If you were asked who the world’s most famous Belgians are, would you
A ko bi vas pitali ko su naj- poznatiji Belgi- janci na svetu, da li biste, između ostalih, naveli Odri Hepbern, glumicu rođenu u Briselu, ve- rovatno jednu od najlep-
mention, among others, Audrey Hepburn, the actress born in Brussels, probably one of the most beautiful women of all time? Would you remember Adolphe Sax, thanks to whom we today have the saxophone, or the guitar wizard Djan- go Reinhardt? Perhaps some would think of Jean-Claude van Damme, but there is no doubt that the most fa- mous Belgian is a little man who is known by at least two billion people around the globe. And we don’t only know him, but we are even famil- iar with such details as that for breakfast he eats toast cut into squares and two eggs that must be completely identical. He is small, with an ov- al head, funny looking and plump, but simulta- neously one of the most beloved characters ever created from the pages of a book. Of course, he is a small Belgian man who must constantly explain that he is not a Frenchman, and he was born from the pen of the best-selling authoress of all time, the Queen of Mystery, Agatha Christie. Hercule Poirot appeared in 33 books, while his “competitor”, Miss Marple, appeared in only 12, although Agatha Christie always said that the granny detective was dearer to her than the irri- tating Poirot, who she often couldn’t tolerate. She presented him to the world in 1920, in the book “The Mysterious Affair at Styles”and the world immediately fell in love with Poirot and his lit- tle grey cells that brilliantly, theatrically and com- pletely immodestly, solved murders. Of course, such a popular character had to con- tinue his life on the small and large screens. Al- though Peter Ustinov did well in the role of Poirot, the real Hercule was embodied before our eyes only when David Suchet arrived on the scene, who played the mercurial detective for a quarter of a century and left us convinced that Poirot is just like that and no different. That’s why it will be extremely difficult for Kenneth Branagh, whose remake of“Murder on the Orient Express” is expected in cinemas soon. Will we believe that this confirmed Shakespearean thespian is Poirot? That’s hard to imagine after Suchet, but it’s im- portant that Poirot continues to live... Punto in aria sounds like something not to be missed. This gentle and breathable lace fasci- nated tailors so much that it was described as a stitch in air (punto in aria) when it emerged in the 15 th century. If you are in Belgium, don’t miss the chance to procure at least a small piece of this hand-made Flemish lace that is renowned world- wide, which in terms of beauty can only be com- pared to its Venetian counterpart. It is available to everyone nowadays, but will remain forever syn- onymous with luxury. You can also visit the Muse- um of Costume and Lace in Brussels.
ših žena svih vremena? Da li biste se setili Adolfa Saksa, zahvaljujući kojem danas ima- mo saksofon, ili Đanga Rajnharta, čarobnja- ka na gitari? Možda bi nekome pao na pamet Žan Klod van Dam, ali nema dileme da je najpoznatiji Belgijanac čovečuljak kojeg poznaje bar dve milijarde ljudi širom planete. I ne samo da za njega znamo nego smo upoznati s takvim detaljima kao što su da za doručak jede tost isečen na kvadrate i dva jajeta koja moraju biti potpuno identičnog oblika i veličine. On je mali, jajolike glave, smešan i debeo, ali isto- vremeno jedan od najdražih likova ikad ispa- lih iz stranica neke knjige. Naravno, on je mali Belgijanac koji stalno mora da objaš- njava kako nije Francuz, a rođen je iz pera najprodavanije književnice svih vremena, kraljice misterije Agate Kristi. Herkul Poaro pojavio se u 33 knjige, a njego- va „konkurentkinja“ Mis Marpl u samo 12, ia- ko je sama Agata Kristi uvek govorila kako joj je bakica draža od iritantnog Poaroa, kog često nije podnosila. Predstavila ga je sve- tu 1920. godine u Misterioznoj aferi u Stajlsu, a svet se odmah zaljubio u Poaroa i njegove male sive ćelije, koje su briljantno, teatralno i sasvim neskromno rešavale ubistva. Naravno, tako popularan lik morao je svoj ži- vot da nastavi na malom ekranu i velikom platnu. Iako je Piter Justinov dobro prolazio u ulozi Poaroa, pravi Herkul otelotvorio se pred našim očima tek kada je na scenu stupio Dej- vid Suše koji je detektiva glumio četvrt ve- ka i zauvek nas ostavio u ubeđenju da je Po- aro baš takav i nikakav drugačiji. Zato će biti veoma teško Kenetu Brani, čiji rimejk Ubistva u Orijent ekspresu očekujemo u bioskopima. Hoćemo li poverovati proverenom Šekspirov- cu da je Poaro? Teško je to zamisliti posle Su- šea, ali važno je da Poaro nastavlja da živi.
HERKUL POARO HERCULE POIROT
BELGIJANAC, MON AMI, NE FRANCUZ
BELGIAN, MON AMI, NOT FRENCH
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FLAMANSKA ČIPKA FLEMISH LACE ČIST LUKSUZ P PURE LUXURY
unto in aria zvuči kao nešto što ne treba propustiti. Nežna i prozračna čipka delovala je toliko fascinantno
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da su je opisivali kao ubod u zraku (punto in aria) kad je nastala u XV veku. Ako ste u Belgiji, ne propustite da nabavite bar mali komad ručno rađene flamanske čipke po- znate u celom svetu, koja po lepoti može da se meri samo sa venecijanskom. Posta- la je dostupna svima, ali zauvek je osta- la sinonim za luksuz. U Briselu možete da obiđete i Muzej kostima i čipke.
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