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[Spinningray]

Here is an interesting article I found. The video is interesting too.

http://www.colorsmagazine.com/stories/magazine/78/story/carlos-acosta

[Eric]

That's cool, nice find!

[ta0]

That is a great saying: "No bailes en la casa de un trompo" : "Don't dance in the house of a spintop" (i.e., don't challenge the expert)

The guy knows how to spin, no doubt.
I did notice on the video that the top is prepared to be thrown with the right hand and then switches to the left 

There is a small town in Cuba called Trompo.

[Neff]

Hrmmm, video won't play for me...

[the Earl of Whirl]

Oddly enough, I can only get the first 13 seconds of the video to play.  But that is far enough into the clip to see that they have already stolen my idea for my next year's world's competition.  The outfit that guy is wearing was EXACTLY what I had in mind to do.  And the article is a takeoff of my life.....

"Mike Hout's story is like that of a marvelous, fighting trompo with a musical ear.  Everybody dances in his hometown, but only a kid from a humble family in the Delaware, Ohio neighborhood is the star of the Royal Ballet.  So that's why we meet him in the Victoria Theater in Dayton, to 'spin' together through the origins of his boisterous career as a professional dancer, an acclaimed and award-winning legend to an increasingly global public.  Mike told his story as we walked among people who stop in the street to embrace him.  Beyond his skin you feel the potent mix of long wings and deep roots that define his art."

I hate it when they steal my ideas and my life story like that.  Now, should I keep dancing or should I try for some new surprise for next year?

[Neff]

OK I finally saw the video.  I kinda wish that I had not seen the video.  Holy male thong Batman.  Mike I think you ought to power through it and execute things as planned... without the banana hammock.

[the Earl of Whirl]

Oh oh........I did not know about the male thong thing.  Arghh!  Thanks for the tip, Neffy!!!

[jim in paris]

A child wakes up in Havana when the engines, the repairmen and the coffee pots have already begun the chaotic rhythm for which the city is known. Wearing oversized shorts he joins friends and the old guys from the corner and challenges them to play with the spinning top. He rolls the rope and shoots at ground level. The rotation continues while he makes it jump and walk over his arms and chest. If the technique is perfect, the boy will win the ultimate contest: to keep his spinning top relentlessly rotating along its own axis.

thanx for the link
i like this text : it's almost as if one of us there !! 


jim

[MarkHayward]

I'm starting a new organization right her and now: the MHBHSG (Mike Hout Banana Hammock Support Group)

Heh. No pun intended with the word "support"

[the Earl of Whirl]

Ha ha, Mark!

How about MHHSP?  I like hammocks.  They are are great for my afternoon naps.  Just take the B out of the acronym!

Actually, I have always wanted a good hammock for the back yard/deck area.  Maybe I can finally do that this year and then we can have it up for Topland and we could throw tops around the person on the hammock?

[ta0]

I did not want to get involved in this discussion, but I have to point out the initials MH also work for Mark. Therefore he was proposing some kind of self support group, whatever that entails (and I don't want to know).

[MarkHayward]

WOO HOO!!! We can have meetings at top contests!!!

[the Earl of Whirl]

There has been lots of talk about Cuba in the news.  USA Today has a full page article about "hopes, dreams renewed in Cuba."  I feel like we should be talking about it here, too.  There seems to be little out there about trompo and Cuba but the top must be big there.  Because of our new relations, maybe someday we could have a large competition there?

Anyway, I dug up this old thread to see if there was any interest in talking about Cuba and our favorite whirling activity.

[Jack]

There has been lots of talk about Cuba in the news.  USA Today has a full page article about "hopes, dreams renewed in Cuba."  I feel like we should be talking about it here, too.  There seems to be little out there about trompo and Cuba but the top must be big there.  Because of our new relations, maybe someday we could have a large competition there?

Anyway, I dug up this old thread to see if there was any interest in talking about Cuba and our favorite whirling activity.

this man is purportedly in cuba

[mailman]

I'm starting a new organization right her and now: the MHBHSG (Mike Hout Banana Hammock Support Group)

Heh. No pun intended with the word "support"

How about "group"?   

[the Earl of Whirl]

You gotta love the trompo "passing" hand to hand in Jack's first video discovery.

I also enjoyed watching a follow up video: "como hacer un trompo".  It looks like there are some more gems there, too.  I will enjoy doing some youtube browsing tomorrow on my day off!!!

[ta0]

I think Cuba would be a neat place to have an international meeting/contest one day, perhaps in the town of Trompo.  I bet there is a good trompo culture there.

There is that fun video from Cautin claiming a "world spintop contest" in Varadero, Cuba (discussed here):



I asked Cautin about it when we met and he said there was no contest in Cuba. After a campaign in Spain (the first one?) Cometa took the demonstrators to Cuba as a reward. He just made a fun clip out of it.