Song... Viva Mexico.

Mi chica and I dancing. Viva la Salsa!

Film by: Araceli (Chely) Melo

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Don Chente

My little sister (whom will be celebrating her Quiceanera X3 in three weeks)took us to Don Chente, a new bar and grill in he city of Huntington Park. Her friends used to perform there but on Sunday night there was a duet that used recorded tracks but sang live, not karaoke but really sing. Their specialty was tropical music. Cumbias, salsa, merengue, zoka, and a few boleros. They really, really sang them very well.



As it turned out, I was not properly dressed for such a nice place, not that they denied me entrance or anything like that but I looked more like a biker than a salsa dancer. Fortunately no matter how I was dressed that was not going to stop me from dancing. Since both mi chica and my lil sis are dancers I had to dance back to back while they had a song or two to rest. Needless to say I had a really good workout.

Towards the end of the night we went out to the patio and the waiter came out and said to mi chica, "Excuse me, aren't you from TV?" We started laughing and mi chica asked him what he meant by from TV. He said he thought she was a comic or something like that. Again we started laughing and my sister said, you mean like "The Chupitos" or "La Quatro". He got all embarrassed "Oh no, that is more like an insult" and went back inside. We just continued to laugh as we thought that was funny.

La Chupitos y La Cuatro, two famous Latin comics.

It was now closing time so they very politely kicked us out. lol Not really, we were waiting for a friend of ours that performs there and was talking to the owner. The waiter was leaving and he once again said he was embarrassed and tried to apologise but instead we asked him to pose with mi chica for a picture to remember the moment.



You must know that it is not uncommon for Latin celebrities to go to Don Chente thus the reason why the waiter got mi chica confused, we asked him whom he thought she was but he could not remember the name of that particular celebrity.

Well all in all we had a great outing. Here are some more scenes from the night.







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First Friday

People waiting for the shuttle at the Phoenix Art Museum parking lot.
Finally we did our first "First Friday" over at Downtown Phoenix. My sister in law and my niece were my partners in crime for this outing. We left the house at around 6:30 pm got on the freeway and in about 20 minutes we got to the Phoenix Art Museum to pick up the free route maps.

We waited for about 15 minutes for the shuttle but then decided to get the van and drive down to Roosevelt and 3rd, it was already crowded and we noticed that people had to park far to get to the event. I turned on a street here, and the on a street there and voila a parking spot was right there just waiting for us to park. Only two short blocks away and we were eaten by the crowds.
The temperature was hot and a bit humid, they had predicted rains all afternoon for Phoenix but does anybody really trust the Weather Forecasters, I think not. We started by going into the first gallery, an artist working on a painting, a band playing live in the corner, a few vendors selling hand made jewelry and friendly people just having fun watching the different products on display.

Then on to our second gallery, this one had some pictures just hanging from a string, you could tell the images were captured with a good camera, my little point and shoot will never accomplish the clarity of those images, I didn't see any prices though.

You find out that there is no particular kind of people there, it's a great mix of people of all kinds, trust me when I say all kinds. lol








Our third gallery tour showed a big collection of framed black and white images. I started to peruse the images and was already in my mind saying, "I have better images than this in my repertoire" my sister in law said the very same thing I was thinking and then under each picture in a little, tiny, weeny, card we saw the prices. $900.00 or $700.00 unframed. A regular size picture in a 5 X 7 frame $500.00 or $300.00 unframed.

My sister in law and her daughter admiring the photographs..
My goddaughter and I.
Humm do they think I am made of money. That's it I'm buying from my brother in law.

My sister in law said, "There is hope for you guys". I don't know what separates a pro from an amateur but if it's all the same to you all from now all call me "artist". I am artist Joe Cool and my captures will be found in a gallery on E Roosevelt St. Starting prices at the low $1000s and if my works sell maybe I won't get to be a starving artist.


Seriously, I offer my pictures starting at $25.00 and at this time my most expensive one is about $70.00. But there I think I have to start pricing them at $100.00 all the way to $800.00.

I didn't realize that the crowds were in the thousands. I thought maybe I would see a few groups here and there, well, think again Mr. Joe Cool.

The crowd.

I really enjoy this kind of outing, I hate crowds but I know how to ignore people when I want to and I don't let it get to me. Most likely we will be going again next month. The area where this galleries and studios are is so huge that there is no way everything can be seen in one day, or two, or three.





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First Friday and More

It's Friday once again, the nice thing about this weekend is that it will be long, I know many will complain and challenge me by saying that it's not long enough but all things considered for mi chica and I it will be. It is rare for mi chica to have two consecutive days off from work so we will take this rare opportunity and take a quick impromptu road trip to California.

In the meantime tonight I am planning to go to "First Friday" in Downtown Phoenix.

First Friday in Phoenix.
Open studios tours are a good way to experience art and artists. Every first Friday evening of each month you can take a free self-guided tour of downtown Phoenix galleries, studios and art spaces. It's called First Friday. First Friday is organized by Artlink, a nonprofit organization "...dedicated to bringing together artists, the public, and businesses for a greater understanding, appreciation, and promotion of the arts and the development of a strong and vital downtown Phoenix arts community."

Free shuttle rides will take you from one gallerie to the next during "First Friday".
Since I started doing the frames I have been interested in finding out ways of promoting them. Everybody keeps telling me that "First Friday" would be a perfect venue for me to promote and sell our frame images. So, tonight we are going to go and explore the possibilites.


All images on this post borrowed from the Internet.
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Another Road Trip

Again the week is going too fast, just two more days and another weekend is here. This one I know many of you are really looking forward to as it's a long weekend. Since mi chica normally only rests on Sunday she will have a two day weekend for a change, so we decided to take a quick trip to California.

Since we are creatures of habit we will be leaving as soon as she comes home on Saturday and hope to get there before midnight just in time for... yeap you guessed it Rambo's Tacos. For us going to Rambo's must be the first order of business upon arriving there.

Sunday will be the day we have available to go out and do something. Mi chica is not a fan of taking pictures like I am so I doubt I'll be photo hunting again but thankfully my camera is small enough to travel with me in my pants' pocket. You never know when a good capture may present itself. Then on Monday we'll be back on the road again on our way to Phoenix.

There's always some sort of plan or itinerary when we go to Cali but I also like it when there's no plan and we decide on what to do as we go along. The main goal is to visit mi chica's brother(s) as well as my sister and family. It should be fun and it will be great to get away from Phoenix.

I must admit I am dreading the California heat which normally is very humid, yes I live in the desert and it's very hot but our houses are equiped to handle it. There we'll be lucky if they can open all the windows and maybe have a fan or two.

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The Weekend In Review

We are scheduled to have another scorcher of a day, the forecast said 110 high for today, however I had another very enjoyable drive to work. No traffic and beautiful weather for top down again.

I'm back on my allergy pills but I think it would really help if I didn't forget to take them. Yesterday in the afternoon I meant to take a nap and winded up sleeping for like five hours, then woke up and caught up with my recorded shows before I went to bed again. Today I feel good and ready to tackle anything that comes my way.

Yesterday was my granddaughter's birthday celebration, I can't believe she is now eight years old. We had a nice time but most importantly the kids had a great time. It was a swimming pool party and the weather was perfect for it. Nachos, punch, and cake were served and I kept seeing people go back for seconds. Can't really go wrong with Nachos bathed in cheese and topped with ground beef and sliced jalapeños.

My six year old grand son Diego was hired by me to take pictures of the event, so the following are all his captures.

Nanni's grandma makes the coolest looking and most delicious cakes.

Happy eight birthday Brianna.

Not my favorite of traditions but done time and time again.

Birthday girl!

When you are a kid this is the most exciting moment... the presents!

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Images From Wisconsin

Sunset in Wisconsin. Image provided by a friend of mine.

Nice close up but the glare in the eyes takes away from the beauty of this image.

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Friday

As I have said before, I love the weekends but I just think they get here way too fast which now that I'm about to hit the big 5-0 is not to appealing. Can't believe it's Friday again.

This morning I got the car out from the garage and realized that the weather was perfect for top down so I drove in to work topless. Traffic is still very light, even with the kids back to school there are no big traffic jams, it's been a very enjoyable 35 minute drive every morning for the past 8 months or so.

I came in to work to find out there were bagels in the lunch room courtesy of one of our Account Executives. It is always nice to see how some people share the wealth with the support team even during hard times, but also people like this are the ones that normally succeed. I had a cinnamon bagel with regular flavor shmear.

In the saga of Diego's texting, yesterday we found a new target. I dialed my daughter's number and gave the phone to him. He immediately started with the normal phrases he already knows such as "I love you" except he wrote "i love you teeoncol = I love you tia Nichole" next he wrote "i am haflo hiu timithello" (This one I couldn't transalte - lol), then he wrote "i sedtelmiselloyo ised hiy = I said tell my tio Loyiel I said hi" (oh, now I know what he said in the previous text) then he wrote "yes but i amyooseg ni gapfon wino" (I never knew Diego could write German).

NextI know my phone rings and it's Nikki, except the call drops so mi chica calls her for me on her phone and passes it to me.

Nikki: Hi Dad
Me: Hi baby, did you call me?
Nikki: Yes, I did
Me: Did you like texting Diego?
Nikki: Diego? No wonder! Now it makes sense, I though it was you. (Probably thought I had forgotten how to write).

Once I told her the texts were from Diego all of a sudden she could read them. Ummm, we need to find a new target today for Diego to text. Who'll be next?

My allergies are back and are kicking my butt... achoo!

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Nothing Really Important

Sitting here sipping my coffee and realizing that darn I make a really good cup of coffee. You may say what is so special about making coffee? Trust me, time and time again my coffee will taste good vs. having my daughters make me one. Now restaurant coffee is always really, really good and will probably comes very close to mine. Yep! Mine is better.

Now that you know that little bit of information let's move on. I am really having motorcycle riding withdrawals. Today is one of those days where I opened my garage and saw my FatBoy sitting there a little dusty OK, a lot dusty and I just itched to ride it. Two years has already been too long. Here's my serious commitment I am making right now as I type... Let's get it serviced already, prime riding weather is coming right up and I would love to take advantage of it.

The shows I'm hooked on right now are: Betty la Fea, La Rosa de Guadalupe, America's Best Dance Crew, True Blood, Making His Band. Wow! That's it, not too big a list. I am patiently waiting for the new season of So You Think You Can Dance and Sons of Anarchy and in between I try to catch some good movies here and there.

My grandson is six years old and just started first grade. Today he asked me for my cell phone and asked if he could text his grandma whom by the way was in the same room as us. I said he could and he asked me how to spell a couple of words starting with the word love, I told him L O V E and he quickly pressed on the keys. Then he asked me how to send it so I told him hit the send key and showed him where it was. Mi chica got the text and texted him right back, he understood most of the message she sent him so he sent her another one, and grandma replied. Here's what is amazing to me, I didn't show his how to reply, in a matter of seconds he had figured it out and he texted his grandma for the next half hour. He knew what she was saying and he wrote all his little messages by himself. Mi chica was laughing and showing me how he spelled some of the words, obviously they were wrong but by looking at the letter we knew exactly what he was saying. Totally amazing to me.

TO BE CONTINUED...

I'll add more tidbits as my brain wakes up.

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Over The Hill? Moi?

The weather is starting to cool down, yes it is still a little hot but not as much as before, the trade will be that in the next month we will experience a little more humidity and our skin will get a little more moisture.

I don't think I have mentioned this before but I think today is a good day to do it. Next month I will join the coveted "Over The Hill" gang, the big 5-0 is upon me like nobodies business and mi chica and daughter Michelle have been working on a big birthday bash with DJ, plenty of food, and drinks.

They have chosen a Mexican motif for the fiesta and everything is revolving around anything and everything Mexican, from the food to the drinks to the decor. Of course I don't know Jack about what they are planning or doing, I know what I know because realistically it was impossible for them to keep this completely secret but I'm supposed to be in the dark about things.

Invitations have been sent all over the place, to my biker buddies, to my fellow Mustang club members, to my coworkers, to my karaoke clan, and to all my family and friends, heck one of my dear friends from Mexico may even make the trip to come and join me, to say I am excited is a total understatement.

I'll keep you posted on stuff as more information gets leaked and comes to my attention.

Then the following week right after my fiesta my little sister will also celebrate a milestone birthday (I think it's her 29th... again!) We had been talking about her hosting one of our Photo Exhibitions at her house in California and she came out with the idea of having it on the very day of her party. As most of her friends will be there she feels the frames will get total exposure and I agree. This way even if I don't sell a frame at least we will party hardy.

More on the exhibition and birthday party later on as well.

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The Homestead Museum - Part II

(PART II)

I continued capturing images, one after the other. Inside the houses, on the gardens, the fountain, the rooms, the blown glass, the appliances, etc. Our guide insisted I was the one to open the main door to the new house just so I could feel how heavy it was. The new house was beautifully decorated and looked ready for someone to move in.

After almost a full hour tour we finally said good bye to our guide and we headed towards the cemetery. A few more images and then we finally decided to go home, it is safe to say we were the last ones to leave the place.























All in all, a great tour worth repeating.

As one of the oldest cemeteries in southern California, El Campo Santo contains the remains of the pioneering Workman and Temple families as well as Pio Pico, the last governor of Mexican California. Within its low brick walls, the one-half acre cemetery features a Neoclassical mausoleum and a small cemetery plot surrounded by a Gothic Revival cast-iron fence.

In the early 1850s, the Workmans established El Campo Santo or "the sacred ground" as a cemetery solely for the use of their family. Along with a cemetery plot enclosed by an ornate cast-iron fence, they built a Gothic Revival brick chapel dedicated to St. Nicolas by Bishop Thaddeus Amat of Los Angeles. Among the first to be buried was William Workman's brother David, who was killed in 1855 while driving cattle to the gold fields in northern California.

At the turn of the century, the cemetery was abandoned and its brick chapel destroyed by fire. Walter Temple, a grandson of the Workmans, successfully filed a lawsuit preventing any further desecration of the cemetery. In 1917, he was able to purchase the cemetery and the surrounding 75 acres and began restoration. In place of the chapel, however, he built a cast stone Neoclassical mausoleum and moved the remains of his family inside. He also transferred the remains of Ygnacia and Pio Pico from Calvary Cemetery in Los Angeles, which was being relocated in the 1920s.

Today the cemetery is restored and maintained as a California State Historic Landmark and is open to visitors through a self-guided tour described in the free brochure available at the museum office.

For additional information on the museum.
CLICK HERE!

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We Had a Great Time

Yes, I just had to pose by this La Puente landmark.

Buy donuts in a donut, eat a donut inside a donut, make donuts in a donut, or drive through a donut. These are all things that could happen if you are in the La Puente area and go visit this landmark donut shop. I think The Donut Hole has been there since the late 1960s however I couldn't find much history on it. I did however found out that their donuts are supposed to be really tasty. I love donuts therefore I must buy some the next time we visit.

My lil sis and I.

The tour guide at the Homestead Museum was nice enough to take this picture. Even though I only see my sister two or three times a year we are still pretty close. She still refuses to leave California and join the rest of us here in Phoenix. Oh well, her loss. lol

And in the afternoon my nieces joined us for some succulent tacos de lengua. Delicious!

There's nothing nicer than a good ol family dinner. My sister cooked one of my favorite dishes and my nieces all showed up to eat with us. We had a great time. After dinner we started the karaoke machine and there was no stopping us until it was very late, or early depending on how you look at it.

We only had the one day but we really made the most of it.

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