THE LAST MOLDOVAN WINE... IN LOS ANGELES

 This was probably my parent's last visit to our home in Los Angeles, the last time we went to Canters together and the last time we drank Moldovan wine in LA. So many "last" words, all because on the verge of moving back to Brazil, after 11 years of American life and constituting a family here, many memories come to my mind.

Of course these memories or the anxiety of leaving cannot be compared to what my ancestors experienced when moving from Bessarabia to Brazil. The only common factor is that we are all immigrants, and "leaving/returning" will always be a constant for me.

That makes me think of the last things I'll do in LA.

I won't be able to do all I wanted and could. Grand Canyon may have to happen in another opportunity. It's funny when you live in a place, you don't go to all famous destinations. It's like my relatives who live in NY and never went to the statue of liberty. But one thing I know I'll do: finish the film about our Moldovan roots.

And nothing better than some Moldovan wine I brought back in 2012 to enter the list of "last things" - done.

PLAYING THE MOLDOVANS AT TENNIS

I think one of the first times I googled "Moldova", the result was Playing the Moldovans at Tennis, the 2002 book by British author Tony Hawks, where he bets with a friend he can beat all eleven members of the Moldovan soccer team at tennis. The book is based on a real story, experienced by Tony.

I never read the book or heard about it until recently, when I found out it was made into a movie, starring the very Tony Hawks as himself. It is a very nice film, with a lot of heart. If you ever been to Moldova, you'll especially enjoy it seeing Chisinau and Orheiul Vechi again. To me, it was a delight to embark on Tony's journey and re-experience the country.

If you've never been to Moldova, here's a glimpse of it from a foreigner's perspective.

But I would be really curious to know what Moldovans think of the film.

Playing the Moldovans at Tennis is available for free streaming, with English, Russian or Romanian subtitles, on Tony's website. Check it out:

http://www.moldovansmovie.com/index.html

Amazing short film by the master Ettore Scola

"1943-1997", by Ettore Scola.

THE LITTLE HANUKKAH MIRACLE - PART II

The picture sent to Emil and Dina, the couple I met at the Hanukkah party, revealed many things. Firstly, I must say, it shows a person I thought I would never see so clear: Sioma Tolpolar. Sioma was Fima's brother and he was killed in Cepeleutz by Cuzists in 1941 together with his wife Iza. When we went to Moldova in 2008, we went to the very site where the murder happened.

During my research, I could only find only one picture of Sioma available, in the Yedinitz Yizkor book. And it was not a very good one. Nobody else connected to Sioma seemed to have any other pictures of him. Until we see this photo. Sioma is in his very young years, his face is clear and bright. I was amazed to see it. His past is more alive to me now.

Secondly, on the opposite side of Sioma, stands another surprising revelation. The woman on the far left is nothing but Hanna Davidovich, married to Josef Nisenblat, brother of my grandmother (Rachel Nisenblat, from Orhei)! The world is getting smaller, but in those days, for the Jewish community in Bessarabian villages, it was also very small. So Hanna Davidovich knew Sioma Tolpolar, both related to me and to Emil. Hannah is probably Emil grandmother's sister, as all Davidovich sisters are in the picture.

Ultimately, the Romanian writings behind the letter bewildered me. I asked my dear friend Rachel Fain to translate it:

“This picture was taken with the occasion of the visit of our cousin (male) to Orhei

 And with the occasion that my cousin (female) left for ---------- “baise”. Frieda, Mara, Anushca Sioma “

The male cousin is Sioma. Now who would be the female cousin? Anushca - or better, Hannah? And what is "Baise"?  The name of a place or somebody's? Rachel could not tell. And next to it, something is erased. Could it be that they erased the word because they were afraid of something? Could this word be "Brazil" and the Davidovich and Tolpolar cousins got together in Orhei one last time before Hannah's departure...? We know for sure that she ended up in Brazil.

"Baise" is still a mystery, and my mind creates unconfirmed suppositions and relationships. This picture proves that Emil and I are most likely related through Hannah Davidovich - she is the main link.

Hannah passed away in Israel in 1994. She had three children: Ari, Cecilia and Mario.
Sioma never managed to escape the Holocaust.
This picture could be their last one together. And I'm sure they never imagined someday we would be talking about them.

THE LITTLE HANUKKAH MIRACLE

I went to a friends' house for a Hanukkah dinner in Long Beach. The place was packed, great food, children running around (including my daughter), nice conversations... Until I met a woman, named Dina, who said she was from Russia. I asked where and the answer was "from the South" - with a face like "you would never know where it is so I won't say the name of the location". Insistently I asked again where. The answer was Moldova.

Just the name "Moldova" opens up room for a lot of conversation. But ours was fast. When I mentioned my grandmother was from Orhei, Dina called her husband right away and put me in contact with him.

To make the story short, we found out I am related to Emil, Dina's husband, through a common relative: Fima Tolpolar. Dina invited me to her house the next day. 

Dina and Emil

Dina and Emil are a very nice couple. Dina is a pianist and Emil was a journalist in the extinct Soviet Republic - and turned out to be a computer programmer in the States. Amongst homemade latkes and mamaliga, we exchanged stories and information, and talked to relatives in Miami who knew more about our connections - and even sent us some rare pictures I had never seen before.

It so happens that Emil's grandmother was the sister of Fima's mother! Her last name was Davidovich - and I also found out that there was a Davidovich in Brazil who was married to my dad's uncle - and was also Fima's cousin.

One of the pictures sent to us from Miami opened up multiple interpretations of what could have happened in 1930 between Tolpolar and Davidovich cousins. A mystery that, if solved, can help us picture the past.

More in the next post.

2012!

2012 was a year of progress for our dear documentary project Mamaliga Blues. Many things have happened:

- We managed to go back to Moldova and finish shooting the film.
- The Historians Irina Livezeanu and Vladimir Solonari have joined the project as consultants.
- The great Brothers Landau will be composing the music for the film.
- There are many updates and a new section ("Press") on our website, please feel free to explore it: www.mamaligablues.com
- As part of the Six Points Fellowship for Emerging Jewish Artists, I was selected as a participant in Asylum: International Jewish Artist Retreat, in NY, March 2013. Mamaliga Blues was a pivotal part of the application.

Hope 2013 will bring us more great news - and the completion of the film!

For donations (ANY amount is helpful!), just go here: https://www.donationpay.org/documentaries/give/?film=MAMALIGA%20BLUES&maker=A%20documentary%20by%20Cassio%20Tolpolar

Thank you all so much!

Cassio Tolpolar
Join us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/mamaligablues

TEXTURES OF CHISINAU

If you look closely, every corner of Chisinau offers a visual experience. My wife Lara is the kind of person who spots the little urban details of a city most people take for granted, or simply neglect it. I took the liberty to post some of her pictures of Chisinau. There are much more, and maybe she'll write more about it later.