take # 3: I see you when I see you.

take # 3. 

the humble and impeccable English Lord showed us that life is where you are. and to testify that, during the 4-months-long trip, he carries a manuscript of the autobiography his daughter encouraged him to write a while ago. a project stopped 2 years ago (when he made it to write until the ‘70’s), so now in Sri Lanka he just “need to write only 30 years more”.

we met Jo this past Summer in Populonia, the heart of the Etruscan ruins and civilization in the south part of Tuscany. From living  ”the life in the chic lane” in a remarkable residence in the British countryside, he ended up retiring in the most tranquil and sleepy antique village with original walls, alley cats fed by the only bar trattoria and an open air puppet theatre for kids magically overlooking the Golfo di Baratti. it was his birthday that night, when he told us that every other year he tours the world in some 4 months during the Winter when “in Populonia you can hear a pin falling on the floor”.

it so happened that the first stop of his world tour was indeed Miami: on his way from Madrid to San Francisco. a stunning full moon evening and a sunset that was worth millions of poems, the same night when my daughter and I recorded our profile (take #2). button down white shirt, navy blue blazer (gold buttons of course), Ascot, pleated beige trousers and penny loafers: tres chic.  so here we are: an English, an Italian and an American (little bit Italian little bit Argentine) at a French brasserie, reminiscing our visit to Italy, my times in London and Manchester, his previous trips to Australia, commenting about our experience with the Dutch artists and the Venezuelan Salsa performers …

if it is real that coincidences happen for a reason, the same couple of days we vicariously did the tour of the world driving around Miami and having dinner in Miami Beach. where I happily discovered my Paradise is. 

the best of all was when we said good bye, happy new year and have a great and safe trip and he departed with: “I see you when I see you”. in Italian we would say: “a myth!”

take # 2: Amsterdam.

while in Brickell Bay finishing up with the individual pics and taking advantage of a remarkable Miami fall sunset, we were approached by two soft spoken guys with filming equipment. “we are traveling the world filming unedited portraits of common people asking four questions: 1. what’s your name; 2. where were you born; 3. where are you now; 4. what’s your concept of Paradise. the entire production will be a permanent exhibition in a Museum in Amsterdam which is funding the experiment.”

the thought provoking encounter made us all forget about how tired we were and ignited a joyous, lively, happy conversation: we were all sharing Paradises. 

amazingly enough, the following day they filmed me. so, yes, Cecilia and I will be featured in the permanent installation somewhere in Holland in a year or so. 

besides the torture of takes and retakes that made me realize how hard it is to be an actor, the artistic duo opened a Pandora’s box full of reminiscence, values, memories, laughs, love dressed with an overflowing cup of bonding with Cecilia.

Miami: I ended up realizing the simple truth. I don’t like Miami (and I don’t keep it a secret) however here is where I live because Cecilia’s life is here. therefore, Miami is now my Paradise.

more on this when the clip will be available.

take # 1: Venezuela

styling Icarus, a dynamic and modern Salsa group of four young and promising performers, opened an undiscovered reality of Caribbean rhythms, warmth, talent, youth and romance.

from Maracaibo to the world launch of their next CD via Miami, where I contributed with a brilliant and resourceful stylist, make up artist, photographer and their teamto create their image for the next big jump into business and tough competition. 

they are handsome and famous and idols in Venezuela, in Calle Ocho’s hectic background of their photo shooting and in Brickell Bay they were not, but you could read the aspiration, the ambition, the determination to become the next Jonas Brothers (I don’t have enough knowledge of Salsa to compare them to the biggest Salsa performers, but that’s not the issue). 

I was touched by the appreciation and respect that they manifested at every single meticulous activity we performed for almost 12 hours on the road to make the photo shooting perfection. you would expect insolence from stars undergoing so many hours of changing outfits in the van, wearing shoes that are not exactly their size, perfecting make up, drying sweat off their faces, pinning shirts, adjusting bracelets and eating just a sandwich. on the contrary, they embraced the whole experience with a positive disposition of learning how their body types, personalities and role in the band will have to go along with their new refined looks. they’ll bring a little bit of me, of my mix of Old and new World, with them. I will always bring their grounded gratitude. 

Miami: to their eyes it means building the bridge to fame, so overall, with an open perspective, how bad could be living in Miami?

a tour of the world in three chapters.

october 2 is when Phileas Fogg begun the Tour of the World in 80 Days, mine started on a Tuesday and ended on a Wednesday in November.

a series of unrelated events in three chapters. 

a styling and photo shooting for a group of young and promising salsa Venezuelan performers, an intriguing Dutch duo, a film maker and a multi media artist, the epitome of an English gentleman starting his tour of the world. 

where: in Miami, where you assist at life passing by and realize how small and twisted is the image of this thing where we live. not a city, not a conglomerate, not America, not Latin America, not corporate, not real, not a village, not the beach, not the countryside. it is all together with tons of plastic. 

a month of ex-CA-uses

breast cancer awareness and a few other diseases month is the CAUSE of the first benefits, balls and events of the Winter season. it is a good EXCUSE to come out and be social and socially social. involvement in your community’s CAUSES makes us feel active, purposeful, participating, busy, connected.

the “turquoise cascade ” by f.b.c.reations was donated to the Cancer Link luncheon at Jungle Island: an event that alone raised over $145 K for the CAUSE. bravo. a good EXCUSE to come out officially from our hot Summer’s lethargy and mingle with a high concentration of benefactors. inspiring and uplifting experience, besides having made somebody’s neck more fabulous. 

the number pinned on the t-shirt says it all. the Susan Komen “Race for the Cure” it was the best EXCUSE to wake up at the wee hours on a Saturday morning, happily walk a healthy course of 5K with  a Starbucks coffee in hand (and being asked the “excuse me where do you buy that” question while carrying the unmistakable white and green cup). we ran with the Miamifashionblog team lead by the most gracious editor, Lauren Doyle (hence the hip uber fashionable raspberry pink of the tee).

f.b.c.reations donated a one of a kind amazonite + lace & silk shantung necklace to the CAUSE that was raffled among the participants. prizes at the end were a good EXCUSE  to walk through a sleepy downtown and Brickell Avenue. for me the CAUSE was the best EXCUSE to meet a few of my fellow bloggers. besides, squeezing a couple of hours of catch up conversation with my friend Fabiana and sharing the goose bump moment of the finish line especially dedicated to survivors with the crowd cheering, screaming and throwing kisses.

and now regenerated, caused and purposed, I guess we should feel excused also. of anything we want.

a nice Autumn surprise

Autumn is finally approaching even down here where seasons seems to all blend into the longest Summer. 

when I was a child, it was my most detested season. Summer was over and with it our friends would get back to their big city’s life and we were left just with the sites and places of great memories with yellow leaves on the ground. melancholic. 

it is true: life and years change your perspectives and corroborate your personality. 

I adore Fall now. it is a season to re think, re purpose, re assess. so here I am with another view of my life. I threw all my chances up in the air. and I am anxiously waiting for them to all fall down … ring around the roses. 

live in the now. 

the more you try to control your life, the more you loose focus on where your path is leading you to, they tell me. so: I made my wishes, blew it like a child a dandelion and let the Universe handle the details.

in other words: let it be.

exhilarating the wait, like a child on Christmas morning: how many of the gifts from my list will be under the tree? I know I deserve them. I was a good girl. 

my life is an Impressionist's painting

I always had an attraction for the Impressionism and painting en plein aire. Nature doesn’t  strike a pose.

Like in a poem, verse by verse, the artist’s vision is created with minimal brush strokes patiently assembled with unparalleled technique. I was a child and amazed by the magic sensation of seeing the picture only from far away. An impression. 

Life can be the result of these minuscule paint brushes, one by one. Sometimes it goes fast, sometimes it gets stuck. Time goes by. You have the impression that your life will take a certain direction, however, from a distance. 

Like Monet, you keep going to your magic garden: pond, lotus flowers, sunset, sundown, dawn, dewdrops, rain, sunshine. But sometimes it really seems stuck, in rewind mode. You start the morning with the good intentions of keep it going, and by the end of the day you wish you had slept all day: no paint brush got you closer to the impression. Tomorrow is another day.

Then alas a setback: people trying to convince you to take a different direction. You may want to believe they are doing it for your own good, and you come to the conclusion you ought to stick to your own intuition. Your impression. And the painting is dangling on the easel.

Just the last week of my life has been the catharsis of my own entire oeuvre. 

Consistency, perseverance, difficulties, adversities, belief, determination, self esteem started brushing the impression lively. Patience, observation, compassion, intuition, enthusiasm tweaked the shades. 

I am seeing the picture: it is close to that original impression I had and could not figure out to materialize. Amazing is how I thought I was never going to get it. As a fact I must say that I proudly made it happen.