Tag Archives: New York

Teddie and Marigold

Posted on by
Reply

After Juana I wasn’t sure I would want another dog. But life had something else in the line for me.

First came Marigold, when my daughter was around 5-years old. My husband really wanted a dog and we thought it would be good for Silkie to bond with a doggie. Marigold is a very sweet wheaten terrier. She is kind and calm.

A year and a half ago my daughter decided she wanted a dog that would sleep with her. That is how Teddie came to our lives. She is a force of life. A tiny Bichon-Poodle with the energy of thousand batteries.

My daughter slept with Teddie for a month. She didn’t want the doggie to get attached to me. After a month she asked for help. She felt isolated and was having trouble sleeping. It was not worth trying to do it by herself. I brought Teddie with me and the rest is history.

Teddie and Marigold follow me around and sleep by me. I love them. They play together all the time. They get anxious when they are not together.

They have enriched my life and they force me to get up and about on those days where all I want to do is to disappear in TV and card games.

New York’s weather has changed since I came 20 years ago. It doesn’t seem to snow as much as it did when Juana and I arrived. I also don’t run anymore and I moved to a different neighborhood, farther away from a park. I miss Central Park West more than I miss Chile or Colombia for that matter.

As an aside, I should mention that in Chile I went a bit dog crazy. I had a big house with a garden so I became a temporary puppy parent. I also rescued Romina, a tremendously beautiful dog, pregnant with puppies. Helping her give birth was wonderful. Rosario was another rescue. At some point I had 13 dogs of all sizes in the house…

When I moved to New York I had to find homes for them all. I wish I knew where all of them ended up. I hope they had a nice life.

What a lucky life to be accompanied by sweet souls like Juana, Rosario, Marigold, Romina, Teddie, Yuta, Milou, Hella, Sebastian, and many more!

How do you feel about dogs?

Are you more of a cat person? I love it. Tell me more!!

Dogs and writing

Posted on by
Reply

Motivation to write is to me a big enigma. I have been meaning to resume my blog with discipline as the necessary water I know I need to give my thirsty brain. Yet, only corny images like these come to mind. What to do?

Maybe focusing on something completely different from what I know I need to write about is the answer. So here it comes.

I love dogs. My grandfather used to have german Sheppards. They were outside the house and always a bit muddy and distant. But I always loved them. For some strange reason they were all called “Yuta”.

My parents also had german Sheppards and kept the name tradition. At some point they had the terrible idea of getting me a bunny. Long story short, the dog killed the bunny and I got to see that up close. To think about it, I didn’t have good luck with pets growing up. I got a tiny chick at a bazaar, and he died when he moved to my bed in the middle of the night. I got a dog, and someone opened the door to the street and that was it. Another one was a gift from a friend and her mother changed her mind and took it back.

None of that did diminish my love for dogs. For birds, yes, but not for dogs.

When I moved to Chile many years ago, I was walking to work with a friend when 2 hairless dogs came around. They must have been thrown out to die by the river but somehow found us. I promised I would adopt them if they came back to our path that night. And they did.

I only remember Juana as I had to find a home for the other one before they both ate the furniture and walls of my rental. Juana stayed with me until she died in 2013. She lived in 2 other houses in Chile and 2 apartments in New York. She was destined to have a good life. I loved her so much. She still has a facebook page: Juana the Dog. Check it out. She was a gorgeous latin american stray dog.

She walked with me through the Gates exhibit in Central Park. She ran with me by the East River. She enjoyed the snow and the heat.

She was one hell of a dog. I miss her. A toast to her and you all for a wonderful 2024!

 

Hair

Posted on by
Reply

Just as NY was the first to succumb to the pandemic, it seems we are the first hopefully seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

This morning I am getting my hair done at my favorite salon. After 2 weeks of my second shot I was supposed to be highly immune to the worst of COVID-19 and the first thing I wanted to do was my hair. Not see old friends, go to a restaurant, party or concert, but do one of the things that I definitely cannot do well myself. Color and cut my hair!!! I diligently colored the gray regularly, don’t get me wrong. I didn’t let myself go, at least not completely, in the comfort of hiding at home. I even got one of those plastic guides to cut hair, especially for my daughter whose hair had grown so long it was literally uncomfortable for her. Yet, today when I arrived to the salon my favorite stylist couldn’t help herself in laughing with me about how bad the situation was.

She is still diligently making sure my color is pristine while I write on my phone, but I already feel like 10 years younger, if not more. The reflection in the mirror in recent weeks was making me feel sad. It was a clear contrast with pictures of my younger self that my phone widgets randomly pic to entertain me with. Gray, uneven, frizzy hair. The horror. I know that after she is done my hair will be again one of the things I have always liked about myself.

My mother has long, luscious hair. She spends a considerable amount of time styling it every day. I guess I got my love for hair from her. I am much more laid back but I still enjoy a good hair day. And today will be one!!! I am excited as you can feel. I am also grateful. My favorite salon didn’t close forever, and while my favorite restaurants are gone, it gives me a sense of comfort and normality I really needed.

There are other aspects of going back to normality that are giving me stress. I am not ready to go back to how things were, at least not 5 days a week. Just as the world economy needs to recover better and not just back to business as usual, I hope offices, schools, routine also return better, healthier. What are you looking forward to when this nightmare is finally over?

Sonido Bestial

Posted on by
1

Growing up I only knew one type of salsa dancing. And I loved it. Dancing the more than 6 minutes of “Sonido Bestial” was the closest to heaven I felt for years. In 1994 I spent a month in Cuba and to my surprise I realized that I simply couldn’t dance at all. Cuban Rueda de casino is a whole different ballpark. Couples dance to Timba music as a group following the same moves that a leader calls with signs or code words. The bit was also different and the fluidity of it was a stark contrast with the jumpy and push and pull feel of Colombian style salsa dancing. I was enamored. In 1999 I moved to Santiago Chile and discovered the most amazing place to start my journey in casino dancing. It is called Maestra Vida in Bella Vista. The ambiance is amazing, and they also have classes with amazing Cuban dancers. I made it my home.

When I moved to New York I was excited about dancing at the birthplace of the classic salsa I grew up with, Fania and all. I got ready to go out to a classic place downtown, thinking I would dance all night without a problem. I was wrong. In New York they dance on 2! I tried dancing with a kind gentleman and suddenly realized that he was not really leading. His steps and moves were very soft, and he seemed to be dancing to an entirely different song. Around me women were doing all sorts of fancy turns and Suzy Qs. My BA in Colombian salsa and master in Rueda were useless! I had to start again almost from scratch. It is tricky to dance on the second bit when you have always danced on the first. It is difficult to explain (see comments for a lengthy explanation), and I didn’t enjoy it that much.

Of course, it was just a matter of time before finding the Cuban salsa community in the city. It is an amazing group of people that love dancing and made going out a safe and exhilarating experience. To fulfill my need for dancing I also took classes several times a week. I went as far in that journey as starting to learn to lead, as women and men indistinctly lead in Rueda, but my memory couldn’t handle the many moves. I haven’t danced regularly in almost a decade. I guess after performing in public with the group a few times, I kind of graduated from a salsa PhD and it was time for new things. I can’t say I don’t miss it, but I don’t long for it either. My next step is to instill a bit of this love for salsa in my daughter. I will find a way!