Julian Bastida

Jouer is the French word for acting. When a Frenchman says "Tu joues trés bien" he means the same as the German who reasserts: "Ja echt, sehr gut gespielt". In both French jouer and German spielen the verb means to act, perform, play. The first memories I have of Julian is playing during our childhood in Palma. A dusty old armchair would be a Japanese Zero in the Battle of the Pacific, our bikes immortal horses through the plains of Death Valley and the steps of our house the stage where our fantasies, fears and wishes would be thrown onto the street of our sunny neighbourhood of fishermen. Those eternal afternoons were only broken by Julian's commitment to an early passion: swimming. None of us believed that somebody could train for five hours and then keep on rambling with his friends. At the age of seventeen he was given a scholarship to train and study in Sheffield, England. More disciplined training and studying. According to his letters, nothing much came from it. Far from home,