Long Lost Photos: Edition I

Paris, France (2008)

Paris, France (2008)

Venice, Italy (2008)

Paris, France (2008)

Europe 2008

Paris, France (2008)

Paris, France (2008)

Venice, Italy (2008)

GovBall VIP Status

       This weekend was so amazing that it absolutely deserved a spot on my blog. As most of you know, through my constant humble bragging all over social media for that I apologize, but not really: I got the chance to work at Governor’s Ball. The reason I got this opportunity was because the coordinators of GovBall actually got cupcakes from the shop I work in. They would allow us to go to the event if we handed out cupcakes in their performers lounge. Now I went under the impression that I would probably have to work inside an average room and not really get to see much of the shows or Artist. However, I was incredibly wrong about that. Either way, I still asked to go on Friday in hopes of getting chance to see Bastille and the 1975 backstage. Which for the record I got to see them both backstage! Once I got to the event my coworker and I were warmly greeted by the person in charge of the Performance Lounge, she told us it was completely fine for one us to see the concerts and go out and about as long as one person stayed at our table. So as you can imagine, I had quite a ball! After working the first day, enjoying all the free stuff, getting the chance to see the 1975 & Bastille back stage and front row at their concert I had already measured it as a great weekend. 

It wasn’t until later that night, when I found out my pass was good for the rest of the weekend, that I really understood how great of a time I would eventually have. Not only did I get to enjoy Friday, but I also got to come back Saturday and Sunday, not as a worker, but as a guest with the same VIP access. Which means that I got to enjoy all those things I had enjoyed before without the guilt of having to head back to my table. I got to roam all of Governors ball as I pleased. It was actually one of the best weekends of my life. All of the artist I got to meet were all like regular people, they were super friendly, and were open to talking to everyone. I started this blog with high hopes for the year 2014, and it’s honestly living up to its potential. I got practically a free trip to Cuba, a free senator pass to GovBall, what will come next? Hopefully the laws of attraction continue to give me great opportunities this year because I am really excited of what is yet to come. Now the performance Lounge was incredible, they had: iced coffee, message tables, open bar, oysters, juice generation, coconut water, the list goes on and on. Now since we needed to people to go in and out we were granted Senator clearance. The ranking goes: General, VIP, Press, Senator, and Governor: which was solely for the performers, friends of performers and the backstage GovBall employees. This ranking gave me access to go into all the performer hangout spots, all the VIP sections of each stage, and access to all the free amenities.

Cuban Artist: Rafael Villares

While on my trip to Cuba, I had the opportunity to meet an amazing Cuban artist named Rafael Villares; his work was both evocative and naturalistic. Villares presented one of two ideas in his artwork: the idea of creating function out of something that appears to be without function; and the relationship between Cubans and Cuban Americans, in regards to the Cuban migration. In one of his function pieces called ‘Breathe’, Villares installed a light box in the center of the floor and created a layer of cracked dirt above the light box. As the observers came into the room, they would immediately be greeted by the rhythmic sounds of breathing that was matched by the intensity of the light shining through the cracks. This would eventually cause the observer to sync their own breathing with that of the “earth” creating the idea that they are one with the environment. Another function piece with a similar idea was ‘Flight’, this piece consisted of a room that had air blowing from the ceiling to the floor, and from the floor to the ceiling. These two forces of air hold up tons of loose bird feathers that were collected for the piece, giving the observer the feeling that they are flying with these feathers. The feathers had already fallen of the birds they belonged to; so this piece emphasized creating function in something that had lost function.

One work that I personally got the chance to see was Villares piece on the Cuban Identity and Relationship. As many know, after the Cuban Migration following the revolution that led Communism, tensions arose between those that remained in Cuba and those that fled to Miami. Hostility has caused many Cubans to disassociate themselves with the ones that fled and consider those to not be “authentic Cubans”. Villares, who holds a different ideology, installed a lamppost in the middle of the central city known as Havana Vieja. This lamppost was split into two, holding two light bulbs, and intertwined with each other to represent a unity. One light bulb was from Cuba; the other was brought from Miami. This symbolized that the Cubans and Cuban Americans may seem to be different but they are in fact intertwined and are one. Villares was a phenomenal artist and I connected deeply with the message he was trying to present. Feel free to check out his website to read more about these pieces and see any new work he may create. http://www.rafaelvillares.com

Las Manos Pa' Arriba

       This is a short video I made of my trip to Cuba. Hopefully this gives you the chance to see a bit of Cuba through my eyes. Although this video gives you an inside look, it only gives you a taste of what I experienced there. Although, I hope it gives you a but more motivation to travel to the marvelous island that is Cuba. Sit back, enjoy y suban las manos pa' arriba!

How was Cuba?

            A lot of people have been asking me this question since I got back from Cuba. It is honestly an extremely difficult and loaded question, which is the reason why I’ve been delaying this post for so long, that, and coming back to a million assignments. I can sit here and write about what I thought about Cuba; but the truth is, Cuba is such a unique travel experience and it’s different for every person that makes it there. Not to mention that it’s really hard to put my whole experience into words. Now that I’ve actually been there, I understand why I couldn’t get an idea of what my trip would be like from the online forums I had looked through. I’m going to try my best to tell you about my experience, but just know that its completely possible for you to go next week and have a completely different experience from what I had.

            Being that my trip was a rather short one, at least I thought so, I didn’t really have a chance to get to know any of the people I went with, except for a couple class meeting here and there. So we all jumped into this brand new country with no familiarity of one another, and no Internet if I might add. Although in the long run, these were the best circumstances. It allowed us all to get much more intimate with each other without the distractions of our devices. We spent almost every night drinking bottles of Havana Club on the porch, talking about subjects that actually mattered. This was especially convenient for me because: sometimes I find myself trying to bring my friends on my trips with me, through my devices. However, this allowed me to really disconnect and focus on what was in front of me.

            Due to all these circumstances, Cuba became quite the ultimate trip for me. With the new mates, I went out exploring and got to ride through Cuba as more of a local and less of a tourist, which is always my main goal. It allowed for plenty of reality checks and recognition of my privilege living in the U.S. It gave me the opportunity to see a country that is constantly criticized in the U.S. for what it is and not what it’s made out to be. Not that it’s perfect, but lets be honest, neither are we. It allowed me to recognize that we are just as brainwashed as every other country we criticize. While exploring the old city, we got the opportunity to meet a local member of the community who took us out and about to the real parts of the city. He showed us what was real and what was commercial, and he even went out clubbing with us. Cuba is honestly filled with so much beauty both internally and externally. The Cuban people are so embracing you can’t help but fall in love. The amount of times I was confused as a Cuban was too many to count. When I told them I was Dominican they embraced me just the same and labeled me as an hermano. I can truly say Cuba influenced my perception of the world, as well as my own personal life and going was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. If any of you guys get the opportunity to go, TAKE IT!! You may have a different experience then what I had, but it will be too unique of a trip to ever regret taking. 

            

Traveling Tradition

There is this traveling tradition that I have followed for over five years now. Every time I travel someplace I buy myself a postcard. Every new destination, I make sure I keep one for myself. When I get home I put the post card in my travel box, along with maps and any tickets I might have gotten abroad. This travel collection has been going pretty well; so far I have twenty-seven post cards. I love looking at them and knowing that I’ve been to these places, it is very inspiring.

Fresh Start/ Memory Jar

            As the year 2012 was coming to an end, I came across an amazing project. Most people refer to it as, the Memory Jar Project. What you do is, start the new year with an empty jar. Anytime you try something new, complete something you’ve always wanted to do, or just want to remember something you felt was meaningful you’d “record it”. Write it on a piece of paper, fold it and toss it in the Memory Jar. At the end of the year, pull out all notes and reminisce at all the amazing things you accomplished and got to experience that year. For the year of 2013, I decided to take on this project and note down all of my important memories for the year. Now twelve months later, I cannot help but stare at my memory jar and reminisce over the experiences I’ve had this last year. Not only does keeping a memory jar help engrave amazing memories into your brain, but it also gives you an idea of what you, as an individual, consider significant. This project has also allowed me to get a bit out of my comfort zone; I am not much of a risk taker but ever since starting of this project I’ve found my self more willing to take a leap of faith for the things I wanted to accomplish. This project left me eager to try new experiences and really work on becoming a well-rounded individual. I am a person of many interests and passions; there's so much I want to know and want to learn. I want to read, travel, learn and explore as many things as I can. So that is my new challenge, this is the purpose of my blog. I plan to go out and travel, read, learn about different cultures, teach myself different subjects. This blog will serve as my new memory jar and hopefully inspire others to do the same. So sit back and wish me luck on my journey towards becoming a well-rounded individual.