Enrique

Venice Beach

2010-01-28T18:20:00.001-08:00

On Jan 2nd, I told my friend Dorje that I would drive his van full of merchandise to Venice in exchange for a ticket back to the Fe. I was supposed to leave with Angie on Friday morning, but instead I said to her, "let's just go now and drive through the night." It was 7pm. The drive was boring until we passed this nocturnal factory. Modeselektor was bumpin' in the background.

Thank the Mountain Gods that Flagstaff was not a treacherous route. I-40 can be gnar-gnar at those altitudes near Flagstaff. I took this picture of the mountain as we zipped by at about 1am.

By 4am we were somewhere in the Mojave and Angie started shooting freakin' lazer beams from her eyes.

I took what was supposed to be the last leg into L.A., but unfortunately I passed out and woke up at this rest area a little past Barstow at about 6am. I don't remember pulling over.

Angie took over with awesome intensity and continued the journey into Los Angeles. I never knew that there were snow-capped mountains on the way. I think they are the San Bernardino Mountains.

Finally, L.A. The time was 9:30am.

After a power-nap, and a refreshing shower, it was time to put our toes in the sand. On the strip this bad-ass truck was chillin'.

Hello Pacific Ocean, I love you and ohhh how I've missed you.

Had to take the kicks off.

After a quick walk along the water, Dorje, Bailey, Angie and I, decided it was time for some Thai fare. I was excited as we walked passed this Fairey wall.

Thai Iced-Tea will put a smile on anyone's face.

We ordered a ton of ish. I got the Massaman Curry with a side of Shrimp Fried Rice. Dorje got some Duck, Bailey got some Pad-Thai, and Angie got some Yellow Curry. They don't do Thai food in the Fe like they do in L.A.

After everyone rolled me out of the restaurant, it was back to the beach.

When do we go to the bar?

After the sunset.

We hit up the Other Room in Venice for some beers and afterward I begged Dorje to accompany me to In-N-Out. I had been waiting for this all day. I love menus like this.

Got that Animal-style.

Ohhh lordy..

The next day I helped Dorje get his warehouse set up while Bailey and Angie took the cruisers out for a stroll. We met up after some Mediterranean food at about sunset. This reminded me of White Men Can't Jump.

Pretty clouds.

Legal walls. I realized that in Venice, or in most big cities, you can express yourself in any form. There was a huge skate park on the beach, legal walls, rollerskating jams, head shops, art shops, surfers, I mean everything.

Even the palm trees expressed themselves.

I love the old Art-Deco buildings that stand in front of the beach.

And then, an enormous drum circle. Dancing to organic sounds.

Time for sushi. More excitement for me since I refuse to eat sushi in the Fe.

Later that night Dorje busted out the Burning Man shades.

The next morning, Angie and I felt Kushy and got some coffee on our way to the beach.

This is how we are supposed to spend our mornings as human beings.

We took the cruisers across the highway into Santa Monica and explored. This was a cool rest stop.

It was all down-hill back to Venice. Fun.

An-G.

Really tall guy.

The canals.

And then, my final request, Ethiopian food. There is none in the Fe, specially vegan deliciousness.

Topped-off with a coffee "celebration." I couldn't of felt any happier. Dorje and Bailey gave us a tour of Hollywood, and Beverly Hills on our way to LAX. We had so much fun and it was hard to say good-bye.

Airport beer.

Disssss.

Ready for Albuquerque. It was a surreal weekend. Thank you Dorje and Bailey for an unforgettable time. See you soon!

Holiday Show & Taos

2009-12-20T11:06:00.000-08:00

I haven't blogged in almost two months. Damn. The past couple of months have been busy, I guess. My neighbors and I put together a little show on December 4th and here are some pictures from the reception. This is the entrance to the Guán with some exterior illumination.

A couple of Brenda's pieces.

Linda's "I am a Fox."

Greg's landscape studies are beautiful.

Angie's wall of super cool drawings and etchings.

Close-up. My camera sucks.

My wall.

Ricky Turbo 3-D.

Suzie looking at one of my pieces with the Ricky Turbo 3-D effect.

I'm gonna plug myself now...This is "Identity Crisis" Woodcut.

"My First Kiss" Mixed Media.

"Woman in the Aspens" Woodcut.

"Somewhere Between Roswell and Carlsbad" Mixed Media.

Gold 9ers jacket and PBR. The show was a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who stopped by. Suzie, thanks for the Pizza.

Later on that night, my friends Kristian and Carrie arrived from L.A., just in time for the show. We partied pretty hard (that's what she said) (wait, that doesn't make sense), and the Hand-Hug was introduced to me. Lot's of man-love happened that night, I can't explain it.

The next day I woke everyone up early for a day trip to Taos. Surprised by my combination of enthusiasm and hangover-d-ness, everyone actually took me seriously. I couldn't let my friends K & C leave the Fe without seeing my favorite place. Here's Kristian just after parking the car with the mountains at his back.

Cool wall of the St. Francis de Asis Church.

Front of church. It's so marshmellowy.

A short walk from the church, Angie took us to Dennis Hopper's former residence, the Mabel Dodge Luhan House. It was a very scenic stroll through Taos' back-roads. Kristian and Carrie were lovin' it.

There's the crib. It was my first time there, too. Pretty much the coolest place to live in the world.

Step in to the dining area...

Or perhaps the study with the spear-head like door, darling.

Outside, there were the largest birdhouses I've ever seen. Kinda creepy, but very cool.

After learning that Desserts is Stressed spelled backwards from Dennis Hopper's kitchen, We walked over to the Eske's Brew Pub for some local fare. Here is what was on tap. I got the Mr. Personality.

Yummy. Strong. We went ahead and got the sampler, too.

That lunch was incredibly fun. We were all delirious and hungover, laughing at everything and nothing, you know, that kind of day. At one point, I think both Angie and Carrie cried from the laughter. Anywho, we ordered lunch, Kristian got "the Fatty" (that's what she said)....

....and guess what I got? Green Chile Buffalo Burger, shocker. The girls got regular burgers so I didn't photograph their food. Sorry.

After lunch we hit the road for the Rio Grande Gorge. Kristian was driving.

Never seen this rest area interactive survey before.

The Gorge. Beautiful. I swear, man, Taos is magical. I arrive feeling like a rock (that's what she said, but seriously though) and I leave feeling like a heavy sponge soaked with Taos love. Maybe I was still drunk. No, I've felt like that before in Taos.

It's just too pretty.

El Rio Grande.

Graffiti on the Gorge rails.

The Ricky Turbo 3-D Sponge pose at sunset.

The happy gang.

It was cold and windy, but it doesn't matter when you are within that kind of landscape.

bye bye sun...

And with the sun went the weekend. It was an epic one. I heard through the grapevine that K & C are coming back real soon, the Fe must have left and impression on 'em. Oh, and if you are interested in any prints, just holler. Gotta go, my Bro is here! Everyone have a nice holiday weekend and I'm sending love to all the people that love me back via the roots on the trees in Pandora...

Top of the World, Lake Peak

2009-10-27T17:17:00.000-07:00

Two days ago I woke up at 9am and prepared my lunch for my big expedition. For the past month I've been running my mouth about climbing to the top of the mountains that I see everyday. My buddy, Vajra, decided to take me up there once and for all.

We drove up the Sangre de Cristo mountains which are surrounded by beautiful National Forest, and stopped just before the Santa Fe Ski Basin. Vajra borrowed this diesel truck that sounded like a chopper.

Here are the players. First, Vajra, doing his Toyota jumps. He is an experienced hiker, you can tell by the outfit.

And Ira. This guy was more my speed.

And off we were. Vajra didn't start telling me the details until we began the hike. Details I would have loved to know before I agree to all of this. Details like, there's an elevation gain of 2,100 feet in 3.5 miles. Or details like, some rock scrambling may need to be done. Or details like, after 3 hours up we will be at 12,404 feet.

It didn't help that there was 6 inches of snow on the ground and I was wearing Sambas. Here I am, the weak link, "c'mon Enrique, you can do it." Sorry, Im not used to hopping over 25 fallen tree trunks in 15 minutes.

I forgot about my wooziness, heavy breathing, and morris code beating heart when I entered this Aspen maze. Looks like they have eyes.

After breaking out of the aspens we got to see some landscapes.

My feet were frozen.

And I was still behind the pack.

To my credit, I did pause a lot to take pictures.

Of lonely rolled up fences.

And ski lifts itching to circulate.

Getting higher.

More frozen lifts.

I could hear Vajra yelling down to me, "Enrique, you're doing great, this is Deception peak." "Do you know why they call it Deception Peak?"

My guess was that once you get to the top of this so called Deception Peak, you are are deceived. Great. I busted my ass to catch up. I could finally make out their silhouettes. By this time my calves had combusted and disappeared into the thin air with my sanity.

Ira was to my left, slowing down as we conquered Deception.

I turned around to see myself looking down at the Radio Towers that seemed impossible to reach when we began the hike. I couldn't believe we had passed them already.

Deception Peak.

"Ok, Enrique, now we just have to shimmy along this ridge to get to the Peak."

Uhhhhh...ok...(delirious smile).

A bit of rock scrambling and vertigo in cahoots to give me a heart attack.

"C'mon!"

The last test. The slip and fall and you're dead test. The so called "Stairway to Heaven." I went for it.

Vajra led the way. I mimicked his every step. Mental. Physical. Metaphysical?

I layed down on the rock with my left arm and legs clinched with all my might to take a picture of Nambe Lake below me and the barren desert and its canyons in the distance.

Since my face was only inches from the rock as I crawled to the top, I was able to spot this Geological Survey metal thing on the rock. I found this fascinating.

And there they were, waiting for me at the top. Even though I had stopped moving, I felt like I was still moving. I closed my eyes, took some deep breaths and recited some quotes from Thich Nhat Hanh, and I was able to calm down and open my eyes. I mumbled something out of my mouth to the guys, "I imagine this hike would be easier if there wasn't snow on the ground and I wasn't wearing soccer shoes, right?" They were hysterical.

I was speechless up there. To the north you see Taos and the Truchas Mountains.

And to the West you see Nambe Lake and the vast desert.

Here I am thinking about all the shit that I have to do, didn't do, and shit that fucked me up over the past year.

And here I am letting it all go.

And here is the Tuna with Peruvian Yellow pepper, provolone, and spinach on sourdough sandwhich that I am about to slam into my grill.

They are too. But I think they got their goods from Whole Foods.

Some super food trail mix for the hike back down.

Then, thunder. It's almost as if the mountain waited for me to get up there, think, breathe, let go, and eat before it decided to kick me off. The clouds came in quickly, and Vajra, Mr. Nepal Himalayan hike-master, suggested we get down ASAP.

Look at that dark gray brush stroke.

I didn't want to get down so quick but we headed towards deception.

The clouds and thunder were amazing.

The last bit of sun.

Some hikers appeared when we got to Deception. They took a look at my gear and said, "Dude, thats hard-core." Ha!

They had a cool dog.

I walked under the lonely lifts again.

My feet were frozen. I believe that was a good thing because I had rolled my ankle at least 5 times by this point and I couldn't feel a thing.

It started raining in the desert.

The sun appeared again for a second and made me smile.

And then the mountain took over.

Until it turned black and started snowing. The mountain was kickin' my ass, I felt like a puppet on a thousand strings, moving every joint in awful, painful directions. Thank baby Jesus I was almost down.

Back in the car and on the way down to the Fe we battled the snow storm. It was rad. I was sitting in the back seat feeling like I had just received a deep tissue massage.

I got dropped off a block away due to the size of the truck and stumbled to the Zaguán. The sun was setting and the storm was approaching. I woke up the next morning unable to move, Santa Fe had a blanket of snow on it, but I felt the best I have in years. Thanks Vajra and Ira for such a spiritual trip.

Santa Fe Gallery Hop

2009-10-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

My Brother and his wife, Liz, sent this orange and black collar for Osiris. Frisco colors. Thanks guys. After I fitted him with his gear, I took a little stroll around town to see what was new with the art scene.

I read about a woodcut show in the paper and decided that it would be my first stop. Some legit black and white traditional ish. Diggin' it.

The artist's name is Lily Schlien. I got to meet her later that week, very nice lady, turns out I might be doing a show with her and some other printmakers in the future.

Next I headed over to the railyard galleries. I spotted these large woodcuts in the cut. Even though it's competition, gotta give props. Great work.

There were only two pieces by this artist in the gallery. Mimmo Paladino, Italian. Shame, I would like to see more.

These f'ers were huge, at least six feet tall. One day printmaking will move to the front of the gallery, and painting to the back. Yeah, right.

Speaking of huge, this is the biggest mirror I've ever seen.

Followed by a tiny painting of shaving cream brush, or whatever they are called. There was an entire series of these. I love detail.

This guy, Il Lee, was the show-stopper. He covered enormous canvases using just a ball-point pen. I'm talking 60"x 72" peices here. Hand, pen, hours, days, beautiful.

Great photograph of a dude and his bus.

This piece makes me so happy, "Tourists." I forgot the artist's name, but for some reason it makes me happy. I think because they might fall off the cliff or something. Or because they are naive. Or because we are all tourists. I don't know.

The old-school Santa Fe train was crossing the street as I walked out the gallery.

This piece put me in check. I soiled my pants. I am terrified of spiders. I would of bought this piece if I had the cheddar. I don't think I've ever been terrified by a painting. I would wake up every morning and stare at this knowing that nature is king. The artist is Darwin Nix, great show in the railyard.

Creepy. Drawing skills, impeccable.

I stopped to visit my buddy who works at Peaceful Wind Gallery, and he showed me this Mongolian piece that was extremely detailed for it's size. Supposedly Steven Segal was coming to pick it up. I'm not kidding.

I stopped hopping when I realized I was hungry. I went home and made arepas.

Food or Art? Both?

Nice ending to a Saturday afternoon. I got everything accomplished, exercise, art education, arepas with eggs over medium, turkey and cheese, organic mango peach juice, and The Wire.

A Nice Little Saturday

2009-10-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

The Santa Fe tourist season is over and things have really slowed down here, thankfully. The streets are quiet and it's time for the locals to take back their town. Last Saturday I took a little walk down to the Railyard to shop at the Farmer's Market. It was a beautiful day.

I like this asterisk. I specially enjoy the cow sign on the bottom left. Never seen it before.

Some Farmer's Market signage. I've bought plants from this guy before. The cactus I purchased from him last year is just starting to grow another stump.

More signage. I didn't get one of these, but I'm sure they are delicious.

Local cheese. The best thing about this market is that you can sample almost everything. This cheese was fantastic.

Pan fried green chile anyone? People were stocking up on these since they won't be available soon. I ate a couple.

A giant sunflower.

First time I've ever picked off the seeds and ate them straight from the source. Yum. Not salty though. I like the salt.

Roasted chiles. I got some of these and have them frozen for use throughout the winter.

I don't like pretzels, but this local mustard was no joke.

The RailRunner rolled past the market and unloaded some shoppers from Albuquerque.

Mmmmmmm, Taos mountain yak.

This is the best goat cheese ever, and I don't even like goat cheese. It's fused with green chiles. I had to bag this up.

Winner of the best Farmer's Market outfit.

Eat local chicken!

Colorful corn. I love it. Shoulda bought the pink one, now that I think about it.

Yes, I tied my sweater to my waist. It was warm, should I of tied it around my neck? I brought my own Farmer's Market bag, what a hippie.

R2D2 Mailbox.

Local propaganda. Whoever this artist is, he/she is my new hero. I love this.

Nice hat/fro. Viva La Revolución!

Camping Adventure at Heron Lake

2009-08-25T18:11:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, my friends Dorje and Bailey, and Dorje's brother, Dylan, who was visiting from München, made plans with us to go to Heron Lake and camp for the night. I was a bit skeptical about a lake in New Mexico, but Dorje and Baley assured me that it was beautiful. Josie and I took care of the salads and Chorizo, while Dorje and Bailey got the booze and Kosher steaks. We were all really excited, all summer we had talked about going camping and we finally were doing it. We met them at a parking lot and hit the road. Dorje was ahead of me driving like he was on the Autobahn with an enormous cooler and kayaks strapped to the bed of his truck.

I was trying to keep up, but I wanted to take pictures of the landscape. At one point Joise tried to snatch the camera from me because I was getting dangerous behind the wheel.

I swerved big time and his was the last picture I took before Josie actually did snatch the camera. I got a nice shot of these red rocks though. I loved how the colors changed from layer to layer.

Josie told me how the scenery out here reminded her of Utah. It made me want to visit. I was thankful she was handling the camera.

This collection of red rocks is known as Ghost Ranch. It's trippy. There is a natural amphitheater in one of the rock formations. We didn't get to stop, however, because I was trying to keep up with Dorje who was doing 85.

Now that I'm looking at these pictures, I remember that the red rocks came out of nowhere. Everything was brown and typical northern NM scenery, we went up a mountain and on the descend these rocks were in the distance.

Little by little we left them behind.

This was one of the last ones before we hit yet another landscape, forest-y Colorado like.

There were a lot of pine trees in the distance along with the lake. It was an oasis.

When we got to the lake it was time to find and agree on a campsite. I parked Bella while Dorje and I surveyed our options.

We found the perfect site. It was the only one with a built in roof and bench for eating. We also had a great view of the Lake and were only 20 steps from the shore. Josie and Bailey were so happy to be outside amongst the trees. So was I, it was so peaceful and the phrase of the day was "I'm recharging my batteries." It truly felt like that.

Dorje pondering when would be the perfect time for a Tequila shot.

I forgot how much I love to camp. We sat down, cracked beers and watched as 15 or so eagles (or hawks, I'm not really sure) glided and circled above us. They put on a show for about half an hour.

This was our view.

Happy Josie.

Dorje and Bailey on the haystack.

I'm starting to get loose.

Perfect timing for shooting the pellet gun. I couldn't hit the can for the life of me.

Bailey could. So could Dorje and Dylan. Josie and I were just a bit outside.

After 4 shots of Tequila, Dorje and Dylan unloaded the Kayaks. I was nervous, this was my first time. I wish the iPhone was waterproof because I rolled over twice on the damned thing and would of made good footage.

We all hung out in the water for a while, and then we started to get the tents ready. Josie is a pro.

Dorje and I fetched some wood to burn. We didn't know how much to buy. We asked the lady who was selling it if we should buy one or two bundles. She said, "one will do just fine, but if you're planning on partying all night, get two." We got two, loaded Bella and headed back.

We were set. We had a cooler full of booze and mammal flesh, wood to burn, cigs, and our tents ready. The sun was setting and I caught this great flick of the girls and their Tecate.

Dorje chillin'.

sigh.

Anyway, I thought it would be a good idea to start the grill before the sun went down. A little excessive, but when you are camping there's no such thing as excessive. We had Chorizo, regular steak, and Kosher steaks going. I was designated grill duty, a duty I did not mind at all.

see.

Josie and Bailey got the salads going. We had so much food. We had Dorje's famous potato salad, Bialey's famous cabbage salad, Whole Foods potato salad, and some collard green salad we also picked up at the Foods. I felt like a jester in the courtyard of a king.

Sunset.

more sunset.

I had to stop the tree hugger sunset nature appreciation fest and get back to my grill duty. Medium rare everyone?

We ate with the car lights on.

Post dinner we rolled ourselves to the fire pit, Dylan got the fire going. We sat there in our food comas, drank, smoked, and told stories. It was the most relaxing thing I've done in a long long time. Fun too. I wussed out and went to bed early because I had an interview the next morning back in Santa Fe. Dorje made fun of me because we didn't finish the bottle, so did Dylan.

Sunrise from the tent.

All of us got up and headed straight for the lake one last time before we hit the road. Bailey is in the distance on the Kayak. It felt so good to sit there in silence for a while. Shortly after, we packed up and left promising to be back in September. Thanks to Dorje, Bailey and Dylan for a great time. Heron Lake was exactly what I needed.

Road Trip, Pt. 4: Back to the Fe

2009-08-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

We were supposed to leave Ann Arbor early, but due to another 5am night, we didn't hit the road until 3pm. We hit Blimpy Burger on the way out and picked up our new co-pilot, Osiris, who freaked out for the first hour of the trip. He started to calm down until we rolled the window down to smoke going 85 and the noise terrified him so much that he pissed on my legs.

After stopping at a gas station to change clothes, Josie & Osiris passed out and I drove lead-footed through MI, IN, IL, and into Iowa in record time while smelling the cat piss emanating from my clothes in the back. I got a call from my friend Andy who coincidentally was driving from L.A. to Ann Arbor. We planned to meet somewhere in Nebraska the next day when we crossed paths on I-80. The sun was going down in Des Moines and we decided to crash, the only problem was that the Jr. Olympics were in town and we couldn't find a room. What are the chances?

As fate would have it, we crossed paths at exactly Paxton, Nebraska. We tracked our progress through the mile markers, it was really fun and spiced up the monotony of the drive. We got off the exit ramp and looked for a place to eat and catch up. This was the strip.

The "Pit Stop."

We decided to chill at the "Windy Gap" because we found the name interesting.

The menu at the gap.

Josie and I.

Andy and his friend Jael, who was visiting from Switzerland, wanted to see America and Andy's hometown, Ann Arbor. So far on their road trip she found Big Sur the most beautiful sight. It's good to get an outside perspective and the four of us talked about America vs. Europe for a bit until we decided on food. Andy and I ordered the "Juicy Lucy," which was a half-pound burger stuffed with onions and cheese. How could I pass that up? I am a burger connoisseur after all, and this would prove to be essential field data. The ladies didn't order anything, shocker, and went outside to smoke.

Here she is, Juicy Lucy. Looks basic right?

It's not. This was one of the most delicious burgers I've ever had. "If this is wrong, I don't want to be right," mumbled Andy with his mouth full of juice. I asked Andy if he thought being in Paxton was unbelievable and how this will be a great bar story, and he replied, "I live for this shit." Couldn't of said it any better.

Hollow-Paxton.

High Five!

Hollow-Stain.

Back on the road I could'nt stop talking about Hollow-Paxton. Josie and I changed the subject and talked about the pro's and con's of living in Ann Arbor, living in Santa Fe, and pretty much the pro's and con's of living in every cool city in the U-S-of-A. We were already missing our friends and we both want to be close to fam. We didn't come to any conclusion and the conversation stopped when we hit this storm near Denver head-on.

The clouds were creepin' from the left. At one point we slowed down to about 40mph because of the fierce drops.

We thought it was over at this point.

And then it came back.

I love the contrast of the dark clouds and white clouds.

The sun peeked in for a second. This was an amazing site. Good thing Josie was driving or else we would have been a ditch. I was firing the shutter left and right. It's so inspiring to be next to the continental divide in the middle of a storm.

Rainbow.

The storm sent at least 25 tumbleweeds crashing into the Element.

Sundown in Colorado Springs. Again, beautiful.

I know planes are fast, and after the outrageous gas prices the cost of driving is almost the same, but the sights you miss out on when flying are spectacular.

We drove into New Mexico at 10pm and had another 2 hours to go. The full moon was bright and wanted me to stay awake. Josie was exhausted and I asked her to talk to me for the last leg of the trip. She asked me questions like, "whats your favorite color?" "whats your favorite song?" We started laughing at our madness instead. Osiris is the best cat ever, chillin throughout the entire trip after the piss incident. We got to the Fe a little after midnight. It was a nice trip.

Road Trip, Pt. 3: The Ann Arbor Good Life

2009-08-18T12:13:00.000-07:00

After Matt & Ewin's wedding I had roughly 3 days left of good old Ann Arbor chillin' before we hit the road. So we set it off with a little BBQ on Bobby's porch.

Hebrew Nationals, of course, and...

some Simpler Times. Happy.

Meanwhile, back inside, Julie was giving Josie some highlights while they sipped on some pomegranate mimosas.

Nothing beats Simpler Times and some dogs. So economical during these tough times. Sweet relish, chopped onion, and some mustard.

The girls joined us while they waited for the highlights to get did.

Bobby cracking into the beef casing.

I thought I'd share with Grace Jones.

Post BBQ, we headed over to the brew pub. Just like old times. Work, dinner, pub, sleep. That's how it went and that's how it goes.

Man I missed Arbor beers. So tasty, strong, rejuvenating. I'm partial to the Alt #22.

The following morning, the girls and I went to Zingerman's for some sandwiches. They are a bit expensive, but it's a must when you live 1,500 miles away. Their meat and cheese, and even their bread is phenomenal.

Julie got the Zingerman's Reuben. It's the best Reuben you can get outside of NYC. I usually mash that, but I saw something else on the menu that caught my eye.

Josie got the Turkey Reuben.

I got the Carlito's #33. I had never seen it on the menu before. It must be new. Anyway, It's roasted pork shoulder. Merciful heaven.

After lunch we visited a place I had never set foot in, the Cupcake Station. It was the ladies' idea, but I was glad to participate. They had quite the selection, and who knew coffee, a cupcake, and a cigarette mesh so well together.

I asked for the Boston Cream joint. It was intense. Lot's of sugar.

Josie's cupcake was so good it made her cock-eyed.

This picture could be a music video for cupcakes with the wind blowin' in her hair and all.

Ahhhh. The Ann Arbor good life.

After the pleasant afternoon we branched out and got a bag full of 40oz Mickeys. I placed a bet with Bobby, "if I finish my 40 before you finish your 40 then I'll stay another day." He proceeded to pound his 40. Agressive.

"That was easy."

Bobby trying to show me all his apps. I hate apps. Oh, the good life. Pt. 4: Back to the Fe soon.

Road Trip, Pt. 2: Wedding & Stuff

2009-08-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

The next day I woke up to the sight of Qwame airing it out. It was about 2pm on a Thursday which meant in about 5 hours we had a date with some wings. When I lived in Ann Arbor Thursdays were the day I looked forward to all week. ¢50 boneless wings, 22oz Buds, Go Stupid Thursdays at the Alley Bar, Jager and endless billiards. The tradition continues today and I was pumped to be a part of it again.

At about 6pm we headed to State St. and made the usual stop at the Tobacco shop for some treats. I always liked walking through the Arcade.

It was right to business. A round of 22oz Buds and wings. I got the Hot BBQ, Bobby got the Medium, and Irwin got the Teriyaki.

Jesus Cruz is diggin' in.

After our wings and 5 22's, we got courageous and ordered the Blazin' wings, the hottest ones on the menu. Everyone ate one, but Irwin ate 2 and started tearing up. Washing it down with Bud does not help.

Since Go Stupid Thursday is no more, we made a stop at the sketchy Main St. liquor store for a walk into the beer fridge. Authorities are still looking for this man.

The next morning, or should I say afternoon, Josie and I went to visit Rob and Julie at work at Seva. I ordered a much needed Beet, Carrot, and Orange juice.

Then we had lunch, I had the Spinach Enchiladas. Delicious. Josie and Julie shared the Calabaza & Cheese Enchilada.

I took a nap and then met up with Carey and Elena, who I hadn't seen yet on this trip, and went to the Heidelberg. We said we weren't gonna order a Boot, but, you know.

Bobby killed the boot in honor of Pat. Nice hat.

The next day we had a wedding to got to. Secret Service showed up to escort us.

The ladies got dolled up. Lookin' good.

I got dubbed as the "French Painter."

We went to the Hutchinson House in Ypsi for Matt and Erin's Wedding. The setting was beautiful and the grey sky was the perfect background for the house.

Agent Lange and Julie.

Josie and I.

And here comes the bride, Ewin, looking fabulous.

Exchanging vows.

The reception was at the Corner Brewery, just a couple blocks away. I had never been before so I was super excited. It was a genius idea for a reception. All you can drink beer, including Matt's home-brew "Rat Pad" and Titanic sized burritos. Matt and Erin are the cutest couple ever.

Agent Lange analyzing the situation.

Cig break. I didn't take too many pictures at the reception because we were too busy cutting up the rug and celebrating. It was a great time. I even got to DJ for 15 minutes. Thanks Matt and Erin for a wonderful time.

When we got home sometime after 2am we ordered Bell's. One peperoni, one cheese, and two orders of Steak Fries. That should soak everything up. Pt. 3 next.

Road Trip, Pt. 1: Santa Fe to Ann Arbor

2009-08-08T12:46:00.001-07:00

Monday, July 27, at 4:47am I woke up to get ready for our road trip adventure to Ann Arbor. I thought getting an early start would put a dent into the 23 hour drive ahead of us. Why drive? Why not? It's an experience, another hard drive in the brain to fill. There were 3 reasons for the visit, 1, witness Matt & Erin's wedding, 2, bring back my cat Osiris, and 3, play with all of our friends. With two road bikes packed, deli meat, water, Hansen's, two iPhones loaded with music, and American Spirit yellows, we hit the ground running at 6am on the nose.

Josie and I decided to take the northern route through New Mexico, Colorado, and then cut across through Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and finally Michigan. Northern NM is quite beautiful, specially at sunrise.

Entering Colorado Springs is stunning. The Rocky Mountains are enormous and intimidating. Colorado is a pretty state and Josie and I decided that, on a different occasion, a visit to Boulder and Fort Collins is necessary.

Oh Nebraska, that John Denver is full of shit. The most grueling point of the trip. Thank baby Jesus for 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. At this point we were probably 8 hours into the drive and starting to feel the space madness a la Ren & Stimpy.

Omaha, Nebraska at sundown bordering Iowa. We drove almost clear across Iowa stopping at Iowa City before falling asleep behind the wheel. We crashed at a very classy and economical Motel 6.

The next morning we woke up at 7am confident about the 16 hours we put in the day before. We only had a short 7 hour drive to Ann Arbor. Here we are crossing the Mississippi into Illinois.

Big sigh of relief. The excitement started to build at an alarming rate.

We made it - high five. Good 'ol Ann Arbor, the Bubble, the Deuce, A-squared. We drove into the town with heavy rainfall. Here is the Beer Depot, I used to go there everyday when I lived on William.

Bobby. Waiting for us on his porch with cold high lifes and PBRs. It was nice to see him again. Bobby, Josie and I started to unpack and drink.

Osiris!

You don't see these out in the west.

A little excessive, two 30 packs. That only meant one thing: Fleetwood.

It's like I never left.

Gyro hippie hash, eggs over easy being destroyed.

Bobby got his usual grilled cheese with a basket of fries. After that I passed out. Pt. 2: the Wedding and Stuff coming soon.

"Nuevas Culturas" at El Zaguán, Santa Fe

2009-07-30T12:01:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was the opening reception to my show "Nuevas Culturas." My first of hopefully many solo shows in Santa Fe. I was featuring mostly my woodblock prints and some new mixed media pieces. I printed and laminated these signs myself and it was fun.

Here is a shot of the fireplace wall with Hugo on the right and Vendiendo Manis on the left. Josie really helped me spice things up for the show by placing some candles and flowers throughout the space. I was getting excited at this point, the show was about to open.

Another shot of the space. I put the color pieces on one wall so they would really pop, everything else was black and white. They are chaotic mixed media pieces, and were the stars of the show to my surprise. The black table on the left had a massive sangria bowl on it. It was delicious.

People started coming in at around 5-ish. I was nervous at this point because Im not a talker. But it went OK, actually. I tried to be as charming and witty as possible. I thought of Ziggy Stardust when in moments of panic. Here I am answering some questions about Grant Park, about 5 sangrias deep.

Engaged im more conversation.

The action. Josie and Angie helped me with creating some fabulous hors d'oeuvres for the guests, strawberries with havarti cheese, caprese salad sandwiches, and my parents brought up some mini cachapas and Choroni salad from the café. We put all of it out on the big brown table in the middle of the room and it was devoured halfway into the show.

By 6pm it got really crowded and FatherFunk took some great shots from outside on the porch.

It was a really good turnout and I received nothing but positive feedback. It was truly a success and a smashing time. Thanks to everyone who came. And thanks to everyone who stayed after the show and bought pizzas and booze to party with me. We will be doing it all again soon.

Cardiff by the Sea, Pt. 3: The Birfday

2009-07-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

Monday morning was July 6th, my bro's birfday. We woke up and saw the evidence of the magical wizard sticks posted against the wall. We also woke up to the smell of Father Funk's Cachapas cookin'.

Made fresh just for the birfday boy. You take one of these corn pancakes, fill them with queso fresco and butter, and fold them in half and watch the cheese melt. You can only get these in Venezuela, or at Café Choroní, plug.

Then it was time for the birfday boy to open his gifts. This card was custom made by my parents, it features a picture of my bro at age 6 busting open a smurf piñata.

He got a Dada poster.

And from yours truly, a Wayang, an Indonesian shadow puppet.

After the Cachapas and gift presentation, we took another walk in Encinitas. We came across this car dealer on our way to the burrito spot. Nice whips.

Los and Liz recomended we go to Juanitas for the bomb burritos. You could smell this joint from blocks away. That's how you know it's legit.

Father Funk, bringin' that New Mexico flava to South Cali, anxiously awaits his burrito. I mean, we get plenty of burritos in NM, but Cali burritos are something else.

We got those "California" burritos. They have french fries inside. Game over.

In order to digest the steak, bean, rice, sour cream, guacamole, french fry filled goodness, it was back to the beach.

Sigh.

Andy chillin' in the shade.

We all took quick showers and headed to Zenbu, my brother's favorite sushi spot for lunch.

This place was pimp. Great Sushi and 22oz. Sapporos. We ordered a bunch of stuff, Shrimp Tempura roll, Spicy Tuna roll, California roll, Spicy Scallop roll, Seaweed salad, and Ahi Tuna salad, to name a few.

After the food Liz ordered a round of Patron. I was impressed. Even Father Funk took one. Awesome intensity, Liz.

Happy bros.

There was a huge fish tank full of goodies that they would take out and cook straight out of the tank. After my shot I took it upon myself to follow the fishies.

This f'er was enormous.

After Zenbu, Father Funk and Mother Salsa went home to start cooking the special birfday dinner. The rest of us, Los, Liz, Andy and I went on a beer run when suddenly Liz suggests we do another shot of Patron. Again, awesome intensity, Liz. He headed to a familiar place, the Office.

And then this classic photo manifested itself.

Yup.

We had a nice buzz walking back to the crib. Father Funk was already hooking up the Corn, Black Bean, Avocado Salad with Cilantro dressing.

A traditional Venezuelan dish was being prepared, Pabellon Criollo. Carne Mechada, Black Beans, rice, and fried plantains.

Incredible. Andy was really enjoying this feast, it was his first time having Venezuelan. Again, the only place you can get this in the states is Café Choroní, plug. Los was totally happy having all this go down in one day. I think he was having an amazing 30th.

For desert, "Underground Cake," which consists of yellow cake covered and filled with dulce de leche, and Quesillo, which is like a carmelized flan. The meal was complete. Make a wish!

A happy brother with his wife surrounded by his family and good friend Andy. It was a memorable trip. It was a classic. Los, Andy and I stayed up and talked, made fun, and reminisced for a while until it was time to call it a wrap. What a weekend in Cardiff by the Sea. Been missing all of you for the past couple of days.

Cardiff by the Sea, Pt. 2: The Hangover

2009-07-09T10:24:00.000-07:00

This is "Hollow-Ramone." Apparently, Andy pulled a hollow-man on this guy the night before. The Marine that looked like Matt Damon that I kept referring to as "Bourne Ultimatum" said, "That was the funniest thing I've seen in 5 years." He was a stand up guy, he bought us a round of Jack shots in exchange for an American Spirit. We took the Office by surprise. The next morning was rough.

Waking up Andy.

I woke up naked in my tent...wet. I had wet my tent. This happens every so often.

We decided to visit Encinitas which was the perfect hangover cure for me. I liked this town. It was like a vacation spot, but not really. I would imagine living here or in Cardiff would be really refreshing.

Father Funk and Brother Boogaloo. We walked into some shops and bought some stuff.

And then I spotted this authentic burger joint, Angelo's. A burger connoisseur like myself could not pass this one up.

Yup.

Next we went to Moonlight beach. It was perfect.

My view for the next couple of hours.

This is how they adverstise in Encinitas.

Met this little Bearded Dragon on his walk.

After the beach drained us enough, it was back to the crib for more BBQ. Another burger for me.

And some Korean Kalbi ribs. Unbelievable. My new favorite BBQ item.

After the mammal flesh rejuvenated us, it was time to build some wizard sticks. Long and full of magic.

Hollow-Wizard!!! Hollow-Hippo-Wizard! First time ever done.

Crispy. With drool, broken finger and all. Nice work, Andy.

The wizard sticks continued to grow for the remainder of the day and into the night.

Then it was back to the Office for more debauchery. Pt. 3: The Birfday, tomorrow.

Cardiff by the Sea, Pt. 1: The 4th

2009-07-08T13:07:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night I drove down to Rio Rancho and saw this rainbow in front of me. I took at as an omen that happy times were coming that weekend. I was on my way to spend the night at my parent's house in order to be at the Sunport at 6am and catch a flight to San Diego. It was my brother's 30th birthday and I was so excited to see him, Liz, and my old friend Andy.

The morning was a blur, all I remember is waking up in the plane already having touched-down in SD. And here he is, the birthday boy in all his glory. It was so nice to see him, in his new house, just a walk from the beach, in beautiful Cardiff.

And then this guy. I was happy to see him, too.

It was time to build my tent, or as Andy and I referred to them, suites. It had been a minute since I had assembled a tent, but the suites were in place in no time.

Andy's suite on the right, and Enrique's sweet on the left.

It was really early and Los and Liz took us all to Pipes, an amazing breakfast spot. It was packed, right on the beach, "no shirt, no shoes, no problem."

The food was incredible. Father Funk got that burrito.

I messed with the sausage scramble, with a side of bacon, of course.

Afterward we needed to walk off the food. We walked to the beach and met this guy in costume.

The beach. We didn't stay because we had to start to BBQ and some of us were rounding 1st.

Back at home the coals were burnin'. Props on the old-school Mourning.

Yeah...

Mexican corn. Butter, Parm, and hot sauce.

Father Funk enjoying a cigar after the meal.

Andy had to get horizontal after the meal, I caught him slippin'.

After the food coma we all gathered at the table and continued to indulge. At one point, Los suddenly screamed out "Hut, Hut!" and took off running with a football in swing. This made Liz spew beer from her nose.

We were cracking up every minute.

When nightfall was upon us it was time for portraits.

We were listening to the "Going to Karate Class in the Ford Fairmont" mix and had to take a knee when Your Wildest Dreams, by The Moody Blues came on. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mP6-j9pxTGI It is the greatest mix ever. I will post it on my blog soon.

At this point I had cracked the Hendrick's Gin.

"Let's get some good-'ol beer drinking done."

After the mix which lasted over and hour it was time to go to "The Office," a local dive. We got a round of Shock Top, a local beer. Delicious.

Cheers to the birfday boy.

Yay!

Then I stumbled upon this in the men's bathroom. The rest of the night turned out the way it was supposed to, shots of Jack, mistaking a marine for the Bourne Ultimatum, Hollow-Ramone, and taking over the jukebox. I will go in to details of this in Pt. 2 of Cardiff by the Sea.

New Site and Steel Pulse in the desert!

2009-06-20T20:33:00.000-07:00

If you are reading this, that means you are viewing my new and improved website. I hope you dig it and feel free to surf it when you don't feel like working. Which is probably right now.

Anyway, last Friday Josie got us tickets to the Thirsty Ear Festival in Madrid, NM. We really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but we knew that, 1, Steel Pulse was headlining, and 2, the festival was held in the middle of the desert on an old western movie set. Oh, and 2nd Street Brewery would have a tent. The picture above is what we saw in front of us when we parked.

Josie's pals, Tarey and Sati came with. They are rad. Here we are approaching the set. Did I mention it was hot as F!

Before getting our tickets from will call, I separated myself from the crew when I spotted this old church.

This will be a future woodcut, for sure. I think it is part of the set, but it was a little isolated, so maybe it was an once an active place of worship for the nearby ranches. I dunno. But I had to haul-ass back to the set because Josie had my ticket.

Once we got in it was pretty cool. Saloons, a barber shop, a jail, and, um, pretty much all that western stuff was all around us looking damn legit. I was impressed. I think we all were. I think we were the youngest people there too, we got there kinda early, well, really early, at about 5:30.

Josie and Tarey and the blazing NM sun.

Beer time. 2nd Street Brew. Yum. I got the Special Bitter.

Josie and Sati starting hula-hoopin'. They were pretty large custom made joints, free to putz around with. It looked fun, but it was too hot.

I just sat and watched. And drinked.

These special pints came with your purchase of beer tickets. Not too shabby, right?

I love this picture. Seconds after Josie mastered the art of pounding a beer whilst hoopin', this picture happened.

This drunk cowboy was killin' the game. He mastered the art eons ago.

Round two.

Richie havens came on to play right after we got round two and it was very precious. This man was telling the most interesting stories in between his songs. His voice was beautiful and he played a mean guitar. It was funny though because during his set he asked, "how many of you were at the woodstock in '69?" A couple of people gave a holler and we realized we were still the youngest people there. Didn't matter though, we were having fun and Mr. Havens was truly inspiring.

The sun started going down during Richie's set.

And there it went and it took all the old-timers with it. Not like I have anything against post 40 year old party animals, but the scene really changed after dark anticipating Steel Pulse.

Round 3, but I think it was 4, I just forgot to document round 3.

The heat, the beer, and the altitude probably started to get to Josie and I, so we decided it probably would be a good idea to eat something before Steel Pulse came on, you know? Josie didn't mess around, she went straight for the Bratwurst.

I was naughty, I had two items. A pork Tamale, un-f'n-believable and...

some carnitas. This guy was not playing, authentic.

Then Steel Pulse came on! Followed immediately by lighters to spliffs. It was amazing. They were incredible, fantastic, and we danced and danced. The stars in the dark sky above me, beer in my hand, and my other hand was for strange dance moves. They rocked for about an hour and a half, they did a cover of an Augustus Pablo song, and ended with an encore of the "Barack Obama" song. I almost forgot, they got real dirty with some DUB along the way. Reverb and all. It was truly an amazing time, and we were no longer the youngest people there.

I snuck away to take this flick. Well, gotta go, I'm showing in my studio tomorrow, wish me luck.

Bauhaus, Porsche, chrome grills, and clouds

2009-05-28T08:37:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I read about a Herbert Bayer show here in Santa Fe. All you design nerds know who he is I'm sure, but for those of you who don't, he was one of the geniuses behind the Bauhaus era. Hes was famous for his poster and typeface design, and for his minimalist style. Josie and I hauled-ass to the gallery for a look. Here are some posters (I wish I had one).

I know, I need a better camera.

But then I would not be so slick being pure paparazzi.

In addition to his design, he was a printmaker, painter, sculptor, and all around bad-ass.

I was moved by his silkscreens. I had no idea these existed. Oh, they were for sale too. The colors are so crispy, crunchy, and flawlessly executed.

An enormous painting. I found his paintings the most interesting because, in my opinion, they were a sneak-peek into his mind and his subconscious. Like a blueprint to create his geometric shapes and vibrant color palettes.

I was intrigued by these organic looking prints because they contrasted a great deal with the work I relate him to. Again, I need a better camera. There were a ton of these "waves" pieces, some just plain brush and ink, prints, and pencil drawings.

This was one of my favorite prints. It reminded me of a pixelated flower.

The green and red Space Invader looking prints were Josie's favorites. I wanted to buy the bottom middle one (in my dreams). I've been a big fan of Bayer since I started studying design in school, but now I am a super-fan after seeing his prints. I mean, back when he was creating posters and typefaces that shit was hands-on! They didn't have computers. He died in 1985, and its almost as if his prints were hinting to the digital future. Rad.

Last one. I got so close to this one that I could lick it. The lines were touching but not overlapping. A true master silkscreen god. Thanks Mr. Bayer.

The next day I was in Burque helping out with the family restaurant. The clouds and mountain were beautiful that day.

I got to ride in the Porsche with Father Funk. It was awesome.

The cliché mirror pic.

Back in Santa Fe on Monday (Memorial Day) Josie was in school, unfortunately, so I took a stroll to the Plaza and found myself in the middle of a car show. Not like I like cars or anything. The clouds were still playful and the old school NM flags were out.

Chrome. I love chrome. The theme of this show was cars from the 30's, 40's and 50's. And they all belonged to local old timers. This is an old Buick.

A classic Bel Air?

Stumped. But I would love to roll this with some Locs on.

White GMC pick-up with the sick hood.

Jag roadster.

Vintage Land Rover (this one is for you Los and Liz).

'34 Hupp? This was the best paint job.

My favorite. I've never seen this grill piece before. It has the fat-ass slick tires on it too! Stumped on what it is.

Stumped again.

The oldest whip in the show. Chrome-less. I think it is a 1920's Ford.

Back to the Jag. This green thing was as slippery as an eel, man.

Here are the fat wheels on the red pick up. Bad-ass fenders - check. Bad-ass NM license plate - check.

I don't know if you can see it, but the blue truck's spare tire has a Speedy Gonzales cover on it that says Andale, Andale!

I end this blog with this shot. The lines on this car were marvelous and that back window - woooo! This is the tail of the old Buick with the original license plate adorned with some American flags. I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day.

New Crib, Yo

2009-05-15T16:30:00.000-07:00

I had to set-off this blog with my new homie, this dude rolls by the studio every so often.

Maaaaan its been a while since I've blogged, damn near a month or more. I've been busy, and I finally moved back to Santa Fe, into an artist residency at El Zaguán on Canyon Road. It's pretty rad, we'll get to that after this great sunset shot I caught on the RailRunner on my way back to Santa Fe from Burque.

So here it is, El Zaguán, a historic building on Canyon Road. Canyon Road is old, man, real old, these adobe cribs were built in the 1700's by Spanish settlers. Since then artists have been living on this road selling their shit right out the front door. Now that the galleries have moved in you rarely see that, but it is still an amazing place to live. I am lucky. That's the main entrance above.

Here's my little spot. I put these wicker chairs outside to act as the smoker's lounge.

A profile view. All my neighbors are artists and are all really cool. We all live on this little path.

This hall leads to a porch and garden.

The porch. We all have access to this. It is my favorite place to sit at dusk with a cup of coffee and a cigarillo.

We are now inside my joint. This is the living room, and I hung these pieces for my open studio I had on Mother's Day.

Kitchen area.

More kitchen.

More living room, with the Kiva fireplace as the focal point. I watch a little HGTV, I ain't go front.

Through the glass doors we get to the studio. This is my music studio/design area.

And this is the printmaking area on the right. I still haven't gotten totally settled in, but theres gonna be some shit pumpin' outa here soon.

Printmaking studio.

This fucker surfaced out of nowhere. It's a silkscreen I did while still in college. I'm diggin it.

I think Josie has been bit by the printmaking bug. Shes messing with some Linocuts these days.

After a day of printing we walked over to the TeaHouse for some potato wedges fried in duck fat, and some Hefeweizen. So far so good. I'm gonna be participating in the 2009 Santa Fe Studio Tour on June 20 & 21st so if you're in town, stop by.

Café Choroní

2009-04-12T12:48:00.001-07:00

It's been a while since I've blogged. I've been busy. For the past couple of months I've been helping with the construction and preparations for opening Father Funk's new restaurant, Café Choroní. Father Funk, and his friend, Nemo, decided to follow their dreams and open their own Venezuelan restaurant in Albuquerque. It's been very exciting. Laramie Square, yo, on the corner of San Mateo and Candelaria.

Choroní is on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela, about 4 hours west of Caracas, and it is the place that Father Funk and Nemo used to go as kids to vacation. That's how the name was born. Here is the entrance and our sign.

I love this vintage cooler. We had to restore it by painting it, putting up some faux wood contact paper, and polishing the steel. Thats Quesillo on the far right. It's like a carmelized Flan.

Our beverage line-up. Malta, and coke in the bottle. Can't sleep on the Jumex though.

The tentative menu. Today's Feature, Cachapas, some legit Venezuelan shit. It's a corn pancake folded in half with melted cheese.

Here's a shot as you walk in. I painted the tables and I am proud of them. We also built that free-standing awning like the ones on the beach back on the motherland.

Father Funk in his usual pondering mode, early in the mornin' waiting for the customers. The restaurant has been doing incredibly well for being open for just a week. And we've been getting good feedback from the clientele, they LOVE the food. They claim that it is so refreshing to get away from the tacos and burritos of NM. That's a painting I did for the restaurant. It depicts the Choroní Bay.

I forgot I had pictures of this. This is the blank canvas from a couple of weeks ago.

Josie blessed me with the legit orange pancakes with an egg on top to fill my empty stomach before painting.

Doin' the damn thang.

Amost done. I was pretty pleased with it. I haven't painted in almost 5 years.

Boats and footsteps detail.

Peep game.

Ok, so back to the café. The joint is pimp. Little seating area for the free WiFi services, and the coffee station for free refills. A Father Funk original painting on the left, and a guitar I painted in college on the right. In the middle is a picture of Nemo's grandfather in exile (he was a rebel).

At around 9am we start cooking for the lunch rush. Harina Pan is needed to make the staple of Venezuelan cuisine, Arepas.

Mixing the masa.

Sculpting the perfect Arepa.

After cooking them, we fill them with any protein the customer desires. In this case we were making the Reina Pepiada, the loaded Queen, which is a special chicken salad mixed with fresh avocado and stuffed into the Arepa.

naughty-time.

A Cachapa. By far the most delicious breakfast ever. Oh yeah, you can stuff this bad boy with carne mechada, pernil, or chicken too.

And our champion dish, Pabellón Criollo, which is carne mechada, magic black beans, fried plantains, and your choice of white or yellow rice. Game over.

After the lunch rush was over, I stepped out for a cigarette outside. It is such a contrast from being inside. It's like, hey ass-wipe, you're in Albuquerque, turn down your f'n harp music.

Back inside, I created an Arepa never heard of even in Venezuela, The New Mexican. It is an Arepa stuffed with magic black beans, cheese, carne mechada, perico (venezuelan style eggs), and covered in green chile sauce. We decided to put it on the menu. Yessss!

Robo-toot.

After a long week of cooking and washing dishes (which was awesome, I love helping Father Funk and fellow patriot, Nemo, run the one and ONLY Venezuelan restaurant in the Southwest) I was off to Santa Fe. Right on time, it was Gourmet Burger week at the Railyard.

Josie's future was bright that day and every day there after.

Doing what I do best and finally able to rock the pony.

Hamburgler time. I got the Sirloin Steak, Josie got the Kobe. Hers was much yummier.

High-fives everywhere. Thank you Josie for putting up with my endless burger cravings. I'm moving to Santa Fe this week I'm really pumped. I'll post again after I'm settled. And if you are in Albuquerque, DO, and I repeat, do yourself a favor and go to Choroní. You will not regret it. Prrrrnt.

Master of Puppets

2009-03-22T07:49:00.001-07:00

Last week I received a John Dear letter notifying me that I was not accepted to Grad School. I took it kinda hard and I decided to drive to Santa Fe to see Josie and have her shave my face. I promised her that I would shave my face as soon as I got accepted to the MFA program. Well...f^#k. The scenery on the way up was so beautiful that I couldn't help feeling better about things.

A new beginning. A little rusty with the blade though. Since shaving my face and putting stupid school behind me, things have been going well, I've been getting some good freelance work, and I was chosen (first place) for an artist residency in Santa Fe. So, f%&k you selection committee at the school of Lucifer.

Sorry about that. Anyways, the pampering myself wasn't over, I decided to treat Josie and I to some Indian food at India Palace in Santa Fe.

I couldn't play with my phone cuz I was inhaling food. Josie ate a vegetarian plate with a bunch of different dishes on it at once, and I had this curried Lamb that was delicious and unbelievably hot.

The next day it was off to the galleries. We stopped at a couple here and there, but the ultimate was the Wayang Kulit show at the Museum of Intn'l Folk Art.

Crazy-town. These are hand carved out of buffalo hide, I believe. Very inspiring for a woodcut guy. Let me check wikipedia and get you more info cuz my memory ain't what it used to be.

Wayang is an Indonesian/Malay word for theater. When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theater, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as "wayang", the Javanese word for shadow or imagination, also connotes "spirit." Hinduism arrived in Indonesia from India even before the Christina era, and was slowly adopted as the local belief system. The Hindus changed the Wayang (as did the Muslims later) to spread their religion, mostly by stories from the Mahabharata or the Ramayana . Later this mixture of religion and wayang play was praised as harmony between Hinduism and traditional Indonesian culture.

The figures of the wayang are also present in the paintings of that time, and they are still present in the traditional Balinese painting today. When Islam began spreading in Indonesia, the display of God or gods in human form was prohibited, and thus this style of painting and shadow play was suppressed. King Raden Patah of Demak, of Java, wanted to see the wayang in its traditional form, but failed to obtain permission from the Muslim religious leaders. As an alternative, the religious leaders displayed only the shadow instead of the figures itself. The birth of the wayang kulit.

Wayang today is both the most ancient and most popular form of puppet theatre in the world. Hundreds of people will stay up all night long to watch the superstar performers, dalang, who command extravagant fees and are international celebrities.

Thank you wikipedia for the history lesson. This was my favorite wayang, you can see the relation to the Hindu god Shiva. I think they called it, Batara Guru.

My other favorite puppets, Sadam vs. Bush (with a rocket on top). We all know how that battle ended up. F%&cking everything up.

More puppets and shadows.

Ogres. These guys are cool cuz they played a "destructive" and "loud" powerful warrior role, and were much larger than the other puppets.

More Ogres. "Ogres are essentially uncivilized creatures. They epitomize uncontrolled human desire and passion."

These guys are either Mythical creatures or Gods.

This was quite the interactive experience. You can play the traditional instruments, and even handle some REAL puppets. Here's Josie braking it down. During the puppet shows, the Gamelan Orchestra playing with the puppets was like the dialog, not written. The musicians wait for signals from the dalang (puppeteer). Pretty coool, it made every show unique and shit.

Dalang Josephine.

Dalang Enrique.

I sucked. You can see my entire arm and hand. You shoulda seen the real show. Unbelievable. And with the music, woo!

More interactive fun. Make your own wayang!

We took ours TO-GO cuz I got scoped for taking pictures. Didn't want to overstay our welcome, you know?

BWOOOOOOONG!!! Blog over. See you next time.

Art, Labyrinth, Burgers

2009-03-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday Josie and I woke up and had our usual coffee and cig when we read about an etching show in the Santa Fe Reporter. Etching shows are rare, printmaking shows are rare, even in a lush art scene like Santa Fe's. We jumped in the car and I had Josie put my hair up because my head was spinning like the exorcist.

This tiny museum is a bit off the grid. That gave it some street cred from the start.

Josie at the front door.

On the way to the gallery we passed some really cool artifacts from the region. Like this two-headed four-armed clay dude. He or she or He-she is all tatted up.

Textiles.

Some bad-ass spurs. I wanna buy some and strap them on to my sneakers and start some new sh&t.

Hopefully you can read this so I don't have to type it. Chessney Sevier is an amazing artist, and what makes her even more amazing is that she is contemporary. She's old-school etching at it's best and I want to be her friend. She's from a family of cowboys and cowgirls from Wyoming, married a cowboy and cranks out prints of the American landscape and cowboy culture. Oh yeah, she prints woodblocks too, but none were at this show, unfortunately.

My pictures don't do them justice, but you can still see the imagination, journey, and skill. It was so refreshing to see gritty, black and white prints. She's killing the game.

Both Josie and I loved the work. We also loved the gift shop where she was selling prints for dollar amounts way over our budget. Here's Josie checking out a book on jewelry.

Exiting the Museum you are greeted by some sculpture and snowy mountains.

Josie took me to this labyrinth that was nearby. She had conquered it already but wanted me to do it. It was cool, she showed me how you can be everywhere and nowhere at the same time.

Get there.

We conquered it. I loved it.

This huge metal warrior guards the labyrinth.

There was a bird nesting in one of his jingle balls.

Back in Santa Fe the Soldiers of Jesus pulled up next to us. I was frightened for a second.

I also read in the Reporter that there was a Japanese artist in town that paints comic book style. I had to see it. It was at the Eight Modern Gallery.

When Roger Shimomura was a child, he was among the 120,000 Japanese-Americans who were forced to relocate to U.S. internment camps after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Shimomura's family spent two years looking out through a barbed-wire fence at Camp Minidoka in south-central Idaho.

Again, my photos aren't good enough. His lines are ridiculously clean and precise.

This piece was HUGE.

My favorites.

They look like screen-prints. Awesome.

His work reminds me of Mike Giant's work, but in color.

This is a Lithograph. He dabbles in printmaking a bit. Yay.

After the gallery hopping we got hungry. So I took Josie to Bobcat Bite, cuz I'm fu#@ing fat. I feel bad for her. Every time she asks me what I want to eat, it's always the same answer, no matter what time of day, burger.

This isn't your typical burger joint. This is THE burger joint. The best in New Mexico, maybe ever, and trust me, I've eaten a lot of burgers. Hopefully you can read the History.

Menu of trouble.

A couple of famous Green Chile Cheeseburgers. Ok, I post pictures of burgers in almost every post, don't I? I have a problem.

F&%k it.

Day Trip to Taos

2009-03-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

Two Saturdays ago I took Josephine to see Taos. Taos is about an hour north of Santa Fe and it is known for it's Native American village, large artist community, Skiing, and everything esoteric. It's also up in the mountains where the air is fresh and thin, and everything is pretty.

Cool mural.

We stumbled upon this crazy antique shop at the center plaza. I could not resist, and I turned into pure paparazzi even though photos were not allowed. I want this set.

This guy has big balls.

More bizarro stuff from the 1920's.

After we left the fun house, we just walked the streets like the tourists that we are and found some cool still life everywhere, like this one.

Josie posin'.

Me posin'.

More still life, a Spanish colonial door and Ristra.

Taos adobe.

Taos shadows.

Taos clever t-shirt design.

After a ton of walking, it was time for some beer and crumpets. Lucky us, we always seem to sniff out the local microbrew. Eske's is bangin', yo.

Menu of trouble.

Josie got the Seco Stout and I got the Black Cat. Delicious.

I love food. I always take pictures of food. I love it. I'm a lard-mouth. I'm fat. I got the Green Chile Cheeseburger, Josie got the Brat with Sauerkraut. Off the chain, son.

Then I ordered the sampler. I needed to taste it all.

Oh, yeah.

After the Pub we had a nice buzz going and decided to head back. It was a gorgeous day and the switchbacks were fun.

I pulled over to take a whiz, look no hands!

Then we found this bridge chillin' on some Indiana Jones sh$t.

Yay.

Back in Santa Fe we decided to stop and see Milk. We saw Slumdog already, and we still have to see the other nominees for best pic. Milk was great, Sean Penn is an amazing film actor.

After Milk ended, the buzz was gone and it was time to get it back. So we got some booze and temporary tattoos cuz we are some real rock-n-rollas. Josie put a skull on her chest.

Followed by a Dillo on her tricep.

I got this Day of the Dead piece.

Followed by whatever this wussy crap is on my ribs. It was a fun day. The next morning we washed them off.

Gustave Baumann

2009-03-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I wanted to leave my album up for a while, you know, for publicity and stuff.

Anywho, a couple of weeks ago, Josie and I stopped by the New Mexico Museum of Art for a Gustave Baumann show. Mr. Baumann came to the States via Germany and was one of the leading color woodcut artists in America at the beginning of the 20th century. He settled in Santa Fe and his work depicted the southwestern landscapes and scenes from the pueblo life for over 50 years. I was pumped, I mean, look at his flawless technique.

What I would do for this print. This was one of my favorites. Sorry about the reflections.

His use of color, his execution, and imagery is beautiful. Very inspiring, makes me want to experiment with some color.

This piece made me want to give up printmaking. Next to this amazing tree were the 6 blocks, 1 for each color he used. Cut meticulously, with perfect registration. Makes me think of the Japanese woodblocks done eons ago, and how color woodcuts are becoming a lost art.

Some woodcut graphic design. Gave me ideas for some wedding invitations I'll be doing soon.

After having children, Master Baumann started designing Marionettes.

He got real serious about it and began carving them from scratch. Not only that, he started making the sets too, all carved by hand. His Marionette shows are still performed today in Santa Fe during the Holiday season (using replicas, of course).

Mind-blowing. This show really opened up my eyes and helped me start thinking about 3-D possibilities.

Drunk Cowboy.

He also painted the backgrounds of the sets with oils. He was a very talented man. This native dance set was my favorite. Thank you Gustave Baumann.

FatherFunkMotherSalsaSonFlava

2009-02-12T13:49:00.001-08:00

My new album. Download it for FREE here: enriquefig.com/hippo

Ann Arbor Pt. 5 - Last Days

2009-02-09T22:33:00.001-08:00

Ahhhh. Turkish coffee. A very rare and delicious treat. Couldn't leave without a couple cups of this elixir. Just don't drink the bottom of the pot by accident like I did.

Josie's favorite.

I'm a new fan. I had no idea. Try it sometime.

After the coffee and some Falafel, I meet up with Bobby, CGAA, and Magnetics for some free billiards, free popcorn, and 50 cent PBR at Circus.

Some Exporta's and Michael Jackson's greatest hits playing in the background. Not bad.

Bobby sizing up his next shot.

CGAA rockin' the visor and not afraid to get there.

Magnetics, the silent killer.

A lot of green.

I'm not sure if that went in or not. We had some good games and then headed to hell on earth, The Fifth Quarter. Basically a college club filled with really pretty dudes wearing rhinestones and girls going wild. We had to meet a friend there for a sec. I pounded a drink and ran to ABC. Thank Baby Jesus.

When we got to ABC I realized we would be drumming to the same beat we've been drumming to all vacation. We drank IPA's and played some darts. This is one of the most relaxing, joyful, and entertaining things to do. The people at the Pub are always cool, but most importantly our girlfriends like chillin' here.

We stopped at Bab's for a cocktail, but quickly realized we were too drunk and had to go get some food.

Exactly.

Smoke one.

Good thing the food arrived. I made one of those trips to the darkside, you know, when you start questioning your purpose in life, and how the body is a temple and shouldn't be mistreated, and how we are the only dudes in here older than 21. Thank you waitress. I got the Hippie Hash, Bobby copied me, and CGAA stepped it up with a Cheeseburger. Fleetwood saves lives.

We cleared the table pretty fast. CGAA stumbled home, Bobby and I went back to his place and tried to act like responsible men in the presence of our more mature girlfriends. We stayed up talking until 6am. About what? I dunno.

The next morning (more like afternoon), we headed over to Northside fore some breakfast. It was bittersweet because I knew this was my last day in town.

It was 45 degrees out and being outside was fun while we waited for a table.

I like this picture.

This one too.

Food came.

Eating brunch was the only thing we accomplished during the day. I spent my last hours in Ann Arbor playing some glow in the dark bowling with everyone. Not good for blogging though. It was great, we had a really good time. It was the last activity on my list of things to do. I said good-bye (shhhh, just go...) to all my friends, and it was back to Bobby's to watch the Pistons game we recorded, down a 12 pack of Shiner Bock and order Bell's again.

Fat. Hung-over, and lonely, I waited in the airport alone the next morning. Taking a picture for the blog was the highlight. My time in Ann Arbor hanging out with good friends, drinking, darksiding, eating naughties, freezing, bowling, playing soccer and b-ball, billiards, smoking, seeing my cat and walking around endlessly was everything I could ever ask for and more. I want to thank all my friends who spent time with me and took care of things while I was there. Bobby and Julie, thank you extra. Now come to the desert already! Well, gimme a minute to get my life back together.

Ann Arbor Pt. 4 - Boots

2009-02-03T12:42:00.000-08:00

Yay! Patio seating!

Saturday afternoon we did laundry and while it dried we stepped over to Cubs' for some beer and Burgers. Then we sent out a text to our friends stating, "Heidelberg. Boot. At 9."

And there it is, the Boot. This also brings me back. For those of you who don't know what a Boot is, haven't been to Madison, WI, or don't drink, there are a couple of rules. Once it is lifted off the table it can't be put back down until it is empty, you must flick it before and after you drink out of it, and it must be passed around the table continuously.

Kingman set it off, of course.

We had some pretty participants.

We all had "side-cars" of Arcadia IPA's. Not cool.

CGAA takes a swig.

The Badger finishes the first boot.

Round two.

Bobby uses two hands for smoother tilt action.

Josie says its gotta good taste.

A true Badger also finishes the second boot. Impressive.

Punch and hug begins.

Should we do another?

Round 3.

A legendary Badger finishes the first 3 boots. Aggressive.

Another boot?

I set off round 4.

Close-up.

Badger supports Bobby. Finish the boot!

Bobby terminates round 4.

Authorities were looking for this man...

Round 5. Elena calls out her husband.

Josie goes the distance.

Reppin' for the Deuce, Magnetics kills the 5th. I think we all went home at this point. Not really sure. Until next time...