happy new year

Still sick, Lucy just left, slowing down a bit, and while watching music videos on television, I just saw a commercial for La Gavia--the biggest shopping mall, or centro commercial, that exists in the community of Madrid. And there are some seriously huge malls here.

I don't really understand why some traditions that the US invented seem like such great ideas to people.

For being so traditional in so many ways, I find it surprising that Spain is so partial to giant consumer mega-centers. I mean, they make sense, everything in one place...right?

La Gavia apparently has over 160 stores, if you can believe that, and that is not counting the Ikea, Al Campo, and Carrefour (two walmart-esq establishments) that are more or less attached in the vast sea of parking lots.

Inside La Gavia there is probably one of the most impressive food courts you have ever seen, sometimes overshadowing all other mall features. Not surprising, in a culture that so heavily thrives off the social experience of eating, or simply tomar-ing algo, whether that be a coffee or beer.

When I go to the movies with the fam, we usually hit up one of these spectacular spots, as the "good" ones all have theaters inside. What's funny is the one we sometimes go to, an outdoor "lifestyle" center as they call them in the US, was contracted by CB Richard Ellis. I couldn't help but frown and shake my head, and then I maybe chuckled.

Who cares that bad American traditions are picked up or brought over? Who cares that there are McDonald's franchises in 124 countries in the world? That's, like, most countries. It's 2011, and it is what it is. There is no stopping consumerism now.

Anyway, just like we Americans have our "black Friday", Spaniards have their rebajas, or sales, day. This normally falls on the 7th of January, the day after Three Kings Day, but some communities decided to bump it up to today (a crisis-inspired idea). This actually caused quite a fuss in a few places, including a shopping mall in Pamplona where people held a strike outside and blocked all entrance. Haha.

Happy new year, and happy first day of rebajas.

from the couch

I knew they'd catch up to me: the holiday blues.

But it's just an [emotionally] allergic reaction to physical illness. Feeling sick sucks.

Lucky for me, I've got good 'ole Lucy visiting from Valencia to take it easy with on a chilly December night. Thanks to the horrible movie we found on TV (after spending 30 minutes trying to figure out the DVD player), I can put some good [waste of] time into the internet.

This week has been interesting, hosting my first couchsurfers, a young quirky couple from Sao Paulo, Brazil. They are pretty cool, and it's fun to have a few new roommates every once in a while, even if your apartment really isn't equipped for such situations. It's been quite the disaster over the last few days, and will continue as such into the new year..

Having visitors sort of turns life a little upside down in one way or another, and well, who doesn't love the chaos of the holiday season with old (and sometimes new) friends and family? There are so many passing through the city this winter vacation!!.. I have been so lucky as to more or less meet a cousin from Bolivia (I believe we met as young children), and it's amazing how many faces I see in her's!

This movie...is so bad. Lucy and I ate a whole bar of chocolate turrón tonight. That's like three bars of chocolate.

Aaaand I think my sugar high is plummeting. That's all I got for now, goodnight.

marcelo, ever so peaceful.

Christmas Day: exciting times for Marcelo Lanza.

Digital Christmas Card

Hope your holiday season is as bright as can be.

Merry Christmas from Sunny Madrid.

December 2010 (not 2007. that will forever bother me)

breaking news

Don't miss the lunar eclipse tonight, everyone's invited!

sunday morning

For Madrilenos who love fresh flowers at home... people who appreciate admiring magnificent color while taking a walk in the city center.. then those who aren't bothered by slight sketchiness, Plaza de Tirso de Molina is where it's at (think this city's version of La Boca, Buenos Aires).

Going along with the new generations' trend of turning bad neighborhoods trendy (all the while maintaining aspects of their previous grime), this little pocket on the northern edge of Barrio Embajadores is a prime example.

Its location is key to its success in accomplishing this harmony: a five minute's walk to the west lies La Latina, a buzzing neighborhood perfect for sampling the best tapas of the city. Just 10 or 15 years ago, however, it was notorious for it's extremely high street crime rate.

On the other side one can find the neighborhood of Anton Martin, a historically artsy hood, where, among dozens of other cool spots, lies a beautifully restored cinema that plays all sorts of movies in their original form (December's special: Woody Allen) and whose admission is a whopping 2.50.

Right south of it it is Lavapies, the neighborhood with the highest amount of immigrants in the city center--an estimated 88 different nationalities inhabit its streets. Someone once whimsically described Lavapies as the border between Madrid and Africa, as if roaming through its maze could land you in Tombouctou or Marrakech. It's a pretty peaceful melting pot, despite the fact that it serves as a major drug-trafficking hub. There's really not much violence caused over hash, though this is not to undermine the social issues that come with it.

Anyway, the rhomboid Plaza de Tirso de Molina is known for being a generally harmless, homeless hangout, and of course it has seen relatively worse days than the present. Thanks to a renovation in 2007, the plaza now houses one the few flower markets in Madrid where flower lovers of Embajadores can get their fresh fix for a vase at home (or giant glass measuring thing) and then enjoy a caña of beer at one of the massive cafe patios that mingle around it.

Madrid is not famous for its flower markets, especially considering that they are not quite as cheap as in some other comparable European cities. I also don't believe the dry air of the city is conducive to their shelf-life.

Because I am not only a resident of the community, but also an avid fan of color and fresh flowers, it's only necessary to support the cause. These cost three euros, the same price as a breakfast (cafe con leche, tostadas, and fresh squeezed) at the cafe nearby, an Argentine-style bakery called Los poemas de Tirso (hehe "The poems of Tirso").

I'm supposedly broke (ahem, this weekend as been expensive...not going to think about it), but I think it's a worthy sacrifice. Of the three euros, of course, not breakfast. I splurged and had both yesterday :)

for all the fellow english teachers out there

This man is over 100 years old, and just plain awesome.