Dreaming Africa

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Time to move on. The year is almost over and it is time to turn over a new leaf. Time to keep on walking no matter the worries you leave behind... So, as somebody told me once, now it is time to add. Take your dreams and the people you love along for the ride and just add.... Add dreams, add hopes, add love, energy and spirit.

Tonight, when the clock strucks twelve I will make my twelve wishes and will add hope for my dreams. As dreams come true!!

So a new ride begins with the New Year. Wish you all add a big dream to your life and push push push to make it real!

My present: close your eyes and leave your spirit free while listening to this beautiful song. Jammu Africa.




Happy New Year!!!

The Cat in 'Magazine'

27.102 participant photos. 100 selected and published today in the 'La Vanguardia' weekly supplement called "Magazine". The cat picture was one of those. Nice way to finish the year! ;-)

the owl

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

2007 has been a decisive year with a big lost and the consolidation of a dream. And if I look back, I can say that I learned a lot. I learned about love, about friendship, about truth and about dreams. I've seen dragons and princesses, I felt passion and fear. I felt my soul alive and also dead... In a word: I lived. A year full of feelings, moments... and magic.

And now, between all the moments lived in these TWELVE months, I want to choose just one that lasted less than a minute, but a whole life. The most magical thing that happened to me. My own magic tale.

It was just a road on the outskirts of Saly. A road, like the one in the picture, in an endless savage african landscape where monkeys cross the road and thousands of Baobabs draw the outline of Africa. Driving in the darkness of the night, the lights of the car illuminated his face and our eyes met. He was standing in the middle of the road and didn't move while we passed by. Blond, unkempt hair and that wild spark in his eyes... It was my owl ! I remember that moment in slow motion maintaining eye contact while we crossed our paths talking to each other's eyes... He had flown miles and miles just to come home, with me, free, messy, alive...

"Yeah, you come home in the morning,
your hair's all a mess
you've been out all night,
you've got wrinkles in your dress" (J.J. Cale)

free spirit

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

May all your dreams come true.... When I was a little girl and somebody asked me "what do you want to be when you grow up?", I always answered: "I want to be a wild horse with flying mane running free through the woods" (My brother's answer was a lot more simple: "a car")

But many years after, my free spirit grew with me and I still want to be that wild horse with flying mane. Sometimes with the tide, sometimes against the tide, but always feeling the wind playing with my hair.

Today I really felt like going out into the wild and shoot. But I didn't as my "Christmas present" was waiting out there for me: a new big assignment, yeah!!

PD. By the way, the other day I just discovered that my chinese sign is a Horse. Each chinese sign has five elements and mine is Fire. So I'm a Lioness with the heart of a Fire Horse. Definitely I will never cut my mane ;-)

Street Power

Clothing © Sigil - Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Clothing © Sigil - Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Clothing © Sigil - Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Clothing © Sigil - Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Sigil wear collection designed by Cheikha

The power of youth, the power of friendship, the power of dreams, the power of positive Attitude!!

Some time ago, I read something about the impact of attitude on life. It said that attitude is more important than facts, more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. So Life is 10% what happens to us and 90% of how we react to it.
...we are in charge of our Attitudes....

X'tmas Baobab

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

When a Baobab is full of its fruits hanging from the branches, it looks like a Christmas tree, so this is the tree that will decorate this blog during Christmas time. The fruit of the Baobab is called Bouille in wolof and pain de singe in french (pan de mono in spanish), as monkeys really loves to eat it!!!

To those who are here and those who are not but are in my heart, wish you all happiness, dreams, joy, craziness, magic, life, freedom, party, laughs, tickles, songs, imagination, lots of hope.... and everything that you are thinking!! :D

Peace & love! and Merry Christmas!

made of...

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Hanging around, just a moment like any other... In the foreground Khadim reads the newspaper. In the background, reflected in the mirrow, Bouna and Cheikha talk while Arona observes how I shoot the picture. One more pleasant 'non-important' moment that I inmortalized with my camera...

Life is made of little moments like this one. Made of moments, memories, experiences, people, kisses, blows, hugs, smiles, tears, betrayals, winks, telephone numbers, letters, songs.... I have a big drawer full of pieces of life. Some bring me smiles but some make me cry. Why do I keep them? because that is my life...

nostalgia

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

In Harvey's words, we must get back up on the horse and ride into the wind.

I keep in my heart one precious moment that comes often to my mind. A shared moment where two seagulls felt free and flew backwards with eyes closed in a sky full of limits dreaming with an endless wide open sky in Africa where they could ride free into the wind.

That is why I filled my heart with so many blue african skyes...

stroke of color

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Monique asked me to go with her to this grocery in a corner next to her mother's house. She told me something special about this place and she bought a bunch of color chewing gum balls that became a small colorful treasure in the tiny hands around. Another pleasant moment in her neighborhood.

in the eyes

Photo by Cheikha

The power of remembering and living... I like this picture and the fact that I'm on it, really puts me in the mood of that crazy, lovely, intense and powerful day on the streets of Dakar.

My pictures from the performance of that day.... coming soon! :D

"and in the eyes of Sarahjane
I see the happy times again" (The Jayhawks)

Sigil

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Cheikha is a great african fashion designer established between Dakar and Paris who created a new concept of fashion: Sigil. His collections innovate streetwear with audatious cuts and local embroiders around denim. An international urban concept with a very alive spirit full of life, colors and dynamism. It is a concept of life that he transmits through his clothes. Being the photographic part of his world for a while was a great and fun adventure!

don't miss the train

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Today I've seen a train... it won't be long before I return!

beugueu nala

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

This is Arona. I like him a lot and I know he likes me. That's something I just can feel through his eyes, with no words. With him around, just one word comes to my mind -in capital letters- Understanding.

So nice to have him always around. A big kiss, a big smile and a photo shot. Enough to make his eyes shine.

Beugueu nala, Arona. And his eyes respond with such an intense and deep look: maa la raw.

12/12 - HOME

"One never reaches home, but wherever friendly paths intersect the whole world looks like home for a time" (Hermann Hesse)

Cheikha, Gora, FBI, Bouba. Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Jere jef, merci, thanks... for making me feel at home.

And just for all those moments that I felt at home in all of my life, this is my day.

12/12 twelve-twelve.

you will start today

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

"When all your fear is gone and you're strong enough to make the jump up to the big big sky, sky" (Josh Rouse)

Monique, Noa and the big, big sky. Just perfect to make the jump!



By the way, you never know when, where, how or who is going to tell you something with a special meaning. So, no wonder that today it came from somebody called Mr. Magorium!

...you only need a bit of magic.

Don't let the world get in your way

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

I did it. I stoped the world. I just stole a portion of time for me and spent some hours listening to some music, jumping from one picture to another while my smile was getting bigger and bigger. I listened to my heart and the bubbles inside. And it felt so good....

Stop the world from time to time and don't let it get in your way! So close your eyes and just enjoy the song.

boomp3.com

Just Because

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Just because I feel lonely. Just because I need you. All my friends that share my images and life with a smile. All the friends that encourage me and keep my spirit alive. Thank you all for being here.

boomp3.com

freezing time

Photo © 2007 Ana Yturralde

Yesterday a good friend wrote me a few words. His letter ended with this phrase: "...and have some time for yourself." I asked him if he knew a magic potion that could extend a day and promised him to keep one precious minute just for me. Now, like in this photograph, I need to freeze one moment in time, like in those movies where the world around suddenly stops. Then, while everything is stopped around me, I will think very carefully what to do with my precious minute.... What do you think I can do with a whole minute just for me? Maybe I will start closing my eyes and feeling the warmth of the sun in my face.