It's been a few years since I've been, but I'll definitely be there this year!
So... COME AND DANCE WITH ME!
(Seriously, if you're a blog reader and you decide to go to the festival and you do see me, please come up and say hello.)
P.S. Despite the fact that I am not going to Miami for Cuba Nostalgia this year which would finally give me the chance to head out to the Cuban Festival in Echo Park, that festival was canceled this year due to lack of funds and the park not being available. Which means the San Dimas Cuban Festival is the only one in the L.A. area this year ... and that is SO important right now! ;-)
It seems that lately I've been getting invited to all kinds of "events"- apparently bloggers are the new press. Who knew?
I
was invited by a fellow Latina blogger, Ana Flores from Spanglish Baby (Thanks again, Ana!) to come to the launch of the new Victoria's Secret perfume called Bombshell. It turns out that one of Ana's close friends, the lovely Susan Stipcianos from the Dream Team Agency was spearheading this event.
So
I took Amy to L.A. with me, of course. The event was held at the enormous Victoria's Secret store at The Grove and there
were all these gorgeous skinny semi-famous VS supermodels that we were supposed to interview. (I'm the new press, after all...)
But I got a little distracted because of all the fun we were having (but that's not important right now).
We got the Royal V.I.P. treatment. We had makeovers done by professional makeup artists
...and they had us do a glamour photo shoot...
...and they gave us swag bags with beautiful umm....things....
...and, of course, the new
perfume, Bombshell.
In the middle of the craziness, I notice a handsome young man having his photo taken with the supermodels (whom we have yet to interview.....because....Hey! Is it my turn for the photo?)
So Amy says,
"Mami, that's Pitbull." He's getting his photo taken with the
supermodels and then he leaves.
In slow-motion, I went Wait! (or more like W-A-A-I-I-T-T!) I'm the CUBAN BLOGGER here!
So I grabbed Amy and we head towards where Pitbull was last seen and he is now exiting the building - *sigh* We missed him. (Sad faces.)
Right at that moment, the very-on-top-of-it PR gal, Susan (that I told you about earlier, who was in charge"OMG! Come on!" And she
proceeded to run down the internal alley of the mall, in her
stilettos, yelling, "Wait! Pit!"
And here come Amy and Marta chasing Susan who is chasing Pitbull through the bowels of the Grove. (Talk about a surreal moment.)
When she finally caught him, she said to him,
"This is the Most Important Person At This Event!" (If you look at the
photo, you can tell we were far away from people and totally in the bowels of
the mall.) And Pitbull was treating me like I was, well... The Most Important Person At This Event.
Of course, I spoke to him in Spanish, and I may or may not have called him a muñecon.
I
think because of that awesome introduction he was very charming. (Amy
was upset that he barely looked at her and paid me so much attention.
I quickly reminded her of my Most Important Person Status. =D)
We chatted briefly, took our photos and he was delightful and charming and funny and when he turned to leave, he left behind a small puddle of what was formerly The Most Important Person There and Her First Born.
We regrouped beautifully and made the executive decision to skip the supermodel interviews. After all, we just had makeovers and got to meet Pitbull. (Which proves the existence of God.) Our evening was pretty complete with the added plus of the Pitbull meeting. I had my story. I
came strutting back into the store and showed the photos on my camera
to the swooning, skinny girls. They were staring at me with a total "WHO
ARE YOU?" vibe. I loved it.
I decided it would be wisest to skip the supermodel interviews and focus my story on meeting Pitbull. Yeah, I'm shallow that way. =D
I do have a comment giveaway today, but you'll have to travel.
To be entered in the drawing for the new VS Bombshell perfume, (I promise you...you want this!) go over to the Tiki Tiki and leave a comment on that post. Instructions and deadlines are over there.
Also, be sure to watch the video I put together. Then come back and tell me your opinion of how I'm handling my mid-life crisis. Or how jealous you're feeling right now. Bring it. =D
I have four offspring. And although they don't come right out and say it, there's still a fair amount of sibling-rivalry-mom-always-liked-you-best moments.
So, my son, Jonathan was complaining. Not too loudly, but still...
The last few months have been all about Lucy and Russian Jews and Fiddling on the Roof.
"Mom," he protested, "you wrote about me in just one number of my production and you showed me dancing in a red, sparkly dress. I think I deserve at least a blog post where I'm looking more like a manly-man." (Yes, he did use the term "manly-man," but that's not important right now.)
I can't argue with that logic.
So let me present Jonathan dressed to the nines, along with his friend, Andrew, in their show-stopping number: Puttin' on the Ritz from Young Frankenstein (The Musical, of course). Jon plays....the Monster. Not at all surprising, right?
For me, Jon is always such a delight to watch on stage. He gives himself so completely to his character. He becomes The Monster. (Reminds me a lot of the Terrible Twos. =D)
Enjoy.
(Sorry, Jon! You know you're my favorite. Shh! I tell them all the same thing, but that's not important right now. =D)
This is another Kikita post about her trip to Cuba.
Several years ago a cousin I had never met before was visiting from Cuba. Since he had never been to Las Vegas, Mami, Luza, my tia Helen, and I drove out there to meet him and then bring him back to California. It was a whirlwind adventure riddled with cucufates, but that is another story.
On the drive home from Las Vegas, this cousin asked us to play one of the cds he had brought from Cuba of a new up and coming singer called Polo Montañez. At the time, my spanish was nowhere near what it is today. Regardless, I was happy to oblige our guest and played the cd filled with classic Cuban sounds and words I did not fully comprehend. The drive from Vegas to my house on that Saturday night was about 4 to 5 hours so we listened to the cd several times over. There was one song inparticular that I found exceptionally moving despite not knowing all the words.
Beyond the classic sounds of Trío Matamoros and Celia Cruz, this song was the first new Cuban song I had heard from the island. The song was called "Un Montón de Estrellas" and it fast became one of my favorites. I remember the first time I heard it played at a salsa club a few years later, I couldn't stop the tears from rolling.
The song remained close to my heart, but got pushed around by other songs and experiences and was soon forgotten (so to speak).
I had no idea what was in store for me as I was on my way to Pinar del Rio and my cousin took a turn towards a place called Las Terrazas.
It was breathtaking. I was speechless. I had never seen anything like it in my entire life.
My cousin kept going deeper and deeper into this jungle and I was beginning to wonder if we had arrived at Viñales because I really wasn't sure what I was looking for . . . and then I saw where we where headed.
I could not help but marvel at the small size of the home and tears came to my eyes when I looked and saw the sun shining on the unused instruments.
The moment I first walked inside "Un Montón de Estrellas" began playing as if to welcome my presence. It was one of those magical moments that brought tears to my eyes. I felt so lucky. So blessed. So in awe. I sent up a prayer of thanks and then let the music and the view wash over me.
"Que orgullo para el poeta
que viva en un pueblecito
el más aseado y bonito
que existe en este planeta
por eso hago esta letras
con ortografía escasa,
mientras más ligero pasa
el tiempo que va corriendo
más lindo se va poniendo
el pueblo de las Terrazas"
The following post was written by Kikita, whose appreciation for bananas has led to endless laughter and entertainment.
I can't tell you where or how it all started, but it started. I can only guess it happened on facebook because that's where most things happen these days. Let me be clear about something . . . I am not particularly fond of the taste of bananas. Ok, that's not entirely true. There have been several years where I absolutely loathed bananas, but now that I'm an immature adult, I have accepted them for the goodness that they can be.
It IS possible that the banana thing started shortly after the monkey thing. (I LOVE monkeys. I have several monkey stuffed animals and I can do a FABULOUS monkey sound, but that's not important right now.)
For all intents and purposes, I'm not sure that it really matters where the banana thing started. What IS important is that it DID start and was kept alive.
Typically, I will start working on the family Christmas video in late August or early September. As it just so happens, late August found me at a Willy Chirino concert.
It was there that I met my inspiration.
Every year I struggle with making sure the video is relevant to our Cuban-American family NOW while not forgetting and celebrating that we are still Cuban. But now the majority of the family prefers speaking in English, so they relate to a Cuban song in Spanish less and less. No, that doesn't make things easy. But I had found my answer.
I started story-boarding and planning and ran into a few hiccups such as "what about the family that will NOT be at Thanksgiving?" But I did what I could with what resources I had.
I am so grateful that my big, fat, Cuban family will do what I ask of them without question and will go for it. Participation was key in pulling this one off. And I knew it would be EPIC.
After Thanksgiving, I got to work. And, thanks to the help and support of some "real, live" editors (Thank you Mr. Simpson, Mr. Young, & Mr. De Castro), my plan was coming to fruition in ways that were even better than I could have expected.
This has to be one of my most favorite pieces that I have ever cut together. I love it because it's wholly Cuban (every good Cuban-American knows this song), it's fun, it's Spanglish, and it's . . . well, it's EPIC (even if I do say so myself).
It even inspired the title for this year's video: "ORO PARECE"
That is the beginning of a Cuban riddle that goes: ORO PARECE PLATA-NO ES
It's a play on words. "Oro" is gold. "Plata" is silver, but "platano" is banana. IT LOOKS LIKE GOLD SILVER IT IS NOT / BANANA IT IS
So, ladies and gentlemen, without further ado . . .
So we went to Vegas and Boulder City the week before Thanksgiving to see the fabulous Tormé Sings Tormé show. It was absolutely delicious and satisfying in every way.
First of all Steve March Tormé's tribute to his incredibly talented dad (Mel Tormé) was both exhilarating to watch and yet tugged at the heartstrings as he sang while showing video of him with his dad.
For the sake of full disclosure, when he sang a medley of I'm Wishing (the Snow White song) and When You Wish Upon a Star, (with the family photos projecting in the background) the tears were flowing freely. What a gift!
Of course, my favorite part of the show was when Desi got up and took to the Conga drums.(See him right there behind Steve? *sigh*)
I love that they knew each other as kids and are still friends today.
After the amazing show, there was a lovely reception for the band at the Dam Hotel, (=D) where we were staying.
It was there that I got to give the lovely Miss Amy (Mrs. Arnaz) her MBFCF mug.
And also got to visit with her husband, My Friend, Desi Arnaz, Jr. (*blushes*)
The last time we visited I had taken Desi some of my famous pastelitos de guayaba. He enjoyed them so much he thought that maybe we'd be interested in buying the newly vacated restaurant space across the street from their theater.
He's quite the convincing salesman, too. "Just think! I could walk across the street whenever I got hungry and have Cuban food!"
Okay, so maybe I was tempted, a little.
(Actually, my mind started racing forward in total I Love Lucy fashion in which Lucy and Ethel come up with some harebrained scheme to start a business - how apropos, right? - and I began to think that maybe living in Boulder City and opening a Cuban restaurant there wouldn't be so bad, and since we homeschool and Eric works at home, we could live wherever we wanted and we do so love Desi and Amy, and I'd get to see him... All. The. Time. But that's not important right now.)
So Eric and I talked about it and fantasized a little....
Until we remembered that it gets to be 120 degrees in the summer in Boulder CityThe Dam City.
So sorry, Desi, mi amor. =(
But thanks again, Desi and Amy for a fabulous weekend. We'll definitely be visiting again! (And yes, I'll bring you some more pastelitos. MUAH! <--Cuban kiss.)
The following post has been brought to you by the lovely and talented (and oh-so-humble) Kikita.
About 10 years ago, when I was an adorable teenager who didn't remember much of the Spanish she'd spoken as a child, I saw the movie "Dance with Me."
It was magical. There was a beautiful Puerto Rican guy (Chayanne) who was playing the part of a beautiful Cuban. He went to a dance studio and taught a "professional Latin dancer" how to "feel the music."
He took her dancing and they ordered mojitos. That was the moment I decided that: "one day, I want to try a mojito." At this nightclub they went to, there was a live band that I just loved.
I remember thinking, "I would love to see that guy in concert."
Later in the movie, they go back to the same club. It's a longer scene and there is a different singer.
When I saw it I thought, "I would love to dance with people like that. Ooh, that guy in the vest is cute! I would love to dance with him." And I thought, "She's awesome. I would love to see her perform live too."
Secret wishes, hopes, and dreams that I never dared to tell anyone. I just kept them deep inside and they would bubble up every time I watched the movie.
As I got older, I moved some of those secret wishes to the "it's never gonna happen" shelf. Yes, when I turned 21 the first drink I ordered was a mojito.
Yes, I HAVE been dancing in places where I felt like I was in that scene in that movie, but most of the time I don't feel that way. Most of the time, I'm just happy to be dancing.
And then it happened. The guy singing in the first nightclub scene is Ricardo Lemvo and I got the chance to meet him when he played at the Conga Room. I couldn't believe my luck!
About a week later, I got an email from my dear friend Ziva. Having had so much fun at the Andy Garcia concert last year, she took me up on my offer to join her and Henry at another concert . . . This time, it was Albita.
Who is Albita? Aside from a fabulous and fun Cuban singer, she also happens to be the lady who was singing my favorite dance scene from "Dance with Me."
SHUT. UP. I KNOW!
So, tonight is the night. Tonight yet another of my secret wishes is coming to life. Tonight is a dream come true.
Does it stop there? OF COURSE NOT!
Earlier this week, I decided at the last minute to go out dancing "just for an hour or two." While I was there basking in the music, someone taps me on the shoulder and says, "May I have this dance?"
This "tipo" looks vaguely familiar, but I can't place him. Regardless, I wanted to dance so I accepted. "I'm Rudy." "Hi Rudy, I'm Kikita."
As soon as we started dancing I knew this guy was good and was just hoping I could keep up. I did. He looked a little surprised that I did (and I don't blame him, I was a little surprised too, but I'm not the one who got thrown off by the blond hair). We thanked each other for the dance and got on with our lives.
(For the record: This is NOT Rudy. Rudy is beautiful. This is just a representative photo of me dancing. This person couldn't really dance, but I could! Look at my lovely arm extension. But, as Mami would say, that's not important right now.)
What's your point, Kikita?
It turns out that this "Rudy" guy was one of the dancers in my favorite scene, the scene with Albita singing . . . he was the guy in the vest.
This was my very first concert. I found the ticket tucked away in my high school photo album. Thirty-nine years ago today.
I remember being a little salty still from the beach (Playa del Rey) earlier in the day.
I remember it was a double-date. My date, Terry, who was sixteen at the time (I was fifteen) had only had his driver's license for two months and drove an ancient red station wagon. Seatbelts? What?? =D
We drove up through the Hollywood Hills. You have to drive through a neighborhood of palatial homes to get there. I remember being shocked and surprised by this as only a wide-eyed fifteen-year-old can be.
But, ah... once we got into the Greek and found our seats...
The music was classic Motown. The air smelled clean and fresh as only outdoor concerts can. There's that roar and rush as the performers take the stage.
The lights! The sounds! The oh-my-gosh-they're-RIGHT-THERE-onstage amazement! Our favorite songs being performed live. They have never sounded better.
It was a magical night for me and one of my very fondest memories. My first live show. Notice the ticket price - $5.00. Wow.
I love that I can pinpoint the exact moment I fell in love with live shows. There was nothing like it. NOTHING. The music seriously came alive in a way that couldn't be captured over the radio or through vinyl.
It was live. And I was alive. And I was THERE.
That feeling has never left me. I have been to dozens of live shows since. And am never disappointed.
I recently took a Facebook quiz and was able to list over 50 acts that I had seen live, not counting stage, plays, and musicals.
The first two will always be Smokey and Stevie. It was one of those definining moments in my life. Who knew?
1. Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. *
2. Stevie Wonder.
3. Chicago.
4. The Beach Boys. *
5. Glady Knight and the Pips.
6. The Temptations.
7. The Four Tops.
8. The Grateful Dead. *
9. Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young. *
10. The Moody Blues. *
11. Fleetwood Mac.
12. Rod Stewart.
13. Linda Rondstat.
14. Carole King.
15. James Taylor.
16. Barbra Streisand.
17. Tito Puente.
18. Oscar de Leon.
19. Celia Cruz. *
20. Willy Chirino. *
21. Marc Anthony.
22. The Tubes.
23. Elvis Costello.
24. KC & the Sunshine Band.
25. The Monkees.
26. Tower of Power.
27. Johnny and Edgar Winter.
28. Bruce Springstein. *
29. J. Geils Band. *
30. Peter Frampton.
31. Boz Scags.
32. Michael Jackson.
33. U2. *
34. Chayanne.
35. Alejandro Fernandez.
36. Jethro Tull.
37. Huey Lewis and the News.
38. The Doobie Brothers.
39. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. *
40. Van Morrison.
41 The Allman Bros.
42. The Rolling Stones.
44. Brian Wilson.
45. Paul McCartney.
46. Peter Gabriel.
47. Loggins & Messina. *
48. Julio Yglesias.
49. The Go-Go's.
50. Jimmy Buffett.
51. Andy Garcia.
52. Gloria Estefan. *
53. The Marshall Tucker Band.
54. Lynrd Skynrd.
55. Charlie Daniels Band.
56. The Who.
57. Stephen Stills.
58. Warren Zevon.
59. Junior Walker and the All-Stars.
60. The Rascals.
(NOTE: There are many more. I keep remembering a few more each day...)
Even now, the excitement and fun of a live concert or show still calls to me. Of all the fun things we do now, going to shows is still high up there on the list.
These are programs and tickets from just this summer.
Amy and I saw Dirty Dancing at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood.
We have season tickets to the Orange County Performing Arts Center. This was for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
And of course, here we are in New York, on Broadway, waititng to see Wicked.
Las Vegas at the Wayne Brady Show.
Andy Garcia at the Conga Room.
David Copperfield at the Long Beach Arena.
Dana Carvey at the Orleans in Vegas.
We collected our favorite friends to accompany us to see Fiddler on the Roof (which coincidentally happened to fall on Lucy's birthday, but that's not important right now.) Go figure!
And of course, Disney's Electrical Parade.
We usually take the cheesy "I-was-there" photo. And even if it's blurry, we call it good. This was at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater where we saw the Pacific Symphony on their Rodgers and Hammerstein movie night.
That's us in all our Uber-Geeky glory.
We have passed on the love of the theater and live entertainment to our kids. In fact, we've taken to scouring ticket sales at the beginning of the summer to find the best deals. (I know. Uber-geeks.)
But I was reminded that this is a love that started thirty nine years ago (today) in what was for me, a magical moment in time. And even though the ticket prices are way higher than $5.00(!) live theater and concert-going is still very much a part of my life and of my family's life.
And I have the ticket stubs and cheesy pictures to prove it. =D
Do you have a favorite concert or show? Do you remember your first one? Tell me about it. I want to know.
A few months ago I received an email in my inbox and all it had was a picture attached. This picture:
Did I notice "El Gran Combo" (a group that, as a salsera, I have grown to love)? Of course not. I only had eyes for Willy. Immediately, I send Mami an email. There was no question as to whether we were going or not. We most definitely were.
In the months leading up to the concert, life happened. You know how it does . . . There were trips and musicals and Lucy turning 16 and milkshakes and . . . you get the picture, right? Anyway, a week before the concert I received a reminder email. AY CARAMBA! How could I forget WILLY??
"Mami! Willy! It's this Saturday!" "Ay, mija, I can't go! I made plans to have a reunion with some friends from high school that night. You can find someone else to go with, si?" I lied through my teeth, "Yeah, of course, no problem." What to do?
I consulted with a couple of friends on the level of pathetic (adjective: causing or evoking pity, sympathetic sadness, sorrow, etc.; pitiful; pitiable) that going to a concert alone would earn you. Apparently, it's not as pathetic as I thought. It seems there is a fine line between pathetic and cool and I just so happen to err on the side of cool. =D
So, I decided to go alone. (THAT is the key to the coolness. Deciding. I mean, I had the option to not go, but I wanted to go, so I did.)
I'm no stranger to doing things alone. I've done Disneyland by myself, dinner, the movies . . . Come to think of it, doing things by myself is usually not that bad!
(I was bummed, nervous, and excited all at the same time.)
I was a little late getting to the venue (since I wasn't carpool), but I wasn't too stressed about it because there was no one to silently get upset with me about being late for the first part of the opening act. I found my seat and proceeded to enjoy the music of the opening acts - standing up and dancing, of course.
I was having a great time, but I was starting to feel like the only Cuban in a sea of Latinos. So, my alone-ness was getting to me when . . . it was time for Willy!
Every song he played, I knew. What was amazing was that every song he played I not only knew, but loved. He played my favorite NEW songs along with his older ones that still have a special place in my heart.
He even sang a duet with the late Celia about how beautiful Cuba is. They would show her singing her part on video and he would sing his as if she was right there with him. Yes, my eyes welled with tears.
As if that wasn't gift enough, Willy asked where all of the Cubans were and I realized how very NOT alone I was.
My potentially lonely evening ended up being one of the best times ever.
(So much so that I am thinking about doing this whole "alone" thing again for the next concert I want to go to.)
Then when Willy started to play his last song, I knew I was a goner.
It was my redemption song, but I knew it wasn't just mine. It was the redemption song for any and every Cuban at that concert and every one of them NOT at that concert.
It was our song of freedom.
(I admit it, I wept.)
I have spent my whole life struggling to find (and keep) the balance
between being both Cuban and American and feeling so alone in that
turmoil, as that song was playing and I looked around, I realized how many others were in that same struggle.
We live about an hour south of Los Angeles. (That's how you calculate distances here in Southern California; by how long it takes you in traffic to get from one place to another.)
This is a wonderful thing because that means that we can go see shows in L.A. but not have to live there. See what I mean? Win-win. ;-)
And when summer begins the first thing we do is look to see who is in concert, because if there's anything we love, it's summer concerts. (Okay, we love any kind of a live show anytime of the year, but that's not important right now.)
Here's Andy on cowbell. And yes, I took this picture.
Notice how it's close-up.
How there are no heads in front of him obscuring the shot.
How it looks like it was taken from (where we were sitting) FIVE. FEET. AWAY.
Amy invited me to go because: 1) She enjoyed his music so much the last time she saw him and 2) I'm kind of a big fan. (I know. Total understatement. Shut up.)
So we got to the Conga Room early thinking we'd have to line up and maybe push some people around to get a good seat. Okay, not really, well, I may or may not have done that, but that's not important right now, either. =D
Anyway, relieved that we didn't have to manhandle anyone and because I lead a charmed life, we were able to get two seats IN THE FRONT ROW DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ANDY and where he would be bongo-ing and cowbell-ing and piano-ing for the next two and a half hours. (Shut up. I KNOW!)
The show was fabulous. If you have not heard the CineSon All-Stars do yourself a favor and get their music or better yet, go see them live.
I was seriously in Cuban Music Heaven. Apparently, so was Andy. *sigh*
Of course we danced! When a Cuban conga starts, who can stay in their seat? Seriously! And being in the first row gave us lots of room. =D
"Abre que voy!"
He played some of the hauntingly beautiful music from The Lost City.
We sang-along. We laughed. We danced. We clapped. We started the conga. (=D) We cheered for a Free Cuba.
Much to my everlasting delight, he winked at us and smiled at us and at one point even stuck his tongue out at us. (I know. Shut up. I'm guessing it was a purely defensive move: "I should be nice to those two noisy Cuban women in the front row directly in front of me, lest they get a little crazy.") =D
But do you know what kept going through my mind during the entire show?
Besides, "More cowbell, por favor!"...
This Cuban man should sooo have a copy of my cookbook! ;-)
