Go Red SoX!!!

To all the Yankees fans, like our Yankee cap wearing neighbors in Droyers Point, here it is, again.
Go Red Sox!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Julius and I will rock our Sox cap throughout this week eventhough we missed the entire World Series.
And for real, who is a more adorable MVP than Mike Lowell? I had no idea who he is until I saw the newsflash this morning from last night’s World Series. But 4 real, ML is HOT!!! The ideal hottie for every pseudo gay baseball aficionado. Ooops! This should be gay pseudo baseball fan who happens to be gay, not the other way around. How can you be pseudo gay? Hehehe!)

Michael Pena

God bless America…he is just hot, no? Julius and I, er, I am crazee about him…

Estamos en nuestro hogar…

Missing Spain badly. Sorting through our pasalubongs. Had a full breakfast and took our time with the yogurt and oatmeal. This is the Spanish approach to time that we will abide by, so help us God.

Also listening to some of our cd purchases (hitting repeat!!!). Topping the list is this out-of-nowhere purchase of “Andy & Lucas, Ganas de Vivir”, which has a Mid Eastern twist. (Seems like MidEast is our next stop, pohon!)

And to support Spaniard and Pinay artist (her father, a Barreto, is a Spagnol born in Manila and I surmise has, por su puesto, Pinoy roots, a la Gretchen & Claudine BARRETO), I also bought Shaila Durcal’s “Recordando” cd, released in 2006 by EMI Mexico. In her “Agradecimientos”, she writes, “Al resto de mi familia en Madrid, Mexico y Filipinas, gracias a cada uno de vosotros por apoyarme y aportame cosas maravillosas en mi vida…”

Adios¡ Adios¡

Salamat sa Dios for an unforgettable trip. As always, this one compelled us to confront questions about rejuvenating ourselves and each other.

To the Sandoval family, thank you.

Churros (MMMmmm…) and other favorites, we will be back soon, pohon.

Out of mercy to the bulls, Julius and I did not see Valencia´s Sunday bull fight. We could not betray our black Neida, waiting for us in Jersey.

Of course, to the beautiful men of Spain, gay and straight, whom we crossed paths with, met or encountered in the streets of Valencia, Barcelona and Madrid and in the gay pubs, discos, stores and saunas, thank you…Special shout to Jesus (Valencia) and his brother in Madrid (me olvido su nombre) who owned specialty boutiques, mainly jewelry, plus housewares a la capiz lamps from las islas); to Danilo (represente Argentina) and Prado (de Portugal),*wink, wink!*, and many more…

To Spain, la madre patria, we jump for you with lots of love…-Julius Ramon y Ian Fernando (22 de Octubre, 2007)

Bye Tarragona, back to Valencia

We fly back to Newark, New Jersey, Monday (pohon) so since Saturday, we have been in Valencia. Here are some of the best shots from Valencia. We realized that this part of Spain had a Moorish past and with the pictures, I believe you will sense the same. Some parts of Valencia, behind Valencia Nord train station could be Morocco, Beirut, Algeria or even Palestine (not that either of us have been there but it sure ¨feels¨like it).

I just happened to be wearing my hoodie because since Madrid, I had been feeling a bit under the weather. To clear the sinuses, we made use of the huge and brand new tub by taking baths at our Valencia hotel. We also like how in Spain, aside from a urinal, there is a washing urinal so that you can clean yourself after you doo-doo. This not only saves on toilet paper but is the best means of cleaning up oneself. Matud pa ni Julius, it avoids lama sa underwear; no peanut butter undies.

As with Madrid and Barcelona, Julius and I checked out another physical mark of Filipinas en Spain in Valencia. There is a very short street in Valencia called Calle de Filipinas. It is in the same area as other street names of former colonies like Gibraltar, Cuba and Puerto Rico. Also check out Filipinas Pub. It was still closed since we got there in the morning but I wonder what it is like when open. There is only one way to find out, by going back, pohon. This, we will do!!!

Bye Madrid and back to Tarragona…

We left Madrid on Friday to have our going away dinner with Jeanette and Nico. The whole time we were in Madrid we missed Nico biko.

The above photo is of Jeanette wearing the earrings we got her in Madrid.

For our visperas, Jeanette cooked up seafood (shrimps, mussels and a shell seafood that i cannot recall the name of). Julius cooked pork adobo and another dish for Jeanette to eat for the rest of the week so that she did not have to cook. We saw how busy life is for a mom of a 1-year old and appreciate how she is able to glide through it all.

Irena and I brought our appetite to the table and chomped away at all the heartily cooked food. While Jeanette and Julius cooked away in the kitchen, I had some play time with Nico.
It was one of the best dinners we had in Spain…To top it all off, Julius also had made a creamy dessert. Jorge, wish you could join us with your wife and Nico. Sunod na!

Islas Filipinas (Madrid metro stop) and Rizal Park

So we also checked out the metro stop for Pinas in Madrid and paid our respects to the Rizal Park in Avenida de Filipinas. 2 young Dominicans manned the water & soda stand in front of Rizal Park. I asked them about how life is in Spain and the woman (early 20s or late teens) told me how hard it is to find work in Madrid. She reminded Julius and I of how differently we viewed life in Madrid as tourists, sheltered from the day-to-day struggle of earning a living. That everywhere, it was the same issue—finding our source of daily bread.

Considering my sentiment of ambivalence about Palacio Real (See prior blog entry re same), being at the Rizal Monument somewhat gave justice to the Philippine struggle for self-determination, which remains contested to date due to, among others, the rampant govermental corruption and economic volatility. After all, Jose Rizal, Philippine national hero, was instrumental in articulating the movemenr for indio-pendence or self-rule.

Ademas, the naming of the metro stop after the Philippines was the smallest form of payback after 300 years of, among many others, tobacco, sugar & cacao exploitation by the colonizer. (More on cacao appropriation—re-taking & re-packaging— that Julius and I talked about by commodifying cacao a la churros in Spain for mass indio consumption in the Philippines.)

Our Madrid Hotel by kilometro 0 (Puerta del Sol)

This is the view from our Madrid hotel—very parisienne feel with the floral grills of the mini balcony. I couldnt help but do more model shots there, in between the sightseeing and pasalubong shopping for manton de manila, panuelos y abanicos.
Notice how I am growing my beard for the Spagñol look, also had Julius get black stone earring, which is hot among young Spagñol youngsters & hipsters.
Kilometro 0 is the centermost part of Madrid, hence the name. At night, the area towards Gran Via (the parallel street) is lined with female, mostly Eastern European prostitutes. For a Catholic country, it is unusual how open Spaniards are about the business and industry of sex but we must have walked into a couple of sex shops with ready for pay female prostitutes. Hay de que, it is what it is.

Quando en Madrid, eres madrileno…

Last night in Espana. Adios madre patria. You have been gracious throughout, especially the elders who guided our every path when we strayed from the lines of the map.

So the following are photos of our two and a half day stay in Madrid. Most memorable was the Bazaar Restaurant in gay area of Chueca. It was an Asian fusion restaurant with an all Filipino service and management staff. There was also our trek to the Las Islas Filipinas metro stop and Avenida Filipinas, where a miniature Rizal monument stood (right by the University of Madrid area). Of course, the modern art scene was pretty live.

Madrid Art

The last photo above is a coincidental run-in. There was demolition going on in the street that we were to pass so we walked south towards another street. This is how we came to pass Cervantes’ home. Yes, Cervantes as in Instituto Cervantes!!!

Orgullo Filipino

We were keen on any physical presence of las Islas Filipinas en Espana. When we were in Barcelona, we read in Time Out NY Barcelona guide that Hotel 1898, now a five-star boutique hotel in La Rambla, used to be the headquarters for the General Tobacco Company of Filipinas. So we searched for it after we finished the must-sees. Esos: