Bunuel_Luis_My_Last_Breath

Madrid-The Resideneia (I 91 7-192')) 65Arts Academy and had to confront a board of examiners for his orals.The questioning had already begun when Dali suddenly leapt to hisfeet, shouting, "No one here has the right to sit in judgment uponme! I'm leaving!"-which he promptly proceeded to do. His fatherhad to come in from Catalonia to try to fix things up with the directorof the academy, but all his efforts were in vain. Dali was told not toreturn.It's impossible to describe the daily circumstances of our studentyears-the meetings, the conversations, the work and the walks, thedrinking bouts, the brothels, the long evenings at the Residencia.Totally enamored of jazz, I took up the banjo, bought a record player,and laid in a stock of American records. We all spent hours listeningto them and drinking homemade rum. (Alcohol was strictly tabooon the premises. Even wine was forbidden, under the pretext that itmight stain the white tablecloths.) Sometimes we put on plays; evennow, I think I could recite Zorrilla's Don Juan Tenwio by heart. Iwas also responsible for inventing the ritual we called "las mojadumdeprtmawa, " or "the watering rites of spring," which consisted quitesimply of pouring a bucket of water over the head of the first personto come along. Shades of this ritual worked themselves into the scenein That Obscure Object of Desire where Carole Bouquet is drenched byFernando Rey on a railroad station platform!There was another ritual, too, a more serious one, known aschuleria. It's a typically Spanish behavior, a blend of aggression, virileinsolence, and self-assurance. Although quick to repent, I was oftenguilty of it during my years at the Residencia. For instance, therewas a dancer at the Palace del Hielo whom I called La Rubia. I adoredher elegance and style and used to go to that dance hall just to watchher move. One day Dali and Pepin Bello were so fed up by myconstant eulogizing that they decided to come along and see forthemselves. When we got there, La Rubia was dancing with a sober,mustachioed, bespectacled gentleman I immediately dubbed theDoctor. Dali was disappointed. Why had I dragged him out? hecomplained. La Rubia had no grace, no charm whatsoever."That's only because she has a horrendous partner," I retorted.