Día de Muertos

Trick or treat? Halloween is upon us!
As we know, Halloween is celebrated by many cultures in many different ways, but the best known is the American way - a fun celebration where costumes are worn and children go trick-or-treating. In Poland is a quite new tradition, however it arouse many controversies,however, more and more Poles (especially young ones) celebrate Halloween.

But, int this post, I would like to share with you some information about "Day of the Dead" in México, more known as "Día de Muertos".

It is an interesting holiday celebrated in México during the days of November 1 and 2. We should know that they truly believe that the gates of heaven are opened at midnight on October 31, and the spirits of all deceased children (angelitos) are allowed to reunite with their families for 24 hours. In the evening of November 2nd, the spirits of the adults come down to enjoy the festivities. Mexicans visit cemeteries, decorate the graves and spend time there, in the presence of their deceased friends and family members. They also make elaborately decorated altars (called ofrendas) in their homes to welcome the spirits with offerings of special foods and things that they enjoyed when they were alive.

Mexican cempasúchitl (marigold) is the traditional flower which symbolize death

Catrina - one of the most popular figures of  the Día de Muertos ( the Day of the Death) 

It might look outrageously, but the Mexicans react to death with happiness and joy. They look at death with the same fear as any other culture, but in a different way - they reflect their fear by mocking and living alongside death.
"La muerte es flaca y no puede conmigo" which means "Death is weak and she can't carry me."

And what about you? Would you prefer to celebrate these days as in México?

P.S.: Here you have a worthwile article about that day in which people talk about their own traditions.

your favourite musician

I think it's hard to say that I have favourite one because I just love so many. It's really difficult to choose only one. But today I decided to write about one of my favourite musicians.
I discovered her music about 4 years ago (what a shame!) and since then, I love listening to her smooth rich voice almost everyday. I never get tired of listening to her because I never know what she’s going to do next.
Ella Fitzgerald - the Queen of Jazz, the First Lady of Song.

I think that she was an extraordinary vocalist and the finest female jazz singer of all time. Ella was the frst African-American woman who won a Grammy award (in total, she had own over 13 Grammys). She's inspired singers across genres and generation with her vocals. 

Unfortunately, Ella had a rough life: she was abandoned by her father and abused by her stepfather. Her mother died young and then she was placed in an orphanage from which she ran away and lived on the street. She overcame many obstacles to achieve what she has achieved - especially discrimination and racism from people trying to keep her from reaching her goals. And when you listen to her music, you hear someone who sings about something that truly believes and means.

Without a shadow of a doubt, Ella was strong, smart, undeniably talented woman and she never let the vices that took through her career. The Queen of Jazz was considered as a daring, determined and hardworking person. And that's the other reason why I love Ella Fitzgerald.
She's no longer alive, but I truly believe that she's still alive in people's hearts.

Ok, here we go!

Hello everyone!

So, my first post here. It's so exciting, isn't it?
But, to be completely honest, I have no idea what this blog is gonna be about. At least, I should already know that. For now, I know that this blog will not have, hmmm let's say "theme". I will be post about anything - my thoughts, my interests, let's say my everyday reality.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, some facts about me: I love music - and as I'm a music lover, I listen to everything ( literally! ), but also I do have my favourite, like jazz, because "it's all about jazz". :)
I like traveling too, foreign languages ( that's why I study Spanish ). I would describe myself as a talkative, curious and a little bit sarcastic person. So that's enough about me.

I think that's all for now.

Vamos a comenzar! So let's get started! :)

so powerful and timeless song