I know it's been a ridiculous 5 months since I've posted a blog, but my life has just been such a whirlwind of random, fantastic, wickedly awesome situations and adventures - I just haven't been able to find the time..
REWIND.
In December my mom and sister visited me from the states - we danced tango and salsa, visited Punta del Este, Uruguay, ate amazing Argentine beef, shopped at the artisan fairs, cooked dinner at home with friends, threw an unforgettable new years party in my apartment (my mom was a rock star, you should have seen her still going at 7am) and had an all around spectacular time...
After my mom returned to California - in January my sis and I visited the wine country in Mendoza, tasted a plethora of wines as we toured the various wineries on bicycles ... both dangerous AND fun :)
Here we are sampling a Norton Dulce Natural. YUMMMM:
Then we proceeded to take a double-decker bus over the Andes mountains and into the lovely little port town of Valparaiso, Chile. I hadn't returned to this little gem of a place since I lived there in 2002 and being able to trip around and share old memories while racking up new ones with my beautiful little sister was absolutely priceless.
When I returned home it was back to work for a couple short weeks before I took off again in February - this time to São Paulo, Brazil... to visit my friend, producer Edu Luke (photo of us in são paulo)
Then I met up with my sister for Carnival in Rio... it was my second trip to Brazil and I seem to fall in love with it more and more with every new experience within its borders.
March I worked like a crazy person, obviously, to make up for lost time and returned to my salsa and tango dancing full force dancing at least 4 nights a week - sometimes more.
April I helped to launch the first ever international Tango magazine called TangoZapa http://www.tangozapa.com - this involved participating in CITA, the second largest tango festival here in the capital of Buenos Aires, meeting with various dancers, musicians, vendors, and getting an all around in depth overview of the Buenos Aires tango scene, oh and of course, lots and lots of dancing.
Here's a photo from the closing party at a well-known milonga here in the capital called "Niño Bien"... the performances that night were out of this world:
My band and I returned to the studio to record the drum tracks for "Real Joy". I rented a state of the art drum studio in a facility called "MCL Records" - on of the best here in the capital. This place was totally amazing (see photos) and the coolest part was the impromptu visit from Spinetta (Argentine Rock God) who happened to be rehearsing next door. In two days Mr. Martin Sosa laid down a record 16 songs and we are now ready to go with the second phase of production. Aside from the music really coming together, a couple of filmmakers who do some work with my producer at Control Z Studios have taken an interest in our project and have begun to film a backstage "Real Joy: The making of" that we will be able to use along with our Electronic Press Kit (EPK) and perhaps even launch along with the album... we shall see... good things are happening.
Here are some photos from our "Drummer's Weekend" -
Here we are in May already...it has been a whirlwind of parties and celebrations, a couple of my closest girlfriends celebrated birthdays, which included music, dancing and delicious tortas with chocolate, liquor and of course... dulce de leche. Here's a photo of me performing alongside my best friend Denise at her party...
I adopted an 8 month-old cat and named her Lúcuma, she's overly affectionate and borderline crazy, so obviously she's perfect for me.
The film that I shot a few months back premiered in the Buenos Aires International Film Festival. That was quite and experience. It's called "Cinco" and truth be told, it exceeded my expectations in both the caliber of the performances and the quality of the cinematography.
Sitting in a state of the art movie theater along with a packed house and watching myself on that ginormous screen was surreal to say the least. I've always wanted to do film and the fact that my biggest involvement yet to date is in a 100% Argentine film is kid of ironic, and totally rad. I was so nervous before my scene showed my best girlfriend who had accompanied me to the premiere was rubbing my stomach and telling me to breathe.
Hmmm... what else, oh yes... I am starting a new project, a salsa quartet with a few of my closest friends, we are putting together a Salsa performance show that will include both salsa choreography and singing to perform at clubs, parties, events here in the city. We are totally excited to get things going. Check out my new shoes ** swoon ** I can spin like a million times, seriously, the day after the first night I danced in them I think I had a minor case of whip lash due to excessive spinning to test out my new shoes. It was hilarious.
In a couple of weeks, my band and I will be performing as the first band on the first date of a month long festival called "Proyecto Esmeralda" for female singer/songwriters here in the capital. The project is aimed towards spreading environmental awareness and it features 11 female artists in total. The venue is this great club called "La Cigale" downtown - a place I've wanted to play for a while now, so that should be exciting.
Once again and I hate to sound redundant, I guess I would just like to encourage you all to do whatever it takes to live a life that is pleasing to you - If you have this idea that your life could be better somehow, or different, or more fulfilling but there is something holding you back from taking the necessary leap of faith, pick up the phone and call me... seriously... I have words that'll make you jump right off that metaphoric ledge.
Now I am aware that despite a few difficult periods, I have lived a very charmed life. But I have become acutely aware over the past couple of years that I have missed out of more than I care to ruminate over by being so overwhelmingly wrapped up in trying to make sure my future was a success.
I am without a doubt happier now than I have ever been and much of that is do to a shift in consciousness. I can honestly say that for the last 12 months since I stepped onto that plane to South America I have made every effort to not miss an INSTANT of this crazy mixed up ride. I choose to grab it with both hands and gobble it up while savoring every moment. I encourage you to do the same.
Bottom line: if you aren't currently living the life of your dreams I encourage you to give it a try, it pretty much rocks.
