jueves, 27 de diciembre de 2012

The Colors of Colombia

Local Markets. Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia.
Happiness.
All pictures by me. 
Beautiful and natural models brought to you by the fantastic weather of Colombia.

domingo, 23 de diciembre de 2012

Ibague, Colombia. End of The World 2012


I happen to be lucky enough to have a family full of obsessive compulsive members. We have bi-polars, hoarders, passionate alcoholics, peaceful warriors, and unconditional PG-13 lovers. My late grandmother used to be a seamstress- Spanish couture at its best. My aunts and mom followed her steps as dressmakers- the tradition however, ended abruptly with me as I became a dress-wearer. The house where I used to spend my vacation in Ibague, Colombia is a place full of vintage treasures, since my aunts never threw anything away, because as they say: "Algún día podré necesitar esa blusa..." (some day I might need that blouse). Innocently, they are on the path of becoming hoarders.... 

As I enter this place, after not visiting my aunts for two years, the delicious mixture of tobacco, eucalyptus plants, patchouli, and oleo paints welcome me and fill my brain with childhood memories. This house is my secret spot. I feel comfortable here. I started my vintage trip in my favorite aunt's closet. I will not disclose her name to avoid jealousy and the like. But she knows she's my favorite :) Reluctantly she surrendered several bags full of clothes. As it was expected, I love every single item. After further negotiations I scored seven dresses and a couple of blouses. Call me shallow, but this type of acquisitions make my life happy. I kidnapped my brother as the photographer for this trip. He's a biologist with an aversion for fashion, yet he seemed to enjoyed his role. However, I had to give him massive amounts of alcohol and a well deserved tip. 

My second aunt forbade me from entering her territory. I'm not giving up yet. I still have a couple of days. Eventually she'll surrender to me. Resistance is futile. I hope you all have wonderful holiday's celebrations. Call it Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, End of the World, Three Kings day, or just Good Karma. I will spent the remaining days of the year in the land that saw me grow up to be the obsessive happy person I am today.
 I don't smoke. I think smoking tobacco is really bad for your lungs. But my aunts smoke and if I'm going to violate their closets the least thing I can do is share a cigarette with them. I also like to embellish things a bit, it might be part of my artistic side..... 
My favorite necklace now days is this beautiful Dannijo specimen. It's all candies, and eyes. What's not to like? 
The delicious feeling of sharing a good family gossip with my mom. I found out dark secrets about my family. After all we are all humans. Don't worry tias, I'm with you and non, je ne regrette rien neither.


Disclosure: I haven't spoken a single word of English since I landed in Colombia five days ago. My short-long term memory keeps letting me down and my second language tends to disappear when most of the words I speak are: piscina, familia, comida, tamales, and mas vino por favor. My beautiful English teacher/ blog editor is on vacation too. Please forgive my sloppy English. Things will eventually go back to normal, what ever "normal" means.

viernes, 21 de diciembre de 2012

End of the World Pool Party

Thank you Mayans. We are indeed enjoying every day as if its our last.
All pictures by the one and only Borg, Juan Borg AKA my brother. 
Alcibiades is having a well deserved time off from the blog. 

miércoles, 5 de diciembre de 2012

Real Nice Thing in Life #11

I was obsessed with Barbie dolls when I was younger. I can’t think of another way to describe the twenty-odd dolls that I collected over my childhood years. I had the Japanese Barbie, the Doctor Barbie, the just-had-a-baby Barbie, the grandma-and-grandpa Barbie-and-Ken combo, the Barbie horse, the Barbie Ferrari Testarosa, the scooter, the apartment, the office -everything. My dolls had the world at their feet. The predominant palette of my bedroom was every color ranging from hot-pink, freshly unwrapped bubble gum to pale-pink, I’ve-been-chewing-this-piece-for-four-hours-bubble gum. It couldn’t get any more girly. Yet my mother insisted on cutting my hair the same way as my older brother (super short!) and in a very avant garde effort to reuse, recycle, restore, I inherited my brother’s very boyish clothing.  

I’ve found myself shopping in the man’s department many times and not for my male counterparts, but for me.  I love it when my husband purges his closet and all his unwanted nice shirts find a new home in mine. Not only do they fit me perfectly -i.e. they look huge- but the male scent they come with is just priceless! (grrr).  My new wallet (I lost my old one during a slightly wild birthday celebration) is from Jack Spade, and my all-time favorite shoes are Cole Haan men's black oxfords -to the point where I've purchased the same pair with slightly different variations several times. I love wearing men's bow ties, and nothing beats John Varvato's shower gel (although I've found a new best friend in Chloe's  hand lotion).

I love this gender-specific-clothing grey zone where woman can rock male outfits. In a world where gender inequality is undeniable it's very refreshing to feel that one can take advantage -to an almost abusive extent- of the opposite sex's closet. Despite the many times I was mistaken as a cute boy when I was little, I have to thank my mom for giving me a wider point of view regarding clothing, hair styles, and frugality.

Real Nice Thing in Life #11: Barbie dolls, brothers, mothers, and the ability to somehow survive them all happily. Mixing men's plaid shirts, cheetah patterns, flower powered-jeans, red lipstick, purple booties, and a pounding headache.





Citizens of Humanity flower power jeans, JCrew men's shirt, Botkier booties.
All pictures by a very hungover Alcibiades.

sábado, 24 de noviembre de 2012

Real Nice Thing in Life #12

My real first love was a kitten I named Aurelio. We met at my uncle's farm in the mountains of Colombia. I was only four years old. With Aurelio I initiated a non-stop frenzy of lovers. I used to bring home frogs (who never turned into princes), lizards, kittens, street dogs and injured birds hoping for my mom to accept any animal as the household pet. 
It wasn't until I turned seventeen that a four-legged animal was accepted as part of the family. If Aurelio was my first love Lino, my Labrador was the love of my life. I switched the "princess" bed for a bunk bed so that Lino could sleep in my bed-room. I had the upper level, Lino the bottom. Shortly after Lino's arrival, my brother and I found a tiny kitten roaming around our building. She was all bones and whiskers. She became Lino's younger sister. We named her Misifú. My mom loves Misifú more than my brother and me. I don't blame her. 
My love for animals has dictated many aspects of my life. I've been an on-and-off vegetarian for most of my life, I stretch cat-style every morning, I wag my tail when I'm excited, and I also love to wear animal prints while outside in the wild (i.e. friends' backyards, NYC streets, PATH trains, etc.), you know, for camouflage purposes. 
I found this fabulous faux fur vest on Bib & Tuck (wonderful site where you exchange clothing with very fashionable girls), and have been wearing it pretty much every day. As certain Guayabagram suggested last night, I wore the vest with flower-print pants and a leather jacket while obscenely devouring Nutella crepes. Today my belly hurts. 

Real Nice Thing in Life #12: The Aurelios and Linos that brighten our lives, teaching us what unconditional love is; to camouflage yourself in animal prints and bright colors hoping that the rest of the wild world is color blind; Nutella.




All pictures by Alcibiades. Photo shoot location: The Congotes house AKA la casa de la perdición! ;)