I think the name of the tv programme was 'House of Clues'. We watched one in the series while we were in the US. The idea is quite simple : two would-be detectives visit an unknown house with a professional psychologist and investigator. Each 'detective' is assigned a couple of rooms to investigate. Based on what they see, they have to guess who lives in the house, male/female, ages, jobs, personalities and the big issue in the family at the time. At the end of the programme, the 'detectives' meet the owners of the house, who score their performance and accuracy. It is true that a house reflects who lives in it. I felt a bit like these 'detectives' when we visited Elvis Presley's house in Tupelo - Mississipi (where he lived until he was 13) and his house in Memphis -Tennesee, Graceland. Both are worlds apart. Elvis lived in a two-room house in Tupelo. One room acted as bedroom. The next as kitchen and living room. There was a porch with a swing. And that was it. Elvis parents were very poor. When Elvis was 13, they put all their things in the family car and left for Memphis. Everything they had fit inside a car. Imagine that.

Graceland was big, a typical antebellum mansion as you can see in the South East of the US. I had heard it was 70s sytle decorated, stopped in time, I had heard of its extravangance, a room pretending to be a Hawaiian forest, green carpet on the floor..and ceiling! A games-room with miles of tapestry covering the walls, a long white sofa custom-made for Elvis' living-room...and yes, all that was there. But it wasn't a huge house. No enormous mansion with 50 bedrooms and the same number of bathrooms. No. I saw middle-class American families living in houses the same size as Graceland in Natchez or Vicksburg. The house, even with its odd decoration, looked as if it had been lived in. A family lived there. Elvis and his family. And comparing the poor house in Tupelo with the Graceland mansion, I realised something. Elvis was a small-town boy whose wish was to become wealthy so he could give his mom and dad a nice house to live in. All the impressions I had got from Elvis'fans in the past, from Tv appearances..from people talking about him as if he was a god...all that dissappeared. I saw a naive boy who wanted a nice house for his mom. And you know what? I liked that Elvis.


Creo que el nombre del programa de television era 'La casa de las pistas'. Vimos un episodio mientras estabamos en los USA. El formato es sencillo : Dos aprendices de detectives visitan una casa desconocida junto con un psicologo e investigador profesional. Se asigna a cada 'detective'dos habitaciones de la casa para investigar. En base a lo que ven, tienen que llegar a la conclusion de quien vive en la casa : sexos, edades, puestos de trabajo, personalidades y el problema o tema que preocupa a a la familia en el presente. Al final del programa, los 'detectives' se encuentran con los duenios de la casa, quienes les puntuan basandose en su actuacion y conclusiones acertadas. Es verdad que cada casa es un mundo y refleja la personalidad de sus habitantes. Me senti como uno de esos 'detectives' cuando visitamos la casa natal de Elvis Presley en Tupelo - Mississipi (donde vivio hasta los 13 anios) y su casa de Memphis-Tennesee, Graceland. Las dos casas son mundos aparte. Elvis vivio en una casa de dos habitaciones en Tupelo. Una habitacion era el dormitorio -para toda la familia- la otra era la cocina/comedor. En el exterior, un pequenio porche con un columpio. Y para de contar. Los padres de Elvis eran pobres. Cuando Elvis tenia 13 anios, pusieron todas sus pertenencias en el coche y se fueron a vivir a Memphis. Todo lo que tenian cabia en un coche. Os imaginais?

Graceland es una casa grande, una tipica 'antebellum mansion' (construida antes de la Guerra Civil Americana) de las que se ven en el Sud-Este de los USA. Habia oido decir que estaba decorada al estilo de los anios 70, como si se hubiera parado en el tiempo. Habia oido hablar de lo extravagante de su decoracion, una habitacion decorada como una jungla hawaiana, con moqueta verde en el suelo...y en el techo!, una habitacion de billar con metros y metros de tela en las paredes, un enorme sillon blanco hecho a medida para el salon...y si, todo eso estaba en la casa. Pero no era una casa enorme. No era un palacete con 50 dormitorios y el mismo numero de banios. No. Vi a familias de clase media que viven en casas del mismo tamanio, en Vicksburg y Natchez. La casa, incluso con su extravagante decoracion, se veia una casa donde una familia habia vivido. Elvis y su familia. Y comparando la pobre casita de Tupelo con la mansion de Graceland, me di cuenta de algo importante. Elvis era un chico de pueblo, cuyo unico deseo era llegar a ser rico para poder comprar una casa bonita para su mama y su papa. Todas las ideas preconcebidas sobre Elvis, que habia adquirido a traves de las impresiones de sus fans en el pasado, apariciones en television...de gente hablando de el como si fuera un dios...todo aquello se borro de mi mente. Vi a un chico inocenton, que queria una casa decente para su mama. Y sabeis que? Ese fue el Elvis que me gusto.


The weather today:
Haze
13C
UV Index: 1 Minimal
Wind: From the North Northeast at 12 mph
Dew Point: 8C
Humidity: 73%
Visibility: 5 miles
Barometer: 1,022.4 mb