Bagpipes with a side of Salsa

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While I was travelling, I had times when I was regularly posting things here (lots of family and galavanting) and on the teablog (tea shops in southern Spain) and on tumblr (when I really didn’t have time to write much), but there were also times when there was just ‘too much living goin’ on around.’ I had to see what I could see. That’s a direct reference to a Lyle Lovett song, so I’ll incude that here:

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFhhrdRlHkE&w=420&h=315]

And there were so many things going on….I’d regularly stumble over to twitter, make oblique references to noteworthy adventures, and then promptly move on to something else. That means I’m planning to periodically return to stories about the trip. If there are photos, I’ll be sure to include them.

For example, the photo at the top of this post demands some sort of explanation. I wish I had one. Those are bagpipes. Real bagpipes. No photoshopping here. And that man is not a Scotsman. He could be Hispanic. Or an American Indian. Or I suppose he could be a Pacific Islander or a number of other possibilities, but I’m going to stop before I dig myself a hole.

He’s not Scottish. That’s my point. He also looks as if he’s been working all day in a blue-collar job still in his work shirt. After a long day in the factory, what else are you going to do but go play your bagpipes on the streets of downtown?

My mother had had a wonderful evening on the Riverwalk in San Antonio, and we went up to street level to make our way back to the hotel. As we turned a corner, there was this guy playing his bagpipes. Like we were at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

But we weren’t. We were in Texas. Now, I should say that I saw bagpipes when I was a kid. It’s not like they don’t let any bagpipes out of Scotland. There are Canadian pipers. And Aussie pipers, as well as Kiwi pipers. There are very serious pipers all over the world.

However, I still think of them as having some sort of connection to Scotland. Your parents are from Aberdeen, or something. This guy’s parents were most likely not from Aberdeen.

Incidentally, bagpipes are called a Dudelsack in German. I know some of you who will almost certainly appreciate that little tidbit.

9 comments

  1. Count me in to the “some of you” because “Dudelsack” is fantastic.

    I like to think of this guy as someone who had a very tough day, and the only thing that could make it better – the ONLY thing – was a little bagpipin’. Street bagpipin’. The best kind.

  2. At one point in my life, I was a Spanish Liberal Arts major. What that means is that, in addition to struggling with the language, we learned about the history and cultures of Spanish-speaking countries. One of the things I do remember about that is that the Scots invaded northern Spain leaving behind plaid and bagpipes, so that really isn’t a terribly surprising sight – if you’re aware of the history.

    1. note to self: finish reading the blog entry before commenting. I had no idea that the Spaniards brought bagpipes with them to the new world. 😉

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