Summer of the Doors

Since I came to Miami, 90% of the time I found myself listening to the Doors! It is surreal! I mean my brother is going through his "the Doors" stage and all but they are also all around me (like tonight, we were watching Bertollucci's movie Dreamers, and what do I hear, again! the Doors!), I hear them all the time (I have to admit it is sort of like my subconcious is picking it up more, because it is aware of its existence.

Anyways. Unanimously we (we: the jury: chanti, feyzi and I) decided that this summer's hit (last summer as you remember around this time I was only listening to Track 9 of the Bersuit CD, called Hijos de Culo) is definetly have to be a Doors song! To me, it could have been "She lives on Love Street" but it is not. Not this summer at least. So it is "People are Strange". I think this song perfectly reflects the most this summer's state of mind.

PS: Later that week we also chose a FUn song, Bob Sinclair's "Love generation". Who says we can only have one song every summer?

Welcome to Miami!

Will Smith's legendry song --a slightly different version of it--sums up my time in the New World:

"Here I am in the place where I come let go
Miami the base and the sunset glow
Everyday like a mardi gras, everybody party all day
No work, all play, okay
So we sip a little something, lay to rest the spill
Me and Chanti at the yoga center or in a bar
Nothin less than ill, when we dress to kill
Everytime the hoties pass, they be like (hi there)
Can y'all feel me, all ages and races
Real sweet faces
Every different nation, Spanish, Hatian, Indian, Jamaican
Black, White, Cuban, and Asian
I only came for two days of playing
But everytime I come I always wind up staying
This the type of town I could spend a few days in
Miami the city that keeps the roof blazing"


PS: Chanti, Feyzi and I went to this cool event at the Sagamore Hotel. Aside from the horrid woman who we think is a super star at the WWF's female league, beautiful people were everywhere, including Ingrid Casares (the 90's Miami-it Girl, also Madonna's girlfriend, and the owner of legandry Liquid club before it was closed) who looked even better than she looked those days, telling us that doing drugs and having a messed up lifestyle does not really ruin you, if you can afford the best of it! JK..

Last Days, Decisions, Travels to North

These last days in Buenos Aires have been amazing. Maybe starting from last week on I should say because I felt like I was finally feeling like a part of the city for the first time, after many visits, long ones and short ones.

As my week usually starts on Saturday so that is where I rather start telling my story. After a long night out with Orhan—Friday we dined, and then bar hopped until five am, and I did not even had a sip of alcohol, I am very determined this time to keep my diet healthy as it can be—I woke up around noon, showered and fixed us breakfast before leaving for an afternoon trip to Palermo Viejo with a historian, accompanied with other argentines who are interested in knowing their city better.

The tour lasted about two hours, from Plaza Italia to Plaza Serrano (in my next book you some of you will get to read the dirty secrets of Buenos Aires, so I spare you from redundancy by not telling you right now what they are. I know I am mean!). I had a cup of coffee all by myself at a cute bookstore, where I found a book about Buenos Aires that I was looking for a while now then shlep my tired self home to Boedo.

Boedo is one of the oldest neighborhoods of Buenos Aires and has a corky charm which comes from mom and pop stores instead of chains and olderly residents mixed with students who are moving to this ‘hood because of its cheap rents and convenient location. It is 6 subway stops from San Telmo and a $5 cab ride away from hip Palermo SoHo, yet it is a neighborhood that is not all touristy or degenerated. It has a long history of Tango, many important tangos were composed in bars of Boedo and the original lyrics pay many tributes to the neighborhood.

During my first visit to Buenos Aires two years ago, my granma’s friends who have been living in Baires for the last 30 years took us out to a live tango show in the corner of Boedo and San Juan avenues, know as the Homero Manzi corner, named after this important musician/composer. I pass by tourist groups who were waiting to get in to see that “show” later that afternoon, as I got out of subway and entered Corina’s cozy apartment accross the street.

I spend most of my time between taking pictures, notes, making maps, writing as well as redundant things like going to the gym, cooking, hanging out with friends, having mates,; and it started to feel real the first time, my presence I mean.

28 days passed so quickly, in retrospect, making me want to live there for a longer period of time, yet confusing me at the same time. I question my desire to live there. If I live in a big city, isn't it better to live in a big city that I already know? Where I have friends and family? I will think about what I am going to do next while travelling, first to Montevideo, from there to Miami and finally in Istanbul. Those who think I am having a blast travelling, please dont fool yourself. I am really sick of it, and in deep need of establishment.

I realized how much I wanted that when I came home to Montevideo, when I slept in my own bed, when I knew exactly where everything was and once again I appreciated how special living in a cupula meant. there is one thing that is certain, I will never let that place go, I hope Titi will never kick me out or sell that place to another person! We had a great party, for el Guate's birthday (second from left) my last night, for this season, in the cupula.



I was really sad leaving the cupula on wednesday....after a ten hour trip I was in my brother's arms, in his ACd cute apartment by the ocean, taking a cat nap with his cat Jasmin before going to the ocean and taking a dip. My sorrow faded a little bit i have to admit, but a piece of me is definetely is dying to go back to my cupula-- of course as soon as it is hot again in Uruguay!