This is my neighborhood

Mi Barrio, en español
I was building my website and wanted to have so badly a cappuccino, but I realized that I didn’t have milk in my refrigerator. So with the mission of getting milk and inspired other to travel I get in to this short travel experience through my neighborhood.


I live in Hallandale, Florida. I am located between the two most important cities in Florida, which are Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

We all dream about travel around the world, but how many time we give us the opportunity to appreciate our neighborhood? So I got my camera and went for a short walk up to my grocery store not only to get milk, but also to discover how much I am missing in front of my nose.

From Mi Barrio	From The street

Most of the architecture around my home is from the 70’s, but thanks for the boom in Real Estate of 2005 we start seeing going up new high rise buildings. Even today with the Real Estate market down still very expensive to get into those buildings.

The majority of those people in those buildings use those apartment as a vacation homes or “winter homes” if you know what I mean. So from September to May we start seeing around here more action.

		If I go over the bridge I have pretty much all what I need to make my life comfortable, from grocery stores up to spas. So would not be fare for me to complain abut my neighborhood.
From El Puente

I have a Wal-Mart opens 24 hours/7 days a week, I have a bank that is also open 7 days a week, which I have to make a short stop to get money to buy my milk.
Also I do have my choices for fast food and a Starbucks Coffee, which I am not such a fun. If you come here and want to have a good coffee, visit “The Barista” located right on Hollywood Downtown, 5 minute drive from here.

From Mira mas fotos de mi barrio

		I also have this sign that I never see before. How many things are we missing of our neighborhoods.
From My neighborhood

	Office Max to get my office supplies,
From My neighborhood

	Panera to get my fresh bread and sometime their pesto chicken sandwich, which is delicious.
From My neighborhood

	Small restaurants with sitting on the side walk, which are great for the afternoons here in Florida.
From My neighborhood

	"Piola"Restaurant running by Argentines
From My neighborhood

	Liquor store it is always handy to have close to home
From My neighborhood

	And Christmas Tree for just only $44.99
From My neighborhood

	Ah! Here is my milk.
From My neighborhood

Ok, time to go back… I am going to prepare a nice cappuccino and toast. My recipe for toast: after toasting the bread, put butter, cinnamon and sugar.

From Foto desde el puente

		Mmm, Fue un placer poner este blog. Nos vemos.
From Mi cafe

Halloween 2008 Miami

Halloween in Miami

En Espanol

 

            I visited South Beach, Miami to watch the Halloween’s party 2008. To understand a little is better about this event I start my day visiting Jesse Thoreson’s studio, a famous local artist in the area of Hollywood doing body painting.

            Jesse was telling me that today is one of his busiest days of all year around. His fist client a surprised it was Juan from Argentina! Today Juan is a bartender of Mangos one of top night clubs in South Beach. 

Desde Halloween Body Paint 1	Desde Halloween Body Paint 2	From Halloween Body Paint 3

            In a little be more than two hours Juan was converted from a bartender to a Zombie of Miami.

            The client’s list it was long, I stay on Jesse’s studio up to 5 PM. Sadly, I got to go to watch the Halloween 2008 in South Beach, Miami. For Jesse today has appointments up to 11 PM.

            Thanks Jesse.

           

            While a change, I’ll tell a little be about the history of Holloween.

            Halloween was a celebration of the New Year for the Celts a group that was having fun 2000 years ago in the area where today is Ireland.

            Do you want a cup of coffee? I am preparing one, while I look in the computer ways to park today in South Beach, it is always a challenge.

            Ok, how I was saying, the Celts had divided the year basically in two seasons: the summer or the “light time” and the winter or “dark time. The strongest winters of the region killed a lot of people during the winter time, so this time it was also associated with the darkness in life.

            In the night of October 31 it was when those two world we communicated: The dark and the light time or the dead people world with the live people.

           

            I am living to South Beach, I am a 30 minutes en car. Today I did not ware a custom, but I have the excuse to say that I did put a custom in my Mini Cooper make it look like a Dodge 1988 a little be rusted. 

 

            Tonight is the night where the “witches” received the massage from the spirits with predictions about the future and also is the night where the dead people walk in the street. Let see how many dead people we find in Lincoln Rd.

Here in USA Halloween are the second commercial holidays. Last year the Americans spend $5.8 billions of dollars.

Halloween has been introduce in USA by the immigrants from the area of Ireland. Halloween has it owns history in USA, from been a festival related to vandalism up to today where the whole family take part at this holidays.

 

See you next time.

Alfredo de la Fuente.

Body Paint: Halloween 2008

Disfraces de Halloween en Miami

            En este Halloween 2008 visite a Jesse Thoreson, en Estados Unidos, un artista famoso no solo por sus grandes diseños haciendo “body painting”, pero también por sus trabajos pintando en motos o autos. Hubo una Collection de PT Cruseir en los salones de la exposición de autos en Detriot.

            Jesse Thoreson es un artista desde el alma, cuando era chico casi lo expulsan de la escuela por pintar a una mujer desnuda. Los trabajos de el tienen una mezcla de sensualidad, Rock y mucho metal.

            El primer cliente que tenía cita llego al estudio a las 11 de la mañana. A sorpresa mía “el flaco era de Mar del Plata!” Si Juan hace uno años que vive en Estado Unidos y hoy es un bar tender en Mangos uno de los boliches mas famosos de South Beach. Como referencia no cualquiera entra a trabajar ahí.

            Juan vino con la idea de convertirse en un zombi para estas fiestas de Halloween. Enseguida a Jesse le gusto la idea y comenzó a pintarle el torso y la cara. Después de marcarles las venas de color verde, Jesse quería pintarle un hueco en la panza de Juan donde iban a salir gusanos, mostrando el grado de petrificación del cuerpo.

            Juan iba a utilizar una camisa rota que le iba a cubrir parte del cuerpo por lo tanto Jesse cambio su idea y le pinto las costillas y parte de los intestinos saliéndose del cuerpo. Acuérdense esto es Halloween el día que los muertos salen a la calle.

            Después de un poco más de dos horas de maquillaje Juan estaba casi listo. Lo que le estaba faltando ahora era la ropa toda rota para terminar su personaje. Mientras Juan corría su casa para cambiarse he irse a trabajar al boliche, Jesse seguía pintando hasta las pasadas las 11 de la noche. Yo por lo tanto saque  algunas fotos de otros clientes de Jesse y después me fui a casa para luego encontrarme devuelta con Juan para ver como quedo terminado su traje completo.

           

            Mas: Mira como quedo Juan y otros disfraces de Halloween 2008 en Miami.

 

Alfredo de la Fuente