Sin Nombre: Relevant, Intense, Heart-Wrenching

SUMMARY: I review Sin Nombre, the best film I’ve seen in a long time about a Mexican gang member trying to escape his past and help an innocent Honduran girl safely enter the United States. Themes discussed include MS-13, immigration and human rights, love, and more.

I wasn’t going to include this post on this blog (only my other blog), but WordPress.com apparently doesn’t allow embedding YouTube videos so I’m posting it here as well because I spent a lot of time finding those fucking videos!

Sin Nombre is the best film I’ve seen in a long time. It’s also the first Spanish-language movie I watched without subtitles. They weren’t available at the pirated DVD market where I bought the disc. Fortunately I had no trouble understanding. … Read more

Photo Exhibit in Bogota

SUMMARY: Colombia’s National Museum of Photography had an exhibit in Plaza Lourdes last month. The images were compelling enough to devote a blog post. Each picture tells a story uniquely Colombian.

Read more

Chapinero in Pictures

SUMMARY: Profile and pictures of the coolest neighborhood in Bogota, Chapinero.

Read more

La Candelaria in Pictures

SUMMARY: Brief profile and pictures of the famed neighborhood, La Candelaria. Crazy murals included.

Read more

Save Barranco!

SUMMARY: Profile / description of the coolest neighborhood in Lima. Sections include SALVEMOS BARRANCO!, Kaminu Hostal, Galería Lucía de la Puente, Pedro de Osma Museum, and Help Retro Bar. This post is mostly pictures.

Being the hipster wannabe that I am, I skipped the Miraflores scene when picking a Lima neighborhood to stay in. I settled on Barranco, which is just south of Miraflores along the coast. I fell in love with this part of town. Beautiful, clean, safe, and with an artsy personality not found in Miraflores.

Between our hostel and Barranco’s pasaje of bars, we were offered weed an average of five times per day; the average fluctuated with how much time we spent in the neighborhood. Barranco also features the best murals in the city … Read more

Lima City Rocks

SUMMARY: Profile of and stories about Lima, Peru (finally) after one week in the city of 8 million – also my last week in Peru. Sections include La Molina, Magdalena, Larco Museum, Miraflores: #1 Gringo Destination, Chorrillos: The Beach, Callao: Gangsta!, Water Park, Lima Nightlife, or Other Pics.

Due to Arequipa hometown pride and dislike / jealousy of Lima, I had only heard that Lima was big, congested, gray, and dangerous. The only good thing Arequipeños say about Lima is that the food is better. However, I found Lima to be a great city. Of all the things people say about Lima, nobody ever says that it is beautiful. Which is a shame, because it is a beautiful city! Read more

Next Page »