ramblings of a raconteuse

Written for my weekly Friday blog post at:  

aka) I’m the resident “artsy farsty nerd” ;) 

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I’ve been choir geek forever.  I started singing in a group at my church when I was 5 years old.  I then joined a children’s chorus when I was 8, sang in every choir I could in high school, and then majored in “jazz voice” in college.  I am a full fledged choir geek and music nerd.

 Here’s a video for proof:

Part of my love for NBC’s “The Voice” comes from my background in music and the other part, the absolute pure joy of seeing people do what they love and chase their dreams.  I have the utmost respect for these people because as an actor, that’s what I do every day, and every day I get closer to my goals just like they do.

 I’m not going to lie, every single episode makes me cry and this is coming from a girl who really dislikes most reality television.  

But there is something about “The Voice” that’s different.  The show is about taking what is unique and amazing about someone and helping it flourish, not about forcing them to fit into some cookie cutter industry mold.  I absolutely LOVE it.  There is no finding the people that are the worst singers so that all of America can laugh at them.  No one is tearing these singers down, it’s solely about building them up.  

If you don’t watch this show, I totally suggest that you start…that you at least watch the “blind auditions” aka) first four episodes.  And no…I’m not endorsed by NBC or “The Voice,” I’m merely an uber fan who wants to share the love, happy tears, and some joyous music. 

Sing on Nerds! Sing on! 

oxox hels

tweet me at: @helslevy

browse me at: helennasantoslevy.com

email me at: contacthelenna@gmail.com 

I first had this poem published in the online magazine Joie de Vivre created by my friend Tara Avery.  It kind of sums up a conversation that my husband and I had last night over a yummy vegan meal at the new Native Foods Cafe in Culver City. 

We were talking about the fact that an artist has to create no matter what. We are slaves to the muse.  My husband Barry told me that his best friend Michael was in awe of the fact that a painter could lose everything in his life: his job, his home, his family, and despite all of that he still needs to paint.

If you are a writer, a musician, a visual artist, a dancer, a photographer, a singer, a filmmaker… you’ve been blessed with what some could argue is the most beautiful curse of all. Both painful and pleasurable, there is burning in your heart… a seed of an idea, a word, a sound, a movement…something that just has to get out…

photo taken at the Museum of Contemporary Art in San Diego

“The Artists” by Helenna Santos

Jim Morrison once said,
“We could plan a murder, or start a religion.”
  
Our volatile, volatile minds.
  
Volcanic activity erupting under the surface.
White-ashed shadows
mixing the meaning of black and white,
like stone cold monuments
shielding the dark from the sun.
  
But we are also doves of anarchy,
and clowns of shifting perception.
We see the other side, the eclipse,
the paralleled paradox of now,
and show it to the masses, the soldiers, the they.
  
Because, “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.”
The creators, the lovers, the dreamers, the perceivers,

the eyes.
————

And so it begins.

I’ve been an avid vlogger for two years now sharing my journey in Hollywood for Helenna’s Tinseltown Tuesdays.  I felt it was time that pen hit the virtual page.  I’ve written poetry since I was a child. The artist in me has always been trying to break through with the power of words which is what lead me to being an actress.

In this blog I’ll be sharing a number of poems I’ve written originally published in the online magazine Joie de Vivre as well as the events of my day to day, and anything else that strikes me as worthy of a blog post vs. my perhaps too frequent facebook status updates…

Anyone who is close to me knows that my “cheerful loud Filipino side” and my “tormented Russian side,” are always at odds…my own personal paradox.  So with that being said, here is the side that you might not have seen yet if you are a viewer of my vlog.  This is the Russian artist side, where things are a little more risque and a little more moody. 

So I urge you to turn up the Portishead, turn down the lights, and grab a glass of wine.

Welcome to “ramblings of a raconteuse.” (purposely lower case, e.e. cummings styles)