Bunuel_Luis_My_Last_Breath

Concbita's Memories 3 5fact, he used to make deliberate errors on certain final exams, justto avoid the embarrassment of sweeping all the prizes at the end ofthe year. Every night at dinner, we breathlessly followed the trialsand tribulations of Luis's school days. I remember one evening whenhe told us that he'd found a Jesuitical undershirt in his soup at lunch.Always the staunch defender of both school and teachers, my fatherrefused to believe him; and when Luis insisted, he was ordered toleave the table. He got up slowly and walked proudly to the door;then, parodying Galileo as he went, "And yet," he declaimed, "therewas an undershirt!"Luis began to study the violin when he was about thirteen. Itwas something he'd always wanted to do, and he did seem to havea natural gift for it. I remember how he used to wait for us to go tobed, then come into our bedroom with his instrument and begin hismusic lectures. He was very enamored of Wagner at the time, althoughI now realize he knew as little about him as we did. In fact,I doubt the music he played could be called "real" music, but to meit made a rich accompaniment to my fantasies and imaginary advencures.Luis even formed a small orchestra; and on important religiousholidays, Perosi's Mass and Schubert's "Ave Maria" thundered downfrom the choir loft onto a delighted congregation.On one of my parents' frequent trips to Paris, they brought Luisa toy theatre, complete with backdrops and scenery. I remember twoof the backdrop- throne room, a forest- cardboard king andqueen, a court jester, and some knights. The figures couldn't havebeen more than ten centimeters tall, and always faced the audience;you could move them sideways by pulling on a wire. To enlarge hiscast, Luis added a lion made out of zinc (a paperweight in betterdays) and a small golden statue of the Eiffel Tower. I can't rememberif the Eiffel Tower represented a citadel or a cynic, but I do rememberit bobbing into the throne room attached to the tail of the formidablelion.Rehearsals for these plays always began a full week before openingnight, but only a chosen few were allowed to participate. Chairs were