Melo-M adds Minneapolis to U.S. tour

Andris Straumanis | 2006. gada 4. February

The Latvian “instrumental cello rock” group Melo-M has added a performance in Minneapolis to its February tour of the United States, according to the American Latvian Youth Association.

Melo-M—the members of which include Kārlis Auzāns, Valters Pūce and Antons Trocjuks—was formed in late 2004. The group has released one album, the self-titled Melo-M, which includes cover versions of 10 Latvian pop and rock classics.

The band originally was scheduled to tour with Marts Kristiāns Kalniņš, lead singer of the pop group Autobuss debesīs, but Kalnīņš took ill and a doctor advised he not travel, according to Vija Vīksne, president of the youth association (Amerikas Latviešu Jaunatnes apvienība, or ALJA).

Auzāns, who plays guitar with Autobuss debesīs, formed Melo-M. Pūce, son of vocal group Marana leader Valts Pūce, and Kristaps Bergs became the original two other members of the trio. Last summer, Trocjuks replaced Bergs. All the band members have classical cello training and have fared well in international competitions.

Concerts are scheduled:

In Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Feb. 4, in the Latvian Ev.-Lutheran Church of Washington, D.C., 400 Hurley Ave., Rockville, Md. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Admission is USD 25 or, for senior citizens and college students, USD 20. Children and high school studens will be admitted free. The event is sponsored by the Latvian Organizations of Washington. For further information, telephone Anita Juberte at +1 (301) 869-3127.
In Cleveland on Saturday, Feb. 11, in the United Latvian Ev. Lutheran Church of Cleveland, 1385 Andrews Ave., Lakewood. The charity program includes champagne and refreshments beginning at 5:30 p.m., dinner at 6 p.m. and the concert at 7 p.m., followed by a ball. Admission to the entire program is USD 50. General admission to the concert and ball is USD 25, admission for senior citizens and students is USD 20. For further information, telephone Brigita Puķite at +1 (216) 577-4370 or Franz Bauer at +1 (440) 320-5959.
In Kalamazoo on Sunday, Feb. 12, in the Union Bar & Grille, 125 Kalamazoo Mall, Kalamazoo. The concert begins at 4 p.m. In advance tickets cost USD 25 for adults, USD for youth to age 21, USD 5 for children to age 13. Tickets may be ordered by credit card by telephoning the Union Bar & Grille at +1 (269) 384-6756. Ask for the “February 12th Latvian Concert.” Tickets also may be ordered by check, payable to “Kalamazoo Latvian Association,” from Viktorija Krieva, 2526 Bach Ave., Portage, MI 49024. Further information is available by telephoning from Malda Pūtele, +1 (269) 353-8320.
In Minneapolis on Friday, Feb. 17, in the Latvian House, 2337 Central Ave. N.E., Minneapolis. The concert begins at 7 p.m. Admission is USD 20 for adults, USD 10 for students, and free for children. Refreshments will be available.
In Chicago on Saturday, Feb. 18, as part of a Valentine’s Day program and dance, in the Latvian House, 4146 N. Elston Ave., Chicago. A social hour is scheduled at 5 p.m., followed by the concert at 6 p.m., a broadcast of a Latvian hockey game at 7 p.m. and the dance at 9 p.m. General admission to the entire program is USD 35, but for ALJA members and supporters admission is USD 30. General admission to the concert is USD 25, but for ALJA members and supporters admission is USD 20. General admission to the hockey game broadcast and dance is USD 15, but for ALJA members and supporters admission is USD 10. Tables for eight persons may be reserved by contacting Vija Vīksne by e-mail at vijavara@aol.com or by telephone at +1 (310) 850-6940.
In Seattle on Friday, Feb. 24, in the Latvian Center, 11710 3rd Ave. N.E., Seattle. Admission is USD 20 for adults, USD 10 for students. For further information, telephone Jānis Kramēns at +1 (425) 941-2753.
In Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 26, in the Latvian Community Center, 1955 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles. The concert begins at 12:30 p.m. Admission is USD 20. Refreshments will be available by donation. For further information, telephone Vīja Vīksne at +1 (310) 850-6940.

The concert series is sponsored by ALJA. Further information about the concert tour is available by visiting www.alja.org.

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

President awards first Spīdola scholarships

Andris Straumanis | 2006. gada 1. February

The first two President’s Scholarships, supported by the Latvian sorority Spīdola and financed largely by donations from Latvian-Canadians in the Toronto area, have been awarded to two women in Latvia studying to be language and literature teachers.

Zane Lūse, a philology student at the University of Latvia, and Kristīne Lele, a philology student at the Rēzekne Higher Education Institution (Rēzeknes Augstskola), were presented the scholarships Feb. 1 in Rīga by President Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, the president’s press office said.

The sorority, of which Vīķe-Freiberga is a member, initiated the scholarship last year to honor the president’s work in academics and in government. Vīķe-Freiberga retired in 1998 as a professor at the Université de Montréal, where she specialized in psychology and linguistics.

During a June benefit in the Latvian Canadian Cultural Centre attended by the president, about CAD 60,000 was raised for the scholarship, according to the cultural center’s Web site.

The scholarship is administered by the Vītolu Fonds, begun in 2002 by Vilis and Marta Vītols, who repatriated to Latvia from Venezuela and began Māras banka (now owned by Finland’s Sampo Bank).

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.

Slow at first, Berzins’ new thriller still entertains

Andris Straumanis | 2006. gada 31. January

Uldis Lapins, the seemingly shifty pastor of the Latvian church in the Canadian capital of Ottawa, may be trying to bilk the members of his congregation out of their life savings. But then, halfway through Ilze Berzins’ latest thriller, Ghosts & Shadows, he is reported to have died, apparently a victim of his peanut allergy.

The novel is one of Berzins’ better efforts. Rich characters combine with an eventually captivating plot for a story that should be of interest to anyone looking for a Latvian krimiķis in the English language. However, readers familiar with Berzins’ earlier stories will find that Ghosts & Shadows owes some of its success to the characters and efforts at plot development in those works.

It is courageous of Berzins to tackle this story, set as it is in Ottawa’s Latvian community. Writing about the place you know best, and for Berzins that is Ottawa, can lead to compelling prose, but also can raise the hackles of the locals. No doubt some readers will try to draw parallels with people they might know in real life.

Ghosts & Shadows, released in November, is the seventh mystery novel and the eighth book overall by Berzins. A second-generation Latvian-Canadian, Berzins also is an artist.

Berzins takes a long time to build up the drama in Ghosts & Shadows, a characteristic of her previous novel, Kolka (2004). It takes 47 pages—seven admittedly short chapters—for Berzins just to paint her protagonist.

Ghosts & Shadows is told from the first-person viewpoint of Anastasia Karsubova, Stasia or Stacy for short, the daughter of a Russian father and a Latvian mother. She’s a 40-something loner who hangs out with Ottawa’s older Latvian generation. Her one-time lover, a Latvian-American journalist named Andris Ripa, supposedly was killed years ago while covering a story in Rīga. Her dog, Bear the Rottweiler, has gone missing. Geez, this almost makes Stasia sound like the subject of a bad Latvian country song.

But there is more to Stasia than that. Like in Kolka, Berzins delves into the psyche of her protagonist. Stasia floats in and out of the past, fantasizing about returning to the Rīga she remembers from her time there from 1994-1998 (at this point readers familiar with Berzins’ work may be tempted to pull out their copy of her autobiographical Happy Girl): “When I was there ten years ago, Riga was a brawling bully of a town, an endless unstoppable crime spree, a chaotic feast of cheap booze, fattening food and eye-popping urban decay. I loved every moment of it. But now I hear all that’s gone and I wonder if I’d ever want to go back.”

However, Stasia may remind some of Birdie Finch, the protagonist in Kolka. Like Stasia, Birdie lived alone in Ottawa. Like Stasia, Birdie’s closest relationship was with a person much older than she. Like Stasia, Birdie spent a lot of time caught up in memories and dreams, although Birdie’s were darker than those of Stasia’s.

Also figuring strongly in Ghosts & Shadows is Alex Stromanis, who is tormented in his old age by memories of the night the Wilhelm Gustloff, a German cruise ship, was torpedoed in January 1945 by a Soviet submarine. He lost his wife and baby. The ship, extremely overloaded with refugees fleeing the advancing Soviet forces, had sailed from Gdynia, a port near Gdansk, Poland. Estimates of the number of dead range from 7,000 to more than 9,000 men, women and children, making it—as several sources note—the worst maritime disaster on record.

In a suitcase in his home, Stromanis keeps a satchel he rescued from that horrific night. In the satchel are thousands of Imperial Russian gold coins.

And then there’s Tamara Nemerova, a voluptuous Russian from Rīga who has come to Ottawa ostensibly to lure local Latvians to spend their money on a tour of the homeland. She knows Stasia from when she lived in Latvia, and before Stasia knows it, Tamara has managed to move into the spare room in her house.

A variety of other characters populate the novel, many of whom are carefully colored by Berzins. The reader might be frustrated that it takes so long for something to happen, but the last 100 of the 244-page Ghosts & Shadows have plenty of twists to make up for the slow start. The result is an entertaining tale of corruption and swindle set in Canada and Latvia.

More information about Berzins and her books is available from her Web site, ilzeberzins.com.

Details

Ghosts & Shadows

Ilze Berzins

Ottawa: Albert Street Press, 2005

ISBN 0-9686502-7-9

Andris Straumanis is a special correspondent for and a co-founder of Latvians Online. From 2000–2012 he was editor of the website.