Photos by Evan WeloI wasn’t sure that I would be able to recognize him; but his Volkswagen hippie van was unmistakable.It sputtered up to us in the quiet Vina del Mar city centre twenty minutes behind schedule, painted from hood to tailgate in a blue wave.Pato got out and greeted us warmly, smiling from ear to ear, as stoked as we were about going surfing.
8 amShouts, giggles, and the rhythmic thud of a ball kicked against the wall grow louder while I fight to remain asleep. After a hollered conversation with their mother, followed by much slamming of doors, the kids next door leave for school. Adi watches their silhouettes dart across our fogged window.
Photos: authorI was in Turkey for three months this past autumn to train with Fire of Anatolia, an iconic professional dance group in the country. Fire of Anatolia holds the Guinness World Record for fastest dance performance at 241 steps per minute.I think the dancers should hold another world record: speaking Turkish at a million words per minute.
I applied for a press pass to visit the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in February 2008.Seven months later, I was notified I’d been approved for a visit, one of the only journalists to visit the Joint Task Force portion of the base this year. JTF is the part of the base where detainees in the US’s War on Terror are being held.
Perhaps you missed the story that was a mere footnote to many newscasts the week of March 6.During British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s visit to the U.S., President Obama presented the PM with a rather untraditional gift: a set of 25 DVDs representing the best of America’s film culture. The set included “The Wizard of Oz,” “Schindler’s List,” “Citizen Kane,” and “Psycho.
Heather Carreiro, in Pakistan. Photo by Duarte CarreiroHeather Carreiro is the second MatadorU grad to win IFWTWA Award.Heather Carreiro graduated from MatadorU in February 2010 and subsequently joined the Matador team as a regular writer and editorial intern. We didn’t even have the chance to announce that she’s also been promoted to the editor of Matador Abroad (former editor, Sarah Menkedick, has transitioned into the full-time editor-in-chief position with Matador’s Glimpse Correspondents Program and the Glimpse site) before we received some more good news: Heather just won the International Food, Wine, and Travel Writers Association’s scholarship, awarded annually to an emerging writer in these genres.
Layla. Champion rock thrower. Photo Laura BernheinA few notes / musings on Passover songs, Easter fixie bike races and what it means to reinvent ceremonies.1. Over the weekend my bro Segundo left a message on my phone where he sang this passover song Dayenu.Segundo is not Jewish but half-Italian which is close.
Robert Hirschfield visits the Jewish Cemetery in Calcutta, thinking of the last Jews left in India, and of last places.WE ARE driving up and down Narkeldanga Main Road looking for tombstones.All I see are storefronts. The heat is roasting the car windows and my stubby pencil.The driver is throwing up his hands, which I take as a good sign.
Belize may only be the size of Rhode Island, but it certainly has a lot to do.The Blue HoleOne of the best diving sites in the world, this filled in water volcano is reputed to have some of the best diving in the world and is a must see for divers. Just make sure you stay oriented, because it’s easy to confuse down with up and risk getting trapped.
You don’t watch TV. I know that. But sometimes, it’s nice to get a reminder that television is brainwashing and sucking the lives out of millions of people around the world at this moment.Above is a clip from the 1976 film Network, with the transcript of the rant below. And if you haven’t checked out Throw Away Your TV yet, head over there now.
I love weird soft drinks. In every China Town and Korea Town I am always on the look out for cans that promise chunks of foreign fruit matter – drinks that eat like a meal. Odd favor, texture, unexpected ingedient or a cool can? I’m there.The other night I was out for an otherwise lovely dinner in a Peruvian restaurant in the Once neighborhood here in Buenos Aires.
Photo by Judy BaxterWanting to showcase your travels without a hundred-hour slideshow? Written diaries are often too private and don’t let people keep in regular contact. A travel blog is as simple as these 10 steps.There are a confusing amount of options for the novice, but in this step-by-step guide the author’s choice of best services are showcased along with their strengths.