Las Jacarandas están in bloom in Los Angeles

It’s the last week in May, where does the time go?

Seems all the Jacaranda trees in L.A. got the memo recently that it was time to burst into full color. A beautiful, intense, rich lavender meets happy purple kind of color. A full bloom all over the place. How do the flowers know it’s time to shine?

It’s easy to spot them when driving, even on the freeway. But they’re especially powerful in downtown LA and Pasadena.

Sometimes you just need to take a break, stand still on the street and admire them. Because like Ferris Bueller said, “Blink, and you miss it.” Ya sabemos que cuando llegue el late summer, las jacarandas se despiden hasta el año que entra.

En eso estaba yo, muy “enjoying the moment” en el Central Park de Pasadena, cuando pasa un pájaro volando and he poops a bit on my hair. Eww! How’s that for “disfrutando el momento”?

Pasadena Jacarandas on Del Mar blvd.

 

“Central Park” on Fair Oaks in Pasadena, with a central Jacaranda.

 

Pops of color everywhere you go. Fits in nicely with the weather we’ve been having.

 

Bam! A street filled with Jacarandas as far as the eye can see. (Pasadena, Del Mar blvd.)

 

Out for a run, surrounded by purple violet.

 

Just chillin’ in DTLA.

 

On 8th street in DTLA, the Jacaranda becomes part of the cityscape.

 

This intense blue lavender violet is now my favorite color. I love Jacarandas!

Juventud Divino Tesoro, or finding anti-age products that work

The woman approaching the mirror just meant to do a quick scan, de esos que haces first thing in the morning, and never saw coming the disbelief that followed, a major introduction to the panic of the A-word.

But there it happened on a Sunday morning, yesterday to be exact, when THIS woman faced the moment of truth: AGE on my face is now a major concern. As I looked at the mirror, recién levantada, there was this realization that my face is not what it used to be. (“Juventud divino tesoro,” dice mi Tia Gilda, obviamente citando a Rubén Darío.)

Yes, I’m talking wrinkles and sun spots and an uneven complexion. Yes, I’m going to be perfectly candid and say that they’ve arrived, and I don’t like them, and I need to do something about them!

The funny thing is that I thought I was already doing it, all these years, staying out of the sun most of my adult life. I always use SPF, moisturize, never go to bed with makeup on, and invest in “good” creams and treatments from all price points.

I am a sunscreen worshipper, never leave home without the SPF in my face and most of my skin. I NEVER sunbathe, I swim in an indoor pool, and wear long sleeves when it’s too hot outside. During the summer, you’ll see me wearing weird big-ass hats. De hecho, I’ve heard my vecinos say about me, “Que extraña mujer,” when they see me leaving the house all covered up en el calorón. 

But desperate times call for desperate measures and obviously the SPF 60 is not doing the trick. So off I went to the drugstore and to Costco in search of new products.

There were 3 that seemed appropriate for my anti-aging mission: Age Shield face SPF 110 by Neutrogena. (Yeah pump it up to SPF 110 baby, the more the merrier); Oil of Olay Regenerist Cream (after seeing all those ads that claim they work just as well as the $700 dollar creams, worth a try); and a Dark Spot Eraser Clinical Strength Cream by Bremenn Clinical, that is supposed to borrarme las manchas del sol.

So now the experiment begins. The improvements the creams claim to do don’t happen overnight, so I’ll have to be patient. The SPF is already on and I feel it’s working, because it’s a bit heavier than the other stuff. It’s been quite sunny in LA for the past few days, and summer is practically here, so this one is not leaving my bolsita de indispensables any time soon.

Ahi luego les platico si sirvieron… o no.

Disclosure: I bought these products on my own and none of these brands nor companies have sponsored this post, nor supplied me with any products nor compensation. Lo puse porque quise, porque lo estoy usando, y porque I’m really looking for something that works.

La belleza cuesta: Oil of Olay Regenerist MicroSculpting Cream (around $36 for two 1.7 ounce jars at Costco- a good deal considering it’s around $24 for one at other places); Neutrogena Age Shield Face SPF 110 (around $11 for 3 ounces at the drugstore); Bremenn Clinical Dark Spot Eraser (around $36 for 1 ounce at Costco).

All in the name of good health: Angelina Jolie and my friend Marisol, plus Runwalk 2013

This week we all heard of Angelina Jolie’s difficult medical decision, and subsequently, all the opinions surrounding her double mastectomy, as a preventive measure against breast cancer. Although I had never been a fan, I must now confess that I have newfound respect for her and for sharing her story.

The first person I thought about, almost immediately after reading her op-ed for the NYT, was my dear friend Marisol Rosas, who made the same decision and underwent the same surgery a few years ago.

Angelina Jolie and Marisol have things in common: the experience of losing their mother at a young age, the family history, the genes, and a young family of their own to think of. I can not imagine being in the position of having to make that choice, but since Marisol is such a brave and beautiful soul, it does not surprise anybody that knows her that she overcame the fear and went through with the experience with courage and grace.

Marisol is now volunteering to educate other women in a similar situation to learn about their choices, as part of an organization called FORCE: Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered, where she volunteers as their National Help Line Coordinator. I am very proud of my friend, who has my total admiration for overcoming this difficult situation and now deciding to help others. She has a fundraising page for FORCE where you can make a donation, in any amount, towards this cause. Please take a look at her story, it’s both in English and Spanish and written by her sister Gaby. The page link is here: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/MarisolRosas/heroes

Click on the image to read Marisol’s story and donate.

You can imagine that after the Angelina Jolie story came out, there was a lot of interest in all of this, and Marisol was on television the next morning on Univision San Diego.

Click on the link to watch the video (en español) and see how great she did on TV. The link to the interview is here: http://www.univisionsandiego.com/videos/?pl_id=21522&va_id=4058199

Bravo Marisol, we’re so proud of you!

♥♥♥

On a related note, last Saturday May 11 was the 20th annual Revlon RunWalk at the LA Coliseum, and -Full Disclosure- I was invited to take pictures and walk with Team Macy’s, who was one of the major sponsors.

The event always draws tens of thousands of people, women, men, entire families who have al been affected by breast cancer and other women’s cancers, and who all want to put an end to it.

There was joy and optimism in the air, even as you read the signs and the reasons why people were walking and participating. It always gets to me, reading those signs, with names and pictures of the people who’ve passed and the survivors who’ve beat it. We are all affected, we all must do what we can’t to support the fight against it.

Here are a few pictures of a wonderful event.

She’s there EVERY year. The beautiful Ms. Halle Berry at the starting line.

Lilly Tartikoff, founder and organizer for RunWalk, and Andy Garcia, who came out to support and cheer everybody on.

All those signs you read, all the names, they are powerful reasons to walk and fight for a cure.

Such a great group of people, getting up super early on a Saturday morning to walk: Team Macy’s.

Walking into the LA Coliseum is such a great feeling. Here approaching the finish line.

Libros y Movies en Español this weekend en DTLA: Hola Mexico Film Fest & LéaLA

This weekend sounds just like heaven with libros y películas en español happening all over Downtown LA.

Yes, the Hola Mexico Film Fest and LeaLA Feria del Libro en Español are finally here.

Which only begs the question, why did these two events decide to coincide the same weekend? Nos vamos a tener que dividir entre tantas cosas que queremos ver.

The HOLA MEXICO FILM FESTIVAL, now in its 5th year running, kicked off on May 15 and runs all through the weekend till Tuesday May 22nd. It’s a unique chance to see películas en español that would otherwise be hard to see here in LA. Nunca traen movies mexicanas a menos de que sea en este tipo de festivales. Pero ese es otro asunto.

So if you’re a movie fan, si te gustan las películas en español, el buen party y la gente cool, this is definitely something you need to check out.

This year they are also expanding to include food and music as part of the program, with Bricia López from La Guelaguetza leading the way and a number of visiting Mexican chefs, like Baja California favorite Javier Plascencia, from Mision 19 in TJ, who always delivers amazing, innovative dishes.

Check out the complete sked for the film fest on their website here. The venue is the Los Angeles Theater on Broadway.

By the way, here’s a movie trailer that made me laugh and is part of the lineup this weekend. Maybe I’ll get a chance to see it. Se llama Suave Patria and it looks like the kind of slapstick dark comedy that’s easy to enjoy. Salen los televisos Adrian Uribe y Omar Chaparro y Héctor Suárez (yes that Hector Suárez, parece que ya regresó) so maybe it’s worth checking out.

As I mentioned recently, something not be missed this weekend is the Feria del Libro en Español de Los Angeles, LéaLA starts on Friday at the LA Convention Center in downtown y se organiza por la Universidad de Guadalajara. It runs through Sunday May 19.

Libros y mas libros en español, conferencias, pláticas y presentaciones. Todo GRATIS (my favorite price) y con algo para toda la familia.

Check out the program here and go support authors and publishing houses, libros en español que otherwise we would never have a chance to buy here.

Books and films this weekend, people. Truly my cup of tea.

La Gwyneth here, la Gwyneth there, la Gwyneth everywhere.

She’s everywhere these days.

Bueno, it had to happen sooner or later.

My dysfunctional love/hate relationship con la Gwyneth Paltrow has reached new heights. I really don’t know how to help myself…Somebody stop me from buying/consuming all the magazines and books where my nemesis slash bff Gwyneth is on the cover, por favor.

This month was particularly bad. She was voted the World’s Most Beautiful Woman on the cover of People so there I go and ahí te van 5 dólares. I wouldn’t go THAT far as to say she is the world’s most beautiful woman, pero who cares I bought it anyway. She had another cover this May for Harper’s Bazaar, so there go another 5 pesitos. And I finally found her new book at Costco and succumbed to it. Lo veia en el Barnes & Noble pero me dolía el codo pagar los 32 bucks, so I just waited for the $17.69 deal at Costco.

I’ve subscribed to her goop.com ever since she started it, I think she’s the celebrity I’ve mentioned most on this blog, I follow her on Twitter, la veo en el Hola, me sé toda su vida, o sea, in a nutshell, soy su groupie.

And yet, when I see her on TV, when she’s giving an interview with her snobby upscale vocabulary, cuando parece que she’s perfect and makes you feel somewhat inadequate for not being all perfect all the time, or when she’s wearing those weird see through dresses like at the recent premier for IronMan, de veras que my inner voice says, Urgh! No te aguanto. Ya bájale Gwyneth. No manches.

A dichotomy indeed.

Pero no me considero de los multiples haters que tiene en la vida (hay muchos que la detestan), ni tampoco me atrevería a dejarle un negative comment en su blog.

Most of the time, I’ll admit that she does inspire me, she does make me want to be a better cook and a healthier person. Like the time she said that the Vitamix would change your life and I believed her. (Yes, I bought it, and yes it has, and now I can’t live without it.)

Her new cookbook is a beautiful set of photos and recipes that I’m reading (and enjoying) cover to cover. Just by looking at the pictures I feel good, like I want to try them all and host a party or something. Tiene muy buen gusto, I’ll give her that. All the images are gorgeous, the fonts and the design are simple, the colors are bright. Está muy padre el libro. 

I can’t post any of the images from the book because of her very clearly written copyright notice de que pobre de nosotros si hacemos upload anything in the book without her permission. No quería poner ninguna receta sin permiso, of course. I do have a queja, though: hay una receta que le llama EASY POSOLE. With an S.  

Ahi si me dieron ganas de escribirle y decirle que where I come from, el POZOLE se escribe con Z. It’s POZOLE! Y que lleva some sort of meat. (She does a meatless easy “posole” with hominy y dice que le puedes poner rabanitos y aguacate to garnish it.)

So if you want to check the book out, vayan a la Costco to get a better deal. And if you’re like me, on Thursday you’ll be reading her latest installment on goop.com, a ver con que nos sale ahora. I’m not even a Mommy blogger and I want to get everything she recommends for the kids! I don’t have a superstar budget and I’m browsing through all her exclusive Goop fashion designer selections as if I were going to buy. Te digo, no tengo remedio.

Read my past posts mentioning La Gwyneth aquí en los links.

La Gwyneth ya bloggea en español (11 June 2009)

Cookbooks Galore (13 April 2010)

Joining the Vitamix Lovers of America (27 Sept 2012)

Spring Cleaning part 1: The editing process (18 April 2013)

Remembering two late, great musical talents

César Portillo de la Luz was my favorite bolero composer I never knew about, until this Monday when I heard a report on Public Radio International’s (PRI) “The World.”

The Cuban musician passed away last week, at 90, but leaves behind beautiful work, including my favorite romantic ballad “Contigo en la Distancia,” among others, which I did not know he composed.

¿Se acuerdan cuando back in the 90′s Luis Miguel came out with his “Romances” CD? We all thought nobody could sing a romantic tune like he could. Pues little did I know that César Portillo de la Luz had a wonderful original recording of Contigo en la Distancia that totally mesmerizes just as you hear it. It was recorded back in the 1940′s; he plays the guitar and sings it beautifully. ¡Que Luismi ni que Luismi! No le llega ni a los talones.

Betto Arcos, who was the reporter of this radio piece/appreciation on The World, mentioned that Mr. Portillo de la Luz was part of a musical style from Cuba called “Feeling,” which was inspired by American jazz and composers like George and Ira Gershwin. Y sí que eran puro “feeling” en todo lo que hacían. All you hear is the passion behind the music and lyrics. 

Please take a listen to this fabulous radio piece, it won’t even take 5 minutes of your time and you’ll really enjoy it. The song Contigo a la Distancia is included. ¡Creo que ya me enamoré!

The link is here: http://www.theworld.org/2013/05/cesar-portillo-de-la-luz/

Listen to this radio piece on Cesar Portillo de la Luz on The World, originally aired May 13, 2013. Reporter is Betto Arcos. Click on the link or on the image to go to the site.

Another musical talent that we probably won’t see the likes of anytime soon passed away 15 years ago today on May 14th, 1998.

His name was...Frank Sinatra.

Ol’ Blue Eyes. A stamp honoring Mr Frank Sinatra.

How can I describe what I feel when I hear “New York, New York” every single time it is played? Or “I Got You Under My Skin,” or “Fly Me to the Moon,” or you name it! Joy, bliss, happiness…that voice, that music. He was something else, an entertainer con todos los talents: he could sing, act, make you laugh, and make you cry.

Por eso decían por ahí, “It’s Frank’s world, we just live in it.”

The LA Times had a little note about him today, which I’ve added below. It was originally published in 1998.

Read until the very end, how his Grandmother saved his life on the day he was born. I guess the world was not meant to be deprived of his music and Frank Sinatra was meant to be.

Frank Sinatra

Actor | Singer

Born Francis Albert Sinatra on Dec. 12, 1915 inHoboken, NJ

Died May 14, 1998 of heart attack in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center [formerly Cedars of Lebanon Hospital], CA

Frank Sinatra was a talented and temperamental balladeer who dominated popular music longer than any entertainer before him and clung to his legendary life as tenaciously as he had stuck with the audiences he loved.

Sinatra’s masterful interpretation and flawless execution of some of America’s most beloved songs earned his reputation as the most influential popular singer of the 20th century. His accomplishments broadened to include film, with such roles as his Academy Award-winning performance in “From Here to Eternity.”

For more than three generations, his name was synonymous with talent and taste. In the late 1930s, his fragile frame and painfully shy expressions made swooning, shrieking fools of the normally normal teenage girls standing by the bandstands where he first earned his living at $75 a week. In the 1960s he gathered in millions as both partner and star in the clubs of Las Vegas.

Sinatra had good cause to be angry from the moment he entered the world Dec. 12, 1915. He was a 13-pound baby, and birth was difficult. He was to bear on his neck the rest of his life the scars of the doctor’s forceps.

The doctor concluded that the baby was lost and concentrated on saving the mother, Natalie “Dolly” Sinatra, a nurse and midwife. But the grandmother, Rosa Garavanti, picked up the newborn child and held him under a cold water tap until he began to choke and cry — and breathe.

— Burt A. Folkart in the Los Angeles Times May 16, 1998

An instagram pic by yours truly: Frank Sinatra painted on an aluminum rolling door on the Hollywood Blvd. walk of fame. (Photo CBGRAPHY 2011)

Supermarket roundup: Comprando Cheesy Kale Chips

Monday is usually the day when I do my supermarket roundups and get ready for weekly meals. Today I had an AHA! Moment when I came across the Kale Chips at Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

Have you heard? The ubiquitous Kale is like the newest superfood of the moment, the flavor of the month, and just about the “bee’s knees” right now when it comes to healthy eating and health benefits. Everybody has a recipe, every restaurant in town (hi-lo, you name it) has added it to their menu. Oprah loves it, Dr. Oz loves it, la Gwyneth loves it… you get the idea. It’s been around forever, but now you can pretty much find it prominently displayed at your local supermarket.

So of course the natural thing is for it to start evolving into snack friendly stuff, like cheesy Kale Chips. They may not ever be able to replace our addiction to las potato chips (I swear Sabritas has it right when they say ‘A que no puedes comer sólo una’) or to those Cheetos things, but being the culinary curious person that I am, pues I decided to conduct my very own non-scientific taste test.

Ahi les va el DISCLOSURE statement (God I hate doing this! but I will comply) pa’ que luego no anden diciendo que no soy totally transparent al respecto: This blog post is made totally on behalf of my very ‘exigente’ palate and taste buds. I shop frequently at Whole Foods (probably more than I should) and Trader Joe’s (because who doesn’t?) and Big Saver (porque son buenos bonitos y baratos) and have not been compensated in any way, shape or form by any of these companies for my very humble opinion.

The two items selected are the Alive and Radiant “Kale Krunch” at Whole Foods and the Trader Joe’s cheesy Kale Chips (Zesty Nacho).

While technically it’s the same product, the Whole Foods Alive & Radiant Kale Krunch will run you about a buck more in price, although it is .2 ounces bigger, so it says on the bag.

However, if I were choosing one just based on the design, I would immediately reach for the Trader Joe’s bag, if only because of the cool, comic book inspired look and feel of the package. But we’re not going on looks alone, so I opened each bag and tried them.

The Kale Krunch (Whole Foods) looks much cheesier and brighter, while the Trader Joe’s chips look more “kale-like” and darker green.

I tried the Trader Joe’s first and found them interesting, crunchy and salty. Not bad, although think it left a little bit of a vinegar aftertaste, something not quite cheesy, not a bad aftertaste but just something that lingered a little bit. Then I drank water (to cleanse the palate, muy scientific, según yo) and then I tried the Kale Krunch, which was a bit more flavorful, cheesy and had a nutty aftertaste which I liked. They were equally as crunchy, quite good.

A look at the nutritional values makes for relevant “food for thought” as the Kale Krunch has less calories (100 per serving) and fat, por muy poquito.

Nutritional Values chart for Kale Krunch at Whole Foods.

Nutritional Values chart for Trader Joe’s Kale Chips.

So my verdict is: Both are good snack options depending on taste and budget. If you have 5 bucks for a relatively small bag (2.2 oz is not that plentiful, it can go by in a quick sitting) I would go for the Whole Foods Kale Krunch. But the Trader Joe’s are good too, nomás que no me encantaron, pero they’ll do the trick for a snack if you want to calm down your me quiero atragantar una bolsa de papitas ahorita moment…

All in all I was quite surprised that these brands could come up with an alternative to the potato chip bag with a veggie that nobody cared about a few years ago. So with that in mind, maybe I should try my own Kale Chip recipe, a ver que invento.

Of course, then I stop by Big Saver, where the prices are good and the veggies are fresh (that should be their new slogan) and get a bunch of fresh Kale, which only sets me back a whopping $0.79 cents! Not bad at all, huh?

(Y por favor, ALGUIEN ME PUEDE DECIR ¿Cómo se dice KALE en español? Google translate no me convence con su ‘col rizada’.)

Fresh Kale at Big Saver Market retails for 79 cents.