Heart of Shells

A couple of months ago we were at the beach, while i was reading magazines with my son, my daugther was "drawing" with tiny shells align them in many shapes. This is the one we liked the most.

Babel

From the Babel series (2007) by Manuel Zumbado. Zumbado is a good friend and colleague from Costa Rica, he has expressed himself through a wide variety of media like painting, installations and video. This work is inspired on international economic monopolies and its symbols of power.

Read more at:
www.manuelzumbado.com

Yours is Not Disgrace

In 1972 when I was twelve years old I bought The Yes Album. No friends of mine at that age considered this type of music, they even thought I was in drugs, Ha! they were wrong. I still listen often this music and prove myself I was right, these musicians are the best!

Switch Off

Last Saturday night we switch off our lights for more than an hour following the Earth Hour activity, my kids were very enthusiast so they prepared candles and brought cards to play, we usually talk a lot but doing it in that penumbra ambient turned in a very pleasant moment. My children are 11 and 12 years old so they look at the world from their very own perspective, for them the most simple experience is transformed into something totally new. They have helped me to see the world in a very different way.

Semana Santa in Antigua Guatemala II

We were again at Antigua this Sunday and the city was full, as the Semana Santa is coming there are more procesiones and more activities luring thousands of visitors, all is like a party here.

Imprescindible VI

Quizá porque mi niñez
sigue jugando en tu playa,
y escondido tras las cañas

duerme mi primer amor,
llevo tu luz y tu olor
por donde quiera que vaya,

y amontonado en tu arena
guardo amor, juegos y penas.

Yo,
que en la piel tengo el sabor
amargo del llanto eterno,
que han vertido en ti cien pueblos

de Algeciras a Estambul,
para que pintes de azul
sus largas noches de invierno.

A fuerza de desventuras,
tu alma es profunda y oscura.

A tus atardeceres rojos
se acostumbraron mis ojos
como el recodo al camino...

Soy cantor, soy embustero,
me gusta el juego y el vino,
Tengo alma de marinero...

¿Qué le voy a hacer, si yo
nací en el MEDITERRÁNEO?

Nací en el MEDITERRÁNEO...

Y te acercas, y te vas
después de besar mi aldea.
Jugando con la marea

te vas, pensando en volver.
Eres como una mujer
perfumadita de brea

que se añora y que se quiere
que se conoce y se teme.

Ay...
si un día para mi mal
viene a buscarme la parca.
Empujar al mar mi barca

con un levante otoñal
y dejar que el temporal
desguace sus alas blancas.

Y a mí enterrarme sin duelo
entre la playa y el cielo...

En la ladera de un monte,
más alto que el horizonte.
Quiero tener buena vista.

Mi cuerpo será camino,
le daré verde a los pinos
y amarillo a la genista...

Cerca del mar. Porque yo
nací en el MEDITERRÁNEO...

Nací en el MEDITERRÁNEO...

Nací en el MEDITERRÁNEO...

Water Pistol

From the Extreme Objects series, this water pistol is one of my latest bronze sculptures, its dark patina is chosen to resemble a real gun.
This work pretend open up points of view against violence, here i copy
an excerpt from Should Children Be Given Toy Guns? by Philippa Rowlands.

"Parental Guidance:
The toy is only part of the problem. The other aspect is the failure of parents to educate their children in the negative aspects of guns. Children are open to the “hero worship” of guns and the power they posses. Children are observing their world all the time looking to see what works and what doesn’t. What they sadly see is in many aspects of the media is that violence works. Violence is power. More and more often this violence is no longer stylized and children are more likely to look at the violent solutions they see as a “real” alternative. Parents need to stand up and educate their children from a very young age. If children are going to be allowed to have toy guns and watch violence on television then they need to have parental input, explanations, discussions and a strong understanding that that violence is not an answer and that real violence cannot be retracted. A child can “come back alive” from a toy gunfight, but a real gun or any other violence cannot be undone. Too many parents believe that this concept is somehow inbuilt into their children. This is not so. A child often needs to be taught the difference between imagination and reality especially when they are very young."

Obscuro Package

This is the handsome package of our new Obscuro flavor.

Just Like a Drummer

New Café P11 Obscuro Flavor!

Our new Café P11 Obscuro flavor is already available. The same perfect blend with all its intense exotic aroma with spicy fragrances of aromatic wood, orangy citrus and notes of leather, now with a slightly darker roast for those who like the full-bodied taste of strong coffee.

Buy it at:
www.cafep11.com

Total Eclipse of The Moon

I found in my archives a set of photographs of the total eclipse of the moon held on February 20, 2008. These were taken with a 80-200, 2.8 Nikon telephoto (more data upon request) and the help of a tripod and a clear sky. The series included here were taken at 20:30'51, 20:33'29, 20:36'31 Guatemala City time. Each year occur 0 to 3 lunar eclipses (partial or total) and they are free, so find out if the next one is at your backyard.

Read more at:
www.nasa.gov

The Why Cheap Art? Manifesto

A very kind coffee blogger sent me this manifesto. Saludos Mike!

Change of Sight

No words are necessary.

Woodrow Wilson House

The design of these customized cabinetry is part of the contribution of Guatemalan Architect Hugo Arrué to the renovation of the Woodrow Wilson house in Princeton, N.J. between 2003 and 2006.

After being President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910 and New Jersey’s Governor from 1911 to 1913, Woodrow Wilson became the 28th U.S. President from 1913 to 1921. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1919 for his contributions to ending World War I.

In 1896, Wilson asked architect Edward S. Child to design this house when he was a faculty member at Princeton. Since then the house has been transformed, and more recently his current owner decided to make a significant renovation keeping the original spirit of the building while upgrading it to modern life requirements (where possible).

The cabinetry was executed by resembling traditional icons of the house and by adding a little bit of modernism to it. High craftsmanship and quality materials (including certified wood) were used due the historical value of the property.

In 2006, the whole project won the Princeton Preservation Award and the State of New Jersey Historic Preservation Award for that year.

The Coffee Flower

This is the flower of the coffee tree, impeccable white and very aromatic, they grow in clusters at the base of the leaves enriching the entire plantation with their perfume. After a few days they will become in green coffee beans.