miércoles, 25 de noviembre de 2015

7 COSAS QUE DESCUBRÍ ESCRIBIENDO MI PRIMERA NOVELA NEGRA.



1.- Lo primero que he descubierto es cuán feminista soy, mucho más de lo que ya sabía que era. Tener un personaje femenino protagonista, una mujer policía, que hace lo que le gusta, es una de las cosas más liberadoras que he tenido la oportunidad de hacer. Siempre he sido una mujer independiente. Pero la fuerza de María Anchieta, protagonista de mi primera novela Robo en Sao Paulo, me inspira y me hace mejor persona. Ella es mejor que yo. Me gana. Es una sensación extraña.



2.- He desarrollado una fascinación por todo tipo de armamento. Pero sobre todo el poco habitual, aquellos objetos cotidianos que podrían ser utilizados como armas. Desde un pica hielos hasta una tostadora o una plancha para el pelo. Terrible la cantidad de cosas que pueden ocurrírsele a uno. Espero que los criminales sean menos creativos.

3.- No puedo leer otra cosa que novelas negras, detectivescas o policiacas. Siempre he leído vorazmente y ampliamente. Pero cuando estoy inmersa en la escritura de un crimen, no puedo leer nada donde los personajes no estén en peligro inminente. El resto de la ficción y ensayo lo dejo para cuando no estoy en proceso creativo (esto se repitió durante la escritura de la segunda novela de la inspectora María Anchieta, Asesinato en una playa de Londres).


4.- Escribir una novela negra es una excusa para pasar horas viendo series policiacas en la tele. Esa distracción parece convertirse en trabajo pero sigue siendo muy placentera sobre todo si aprovechas para tomarte una copa de vino mientras tanto.

5.- Tengo una mente audiovisual. No lo había pensado hasta que me lo dijo mi editor, pero es así. Tal vez debido a mi larga historia como amante del cine me encontré  escribiendo siempre con imágenes de lugares y actores en la mente.  Escribo, sin querer, pensando en el cine, en ver a mi María Anchieta en la gran pantalla cual James Bond.

6.- Caminar es la mejor terapia para encontrar la inspiración. Salía a caminar una hora diaria mientras escribía Robo en Sao Paulo y a veces me encontraba casi murmurando los diálogos con el peligro de parecer estar un poco loca pero si se controla un poco el ensimismamiento es un ejercicio perfecto para la creación literaria, y además hace que tu cuerpo no se resienta de estar tantas horas sentada ante el ordenador.

7.- Necesito repasar la novela una y otra vez, capítulo a capítulo, y tengo que reconocer que es en esos repasos cuando mejora y coge consistencia.


Dulce Xerach


Me encanta ser una WOMEN CRIME WRITER en la Feria del Libro de Guadalajara, México

Allí estaremos! Como una Woman Crime Writer más.




Fernando Menis

Fernando Menis

sábado, 21 de noviembre de 2015

El gasto en cultura en Canarias en una imagen.

Sobran las palabras...

    *Evolución del gasto público en Cultura por el Gobierno de Canarias, 1997-2016.

viernes, 20 de noviembre de 2015

Fernando Menis, entrevista en Gazeta Wyborcza Torun, sobre su nuevo auditorio en Polonia. About Menis new auditorium in Poland


Fernando Menis interview.


1.        You’ve been working in Toruń for almost seven years. Do you feel connected to the city? How would you describe that relation? How would you define Toruń?

It is somehow a love relationship.  Back in 2008 I fell and I am still in love with the urban landscape of Toruń. Like all love relationships, it sometimes encountered problems. Nothing is easy, but it is an amazing moment of my life.

2.        You told that the concert hall will be some sort of love letter to the local community. How is that so?

Yes it is. It is what I can do for a city I love. I put the best of myself, my capacity of design to give the city a new piece of art for the present and future history.



3.        How did you come up with this idea? I heard that Menis Arquitectos always spends a great deal of time on cultural and site analysis. What was the outcome of this process in Torun? Did you find something new and genuine about the city?

First I try to discover the essence, the genius loci of a place. So I came to Torun and tried to understand and feel the city, the history, the landscape, the air. After that I tried to continue this history full of respect and create a new way, a new step in the evolution of the city.

4.        Do you expect that the building will be a vital part of Torun? What kind of relations will it produce in the center of a city?

I think the new building, the CKK, is a contribution to the XXIst century that connects with the tradition and historically used materials such as brick and brings a new landmark to the city, a new perspective of modernity.

5.        The whole area of Jordanki was very demanding. The building must fit to the surrounding - it should be as low as possible. You were talking about „fine integration of the cultural and natural landscape”. Did you manage to achieve that?

I believe so. It was not especially difficult to me because it is something I always do - trying to integrate the new building into the landscape that surrounds it. I love to try to be really a part of the city with harmony, calm and peace, and at the same time, create something new, an evolution.

6. What were the most pressing issues or challenges you faced? What were your objectives and goals?

On one hand, I think the acoustic challenge was the most important one, because the function of the building is to be a concert hall. One of the most impressive aspects of engineering in this project is its variable acoustics system. The ceiling of the performance hall is flexible and can be dropped dramatically changing the volume of the hall affecting its acoustic qualities and allowing the greatest possible flexibility in acoustic design of the space.

On the other hand, it was the multi-functionality, as the building has to be efficient and serve for many things at once: word, music, opera, congress…

7.        What does success look like in this project to you? Is it the media coverage? Mass popularity among visitors? Personal satisfaction? Or something else?

For me it is a great chance outside of my own country. Poland has given me the opportunity to feel European and to have an international projection.

8. The concert hall is the dominant building in the area. It will focus all the attention on itself. Why is that so? Was it tempting to make something more subtle or invisible? What sort of feelings will it evoke?

One of the photographs of its surroundings – taken by Roland Halbe, for example, has been included in Arquitectura Viva (one of the most famous architecture magazines, published in both Spanish and English). If you take look at it, you will notice the CKK Jordanki is fully integrated into the environment and the scale of the historic city of Torun.

9. We all had great expectations about this concert hall. The officials told us that the building will resemble La Scala in Milan or Berliner Philharmony…


The CKK Jordanki has the potential to become an international symbol of culture and architecture for the city of Torun. Thanks to its unique location and strategic position, it is not just a new building, but a single object, an emblem and reflection of the pride of its society.  Now, all together, the city council, the architects and the citizens have a new challenge: promote it internationally.


10. When you won the competition in Torun, there was an outburst of global financial crisis. Some people were saying that Torun should not finalize this project because of economic reasons. The project was called lavish, expensive, overscaled, a bit eccentric…

We were lucky to have a very brave client. The mayor firmly opted for the project and risked his own career. I have to thank him for that.

11. Many experts say that modern architecture of Torun depicts the complete lack of originality and courage, self-worth, it’s been based on doubt and uncertainty. There will be nothing significant left of us. Is there a hope for Torun?

It is very common for cities where the weight of history is great to have trouble like you said, but I would like to send a message: you must do well, be respectful with the history and, at the same time, always try to be innovative, just put much love in what to do and think with respect to the landscape around you.

12. Do we really have a chance to make a significant change and make a new landmark in the cityscape?

Yes of course, you only have to believe in good quality architecture and use the formula of idea competitions with good juries -  choose the best architects possible for every place and you will have a big future.

13. What do we have to do in order to create a concept that could become groundbreaking for the immediate future in Torun?

I do not think there is a magic formula. It is just that on the role each of us plays, we must try to do things we have to do in the best way possible. How? Learning from the best and trying to capture the essence of every place at all times.

14. I feel that Torun can’t really escape the architectural references to the red brick gothic.

Red brick is a marvelous material, why the need to escape? I think with our new building we demonstrate that it is possible to use red brick in an innovative and trendy way, mixing it with modern concrete. You are a marvelous red city, don’t lose it!

15. In one of the interviews you told that your source of inspiration is Common Sense. What does it mean?

Common sense shows me how dealing with raw materials and their true potential make the context where they are inserted; it is the framework in which reason and emotion are combined. For example, using brick in Torun is common sense because it is a material that works well in the city, it becomes the predominant clay itself in Poland. If the clay here is one of a very good quality, why should we use another material?

miércoles, 18 de noviembre de 2015

Luís Fernández Galiano, one of the best critics of architecture, about Fernando Menis


The editor of the magazine Arquitectura Viva, director Luis Fernandez Galiano, said today that although it may seem excessive, Fernando Menis is the most important architect and artist from the Canary Islands after the death of the architect César Manrique.

Luis Fernández Galiano had the opportunity  to express himself in the opening of the exhibition "Fernando Menis. Reason and emotion through the hard years", running from today until January 16 in CajaCanarias. This event was organized by this specific foundation, CajaCanarias.

In this exhibition, there is a tour about the artistic and professional activity of Fernando Menis between 2004 and 2015. A monograph is also presented here with all Menis’ projects, published by Arquitectura Viva, which was devoted to the artist and architect, borned in 1951 in the capital of Tenerife. 

Luis Fernandez Galiano said that this is the first monograph that this magazine dedicates in thirty years to a canary author, adding that Fernando Menis has created its own language "not only very canarian, but also cosmopolitan".

He said that he admires Fernando Menis since the beginning of his career and said that with the upcoming opening of the Auditorium Jordanik in Poland, the canary artist will have his first major work outside Spain and that will consolidate its international launch and recognition.

Luis Fernandez Galiano did not meet César Manrique but admires his work because he has influenced all the artists and architects of the canary islands.



He recalled that at the beginning César Manrique was regarded with disdain by many people, but he insisted that this has been fundamental and have created the utopia of taking responsibility for an island and protect their patrimony.

He also mentioned that it may seem excessive, but Fernando Menis is the most important artist from the Canary Islands since the death of the architect César Manrique.

He said that this architect is "very canarian yet universal, it can only be universal rather than being a very profound way."

Alberto Delgado mentioned that Fernando Menis is one of the most awarded architects of the Canary Islands and mentioned that no one has understood the canary landscape like him.
The center of the exhibition is a sculpture that encompasses the concept called "Hatching" which aims to explore ways to create an environment that fosters and sustains life within it, and that has been devised and created by Fernando Menis.

The artist explained that "Hatching" is like a plastic and came from a very personal idea. He also stated that the crisis of recent years has been "tremendous" and has affected all professions.

Fernando Menis indicated that when someone wants to do something has to find his own way and he thinks maybe that this help him with the separation from his former partners and the fact that, for political reasons, as his brother Adam, who was President of the Canary Islands. Thus, he settled in Valencia and then in Madrid. Once the study is consolidated in Madrid, Fernando Menis was back with his family.

During the press conference Fernando Menis mentioned that he has always worked with local materials and said that everyone is a multilayer of a lot of information.

Fernando Menis is also the author of works such as the Insular Athletics Centre Tenerife, and exposure models of his most emblematic works shown.

This architect is an associate professor at the European University of the Canary Islands and president of the Laboratory for Innovation in Architecture, Design and Advanced Tourism of Tenerife.

Fernando Menis studied in Barcelona and after finished studying architecture, he was part of Artengo-Menis-Pastrana team for the study in 2004.

He has signed projects such as a pool in the Spree River in Berlin and “President” of the Canary Islands, and has projects like the Congress Centre Fuerteventura, Cara Aurum in Taiwan Taipei Housing Tower and Church in La Laguna.

Fernando Menis has repeatedly won the Regional Award for Architecture in the Canaries and was a finalist of international awards such as FAD and WAF as well as the Spanish Biennale of Architecture.