Lifeisfullofwonder

“¡HayqueverelartequehayenEspaña!”These were the words uttered by my 86-year-oldmotherafterwatchingtheperformanceofashortpassionatepieceofmusiconYouTubelastweek.ThepiecewasperformedbyLuceroTena,oneof the finest castanetplayers in theworld.The expression translates to “What great artthereisinSpain!”,trulymomentouswordsforapersonwhohas been suffering fromdementia,severe hearing loss, and nearly passed awayfromCovid-19 inOctober. ShewashospitalizedfortwomonthswithCovid-19pneumoniaandis

stillpresentlyrecoveringathome.Lifeisfullofwonder.Asmanyofyouknow,inJune2019,AlfonsoandIleftHoustonandmovedtoSeville,Spain,totakecareofmymomandmyintellectuallydisabledbrother,whilestartingaboutiquetravel agency that focuses on Andalusia. These new circumstances have given me theopportunity to,notonly, takecareofmymom,butalsotorebuildabondwithher,onethatIhadn’thadsinceIwasayounggirl.Lifeisamysteryandunpredictable;whowouldhave said that I would be living with my mom again? Being part of her recovery hasgrantedmesomeunexpectedinsightssuchastheoneImentionedabove.Classicalmusichas always been an appreciated part of my mom’s family and ancestors: symphonies,chambermusic,operas,zarzuelas,andoperettas,amongothers.Fornumerousyears,momwas a singing member of the Asociación Coral de Sevilla. Music and songs were herpassionatehobby;theywerean integralpartofhersocialandentertaining life.Sowhenshevoicedthosewordswithsuchfeeling,Iknewwewereontherightpath.Besidesstrikingmymother,thenewcoronavirusalsohitseveralfamilymembersincludingL.Alfonsoandmyself.AllthiskeptmefromsendingupdatesfortheARRUFInternationalAmbassador'sNotebooksection.Iambacknow,soletmealsosharesomepositivethings.LockdowninSpainwasfromMarchtoJune.InAugust,then,L.AlfonsoandI“escaped”inourcarforalongsunnyweekendtotraveltothebeautifulSierraMorenamountainrangein the northern border of Andalusia.We visited small villages, lakes, and forests in theprovincesofCordoba,Seville,andHuelva,whereweweredelightedwithamazingviews,flocks of wild birds, discovery walks, and palaces and convents converted into luxury

hotels.Wehadmostof theplaces toourselves,enjoying long streetwalksand fabulousmealswithgreatlocalbeerandwine.Needlesstosay,wekeptallhealthprotocols:masks,socialdistancing,andstayingmainlyoutdoors.Presently,actualtravelingisataminimumall over the world for obvious reasons. Nonetheless, there are opportunities for localvisitingandexploringwhileensuringsafety,andweareplanningtodosomeofitagainoneoftheseweekends.Letmebringyoubacktothatpieceofmusicthatcaughtmymother’sattention.ItwasaYouTube video of the interlude of La Boda de Luis Alonso (TheWedding of Luis Alonso)composed in1897byGerónimoGiménezforaZarzuela<<aSpanish lyric-dramaticgenrethat alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporatingoperaticandpopularsongs,aswellasdance>>.WhydoIwanttosharethismusicwithyou?Becausejust as it stroke a beautiful cord in my mother’s psyche, this is the kind of music thatinspiresyoutoexpandyourhorizons,toimagineyourtrips,tofeelalive.Pleasetakesevenminutesofyourtimeandenjoyit:https://youtu.be/nf9ypRpbZMAIn that spirit, wewant to encourage you all to squeeze the best out of everymoment;someof thesemomentsare found inARRUF interest groupswhereyou candiscussandlaughwhilesharingyourlifeexperiences.Bytheway,L.AlfonsoandIhavebeengiventhehonor to lead ARRUF Travel Interest group. The Travel Interest group brings you theopportunity to “visit”, learnabout, andexperienceawesome locationsaround theworldhavingasyour“tourguide”oneormoreofyourfellowARRUFmembers.ThenextZoommeetingwillbeonMarch11at1pmHoustontime.Moreinformationwillbepostedsoononthiswebsiteandviaemails,sostaytuned.We’dlovetohaveyouasoneofour“tourguides”forfuturetravels;donothesitatetocontactmetotalkmoreabouthowtobepartofthisfunandinterestingexperience.IamlookingforwardandexcitedtosharemoreARRUFtimewithallofyouagain.Staysafe,staywell.ViquiArbizu-SabaterInternationalARRUFAmbassadorvarbizu@rice.eduFebruary2021