Shopping

The next morning we went to eat at a historic restaurant in Barrio Antiguo and I managed to capture a shot of the BG (Hes not very fond of pictures).


After eating, we headed out shopping and sight seeing. Monterrey is known as being one of the shopping Meccas of Mexico. We went to the San Pedro Garza Garcia neighborhood which is considered to be one of the wealthiest regions in all of Latin America. Anywho, we ended up at this small shopping center that didn't look very welcoming at first. It kind of looked like a club. It even had a bouncer at the door. This mall had a very interesting design.

After passing the "bouncer", you are greeted by Spanish pop music and a creepy hallway with a red carpet. What kind of mall greets you with a red carpet?


After the red carpet hallway, you enter another hallway with flashy lights.

After going through the door, you walk into this, one of the coolest designed malls I have seen.


Very modern architecture and furnishings. They carried a lot of Spanish brands that are not found in the states like Bershka and Zara.


After shopping for my new job, we went out to eat and for a night on the town.

Vaquero! Spring Break 09!

This week I took a mini-vacation into the mountains of Nuevo Leon. Everyone wanted to go to island this week and most of my friends were scared by the media's nonstop attention on the "escalating drug wars" in Northern Mexico. So I went by myself. It was seriously one of the best trips I've had.

First, I went horseback riding with an authentic Vaquero (Cowboy). This guy was sweet, he had chaps on, and a freakin' sombrero! It was extremely exciting. I paid him a couple of bucks to show me around Chipinque and other parts of the mountains that are unknown to tourists.






The view was amazing, my horse wasn't. After a few hours of wondering through the forest, we decided to head back to civilization. After my uncle in Toluca heard that I was in Nuevo Leon, he decided to fly out my cousin and his BG (body guard) so that we can roam around Monterrey. I picked up my cousin later that night and went to the hotel which also had a pretty sweet view.

Volaris

Everytime I fly to Mexico, I fly Volaris.



Volaris is a "low-cost" airline based in Toluca, Mexico. (My mom's hometown). I have flown every major airline in the states and nothing compares to Volaris. The company opened its doors in 2005. That means that their fleet is brand spanking new. Plus, you get free lunch (no matter how long the flight is) and a free alcoholic drink.

I can get a roundtrip ticket from Monterrey to Toluca for about 90 - 100 dollars. It cost about 6 dollars to get to Monterrey from McAllen (only a 2 hour trip). If I used any other airline, it would easily cost between 250-300.

And if your planning to go to Mexico City, Volaris offers a free shuttle from the Toluca airport to Santa Fe, Mexico City (takes about an hour with no traffic). Volaris recently got permission from the US government to fly into LAX and Fort Lauderdale.

I strongly recommend them. PLUS they have a cool logo.

MÁNCORA

I'm looking forward to this weekend. Not only is "I Love You, Man" coming out this weekend, I start my new job at Marketing Werks in Chicago. PLUS, I might be able to catch Mancora, while in Chicago since its only having a limited release here in the states. Random Fact: Jason Day (the lead actor) was born the same day I was born.



From director Ricardo de Montreuil comes MÁNCORA, a tender and pulsating road-trip drama that delicately traces the shifting emotional boundaries between three disconnected souls.
MÁNCORA introduces us to Santiago (Jason Day), a 21-year old from Lima who is haunted by his fathers recent and unexpected suicide. Suffocating in the chill of a grey Lima winter, Santiago decides to take refuge in MÁNCORA, a beach town in the north of the country where summer never ends. Right before his departure, Santiago receives an unexpected visit from his stepsister Ximena (Elsa Pataky), a vibrant, sexy Spanish photographer and her husband Iñigo (Enrique Murciano), a brash art-collector from New York. The tranquility of their getaway is quickly shattered by a powerful act of boundary-crossing and betrayal, which threatens to transform their relationship forever and turn Máncora into a paradise lost.

- Mancorafilm.com

Geeky Glasses B- )

I'm in the market for a new pair of glasses and RX sunglasses (I think its time for me to give sunglasses a try).

For my RX sunglasses, I want a pair of white Wayfarers.



For my regular glasses I want to go a little dorkier. I was thinking of throwing in a little color to my regular glasses, but I'm still undecided. I think basic black is the way to go.

Arisa - Sincerita

Arisa was virtually unknown until a few weeks ago. She placed first in the 'Newcomers' section of the San Remo Talent competition and won the 'Mia Martini' Critics Award with her entry, "Sincerità".

Great Video.

YUJU Music Fest at South Padre Island

Seriously,

Why do I have the worst luck? Don't get me wrong, but I am extremely excited about my new job with Marketing Werks in Chicago. But why did they schedule Yuju the week after I leave to Chicago? Seriously?

ZOE --- MODERATTO -- DIVISION MINUSCULA -- LOS CLAXONS -- NINA PILOTS..

All under one stage! At the island. :( This is a show that is impossible to find in the states and It's going to be in my own backyard and I wont be able to go...

PLUS - VIP tickets are ONLY 800 pesos (50 USD)!

Oh Well, For those who CAN go, here's the link:

http://yujufest.com/

Here's a taste of what I'll be missing

Los Claxons - one of my favorite bands!



Zoe - CLASSIC.....



Nina Pilots - Newcomers

Laura Pausini ft. James Blunt

James Blunt sings in Spanish? Not as bad as you think. His enunciation is actually pretty good. He paired up with Italian singer Laura Pausini to sing "Primavera in anticipo" (Spanish)




(More on Laura Pausini later)

Hola Everyone - Madrid 2016

So the Race for the 2016 Olympics is own. According to the International Olympic Committee, the current standings for the 4 candidate cities are as follows.

1st - Tokyo - 8.3
2nd - Madrid - 8.1
3rd - Chicago - 7.0
4th - Rio de Janeiro - 6.4

So the race right now is heating up between Tokyo and Madrid. I went over both Tokyo's and Madrid's plans for the Olympics and it seems that Madrid (who has applied 3 times to host the Olympics) is the most prepared and capable, with Chicago coming in a close second. Tokyo is the only city that has hosted the Olympics. However, no South American country has ever hosted an Olympics. Madrid has bid on 3 separate occasions but has never hosted.

My vote is for Madrid, with Tokyo coming in a close second and Chicago third. I would much rather have Lima or Buenos Aires be the first South American cities to host the Olympics than Rio (I'm not a fan).

The decision is going to be made in October. I can't wait to see who it is!

D.A.N.C.E.

I'm going through an Electro-House music phase.....

This video is by French House duo... Justice.

One of my favorite concepts for a music video....

JD Natasha - Rise and Fall

The story of JD Natasha always seems to amaze me. JD Natasha, an Argentine-Cuban-American was born and raised in Miami. At the age of 16 she landed a 5 album record deal with EMI and was poised to be the next big thing in the states. There was one problem though. Her record producers, after hearing her sing in Spanish, decided that they wanted to market her to the Spanish speaking market. Mexico, specifically, had not yet seen a rocker chick act that was oh so popular in the US at that time (Avril, Pink, etc.) So the record producers decided to release her CD as both an English version and Spanish Version as the same time. This quickly linked her to Latin Artists who had a considerable Spanish fanbase trying to crossover in the English market. Many of these artists were unsuccessful except for Shakira. In reality, JD Natasha was already an American act trying to crossover to the Spanish Market. She was very successful in Mexico and the rest of Latin America, she was even nominated for 3 Grammys for her debut CD.



However, the US market was not as kind and she went unnoticed. After watching her Spanish interviews, it seemed as if she was unhappy in the position she was. First of all, her Spanish was horrible. Second, it seemed as if she was being forced to be someone she wasn't, a Latin Pop Star. Do you know where this is headed? :)



She walked away from her EMI record deal. WHAT? Apparently, she was unhappy and simply walked away from her record deal. That was in 2006. Today she has a new band called, Fancy Me Yet, an Indie Rock band similar to the likes of Paramore and Flyleaf. Check them out.

Allison Iraheta ....

A few months ago I posted that David Archuleta was going to be the next American Idol. I was wrong. But he did win second place and got a record deal and a few hits.

My prediction for this season is Allison Iraheta. Her voice is amazing. Allison, like Archuleta, is a Hispanic 16 year old who has been watching AI for years. A few years ago, she competed in a Mexican version of American Idol called Quinceanera. She has a lot of potential. Hopefully she isn't forced into becoming what shes not. That will just leave us with a JD Natasha Part Deux (more on her later). As with Allison, make sure to check out American Idol....

PLUS, unlike Archuleta, she has the potential to be marketed to both the English (300 million) and larger International Spanish (322 Million people) Markets. Although his Spanish language songs are AMAZING, David Archuleta was marketed as an All-American, wholesome kid in order to win over all the young tween girls. None of his tracks in his debut CD were in Spanish, nor are there any future plans to "Cross Over", into the spanish Market.