Africa is Big...So what?!

So what, if a new map shows Africa bigger than life on a page.  What does it mean? How does it change our idea of africa? What is the power of mapping?....

Most global maps give us a skewed idea of the size of the earth's continents.  Some maps give us the impression that north america takes up most of the globe.....But yeah the making of maps is politically driven---based on who is in power and who is not. But with new methods of mapping and the changing modes of communication that aim to break down the barriers of how we see each other, maps like this below are kind of revolutionary.

check out this link
http://www.good.is/post/what-is-the-true-size-of-africa/

Final Pick: Villa Calendaria Hostal

Hey socias,

Found a place to stay...thanks to the on the ground help of MXL.  At first, we were torn in different directions due to endless internet searches and all that jazz.

Kind of settled on a place that Lunabee and Gomex stayed at...the cranky crock
or the Platypus Hotel a spot that Rat stayed at once. 


Both are an online hotel finder staple but since MXL is in Bogota for Ladyfest, she found a spot, still in La Calendaria called Villa Calendaria Hostal.  Cheaper than the above and in her opinion, mas lindo.

With that task out of the way, what is left to do?

1. Pick up Passport with visa, sin problemas
2. Pack underwear
3. Pack recorders
4. Deposit money into my travel credit card account aka if i get robbed, I don't have to worry about my savings being jacked account
5. Pack my green card in my travel pouch
6. Take my travel pouch
7. Pack 4 shirts
8. Pack a change of clothes
9. Pack umbrella (maybe)
10. Pack a dress
11. Straighten out my room so that my girlfriend can be left with a state of peace and not my chaos
12. Pack journal
13. Pack book en espaNol

THE END!!

Denied Entry?

Less than 4 months back in the U.S. and I'm planning a border crossing.  This time to Colombia.  Birth of good friends, good music, good food, and undiscovered personal adventures.  I will spend all of my time in Bogota, another spot that so much of the tourist discourse discourages stepping foot in.

I'm flying spirit meaning that the tickets were cheap but if i want to bring a carryon, it will cost me. And I'm on a mad internet wading craze to find the hostel of my dreams to stay at, not because I care where I ultimately lay my head once I get there but because I can't get my freakin' visa unless I have a hotel/hostel reservation or a notarized note from a friend saying I'm going to stay with them but you know that was not on consulate's website. Usually I just put an address, and I'm good to go. So judgement day is Wednesday.  My flight is Thursday.  Decisions must be made and I'm not in the right state of mind to sludge out of the quicksand of indecision.  But socias I'm getting to Bogota no matter what. 

 It sucks that I'm in this position so late in the game because I actually tried to find out information about the visa application process. i went on-line...not helpful.  I called the consulate...the phones haven't been working for the past couple of weeks.  So yeah I'm a bit frustrated.  My only consolations are that the visa for Kenyan citizens is less than most visas (not sure why but I must ask) and the intake guy at the consulate was soo damn nice...and ended up chatting me up about the second book in the Stieg Larsson series of the girl who played with the dragon tatoo (which I carried and set it in front of him).

wish me good luck folks because i have to meet czarina, mxl,, and mafe in town that is churning music that makes my booty bounce bounce.

Disjointed in the Desert

My first vacation tour as an adult...in Paracas with the Child and Gomex.  Standing in the middle of Mad Max territory with 40 Peruvian tourists looking at nothing and everything. Wondering where I fit...and knowing the answer is 'nowhere'.

Appetites lost, Desires created

I don't really eat these days...not like i used to. My total meal intake is usually 1.5 meals a day.  I just don't have the appetite I used to have and sometimes I'd rather drink juice than suck on rib.  I find this sad because I miss the way that I could just chow down at all times of the day.  I kind of blame pulque -- well my disaster with pulque (more on that when i share my moments in mexico). 

Because juices were such a daily part of my routine in Lima and D.F.  I'm shopping for a juicer. I think I found her courtesy of mi chica, czarina.  Above is a picture of my first meal in Lima--avocado and mango juice. 

Beach Series: Chilca

Chilca is a couple of hours away from Lima in the bus/combi express but if you end up finding a car, it is a smooth, comfortable 45 minute drive on the Pan American highway.   I will say that it is by far one of THE favorite places that I visited in Peru.  This tiny coastal town doesn't seem like it has much to do in this Mad Max desert of a beach line but it is damn interesting, and life changing if you are with the right folks or/and right frame of mind.  Why is it so special to me?

1.  A childhood beloved destination of my homie, Precolumbian

2.  Famous for OVNI sightings aka UFOs for all you believers and non-believers

3.  It offers the cheapest spa treatments in the world.  In Chilca, there are these lagoons that are famosas for their healing powers--like for serious healing powers.  Are you suffering from athritis?  Is your face still not out of the puberty stage of acne?  Do you want to increase your fertility?  Well, these lagoons are supposed to be the place to work that extraterrestrial magic on earthling problems.  Don't be deterred by the sulfuric smell or the nickelodeon radioactive green of the water.  Once you dip yourself inside and cover yourself with the rich, volcanic like mud, and let it completely dry until your skin feels like it will crack--nothing can feel more amazing than those moments...at least for me. 

4.  Delicious food.  You are right next to the sea so you can't miss fresh seafood.

P.S. I will say that despite the mud turning me the same blackface color as everybody else, I was still the center of attention especially at the gemelas lagoon--the smallest of the lagoons.  But, yeah, the sun, the mud, my friends, and the e.t. magic kept me chill, like my man above.

Beach Series: La Punta

I feel pretty disjointed like this picture Chuya took of me at La Punta--this pretty amazing rock beach in Callao (talking about Lima, Peru, folks). I wanted to take a rock bath since most people would pay money for hot rocks to be lain across their body like this.  It was my first time going to a crowded beach in South America.  All of the times I had gone to the beach was during the middle of the week, pretty early in the day and way out of town  or at the edge of town but this was my day to be totally exposed in ways that I find generally uncomfortable--16 year old mothershiester would never have gone to the beach in a bikini or a even a swimsuit of any kind. I'm pretty aware of the shape and size of my body most of the time.  But I am a lot less nervous about my curves than when I was a teen... at the same time it is different to be so naked around people who think your skin color is so strange, which means your body is so strange, exotic...something to stare at, something to point out.  I don't think I could've gone there with one or 2 people but it was a small gaggle of us so I felt less anxiety. I even went into the water--which is a whole another story of childhood anxiety nightmares.

Purging...

oh my pretty babies,

things are about to blow up!!! in the midst of my deep depression for the past 3 weeks, i realized that part of it has to do with the lack of purging i have done since i came back to d.c. And that even though I'm at 'home'. Home is different. I'm different. And i may be settling in, but I'm still traveling. Parts of me are left in lima and D.F. And I feel strange here...still getting to know everything here, so similar but so strange. And trying to bridge distances between people that i used to feel like they were part of my skin...so it's hard and yeah the only way I can get out of this rut, this deep Alice in Wonderland rabbit hole, i need to write, write, write until everything is out. Until I'm comfortably deflated.

So yeah, babies, lend me your eyes, ears, and neurological nerve receptors of all kinds....i'm gonna write you a story that tells you about the past, present, and future--all rolled up in one like school lunch meatloaf but better.
peace,
The Mothershiester

La Función de la Palabra

Mi maestro me dijo...that in order to progress in spanish, I should read, read, speak, read, read, and watch La Función de la Palabra. It is sort of like the McLaughlin Group meets some other PBS show. The host, Marco Aurelio Denegri, talks about many temas from the gays to that book he just picked up. I think also he often invites guests. I think the fact that Denegri speaks slowly and his spanish is described as ¨perfecto¨ by my teacher is why he is so gung ho about this guy.

But alas, I am not sure I can trust a man that looks like Larry King but lo promotí que lo veré. Ya pues!

Unchain My Heart, Lima

este mañana, precolumbian, jesus, y yo la llevamos a Chuya al aeropuerto. Her return to d.c. also signals the close of my journey down south. After close to 6 months, i am going back to d.c. and I am in a state of confusion, sadness, preoccupation, and excitement. The last 6 months have been ha ha funny, frustrating, beautiful, hard, full of growth,realization, and love. Valuable relationships were formed, some relationships were strengthened and taken to another level, while others have suffered.

With that said, I have a lot of writing to do for you folks this week but in the meantime I leave you with this song sung by Akiko Wado. I heard this song in the taxi to the airport. As I held Chuyas hand and we jammed to this song, I realized that of the 100 favorite moments I have had in Peru, all of my taxi rides to pick up or drop off people or myself from the airport are included in that list. Because of the amazing soundtrack each driver provides. I especially love this ride because the taxi driver got a kick out of our excitment for each song, even emphasizing, after he popped the trunk, how much he loved those classic songs ¨de su tierra¨...from our land.

Even though this is not the original version (originally recorded i believe by ray charles) I heard on the taxi ride, I found this one and it steals me away too.

Sickness or Pleasure...one in the same in my travel games

Im not blaming this plate of cebiche that I ate at the beach a month ago for my current failed digestive track but I will say that this plate of deliciousness is on the list of possible culprits.

Will this stop me from eating a plate of cebiche at the same spot tomorrow? Probably not.  I pray that it is not a disaster but alas I can only blame my lack of impulse control.
 

Bilingual Dreams...Sueños Bilingües

it is funny what happens to your dreams when you are learning a new language. In my dreams, I never hear voices but people are always talking. They are expressive (all the anger, happiness, and boresdom is never lost) and when I talk, I feel the words coming out but i never hear them. Last night, it was the same in some parts but in Spanish.  The parts where I was speaking to my neighbor, yola.  It was weird how my life in mexico city ended up on vacation in my head somewhere in the tropical part of the united states i think but im not quite sure.  And in that vacation was yola and the machas. 

Let Your Booty Bounce....to the cajon

hey kids, 

last saturday I went to the inauguration of the III FESTIVAL INTERNACIONAL DE CAJÓN PERUANO

 There is still alot of time to catch these events commemorating the cajon.  Just go to the Centro Cultural de España


recentemente, i have been super into the sounds of the cajon.  When i'm down about Lima, i think about this instrument because it is so peruvian, it is so african, it is so simple and takes my body and mind to places that I are familiar and comfortable that I just can´t help but feel good.  

And i kind of have unmotivated dreams to learn how to play, take my own cajon back to d.c. and play on 14th and park.  Way too romantic and unrealistic but every day since taking my festejo classes, i have slowly fallen in love with that box that makes sounds that make your booty bounce.

No nos llaman ¨cafe con leche¨

i can´t really tell you how many times someone has screamed or muttered under their breath that phrase to chuya and i.  But it has happened alot and each time I´m kind of in a plane of disbelief that someone really referred to my steady and I as a beverage.  But i guess i´ve been called alot worse.

Today it happened again...this time at the rez de San Felipe.  We went to the laundromat to enjoy the nostalgic beauty of washing our dirties.  The laundromat overlooks this huge construction project to renovate the plaza in the rez.  I guess usually don´t go up to the second floor of that commercial plaza so I´ve never seen the construction workers on the site because a huge fense blocks your view of what they are doing.  But yeah this time we did and honestly it could have been a scene from an 80s movie...a bad one... because I would say that a full assault of whistles, hisses, yelps and all sorts of cat calling by at least 30 guys in orange construction hats and vests assailed us.

We ignored them but I just felt really angry and annoyed that these guys were all up in our space like that.  So i think next time I have to think of something witty to say en vez de ¨tu madre¨...which i did not say but wanted to say really bad.

Your trash is my treasure

yesterday in my food sickness delirium, chuya and i went to the do it yourself lavanderia in the rez.  After endless nights of drooling all over her bed and buckets of sweat and other unmentionables, we thought, yeah it is time to wash these sheets. Usually we just go to Daniel, the guy 2 blocks up from us on Brazil that washes our dirties and we only have to pick them up.

But since you kind of need sheets every day and we only have one set...we thought let us try that joint. And yeah, it did not disappoint.  You pay 14 soles to wash and dry your clothes.  They give you detergent.  They give you sofas to sit on with a lovely coffee table of trashy fashion magazines staring the spanish speaking world's creme de la creme--who usually have the skin color of cream.  It makes me miss my laundromat adventures with friends and family growing up.

So yeah this post was not supposed to be about my nostalgia over laundry mats.  Because what i saw on the way to the laundromat was also interesting.  in front of my neighbor's house, there were 6 nice chairs and a desk waiting to be taken--or at least in the states, setting something outside your house like that means you want other to take it.

So I naturally say to Chuya ´´You think that´s free. It's really nice´´

´´No, there's not really a culture like that here.  Jesus the 2nd (our roomie)'s dad went to the states 15 years ago and the only thing he ever talks about from his time in the U.S. is all of the beautiful furniture people leave out for you to take´´

I think to myself, my house in d.c. would not be the alice in wonderland dream castle i love without that kind of ´´your trash is my treasure´´ culture.

Circuito Mágico del Agua -- Ridiculous and Enjoyable Part 2

Here are more photos con "Great White" lazer projected awe!!!

Circuito Mágico del Agua -- Ridiculous and Enjoyable

Since Lima is located on a desert, the last thing that I would expect the government to support and fund would be a water park.  But yeah, 3 years ago, the alcalde (mayor) of Lima inaugarated a 15 million US dollar water park project, se llama Circuito Magico del Agua, in the middle of the city (i think technically it's on the border of los distritos de lima y jesus maria). Here are a few shots of the spot including lima's claim to fame, the tallest water fountain the world--fuente magica.  Plus a couple of shots of the coliseum where a few of the fountains are located.

This walled plantation style water park (more correctly fountain park) for a lot of reasons, doesn't make much sense.  Lima has major potable water access problems because once again, it's located in  desert, which makes the costs of the park including maintenance kind of increible.  Even though , the city charges a 4 soles entrance fee, they have only recouped less than 700,00 of that. But like so many prioritized events and structures that are funded and built by the government of any country, things like water parks are used as propoganda to say "we did something"...vote us into office again...and again...and again.   

With all of that said though, I can't go all Scrooge over that park since my ass was there.  And at the end of the day, this park is kind of awesome.  First of all, its just water fountains, which on one hand sounds stupid but they have so many different kind of water fountains with amazing shapes and what not, like a water fountain bridge that you can go under.  Chuya and I did several times.   It's called the fuente de las sorpresas.   It's below on the left and to your right is Chuya admiring the Fuente Cupula Visitable.

Also, there also fountains to just get wet in which is kind of a need during a Lima summer--below is Fuente Labarinto Del EsueNo.  Chuya brought her parasol to mark the sunny occasion.

 

The park is only open from 4 or 5 p.m. til 11 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. I suggest going at 5 or 6 p.m. and then wait around because at 7, they put on this crazy light show in the fuente de la fantasia.  They project images of "peruvian culture" into the water.  Its kind of corny, simplistic, and once again the motivation is propoganda but it's also super cool to see anything projected into water.  It was sort of what i imagined the Great White show looking minus the fire.  To top it off in the background amazing elevator music celebrating the best of hits from the 90s and 80s plus of course the beatles have to be thrown in there some how. Here are a few some panoramic shots I took based on my interpretation of the "great white" lazer show. i wonder if the mayor beat his chest when he realized that he could easily take us in by building the tallest water fountain in the world.  It's the closest thing to a geyser I will get. 

Itching to DJ

What are you doing here?...  People ask me that all of the time in Peru...more than in Mexico City actually.  And I just want to say "i'm just eating, drinking juice, hanging out with the girl I'm in love with...just to put it simply "i'm chilin'".  But I don't say that because I'm not sure what it means to be 'out' here and my other answers either just arouse more questions that I don't care to answer.  Or people give me that look like "who the hell is she?".

Instead, I usually say that I'm here to practice my Spanish (true but not the whole truth and nothing but the truth..so help me...) but at the same time, why should I give a damn whether or not my answer sounds practical or privileged or justifiable. I'm here for so many reasons and sometimes I add on  reasons and other days I unload a few because they just don't apply anymore.

So today's reason that I am here is that I am going to make a mixtape with my amigo who also lives in Jesus Maria.

Part of traveling includes a musical journey and often times that musical journey happens on the modes of transportation that take you to point A to point B.  And this mixtape, hopefully will be an exploration of that...idea in progress....through our constant mode of transporte here, the combi.

Note:  The first pic above is the Mothershiester aka Slammer aka this blogger in one of her dj disguises!!!...thanks to THE CHILD for her awesome photo skills, Czarina Kim for wardrobe, and Jalane for lighting

¿mande?...

Today I start my private Spanish lessons.  Damn, I need them.  It's not like I can't speak Spanish or that I am at a total beginner level.  I just lack confidence and I second guess myself all of the time.  I just need to start most of my days out with someone correcting me that is not my friend or someone I'm getting to know.

In mexico city, I took a week and a half of Spanish classes at the Frida Spanish School. It kind of sucked.  Even though I found my professor amusing to say the least, for a week I was stuck in a group environment that did not match my level.  All the students were at various levels and we all wanted to learn different things. 

That's why I chose to peace out of taking classes with an institution (which are entirely too expensive if you want private lessons).   And instead wait for an opportunity to find a private instructor when I arrived in Lima.  I went online and found one person but despite negotiating down, I found someone else through my connections with Chuya.  We will see how it goes. 

Also, I'm taking dance classes en festejo with the same teacher I had in November when I took salsa classes with Czarina Kim. More on that later.

Note:  ¿mande?...If you go to Mexico, be prepared to say "¿mande?" if you can't hear what someone said or you don't understand what someone said. I like it better than "¿que?" o "¿como?"

What I did? What I didn't Do? --My Word Document for Distrito Federal Life Part I

I created a list of things I wanted to see and food I wanted to eat before I traveled to Mexico City.  I turned it into a word document to give to my friends that planned to visit.  It's a good idea i think for anyone who is stressed out by giving recommendations.  I spent alot of time scouring the internet for this stuff. 

And a lot of that time felt wasted because the internet is not a friendly place when your travel tastes don't match a lot of what is offered in the search engines. I am only going to post 3 or 4 items a day and also this list is not in any particular order:

1.  El Moro. I really like 24 hour food spots. Whether it's a Waffle House by the highway or The Diner in Adams Morgan, I like to know that if I'm hungry, bored, or on the run there will be some place for me to go and relax at whatever hour I choose.  And that's why I love El Moro, which is open 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. El Moro is a cafeteria that serves Spanish style churros--deep-fried, sugar-coated doughnuts-- and hot chocolate on the Eje Central Lázaro Cárdenas #42. I don't like hot chocolate unless it's super thick (spanish style) so I've ordered milkshakes instead.  The strawberry is pretty excellent! And for those who like old cafeteria style diners, El Moro is great to.  I think most of the waitstaff has worked there probably at least half of the age of the place.

Note: Take the green line to San Juan de Letran metro stop.

2.  Little Korea.  I'm definitely being generous by calling this area Little Korea but if you go to the gayborhood of Zona Rosa and ask where is la calle Florencia. Once you are on that street, you'll notice that there are at least a dozen korean joints either on Florencia or on some of the side streets intersecting with that street.  It's pricier in comparison to Menu options (the mexican restuarant meal(s) of the day usually between 1 and 5 p.m.) or street food.  But for one straight week, I think I ate soup at a korean restaurant every other day because I couldn't deal with traditional mexican food. And my body rejected most nutrients after the pulque disaster.

3.   Lucha Libre at Arena Mexico.  Wrestling and testosterone driven action movies starring white men (like chuck norris and steven segal) have been me and my father's only bonding points.  After reading my first Hernandez Brothers comics as a teen, I knew I loved Mexican style wrestling, Lucha Libre.  The masks, operatic drama, the absurdity, the circus quality to everything.  And I couldn't leave Mexico without seeing a lucha match.  Thanks to the motivation of Chuya we saw an awesome fight one thursday night in January. And it was only 30 pesos each for seats that were pretty good. I didn't take pictures unfortunately. 

Even though our tickets were really cheap...I think the range is from 70 to 300  pesos.  Also outside of the arena is tons of lucha merchandise that's nice to check out especially for those that love glitter.

Note: Arena Mexico is between Balderas and Cuauhtemoc metro stops on the pink line

To D.C. With Love: From one District to Another....

that was going to be my original title to this blog when I decided to move to Mexico City in the second leg of my "South of the Reimagined Border" tour.  It was such a natural decision to pick Mexico City as my temporary home after falling in love with D.C..

1.  They both started out as swamps/waterways. 

2.  They both have been known as murder capitals at some point in their history

3.  Both share similar structures of government, Mexico City (Distrito Federal) is also a federal district like Washington, DC.   Except unlike D.F., D.C. has no representation in Congress and laws that are passed by the city council must go through a federal government committee for final passage. 

Mas y Mas y Mas

Because of that structure its kind of a political miracle that the gays in D.C. celebrated this week the right to have our unions recognized as marriage if we want.  And it's a political miracle that D.F. celebrated the same victory this week in a country with a non-secular catholic stronghold. 

For folks who know me, my views on marriage are pretty caustic. I think the institution is kind of a joke because it falsely assumes that love is the primary motivation when in reality the history of marriage has everything to do with economics. It entitles people to certain rights that are denied to others who don't want to, or not ready to, or can't marry.  It denies other familial structural unions that are not seen as the husband/wife union norm. The whole thing kind of sucks to me.  And I hate how lesbian and gay organizations put so many resources into this fight when there are alot more other issues our community is facing that is killing us daily.

With all of that said, I'm happy that my d.c. and d.f. peeps have an option. I mean at the end of the day stuff like this helps people realize that we're not going through a phase. That we are the norm.  That they can't eradicate us from the face of the earth. 

But I hope these victories do not mean that gay people are marching towards the path of heteronormativity.  That this means we're going to form structures that are husband/husband...wife/wife....2 adultides with 2 1/2 childites.  When I started realizing i was a macha,   I fell in love with being 'the damn homo' because i saw that instead of crawling into holes,  us gays have created spaces to find each other outside of just being sexually compatible.  That family looks so different to a lot of us (including me) because we were kicked out of our traditional family structures.  And at the end of the day, we said fuck this.  We're just going to be fabulous.

El Galpon

 Close to the apartment I share with Chuya in Jesus Maria, there is a cool space in the neighborhood of Pueblo Libre.  El Galpon is kind of a vestibule for multi-media collaborative projects--expocisiones de arte y otras obras.  Usually there is a performance or exposition of some sort and afterward the night ends with a dance party.  On Friday, chuya, precolumbian, and I went to one of their events featuring 4 or 5 artists.  I couldn't really tell you what I saw and the meaning behind it but I will procure some pictures and post.  Also its pretty hipsterish--which is a loaded word, i know, but in this case, I have no judgments. I just want to go back to see how i feel about that.

They seem to host events every week so if you're in town it's worth checking out.

Hopefully, I can set up an interview with the founders of this space.

P.S. I've been spending a lot of listening time with this awesome podcast by my d.c. amigo, dj bottombracket bracket

Last of the Blacks Part I

i'll be leaving town for the next 2 days.  Going to Chincha located in the province of Ica. This weekend they are hosting their annual Festival Verano Negro.   According to many internet websites its the location of the last of the blacks of Peru.  The people are described as fun, entertaining, and flavorful.  Code language for Black/Minstrel.

But let's go back to last of the blacks...what does that mean? where did they go? and I thought I saw some here. More to come later!

My Return to Lima

By the time I ended up in Lima, Tuesday night, I was pretty glam busted.  For two days, I had traveled for over 30 hours (OMG).  Leaving the totally awesome True/False Film Festival that my dj crew, The DC Hot Commodities, djayed in Columbia, Missouri.  To jetting back to D.C. to finish packing my life into 3 months.  And then heading off to Dulles 6 hours after I land from our trip to Missouri so that I can start my tiring journey to Peru.  Luckily, my fear of flying was temporarily shut off by my need for sleep. So yeah most of my journey down south, I don't  remember because I was drooling away in seat 7a and 47b on TACA airlines. 

                                  

After traveling that much, it really means a lot to see someone familiar as soon as you go through customs or leave the baggage claim.  Everything seems so surreal like you're floating and your ability to make decisions, at least for me, is pretty much lost when i'm traveling more than 4 hours.  Also, when you step out of customs at the Jorge Chavez airport, you are greeted by a couple of hundred people waiting for someone they love or a tourist that they are assigned to pick up.  You feel like you're part of a touring rock band or you're walking the runway at some fashion week even if you see the disappointment from people that you're not who they are looking for or the instant change from excitement to the "I'm done with you. Move on so that I can see who I came for"!

Despite my mind entering death territory and the cries of  'morena' (WTF) from people who wanted my attentions, my energy level picked up with each step across the airport runway,  and I scanned the room for my lima crew. Not seeing them but also not totally having the mental faculties to see them.  I remember thinking..."i love banners. The hot commodities needs a banner. Like that banner I see over there with that person that looks a lot like me djaying at the place that looks a lot like the place we djayed at the True/False festival.."  And as if heaven opened up its arms to kiss me, i realize that chuya and precolumbian are there waiting for me with the banner of my dreams.  Impromptu, bright, and grounded in reality and excitement over Popsicles and music!!!  

 

To all my homies...mis socias...mis bebidas de vida...mi chicXs por vida

If you´ve read yesterday´s post, you , I was kind of frustrated over my feelings of loneliness and lack of motivation. Today I woke up happy for a couple of reasons.  Last night, I dragged myself to this awesome bar, La Nueva Babel.  It serves good mezcal and hosts local bands like this one that i saw last night.  

And I stayed there until almost 3 a.m. drawing because that´s what I do now. I sometimes feel uncomfortable bringing my camera to certain places, at certain times, and also sometimes I don´t feel like taking pictures.

 But I want to remember the places that I go and the people that I see and meet. So yeah..what I do to fulfill that need is to draw? I´m not good at it but it calms me down when I´m nervous and helps me notice all sorts of details.  Unintentionally, it´s a conversation starter that takes away attention from my race and focuses it on what I´m doing.  There are very few times that I want to chat with people for more than a couple of minutes but its nice that someone is talking politely to me instead of talking about me or staring.

When I find a scanner, I´ll start posting my drawings.

Also....

One of mis socias sent me this awesome song/video on this day of friendship...En espaNol, El dia de amistad

and I wanted to share it with the lectores dedicados that I have.

Zombie Like State in Oaxaca

I´m in Oaxaca City and I don´t have a plan. I´m in the zocalo and would rather spend my time on the internet. Is that okay?

I´m also hungry and dirty. 

Yeah I forgot to tell you that i haven´t showered in 6 days. My departamiento en D.F. lacks hot water and I lack the will to correct that.  So yeah I should do something about that. 

But in the mean time, I will post some pics in the next couple of days with my camera´s point of view of Oaxaca City. So far, I like this place. Its really different from D.F. More chill. Less metropolitan but really pretty. And the food is delicious and the mezcal is the bomb.

However, I still don´t blend in. But when do I ever.

Is there a song about lonely travels?

Viajando como asi es un poquito solo cuando tu quedas en uno lugar.  Yeah, I did scoff at the idea of going place to place when i decided to go down south and I stand by my choice. 

Backpacking right now is not for me, folks. I prefer living in a place not just hit and run (right now i´m gulping down my michelado at Lynis, this restaurant on La Paseo de la Reforma and it feels good to feel familiar with this area...to take my time here). 

But such travel seems positive in alot of ways.  Always moving, never having time to think or miss anything in a consistant manner.  Yeah, i´m over simplifying this but now that i´m back in D.F., that´s all i have time for...think...think...miss...miss..

For the most part I´m fine but its those times late at night when I wish I was so exhuasted that laying in bed is enough to pass me out or other times when I just want to talk to someone until we both drift off in mid sentence.  Those are the times I feel so lost.  And another problem is that I could recieve all of the companionship that i want but i want certain companionship and i´m too tired right now to recieve so many new connections. 

I spend alot of time crying at my neighbor´s house.  She always commands `'¿Porque estas llorando mi linda?'' meanwhile she´s crying as well.  And I tell her i cry because I am sad to leave and that´s definitely part of it (actually, when i´m with her, it´s definitely the greatest bulk of the tears) but I´m also relived that I´m going back to someplace familiar even for a little while because staying here alone is hard after having such an awesome physically present support network.  And even though i´m leaving for Peru, two weeks after staying in d.c. at least I will be with someone I am familiar with, someone who understands me, and someone who i long to be with.

With all that said, I do have a half-ass cure and i suggest you do it (drum roll...please).....

Go see a U.S. movie at the movie theater in the country that you are visiting (especially if its cheaper than in the united states).  I usually spend 3 to 5 dollars on a movie and its worth it.  They are usually new and it gets me out of the funk I´m in and its subtitled so I learn new words in spanish.   

Tonight I´m watching El Libro De Los Secretos con Denzel Washington (aka the book of eli). And yeah on the regular, i would never pay to watch this movie in the states but for 2 hours, i don´t have to think...and for someone who doesn´t have a t.v.  This is gold because i´m thinking all of the time.

Mercado de La Merced: A Slammer Wonderland

I want to write about La Merced  (this awesome market that takes up blocks and blocks of downtown? that is  off  of the pink line at the Merced stop) at a later date but so far its one of my favorite places in D.F. Also,  the pic above is of me donning those beautiful plastic sunflowers that I bought at the merced. Because amazing enough they have a whole section (that takes up a block) of shops that carry brightly coloured plastic flowers. The stuff your mother or grandmother used to decorate the house with.  Both Cheesy, beautiful, full of nostalgia, environmentally unfriendly, and always para siempre.

What's Up With Your Blog Name?...The Begining of the Answer

Tired of Thinking...What do I do?...Sculpt!

Traveling like this can be difficult for me because I never have the state of mind to break free mentally.  I feel like I'm constantly consuming: language, food, day to day traditions, historic sites, etc.  Everything is new and I spend so much time taking culture in that at the end of the day my mind wants to explode or at least shut down.  Maybe it's just unique to me but in these 3 months of traveling I have rarely felt relaxed or completely comfortable.  

Part of that insecurity includes my lack of language proficiency.  It impairs my ability to fully express myself, not just what I'm thinking but my personality and the ways that people say things to me that express their personality [intonation, stressing, inflections] are lost on me too.  Another part of that insecurity includes the reasons why I decided to start this blog.  I can't go anywhere without someone looking at me like I'm a zoo animal let loose or science experiment gone wrong.  It can be disconcerting, hurtful, annoying, maddening, and stressful.   I try to ignore it but sometimes I just want to scream "nunca han visto una persona negra? Cierra tus ojos, pendejos.  Son mal educado!!!!"--if that even makes sense.  

So one of my most important tips for all you coloured people traveling or living abroad from the States.  Find some time for yourself to take a mental break from the consumption, the stares, the comments, and questions.  And for me, the best way to do that is making things or taking classes on making things or using my body in some way that involves having to shut out afuera (the outside).  I haven't mastered taking advantage of this tip or even taken it to heart but i hope the next 3 months force me to do most of this....or damn, i'm not going to mentally survive.

1. In Lima, took weekly private salsa lessons.
2. I took a hip hop class on la calle Insurgentes.., (i still have a couple of weeks left, i can try to take a couple of more classes...egg me on).
3. Making a bowl in my 4 part (3 hour) sculpture class near La Plaza "Luis Cabrera".
4. Went on a 6 hour spa date a block from my house (I may have to do that before I leave...it costs 50 dollars)
5. Drawing what I see at least 3 or 4 times a week while living in Mexico City.  "Thanks Chuya for inspiring me" 

My Daily Mexican Diet...P.S. Its a holiday!!!

 

Today is a national holiday in Mexico, Día de la Constitution or Constitution Day.  To many its a day to commemorate the constitution of 1917 that followed the Mexican Revolution. To others its part of the line of holidays that allow you to stay away from the frenzy of the city. To me its the day before the day I may have to buy a bunch of tamales because my friends (who are not here in D.F. anymore), both found baby jesuses in their piece of king cake (aka rosca de reyes) at a friend of a friend's house who was hosting a 3 Kings Day get together at his house.  

Bueno, I didn't know it was a holiday until I left my house at 1:30 p.m. and saw that alot of things were closed.  The juice and taco vendors on my corner were not there.  The cigarillo vendor on my route to la calle Orizaba was not there plus 50 percent of the other stores and vendors were shut down except for good old porn alley--which never misses a day.  I mean the best time to buy porn is on holidays. Don't you think? 

And remember for those who live in big cities in the states, holidays in mexico are no joke.  El Distrito Federal becomes a ghost town.  Not like in the states, where the only time you notice its a holiday for everybody including businesses is christmas and thanksgiving.

 P.S. Also on the diet are LaLa yogurts! Am I ridiculous in thinking that there are alot more brands of yogurt in Mexico than the States...and they are more delicious