Trying to catch up...

Its been whirlwind like in Pachucoville, the 3 D version, and have missed blogging, missed some important events, had some great moments and of course fun.

I miss blogging only in so far as writing. I like it. I know I am not the best, or even good by some standards, but it is a form of meditation for me. Carlos Castaneda wrote in one of his books about how we all need to recapitulate or remember our life day by day to see ourselves and understand how we interact with the world. This is to help us reach our highest potential. He recommended we do this in an enclosed space where our energy would not go out too far and outside energies could not swoop in on us and cause us harm in our open state. I don't know how this blogging affects my energy but so far, so good.

Last Friday I drove to work because we missed the late train. At 4:30 pm I got the first call letting me know about the Metrolink crash. It was followed by several text messages hoping I was OK. Thanks to my peeps for the love and care. I was not and would not have been on that train. We did lose a CSUN student and two staff members were banged up. Our department is raising money for her funeral costs.

Later that night we went salsa dancing. I felt a little weird about it because I really thought about what had happened, but at the same time we need to celebrate and enjoy the time we have.

The next day was a full schedule: Harry Gamboa Jr. was having an art opening at Patricia Correia; our last chance to catch Raul Campos at Moonshadows before the weather gets too cold to go to Malibu, and the Soul Rebel Radio fundraiser.

The best part of Saturday was getting to mix for 4 hours at home, something I haven't been able to do since the Featuring The Lights and Sounds show started. On another musical tip, another highlight, was that I took my djembe to the Soul Rebel Radio fundraiser and participated in the jam session which featured Will Dog of Ozomatli on bass. I played along for two hours and I didn't even feel it. It was so good.

Sunday we did breakfast with my parents at my new favorite spot Casa de Moles La Tia. They are in the old Tamales Lilliana's space on Chavez east of Ford. I kept my eye on them, but never saw a crowd in there so I figured it might not be that good. Then I read this post and Adrian of G727 wanted to go there after a meeting we had, and it was the BOMB! To be honest I went three times in one week!


-pictured is the chilaquiles plates and the enfrijoladas plate.

Puerto Rico trip

We got a hook up on tickets between the end of Summer Bridge and the beginning of the semester to go to Puerto Rico and Miami. Did some research with friends who had been to Puerto Rico since both R and I had never been there. I know Miami fairly well, so we didn't worry much about that.

Everything went very smoothly overall. Had a couple of moments of not knowing exactly what might happen, but luck and love always saved the day.

-First the taxi to the Flyaway didn't pick us up, despite making reservations 4 hours in advance. Went to the corner, called a number to Taxi Latino on a phone booth and two minutes later were on our way to Union Station. Que viva La Raza!
-Flights were smooth, hopped off in Miami and connected immediately instead of the scheduled 3 hour layover.
-Got to San Juan, Puerto Rico, went to our apartment, dinner, and checked out the Condado district. It is basically the West Hollywood and Bevery Hills of PR.
-Next day, R's B-day, we picked up our luggage at the airport and hit the beach. Great warm water, so fun.
-We had dinner in Old San Juan which looks like Cuba, or so I am told. Partied at El Batey and was introduced to Ron del Barrilitos, great local rum! We also got my Panama hat in local shoppe and sneaked into a tango lesson for a couple of spins around the patio/dancefloor before running off into the night.









-Next day we hit the Bacardi factory. Fact: 70% of all Bacardi is made in Puerto Rico
-Made plans to meet a friend of a friend to hit the town. Waiting for her, we popped into the Marriott and got some $$$ from roulette!
-She took us to her friend's gallery opening. The artsy crowds are the same where ever you go, just less tattoos and piercings than in L.A.
-Then we hit La Plaza, where the locals party it up in the streets and bars that reminded me of TJ and Rosarito smooshed together. Salsa-funk-tastic FUN!
(due to an error on R's behalf all the pics up to this point were erased. We are looking at software that might help us recover them)
-Next day we worried about if we would be flying to Culebra or driving around the main island all because of a storm front that delayed flights. Needless to say we ended up going to Culebra. Everyone we talked to said "You gotta see Culebra." It didn't dissapoint.

- As soon as we landed we rented a scooter and checked out Flamenco beach, then Shelbourne Beach on the opposite side of the island. You can get from one side to the other in 35 minutes. It is totally empty this time of year. These pics are at Shelbourne. It is a great place to snorkel!





- This is the view from our room at Mamacitas




-The next day it was all about the beach. This is at Flamenco Beach, the 'big beach ' on Culebra.















-The tank, courtesy of our US tax dollars rests or reminds or just rusts?









-We kicked it on Flamenco for about 1/2 an hour then rode the scooter to Zoni Beach, 45 min away. When we got there it was only us and about 4 other couples on a long stretch of white sand beach. Everyone stayed in their 200 yards of beach and didn't bother each other.



- This was a little rock cove we hung out at for a while























- We stayed almost 3 days in Culebra. Was definitely the highlight of the trip. Riding that tiny plane was an experience, I've never felt a plane fishtail until then.


- We stayed one more night in San Juan before leaving for 2 days in Miami. We got there just in time for 'Tropical Storm Fay.'

- This little fishy got beached


- We made the best of the wind, sporadic and heavy downpours.








Best of all we ate at my favorite Cuban Restaurant in South Beach, Miami, Puerto Sagua



It was a great trip overall.

flashback

Recently I was asked when Spanish music became cool for my pocho self. I grew up with little music in Spanish. I do remember liking certain boleros, but as a teen and young man / DJ music in spanish just wasn't cool. Then I heard these peeps:

Tijuana No!