Month: December 2025

Celebrating 10 years of Yoga

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As any normal person who has gone to the gym with certain regularity knows, it is mind-numbingly boring. I had heard all the wonderful benefits of Yoga, so about ten years ago, when somebody offered me a Yoga class at the gym in Chapel Hill, I signed up.

I liked it, I liked it enough to return and make it part of my routine, which also meant not doing the same boring workouts. I moved to Florida and continued going to Yoga at my local gym, and so on. Back in Spain, I dropped it; there seemed to be a disconnect between the mentality of Yoga and Spain’s well-established Scholastic tradition. I tried a few venues, but was not convinced

When I returned Stateside, after a bad experience at a local studio, I eventually found Paritosh at Casa Manabilss. What I realized was akin to thinking that for years I had been going to Taco Bell, thinking I was eating Mexican food, and then trying Mexican food in Mexico! My life was changed; I had now entered into real Yoga. Paritosh patiently explains not only the asanas, but they why, the philosophy, the history, the spirituality, the whole package!

On top of that, Paritosh is hilarious! Yes, I know all the jokes and when they are going to drop, but that is part of what makes the class fun.

Originally, the class was labeled Yin Yoga, a type of Yoga that works the fascia of the muscles by holding the asanas longer. Now it is Raja (Royal) Yoga, which gives Paritosh more room to do more encompassing exercises: meditations, breathing exercises, Yoga Nidra, etc. It is a very enriching class, as you never know exactly what the components are going to be, but they are always amazing.

Also, Casa Manabliss has a new home in what used to be the function room of a restaurant! They have done a great job preparing it and keeping the disco ball! It is a great new venue!

Sándor Marai, the best author you have never heard of —existentialism from another angle. (Warning: spoilers)

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Sandor Marai – El matarife

Last Summer, when I returned from Budapest, gushing with excitement from my visit, my sister gifted me Sandor Márai’s first novel, El matarife (The Slaughterer, The Butcher). I had never heard of him, but I was quickly absorbed by the Joseph Roth-like, turn of the (20th) Century style, which I love, and you can read about here.

Most protagonists in Existentialist literature have either lofty or uncertain, questionable motives. Yes, they might be murderers, think of Raskolnikov or Meursault, but either they try to justify their motives or, following Existential absurdity, they simply do not care. Other, more lofty existentialists, such as Don Quixote or Unamuno’s San Manuel Bueno, are not afraid to stand up for their beliefs.

In El Matarife (A mészáros in Hungarian) (1924) —which has yet to be translated into English! Marai creates a different narrative. Otto, who, as the title implies, will become a slaughterer, a butcher, enjoys killing, firstly cattle in Berlin’s market, then enemy soldiers and civilians during WWI. And eventually, as expected, he becomes a serial killer, who then kills himself.

The beauty of this book lies in Marai’s buildup of the narrative. We know Otto is a little different when, as a child, he enjoys seeing an ox get slaughtered. I remember being traumatized as a child seeing my neighbor’s pigs slaughtered, and that was a festive, community event! We also notice Otto is a detached fellow, no real friends, no girlfriend, no wife. Otto seems conscious of his behavior, which even earns him an Iron Cross from the Emperor himself!

Enough spoilers, if you can get your hands on some Marai, it will not disappoint. You are welcome.

Embers, originally published in 1942, was eventually published in English in 2001. It did garner critical acclaim, and I have it on the reading list.

Anton Raphael Mengs at the Prado Museum (hurry, until March 1, 2026)

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Yes, I might have a mildly obsessive personality. One such obsession is the 18th Century, I rather flourish with everything to do Enlightenment, Neoclassical, late Baroque, early Romantic, you get my drift.

When I found out there was a Mengs exhibit at the Prado, I did not go once; I went twice (and I might go again) —Advantage of being an “Amigo del Prado,” I get in for free 😊

Mengs is the consummate 18th-century, Enlightenment painter. Although he worked for a lot of European nobility, most of his work was for King Carlos III in Madrid; in fact, most of Mengs’ work I have seen was at the Palacio Real in Madrid.

My main scholarly project at the moment (sorry, I cannot disclose too many details) involves a Francisco de Isla book that was in the library of the Spanish-Italian Cardinal Zelada. What was my surprise when reading the description of a portrait at the exhibit, that it was Cardenal Zelada, which normally lives at the Art Institute of Chicago, what a coincidence! (Check it out here).

The exhibit is phenomenally curated; it has hundreds of paintings gathered from around the world, divided into 10 huge areas grouping different stages and themes. It is worth the visit.

So if you are in Madrid before March 1st, 2026, go to the Prado and check out the Mengs exhibition. You are welcome.

María Callas, and why I dislike Netflix movies.

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I might be slightly obsessed with Callas…

While I do not consider myself an opera connoisseur, I do love opera.

My love of opera started in high school when I listened to Kiri Te Kanawa sing the famous Madame Butterfly aria Un bel di vedremo, on one of my father’s cassette tapes!

Since then, I have listened to a lot of operas on records and on the stage.

Maria Callas stands out as THE diva, the voice. Yes, other voices are gorgeous, but the Callas is recognizable a mile away, and yes, you could probably hear it a mile away.

I recently saw Netflix’s biopic with Angelina Jolie about Callas’ final days, which prompted me to write this blog post.

The Netflix formula is, in my opinion, boring. Notice how they use all the resources. With all the money they have, they perfectly curate every film, produce the perfect color saturation, or switch to Black and White for certain scenes, all of which makes for boring films. So no, I am not a fan of Netflix films, and while Angelina Jolie and the rest of the cast do an outstanding job, everything else about the film is predictable, thus boring.

But go out and enjoy The Callas’ amazing voice and music. You are welcome.

Find your blessings and then leverage them!

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Yes, I live in a sort of self-imposed exile. No, I do not live in political exile like some of my friends. I do not live in economic or some other sort of exile; mine is occupational. I cannot do the work I do here at home. On top of that, it is no secret that for me, South Florida has very few redeeming qualities. So I could live a bitter and resentful life. However, I try to find the positive and leverage it.

One of the many blessings I enjoy every day is walking from my office, across campus to the refectory, where I make myself a coffee with steamed milk in a professional espresso machine (and grab a cookie to dunk). We have a 73-acre campus which used to be an emergency landing strip for WWII pilots learning to fly out of what is now Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton.

About in the middle of our campus is a lake with a fountain, plenty of fish, and a wonderful path around it! So every morning I walk along the lake, and it is beautiful! Every day is different, cloudy, bright, rainy (this is Florida after all). There are all sorts of wildlife: birds, squirrels, and, if you are lucky, turtles!!

That walk is my first meditation of the day; it is a walk of thanksgiving, of gratitude, of joy, it is splendid!

So, while I could be doing that walk moaning and complaining that I am not home, I choose to enjoy that walk and thank God. I invite you to find your blessings and leverage them. You are welcome.

Lake collage