Pedicure Alternativa

All the ladies out there know how hard it is to get a good pedicure. Well, this morning there was a segment on the 4th hour of the Today Show where the ladies tried out a new pedicure in which you dip your feet in a tank and little fish, known as garra rufa or carp, nibble off the scaly dead skin on your feet. The fish don't have teeth, so they don't bite. I know, it sounds icky and it looks even more gross, but apparently it works.

It seems like a good alternative to scrubbing and butchering your feet with the razor. From what I gather, everyone gets a separate tank and they have to change the water after each session. Don't know if I'd want to do this all the time, but I would certainly want to try it.

I need everyone to see how this works, so here is a clip from The Today Show.


Try a fish pedicure!

Model Latina

Tonight was the premier of Si TV's new reality series Model Latina. Ten contestants will live together, get coaching from industry pros and compete in various challenges to prove they are the complete package of beauty, culture, style, and smarts. The winner will walk away with a modeling contract with Q Management, a chance to grace the pages of Latina magazine, clothes from the Anna Fong Collection, $10,000 and other amazing prizes.

If you're an avid watcher of Americas Next Top Model and you wish there were more Latinas on the show, then maybe you should catch the upcoming episodes of Model Latina. The only drawback is that I wish it were a little more original. Whoever thought of this show said lets put together American Idol and Americas Next Top Model, the only difference being it's all Latinas (at least they are curvy women on the show, not just stick figures). The first episodes were the casting calls, next week the girls will be in the house and the challenges will begin.

I'll continue watching; I'm curious to see the challenges, and all of the Latina personalities ready to explode. Hopefully it'll be entertaining. http://www.sitv.com/shows/model

Truly a sad day in my life....

Estelle Getty of "The Golden Girls" passed away this morning at the age of 84 (if you don't know what show this is then there is seriously something wrong with you). I loved this show as a little girl!

Estelle was surrounded by her family and friends when she went away. She suffered from advanced Dementia for years.



Sophia Petrillo is one of my favorite TV characters of all time, and "The Golden Girls" is one of my favorite shows, period. She will be missed.....

A little homage to her.

Clumsy Sky......

I was flipping through the pages of the August issue of Latina magazine this evening. They have their second annual list of best Latin music you don't know (but should). They've included Girl in a Coma on this list. I first heard of this band a couple of months ago when I was watching the SiTV series Jammin, “life of a Latino rock band". I intended to look them up then and never got around to it; fortunately I found them in Latina and went to look for them on Myspace.

Girl in a Coma is a rock band from San Antonio, TX; with bassist Jenn Alva, drummer Phanie Diaz and vocal/guitarist Nina Diaz. (for all of you Smith fans, the name of the band is a Smiths reference). In 2006, as a part of the show Jammin, the group went to New York City for a show at the Knitting Factory and a surprise meeting with Joan Jett. Jett and her producing partner Kenny Laguna were impressed with the bands sound and invited them to join the Blackheart Records label. While Nina's hypnotic and soft voice has been referred to as "the female version of Morrissey", the band as a whole has been compared to The Smiths and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, while still managing to create a sound and style that remains uniquely their own.

I will definately catch a show when they're in NYC this October. You should check them out too, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

http://www.girlinacoma.com/

Upcoming shows:

Jul 22 2008
8:00P
Wasted Space Room in Hard Rock Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada
Jul 23 2008
9:00P
Hollywood Alley
Mesa, Arizona
Jul 24 2008
7:00P
LaunchPad
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Jul 25 2008
9:00P
The Bayou
El Paso, Texas
Aug 1 2008
8:00P
Emo’s
Austin, Texas
Aug 2 2008
8:00P
Jack’s Patio Bar and Grill/ ALL AGES
San Antonio, Texas
Sep 27 2008
8:00P
FITZGERALD’S/ All AGES
Houston, Texas
Sep 30 2008
6:30P
TABERNACLE w/ TEGAN AND SARA
Atlanta, Georgia
Oct 2 2008
6:00P
RAMS HEAD LIVE! W/ TEGAN AND SARA
Baltimore, Maryland
Oct 3 2008
7:30P
THE ELECTRIC FACTORY W/ TEGAN AND SARA
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Oct 4 2008
6:00P
THE PALLADIUM w/ TEGAN AND SARA
Worcester, Massachusetts
Oct 5 2008
7:00P
TERMINAL 5 w/ TEGAN AND SARA
New York, New York
Oct 6 2008
7:00P
TERMINAL 5 w/TEGAN AND SARA
New York, New York
Oct 9 2008
5:30P
RIVIERA THEATRE w/TEGAN AND SARA
Chicago, Illinois
Oct 11 2008
7:00P
STATE THEATRE w/TEGAN AND SARA
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Oct 13 2008
6:00P
PARAMOUNT THEATRE w/TEGAN AND SARA
Denver, Colorado
Oct 16 2008
7:00P
THE HENRY FONDA THEATRE w/ TEGAN AND SARA
Los Angeles, California
Oct 17 2008
7:00P
HENRY FONDA THEATRE w/TEGAN AND SARA
Los Angeles, California
Oct 18 2008
7:00P
THE HENRY FONDA THEATRE w/TEGAN AND SARA
Los Angeles, California
Oct 19 2008
7:00P
THE HENRY FONDA THEATRE w/TEGAN AND SARA
Los Angeles, California

Tropico de Sangre

Al principio de Julio huvo una conferencia de prensa en el Hard Rock Cafe Santo Domingo donde se hablo de el inicio de la pelicula "Tropico de Sangre". Esta pelicula es basada en la vida de las hermanas Mirabal. Para el que no sabe, las hermanas Mirabal (Minerva, Patria, y María Teresa) son heroínas de Salcedo que enfrentaron con dignidad la tiranía del dictador Rafael Leonidas Trujillo (1930-1961) en la Republica Dominicana, y fueron asesinadas.

Michelle Rodriguez sera la protagoniza de la pelicula, interpretando a Minerva Mirabal. Ella es productora (su compania Cheshire Kat Productions) junto al empresario Joan Giacinti bajo la direccion del dominicano Juan Deláncer.

"Trópico de Sangre", cuenta con el actor cubano César Evora y la hermana sobreviviente de las heroínas, Dedé Mirabal, quien será el hilo conductor de la pelicula. Celinés Toribio y Claudette Lalí, actrices dominicanas, tendrán roles importantes en esta pelicula.

Muchos piensan que Michelle Rodriguez no es la persona indicada par ser el papel de Minerva Mirabal, pero si una persona tiene un decer tan grande de ser parte de una pelica con un tema tan importante, entonces se le deber de dar una opportunidad. I found this quote from Rodriguez on GranCine.net "Tengo mucho fuego, inteligencia, no soy rastrera y tengo lo necesario para enseñarle al mundo aspectos de una mujer respetuosa como fue Minerva".

Al responder una pregunta sobre su origen, en el Hard Rock Cafe, ya que es de madre dominicana y de padre puertorriqueño, Michelle Rodriguez no dejó oportunidad a las dudas. Ella dijo, “Yo salí de mi madre. De ahí vengo, de Jarabacoa y de la capital”.

En el 2001, Salma Hayek, Edward James Olmos, y Marc Anthony, junto a otros grandes actores latinos, protagonizaron la pelicula "En el tiempo de las mariposas", basada en la novela de Julia Álvarez sobre el mismo tema. Although it was a great movie, I have been reading a lot of different opinions about "Tropico de Sangre" on dominican websites/blogs. I must agree this movie is just another perpective of the situation, one that includes our people, our details of the Dominican Republic, and our culture.

"Tropico de Sangre" is set to begin shooting in November in the Dominican Republic and will hit the screen next year 2009. I'm excited to see what will come of this movie!

A night at the movies!

We're in the middle of the summer blockbuster season, and I have yet to go to the movies and check out some films that I really want to see (I blame it all on the recession).

I have yet to see Sex and the City (shame on me) and I didn't get to see Indiana Jones either, but I have to make it a point to see Hellboy II (which came out this past weekend) and The Dark Knight (coming out this Friday, July 18th).

Another summer movie that is sort of pulling me in is The X Files movie opening July 25th. I was never a huge fan of the show, although I would watch from time to time. I saw the movie when it came out on cable, but for some reason I want to see this. Maybe it's the whole secrecy behind the plot line that's intriguing.

It's not at the top of my list for this summer, but I would like to see Tropic Thunder, opening in August. Anything with Ben Stiller, Jack Black, and Robert Downey Jr. should make for a funny ass movie.

I will be sure to give a full report if I ever get my butt to the movie theater this summer!

Next stop SoBro!

Most people think that north of New York's 125th street is devoid of art and culture, but if you take a closer look you will find just the opposite. The area that real-estate brokers refer to as SoBro is starting to take shape. The "Departure" series opened July 2nd at the Bruckner Gallery in The Bronx. The exhibition is a narrative in pictures exploring various themes including: Afro Punk, elderly addiction, our neighborhoods, family, activism, and immigration.

"Departure" features five photographers- Miguel Anaya, Lyric Cabral, Mark Nevers, Danny Ramon Peralta, and Bashira Webb - each developing their voices as socially oriented photographers exploring their communities.

I highly recommend taking some time to go to SoBro to check out this exhibition and support these young artist. The exhibition will run now through July 24th at the Bruckner Gallery, 1 Bruckner Blvd. (corner of Third Avenue).

In true hispanic form, celebrate with food!!

Yesterday was my 27th birthday. My family and I went out to dinner to celebrate yet another year in my life. I must share the name of the restaurant; it's an Italian restaurant called Bar Stuzzichini, located in the Flatiron District in New York City. The price is moderate and the plates are small but fulfilling.

We started off with the most delightful appetizer. It's bread topped with Ricotta with saffron and honey; it's like an explosion of flavor in a bite size. Our waitress' recommendations turned out to be very good. I ordered the Tagliolini with Pistachio and Lemon for my main course. When you first read through the menu, you think this item is going to have whole pistachio nuts, but it had just the right amount of lemon flavor and the pistachios were grounded into the creamy sauce. Our waitress highly recommended the Gnocchi all' Amatricianna-Guanciale, tomato, onion and chilli, that is what my nephew had (and I must say it was the best dish on the table). It's a spicy dish, but it's not that spicy if I was able to have some.

For dessert we ordered the Torta Caprese. It's a delicious chocolate hazelnut cake with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side. The top of the cake is firm sprinkled with some powdered sugar and the rest of the cake is moist. This is an excellent choice for chocolate lovers! My nephew did the cutest thing during dessert. He asked the waitress to bring out a candle on the piece of cake, and then sang Happy Birthday to me! (mind you he is ten years old) My mother, aunt and myself enjoyed a bottle of Lambrusco Rosato. It's a really good wine for the summer, it's gently sparkling, chilled, and low in alcohol.

Our waitress was great. She was friendly and attentive, and patiently waited for us to make up our minds about everything; answering all of our questions about the dishes. The place itself is decorated nicely too. It’s a great space with a lot of room. My mom and aunt really liked the lightbulb chandeliers and the pictures of graffiti.

Bar Stuzzichini is devoted to delivering a memorable experience; one that transports you overseas to a place that embodies family, friends and good food. They are certainly achieving their goal!! I hope we can go back soon.