VOI DANSA CU TINE

I was over at a friend's house a few days ago, after my lunch plans with two other friends got canceled after hours of waiting for them. We decided to have a chill afternoon, nibbling on sandwiches and munching on cookies while drinking coffee. All of this went on while we watched Casino Royale. Now, you might think I'm talking about the James Bond movie starring Daniel Craig, but no, this was a 60's satire based on Ian Fleming's famous character.

The movie had an incredible cast, including former Bond girl Ursula Andress, David Niven, Deborah Kerr, Peter Sellers, and even Woody Allen. The main reason why we chose to watch it was because my friend held it as something really close to his childhood, especially because of the movie's soundtrack, composed by Mr. Burt Bacharach himself. Though I wouldn't label the movie as a must-see, it does have certain visual and musical highlights (like the sultry Look Of Love sung by Dusty Sprinfield).

However, what was most important was the fact that my friend was able to share this film with me.
Getting to know your friends through what they like and what made them happy during their childhood years is probably one of the things I cherish the most, it's like catching up with them in retrospect. Photographs, movies, and music among other elements have the incredible ability to take us back and forth through time. I have just been witness to that today when I found a video of one of my favorite Romanian singers from when I was a kid. Though I didn't recognize it at first, once I heard the chorus I could not help myself from letting out a HUGE sigh. I remembered I actually owned this tape, that she -Angela Similea- had a daughter that went to the American school together with my older sister, and that I had spotted her on the street once.

I'm so happy I found this video. To top it off, she is introduced by none other that Corina Chiriac, my other super-duper favorite Romanian singer, whom I managed to see live at a concert back then (until I got an upset stomach and had to be taken out of the venue, ruining the moment for my parents). That's why I'm not having kids. Here it goes:

SANTA BABY

So, Christmas is only a few days away and I'm not in a very Christmas-y spirit yet, though I am looking forward to cheating on my diet on the year's cheat-day par excellence. I had been thinking about what I'd want to get this year (somewhat inspired by the HILARIOUS videos by Drew Droege's impersonation of Chloë Sevigny) and so I came up with a list of things I would like to get and then narrowed them down to the following five (in no particular order):

NUMBER 1 : A TALL, DARK AND HANDSOME VEGETARIAN.
Santa MUST know I've been single for quite a while (insert Dalí's The Persistence of Memory here, or a video of a tumbleweed, or a cricket sound...or...never mind, I think I made it clear), and though I have broadened my standards, a friend recently reminded me that, once upon a time, being a vegetarian was an essential requirement.

EXAMPLE: CHRISTIAN BALE.

NUMBER 2: DINNER WITH MADONNA. Or lunch, or breakfast or brunch! Whatever it may be. Oh, and I need to be able to bring my friend Paloma along as well to make it complete. You see Santa?! I'm learning to share! (But let me figure out whether she really neeeeeds to sit with us at the same table or if she can just watch from afar).

I CAN SETTLE FOR PIZZA.

NUMBER 3: THE FABERGÉ EGG I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SINCE I WAS 8.
I SO behaved that year, and I still didn't get it. I was so distraught. Of course, maybe Santa had a hard time deciding WHICH Fabergé egg to bring me. I was never able to make up my mind as to which one was my favorite and I never specified, so I'll give him that, but today I feel like I should probably have the one with the lily of the valley theme since they were, together with narcissus, my favorite flowers in my garden in Moscow (I think I'm just going to have to rush to the closest perfume shop and sniff some Diorissimo for nostalgia's sake).
Seriously, Santa, it's been 22 years...

(SIGH)

TINY PORTRAITS OF NICHOLAS II AND HIS FIRST TWO DAUGHTERS, OLGA AND TATIANA

NUMBER 4: MATTHEW MORRISON'S ABS.
No further explanation necessary.

NUMBER 5: NO MORE BULLFIGHTS.
This might sound like a party pooper to many, but it would make me SO happy. I would give up all of my other gifts just for this one.

So Santa, I've kept it VERY short this year. I'm not asking for much. Here's a little video that will help you realize how insignificant the things I'm asking for are. Please don't let me down...AGAIN.
Tootles.
ROGER

SMILE

I was writing on my friend Paul's Wall on Facebook for his birthday, I always call him Paulette. Though this pseudo-nickname is not exclusively mine, whenever I do call him this way I always think of Paulette Godard. So I thought of her and then couldn't help but search for one of the most touching scenes in movie history (according to me): the ending of Modern Times.
This has been an EXTREMELY sensitive week. Blame it on the rain, the stars, the planets, the moon - or maybe just the lack of sugar- but it's been hard to deal with these past seven days. It's been somewhat comforting to watch this scene, even though it always manages to bring me to tears, just like the first time I saw it when I was about 8. The music, which you most likely will recognize, is just the best.

HOW RETRO

I've talked about the 80's many times, I myself was one of those that thought they'd never be back and then fell for almost every single trend from that decade that has sneaked back into our lives.  This morning's newspaper had the headline featured above, it reads "THE KREMLIN CONDECORATED SPIES WHO WERE EXPELLED".  Isn't this just a bit TOO 80's?
I remember a whole family of kids from the U.S. at my school in Moscow were expelled and had to leave the country in a short time's notice when their parents had been accused of being spies (one of them was a really good friend of my sister's).  We found it so unfair and thought it was just some sort of retaliation for a Soviet family that had been expelled from Washington weeks before.  Their American nanny stayed and became a teacher's assistant at our school.
I also remember how our house there had been completely wired (is this the correct term?).  A few months before we arrived in 1987, the Embassy had detected the places where the microphones had been placed, and when my sister and I found out where they were, we decided we place ourselves close enough in order to say nasty comments about the Russians and about living in the Soviet Union (God knows we actually LOVED it there).  Even the staff at the house was in on this game.  Our cook, Valia, was fluent in Spanish, yet she pretended to barely know the language.
We know fashion and its trends come up as a result or echo of our times, but today it just felt like it was the other way around.

A SPOONFUL OF JULIE

What would our world be without Julie Andrews? I really don't know. So many people's childhood memories are inevitably linked to her I can't possibly think of anyone who doesn't hold a special place for her in their heart. Unlike what was said about Singin' In The Rain's Lina Lamont, she CAN act, she CAN dance and she CAN sing, she is perhaps the embodiment of the word "talent".
I was thinking about the videos I should post regarding her but there's an endless list in Mary Poppins alone, and then there's The Sound of Music, Victor Victoria, etc. etc.
Though we associate her name mostly to films that belong to the comedy and musical genres, what's special about Julie Andrews is that she is also an actress with range. Just a couple of weeks ago I was over a couple of friends' house and we were about to watch her in Hitchcock's Torn Curtain, alongside Paul Newman, but something, I dont' recall what, got in the way and we ended up watching something else.
I'm having a sort of hectic week, but I had to take a minute or two to sit down and write about her today. Happy 75th Birthday!

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...

UNITED COLORS OF THE FUTURE

I was recently called to have my picture taken for a magazine article on fashion bloggers in Lima. I was quite surprised I was actually chosen because I don't consider my blog to be solely about fashion, but as I was beginning to think about this entry, I realized most of my posts are inevitably fashion-related.
When I was about 11, I began a long-term love affair with Benetton. I think I still remember my first item from this brand, it was a green polo shirt, with UNITED COLORS OF BENETTON written in tiny fuchsia letters in the front. I had fallen in love with it at the store for some reason and had not been bothered by the fact that it was a size or two big. Suddenly, 90% of my wardrobe came from this brand and then most of my personal belongings: my wallet, my agenda, my cologne, my walkman-case, keychain, etc. It had become an unexplainable obsession. I mean, some people from high school remember my colorful Benetton backpack more than they remember me (of course, I did weigh about a ton back then too).
I also fell in love with their ad campaigns. LOVED THEM. I loved their thought-provoking, shocking, controversial images addressing social issues such as racism, AIDS, discrimination in general, and above all -at that period in my life- enviromental issues. I became a fan of Oliviero Toscani, the creative mind and photographer behind the ads, then wrote Luciano Benetton expressing my admiration and was happily surprised when I received a package containing poster-sized images of the campaigns from 1989 to 1995. I actually got to meet Luciano Benetton later on when he came to Lima to open a store.
It was at 12 that I became a vegetarian and that I got involved in school activities that promoted recycling and other eco-conscious activities. That is probably why one of the images that struck me the most back then, was that of the bird covered in thick, black oil, it's eyes red with irritation, swimming in the middle of a huge oil spill, and looking like something out of this world.




Thinking it was a species from another planet would have probably been the more comforting way of looking at it than knowing it belonged to our own planet Earth, and that the reason why this poor animal was condemned to such a horrific situation that would lead to it's premature death, was caused by our own kind. Or maybe it was a new species. Were we being witness to the birth of a new type of bird that would soon be populating our planet? I know this sounds a bit dramatic, but after seeing the following pictures from the affected wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico due to the UNBELIEVABLE irresponsibility of BRITISH PETROLEUM, one can only wonder if we will ever learn. Things haven't changed much.




(Pictures via Towleroad)

À LA FIN DE LA RUE

I remember visually "quoting" the scene from the following video a few weeks ago. It is probably my favorite moment from GOLDEN GIRLS. Though I wasn't a die-hard fan of the show, I do have fond memories of watching it and having many laughs at Rose's stories of Saint Olaf and at the way Blanche Deveraux charmingly managed to address the vanity in each and everyone of us.
I have turned 30, I've said this over a million times, I know, and as "the physical interferes, everyday more..." (your daily dose of musical drama here), I couldn't help but recreate this scene in front of a couple of friends some time ago, like I said at the beginning of this short post.
I just found out Rue McLanahan has passed away today, leaving Betty White as the only living Golden Girl. I simply felt the need to post this video in her memory and as a tribute to her most memorable character. Simple and HYSTERICAL. Love it. Enjoy:

BABY, YOU'LL BE FAMOUS.

Watching the video at the end of this post reminded me of the following:
When I was in second grade I played Für Elise in front of my school at the auditorium on one of our weekly assemblies. I don't remember why there were musical numbers involved in this particular one, nor how I dared to have to the guts to go in front of an audience and play this piece by ear (our elementary school music teacher, Ms. Proctor, mus have convinced me). I had not had formal piano lessons yet but I had a very kind older sister who was willing to teach me how to play it, and so, I learned it. I never quite mastered my left hand on the second half, but I managed pretty well through the whole ordeal.
Later on, I began to take lessons, but I wanted things to be faster than they were, I had no patience and this whole Chopinesque-phase ended when my piano teacher stormed out the door saying : "Your son has no discipline!" (Please imagine that in a Russian accent).
I have often regretted not putting more effort into those lessons, having more patience, and realizing the importance of practice. After watching the following video, I am in absolute awe. This sixth grader has managed to give me goosebumps. I love the way he's given his own spin on the original GaGa song and the passion and confidence of his performance. It is absolutely inspiring. Please watch and enjoy.

YMA FOREVER

It's been almost a month since my last post, I've been extremely busy these last few weeks. What brings me back to my blog is a sad piece of news : the death of legendary Peruvian singer Yma Sumac.

It's been exactly once week since she passed away and I felt the need to write a post on her. I remember listening to her music when I was around seven or eight years old. My parents introduced me to her music and I remember one specific record (we're talking long play here...), I don't recall the actual album name, but I do remember listening to it and staring at the picture of this colorfully made-up woman and a parrot in the background. I think I stared at it mostly because the picture of her was the only sort of evidence I had that the amazing sounds I heard came from an actual human being. Her claim to fame is based on her amazing voice range (five octaves) and for being a pioneer in the mix of typical Peruvian music with jazz and other genres. Though she received a lot of criticism for this by musical purists who were unable to share her vision and appreciate the kind of exposure she would give Peru, her drive for innovation made her a star in the rest of the world. She is the only Peruvian artist to have her name on the Hollywood walk of fame.

I think Yma Sumac is probably Peru's most least-locally-recognized-icon (did that make any sense?). This is quite ironic, my parents used to tell me how back when we used to live in Europe, they'd introduce themselves as Peruvians to locals at dinner parties and one of the first things they'd mention would be her name, yet when I came back to Lima and mentioned her name to people I met, all I'd get in response would be an intrigued face.

Yma's music is one of the very few things that have kept me linked to Peru throughout my life. This may sound a little weird, but I've always had a sort of nationality-identity-crisis (if I keep on coming up with these hyphenated expressions I'm going to have to create a special dictionary for them). My father is Peruvian, my mother is Uruguayan and I was born in Romania, I've never felt 100% from just one place, but this will the the topic for a future post.

In 2006 Yma Sumac came to Peru for a series of belated homage ceremonies. It was at the one held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that I was actually able to meet her. This came as a totally unexpected gift, so as to call it, I had already come to terms with the fact I would never be able to see her perform and least of all even meet her.

She was dressed all in pink, hat included, and wore transparent lucite platform sandals. It was a very brief moment, a one I will cherish forever. I was finally meeting and holding the hands of the woman on that record cover.
For more information please visit www.yma-sumac.com.

TAKE YOUR PASSION AND MAKE IT HAPPEN

Yes! I figured it out...I was about to post another video regarding my work and a recent trip but I definitely wanted this one to be the first. It's from one of my favorite movies ever, and my first tape. Yes I did say tape, I was about three when this movie came out ( damn I didn't want to give away my age at such an early posting-stage...) my family and I were in Rome and legend has it I had to be pulled out of my seat at the end of it because I wanted to stay and watch it again. When my three-year-old strength failed me and I was being dragged out, I caught onto some wall. Tantrum followed. We all stayed. Haha. Things were crystal clear back then, yet somehow it still took me another 15 years to come out of the closet.
Enjoy.