Latin American Idol

Just when I thought life couldn’t get any better I was invited to go to Latin American Idol!!! Yes you heard me clearly, I mean the adopted Spanish version of that pathetic show where almost talented people participate and has-been judges make fun of them. The role of Paula was played by a slightly less intoxicated but equally stupid blonde, Simon was replaced by a much heavier Puerto-Rican who spoke with a Spanish accent and is known as the “malo” or bad one, and the role of Randy, who is a jolly black man, was played by a skinny flamboyant and possibly homosexual guy from who knows where.

Down to the final four, each contestant sang not just one, but TWO songs. One of the finalists was from Panama, which is how I ended up there in the first place. No, not because I have secretly married a Panamanian (pretty sure that’s not politically correct, but I’m going to roll with it) and now have duel-citizenship, but rather I have a friend who is from there and his embassy was offering free tickets to go and support the young but talented Margarita. Of course I wanted her to win, not only because she has the same name of one of my favorite cocktails of which many fond memories have been formed due to drinking one to many of them, but because as far as the talent pool goes, she’s the only one that’s got it.

To answer some of the questions, for the most part it is live. The contestants weren’t allowed to sing their songs more than once and critiques were given by the judges immediately after. However, the Latin host, although seemingly kind while onstage, turned into a heinous thinks-he’s-famous star and was demanding make-up in between cuts. I have a strong feeling Ryan Seacrest is somewhat the same. Yes, the judges do have time in-between acts to smoke cigarettes and fill their cups with “water”, so no need to worry about them having to sit for so long without satisfying their basic needs. And no, the audience is not huge; it consists of 100 people sitting in a space appropriate for 30-super comfortable.

Despite only having a few seconds of cameos myself on the TV preview the next day, and having to wait in line behind the “super-fan” (you know the one who knows the life history of every contestant and has been to every show, but has yet to make it on TV) for an hour, I still enjoyed every minute of being there. If you ever wonder why they call it “Hollywood”, I’ll tell you, it’s all so much clearer when you have an opportunity like this.

Next step: trying out for the next! Thanks to Flavio and the Panama blood running through his veins for this incredibly “entertaining” experience.






"El Malo", friends and flags!!!



PS As cameras were prohibited during the performance, I'll let you know a life was risked for these highly desired and lucrative photos.

ACORN: La Gran Choripaneada

Choripaneada? What is that? Well my friends it’s a BBQ boasting one of Argentina’s most infamous meat concoctions- the choripan. The word choripan comes from it’s parts; the “chori” is short for chorizo, which is the closest thing to kielbasa one can get, and “pan” in Spanish means bread. So put these two wonders of the world together and we get a sausage sandwich. Genius!!!!! So being the smart and savvy volunteers that we are we realized that the closest way to someone’s wallet was through their stomach (we added beer in the mix to loosen up the process a little), so we organized a neighborhood BBQ for volunteers, neighbors, and friends in order to raise money for the community center.

The night itself was quite international with representatives from the US, Argentina, Holland, Peru, Mexico, Columbia, New Zealand, Britain, and Ireland. Neighbors and volunteers alike enjoyed the great cuisine, raffles, and most importantly each other’s company as all participated in ACORN’s fundraising event. The money generated will go towards supplies for classes and a field trip for the kids. Thanks to all who made this night possible and above all a success. In times like these the madness of the world is forgotten and humanity at its finest takes center stage, if only more of life consisted of moments like these.

Mendoza

Four days of mountains, bikes, shady sidewalks, beautiful plazas, good restaurants, and above all wine, one must ask themselves can life get any better than that? I submit that it cannot!!! A definite break was need from the big city after finals, so a trip to Argentina’s mellowed out wine country was planned. Mendoza sits at an altitude of 760m and produces 70% of the country’s wine. Argentina’s wines are getting better and better and are attracting international attention. Famous for it’s Malbec, a grape only grown successfully in the mountainous region outside of the city, Argentina has earned itself a place on map, and subsequently wine tasting has become a popular tourist attraction for many passing through Mendoza.




Taking full advantage of South America’s wine region, we rented bikes and headed out for a 12km trip consisting of 12 wineries, restaurants, and chocolate factories –sadly not operated by umpa-loompas to my demise- and olive oil plantations. Thinking wisely, we headed to the furthest winery on the map and began slowly making our way back trying varieties of wine, olive oil and chocolate along the way. Despite the occasional risk of being run off the road by an 18 wheeler, a good time was had by all!!




The next day was spent in the mountains of Mendoza hiking and kayaking. Trekking through the hillsides we made our way to a waterfall and from the top we repelled down. Despite having repelled hundreds of times, the rush of hanging from a string over a cliff still stirred up the old endorphins…I can’t imagine why! The second half of the day we leisurely made our way down a river in kayaks taking in the mountains of Argentina and marveling at it’s highest peak, Aconcagua (6962 m).

After 4 days a new appreciation of wine was acquired as well as a re-confirmation that Argentina continues to be one of the world’s most incredible countries for those who love the outdoors.