Hola... Sho quiero estar en Argentina

It always threw me off when people in Argentina would answer the phone and say "Hola". Now I know it makes more sense than the Mexican's answer of "bueno?" but I found it strange nonetheless. So I've stared to answer my calls with "holaaa" and drag it out just like they do in Mendoza, sounding uninterested and a bit suspicious of the person on the other line. The reaction? A slight pause and then "Dalina? Bueno?"

So my point is: I need to go back to Argentina. NEED to. I want meat empanadas and crazy cab drivers and the exhausting time difference. My trip was almost three months ago, but I am barely realizing how much fun I had and how much more I could have had.

I promise I will post pictures as soon as I get my macbook back (today!) and show you what beautifulness I'm missing terribly.

Once I recover my funds of having to buy TWO computers in a month and a half time span, I just might hop a plane and go back to the good air of Buenos Aires. Anybody wanna join me?

Dîa de dar gracias

Don't ask me why, but I've almost always celebrated Thanksgiving in Mexico, whether my family's eating tacos de cabeza in Hermosillo or an actual turkey in Bahia de Kino. My Mexican family usually joins in, taking some time off of work to help with the cooking, or just stopping by late to eat. It's pretty amazing to see how Knorr Suiza chicken bullion (a Mexican kitchen must-have) adds that certain taste to stuffing.

I thought I was one of the only ones to experience this until I ran into Lorena Barraza, a journalism student, who plans on traveling across the border to celebrate the holiday with her grandparents in Guaymas.

"I don't get time to see my grandparents that much," she said. "This is a good opportunity for me to spend some quality time (with them)."

Lorena, who "can't even boil water" appreciates the fact that her grandmother goes out of her way to actually crate a full-fledged Thanksgiving menu.

Surprisingly, this year my family has had a turn of events and I'll actually be spending Turkey Day in Nogales, Ariz. Even more strange, family from Mexico will be joining us.

Missing Anything?

On a recent assignment to Nogales, Sonora, Mex., I noticed the most important subjects were missing: the shoppers. This alley, few steps away from Avenida Obregon, is usually filled with shoppers from "el otro lado," according to Maria, a vendor stationed near the alley who refused to give her last name.

Maria remembered a time when a "puente," or long weekend, would bring in countless shoppers from the United States and fill the entire shopping area near the border.

Look closely to the photo above. The only people in the alley are vendors and their buddies, most of whom quickly turned their Spanish slang into, "Come on in, we have good price for you," as soon as I walked by.

So what happened to all of the shoppers? "It all started when the twin towers went down," Maria said. She blames the higher security measures and the "bad publicity" that Nogales has been receiving since September 11, 2001 for her slow sales. Though other shop owners didn't say why, they also noted that the absence of shoppers was pretty odd for a long weekend.

Talking about American shoppers, this article on about.com provides a "guide" for spending a day in Nogales and includes bartering tips and dining recommendations, which I suggest you read, but don't necessarily follow. Instead, experience the sights, sounds and flavors on your own. Pick up some antibiotics on your way out (just in case the seafood you ate was sitting out a bit too long) and say hi to Maria for me.

Sino ¡Esta Bien!http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

The latest release from "hands down Mexico's most important rock band," Cafe Tacvba has finally hit shelves, or itunes, whichever you perfer.

Cafe what?
Like I said, Mexico's most important rock band. You should get to know them, and this is the best time to do so.

Sino, the band's first studio album in four years is a great mix of songs that include vocals from all the band members, something the band has been toying with for the past 18 years, but until now is full-fledged. An eclectic and at times random mix of every Mexican musical element, this album a pretty good follow-up to Cuatro Caminos, which won a Grammy and a Latin America VMA.

"I had no idea who they were," said Jesus Wences, a self-proclaimed music lover who just recently discovered the band. "I really need to get in touch with my Mexican roots huh?"

Wences found out about Cuatro Caminos from a co-worker and fell in love with the four man band from Mexico City. He had been waiting for a month until the album was released October 9.

"I can't wait for their new tour," said Wences.

But for now, he'll need to satisfy his urges with the video from their first single, "Volver a Comenzar," courtesy of Bareto on YouTube

Sin Documentos

"Dejame atravesar el viento sin documentos, Que lo hare por el tiempo que tuvimos. . ."

The song, Sin Documentos, originally released by Los Rodriguez in 2002, has recently become my favorite song by Julieta Venegas. In fact, when I heard it on her new album, Lîmon y Sal, I had no idea it was someone elses!

The substitution of the guitar by her famous accordion, genius! But the REAL point of my story is this: The song has now been "Guitar-Heroed."

Two weeks ago, on a trip to one of the many weddings in Hermosillo, we went out to a bar and saw that they were having a Guitar Hero contest. I thought, huh, maybe they have a new Spanish version? Nope. My GH fanatic-boyfriend had to play "Freya" to hundreds of people who barely knew the lyrics.

Alex playing at Gato Pollo Live House in Hermosillo, Sonora.

Then, last week, he called me so excited about "the new Spanish song on the game." When I heard what song it was, I was confused. . . "There's no guitar in that song. . ." but also quite surprised that the people Harmonix, the makers of the game, acknowledged that many many Spanish speaking people actually play GH.

Well, kudos to them. I'm sure fans everywhere can appreciate the music, no matter what language it's in or if the guitar is replaced by an accordion.

Here's a video of someone else playing the song on Guitar Hero, courtesy of "machineofadream" on You Tube:

Alley Cats

Shoot me now, I went to Los Angeles for a journalism conference this weekend and I FORGOT my CAMERA.

Have no fear, I'm loading this post with a bunch of links so you can kind of to retrace my steps.

Back to my story:
After a long night at the Millennium Biltmore in downtown L.A, I decided to wake up at what seemed like dawn and take a walk outside (I don't really recommend this for young ladies who are alone and don't know where they're going). Per my own recommendation, I recruited an other University of Arizona student, Evan Pellegrino, to go with me.

And we're off. For being on completely different levels, me on a mission, he just trying to survive his hangover, we made pretty good time to the Fashion District. There it was, Santee Alley. If you've ever seen downtown Nogales, this is way more crazy and culture shock-ish (take the tour and you might get what I mean).

I was pretty oblivious to this until I saw Evan's face, cigarette almost falling off his bottom lip and his eyes just staring at a purple suit with a $49.99 price tag on it. I swerved in and out of the "stores" looking for gifts for my sisters, but he just calmly waited outside and peered into the shops like a nervous boy who doesn't want to touch anything.

I used my bartering skills and ended up with more things than I could carry. With his help, we stopped by a hot dog vendor, bought pretty much everything but hotdogs, and went on our merry way.

Here's a blog I found with nice pictures that look like what I would have taken pictures of.

Dia de Los Muertos

It's almost here! The 2nd of November is a lot closer than many of you might think, so get excited.

Why am I making a big deal about this? Well, on my trip to Hermosillo, Sonora this weekend, I noticed my aunt had a pile of supplies by the door. A broom, some candles, a framed photograph of my grandparents and little palo fierro figurines that my grandfather loooved.

So you're thinking, "Ok, I get it, Dalina's crazy. She's talking about a day that's 3 weeks away and observes that her family gathers odd things."

Well, yeah, but there's more. The supplies my Tia Ana had by the door are actually going to accompany her on Nov. 2nd, better known as Día de Los Muertos. She'll pick up a pan de muerto on her way to the cemetery, where she'll sit and pray for a couple of hours and clean my grandparents' graves, just as she does every year.

When my sisters and I were younger and happened to be in town for this occasion, we'd sit there, bored and kind of upset that we would have to clean. Then we'd all go home and eat the bread. As far as I remember, it was kind of yucky. It looks wonderful, but seeing as it is made for the dead, and they no longer have taste buds, it doesn't have to taste so good.

Living in Nogales, we didn't follow up with the tradition, no family in town=no graves to clean.

Fast-forward about a decade and I'm in college. I have family in Tucson and graves to visit, but never really followed the tradition and it had lost all meaning. People around me ask about the "holiday" and invite me to the huge procession on Fourth Ave. Not really interested.

Then my grandfather died. Last year, I spent most of my summer in a daze. Suddenly, it was November and my aunt invited me to the procession. I still have the prayer form. It's waaay different than what I experienced in Hermosillo, but I hear it's similar to the smaller towns in Mexico, where this is a bigger deal.

Here are some pictures of my experience:

Photos by Dalina Castellanos

My Tia Janette and her husband Sean getting ready for the procession.

One of the many colorful floats during the procession

A mini-float

Part of the procession