AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER

It's half past midnight and although I have to be up early tomorrow and should be asleep by now, I can't avoid the fact that today is the fourth anniversary of the day Madonna grabbed my hand. Yes, four years ago I became one lucky fan. I travelled to Boston especially for this concert, I bought a ticket on ticketmaster and though I knew I had a pretty good seat, I had no idea I was to be located just by the end of the catwalk where the disco ball where Madonna would come out of would descend at the beginning of the show.
The minute the mirrored ball opened, right after she sang : Connect to the sky/Future lovers ride/There in mission style/Would you like to try, she turned to her left and stared at me, and I almost fainted. I had had a t-shirt made especially for the occasion, in black and white stripes and with the words "I CONFESS" emblazoned in fuchsia and purple sequins. I could hardly contain myself throughout the entire show, I had never been this close to her (I had been to the Reinvention Tour a couple of years before, but the stage design wasn't this fan friendly).
I was happy. Just too happy. I though my trip had been worth every bit, but little did I know that the best was yet to come. While singing La Isla Bonita, right when she went down the catwalk followed by her entourage of dancers, she knelt RIGHT in front of me towards the end of the song, and then it happened. A few seconds that have now become one of my most cherished memories ever. SHE grabbed my hand. MADONNA. The same person I'd been following since I was 5. The same person who danced on a Venetian gondola. The same person who walked up a staircase in a striped t-shirt and jeans while holding a leather jacket over her shoulder . The same girl whose voguing I tried to imitate at 10. The same woman who inspired my curiosity for Tamara de Lempicka (the subject of my first collection ever). Most importantly, the one whose voice had been the background music to much of my life. It was as if HER life had flashed before my eyes.
Though I held on, she let go, and I have to admit it was sort of a let-down. It was as if I expected her to recognize me or something. I know it sounds delusional, but I guess most fans feel we've had some sort of relationship with her for the past thirty years.
Though I thought everything I could possibly expect from this amazing experience had already happened, I was to be extremely and pleasantly surprised when I got back to Lima. Though I had taken my camera to the concert, I only took pictures of her and was too excited to even think about taking pictures of myself, so the last thing I expected was to find pictures where I show up jumping and dancing next to the stage, posted on flick.com by two guys to whom I'll be eternally grateful.
Here's my photographic homage on our 4th anniversary and the tiny clip I managed to film right before IT happened. Happy Anniversary darling.

THE HAND

THE TICKET

THE OUTFIT

THE SOUVENIR

THE MOMENT

MADONNA MOMENT

YOU'RE SO FINE, AND YOU'RE MINE

Last look at Chanel Couture Fall 2010- July 6, 2010

COLOR ME BADD

I'm kind of sick of people's so-called "re-interpretation" of pop art, especially in the local art scene. I mean, if I see another artist painting him/herself in the light of a pop star, a pin-up girl or painting comic icons and cartoons and calling them art by giving them a lousy twist, I'm seriously going to throw up (which given the few pounds I want to shed, might come in handy, ha!).
So when I came across the following video, I should have probably closed the window, but instead, I was caught up in it. Like I think I've mentioned before, beautiful or cool looking visuals rarely get away with being good enough unless they have an essence to them and a concept to back them up. In Marina and the Diamonds' new video for her song Oh No!, the lyrics, the song title and everything make a perfect match with the pop aesthetic given to it. Thank GOD for music videos. Had I heard the song on the radio I would have probably liked it but not paid much attention to it. This video actually enhances the power of the song by creating a living cartoon out of the lyrics, adding a much-to-my-delight comical drama (is that an oxymoron?). I KNOW I've mentioned thoughts on my life as a musical about a thousand times by now, and that's probably why I'm in love with the video. I felt it was a mix between Ally McBeal and Björk's It's Oh So Quiet in a Lichtenstein world.
I have to say I LOVE the choices in wardrobe, they are just perfect, both for her and the back-up dancers. I think they manage to give the video a more contemporary feel. I also love those Pantone-inspired outfits, which many might think were probably designed especially for this video, but they are actually part of Henry Holland's Fall collection.  I just love when fashion and music share the same spirit and come together in work of art like this.

I'll watch the video again while I begin to write a letter asking her if she'll consider a name-change, it just happens to be shared by a most unfortunate person.
Here it is,  enjoy:

HEAR HER ROAR

So, after a couple of days or weeks of not posting anything, here I am again. I've actually had longer pauses than this, but the fact that this blog and myself were featured in widely read magazine, here in Lima, has added a litte more pressure to keep the posts coming up more frequently.

In my usual search for new music, I've become obsessed with an new song by a new artist, but the problem is I've only heard about a minute (precisely 58 seconds) of it, but I am HOOKED on it. I've been searching for a full version all over the web and I could find nothing, learning the album won't be released until August didn't help my anxiety much, until finally, last night, I found a little something: the full version in a video on youtube where sound quality is terrible because the song serves as the musical backdrop for a tiny little girl's performance. She actually knows some of the lyrics and is really into the whole thing, she even manages to imitate some of the gestures Lolene (Ooops! Just realized I never mentioned the song I'm talking about : Lion Heart by British newcomer Lolene http://www.lolenemusic.com) does in one live performance I also found on youtube. Watching this girl and her improvised, all-over-the-place but definitely heartfelt choreography reminded me of myself at her age.


When I lived in the former Soviet Union and my parents had to throw official dinner parties, my sister and I would have to stay upstairs all night, unable to go down, just like prisoners. Well, "prisoners" might be a bit of a stretch, but let's just say that my father wasn't too fond of the few occasions when I sneaked into the main living room and my 8 year-old self began to chat with some diplomat's wife out of the blue. The second reason why I am definitely exaggerating is because I hold some of the sweetest memories from those moments of "confinement". I remember we'd watch lots of movies, especially ones with plenty of music and dancing involved, while munching on the same food the grown-ups were having thanks to our cook who'd keep sending up the plates (I guess this is the moment when I began to put on weight). Then we'd create our own little dancefloor by rolling up the carpets in order to provide for a slippery and gliding-friendly surface. Many Flashdance moments were recreated there, soon to be followed during winter on the ice-skating rink.
So JUST because she's managed to take me back to this moment, I think Sydney deserves to be posted on my blog. Here she is, enjoy, while I keep on singing and waiting for this single to come out:  This is the eeeeeeeend of the wooooooorld as we know iiiit...