Javier Fernandez | Page 169 | Golden Skate

Javier Fernandez

What a lovely Javi day that was :love:

Here's the May 2 event in its entirety: http://www.telemadrid.es/programas/especiales/dia-de-la-comunidad-de-madrid-2017-i (Javi on after 1:10)
Shorter clip: https://twitter.com/lomejordemadrid/status/859385442550128640
Interview by Telemadrid: https://twitter.com/InformativosTM/status/859373381170462720
An interview (audio only): http://www.telemadrid.es/audio/entrevista-javier-fernandez-medalla-de-oro-de-la-comunidad-de-madrid (these could be the same, have not had the time to compare)
(Tons of new items, but they said pretty much the same thing all of them, so will not post them.)

Just as a reminder what this was all about: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medalla_de_la_Comunidad_de_Madrid - not a bad company to be in!
Plus he was probably one of the youngest (if not the youngest?) recipient yesterday and one of the very few who did not read the speech from a piece of paper. It did not sound memorized either - probably had thought of what to say beforehand, but still composing in the moment is not very easy! I'm always amazed how naturally this seems to come to him! (tureis managed to say this better than I a few seconds before, but repetitio mater studiorum est!)

In the evening he went to the Champions League semifinal Real Madrid vs. Atletico Madrid
No saque de honor this time, but he was interviewed beforehand: https://twitter.com/champions_total/status/859471214796034049 (did not see, but apparently predicted 3-1 for Real, which was not far off: 3-0)
Had a pretty good seat: https://twitter.com/javierfernandez/status/859480184847822849
And every second Real fan or so wanted a picture with him: https://twitter.com/hispanopost/status/859496473364381696
(Here's one with a sweet message as well: https://twitter.com/AceaPablo/status/859493605240647680)

Today, Javi days will continue with the Museo de cera measuring event: https://museoceramadrid.wordpress.com/ (insert a bad joke about waxing? :laugh:)

Apparently he will be in Spain for two weeks or so - the second gold medal from the aiyuntamiento he will receive on the 15th: http://www.hieloespanol.es/1/javier...de_oro_de_la_comunidad_de_madrid_2732443.html (hope he will have time to relax and enjoy the company of his family and friends between all the PR events!)

E

(And forgot this, a greeting to Japanese fans for Fantasy on Ice: https://www.instagram.com/p/BTltLrZlhbi/?tagged=javierfernandez)
 
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tureis said:
Here is Javi's full speech, without any background noise: https://twitter.com/InformativosTM/status/859351418490286080
Gracious and humble as always. :) It never ceases to amaze me how collected and eloquent Javi can be, delivering a speech without any notes, in front of a highly prestigious audience, at an event which is broadcast live. :clap:

Also, just to put this recognition into perspective, I read up on the names that have received this award before Javi: the list includes Mario Vargas Llosa, a Nobel prize winner in literature, Alfredo Di Stefano, one of the greatest football players of all time, Placido Domingo, the Spanish Olympic Committee, the Spanish national football team, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, the owner of El Corte Inglés, Museo de Prado, Iker Casillas, the former king of Spain, and the current king and queen of Spain. :eek:

How incredible is this? He's very likely also by far the youngest recipient ever. I'm so proud of Javi!!!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link! Yup, because the audio in this clip is crystal-clear, translation was easy:

"Good day to everyone. First I wanted to thank Madrid, our city, and most of all our President Cristina Cifuentes for giving me yet again the opportunity to come to Madrid and to share such special moments with all of you. This great medal, this great distinction that you have bestowed on me, that all Madrilenos have given me, motivates me that much more to get me to train every day, to continue working hard, to continue being one more Madrileno who supports sports and who wants the most of myself as a person. I can't thank other people who ... to my parents, my sister, without whom none of this would have been possible, half my accomplishments couldn't have been. Honestly, I say that with all my heart. Right now I train in Toronto, but I really miss Madrid. I hardly get to spend any time here. But I have a pride like no other for being here with you, for receiving this great medal. And in the years remaining of my athletic career, I want to have Madrid in my heart and to win all the medals I can for my city. Thank you very much."
 
abbyblack said:
The word you couldn't make out is "vulneran" so it'll be something like "...behaviors that violate the law", at least that's what I think, I'm not really good at translating but yours is great!

I think this is the first time I hear Javi actually speaking Spanish, he is so cute <3
Click to expand...

Your first post!!! Wellcome to the forum!!!:ghug:
 
eppen said:
Interview by Telemadrid: https://twitter.com/InformativosTM/status/859373381170462720
Click to expand...

Here's the translation for the interview linked above:
Studio host: Let's see what he has to say. We put on skates with Javier Fernandez. Let's see if he sticks his neck out or not. Carolina (interviewer), over to you.
Interviewer: Right now we're going to ask him. Javier Fernandez, good afternoon.
Javier: Good afternoon!
Interviewer: My co-workers in the studio are asking me if you're going to stick your neck out or not with "The Derby" tonight between Real Madrid and Madrid Atletico.
Javier: Yes, well, maybe you have to be over there watching, in the stadium. I'm a Real Madrid fan, I have to say, but since both are Madrid teams, it's a bit complicated perhaps.
Interviewer: Since you just landed, you landed this morning from Toronto they were telling me, two short weeks in Madrid, and for good cause, I understand that you feel so much satisfaction because like you said, you have Madrid in your heart. And I have to think that for you this medal is a very important honor.
Javier: Of course, having your people, your city recognize your efforts in training, in competitions, is very nice, very special for me because ... even if I'm not in Madrid every day of the year, even if I'm away training, it's very important when you come home to see that people love you, they appreciate you, and that they want you to keep doing well.
Interviewer: Figure skating, well, surely, here in Spain wasn't well-known. But thanks to you without a doubt, it now gets more attention. A lot of kids surely want to be figure skaters. What the families might not know is the enormous sacrifice it took for you to be a two-time world champion.
Javier: Well, of course until you actually go through it yourself, there's no way of knowing all the sacrifices you make in your athletic career and that you have to make. Personally I have to make certain sacrifices, others make different ones, but at the end of the day all of us have to make sacrifices if we want to achieve our dreams, if we want to do something big, if we want to make history in what we're doing. Of course, it's not easy, but we do it because we want to, because we like the sport or profession we've chosen in which we want to keep improving every day.
Interviewer: Javier, thank you, congratulations, and enjoy these two weeks in Madrid!
Javier: Thank you!
 
He is pretty popular in Spain!
Almost everybody knows him not only FS fans !

He is the kind of skater who would be popular in every European country!
 
Museo de cera today then! The statue should come out in December.

A couple of short interviews:
Mostly on what the statue might look like: https://twitter.com/MadridContigoTM/status/859698536392392704
Marca: http://www.marca.com/deportes-invierno/2017/05/03/5909ce9fca4741f17a8b4583.html (and a translation of this would be appreciated - he talks about the status of the new programs among other things)
EuropaPress: http://www.europapress.es/deportes/...ada-ver-otros-patinadores-20170503133315.html ("We will change everything!" Can't wait to see that!)

Picture gallery of the measuring business: http://www.marca.com/deportes-invierno/album/2017/05/03/5909ec30ca47411f058b4587_9.html
Story on that plus some of the things he said to the press: http://www.practicodeporte.com/javier-fernandez-museo-cera/?platform=hootsuite (his height is reported as 174 cm, but if it was from that moment in the pictures, he is wearing shoes...)
And some more pics: https://www.madridiario.es/443912/javier-fernandez-tendra-su-replica-de-cera

His fame in Spain has exploded since Boston. And deservedly so!

E
 
eppen said:
Mostly on what the statue might look like: https://twitter.com/MadridContigoTM/status/859698536392392704
Click to expand...

First a translation of the short video clip:
Interviewer: They are going to take practically every possible measurement!
Javier: They are going to take practically every possible measurement, exactly. We're here this morning, and well, to begin with, to see me here soon.
Interviewer: And OK, let's walk this way a little bit to get some ideas because they're going to make a wax statue of you. You have to see poses. Did you have a pose in mind?
Javier: Yeah, I had one in mind, one more of figure skating, a position from an old program where maybe we can use one of old competition outfits.
Interviewer: Like what, for example? How have you ...
Javier: I thought of one where I go down and then do something like this, like this, like something from "Peter Gunn," as if you had a pistol. It could be awesome.
Interviewer: OK, they might put you in the sports section. For example, here we have (Pau) Gasol, and they couldn't put you here because look where ...
Javier: Just imagine, right now, lifting my hand up as high as I can ...
Interviewer: We almost don't reach.
Javier: I can't even touch the top of his head.

I normally don't bother to translate written pieces (as opposed to radio interviews or video clips) because I used Google Translate once and found it quite good for Spanish. But when I tried Google Translate on the Marca article, yikes! It was horrible! I promise to do a translation of the article sometime tonight or tomorrow. Right now, my brain is a bit fried. Translation is quite difficult for me because I have absolutely zero training or education in the field (it's a 4-year major in university!). Mind you, if someone beats me to the punch, I shan't be the least bit offended :biggrin:
 
eppen said:
Marca: http://www.marca.com/deportes-invierno/2017/05/03/5909ce9fca4741f17a8b4583.html (and a translation of this would be appreciated - he talks about the status of the new programs among other things)
Click to expand...

Wow, translating an article is ten times easier than translating & transcribing a radio interview or video clip. Anyway, as promised, here's the translation of the Marca article:

With the chords of "Malaguena" in the background, the music with which he was crowned world champion in 2016 and European champion the last two years, Javier Fernandez got his measurements taken in the Madrid Wax Museum. His replica will be ready sometime in December. While getting one measurement after another taken, the Madrid figure skater couldn't stop moving his hands to the beat of the music, choreographing each chord like he does on the ice.

"I did 'La Malaguena' two years in a row, and it's like your body is asking you to dance to the song," he admitted with a smile to Marca. "It makes me very happy to be in this great museum that I had the chance to visit today for the first time. It was on my to-do list. To be part of this family and to have my double here is something to be proud of. I am grateful to the Madrid Wax Museum for wanting me to be here," he added.

Although he was wearing jeans and a blue shirt, his wax double will probably sport a James Bond 007 style outfit. "Now we'll decide on one, but I like a Peter Gunn program I did because I think it's somewhat more masculine and attention-grabbing, where I strike poses like 007 that could look really good."

It's not clear where [his wax double] will be located. "For now I have [a spot] behind Mireia Belmonte, Nadal, and Pau Gasol, and it would be fine to be among them," he said with a laugh. "But there's another section more ballet or dance that could also be a good spot to put me," he added.

Mireia, Nadal, and Gasol are Olympic medalists, a milestone that Javier Fernandez hopes to achieve next year in the Pyeongchang Olympics. "Let's hope, I'm going to give it everything I have and will train hard to try to get that Olympic medal which so far has been out of our grasp, but we have a chance," he said with optimism and conviction.

To that end, he will start training in the summer, although not as hard as he trains during the season, until August when he will return to Toronto to focus on the Olympic season, in which he is going to change absolutely everything. "We have to come up with new choreography, new music, and new outfits," he says while still not revealing the ideas he's bandying about.

His take on the season, in which he won the European Championship for the fifth time but didn't make the podium at Worlds, is positive. "I finished the season quite optimistic because it's better to make mistakes before an Olympic season so that it doesn't happen later during the Games," he admitted.

After receiving the gold medal of the Community of Madrid on May 2nd and after getting his measurements taken at the Madrid Wax Museum, more acknowledgements from Madrid city hall await Javier Fernandez, and this weekend an exhibition in Granada together with Huecco and Henry Mendez for the inauguration of a skating rink. "We're going to do our bit to promote figure skating in Spain," he says. A sport that in our country has a name: Javier Fernandez.
 
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Thank you so much for the translations, DelRetiro!

Javi would get a medal from me just for doing two new programs... #remakeseason :rolleye:

Actually, what does Javi say about the new programs in the video interview of the Marca article from yesterday? He starts speaking about them at 2:28. What I understand is something like they have the ideas but have yet to finalize them, which parts of the music to use and see what works on the ice and what doesn't. And once that happens, then he will talk about them. Is that what he says or am I misunderstanding things? :)
 
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tureis said:
Thank you so much for the translations, DelRetiro!

Javi would get a medal from me just for doing two new programs... #remakeseason :rolleye:

Actually, what does Javi say about the new programs in the video interview of the Marca article from yesterday? He starts speaking about them at 2:28. What I understand is something like they have the ideas but have yet to finalize them, which parts of the music to use and see what works on the ice and what doesn't. And once that happens, then he will talk about them. Is that what he says or am I misunderstanding things? :)
Click to expand...

Nope, you got what he said. Sorry, but I can't do a translation because I can't stop or rewind the video, at least not on my computer. Since people speak (whether English or Spanish) about ten times faster than I can type, it's impossible for me to transcribe the interview. The translation of the written article I posted above gets almost everything else he said in the interview, minus a few sentences (none of which are significant, mostly just a reiteration of the same thoughts).

I had never seen Javi close-up with his glasses on, just a few long-distance pics. Usually I'm not a fan of big nerdy, Buddy Holly-style glasses because it seems (imho) the person wearing them is trying a wee too hard to look hipster, but I love them on Javi. They're super-cute on him.
 
Thank you DelRetiro again for your wonderful efforts! My bad that I forgot to specify that I was also interested in what got said in the video as pointed out also by tureis^. There are things there that did not get transcribed in the text that are actually quite interesting about his summer plans and the new programs and their state, the third minute in the video. No hurry, when anyone has the time and feels like it!

Text is so easy to get translated if necessary - even the horror that is google translate works for some details that might otherwise get lost (btw try Japanese if you really want to see a translation that does not make sense whatsoever!!) - but speech is another thing completely. Having listened to Javi talk for a couple of years now, I think I have a fairly good grasp of what he says, particularly if he talks about skating, but details are easy to miss especially when you actually have no foundation for the lingo (I speak Italian quite well and have some Latin in my backpocket which enable me to read and even listen to Spanish somewhat, to maybe 60-70% accuracy wothout having to study it actually :laugh:). Also, knowing personally a lot of professional translators, I really highly appereciate all the effort all our Spanish speakers give to us others :love: :cool2: It's a lot of hard work!!

E
 
Thanks so much to all translators!!! Oh my, it is really amazing how well Javi speaks to the audiences, he just must have a natural talent and his behavior is always so pleasant and modest, has had an excellent upbringing at home... He and we all can be really proud for his achievements and the honors he has gotten now, WOW.

I guess that we all are awaiting really impatiently to read the news about his Olympic season music... I sure hope that they will be A LOT better than at previous Olympics. Anyway I´m feeling thankful that Elvis was in this season, LOL...
 
Sooooooooo, we now have the first vague hints about Javi's music choices for next season: http://masdeporte.as.com/masdeporte/2017/05/05/polideportivo/1493936617_923600.html

I can think of a number of things for what this "revisit an old friend with part of a music but done differently" might mean for the SP. As for the FS, if I'm right about this "Spanish character known worldwide" being Don Quixote and the music being Man of La Mancha, then the feeling I had for what they would choose for Javi's Olympic FS would be spot on. Question: can anybody interpret this as anything other than La Mancha? I have been rattling my brain and I can't think of anything else, but my mind has been stuck on La Mancha already so maybe I'm no longer open enough for any other ideas. :scratch2:
 
Jaana said:
Thanks so much to all translators!!! Oh my, it is really amazing how well Javi speaks to the audiences, he just must have a natural talent and his behavior is always so pleasant and modest, has had an excellent upbringing at home... He and we all can be really proud for his achievements and the honors he has gotten now, WOW.

I guess that we all are awaiting really impatiently to read the news about his Olympic season music... I sure hope that they will be A LOT better than at previous Olympics. Anyway I´m feeling thankful that Elvis was in this season, LOL...
Click to expand...

As hard as Javi trains, I don't think public speaking courses are part of the regimen in Toronto. But wow, so true, he must indeed have a knack for it because he speaks to a very large crowd on such a big occasion with such confidence and ease. As for his family, in the few interviews I've seen of his parents and sister, you can tell right away that they are just salt of the earth, rock-solid good people.
 
tureis said:
Sooooooooo, we now have the first vague hints about Javi's music choices for next season: http://masdeporte.as.com/masdeporte/2017/05/05/polideportivo/1493936617_923600.html

I can think of a number of things for what this "revisit an old friend with part of a music but done differently" might mean for the SP. As for the FS, if I'm right about this "Spanish character known worldwide" being Don Quixote and the music being Man of La Mancha, then the feeling I had for what they would choose for Javi's Olympic FS would be spot on. Question: can anybody interpret this as anything other than La Mancha? I have been rattling my brain and I can't think of anything else, but my mind has been stuck on La Mancha already so maybe I'm no longer open enough for any other ideas. :scratch2:
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for the link to this article! Because of this forum, I get the chance to catch all sorts of Javi-related articles, radio interviews, and video clips that I probably would miss otherwise.

For the short program, I have no idea because I haven't been following Javi's career for long. I used to be quite an avid figure-skating fan and followed the sport closely until I started following other sports (baseball and tennis) that squeezed figure skating out. However, the first time I saw a YouTube clip of Javi's Boston 2016 free skate (sometime in the fall), I became a total addict all over again. The music for the short program is a wait & see. Anybody dare to venture a guess? On the other hand, like you, I can't for the life of me think of any other character other than Don Quijote (in Spain, the modern spelling is with a "J") or any music other than "Man of La Mancha." The only reason I'm disinclined to think the music will be from "Man of La Mancha" is that he says the music will be Spanish, but not something traditional. 1) MoLM dates back to 1964, which strikes me as "traditional;" and 2) MoLM isn't Spanish. The music and lyrics were written by a couple of Americans but later translated to many languages, Spanish of course being one of them. Maybe Javi plans to play the character of El Quijote but set to other music? After a bit of searching on Wiki, the only music I found that fit the bill is an album "La Leyenda de La Mancha" by the Spanish group Mago de Oz (Wizard of Oz) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46nIvrK4pSg -
The first song (0:00 to 1:44) and last song (51:48 to end) are both really pleasant - music that I can see working with a figure skating program. Be advised that all the songs in between are painful (imho) heavy metalish stuff that wouldn't work at all. The only other music I could think of is the music for the ballet version of "Don Quijote."

I could come up with only two other possibilities for Spanish characters known worldwide: Lazarillo del Tormes and El Cid. Lazarillo is read by every single schoolkid in Spain and in many other Spanish-speaking countries, I imagine, but the character isn't really well known in the English-speaking world. El Cid is quite famous, although he was a real live person not a fictional character. But those two are a real stretch. I have to think that Javi is referring to Don Quijote.
 
Thanks for looking into these, DelRetiro!

I have to admit I've never heard of Lazarillo de Tormes. :slink: But as far as I could see, there haven't really been adaptations in any music genre. And the only one of El Cid would be the Charlton Heston film with music by Miklós Rózsa, but that sounds very unlikely.

I thought of Don Juan, but again, what music would it be? I would rule out any opera or ballet versions. Those would be terrible choices for Javi. The Johnny Depp movie with the Bryan Adams song?

Don Quijote is still the most likely, where again I would rule out any classical versions. This album by Mago the Oz is definitely not traditional, but maybe too out of the box for a figure skating program. Then there's the Coldplay song, but that doesn't lend itself to a figure skating program at all.

A good question is what Javi means by Spanish music. Written by a Spanish composer, performed in Spanish, or having a Spanish theme or feel? And what he means by "not traditional" is another question. It could simply mean not classical music. But of course it could mean modern, and something we're not even aware of.

For the SP, I would rule out anything he did in the past three seasons. I could however imagine music from an earlier program edited with something else this time, like I Love Paris, or (God forbid) his Sochi programs. Or some of the gala programs.
 
It must be something having to do with Don Quijote, be it Man of La Mancha or the Minkus Don Q. ballet. I could SO see Javi using music from the ballet. It's a treasure trove of so many different things Javi would express so well. There are soft, lyrical sections, fire, places for audience "participation", etc. Just dropping this Takeshi Honda version here. The skating starts at about :30. I can picture Javi doing a great step sequence. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCtBcUC8_zs&sns=em

Lazarillo and El Cid don't seem like they would be "accessible" enough for the general public during an Olympic year.
 
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tureis said:
Thanks for looking into these, DelRetiro!
I have to admit I've never heard of Lazarillo de Tormes. :slink: But as far as I could see, there haven't really been adaptations in any music genre. And the only one of El Cid would be the Charlton Heston film with music by Miklós Rózsa, but that sounds very unlikely.
I thought of Don Juan, but again, what music would it be? I would rule out any opera or ballet versions. Those would be terrible choices for Javi. The Johnny Depp movie with the Bryan Adams song?
Don Quijote is still the most likely, where again I would rule out any classical versions. This album by Mago the Oz is definitely not traditional, but maybe too out of the box for a figure skating program. Then there's the Coldplay song, but that doesn't lend itself to a figure skating program at all.
A good question is what Javi means by Spanish music. Written by a Spanish composer, performed in Spanish, or having a Spanish theme or feel? And what he means by "not traditional" is another question. It could simply mean not classical music. But of course it could mean modern, and something we're not even aware of.
For the SP, I would rule out anything he did in the past three seasons. I could however imagine music from an earlier program edited with something else this time, like I Love Paris, or (God forbid) his Sochi programs. Or some of the gala programs.
Click to expand...
I wouldn't recycle the Sochi programs either. (In my opinion even Malaguena for a third time would be a better choice :palmf:)

I'm not really familiar with Don Quijote (have heard about it already, but I don't know the music.) Spanish style would probably fit him best but - to be honest - I'd really like to see him with something completely new and unexpected. Javi's programs in the last seasons reminded me more of a comedy show than serious competition (not all of them of course).

I've found a nice compromise between Spanish flamenco and Rock/Pop and tried to match it with Javi's skating. What do you think about it?
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZuL-AuUw6k
 
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