barçalunacy photoblog: Our Eyes Speak the Same Language

When I was a young woman of (cough, cough) age, I met a cousin through marriage for the first time.

She couldn’t speak my language and I couldn’t speak hers.

We spent a month together and communicated in THAT way where language was neither a factor nor a hindrance.

What struck me about Kirtri was not only her beauty but her dancing-eyes. Her eyes welcomed me with sincerity, compassion, fun, soothness and welcome.

She was about 21 at that time and little did I know that two years later she would die from something or other that to this day I do not understand clearly.

My father-in-law’s eyes had those characteristics I mentioned Kirtri had and recently I met a man who reminds me warmly of these two people.

He is not from Barcelona, not a Catalan, not an irresistible Spaniard but from a far-away place called Russia.

I speak of Lev Mochine, a painter in the true sense.

Lev Mochine
Barcelona, 2006

When my friend and I saw Lev we were enchanted and captivated with his face, smile and his eyes.

In the past many weeks on Las Ramblas, we have gotten to know Lev and his friendly, endearing, beautiful wife, Tatiana.

Lev and Tatian Mochine
Barcelona, 2006

I don’t know what it is or what Lev has that fascinates and draws us to him. He does nothing spectacular and says nothing profound but we LIKE him and ALWAYS look for them on Las Ramblas.

Anyway, about a week ago, while walking in the downtown area with no specific or clear objective of what we were doing, we happen to pass by Lev and Tatiana.

We took pictures (we just can’t get enough of him) of Lev and just happened to draw a crowd. For the first time I truly watched him paint.

Lev Mochine
Barcelona, 2006

It was magic! He captured the person’s essence just as he had captured our hearts.

My friend and I were completely captivated with what we were seeing, and so commented to each other.

Some people overheard us, and to our amazement and fantastic surprise, Lev now had a crowd of people who wanted their images drawn. I like to think we were his LUCKY CHARM that day.

A few days later we were back on Las Ramblas, (where else?), and surrealy found ourselves in Lev and Tatiana’s kitchen, drinking tea where its flavor was so intense it could kill ya.

Surrounding the tea, we were served dried fruit of various kinds and CHOCOLATE! Chocolate cut into bite size pieces of which we had none. We could hardly believe ourselves; the chocolate was not harmed.

Lev and Tatiana live in a piso facing Las Ramblas. What an ideal location for people like us to take to take some photos. And I did! WOW! was I excited.

View of Las Ramblas from Lev Mochine's Apartment
Barcelona, 2006

What a view! What a day! What a moment!

It is an honor to be a part of their lives and they in ours.

Lev has even left a part of himself in an AUDIO in Castellano. Listen to his soft-spoken voice that in my minds eye matches his inviting and warm face.