Free Concert…always good!

Posted by Dominick on Feb 18, 2010 in Old Blog Posts, Tales From a Faraway Land | 0 comments

Last Saturday we decided to take advantage of the fact that in the summer here there are so many things do that are open to the public for free. One such event that was sponsored by the city was a series of free concerts in a Futbol stadium. After losing a few people at the last minute, me Jessica, and my roommate Jon boarded the bus bound for the stadium.

We got there in time to see the second band, Zoe from Mexico playing the last half of their hour long set. The poor guys. Their music was something reminiscent of U2, The Rolling Stones, Green Day all rapped together. They

played a half way decent show, but the crowd of Argentines’ general dislike for any Spanish speakers other than Themselves and Spaniards lead to there being quite a subdued atmosphere while there were playing.

That all changed as soon as the headlines took the stage. From our seats in the upper sections (See Pictures) i saw the large huddle mass of people begin to come to life as they waited to hear their hometown favorites. As the roadies tore down the last bands gear and brought out the closing act’s gear, the previously static mass of human matter that was the crowd, began to move ever so slowly up and down, side to side, almost in a pulsating manor as if they were a heart pumping throughout the body life giving blood. This is exactly what the band did for the crowd when they finally made their way out on to the stage.

The closing band goes by the name Catupechu Machu (Gibberish it has no meaning in Spanish). This band has gone through many different sounds in their career, ranging from Hard rock, to Alternative, to Acoustic rock and much much more. As soon as they took to the stage the crowd sprang to life. During certain songs the entire floor area of the stadium was swaying to the melodic sounds, during others they were full of passion as they jumped up and down, thrashing from side to side with the heavy rythmic grooves being formed by the Drums, Bass and Guitar. I was quite please with the level of showmanship that was displayed by the band, the lead singer/guitarist in particular. During the entire show this man held the people in the palm of his hand, with his passionate playing, energetic presence, insightful guitar work, and moving lryical performance.

After about an hour and a half long set list that included many of the bands hits (which was a treat for me since i have their last album and know all of those songs) they retired from the stage leaving a very happy, and satisfied audience of whom i was a member.

-A movement that i have called the backwards toilet flush

Some links to videos of the band…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yca5KerTkoE&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVjbqdm_JVI&feature=related
http://www.catupecumachu.com/

Is this the bronx, or Buenos Aires? Shootout on Callao y Corrientes

Posted by Dominick on Feb 17, 2010 in Old Blog Posts, Tales From a Faraway Land | 0 comments

Today after we had finished service, we decided to go get some coffee before we headed over to the meeting. As we were walking to the major intersection near the hall we noticed a huge crowd formed around the subway exit. As we went into the coffee shop we naturally started wondering what was going on. However from where we were it was impossible to see what exactly was going on as the police had taped off the area around the subway entrance, and people were all around. Seeing as i tower above everyone in this country however it was no problem for me to walk up, push my way through the crowd, and look over everyone, and see what was going on. They had a few shell casings laying on the ground circled in chalk and numbered. Tons of police were around, and the capos (from Italian meaning Captain also a very commonly used slang word here) in their suits were investigating what happened. As we were already running late for the meeting we did not have time to hang out and find out exactly what happened.

Now that i have come home from the meeting, i had time to look up the news and i found out what it was that happened. Apparently, three men had robbed a store on the block the Kingdom Hall is located at (A Polleria aka a place that sells chicken…i know right). They were chased by the police to the Subway entrance, where the police fired their weapons wounding two of the guys and hitting on in the throat, brought about his death right there on the steps of the subway entrance. The very same entrance that i walk up every single time i go to the Kingdom Hall. The very same entrance that me and my friend normally would have walked out of today. Did i mention that me and my friend Tallon were coming up from the subway right around the time that this shooting took place?

This is not a normal thing in Buenos Aires. Unlike good ol’ Estados Unidos, its very hard for people to buy guns here. As a result, gun violence is not a common occurrence. However it is not unknown for these things to happen. But where the Kingdom Hall is located at, where this shooting took place is not a bad part of town by any means. Corrientes is the largest street in the city, and is full of stores and restaurants that never close. So for this to happen here is very uncommon. It would be like someone being shot in the middle of time square in New York, or in the loop in Chicago. Either way it lead to an interesting sight for all.

P.S. I would love to post some pictures of the scene however seeing as last week someone liberated my camera from me, i am without any means to take photos at the moment. But i have included links to the story from the local papers. One in English, and one in Spanish. Enjoy!

http://www.buenosairesherald.com/BreakingNews/View/25537
http://www.clarin.com/diario/2010/02/17/um/m-02142276.htm

6,000 miles from home and i still have to go to an 80s party…

Posted by Dominick on Feb 16, 2010 in Old Blog Posts, Tales From a Faraway Land | 1 comment

Seeing as my camera was liberated from me a few weeks ago, i have been without any new pictures for the last month. So as new pictures are hard to come by, i have had to resort to a blog entry about a party we had over a month ago.

This was a going away party for our dear friend/mother Nancy. Seeing as she has a profound love all things 80s, the girls decided that the party would have an 80s theme. We had

a great time at this party trying to out do each other with our outfits. To make a long story short, in the end we all ended up looking like a bunch of idiots.

Either way we all had a good time, we gave our dear, dear friend Nancy a great send off. I hope you enjoy the pictures…

My roommate Ryan looking great as always. Imagine riding on the subway with this guy on the way to the party dressed like this…

Me taking a picture of the girls…Photo credit goes to Crystal for a great pic.

Me and my future sister-in-law Mariana…I love her so much…she needs to marry someone in the family…

Me holding
the Birthday Girl, aka Nacny.

Me and Bret looking tough…ya right!

Got to love the group shots. I rock that bad cut off shirt.