Portuguese biographer Rui Silva unlocks The Doors
Portuguese author Rui Silva will appear at Royce Hall tonight to present his new book, “You Make Me Real,” a biography of The Doors. (courtesy of Rui Silva)
YOU MAKE ME REAL
Today, 7 p.m.
Royce Hall 314, FREE
By Elia Rogers
Nov. 22, 2010 1:41 a.m.
Toward the end of Jim Morrison’s life, he found a painting that inspired him, but he died in 1971 before he could write a poem about it. The painting was forgotten and left in storage, unknown to everyone save a select few.
This is just one of the many previously untold stories that Portuguese author Rui Silva discovered through his research of the legendary rock band The Doors. He shares these stories in his new biography of the band, “You Make Me Real.” Silva will present the English translation for the first time at the event in Royce Hall, hosted by the department of Spanish and Portuguese.
Silva said he is looking forward to presenting the biography at UCLA because of the connection the band has to the school. Jim Morrison graduated from the UCLA film school in 1965, where he met fellow bandmate Ray Manzarek.
“(I) feel very honored with the UCLA invitation because The Doors’ roots are at UCLA,” Silva said in an e-mail interview.
“You Make Me Real” includes interviews that shed light on some of the band’s more obscure artistic endeavours. According to Silva, one of the more exciting things about the English translation is the forward by Jac Holzman, the founder and president of Elektra Records who discovered The Doors in 1966.
Nivardo Valenzuela, an alumnus of the Spanish department who coordinated much of the event, said that the evening is a relevant and exciting deviation from the department’s usual events.
“It’s looking back at the past and a band that started here at UCLA,” Valenzuela said.
Taylor Tirona, a fourth-year international development studies student, said that he is most excited about The Doors cover band Peace Frog. It is expected to play a one-hour set at the book presentation this evening.
