Miami: Visit to Star Island, 1998

For many years my wife and I would travel back and forth between Philadelphia and Bogota and change flights in Miami. We were curious to visit Miami but didn't have the chance to do so until 1998, when our flight from Philadelphia to Bogota had a six-hour layover in Miami.

We left the airport and found a taxi driver who offered to take us around the city for three hours. This taxi driver was originally from Sweden and on his card said that he spoke 14 languages. His Spanish sounded very Cuban, and he conducted the entire tour in Spanish. While he was driving he took a call on his cell phone from his daughter. They were discussing the results of the World Cup that was going on at that time. He spoke to her in Danish and gave her the score of the game: "et - et" (1-1).

Among the places he took us were Coconut Grove, Miami Beach, particularly South Beach, and Biscayne Bay. On the way back from Miami Beach, we stopped at Star Island, home to many celebrities. He drove up and told the guard that he was taking us on a tour, and he was let through. He stopped at the house in the first photo that he said was the residence of Gloria Estefan. (Note: On Google Earth Gloria Estefan's house is now identified as a different house on the island.) The next stop was a house that he said formerly belonged to Julio Iglesias (second photo).

After this trip we felt content that we finally were able to see something of Miami. We returned to Miami in 2003 and stayed ten days.









Visit my webpage on Latinos in the United States at
http://www.latinandcaribbeantravel.com/latinosintheus.html


Other websites:

Caribbean Folk Arts Network (Caribfolk) - Caribbean cultural network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribfolk/

Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Raicesnews - Latin cultural events in the Philadelphia area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raicesnews

Puerto Rico: Beach at Loiza, 2004

In 2004 I had the opportunity to return to Puerto Rico after 20 years, this time with a group of people. It was a short but very intense visit, as our purpose for being there was to document the Fiesta de Santiago Apostol (Feast of St. James) in Loiza, which takes place at the end of July of each year. This research trip was part of my activity with the group Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas ("Latin American Cultural Roots"), and our purpose was to gather information that could be used to teach the dances based in Loiza to students in Philadelphia's Latino community. I had been in New Haven, Connecticut one week before to see their version of the same festival, and one of the participants in that festival also was in Loiza.

The event, which lasted six days, started with a parade through the town that started at 4:00 AM. We went to the municipal building and met some of the participants, attended religious devotions, met a visual artist at his studio, and filmed the parade that featured dancers, musicians, and floats.

The way that Loiza is designed, the beach does not seem to be the focus of activity. It seems to be more designed to face the Loiza River. As such, it is remarkable that this beach is still relatively undeveloped. There have been documentaries that have filmed performers of folk dances on the beach.



See my previous post on Loiza at
http://latin-caribbean-travelblog.blogspot.com/2007/11/puerto-rico-coastal-road-to-loza-1984.html


Also see my webpage on Puerto Rico at http://www.latinandcaribbeantravel.com/puertorico.html


Other websites:

Caribbean Folk Arts Network (Caribfolk) - Caribbean cultural network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribfolk/

Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Raicesnews - Latin cultural events in the Philadelphia area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raicesnews

Colombian crafts

It should come as no surprise that Juan Valdez, the symbol of Colombian coffee, would be immortalized in crafts as well as commercials and logos. There are many places in Colombia where crafts such as Juan Valdez with his sack of Colombian coffee can be found.

Colombian crafts, which include wooden and ceramic figures, replicas of pre-Columbian gold pieces, clay pots, wall tapestries, leather goods, and other items, can be found throughout the country. I am most familiar with those that are available in Bogota, which was the ancient capital of the Muiscas, the indigenous group that inhabited the region when the Spanish arrived (which also explains the motifs of some of the pre-Columbian replicas). There are several stores, some better known than others, where they can be bought. In the center of the city there is an artisans' center close to the Museo del Oro (Gold Museum) where there are several individual vendors. There is another store further north called El Balay that is a haven for foreigners looking for these kinds of crafts.

See my webpage on Colombia at http://www.latinandcaribbeantravel.com/colombia.html

Other websites:

Caribbean Folk Arts Network (Caribfolk) - Caribbean cultural network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribfolk/

Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Raicesnews - Latin cultural events in the Philadelphia area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raicesnews

Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete, two giants of Mexican cinema

The two biggest icons of Mexican cinema, Pedro Infante (left) and Jorge Negrete (right), have both been dead for 50-plus years. Yet any discussion of Mexican cinema invariably gets into a disagreement regarding the merits of one versus the other. Why is this so?

One reason is that both of these screen stars have left their mark on Mexican popular culture and popularized the image of the charro or Mexican cowboy. It may also have to do with the fact that both died young and while still popular with the public. In fact, for many, Pedro Infante's tragic death in a plane crash in 1957, at the age of 39, signified the end of the golden era of Mexican cinema and the quality of Mexican film overall began to decline from that point on.

Another reason for the lively discussion is that both stars were good actors, had good singing voices and starred in many successful films. Pedro's immense popularity with the public is something that even Mexican film critics do not completely comprehend, except that the Mexican people identify with him strongly, especially as he came from a working-class background. It's undeniable that Pedro had enormous charisma and an extremely likable screen presence that elevated the quality of any film he starred in. His voice was as smooth as velvet and his popularity with the ladies undeniable. He had a wide range of acting ability and was also a daredevil, having a strong interest in motorcycles and airplanes. In fact he was in two plane crashes years before the third one took his life. One of his frequent co-stars, Blanca Estela Pavon, also died in a plane crash at the tender age of 23.

Jorge Negrete, with his powerful operatic voice, achieved stardom a few years before Infante became popular. His first film, "La Madrina del Diablo" (The Devil's Godmother), was released in 1937, but he really catapulted into the spotlight with his starring role in "Ay Jalisco, No Te Rajes!" (Jalisco, don't back down) in 1941. There were earlier films featuring the Mexican charro, but this one caught fire internationally and was in a large way responsible for the association of Mexican culture with mariachi music. (Though Infante first had starring roles in 1942, his first really successful role was in "Nosotros Los Pobres" or "We the Poor" in 1947.)

Taking advantage of the popularity of both stars, the film "Dos Tipos de Cuidado" ("Two Guys to Watch Out For"), was released in 1952 and is considered the best Mexican charro movie of all time. The director, Ismael Rodriguez, took great care in balancing the singing and acting strengths of both stars and succeeded marvelously. (The above photo is taken from the movie.) The success of the film spearheaded a two-week run of concerts in Mexico featuring both stars. It was an opportunity that was seized at just the right moment, for Negrete, already in declining health due to his hepatitis C infection, would die at the end of 1953. Infante, as a tribute to his friend, rode with the Mexican motorcycle patrol at Negrete's funeral.

See my previous blog entry on Jorge Negrete at http://latin-caribbean-travelblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/mexico-jorge-negrete-el-charro-cantor.html

Other websites:

Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Spain: Favorite foods in Seville

One of the highlights of Seville, and the rest of Spain for that matter, has to be the food. There are many specialties: paella and other seafood dishes, cookies and other sweets baked at convents and sold with the name "dulces del convento", gazpacho or cold soup with tomato and other ingredients, and much more. What I remember most, though, were the delicious tapas that are served in small portions at many locations in Seville.

Here we have a plate of the famous jamón serrano, which loosely translated means ham from the sierra or mountain range. This ham is also referred to as "pata negra" (black hoof). It is served along with other tapas such as queso manchego ("cheese from La Mancha"), olives, fried shrimp, and other foods, accompanied by a glass of sherry, particularly the variety of sherry known as manzanilla.


See my webpage on Spain at http://www.latinandcaribbeantravel.com/spain.html


Other websites:

Caribbean Folk Arts Network (Caribfolk) - Caribbean cultural network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribfolk/
Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Raicesnews - Latin cultural events in the Philadelphia area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raicesnews

Pictures of the Bahamas from the air

In any flight to Miami returning from the eastern part of the Caribbean, it's inevitable that part of the trip will take you over the Bahamas. As the Bahamas consist of hundreds of small islands and reefs in addition to the better known populated ones (Nassau or New Providence, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera and others), the colors of the sea are spectacular.

Technically, the Bahamas are not Caribbean islands as they don't border on the Caribbean Sea but rather on the Atlantic Ocean and are farther north than Caribbean islands such as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The chain starts to the east of Florida (the closest island being Bimini) and extends on a southeastern angle until it comes close to the north coasts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. At the southernmost part of the chain are the Turks and Caicos Islands.









Visit my webpage on the Caribbean at http://www.latinandcaribbeantravel.com/caribbean.html

Other websites:

Caribbean Folk Arts Network (Caribfolk) - Caribbean cultural network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribfolk/

Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Raicesnews - Latin cultural events in the Philadelphia area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raicesnews

The Lashing Dogs, a string band from the British Virgin Islands

Though I've never been to the British Virgin Islands, I learned about the folk group The Lashing Dogs, who hail from Tortola (the largest of the British Virgin Islands), while I was in Anguilla in 2003 and found their music in a record store. My experience has been, at least on some occasions, that you can't find the music from certain artists on the island they're from but rather come across it on another island. This was the case with a band from Anguilla called Happy Hits whose music I found at a store on nearby St. Martin.


My friend Carlson Velasquez, the guitarist I met in St. Martin (see my Oct. 13, 2007 post at http://latin-caribbean-travelblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/caribbean-st-martin-2002.html), was very familiar with them, as the string band tradition is common to the US and British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, St. Martin, Saba, Statia, St. Kitts and Nevis.

When Carifesta took place in Trinidad in 2006, The Lashing Dogs were one of the featured groups. The music, with its banjo at the lead, has an easy-going beat that is not as frenetic as modern Caribbean dance music.

Visit my webpage on the Caribbean at http://www.latinandcaribbeantravel.com/caribbean.html

Other websites:

Caribbean Folk Arts Network (Caribfolk) - Caribbean cultural network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribfolk/

Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Raicesnews - Latin cultural events in the Philadelphia area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raicesnews