Who
is "Don Esteban"?
I'm
Dutch and Don Esteban is just
a username. (nickname) A friend in Barcelona used "taxista al
aeropuerto". I changed the name a little bit and began using "el taxista". Later it became “Don ET” and for the last several years it has
been Don Esteban. There is nothing
wrong with my real name but I prefer to use my username when I’m on the
Internet. There are several reasons for this. So, if it’s all the same with you, we’ll keep using Don Esteban,
ok?
What
went on in "Don
Esteban’s" life?
Music has dominated my whole life and
it became my profession at the age of 18. My
father’s impressive career served as my example.
He was an outstanding musician, very well known in his own country and
abroad. As the Dutch saying goes,
"music was spoonfed into me".
|
From the age of 16, I performed on
stage playing dance music and at the age of 18, I started my musical career as a
teacher and a conductor, while at the same time studying at the conservatory. My
principal instruments were the clarinet, the saxophone and the keyboard.
|
|
After having worked as a teacher, a
conductor and musician for 12 long years, I
decided to quit these jobs, at least partly, and I opened a store selling
musical instruments. After about 5
years, the small rental building
burst at the seams and my own new building was put under construction.
In this new building, the business grew into a regional (and beyond), well-known location for musical amateurs as well as for professionals.
With a staff of seven employees, we eventually moved into almost all areas of the musical-instruments
trade.
On Friday, the 13th of
december 1985, my life changed drastically.
(see “runnerspage”). Even
more than before, I plunged myself
into the business and for many years the business ruled my life seven days per
week.
However, there is more to life than
money, stress and worries. Having
come to that conclusion, I decided in 1996, after 35 years of hard and intensive
work, to sell the business to two of my loyal employees.
What
goes on in "Don
Esteban’s" life now?
Aside from various hobbies, like the computer and Compuserve, I have fallen in love with Spain.
Not so much the life of leasure, like “friet van piet”, or “patat
van Ad”, (shop signs where Dutch sell french fries in Spain) the costas, la playa and the cuba libres, but the peace,
healthier and cleaner air and the refreshing mentality of the Spanish
people. I try to be there as often
as I can.
There may be exceptions but when you
get to know the average Spaniard, they
add certain values to your life, that
are not always found in the Netherlands.
What I am referring to, for instance,
are pride, respect, trustworthyness, honesty, friendlyness but of course
also, the familiar
"mañana". The
saying, "don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today" is definitely
not a Spanish saying. They know
though how to enjoy life and the saying "make haste slowly" would be more
appropriate in describing the generally, happy
go lucky Spaniard.
Spain is made up of 17
"comunidades
autonomas" (federal states) and they are sub-divided into provinces.
You will find me mostly in la comunidad "Cataluña", of which
Barcelona is the capital city. It is
the second major city in Spain after Madrid.
As far as land area is concerned, Cataluña can be compared to the
Netherlands, it has 7 million inhabitants.
(The Netherlands have 16 million)
The Catalans are fluent in the
Spanish language (castellano) just like we are in Dutch, but among themselves,
they speak their "català". A mixture of Spanish, French and other influences. If you want to get a Catalan in a huff, you tell him,
"Catalan is a
nice dialect". Believe me,
he will explain to you, somewhat indignantly, that the Catalan language,
their native tongue, is a real language, even older than the Spanish language. It is being taught in school and used from dime novel to encyclopedia,
from a school book to the newspaper, etc.
The government leader and dictator
Franco didn’t think much of the Catalan language and he prohibited the use of
it during his regime, even as a medium of instruction in Cataluña.
But after they threw off the yoke of Franco in 1975, the Catalan language
flourished as never before. All
Catalan literature was brought back, every public sign or direction post became
bilingual and wherever this was ignored or forgotten, the fanatic Catalan would
do it himself with a can of paint.
By Dutch standards,
the Catalan people are hard workers.
They are sometimes called “the Dutch of Spain” (do WE still have such
a zest for work??) Business and industry flourish at this time as never before,
but this also causes a problem.
Financial prosperity benefits
Cataluña only partly because the treasury chest is in Madrid. This causes friction and Catalan extremists like to write
"independencia" on the walls. Luckily,
these extremists are a very small minority. In Basque country,
there is an even greater problem.
In short,
the Catalan is not a Spaniard to the back-bone as many tourists would
probably think. The big "Osborn-bull", a cherry-advertisement in the mountains, close to the border
of Spain and France, has been gone
for many years. The popularity of
bull-fighting in Cataluna has been long overtaken by soccer.
It is very quiet in the bull-fighting arena in Barcelona while Camp Nou,
the old workplace of Johan Cruyff and Louis Van Gaal,
is filled to the brim, a few times every month, with 100.000 soccer
fanatics.
| But, go and have dinner on a Saturday
or Sunday, at one of the many small restaurants in the "Olympic Village"
which is located at the new marina in Barcelona. Or take a walk on the
"Rambla", the
strolling avenue of this city. Then
you will experience that the Catalan, by
no means, renounces his country
Spain and its typical traditions. You will discover that
"la comida" doesn’t just mean "having a
meal", but that it is a family celebration which can last for hours in a
happy and care-free atmosphere.
|
 |
Despite the fact that Spain is one of
the most popular vacation destinations for the Dutch, very few Dutch people
speak the Spanish language. The
camarero (waiter) at the Costa Brava is more adapt at speaking German, English or
French than the tourist is in speaking Spanish.
However, if you want to get to know
the real Spaniard, some knowledge of his language is a must. This is what eventually motivated me to take some lessons and to use
every opportunity to put them into practice. The Spaniard appreciates this very much, however, he is way too polite to
correct your mistakes. You would
have to expressly ask him, which is what you want to do if you want to learn
more.
For the
"aficionado", here
follows a little "tourist Spanish"!
hola = hello
buenos días = good morning (until
noon)
buenas tardes = good afternoon (until
9 PM)
buenas noches = good evening, also
goodnight
¿Qué tal? =
how are you?
muy bien, gracias = very well, thank
you.
que te lo pases bien = that it may be
well with you
igualmente = same thing
camarero, dos canas por favor =
waiter, two beers, please
tengo que irme = I have to go
estoy cansado, me voy a mi cama = I
am tired, I am going to bed
