Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries

Talk about capturing the spirit of Dia de los muertos!
One great song," lyrics by Lew Brown, music by Ray Henderson (1931)

People are queer, they're always crowing, scrambling and rushing about;
Why don't they stop someday, address themselves this way?
Why are we here? Where are we going? It's time that we found out.
We're not here to stay; we're on a short holiday.
Life is just a bowl of cherries.
Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious.
You work, you save, you worry so,
But you can't take your dough when you go, go, go.
So keep repeating it's the berries,
The strongest oak must fall,
The sweet things in life, to you were just loaned
So how can you lose what you've never owned?
Life is just a bowl of cherries,
So live and laugh at it all.
Life is just a bowl of cherries.
Don't take it serious; it's too mysterious.
At eight each morning I have got a date,
To take my plunge 'round the Empire State.
You'll admit it's not the berries,
In a building that's so tall;
There's a guy in the show, the girls love to kiss;
Get thousands a week just for crooning like this:
Life is just a bowl of . . . aw, nuts!
So live and laugh at it all!

The Legend

Hey guys, Thanks for a great meeting. I think this production has real potential.

Here is the quote that I came across during our meeting today. I found it really resonated with what Olga said about the obligation of Family and our duties as the survivors.

"In our tradition, people die three deaths. The first death is when our bodies cease to function; when our hearts no longer beat of their own accord, when our gaze no longer has depth or weight, when the space we occupy slowly loses its meaning.

The second death comes when the body is lowered into the ground, returned to mother earth, out of sight.

The third death, the most definitive death, is when there is no one left alive to remember us."

Mae Catrina (West)

What if our Catrina is a Mae West kind of gal, glamorous, whip-smart, and dead?

Among our band of itinerants is a young girl who wants to be a movie star more than anything else in the world. She dreams of the riches that fame will bring, she'll never be hungry or dress in tattered clothing again. As a child of the Great Depression, she's known poverty most of her life.

Mae tells her the score...

Artcard rough drafts

Here are some rough concept sketches for the "Muertos" Artcard. Your thoughts? More "dancing girls"? Feedback is appreciated! Warm regards, analee

La Chorina

Tremendous story, Rebecca! I am particularly inspired by the stories I heard of children who've been forced out on their own at an age we would now consider far too young. And yet, these children found their way ~ the resiliance of the human spirit! Would love to have a young performer in the show!

I'd been thinking that our chorine Catrina should be a figure from "the other side" but now I'm wondering if she isn't a young star-struck actress who's in love with the picture shows and dreams of Hollywood...

A local story from the 30's

I have a friend that today told me a story about her grandmother. When her grandmother was young, the family moved from California to Oregon. The family, of Mexican/Spanish descent, were rodeo riders. All the girls in the family were trick riders, and would travel the rodeo circuits with their parents once they reached a certain age. The grandmother, at the time, was determined to be too young to travel with the family to perform in a rodeo in California. She was left behind in Oregon. Disagreeing with this decision, she decided to leave and hitchhiked all the way to California and performed anyway. (She was born around 1910 and was a teenager when this took place.)

I found this interesting, another aspect of life of Latinos in Oregon.

On the subject of Migrants...

I just remembered the book, "Cajas de carton" relatos de la vida peregrina de un nino campesino. It's a series of stories/ memoirs by Francisco Jimenez about his life growing up in the migrant camps in mainly California, I believe. It's a short read, 123 pages. I believe it's set in the late 40's early 50's, but still applicable, I'd think. It might have been written in English and then translated to Spanish. The version I have is in Spanish. It's a moving book.

Singing the Migrants

Yup, Rebecca, I've found the same. It's easier to find information about the folks who migrated west from other parts of the US, such as the Dust Bowl, during the 30s, than it is to find stories about Latinos during that time. Thank heavens Tim located that tremendous article on Impact of the Great Depression on Latino Americans. Many Latinos, in California in particular, where "repatriated" to Mexico (even if they had been born in the US!). I envision a family that travels north to Oregon rather than risk repatriation.

On the bright side, I found a few stunning Woody Guthrie tunes! He'd been commissioned by the WPA to musically chronicle the effects of the GD...

Talking Dust Bowl Blues
Talking Dust Bowl Blues lyrics

Pastures of Plenty
Pastures of Plenty lyrics

Grand Coulee Dam performed by Lonnie Donegan!
Grand Coulee Dam lyrics

And this is a personal favorite, Poor Lazarus
...dead or alive, come up and see me, dead or alive...
Poor Lazarus lyrics

Thoughts on "Dancing Girls"

In response to Olga's post, I became intrigued about the type of Latino performers there were in this era. Needless to say, my initial searches have not revealed much. From a few quick research stabs, I have found that there were several Latino musicians during this time, but mostly on the East Coast, with a few in Los Angeles.

Then I began to think about Vaudeville. Vaudeville itself began to decline during the 1930's due to the increase in films and also the need for theatres to reduce costs. Some vaudevillians were able to recreate their magic on the silver screen. Some continued performing live, as their skills just didn't transfer to film. Some shifted to other types of non-performance work. And some just became unemployed, like countless others.

I then began to look for Latino vaudevillians, and I came across Imogene Coca. She was born in 1908 to performing parents (her father was of Spanish descent) and began dancing and performing at a very early age. An untraditional beauty for her time, she knew she would not be able to have a "standard" leading lady acting career. However, her career began to take off between 1934-1937 when she was recognized for her comedic talents. Prior to this point, she was still performing on the vaudeville circuit.

Here's a physical comedy bit she performed with Sid Caesar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wEj9aSZZZo&feature=related

At any rate, I could completely see a character styled after someone like her. (And I love her physical humor and the fact that it is completely non-verbal - always great for bilingual shows).

My dos centavos.