Category: Multiculturalism

Wonderful Huesca, Spain by da-AL

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Huesca Cathedral.

After a weekend in Barcelona, my husband and I rented a car. I love Spain (hence, my upcoming novel is called, “Flamenco & the Sitting Cat”) so we had much to admire along the way to French Basque country.

Detail of Huesca Cathedral.

We stopped for lunch in Spain’s lovely city of Huesca. Their beautiful cathedral is in the historic district. Built on the remains of a mosque, it took 300 years to complete in the early 16th century.

Nestled in nearby ancient buildings are two restaurants. One is authentic Korean! As much as we love our kimchi, we decided that instead it was a lovely day for a modest yet elegant meal of traditional Spanish food on a pretty outdoor patio.

Huesca, Spain, courtesy of Wikipedia.

Huesca according to Wikipedia… is a city in north-eastern Spain, within the autonomous community of Aragon. It is also the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and of the comarca of Hoya de Huesca. In 2009 it had a population of 52,059, almost a quarter of the total population of the province. The city is one of the smallest provincial capitals in Spain.

Wall art across the street from Huesca Cathedral. Buster Keaton — or Jude Law?

Wall art and graffiti abound e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e in Spain! Here in the U.S., graffiti is seldom as welcome.

Our vacation had started in beautiful Barcelona.

Now that we’d enjoyed wonderful Huesca, we were off to France. There we’d see pretty Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port, enchanting Espelette, and phenomenal French Basque Country (Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Bayonne, and Biarritz).

Then, back in Spain, we’d marvel at the food and seaside dogs of San Sebastián, Spain and breathtaking Bilbao…

Love is everything by da-AL with Video by Mengwen Cao

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Mengwen Cao
Mengwen Cao

Listening … Loving … Accepting … Understanding … Courage …

Love demands ongoing practice and desire. Not always easy, but always rewarding.

Watch how Mengwen Cao comes out to her parents and how they respond. She’s a photographer, videographer, and multimedia producer. Born in Hangzhou, China, she came to the United States in 2012.

 

Guest Blog Post: “12 Beautiful Travel Quotes,” in A.M. Sanders’ exact words

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"Adventure is Worthwhile in Itself" Amelia EhrhardtNothing connects us more thoroughly than the face-to-face connection of travel. What a super fun political action! …

Ōrphic Flux

Travel has always opened my mind to fresh ideas and opportunities, new friends and different places, all overflowing with life, love, and memories. There is so much wonder and beauty out there to discover.

I hope these quotes inspire a wanderlust inside you that will take a lifetime of adventures to satisfy.

  1. “I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.” – Rosalía de Castro

2. “Adventure is worthwhile in itself.” – Amelia Earhart

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3. “It is better to travel alone than with a bad companion.” – African Proverb

4. “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou

5. “Experience, travel – these are as education…

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Cool Art 4 Hot Days at MOLAA by da-AL

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On these heat rash inducing days when all I want to do is take showers and more showers, it’s extra nice to look at beautiful things within a cooled museum. Every time I visit the Museum of Latin American Art, I’m rewarded with something new, fun, and thought provoking.

Little Red Riding Hood reinterpreted in plasticine by Mondogo Argentine art collective
Little Red Riding Hood reinterpreted in plasticine by Mondogo Argentine art collective

This time I went for The Portfolio Series: Mondongo Argentine show.

Mondongo Argentine art collective wolves in plasticine clothing
Mondongo Argentine art collective wolves in plasticine clothing

My art-loving mom wanted to see it, especially since she’s from there. Lo and behold, the exhibit somewhat disappointing — great but tiny!

‘Somewhat’ only — because I was delighted to see oodles of other great stuff! Dunno how MOLAA decides to publicize one thing and not another — I’ll show you what I mean.

There’re Ramiro Gómez Jr.’s showy magazine photos cleverly brought up to the reality by the insertion of the workers (hover over or tap photos for titles) …

Lorena Waiting for Her Check by Ramiro Gómez Jr.
Martin Sweeping by Ramiro Gómez Jr.
Delia Preparing Dinner by Ramiro Gómez Jr.
Fernando and the Pool by Ramiro Gómez Jr.
Camila Cleaning by Ramiro Gómez Jr.

There’s historical political art …

Sun Mad by Ester Hernandez
Sun Mad by Ester Hernandez

There’s classically gorgeous stuff …

Precisely Here by Javier Marín
Precisely Here by Javier Marín

And then there’s Luis Tapia’s work! How can it be that he’s not given a dedicated calendar event listing when MOLAA’s dedicated an entire room to his work?! Is MOLAA afraid that this little museum, so beloved by all sorts of people, will get all the more popular and they won’t be able to accommodate everyone? (Hover over or tap pix to see titles.)

Barrío Barbie by Luis Tapia
Camino de Sueños by Luis Tapia
Three Graces by Luis Tapia
Cruising Hollywood: Homage to Magu by Luis Tapia
Corazon Negro by Luis Tapia (front)
Corazon Negro by Luis Tapia (back)
Chuy con su Carga by Luis Tapia
Abuela by Luis Tapia (front)
Abuela by Luis Tapia (back)
Pachuco Way by Luis Tapia

Who’s your favorite artist?

Guest Blog Post: “My Gender Creative Son’s First Pride,” in Lori Duron’s exact words

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We’re never too young to be brave …

Raising My Rainbow

Just a boy and his two best girl friends marching at Pride.

“That was one of the best days of my life. Thank you so much for taking me,” C.J. said as Matt tucked him into bed for the night.

Most kids say that to their parents after a day at an amusement park. Not our kid. He said it after we took him to his first Pride.

On Wednesday, we told C.J. that we were taking him to the local Pride on Saturday. His level of excitement was unprecedented. He’d seen pictures of Pride and, with all the visual rainbow-ness, he’d been asking to go for the last year.

I told him that we needed to make signs. We did need signs, but mostly it was a project to keep him busy for a few summer hours.

C.J’s sign

Matt’s sign

My sign

The night before Pride, C.J. laid…

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Happiness Between Tails is Now Multilingual Thanks to Google Translate by da-AL

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Picture of Google Translate button on Happiness Between Tails

Click the Translate Here dropdown menu at the top of the right-hand column of my blog — and voila! — Each post instantly translates into most 90+ languages!

About the only language it won’t translate into is dog language — but my furry loved ones speak mostly with their eyes and tails anyway.

Thank you, blogger Anita, for showing me how to do it with just three clicks!

For WordPress.com

  1. Go to Appearance
  2. Then Widgets
  3. Then add GoogleTranslate to your site.