This is an older anecdote, so I’m not actually sick right now (thankfully!).

Allow me to break away from Fall on Me’s usual lighthearted stories for something a bit more serious.

In light of what’s been going on in my country (Venezuela), I was inspired to draw this.  This is actually a little anecdote that I wrote down a long while back, but always hesitated to draw because it wasn’t very happy.  Well, I felt that now’s the right time to share.

The song I’m singing is called “Venezuela”, by Pablo Herrero and José Luis Armenteros.  The full lyrics are below (with a rough translation by me).  It’s hard to do justice to the lyrics through this translation, but I wanted you guys to at least get the gist of the song.  I learned it when I was about 5 or 6, and it’s stayed with me all through these years.  Many Venezuelans consider it an unofficial “second anthem”:

Llevo tu luz y tu aroma en mi piel;            (I carry your light and your scent in my skin)
y el cuatro en el corazón.                             (and the cuatro in my heart)
Llevo en mi sangre la espuma del mar     (I carry in my blood the foam of the sea)
y tu horizonte en mis ojos.                          (and your horizon in my eyes)

No envidio el vuelo ni el nido                      (I don’t envy the flight or the nest)
al turpial                                                          (of the troupial)
soy como el viento en la mies.                     (I’m like the wind in the corn fields)
Siento el Caribe como una mujer,              (I feel the Caribbean as I feel a woman)
soy así, que voy a hacer.                               (I’m that way; what can I do)

Soy desierto, selva, nieve y volcán             (I’m desert, jungle, snow and volcano)
y al andar dejo mi estela;                             (and as I go, I leave my trail)
y el rumor del llano en una canción           (the rumour of the plains in one song)
que me desvela.                                              (that keeps me awake)

La mujer que quiero tiene que ser            (The woman I want has to be)
corazón, fuego y espuela,                            (heart, fire and spur)
con la piel tostada como una flor              (with her skin tanned like a flower)
de Venezuela.                                                 (from Venezuela)

Con tus paisajes y sueños me iré           (With your landscapes and dreams I will go)
por estos mundos de Dios.                      (through these lands of God)
Y tus recuerdos al atardecer                    (and your memories in the evening)
me harán mas corto el camino.               (will make my travels shorter)

Entre tus playas quedó mi niñez               (Among your beaches my childhood remains)
tendida al viento y al sol.                             (exposed to the wind and the sun)
Y esa nostalgia que hoy sube a mi voz,     (and this nostalgia, that comes to my voice)
sin querer se hizo canción.                          (accidentally became a song)

De los montes quiero la inmensidad       (From the mountains I want their immensity)
y del río la acuarela.                                    (and from the river, its watercolours)
Y de ti los hijos que sembrarán                 (and from you, the children who will sow)
nuevas estrellas.                                           (new stars)

Y si un día tengo que naufragar                (and if one day I have to founder)
y un tifón rompe mis velas                         (and a typhoon breaks my sails)
enterrad mi cuerpo cerca del mar             (bury my body near the sea)

en Venezuela                                                 (in Venezuela)

So…yeah, there you go.  I really don’t want to elaborate on the messy politics going on right now on my comic page, so if you’d like more information, please feel free to research it on your own.  I hope you can understand.

Next week we’ll be back to Fall on Me’s regular humour and stories

I have been confirmed for two more shows:

CCAF (Cambridge Comic Arts Festival) in Cambridge, Ontario, taking place on May 4th, 2013! It’s free admission, so if you’re in the area come by and check it out!

For more info on CCAF, please visit http://www.cambridgelibraries.ca/ideas/cambridgecomicartsfestival

Aaaand…Small Press Expo (SPX) in Bethesda, Maryland, USA!! It will take place from September 14-15, 2013! My first show outside of Canada; I’m sooo excited! SPX, as its name suggests, is a venue for indie comic and graphic novel publishers. Please come visit if you get the chance; I keep hearing it’s a wonderful show and I’m itching to finally experience it!

For more info on SPX, please visit http://www.spxpo.com

Well, that’s it for the time being…if anything else comes up, I’ll let you know!

For those who don’t know, Alex did keep his hair long for a while last year…in fact, had this little bit happen:

 


(The kid is a neighbor next door to my parents)

I have to admit I agreed with him

Just a cute anecdote for this one…it’s nice to indulge your inner kid every once in a while

Anyone ever eat Pop Rocks while growing up?