Even after so long, “El Duelo” always amazes me.  Every time.  The lyrics always reach deep inside my soul to heal, to stir, to hurt… suavemente.

This song is very appropriate right now.  Julieta has a way of expressing important emotions in simple ways.  Algo esta Cambiando.

Julieta Venegas – NYC Summerstage 2008

Vin~a del Mar Chile.

Nothing much to say. Except that I miss this song. That’s it.

The Rutgers vs Buffalo game was awesome!!! The Scarlet Knights have officially started the season with a win vs Buffalo. I will leave all the sports talk to the sport talk people.

This article will feature and focus on the game outside the game (i.e. the Rutgers Marching Band, the RU Twirlers, the Rutgers Dance Team, the Cheerleaders and the fans).

The Rutgers Band:

In previous years, the band occupied the stands behind the north endzone, but this year the band has been placed on the field in order to make room for the eager fans. This worked out great for me because I was sitting directly next to the band and we had perfect acoustic reception in section 109.

Gina and her “Verizon Network”:

The Rutgers Twirlers were magnificent in their brand new outfits as they spear-headed the procession to the Stadium in Piscataway.

This is a link to the official RU Twirlers Website.

We hung back to the very end of the game in order to listen to the post game ceremony. The Marching Band performed “Malaguen~a” and the Alma Matter acapella. Holy effing crap! They sounded awesome!

The Twirlers took center stage right smack in the middle of the band during this performance – I wish there were pics but my battery was dead by then. I want to know when Gina choreographed the Twirlers’ routine because it was longs as hell. Dod Gamn!

(Updated: Sep.06.2007 – Thursday)
I found a video of the Rutgers Post Game performance on youtube by a user “vanessaP85″.

The Fans:

What to say? Painted faces, a sea of red, the cute girls…

The R U Chant… R!!!!! U!!!!!! R!!!!! U!!!!!!!…

But most importantly, this a video of the Celebration for the very first Touch Down and Extra Point of the 2007 Season.

This is the Celebration for the second Touch Down and Extra Point of the 2007 Season.

Another celebration! Too many to count at this point. Really! Rutgers 38, Buffalo 3. On this one, there is a good shot of the Dance Team.

The Rutgers Dance Team:

There are a lot of new faces in the RU Dance Team these year. In part, this is because there were a handful of seniors that graduated last year. I haven’t worked things out yet but I seems that some non-graduating dancers didn’t return this year. No matter, they danced like pros.

The second thing that I noticed is the spanking new glittering red little dresses – too many adjectives, ha! – worn by the dance team. Those dresses were very sexy without being too revealing but I have to be honest: I like the uniforms from last year (black pants and a little tops) better. It is not a matter how much skin they were showing or anything like that. Honest! In fact, they were showing more skin with the dresses. It has more to do with the dancers setting themselves apart from the Cheerleaders. The pants and tops outfit made the dance team look like the athletes that they actually are. If you want to compare, take a look at this 2006 Dance Team Video in my other website. Make no mistake, those 16 young women looked absolutely beautiful in glittering red. But in more than one occasion, I had to correct fans when they referred to the dance team as cheerleaders. Get it right! They are not cheerleaders, they are dancers! See my point? Bring the pants and dance sneakers back. Glittering red pants, now that would be hot!

The Mascot:

I got close to the Mascot this game and it stunk like something! Ha! Not the mascot that rides on the horse, the other Mascot, the puffy Knight. Actually, the knight that rides on the horse stinks too… well, the horse stinks.

Please note that videos and pictures were all taken with my T-Mobile Dash. Who needs an effing iPhone??).

The following pics speak for themselves. Meet Babyface Chiquita Mia (the little furrball). You already know Snoopy (the big furrball).

Babyface Chiquita Mia is the new addition to Christy’s and Bibi’s family.

This last picture reminded me of an old cartoon I watched when I was a kid. “Belle and Sebastian”.

Belle et Sébastien is a novel by Cécile Aubry about a six year old boy called Sebastian, and his dog Belle, who live in a small mountain village on the French side of the border between France and Spain. Sebastian lives with his adopted grandfather, sister, and brother, as his mother a Rom was forced to leave Sebastian behind while trying to cross the border on Saint Sebastian’s day. The series, better known in the Anglosphere as Belle and Sebastian, was made into a French live-action television series in 1965, and a Japanese anime version nearly two decades later.

Originally known as “Meiken Jolie”, “Belle and Sebastian” was a Japanese/French cartoon produced in 1981. It ran on Nickelodeon from 1984 to 1991. Over the course of the series, Sebastian and his two dogs, Belle and Poochie, travel through Spain, Italy and France, looking for his mother. Along the way they meet interesting people and are chased by the police who believe Belle to be dangerous. In reality, Belle is gentle, but only Sebastian realizes this as he is the only one willing to get to know her.

Since a picture is worth a thousand words! Sebastian, Belle and Poochie.

And since a video is worth a million words, here is the introduction theme of Belle and Sebastian.

As a kid, I must have cried of few times while watching the series. The following to videos are part 2/3 and part 3/3 of the first episode.

Here is the introduction theme to the 1965 TV adaptation of the novel.

It took me a about three months to make the selection and adoption of Snoopy (Great Pyrenees). My decision was largely influenced by this cartoon. Doesn’t Belle look like Snoopy?

Este articulo va dedicado a todos aquellos que iban al Club New York al rededor del an~o 2000. Se acuerdan? Los cosmopolitans, rock en espan~ol, el olor a humo de cigarro, y bailar hasta las 4:00 de la man~ana?

Kan~as tambien tocaba el mismo tipo de musica, asi que tambien va para ustedes los que iban a Kan~as.

Se acuedan de bailar en circulo con todo el grupo y pasar el microfono… pues ok. No se emocionen en el trabajo y los vaya a cachar el jefe.

Hombres G – Devuelveme A Mi Chica

Los Prisioneros – Tren Al Sur

A Ha – Take On Me

Enanitos Verdes – Lamento Boliviano

Shakira – No Creo

Mana – Clavado En Un Bar

Molotov – Puto

La Ley – El Duelo

Vanessa is a Mason Gross student. She sang “Lost Without You” at HUEPA last night (April 5th, 2007). The video is sorta blurry but there is a better picture of Vanessa at ScarletMambo.com (She is on the left).

Part 1.

Part 2.

Mana is my favorite studio and live band. As such, I hold them to a higher standard than other bands. Their performance was a bit lacking in some aspects. I had fun because I had great company and well… also because Mana is Mana. Mana is like Pizza, even when it’s bad it’s good. So here it goes… I tell it like I see it.

The length of the concert left a lot to be desired as well. In other years, the show started promptly at 8:00pm and it finished at 11:00pm. 3 hours!!! This year, the ticket said 7:00pm but the show did not start until 8:30pm. Late! And it ended early, at 10:45pm. 2 hours and 15 minutes only!!! They could have performed five or six songs in these 45 minutes. What happened to “Corazon Espinado”, “Te Llevare Al Cielo”, and “Sabanas Frias”?

The beginning shows a short clip of Mexican immigrants jumping over the border wall while a Border Patrol chopper flies low over their heads. Touching. See for yourself.

The “Amar es Combatir” concert at the Madison Square garden lacked the spontaneity and emotional connection from other years. The song roster included their all-time bests as well as a few of the most recent songs. No real complaints about the latter. The songs “Labios Compartidos”, “Manda Una Sen~a” and “Bendita Sea Tu Luz” were powerful and solid versions.

The former, their all-time hits, failed to make a connection with the crowd. For example, in one of their best songs is “Vivir sin Aire”, Sergio Vallin (guitar player) traded the acoustic guitar for an electric. This is supposed to be a warm song, in part because the acoustic guitar phrases compliment the melody. But this time around, Sergio cut back on his guitar parts. Frankly, he played the song as I would have played it (and I’m not that good). Here is their 2007 version:

It is sad because he is probably the most versatile and original guitarist in Latin America (and maybe even North America). He is capable of giving Mana an extra dimension, which is the reason why Mana’s sound improved so much in 1995 when he joined Mana in the “Cuando Los Angeles Lloran” album. Alex forgot to play the bongos as well on this piece, and therefore Fher’s harmonica really sounds out of place, like it doesn’t belong in that song. I know they tried to make the tour more representative of their new rock sound – electric guitars and catchy rock rhythms. In such case, they should have given more thought on how to adapt the songs so that they fit their new scheme. If the acoustic guitars and the bongos had to be scrapped, maybe the harmonica should have been replaced by a pipe organ or an accordion. That would have been eclectic! Instead it seems like they stripped their songs down in five minutes. Their “Unplugged” album was a master piece because those songs had a spirit of their own. The “Amar Es Combatir” versions sound like they are missing musicians.

Then again… what do I know? Maybe I’m just being uptight. Whatever.

Here is the song roster for the Thursday New York Concert, March 15th 2007.

• Dejame Entrar
• Dame Una Sen~al
• Labios Compartidos
• Bendita Sea Tu Luz
• Vivir Sin Aire
• Falta Amor
• Donde Jugaran Los Nin~os
• Mariposa Traicionera

• Eres Mi Religion
• Te Llore Como un Rio
• Me Canse De Rogarte

• Me Vale
• Se Me Olvido Otra Vez
• Perdido En Barco
• El Rey
• No Ha Parado De Llover
• El Muelle de San Blas
• Rayando El Sol

For “Eres Mi Religion”, “Te Llore Como Un Rio and “Me Canse de Rogarte”, a red sofa was pulled into stage and girl from the first row was invited on stage. Fher, accompanied by Sergio, played for her while she sat inches from them. Nice touch… but they already did that back in 2003. A bit passe.

They also used fire flames for some of their songs. Unnecessary. Who are they? GunsNRoses?

There I go again… Let me relax a bit. It’s all good because they did pull off a couple of weird stunts. They put on skull masks while they played “Donde Jugaran Los Nin~os”.

Alex put a great show with drum solo that lasted a few minutes. It was good, but in other years he has played his solo with a latin syncopated feel. It was better.

I did enjoy the show. Make no mistake!!! They are the best Latin American rock band!!! Fher is a superb song writer and singer. His voice has matured into a raspy howl of emotion. Alex is the best drummer of his generation. Sergio is the most well-rounded guitar player (he rivals ANY guitar player in ANY style; Santana is very respectfully of Sergio’s work, i.e. Corazon Espinado). Juan is an elegant bass player that likes to stay low key but he can really change gears with Alex. Juan’s bass is a perfect transition between Alex’s complex rhythms and Fher’s and Sergio’s harmonious musical phases.