"El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" - "I'd rather be a hammer than a nail"

Rainy morning Titicaca; bleary lake Peru. Breakfast guests from around the world (Japan, Canada, Germany, Argentina) absent mindedly push quinoa cereal around their bowls while looking out on incessant drizzle... the little stereo came alive and music filled the morning chill. "Oh, isn't that the Paul Simon song?" Just because we´d already been chatting a little, I felt I could mention that the title is "El Condor Pasa" (The Condor Passes), an old Andean folk instrumental. "By the way, it never had lyrics." "Really?" "Really." The petite japanese lady said, "Guess, that´s how he got a hit. He gave it words."  "Where can I hear the Andean one?" asked the impossibly blonde woman from Dusseldorf. "Youtube," I reply softly. We went back to the condor passing, black coffee and our dreams of floating islands built by the Urus just outside muzzy fogged windows... as the summer rain continued to fall.

Alasitas: Festival of Abundance - La Paz, Bolivia 2013

Beseeching the Aymara God "Ekeko" to bestow blessings and abundance, Aymara Shamans attend the petitions of participants at the Festival of Alasitas in Plaza San Francisco. 

January 24th begins the multiple week celebration and first day the city was out in full force to enjoy perfect sunshine amidst the rainy season. One woman commented, "This year, the sun is the first blessing we've received from Ekeko!" All smiles, she and her family felt it was a sign of many good things to come.

Just beyond, a young girl was having stacks of money blessed by a Yatiri (shaman). I snapped a few frames and asked, "Why do you need so much money, chica?" She smiled, "I want to buy gifts for my mother... and for my family!" Her smile grew even larger!

All the personal petitions, wishes and desires of the crowd filled the plaza and overflowed into the surrounding streets. And in the clamor, I thought this ready proof that the Festival of Alasitas is very much alive for it resides in the hearts of the young and the old. Part deep Andean belief, part fiesta and altogether a swirl of color, light and movement; Alasitas is sure to be with us for untold generations as an expression of Andean hope and aspiration.

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2013. All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com
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Alasitas 2013 - Jan. 24th

January 24th kicks off the Feria de Alasitas. This is a celebration of abundance that comes at Jallu
Pacha (time of the rains) when the altiplano pops with vibrant green! It's a time of hope and promise when priests, shamans and deeply felt Aymara culture come together to define the wishes/desires of an individual or family. Miniatures are bought of groceries, houses and most anything else and through the incantations of spiritual leaders the Aymara God "Ekeko" is asked to make the objects real. The festival goes on for about a month right in the center of the city of La Paz!

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2013. All Rights Reserved.
mickhuerta@gmail.com
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PSY: Gangnam Style - English Lyrics

In case you've wondered what all the hype is about. Really, there's no surprise. "Cherchez la Femme," perfectly sums it up. This is a classic French phrase which means "look for the woman"  and rapper PSY obviously is. Even though just released in July 2012, the  Gangnam Style Video has racked up over a billion hits, has become the most viewed video in YouTube history and has spawned countless parodies. On Ellen's Show, PSY with Britney Spears commented that his sense of the dance is to "Dress Classy & Dance Cheesy." This just might be the first international cultural phenomenon to come out of Korea since Kimchi.

PSY - GANGNAM STYLE (강남스타일) M/V  

Clique link above to see video

Oppa is Gangnam Style 

Gangnam style

A girl who is warm and human during the day

 A classy girl who knows how to enjoy the freedom of a cup of coffee 

A girl whose heart gets hotter when night comes

 A girl with that kind of twist 

I’m a guy 

A guy who is as warm as you during the day

A guy who one-shots his coffee before it even cools down

A guy whose heart bursts when night comes

That kind of guy 

Beautiful, loveable 

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey 

Beautiful, loveable 

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey 

Now let’s go until the end 

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style 

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style 

 Oppa is Gangnam style 

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style 

Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh 

A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays 

A girl who lets her hair down when the right time comes 

A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all 

A sensable girl like that 

I’m a guy 

A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays 

A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes 

A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles 

That kind of guy 

Beautiful, loveable 

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey 

Beautiful, loveable 

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey 

Now let’s go until the end 

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style 

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style 

Oppa is Gangnam style 

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style 

Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh 

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby 

I’m a man who knows a thing or two 

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby 

I’m a man who knows a thing or two 

You know what I’m saying 

Oppa is Gangnam style 

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style 

Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh



Copyright © Mick Huerta 2013. All Rights Reserved.
http://mickhuerta.blogspot.com
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A Return to the Sky!

The gruelling night flight from Miami disrupts sleep and the hours in a seat designed for a short adolescent readily jangle the sensabilities. So naturally upon arrival I walk. How better to get a fix on your world than to pace it. And after a long absence there are many places to go and people to see. 

In a ramble, I take in the surroundings, the pulsing traffic, the surreal flash of clouds puffing the sky, the street food consumed on the move by both the humble & the lofty. First day there's money to be changed at any of the sidewalk kiosks where exchange artists make brisk business al fresco. It's on this jaunt, I will visit my manicurist and my barber. I'll chat with a few well known haberdashers situated in a warren of streets all around the cathedral. And there in the Plaza San Francisco, I readust in a squint to a city ablaze with unfiltered light that turns everything intensly luminous.

On the corner of Santa Cruz & el Prado, my favorite vendor of fresh squeezed orange, mandarin and grapefruit juices plys her trade. She extracts every drop of goodness and the essential oils with a hand levered apparatus bolted to a little blue cart. And at 12000ft/3657m, her large fluttering umbrellas offer lean protection from the ever changing elements. This morning in a quick spritz of rain she spied me and called out, "Finally, you're back!"

I smile and give her a hug. "Yes, I'm back."
And it´s so very good once again to walk the sky.

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2013. All Rights Reserved.
http://mickhuerta.blogspot.com
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Eating Your Way Around the World!

With immigrants come their aspirations, pots and pans. And all those time honored family recipes that reside in the heart are the first tool for making a home in a new land. If we're lucky they open a restaurant and share the aromas of a far flung kitchen... read more: Eating around the world on Redwood Road

Photo credit: Francisco Kjolseth

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2013. All Rights Reserved.
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Three Kings Day - Epiphany

This is the day. The culmination of following a star. Three kings, Melchor, Gaspar and Baltasar, eyes to the heavens trekked to acknowledge a birth.

Today is the 12th day of Christmas. You know, as in "twelve drummers drumming." The day Magi arrived bearing gifts. And in Latino communities all over the world this is Three Kings Day. This is a day of processions, pageants and families gathering together to break bread. The bread of choice is the Rosca and from Spain to the Caribbean there are variations. However, a few things are certain, it will contain egg and be formed in a ring.

A friend commented that it looks like a Coffee Ring Cake. Appearances can be tricky and coffee is a common accompaniment. But a more traditional beverage is Hot Chocolate redolent of vanilla and cinnamon. It is customary to eat the Rosca which has a baby Jesus figurine baked inside. The person who finds the figurine in their portion is host to a party on Candlemas, (February 2nd), where tamales are served.

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2013. All Rights Reserved.
http://mickhuerta.blogspot.com
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Zucchero Gives Free Concert in CUBA!

December 8th, 2012 Italian rocker, Zucchero, gave a free concert in Havana, Cuba. It was a gift to the Cuban people, admission gratis to all. This was the largest stage set up in Cuba to date requiring containers & containers of equipment to be shipped in from Europe to make it happen. Also, many Cuban artists took part in the show adding a distinct island flare resulting in new pieces and wonderful versions of his best material. This is a two part video; I post both for your convenience. Many thanks to Youtube.com and to channel cucusita04 for making the concert available to the world. Only wish I had been there...

 

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Turkey Days dressed to the Nines - Island Style, SC

Dressed to the nines on the 19th Hole is more my style than a slog down the links with golf bag and spikey two-tone shoes. But that's fine, all around Charleston, SC there's plenty opportunity to  enjoy what interests you most, i.e. eating, drinking, cooking, riding bikes on the beach, fishing, sailing or playing & watching sports.

As for me, I get excited selecting prawns at Ravenel Fresh Seafood, filling my buggy (shopping cart) at a Piggly Wiggly Supermarket, arriving hungry at any Waffle House diner for the breakfast special with a side of grits and savoring Low Country Cooking with Chef Charlotte Jenkins at her restaurant Gullah Cuisine, Chef Jenkins is one of the foremost practitioners of this regional cuisine in the Gullah Geechee Corridor and who most often will greet you at the door.

Adding to the festivities, our cooking at the beach (five houses rented in a cluster) was monumental, five days of people flying in and then out again made for a boisterous crowd at the table nightly. The rented catering chairs and tables were a must. And the brilliance of hiring a local Oyster Roast Master for Thursday was key resulting in light work putting together sides and salads. Wasn't a traditional Thanksgiving but we´d had plenty bird the day before. Spirits plus conversation volume were high and so was the champagne tab in final review. A true highlight was cooking Italian Style with irrepressible Chef Betsy Devine of Salvatore Bklyn, maker of "small-batch ricotta cheese." But the pinnacle, the most memorable part is the thrill of coming together; rubbing shoulders, breaking bread, indulging in an impromptu rainy day pizza session with triplets and whipping up much needed tacos at 3am for the collegiate amongst us.

 With all the activity, keeping it simple is always a blessing. And so it was, I allowed the fresh shrimp, Bourbon Mist Cocktails and a small purple Hermes scarf to get me through the fast paced days of giving thanks on the shore...

Copyright © Mick Huerta 2013. All Rights Reserved.
http://mickhuerta.blogspot.com
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