The trip started with serious work.
During the flight from Newark to Narita there were many movies available in the personal entertainment system, some quite appealing since I would not easily have access to them; movies like a selection from Tribeca Film Festival, Bolt from the Blue, Genome Hazard, Horseplay, Samurai Hustle, The Monkey King, The Snow White Murder Case, or TV shows like Hanasaki Mai Speaks Out, Happy Camp, Secret Series, Tasty Road, Treasures of the Country… but I had access to electrical current outlet plug, so I slept 4 hours and worked on my laptop for 9 hours straight, with “Creep” by Radiohead playing in single repeat mode.
August 30th my wife and I acquired another work of art for our collection.
In this case we chose Colombian contemporary artist Carlos Motta: “Brief history of US Interventions in Latin America since 1946, 2005/14” (Guggenheim UBS MAP Purchase Fund 2014.39).
It is part of a series produced by Carlos Motta between 2005 and 2009 that present two chronologies of events in Latin America: one of U.S. interventions in the region since 1946, and one of the areas leftist guerrilla movements.
The absurdly convoluted visa policies of India, and the absurdly privatized process of obtaining it, have made me cancel a trip that was supposed to be a routine work day in Kalkata. Its amazing that in the XXI century bureaucracy affects so many countries so much, and toy with peoples lives via ridiculous laws.
The official information handled by my travel agency, one of the largest in the world, says that if I spend less than 24 hours in India I do not need visa.
On August 24th we were invited to the graffiti show at 21 Precinct.
The show ironically took place in the old 21st police Precinct (327 East 22nd Street) which, from 1863 and for 50 years was notorious for corruption and brutality in a [formerly]seedy part of town.
Curated by Robert Aloia & VNA Mag, it featured Adam Dare, Al Diaz, Amanda Marie, ASVP, Bad Pedestrian, Ben Angotti , Bill Claps, Bishop203, Bunny M.
These past 10 days I have been acting as a Cicerone for my sister and her partner. We really enjoyed having them in our Chelsea apartment. It was also a great opportunity to see NY from the eyes of a tourist again, which I sometimes fail to do since I have been living here for 3 years now.
There are a ton of anecdotes and discoveries behind these pictures, but you have to come to New York to experience them 😉
Back in New York the first thing I did was… leave again. A quick business trip to Atlanta followed back to back by a trip to Houston.
Both trips and meetings went well, and the team of professionals in those meetings were, dare I say, the top in their respective fields in the world. It was a work-related pleasure.
But the one thing I will remember the most from those trips, even more than the delicious upscale Hugo`s Mexican restaurant in Houston, will be the black swans I met at the very nice Omni Houston Hotel.
I admit it, there are still great restaurants in Valencia that I have not tried yet. But I am on a mission to change that.
While Samsha remains my all-time favorite despite its location, before we flew back to New York we tried the Michelin Guide starred Poblet restaurant.
I shouldnt be surprised, since I ate at Quique Dacostas El Poblet in Denia a few years ago and knew he was onto something.
