Saturday, July 30, 2005

Summer Stage featuring MC5, Sun Ra Orchestra


Despues de un grandioso almuerzo en Gravy (Smith & Pacific), Brett y yo compramos The New York Times del domingo (pero sin la pagina internacional) y nos subimos a la lina F del metro rumbo a Manhattan. el destino final: Summer Stage de Central Park, los musicos Sun Ra Orchestra y MC5. A pesar de que yo nunca habia escuchado sobre estas bandas, se me hizo buena idea ir (gratis, hasta punialadas). Caminamos por el lado este del parque hasta llegaar al teatro. Sin demora, empzo a tocar la orquesta. Nos acmodamos en un pedazo de pasto artifical y nos pusimos a leer el periodico mientras escuchabamos la fusion de jazz con percusiones onda 60's. Despues, siguieron los MC5's La gente se levanto. Un publico generoso al fin.Muchos nostalgicos de cuarenta y tantos anos. No me puedo explicar por que cada dos de tres shows a los que voy termimo con este tipo de publico. Cabezas llenas de canas, pel largo y muchas arrugas, bandana en la cabeza y un churro en la mano. Contoneandose como si tuvieran viente. Impresionante, y con mis 27 muy a penas me puedo mover con esa energia. Y repito que aunque no conozco el grupo, se me erizo la piel al inicio del concirto. Que sensacion tan abrumadora. Despues de dos canciones salio la primera sorpresa, Mark Arm el vocalista de Mudhoney, este cuate le inyecto "juventud" al repertorio e interpretacion. Muy buen frontman. Con el se establecio un nexo que unia a las nuevas generaciones con las de los sesenteros. Despues se subio Lisa Kekaula del grupo The Bell Rays. Poderosa voz afroamericana y un movimiento de cadera espectacular. Maracas en mano y experiencia de mas de 10 anios en el medio. No podia faltar el toque local, "Handsome Dick Manitoba" de The Dicktators. Un Hulk Hoogan con pelo cafe. Trai camisa abotonada de lentejuelas azules, bandana negra, lentes obscuros y bronceado de fisicoculturista. Hubo varios comentarios anti-Bush y sobre la guerra, las mismas quejas...Como postre en este gran banquete, se subieron los tres invitados y cantaron juntos invitando al publico a cantar por secciones. Y de ahi se subio la orquesta a "jammear". En este momento, escribo desde mi libretita a lado de Brett (que me esta soplando todos los nombres de los cantantes y sus procedencias). Que conste que yo no se mucho de esto, pero me gusta.

Friday, July 29, 2005

Coke

Quiero club

http://www.happyfi.com/x_video/nocokequieroclub.html

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Rockit...yeah!


Get your booty on the floor tonight, make my day. - Technotronic



On Monday night I went to the Latin Film Festival. They opened with Renee's film, "Sueno". Brett and I got to the Union Square Cinemas and there was Regina waiting for us. I imagined she had change a little, I had not seen her for almost a year, but it was as if I had seen her yesterday. I wonder if I have changed along the course of this year. We met with Renee and John Leguizamo inside and sat next to them. After two years of waiting I finally got to see all the effort of Rene and La tuna (Adan, Shaman, Guailo) in this first feature production. I cannot comment on the film cause there are a lot of people that have not seen it and I don't want to give it away. I can just say that I was satisfied seeing my two credits on the big screen (even though they were in small letters almost at the end). Afterwards we all went to the party on a bar at the LES and wrapped up at 1:30AM (early...).

According to the weather channel, yesterday (tuesday) was the hottest day of the year in New York. I woke up early (8:00AM) because I was soaked in sweat. Took a shower and as soon as I stepped out I was sweating again. I gave up and went to work earlier than usual. Waiting for the subway was hell, but as soon as I got in the train I was fine. I am glad that the AC is always at full power! Got to DuArt, "worked" for a while and Regina came by so that we could both go to have lunch with Rene and her dad. In one of the conversations, we talked about Kuwait. Rene's father has been there many times all that talk made me want to go and meet my dad's side of the family, the shut part of my roots. I was not curious about it, but every year I think of it more and more. I have to go there before I reach the age of 30 (in 3 years). That made me think about the Discovery shuttle. So many years preparing for such an important event, and recovering after the loss of Columbia... How far can humakind go? How far can I go? Can I go to Kuwait? It is far, from my budget, from my imagination and from my understanding of a culture. Someday...

Since the heat makes me think of... I recommend some songs to feel sexy, in love or just rockin'

Move This - Technotronic
Darling Nikki - Prince
Evil - Laytron
I turn my camera on - Spoon
Too young - Phoenix
Kyoto Song - The Cure
Underwater Love - Smoke City
I wanna be your dog - The stooges
Lazy Painter Jane- Belle and Sebastian
H.W.C. - Liz Phair
Mr. Gorgeous - Smoke City
Love You - Sondre Lerche
Swimsuit Issue - Sonic Youth
My Curse - The Afghan Whigs
Give it to me baby - Rick James
It's automatic - Zoot Woman


enjoy!!!

P.S. You can also watch "Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill" directed by Russ Meyer

Sunday, July 24, 2005

Ecoute!!

Following - Bangles
Skills to Pay the Bills - Beastie Boys
Mommy - Missy Elliot
Living Thing - Elo
My little empire - Manic Street Preachers
74-75 - The Connels
I'm Always touched by your presence, dear - Blondie
Fox on the Run - The Sweet
Get real - Hockey Night
Maggie May - Rod Stewart
Laura - Scissor Sisters
Telegram Son- T-Rex
Night on Fire - VHS or Beta
Straight Street - The Fiery Furnaces
Trouble Trouble - The Ponys


Podcast of the week: cinema rAnt (James Gagliardi)

LUNES: Preview Screening of the feature Film: Sueno by Renee Chabria.

Date: Sat, 23 Jul 2005 14:11:26 -0400
Subject: sueno screening
To: danielaelbahara@yahoo.com

Hi daniela - i look forward to seeing you! Here's the info:

Sueno screening
7PM Monday July 25th
UA/Regency theater Union Square
13th and B'way

Your tickets are at the VIP will call - I put you plus one - see you
then! besos -R

MARTES: Pioneering Modern Painting: Cezanne and Pissarro. MOMA
Matisse: The Fabric of Dreams. Metropolitan Museum of Art

MIERCOLES: The Fiery Furnances, 7pm Rockefeller Park

JUEVES: Photographs, "Autre Couture & Champagne" {hotographs by Mimi Wlodarczyk) Penvern 166 Orchard Street.

VIERNES: Latin Film Festival featuring 4B by Pepe Caudillo 3:00PM @ Lighthouse

Rayuela, En America, Gaijin y La crueldad de la maniana y Tropic of cancer

Que tienen en comun estos cuatro libros? MUCHO

1. Son los ultimos cuatro libros que he leido cuando
a. tomo el metro
b. estoy en mi casa
c. espero en entrevistas, citas, etc...

2. Tienen personajes con los que me identifico, o personajes parecidos a personas que conozco, situaciones parecias por las que estoy pasando, lugares en los que he estado, y sentimientos que he experimentado.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

Perro flaco soñando con bistec


En vísperas de mi viaje a México, estoy tratando de perder peso para que cuando llegue allá, pueda comer sin remordimientos. Esto significa que en lugar de tomar el metro a dos cuadras de mi casa, tomo el que esta a ocho, Sin embargo, últimamente ha hecho mucho calor. Es por eso que visto de falda y blusa de tirantes. Pero parte integral de este atuendo es mi ipod por que así no escucho las groserías -o piropos- que me dicen los hombres en la calle. Casi entrando al edificio donde trabajo, un mensajero grito algo como "Hey there sweet tit's" entonces Lidia, la señora de la limpieza le contesto

"Parece perro flaco soñando con bistec"

Ayer fui a Virgin Records y me quede escuchando musica por tres horas. Con ese tiempo, encontre cuatro discos que me llamaron la atencion.

1. HOCKEY NIGHTS - KEEP GUESSING (su album debut, dos guitarristas y dos bateristas de Minessotta, Minneapolis han sido comparados con Thin Lizzy y los Allman Brothers)
http://www.hockeynightmusic.com

2. VHS OR BETA - NIGHT ON FIRE (con todo el apoyo de Astralwerk, este disco onda Block Party los hara bailar a todos como cuando escuchaban a New Order o Depeche Mode)
http://www.vhsorbeta.com/main.html

3. MISSY ELLIOT - THE COOKBOOK (No tengo mucho que decir, me dejo boquiabierta, con tantos features como Ciara, Mary J Blige, Fantasia y Slick Rick...)
http://www.missy-elliott.com/

4. FANTOMAS - SUSPENDED ANIMATION (La banda de Mike Patton -Faith no more- nunca me habia llamado la atencion hasta que vi la envoltura de su nuevo CD con ilustraciones hechas por Yoshitomo Nara y me puse a escucharlo. Se me hizo super parecido a una banda que le gusta a Marshall, Mr Bungle y en efecto es la misma onda disturbing)


FOOD FOR THOUGHT

"If you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."
Old Chinese Proverb

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

I love/hate New York

On my pursuit to be constant with my writing -on this blogspot- Here I go again...

It's not that I don't have the time, or the inspiration. I must admit that when it comes to discipline, I have strange ways. Still, I get the job done -even if it is last minute-.

I left off on the trip to Chicago. Escaping from the rain, Brett and I got to LaGuardia on time. So on time, that the fast-talking clerk at United decided to send us an hour early. Arrived at O'Hare and Sheila and Jim -Brett's parents- were waiting for us. They were 3 days away from their daughter's wedding and showed no signs of stress. Amazing! We glided thru the clean suburbian streets of Chicago and had dinner at a place called Flight -wonderful australian flights of shiraz- combined with an assortment of fancy cheese and the best french fries in America. After that, we went to Brett's home in Wilmette.

The next day, we woke up early and Brett went to get a haircut where he used to cut his hair when he was in grade school. I could tell because he came back looking like a brittish school boy. At first he did not like it but he got used to it fast. We picked up his tux, checked in at the downtown Marriott and it was bachelor/bachelorette party! I had never a attended an american bachelorette party before. I thought we were going to a chip n'dale joint but to my surprise we (ladies) went to have dinner at a very fun Italian Restaurant called Buca Di Pepo. All of us were wearing our lai's and we had to drink from a plastic penis shaped straw. After dinner, we walked to a very famous cross dressing place called The Baton. It was two hours of pure fun. I enjoyed Chilli Pepper's performance. She reminded me of my aunt Graciela. To top it all off we finished in a dessert bar called Sugar. The menu displayed the most fabulous desserts, but I never got to try any cause I ordered and the waiter forgot about me. It had been a long time since I hung out with girls. In New York I mainly go out with Brett and his friends. Ocassionaly I meet up with Susy (my friend from Chihuaha), Tavo (my brother's best friend) or Zoe and Silvia (when they are around). Almost all of Laurel's girlfriends are either married or engaged so, the conversations were about rings, honeymoon destinations, clothes, etc...

Will I ever be prepared for all that girliness?

And just when I thought the night was over, we -the girls- met up with the boys at a bar called Rockit. It reminded me of a bar in Monterrey called Nirvana. Same type of music, same type of people. Brett was tipsy and happy because Richard, his best friend from childhood came over. I enjoyed meeting him.

On Friday, July 8th was my b-day. We woke up late and went to have lunch at a very cool sushi restaurant and then Brett took me shopping on Michigan Av (the equivalent of 5th av in NY). We walked around and then got ready to go to the BBQ at his parents place in Wilmette. There were 100 people more less in the backyard. All sorts of appetizers, drinks and grilled chicken, hamburguers and sausagges.Yum! In the middle of the soiree, I start hearing "Happy b-day to you..happy b-day to you..." I had forgotten it was my b-day, but in a matter of seconds I realized that was for me. Sheila, -Brett's mom- was holding a small chocolate cake with a candle. The rest of the people were singing. I felt overwhelmed and thankful. The cake was sinfully tasty and I was very happy. Richard took us back to the hotel and the next day we were ready for the wedding. We walked around State Str. -Chicago's equivalent for Soho?- for a while and had brunch at a french place called Bistro Zinc . I ordered Quiche and Brett ordered French Toast! We traded dishes a couple of times and I must admit both were delightful and totally french. Later on we got ready and a limo picked us up. The ceremony and the party took place in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago. The wedding planner and Brett's parents did and excellent and creative job. I got to meet many family members, we danced a lot,drank some more and had "bailytinis". There was an ice sculpture of Laurel's dog -Bailey- and the waiter would pour the martini mix in Bailey's mouth and it would come out from you know where!!! As the night progressed, Brett and I walked around the gallery and enjoyed Dan Flavin's light exhibit. We went back to the hotel and Richard came over. We drank more wine and watched TV till 5AM.

Back in New York, it was hot, humid and stinky but there were nice surprises awaiting for me on monday. I got to work on Monday and my co-workers sang happy b-day and had cake. Some even shared their short films and promised to show me new things for me to learn.

On Tuesday I went to see "You, Me and Everyone we know" I really enjoyed it apart from its awkwardness. I still value Miranda July's courage to make herself look like a fool, she is humble. Or at least that what she portrays all the way. I had read so many reviews and so many articles on how she never gave up on the project and went to the Sundance labs twice. It is a tough road, and I cannot imagine how it is going to be for me because I am no performance artist. I don't play any instruments and I am not famous (maybe in the hospitality club! hahaha).Good for her! I loved the art piece she showed at the museum, all those intense emotions.

))> < (( FOREVER!!! back and forth...

Talking about hospitality... I have to admit that I have been too hospitable this past months. So hospitable that my roomates had to talk to me about it. On the first week of June I recieved Tavo for two weeks. Marshall -my roomate- was happy about it cause he had a house partner while Colin -my other roomate- was working for Queer Eye. They used to go running to the park -Prospect Park-, have breakfast together and chill. After Tavo, came Pedro Araneda and his 11 year old son. I was not planning on having a stranger come over, but since he was the only one who was interested in my workshops for the summer and offered to pay my flight to Mexico City, I said the magic words "Mi casa es tu casa" and he didn't think twice. Pedro left and my brother came to visit. He just stayed 5 days. I was around the whole time and that was not such a big deal. Then Gaby Marquez and her friends Erika and Yleana came for 5 days. Colin was not around, but Marshall was and he felt kind of unconfortable at first. Then they would hold conversations about how Marshall has been to Michoacan where he climbed a mango tree with his ex-girlfriend -very romantic-. Just when I was tired of having guests, even though they all brought supplies from Mexico and invited me out for dinner, drinks, parties, etc... I had offered to host some girl straight out from a webpage called hospitality club. Her name is Norah. She came from Austria and was 19. Her plan was to visit friends in Canada and then come to New York. She did, and stayed at my place. The only problem was that I was worn out, my roomates were sick of it and the girl didn't know about using her common sense. She came in early on Saturday (9:00AM), she installed herself in the living room and even made herself some space in the bathroom to put all her stuff. All she wanted to do is watch MTV and when she came out with us, she got tired and was complaining that she wanted to leave. We were at this show in Bedford Stuvesant -a sketchy hood- to see Psyquic Ills and she was unapproprietly dressed for the occassion -but not for the hood-. She was wearing tight ass camuflage bermudas and a tight halter top black shirt with some nike velcro strapped sandals. I tried not to let it get to me. Later on, when we took the subway back home, a guy sitting next to her on a bench was also wearing blue camuflage bermudas. I wanted to laugh! The point is that the next day she wanted me to go shopping with her. I don't get it... you have money to shop, but not to pay at least for a hostel? I did not go cause I had to do laundry and clean my room. It was so humid and the air was full of trash stench. I hated New York in that moment. The homeless black woman that is always outside the corner deli on Washington Ave. and St. John's Place was sitting next to the folding table. A white woman came in and gave her some leftover macarroni. She was eating it with her filthy hands -while I was folding my sheets- and sweating my arse off! That very same day I got to work in a commercial. From 6PM to 4AM. I was 1st AD for a friend of Brett. It took place in a fancy apothecary and lab called Malin+Goetz located in Chelsea. I enjoyed working with Gabe and Dana (Gorilla Kingdom) and hopefully will do it again.

APOTHECARY : Who are you hiding from, babygirl?
WOMAN: Do you have something...
APOTHECARY: To keep you off the streets?
WOMAN: What do you recommend?


So I came back from work at 6AM had a nap and when I wake up, Colin talked to me about how they were fed up with the situation. They could not figure out why I had a stranger come over. So I had to kick Norah out. She showed up at 11:30PM that day, and told me she had used Marshall's computer. Trouble, I thought. I had to lecture her about not using other people's stuff or entering other people's rooms and how she had to go cause I didn't want trouble with my roomates. She held her tears till she went to apologize with Marshall. Those tears were the same ones that convinced him that she could stay for the whole week! "It's OK, I don't want to throw her to the streets, I like her, she is alright."

Luckily she is gone now. I hated her yesterday night when she showed up at 1:00AM, I was dead worried about her, plus we were all asleep. Imagine if something had happened to her, I would have gotten in so much trouble. NEVER AGAIN.

Why am I helping someonelse when I need help myself?

But it was not so bad in the end, because from that site, I got to meet an amazing guy. His name is Dave and he is from Ireland. He is housitting a 4 story brownstone in Cobble Hill and he happens to be a writer for children's books. He used to be a musician, sound supervisor for feature films like Jim Sheridan's "In America" and had a band called Le Fleurs or something like that. He also made two very interesting documentaries (one for Sonic Youth and another one for Brian Eno). We met with him at The Chip Shop (Fish and Ships) yesterday night after watching "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory". No comments about that movie. It was an OK film, liked the old one better.

I've been writing since 2:00PM and its 4:39PM. I didn't feel like answering phones, taking food up to the editing rooms, learning about QC, searching for tapes, vaulting tapes or whatever it is...because it's been 3 months since they promised me a raise and it is not happening.

I can't wait to go to Mexico and eat tacos, see my family and my friends and just enjoy the luxury of beeing around my mom, my dad and my loved ones, to have a car to drive around, to have someone prepare delicious meals with a smile, to have someone wash my clothes and iron them all, to talk in spanish, to have air conditioner while a sleep, and to see my grandmother.

Saturday, July 16, 2005

Fotos










1. Que Wilco ni que nada. Marina Bay towers, Chicago
2. Brett y yo/sushi/my-day
3. Mexican curios/Gavilan y yo
4. El Pipila/Reis.Gavilan.Erika/Picnic & fireworks.4th of july.United Nations Gardens
5. Mr.Schultz y yo
6. Mr.Schultz y yo/Rockit Bar.Chicago
7. Choque/otravez
8. Museo de Arte Contemporaneo.Chicago

Tuesday, July 05, 2005

A ver cemento...




Estoy a una hora de coger un taxi hacia La Guardia. Ya termine mis "deberes" en el trabajo y me estoy haciendo pendeja. Desde Marzo que no salgo de viaje(no vale la ida a East Hampton ni la visita a Coney Island) y hoy me voy a Chicago. Ya me hacia falta salir de Nueva York.

Sin embargo, no me puedo quejar. Me la he pasado muy bien a pesar de la humedad (es mas tolerable que los 42 grados centígrados de calor Regiomontano). Cada fin de semana he seguido cumpliendo mi cometido de "turistear" en los alrededores y no me ha costado trabajo ya que he tenido visitas y eso me obliga a hacerlo.

El viernes 24 estuvo de locos! Vine a trabajar y después le fui a ayudar a Brett a mudarse de casa. Rento una van, y justo cuando pasábamos por una cama que compro, se le fue la onda y le choco a una minivan que estaba estacionada. Y no quiero disculparlo diciendo que las calles son estrechas. Justo después del golpe, salio un señor de sesenta y tantos vestido con pants de lycra rojos brillosos y camiseta sin mangas (wife beater, pelo -cano- en pecho) y una cara de te voy a chingar cabron que daba miedo. Al ver el golpe grito "Son of a bitch..., that's my daughter's car" Brett tratando de guardar toda cordura y actuando con serenidad le contesta "I am sorry sir, you are completeley right, but don't worry I have insurance and I'll give you all my information." "Fuck your information, kids like you should stick to bikes, jeeeesus." Después sale toda la familia burron, los dos hijos (también en pants y pelo engominado para atrás), la hija (gordísima pero con mini shorts) y los cuatro nietos. Todos echando madres. Aguas con las familias italo-americanas, son como las mexicanas (numerosas). La afectada se porto buena onda, y le dijo a Brett que los accidentes pasaban, que no se apurara. Y así seguimos con el trayecto. Terminamos de cargar y descargar cajas y cajas de libros, ropa, vinilos, cd's computadoras y aparatos raros como a las 11:00PM.

Al día siguiente, Simon, Adam, Brett y yo acudimos al East River Park por que había un concierto de varias bandas hipiosas. East River Summer Sessions con puro grupillos indie que suenan igual. Un par tenían unos instrumentos raros pero nada que me interesara. Miraba a mi alrededor y sentía que estaba en los 70's. Todo el publico vestía con zapatos de plataforma, sombrero vaquero, camisa tejida, o floreada o de cuadritos al cuerpo, pantalón de campana o shorts, lentes de gota, pelo largo en capas, afros, chanclas doradas y bolsas hobo. Después de una hora me empecé a desesperar y me empezó a dar hambre, entonces me levante y le dije a Brett que si no le molestaba, que me iba ir a comer algo, y entonces todos decidieron que lo mejor era irnos todos. Comimos en el Tiny's Gigant Sandwich shop en Rivington (Lower East Side) y de ahí, cogí el metro al Greenwich Village para pasar por Tavo.

Tavo y yo nos fuimos en metro por Hussam, mi hermano. Después de nueve meses decidió venir a verme. Llego a las 8:30. Se veía más llenito, o como él dice "mamado" cero mi gusto, pero sí esta a gusto, bueno. Lo primero que nos contó fue que los policías que te revisan en el checkpoint se burlaron del por que le preguntaron que que tenia en la mochila, y el respondió "Chips". Nadamenos y nadamas que mis Rufles verdes. Una bolsa grande, solo una por que mama no me quiso mandar más. Esos Rufles son mis favoritos. Con decir que esa bolsa la dividí en cuatro Ziplocks para racionar y no comérmela en una sentada. Me dio gusto verlo, le di un abrazo y nos subimos al bus para luego tomar el metro. Al llegar a la casa le presente a mis roomates (en ese entonces ambos estaban desempleados). Dejamos las maletas y agarramos en metro de vuelta a Manhattan. Pasamos por Susy mi amiga de Chihuaha (que sorprendentemente quiso salir conmigo en la noche) y nos fuimos al Greenwich Village a cenar. El "Village" definitivamente no es mi onda ni son mis rumbos. No soy homo fóbica, pero esta repleto de gays finos, transexuales y prostis. A parte al día siguiente era el Gay Parade entonces el lugar era un hormiguero. Después de caminar unas cuadras y tratar de comunicarme con el resto de la gente, me di por vencida y fuimos a tomarnos un martini de 12 dólares al Maritime. La mesera nos hizo jeta cuando le dijimos que no teníamos tarjeta de crédito para abrir cuenta, asumió automáticamente íbamos a ser codos, pero no fue así.

El resto de la estancia de mi hermano fue un poco de lo mismo. Un museo (el Moma),Staten Island Ferry, Central Park, Times Square, Union Square, Ground Zero, Century 21, Chinatown y la fayuca, St. Marks y el East Village, un Kareoke de mala muerte, Brooklyn y shopping, shopping y más shopping. Y en una de esas caminatas en Soho, fuimos a comer al Habana Cafe. Justo cuando nos sentamos, Hussam grita con emoción "Mira ahí esta Jake Gyllenhal." Ahh, orale, pues que bien, pero "Y que?" le conteste. Entonces después de debatir si se iba a tomar una foto con el, o si yo iba y le pedía una foto, o si el iba y echaba el chal, resulto que se para en la puerta del restaurant como esperando mesa. Hussam se levanta y con toda la confianza como si fuera un compadre le dice "Hey Jake, can you take a picture?" y el contesta "Sure man" e intenta coger la cámara. Entonces Hussam le dice, "no, a picture with me". "Ahh ok, sure!" Y ya. Todo fue rápido, y yo estaba sentada en la mesa. Me dio mucha pena, pero fue chusco. Otro lugar que descubrí en la visita de Hussam fue el bar del 7 piso del hotel W en Times Square. Tavo tenia muchas ganas de ir al baño, y yo sugerí entrar ahí. Wow, que lugar tan cool.

Solo tuve un día de descanso y llegaron Gaby, Erika e Ileana a quedarse a mi casa. Ya llevaban casi la semana en Nueva York, pero se estaban quedando en el Roosvelt Hotel por que la ONU les pago la visita.

CHINATOWN : No quiero quemar gente, pero todo mundo ha experimentado esta experiencia en NYC. Nunca falta alguien que te pida una pluma Mont Blanc falsa, o el Cartier/Rolex fake o la replicas Louis Vuitton. Total, después de haber ido con mi hermano, ya sabia en donde estaba todo aquello. Debido a que es ilegal vender replicas, los cuates andan caminando en las banquetas y a la ves susurran Rolexxx, Cartieee, Louie Vuitoun. Por lo general todos son negros provenientes de Senegal o algún país africano. Hablan francés, ingles y mastican cualquier otro idioma con tal de venderte algo. Después de ser abordadas por varios comerciantes, escogimos al que vendía las mejores replicas de relojes, quien también vendía bolsas, lentes, plumas y demás. Cada uno cargaba con su "catalogo" unas hojas impresas a color engargoladas y enmicadas con los diferentes productos. Gaby necesitaba un par de bolsas para la suegra, y Erika se le antojaban unos lentes. Terminamos sentándonos en un restaurante de comida China a una cuadra de Canal Street. Mientras uno de los vendedores comía camarones empanizados, el otro nos enseñaba el catalogo cuando de repente gritan, cops, cops!!! Erika se pone una de las hojas del catalogo bajo el brazo, camina rumbo al baño, Ileana se encabrona y nos echa una mirada de mama y Gaby ni en cuenta. Yo sabia que no iba a pasar nada, y así fue. Dos oficiales entraron al restaurante y actuaron como si estuvieran revisando e inmediatamente se salieron.

FOURTH OF JULY . Reis, amigo de Gaby y nuevo amigo mío, nos invito a todas (incluyendo Brett) a ver los cuetes desde los jardines de la ONU. Dios mío, jurarían que fue el evento más exclusivo de la temporada, pero todo se resumió a un picnic junto a la gente que labora en la ONU y sus familias. Los cuetes estuvieron de poca. Duraron 40 minutos sin parar y durante ese tiempo en el que todos fijábamos nuestras miradas en cielo, yo me ponía a pensar en el costo de tal espectáculo. Con eso podrían ayudar a varias comunidades hambrientas en Africa o en México, o quizá encontrar la cura de alguna enfermedad, que sé yo. Pero no, hay que celebrar la independencia!

PS1 WARM UP SESSION. Esta fue la primera fiesta que oficio PS1 este año. Fue una cantidad de gente impresionante. Gaby, Ileana, Erika, Reis y yo agarramos un taxi de mi casa a Queens para acudir a tal evento. Llegamos algo tarde, pero valió la pena. Las estructuras del patio no me gustaron, se desbarataron muy rápido, pero la fiesta en general tenia una vibra muy a la Spring Break/The Grind. La musica muy buena, pero ciertamente no era lo más nuevo.

http://www.ps1.org/ps1_site/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=34&Itemid=74

FIRST SATURDAYS AT THE BROOKLYN MUSEUM. No conformes con la fiesta del PS1, nos regresamos a Brooklyn (en metro, por que ya era mucha gasto) al museo que esta por mi casa para checar la fiesta que hacen cada 1er sábado de mes. Un ambiente totalmente diferente. Habia una banda tocando en vivo, onda afrobeat y Fela Kuti. No estuvimos mucho tiempo, preferimos irnos a Manhattan al Beauty Bar y luego por unos falafels a St.Marks.

http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/first-saturdays


El titulo de a ver el cemento es debido a que la señora de la limpieza de donde trabajo me dice " a que vienen sus amigas a Nueva York? A ver el cemento?"

Y ahí les va una lista de rolas por si se quieren sentir patriotas en el 4 de Julio.




The Mountain Goats - 'See America Right'
Violent Femmes - 'American Music'
Edie Sedwick -'Martin Sheen'
David Byrne - 'America'
Cat Power - 'American Flag'
Bruce Springsteen - 'Born in the U.S.A.'
The Fitness - 'Chauffeur'
The Talking Heads - 'Life During Wartime'
Rainer Maria - 'Atlantic'
Simon & Garfunkel - 'America'