Fotos

July Project, Part 2

A photo a day for the 31 days of July.

Photos from the first ten days of the month are here

July 11: Roberto Sifuentes, a member of La Pocha Nostra, and his partner reminded me of Ixtaccihuatl and Popocapetl in this pose, especially with the landscape in the background. These performances at San Francisco’s de Young Museum were part of The New Barbarians. The show featured four performance art pieces in four galleries in the museum’s American and New Guinea art collections. I had no idea what to expect about the show, but was fascinated. I’m glad I received Rio’s invitation in time and just happened to be in the East Bay for the long weekend. After the show, Rio, his girlfriend and I got in to the reception, snacked on appetizers and got to meet some of the main performers like Guillermo Gómez-Peña. Awesome. (More photos from the show.)
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Preguntas

Question of the week: El Verano

A few weeks ago I was hanging out with a good friend who is having an amazing summer. Still, she confided that something was missing: the summer romance.

I smiled to myself and didn’t say anything, but it made me think of this list written in the big loopy handwriting of a young woman. The summer romance is on there too. Making out on the beach at night. Falling love. Champagne trick? I’m not sure…

I didn’t make my own list or tried to fulfill that list. If I did, a trip to Salamanca, Guanajuato would be on there. I’m missing Salamanca more than usual, mainly because I usually visit around this time of year (except for 2005, I visited in December). My summer just doesn’t feel right without a visit to Guanajuato and looking through pictures won’t suffice.

La Pregunta: What do you need to make your summer feel complete? Or, what’s your quintessential summer activity?

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Familia

Cincuenta y cinco

Dear Dad,

You know me. I’m not a morning person, which is a bit ironic because one of my favorite things to do is sing Las Mañanitas on the birthdays of my loved ones. So, being the tech-savvy girl that I am I made a recording using Garage Band and the built in microphone on my laptop. I hope it’s not too complicated to download the MP3 (audio file).

Here it is: Las Mañanitas

Just right click with the mouse, and choose “save as” on the menu that pops up. The file should begin downloading. Now that you finally have a DSL connection, it should be pretty quick. I think you can also begin playing it if you just click on the file. You can call me too if you need help.

I hope you like my version. It would’ve been better with you on guitar. It always is.

Happy 55th Birthday!

Love you lots!

Cindy

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Cultura, Familia

When an apple pie is more than an apple pie

I called Papá Chepe today* to wish him a happy 88th birthday. He didn’t answer. I left a hasty message in my pocha Spanish.

“Hola Papá Chepe, es Cindy. Estoy llamando para felictarlo hoy en el día de su santo. Feliz cumpleaños. Espero que usted y Mamá Toni esten bien. Ojalá que los veo… soon.”

I’d forgotten the word for soon. I still can’t remember it. Would “un ratito” work? Probably.

Fortunately, he called me back two minutes later.

We talked for a few minutes. He thanked me for calling and told me he and Mamá Toni would be leaving El Cargadero soon to have lunch in el jardín in Jerez. He was looking forward to getting a roaming band to play for him.

“¿Cuándo regresan?” I asked, already missing them after two short weeks.

“Este Domingo,” he reassured me.

“Adios,” I said and asked him to give Mamá Toni a hug and a kiss for me.

***
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