We have two daughters living on Manhattan, right in the path of Frankenstorm. After years of living in the Caribbean we have some valuable tips to give them. Though being over-prepared may make them feel stupid, it can also save their lives.
Please share these with your urban loved ones in the path of the Hurricane Sandy.
We have two daughters living on Manhattan, right in the path of Frankenstorm.
After years of living in the Caribbean we have some valuable tips to give them.
Though being over-prepared may make them feel stupid, it can also save their lives.
Please share these with your urban loved ones in the path of the Hurricane Sandy.
1. Fill up your bathtub with water. Water supplies get contaminated with flooding. You will want to bathe and cook. If you don’t have a bathtub, buckets, pots & pans work as well.
2. Buy food. Canned food, canned food, canned food. And get an old fashioned crank can opener!
3. It’s gross, but your toilet will only flush once. Another reason for the hoarded water, you can transfer water from the bathtub to the toilet tank for additional flushes.
4. Get a battery powered flashlight. The electricity could be out. Be prepared for a week of living Amishly.
5.Get a battery powered radio. In the event of a power outage, it’s your link to the world.
6. Get lots of extra batteries.
7. Buy candles. And PLEASE make sure you have something to light them with! Always keep an eye on them, and blow them out when sleeping/leaving the room.
8. Charge your cell phone and laptop before the storm. After the storm use them only as needed. Get your news from the radio and save your power. Texts use less battery than calls.
9. Keep a cash stash in case of extended power outage. ATMs won’t work and credit card machines may not transfer data. Keep your wallet, along with passports and other valuables, in baggies or something waterproof… just in case.
10. Have plenty of bottled water, juices and drinks that don’t need refrigeration on hand.
11. Tweeting out “Buying a bottle of vodka to ride out the storm” may upset your mother.
12. If Mayor Bloomberg says get out of town… GET OUT OF TOWN! Trust him, he knows what he’s doing.
Buenos Aires is a city fueled by meat, and Mataderos is the barrio, or neighborhood, that traditionally supplied that fuel.
To celebrate that tradition and preserve many of the customs of the gauchos, who we would call cowboys, a huge event known as the Feria de Mataderos is held.
Thousands of people come from miles around to enjoy the food, music, crafts, and particularly the feats of skill demonstrated by the gauchos… CONTINUE READING >>
WATCH: Veronica joins in the traditional dances! See some awesome “Race for the Ring” action
Carrera de Sortija, or Race of the Ring, at Feria de Mataderos
Buenos Aires is a city fueled by meat, and Mataderos is the barrio, or neighborhood, that traditionally supplied that fuel.
The name means slaughterhouse.
So to celebrate that tradition and preserve many of the customs of the gauchos, who we would call cowboys, a Sunday afternoon get together has been held every weekend since 1986.
This has grown into a huge event known as the Feria de Mataderos.
Thousands of people come from miles around to enjoy the food, music, crafts, and particularly the feats of skill demonstrated by the gauchos.
As soon as we learned about the fair we knew that we would be joining them.
The buses in Buenos Aires are often highly decorated.
So we hopped on the number 125 bus for a 45 minute ride from our home base at the tango hotel/ school /theater to the outskirts of the Argentine capital.
Even though hardly any tourists make the trip out, a friendly gentleman on the the bus seemed to sense where we were headed and pointed out the stop for us to get off.
Then after walking a few blocks the sound of music and smell of food filled the air.
We began by browsing the rows of vendors selling anything and everything and, of course, cooking meat.
Some char-broiled chorizo caught our eyes and, with sausages in hand, we were fully engaged.
Yes sir, that is what a fair is all about.
At a square where three streets filled with long rows of booths and stands met, a stage served as the focal point for the festivities.
A master of ceremonies made announcements and introductions, and at least half a dozen bands performed through the afternoon and into the evening.
The crowd broke into both impromptu and traditional dances.
At one point one of the participants, in full gaucho garb, snagged Veronica by the arm and suddenly she was whirling around in fine cowgirl style.
Just off the square we found a museum on the history of Mataderos, Museo Criollo de los Corrales.
The displays included photos from the early days of the livestock markets and some household items from long ago, but mostly featured the tools of the trade of the cowboys.
For a minimal fee, about fifty cents if memory serves, we were handed a ticket to view the numerous outfits, saddles, spurs, guns, knives, ropes, wagons, and even a horse in the collection.
And, of course, because we were in Buenos Aires, dancing.
Tile mural artists at work
Even with all of the gaucho culture we had absorbed up to this point, the day’s highlight was still ahead.
We could hardly wait to make our way to the closed-off street where horses and riders were engaged in a competition of speed and precision.
But on our way we got slightly sidetracked.
Somehow we wandered into the candyland section of the fair and it simply wasn’t possible to pass through without having a taste or two.
Among the mountains of chocolate and sugary baked goods something stood out… candied fruit on a stick… with popcorn!
That’s right, strawberries, kiwis, oranges, apples, and bananas skewered, then sugar coated and dipped in popcorn.
Veronica must have died and gone to heaven, because if there’s two things she can’t resist it’s food on-a-stick and popcorn.
When she spotted one with figs we thought we were going to have to call in the paramedics.
Luckily she survived with only minor heart palpitations and we could continue on.
After our snack, it was time for the main attraction, Carrera de Sortija, meaning Race of the Ring.
This traditional gaucho sport is only found in the area around Buenos Aires and on the Mediterranean islands of Menorca and Sardinia.
A small ring, about the size of a wedding band, is suspended about ten feet high between two poles.
The object of the game is to grab that ring, using a pencil sized metal rod, while riding at a full gallop.
Needless to say, accomplishing the task is rare.
We found a spot near the poles to watch and before we knew it horse and rider were thundering toward us at top speed.
As he neared the ring the gaucho stood in his stirrups and reached high with his tiny spear, then seemingly miraculously snatched the ring from the hook, bringing well deserved cheers from the crowd.
Success!
Perhaps he had beginner’s luck, or more likely skill, but it was many more runs before we saw another gaucho celebrate.
Each time we could feel the crowd’s, and our own, excitement rise with the rider as he approached the ring, then deflate with the miss.
But as the competition went on most every gaucho managed at least one successful run.
By the end we had lost track of which gauchos had multiple triumphs, so we couldn’t tell who the winner was, but no one seemed to care too much anyway.
Everyone was more than happy just to have been a part of it.
We felt the same.
So we declared ourselves the winners and set out to find the bus back into the city.
Veronica joins in the traditional dances! See some awesome “Race for the Ring” action… CONTINUE READING >>
The crowd at the Feria de Mataderos broke into both impromptu and traditional dances. At one point one of the participants, in full gaucho garb, snagged Veronica by the arm and suddenly she was whirling around in fine cowgirl style. Much different from the tangos back in town.
The main attraction, Carrera de Sortija, means Race of the Ring. This traditional gaucho sport is only found in the area around Buenos Aires and on the Mediterranean islands of Menorca and Sardinia.
A small ring, about the size of a wedding band, is suspended about ten feet high between two poles.
The object of the game is to grab that ring, using a pencil sized metal rod, while riding at a full gallop.
The Lawn Rangers are a “precision lawn mower drill team” with the motto: You’re only young once, but you can always be immature. We could hardly wait to see… CONTINUE READING >>
In spite of their considerable renown we were unfamiliar with The Lawn Rangers, only having heard that they were a “precision lawn mower drill team” with the motto: You’re only young once, but you can always be immature. We could hardly wait to see them in action.
Founding member Tim Monahan was happy to give us the lowdown on the mower men. The Rangers haven’t missed a Broom Corn Festival Parade since 1980, that’s when they got their name from grand marshal Clayton Moore, TV’s original Lone Ranger.
Since then they have marched in the Holiday Bowl, Fiesta Bowl, the Indianapolis 500, the NFL Hall of Fame Game, and the Chicago St. Patrick’s Day Parades, but perhaps the pinnacle of Ranger performances came in the 2009 Presidential Inaugural Parade.
Honorary member Dave Barry may have summed up their performances best when he said, “What we do is push lawn mowers and carry brooms. At various points along the parade route, we stop and astonish the crowd by performing broom-and-lawn-mower maneuvers with a level of smooth precision that you rarely see outside of train wrecks.”
We made our way to Plaza Dorrego, in the heart of San Telmo, because it was Sunday, and on Sunday the place to be is the Feria de San Telmo… CONTINUE READING >>
The neighborhood of San Telmo Buenos Aires, like most large urban areas, is actually a collection of varied communities, and as we explored many of them we found each offered unique backgrounds.
San Pedro Gonzalez Telmo, named for the patron saint of seafarers, is considered the oldest neighborhood in the city. It is where the first settlement was established by the Spanish explorer Pedro de Mendoza nearly five hundred years ago.
Our modern day exploration found many interesting colonial buildings lining quaint stone streets in what has become the artistic center of town.
We made our way to Plaza Dorrego, in the heart of San Telmo, because it was Sunday, and on Sunday the place to be is the Feria de San Telmo.
Booths sell everything imaginable.
More open-air flea market than fair, this collective sale of antiques, art, clothing, jewelry, food and just about anything else under the sun, has been happening every weekend since 1970.
But it is more than a market, solo guitarists, African drum groups, and a nine piece mini-orchestra of strings, accordions, and even a full sized piano performed along the streets surrounding the plaza.
Wading into the square, we were drawn to a gathering by a crowd and more music, our curiosity led us to a street tango in progress.
A small dance troupe had laid out a wooden dance floor over the ancient cobblestones and was putting on quite a show.
From there we found a woman selling what looked to be empanadas, but she insisted they were something different. A dish unique to Uruguay that had no name.
Nameless or not, we just called it delicious.
Nameless packets of tasty goodness in hand, we continued through the maze of tables, stands, and booths until the sun sank behind the buildings and the vendors began to pack up.
That was our signal to find our way back to the subte, the local name for the subway.
This traditional gaucho sport is only found in the area around Buenos Aires and on the Mediterranean islands of Menorca and 
