGS: Half-brother, Hunter Krasniqi. [ The name "Krasniqi" is of Albanian linguistic origin. The exact historical origin and meaning of the surname "Krasniqi" can vary, but it's believed to be related to the Albanian word "kërsenik" or "kërseniku," which means "blackbird" or "thrush."]

CHILDREN: None.

PETS: A stray pitbull, Acimah.

SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: » Illir is to marry a mate but he has not found them.

FAMILY HISTORY: Illir is the eldest son and heir to the throne of a powerful lycan tribe in Albania. When Alpha Agron died, Illir who was in his early 20's took over.

Agron was not the best father and was known the bed a lot of women. It was said that Agron had many offspring but only Illir was the legitimate child and heir to the throne and family richest.

Illir is very much different from his father who he criticized a lot while he was living. Illir tried his best to support many known siblings of him by connecting with them and giving them jobs, etc. There is one particular younger sibling, Hunter, that he is in search for was born to a human mother who was part of their community.

Illir knew Hunter's mother and was fond of her when he was growing up. When she got pregnant by Illir's father, she was kicked out of the community.

Illir travels a lot for work and uses this opportunity to look for his younger brother whom he heard is struggling.

ROMANTIC HISTORY: Many hook-ups. Man whore.

PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS: Marcel the witch/brewer. He's addicted to Marcel's brew and often spends time at Serafine's when he's in Sanguine. Jesus doesn't like it.

THOUGHTS ON LOVE: “It'll happen when the time is right.”

HEALTH

PHOBIA(S): None.

HANDICAP(S): None.

MENTAL DISEASE(S): None.

PHYSICAL DISEASE(S): None.

PREDISPOSITION(S): None.

[random-brushstrokes]

José Bardasano Baos (Spanish, 1910–1979) - La maja maldita

[beatricecenci]

Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746-1828)

La maja y los embozados