Eternal Summer 2015

Au Revoir Summer!

Thanks for everything you brought us. Good luck in southern latitudes and I hope you miss us so much that you come next year a little earlier full of life and beautiful energy. 

As a South American girl living in New York you know how much I miss you when you are not around. However, I must admit that I have developed a strange love affair with your colleague, Mr. Winter. But don't get jealous, you are still my one and only!

Love you always,

G

Amateur life guards provided to you by Guachafita Productions. 

Infinitas gracias a Guachafita Films & Co. por las fotos, las risas, la compañía, y el inmenso amor que me han brindado por años. Love you guys, let's keep this eternal summer in our hearts for ever. 

Party (not really) like a Rock Star

When I was in Architecture School I used to love the clubbing scene. I used to go out Friday, Saturday and if Monday was a holiday (which happens very often in Colombia -it's actually a miracle that we still exist as a country with all the holidays we celebrate-) then Sunday was a partying day too (needless to say, this generated extreme tension between my parents and I). My class mates, specially Mr. Felipe Villa (yeah you) used to tell me that I had a drafting table in the club (this joke wouldn't make much sense nowadays since architecture students draft in their computers, but back then we actually hand drew our own drawings). My inability to grow up led me to some nice clubs in NYC as well. My very good friend Paola and I landed in Marquee some years ago and we felt as if we had found home (yeah, yeah home is where the heart is but our hearts were in Marquee back then). Then I hit The Standard's Boom Boom Room and Le Bain as if there was no tomorrow. 

And then came Philly. The beautiful city of brotherly love. My partying went from 100RPM to 10RPM on my wildest nights. Did I finally grow up? I don't think so. I'm just going thru a "hold-on-I'm-saving-energy-for-later mode". Philly has provided me with awareness, with tranquility, with peace...and with pay per view! For whatever reason the mere idea of clubbing nowadays gives me an instant hangover. What's wrong with me?! What happened to my beautiful boyfriend "Mr. Party like a rock star"? Gone! Gone with the wind! That boat has long sailed away (or has it not?) taking away beautiful memories of younger days. Now I actually find pleasure on going to bed at nine o'clock in the evening. I love it when I get invited to parties that start early in the afternoon because I know I will be back in Morpheu's arms before midnight. So last night wasn't an exception to the new rule. We rented American Hustle for the third time and in a failed attempt to watch the end of it CoCo and I fell asleep before it was over (this has happened three times already), so can someone please tell me how the hell does this movie end? All I can remember is the beautiful 80's outfits, and the genius girl behind the sentence: "You are nothing to me until you are everything!" Isn't she the best? Never settle for less than you deserve people! Never! 

So for all of you 70's, 80's, 90's, and 2000 party animals. I want you to know that you are not alone. A wild heart cannot be tamed. We can become sleepy, less energetic, or even wrinkled, but we will die being wild. Osho once said: "My meditation is simple. It does not require any complex practices. It is simple. It is singing. It is dancing. It is sitting silently". Maybe I had figured it all out back in my clubbing days. Now that I think about it, when I was dancing in UnoClub until the wee hours I was definitely feeling pure bliss. 

"Yeah! I got five likes on Instagram!" 

"But first, let me take a selfie!"

All pictures by CoCo Productions (Gords, que seria de mi vida sin ti?!)

American Apparel everything, minus the bag which is Juicy Couture (why did they close their stores?), the impossible to walk-in platform shoes which are Céline, the childish Swatch sprinkler watch, and the beautiful handmade bracelet by Rita Jewelry. 

Still not bored? Check the master mind behind my "meeting-my-mother-in-law-for-the-first-time-appropriate" cell phone case here and enjoy!

Besos y bendiciones! Please misbehave and make me proud ;)

Gloria

Mexico pseudo-diary Part Deux

Quite often I've found myself torturing my brain with unanswerable questions: Why did my dad die so young? Why can't I sneeze with my eyes open? Why do I wake up naturally every morning exactly at 5:53? Why do I get one ugly black hair that not even laser seem to be able to kill on my chin every month? And lately I've asked myself multiple times: How (and why!) did I end up living in Philadelphia away from my family, friends, and the life that I've build in NYC for the past fourteen years? 

I'm one of those persons that seems to have mastered the art of riding life's wave with relatively easiness. I like to call myself a professional life surfer. I have no idea what's going to happen tomorrow, 99.9% of the time I don't have a plan, and basically I try not to worry about anything. I just wait for the wave to take me places. This might sound like an ideal life philosophy but the truth of the matter is that I envy people that have a plan. I was once asked by my therapist (you don't call yourself a real New Yorker until you get your own therapist a.k.a. a "friend" that charges $250 an hour for listening to your shit and keeping a straight face all most of the time) where do I see myself in five, ten, and twenty years. I freaked out. I was sent home with a note pad and a pencil and I was told not to come back until a detailed plan for the next twenty years of my physical existence in this planet was written down. Needless to say, I never saw that man again. 

So here we are, three girls in Tulum, Mexico in a beautiful hotel, drinking Margaritas and trying to figure out our very different yet very similar lives. Trusting our internal GPS i.e. gut feeling, sixth sense, voices in my head, imaginary friend with our most important decisions and basically not coming to any conclusion but to ride the wave and enjoy it as it comes. We finished our trip as clueless as we started it but with the firm believe that we are in this world to be happy not in five, ten or twenty years but today. 

Philadelphia, city of brotherly love, thanks for adopting me as one of your bastard offsprings. After six months of walking your streets, nearly being run over by a truck, falling down a flight of stairs and eating the freshest food I've had in the US (sorry NYC, Philly's restaurants rock!) I'm starting to understand why I'm here; I can't quite put in words yet, but the surfing conditions have never been better. 

With love,

Gloria

Mexico Diary Part I (aka what I vaguely remember from my vacation)

I arrived to Mexico on a Friday afternoon. After a very rough winter I very hesitantly adventured myself to the outdoors of the airport in search of my shuttle taxi. My skin cannot believe that only one layer of clothing can protect me from the weather. I haven't felt these pleasurable temperatures in months. Nine other tourists wait with me patiently in line. We are all pale as milk, damn you winter, damn you to hell!

I spent the afternoon drinking agua de coco by the pool and talking to the very nice bartender. It's surprising to see how happier people seem in more tropical climates. Is the snow turning us into unhappy hermits? I refuse to accept that. I (heart) my snowboard!

My crazy party days are gone (shame!) and now I enjoy the quietness and tranquility of small hotels, this time however I went a little too small and by seven o'clock in the afternoon I found myself having dinner with the hotel staff in the kitchen watching what for me was the best tv show on earth: El Chavo del Ocho. You know what's better than El Chavo del Ocho? Watching El Chavo del Ocho in Mexico, with Mexicans. Life is good. 

My beautiful friends arrived mid-day and from that exact moment a delicious non-stop cycle of sun, laughter, some exercise, shopping (more shame), eating tortilla with guacamole, drinking wine, sleeping, exploring, repeat started. And then came Tulum.....

Synchronicities

From "The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire" by Deepak Chopra. © 2003 by Deepak Chopra. 

Most of us go through life a little afraid, a little nervous, a little excited. We are like children playing hide and seek, wanting to be found, yet hoping we won’t be, biting our nails with anticipation. We worry when opportunity approaches a little too closely, and hide deeper in the shadows when fear overcomes us. This is no way to go through life. People who understand the true nature of reality, those whom some traditions call enlightened, lose all sense of fear or concern. All worry disappears. Once you understand the way life really works—the flow of energy, information, and intelligence that directs every moment—then you begin to see the amazing potential in that moment. Mundane things just don’t bother you anymore. You become lighthearted and full of joy. You also begin to encounter more and more coincidences in your life. 

When you live your life with an appreciation of coincidences and their meanings, you connect with the underlying field of infinite possibilities. This is when the magic begins. This is a state I call synchrodestiny, in which it becomes possible to achieve the spontaneous fulfillment of our every desire. Synchrodestiny requires gaining access to a place deep within yourself, while at the same time awakening to the intricate dance of coincidences out in the physical world. When a coincidence arises, don’t ignore it. Ask yourself, What is the message here? What is the significance of this? You don’t need to go digging for the answers. Ask the question, and the answers will emerge. They may arrive as a sudden insight, a spontaneous creative experience, or they may be something very different. Perhaps you will meet a person who is somehow related to the coincidence that occurred. An encounter, a relationship, a chance meeting, a situation, a circumstance will immediately give you a clue to its meaning. “Oh, so that’s what it was all about!” The key is to pay attention and inquire....

Tulum, Mexico. Mayan Ruins.

Clowns brought to you by the universe and it's wonderful synchronicities.

hApPy MonDaY!

Tulum, Mexico

All Pictures by CoCo #2 AKA Maritza Fantasticus

Summer Song Addiction

One Day/ Reckoning Song by Azaf Avidan (Wankelmut Remix) Day version.

Happy Friday!

Tippi of Africa. How not to fall in love with this girl?
Have a nice weekend!