A SEXI BEACH BAR IN SPAIN
Mentor Huebner (c) 1962
Oil on European Painter's Board 22" X 26"

SEXI BEACH BAR

BY

After the twins were born in Paris, Mentor and I and the kids lived for many months in Almunecar, an ancient city that goes back to the days of the Phoenicians. Its original name was "Sexi". Once it had been a port town, under Moorish control. It's still speckled with Moorish Fortresses, now used for other purposes. Occasionally, a romantic rendezvous. Now this beach city is also the Poetry capital of Spain. Each summer, inspired tourists, mostly from Madrid, arrive in droves to participate in the national award ceremonies.

Every afternoon we had coffee in a Sexi beach bar and watched for Dolphins, while our baby twins, Jessica and Gregory napped and our first born son, little Mentor, searched for sea shells with his buddies, a gang of other little guys, little Spaniards who spoke no English, and who affectionately called him, "Rubio".

On the day of this painting, a hot day in August, a magnificent pair of dolphins, mates, swam the length of the Sexi coast line, five miles or more, and gave us a spectacular show.

United in love, in sleek shimmering silvery beauty, they leaped twenty feet into the air, flew above the water for thirty yards, dove straight into the deep blue, only to surface again, within seconds, after traveling under water, out of sight, for another thirty yards. They continued this performance rhythmically in a romantic aquatic ballet, until they became specks of light on the horizon.

Although we and the other inhabitants of Sexi, the tourists, gypsies, fishermen, and blase year long residents, had all cheered boisterously for each and every graceful leap, at the end every one of us was silent and couldn't bring ourselves to leave the water's edge.

Some tourists had tears in their eyes. We all stood transfixed, and stared into the Mediterranean for a long time. Every single person on this beach had been emotionally subdued by these beautiful creatures and the display or innocent ecstasy.

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12 Paintings 12 Intimate Stories

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"MENTOR" Self Portrait Mentor Huebner (c) 1963 Oil on Masonite 30" X 24"	"MOJAVE GOLD" Mentor Huebner (c) 1953 Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"	" A PALACE OF FUN" Mentor Huebner (c) 1955 Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"
"THE BISTRO" Mentor Huebner (c) 1962 Oil on Painter's Board 22" X 26"	"SEXI BEACH BAR" Mentor Huebner (c) 1962 Oil on European Painter's Board 22" X 26"	"SAINT MARKS IN VENICE" Mentor Huebner (c) 1962 Oil on European Painter's Board 22" X 26"
"THE GRAND CANAL IN VENICE" Mentor Huebner (c) 1958 Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"	"THE FOREIGNER" Mentor Huebner (c) 1969 Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"	"HENRY FORD BRIDGE" Mentor Huebner (c) 1963 Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"
"MORTAL WOUND" Mentor Huebner (c) 1957 Oil on Masonite 24" X 30"	"BOURBON STREET" Mentor Huebner (c) 1953 Oil on Masonite 22" X 26"	"CALIFORNIA GOLD" Mentor Huebner (c) 1959 Oil on Masonite 30" X 24"