Dateline: Jacksonville, Summer 2009. My 15-year-old brother’s room (which I have commandeered for the two months I’ve been home). With the help of Fly Mother and some Zip-Lock bags, I’m all packed for three months on the road. That would include one dress shirt and a pair of khakis, some jeans, 6 pair of draws, […]
Packing a Lot of Crap into Two Small Bags: A Photographic Journey Read More
This is a deep cut from 2009. 🙂 Many years ago, when living in Colombia, I posted this as my status on Facebook:Acabo de caminar del gimnasio. Hoy es un día brillante de sol tropical. Y bajo de ese sol iluminante, se me dió cuenta que yo era el único negro/moreno/mulato en la calle que
Originally published in the Orlando Sentinel, May 2007. The Middle of the World is a dusty place. And actually, there are three Middles of the World in Ecuador. The sun beats down ferociously on the equatorial line less than an hour north of this country’s capital, Quito. A bus from the city dropped me off
The Middle of the World Read More
Beyond the uber-famous, internationally-known Shakira and Juanes, Colombian music is a thick stew of flavors and spices ladled in from the three founding cultures of the country: Euro, indigenous, and, most potently, Afro. And, as in most post-colonial societies, it is the music of Colombian artists that speaks most loudly against injustice and in homage
Global Juke Joint: Soundz of Colombia Read More
Carnaval de Barranquilla, February 2009 One of the traditions of Carnival here in Colombia is the throwing of corn starch and water on unsuspecting revelers. This is the first time in three years that someone has succeeded in tagging me. Leave it to three intrepid Colombianas down from New Jersey…they had been plotting from the
Colombia Mía: Maizena y Agua Read More
Photo by Colombian soul The week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday in all Catholic-leaning societies is called Holy Week, Semana Santa in Spanish. The end of the sacrificial season of Lent, the start of which is commemorated lustily with Carnival, offers the faithful their chance to celebrate with pageantry, color, and prayer, Christ’s resurrection
Holy Week in Colombia Read More
So you want to get in on the Carnival action but don’t know where to start? Find out when.First, you need to get the dates cornered before embarking on any pre-Lenten debauchery. True Carnivals—be they in Brazil, Italy, Spain, the Caribbean, or any other Catholic-leaning society—occur simultaneously, which means ix-nay on a year-round party binge
How to Get to Carnival Read More
“Adore” by I:Cube. The sonic embodiment of travel. The video’s not bad; I love his jog through the terminal. Flight 245 to Caracas: I’m on it! First heard:Atlanta to MadridFirst Class Cabin (buddy pass)Delta Air LinesAugust 2004 Last heard:Five minutes ago Appears on:AdoreHotel Costes Vol. 2 – La SuiteAfterdark: Paris Longer, better version here. What’s
Global Juke Joint: The Fly Brother Theme Song Read More
Inspired by traveler extraordinaire Chris Guillebeau‘s life and work, I’ve been thinking about my own travel philosophies, those objectives, habits, rules, and stimuli that drive me incessantly to the nearest international airport whenever time and income allow. As I’ve mentioned countless times on this blog, I’m drawn most strongly to Latin American cultures with a very visible
Fly Brother’s Fly-By-Night Dime-Store Travel Philosophy Read More
Part 3 of a 3-part series on lesser-known, but no-less-hot, Carnival celebrations. On the tiny Caribbean island of Trinidad, four-hundred years of recorded history under various European flags and immigration from the four corners of the globe have shaped and molded the look and feel of Trinidad and Tobago Carnival into one of the most
