Better late than nunca…
(It’s still miércoles in my neck of the woods and I just might get away with my usual Wordless Wednesday post.)
Pure Drinking "Agua" is available at the corner store on 8th street in Korea Town, LA.
Kim's Discount "La Baratita" miscellaneous store is right next door.
Just up the street, you get Alkaline Water, a KTown local shop (no entiendo el sign) and "Expresión Market" directo desde Oaxaca, México. Grillos, anybody? They make a tasty snack.
Visit the Museum of Modern Art in New York City and you will be inspired by the most amazing creative and artistic minds of the 20th and 21st Century.
Please forgive me if I exaggerate a little bit when I say this: A recent trip to the MOMA was almost like a spiritual retreat. Add to the fact that we encountered several artistas mexicanos y latinos in the mix, and it was just like heaven.
Da muchísimo gusto ver que uno (o varios) de los nuestros es reconocido en uno de los most important museums in the world. And that they have their own special placement and exhibit going on at the moment.
Diego Rivera: Murals for The Museum of Modern Art is one of the current exhibitions and stays till May 14th, 2012. Click on the link to go to the website. It is a wonderful exhibition that recounts Rivera’s famous exhibit in 1931 for the MOMA in New York, and how he produced five murals at the museum, inside the museum (at the previous building) so they didn’t have to complicate the transportation.
Back when it opened, the exhibit “set new attendance records in its 5 week run from December 22, 1931 to January 27, 1932″ according to MOMA, and even today, 80 years later, this new exhibit is still drawing the crowds in. On the Monday morning we visited, the place was packed and you had to make sure you could get a nice angle for you to fully appreciate each of the works.
In addition to the murals, which all have the essential Diego Rivera elements like the class struggle, the vibrant and muted colors, the inequalities in life and the broad scale of each work, there is also a bit of Diego’s history on view. You’ll find newspaper clippings on his NY residency (even Frida is in the pictures!) and fabulous Moleskin notebook sketches in watercolor from a trip he made to Moscow in his early years, cuando se hizo rojillo y le pico el asunto del socialismo y la revolución. It was like having a picture diary from Moscow in the 1920′s with great historical references, and you can see how he was influenced by the socialist doctrine.
On that note, I have to say that for a socialist, Diego Rivera was pretty upscale. Como que le gustaban the finer things in life. En sus murales se ve la actitud de protesta, la lucha, y el reflejo de la realidad y pobreza que nos cuesta trabajo aceptar. Pero luego lees sus vivencias y sus experiencias, y se nota que era de una clase privilegiada. He was traveling around the world, adopting his point of view, learning from the masters, living in New York, then working for capitalist millionaires, like the Rockefellers, and being promoted and admired by all the art benefactors in the first world.
Para ser socialista, a mi se me hace que Diego Rivera era mas bien del jet-set. He was embraced by the cultural and economic elite in New York City at the time of the Great Depression. Imagine that. He was even given his own space at the MOMA to produce the work! So I’m sure he appreciated the perks. This is of course mi muy humilde opinión, ok? Luego no quiero ofender a ningún socialista, nor do I want to offend any art purist who will surely debate this.
Of course, there is the matter of his mural being rejected for Rockefeller Center in midtown Manhattan, which is also explained in the exhibit. (Lo contrató Nelson Rockefeller y después le rechazaron el mural porque pintó a Lenin en un lugar prominente. Y pues como que el ícono del socialismo no iba muy bien con las ideas del capitalismo ni con el Sr. Rockefeller, quien le pidió que lo quitara, pero Rivera se negó. Así que no hubo mural de Diego en el Rockefeller Center.)
Here are a few snapshots from the exhibition, and please forgive my angles and weird composition. The MOMA did not allow photography in this exhibit, but being the rebel that I am, and considering my Life in Spanglish readers, me puse a tomar fotos a escondidas. Shooting from the hip, I tell you. Totally undercover, á la James Bond – hidden camera style. Ahi disculpen si no se ven muy bien, and if you’re from the MOMA, I’m sorry! pero la exhibición estuvo tan bonita que tenía que compartirla. I just had to share.
(You can take pictures at the other areas of the MOMA, where photography is allowed. There are a few of them below.)
For more information about the exhibit and visiting the museum, visit the MOMA website. Es visita obligada si estan en NY.
The Museum of Modern Art, MOMA. Entrance on 11 West 53rd Street, NY, NY. 10019. Open from 10am to 5:30pm, Friday 10 am to 8pm. Closed on Tuesdays. Entrance is $25.
The entrance for the Diego Rivera exhibition on the 3rd floor.
Entrance to the viewing area. There is a huge image of Diego as he worked. He was given a workspace inside the MOMA for a few weeks back in 1931 so he could produce the murals within the museum and not complicate transportation.
The crowd at the Diego Rivera exhibit.
Admiring "Frozen Assets" which was the most impressive one of the murals, in my opinion.
Please forgive the composition. Photos were not allowed, but I shot from the hip. This is "Frozen Assets" which merges Diego's capitalism views with the vertical landscape of New York. Very stark and humbling. No white lily of the valley nor "flores de alcatraces" here.
A view of "The Uprising" by Diego Rivera. Again, my images are off because I was not looking through the viewfinder of the camera.
Commemorative poster of the Diego Rivera exhibition sold at the MOMA Gift Shop on the first floor.
The companion book to the Diego Rivera retrospective is beautiful. Sold at the MOMA Gift Shop.
The book illustrates Rivera's time in New York City in the early 1930's, and includes points of interest and inspiration. He loved the NY skyline.
In exploring the MOMA floors, I was delighted to find some of the best Mexican artists among the most fabulous art in the world. Dignos representantes del arte mexicano:
David Alfaro Siqueiros "The Sob" 1939, at the MOMA.
José Clemente Orozco "Dive Bomber and Tank" 1940, at the MOMA.
Frida, of course! Frida Kahlo "Self Portrait with Cropped Hair" 1940. Her sadness resonates. It reads "Mira que si te quise, fue por el pelo. Ahora que estás pelona, ya no te quiero."
One of my stocking stuffers this Christmas from one of my sisters...
...ahí para quien se le ofrezca.
Read all about it! Bill Santiago, Spanglish genius, comedian and fabulous writer has a great column today over at HuffPo. Get over there and take a look.
Great writing, funny stuff! Bill Santiago's "Harry The Dirty" post from HuffPo.
I promise you, promise you you’re going to LOVE his writing. In fact, I’m going to re-read it just about now. He also has a brilliant way of explaining Spanglish to people like me who can’t describe it any better than just a mesh of 2 languages in my brain, going on “al mismo tiempo”.
But here’s an excerpt:
…See, this is the way a properly wired Spanglish mind processes information — constantly analyzing English and Spanish in terms of each other, scrutinizing translations, combinations, confabulations. Your brain is in a constant loop between the two operating systems, your two cultures, your two realities. Granted, most of the time it’s unconscious. Uno ni se da cuenta, really, that you’re doing it. It’s just that cuando you have both languages inside you, vives en los dos a la vez. It’s very quantum, como quien dice.
It can be a little dizzying to always be filtering the world in a Spanglish default mode. Pero, would I want it any other way? ¡Jamás! Which by the way is one of my favorite Spanish words, meaning “never” or “never again” or “when el infierno freezes over.”
There’s a lot of passion in the word jamás; you can feel it when you say it, spewing up like magma from way inside your gut. It’s pronounced with a soft ‘j’ (like an ‘h’ in English), not with the jelly ‘j’ in pajamas. You can hold that soft ‘j’ sound as long as you like, depending how much you are feeling it in the moment, and then nail the sentiment with a dramatic accented stress on the last syllable. It’s very cathartic. ‘Never’ can also be translated into Spanish as ‘nunca,’ of course. But ‘nunca,’ isn’t nearly as strong a word. It only means never. Whereas ‘jamás’ means never ever ever ever ever. So never say ‘nunca’ when you mean ‘jamás.’ Not to be confused with Hamas, the Palestinian terrorist group, by the way.
See what I mean? Es la única persona que me puede explicar lo que pasa en mi cabeza con los dos idiomas. And with comedy!
You can also get Bill’s book, “Pardon My Spanglish” over at Amazon and catch his stand-up around the country. His website is on my blog roll to the left.
Este, señores, es el Spanglish Bible. Leanlo please. "Pardon My Spanglish" by Bill Santiago is available on Amazon.com
Saludos Bill! Keep the funny posts coming.
Aren’t you just in awe of how time flies? Already the weekend of August 12, the dog days of Summer 2011. Where does time go? (Insisto en mi teoria de que somewhere in a galaxy far far away, someone is speeding up the clocks, making time go faster… so we can just catch up. But I digress...)
Como seguimos en el presente, gracias a Dios, aquí les pongo unas fotos que tomé en un field trip con mi amiguita Robin cuando hicimos un viaje a DTLA (her new hood!) where we discovered some unconventional photo opps which had a few film references. (Thank you my friend for an amazing day.)
Downtown LA is the most interesting place in LA right now. It’s all happening down there. But don’t take my word for it. Plan a little trip and see for yourself. Come to think of it, take some time off this weekend and enjoy the scenery, will you? Aprovechemos las 48 horas que tenemos este fin.
He dicho.
At the Los Angeles Central Market. Chinese food sounds good!
25 cents will take you up Angel's Flight and make you relive a little bit of LA history.
Then you can admire the green view above Angels Knoll Park. It was the scene for the movie 500 Days of Summer.
Fancy a spot for meditation? This bench will do the trick.
One of the underground scenes in downtown. The movie "The Soloist" was shot here.
This is a thing of beauty, if only because an LA street is completely empty. Very uncommon.
A really tall woman was standing next to a really tall building. (It's The Bonaventure hotel, where the Clint Eastwood movie "In the Line of Fire" was made.)
Mi querida familia me visita de México, y cuando vienen los parientes, hay que pasearlos.
On Sunday afternoon we had a magnificent visit to the Getty Center in Los Angeles. High above the 405 freeway, nestled on a hill overlooking LA from downtown to the Pacific Ocean, it’s the sort of place that really makes you appreciate living in Los Angeles.
If you have some free time this summer and are looking for a nice place to take the kids (or a date!) then this is highly recommended. There’s beautiful gardens, wide open spaces, and great architecture.
Of course, there’s always the artwork to admire. We had a chance to look at lovely photographs by Walker Evans (circa 1933 in Havana) and other photographers in the “Cuba” exhibit, a very powerful set of images with a lot of history and cultural perspective. No se la pierdan.
But get there early! The Getty closes at 5:30pm.
Amazing lighting and people watching at the Getty Museum, on a Sunday afternoon.
The view is beautiful. Here is an angle looking east towards Century City and downtown.
Surprise! I don't know if she was modeling or showing off but she looked picture perfect.
The Cuba photography exhibit is a great way to spend an afternoon.
Que guapo CHE! The only snapshot I could snap before they asked me to put my phone away. (No pictures allowed inside the exhibit.)
Go for the architecture, go for the art, go for the fun of it. The Getty is a very unique place in LA.
Se nos acabó el corrido de la Teresita Mendoza, y así como escuchamos en el opening durante toda la novela, “un día desapareció Teresa la Mexicana, dicen que está en la prisión, otros que vive en Italia, en California o en Miami, en la Unión Americana…”
¿Ustedes creen que está en el “Gabacho” como dicen los de la novela? (Pobre la mujer del Batmancito que se quedó con ganas de venirse para acá.)
The grand finale did not disappoint and made us hold our breath till the last clip. That balacera scene was one of the best I’ve ever seen.
I said it before and I’ll say it again, this was NOT a novela, this was a drama series, an excellent one, the first of it’s kind in Spanish television, and one we will not easily repeat soon. (Don’t even get me started on the tacky and tasteless “Mi Corazon Insiste” clips and promos, yo paso! Please spare me Telemundo.)
I will not spoil the ending para todos los que la están viendo en México y en España, but I’ll say this: ¡Que Viva El Pote!! Todas queremos un soldado y perro guardián como él, leal hasta el final. Sabía quien era y cuál era su misión en la vida. Nunca se quitó las botas ni el sombrero. A mucha honra Potemkin Gálvez. ( A ver si para la segunda parte vemos que el hijo de Teresa se llama Oleg Potemkin, como dice mi amiga Olguita.)
Y a la mexicana mis respetos. Te vamos a extrañar Teresa/Kate del Castillo. Ojalá te nominen al Emmy y te lo ganes. Este es un rol que nunca se nos va a olvidar y que sólo tú pudiste hacer. Eres nuestra Mejor Actriz!
¡Ese mi Pote!! Mini Homage a Potemkin Gálvez, alias "El Pote." El perro guardián de Teresa Mendoza que le salvó la vida más de una vez. ¡Que viva El Pote!
Revlon RunWalk for Women was held last Saturday at the LA Coliseum.
Last Saturday at the LA Coliseum, almost 75 thousand people turned up for the annual Revlon RunWalk 2011 in honor and support of women who are fighting and beating cancer. Entire families and people of all ages showed up to honor the women in their lives. It was an empowering and uplifting event, and you could feel the love and energy everyone brought to the occasion, which was called “Womentum” ( a very creative and clever name, if you ask me.)
It was also nice to see Halle Berry, the beautiful actress and Revlon spokesmodel, in person, welcoming everybody at the starting line and cheering people on. She was there along with Alyson Hannigan,the actress from American Pie, Eric Stonestreet from Modern Family, and Lilly Tartikoff, who heads the RunWalk effort.
The co-sponsors of the event were Macy’s and Toyota, with teams representing and doing the walk as well. It’s nice to see Macy’s continues to support great causes in support of women’s health and the community. Thanks to Olivia, Cause Marketing Manager at Macy’s, for inviting me to the event. All in all a great day!
The Macy's Team, proud to support the cause at RunWalk.
Lilly Tartikoff with Halle Berry, getting ready to pose for photographers, before the event began.
Another shot of the celebrities at the event.
Halle Berry welcomes the crowd and motivates everyone to keep supporting the fight against cancer.
The starting line had confetti blasts, and off they went.
It was really exciting to enter the Coliseum through the tunnels at the end of the 5K.
At the Coliseum finish line, everybody had a party at the end.
Mr. Obama habla buen español!!! Click on the video for a wonderful speech at the White House’s Cinco de Mayo Party by the President of the USA.
I guess he’s going to need to practice his Spanish more now that he’s going after the Latino vote in 2012. And it’s going to come in handy when he follows up on his promise of immigration reform and he deals with all the Hispanic leaders. (I have yet to believe it’s going to happen soon, pero quien sabe.)
Lovely and cute moment there when he lets everybody know that you don’t come between first lady Michelle Obama and her tamales. Doesn’t she look amazing? Que mujer tan guapa, de veras.
(Thanks April M. for the head’s up. I really enjoyed it.)
Today, April 14, 2011 is my blog’s 2 year anniversary. YAY!
I just realized it 2 seconds ago and must now plan a little fiestecita to celebrate. Preferably involving cupcakes. And chocolate.
(Honestly, where does time go? En 2 años me han pasado tantas cosas, que no me la creo. Todo bueno, todo bien, gracias a Dios ahí vamos.)
Gracias a mis cuatro lectores por seguirme leyendo. You know who you are! Y a los otros pasajeros que de repente se reportan, gracias también. Espero tener mucho más temas de que bloggear.
¡ Y Que Viva el Spanglish!
Dos años se pasaron volando...
Take a walk around any part of el DF and you’ll notice something interesting: people in Mexico City are not shy in practicing public displays of affection.
It’s weird to post these pictures because they are kind of voyeuristic, and yet this says a lot about Mexicans in the capital, their passions and intense relationships. Besos, abrazos, semi make out sessions and other forms of PDA’s are evident all over town, and would make anybody back in the US blush a little, yet here they are casual and normal. I saw a couple kiss each other goodbye at the metro station and almost wanted to tell them “Oh get a room!” or the otherwise appropriate “No coman pan en frente de los pobres”.
Amor de la calle.
"quiero tenerte muy cerca, mirarme en tus ojos, verte junto a mi..." escribió Consuelito Velazquez.
Hand in Hand, 2 men walk together in La Condesa.
Beso matutino. 11 am por la Avenida de la Reforma.
Siamese lovers joined at the hip. Even at a museum exhibit, these 2 would not let go of each other.
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