In late November, Goya and Zapater won three lottery prizes, and with their combined winnings paid for a lavish Christmas Eve feast at the Goyas’ home on Calle Desengaño — “served by ladies,” Goya insisted, “not by loonies (zambombos)”. Zapater, who won 7,500 reales to Goya’s 2,000, sent a coach-load of seafood, wine, cakes and brandies from Zaragoza. For the after-party, he rented a balcony on Plaza Mayor, so the assembled could watch the Nochebuena run of the bulls and “rest from the fatigues of celebrity.”
I like the threads of thought here... the Calderón reminds me of Chassignet, not that many years earlier, in his Tourbillon from Le Mépris de la vie et consolation contre la mort:
I like the threads of thought here... the Calderón reminds me of Chassignet, not that many years earlier, in his Tourbillon from Le Mépris de la vie et consolation contre la mort:
Qu’est-ce de votre vie ? un tourbillon rouant
De fumière à flot gris, parmi l’air se jouant,
Qui passe plus soudain que foudre meurtrière.
Bonnes fêtes!