Reporting from Panama

Its 6am as I write this from Portobelo, Panama and I am sitting out by the water behind the house. It’s an amazing site and it’s so peaceful and quiet. Portobelo has become a part of me now and I am truly going to miss this place. It has been my home for the past 2 weeks and I have created a space here in which I have lived, breathed, and thoroughly enjoyed. As I type to you, tears are rolling down my face for the memories of this place make my soul happy and I feel like a new person. There is a young man here Angelo, his father left his mom when he was 6 months old, when interviewing him, Angelo said to me, “Marcus, when was the last time you saw you dad?” I responded, “It’s been a very long time.” He said, “Well Marcus, I hope he realizes how special you are.” I responded, “Thanks, and I hope your dad realizes he is missing on a great life because you’re an Angel.” Now just two days ago I had to beat his butt for not listening, but this kid reminds me of myself when I was his age. We made a vow to write one another as much as possible and I would like to visit him and have him visit the states.Portobelo reminds me of my home, Halifax, NC, where the people may not have TV, or cars to drive, or running water (I grew up without this for a great portion of my life), but here there is a sense of community, a sense of belonging and greatness. God is present here. You can’t walk just walk to the store and come right back, it takes an hour because you are going to stop and talk to everyone along the way.

The cooks/housestaff here are Dianasessey and Soledad, they are a woman and her daugher-in-law, they are two beautiful spirits. The other morning they taught me how to make this purple salad that has purple cabbage and pineapples in it. Its soooooo good (and I am not a huge salad person). We went into Colon and did some shopping and bought them some gold earrings because neither of them has ever owned a pair of their own and the gold here is cheap. I can’t wait to see their faces when they open the gifts.

On Sunday, I was given a Congo name (which is a tradition here in Portobelo) and my name is Sagano, which means bumblebee. They gave me this name because the people here say I will be on the move from here on out. I am kind of excited. (You will see me with the Congo dancers)

The other artists here are all amazing, Rachel is a sculpture who has lived all around the world and has done some amazing work with the spaces here in Portobelo. Geraldine is a professor of art and she is doing some amazing work with the maps of this town, making them into works of art that are so compelling. Kemi is a poet/chef who is here working in a book of her work. Renee Alexander (who is also a UNC Alum I found out) is writing a novel, she has spent a lot of time here, as a Fulbright scholar and her dissertation is on the people here. Queen Meccasia (that’s her real name) is an African dancer who I am doing some work with about fatherhood. We are performing our piece today to be recorded for a travel station. Howard is a playwright who is writing a play about a black comic superhero. And Oronike is writing a novel as well.

Well, I am going to stop writing now, because I have a few more days to enjoy Panama and then I am back to the states and life there. For now, I want to sit by the water, gather my thoughts, do some writing and begin to say good-bye to the beautiful people of Portobelo.

Sometimes, Key West IS Best ! - A Week on The High Seas With Las Tres Reinas (part I)

I have many circles of friends, kindred spirits that have gathered along the way and I am lucky enough to call sisters or brothers. Las Tres Reinas is a special triangle within one of these circles, comprised of my nearest and dearest friends; Queen Melila, who I met in college, and one of hers, Queen Oneca. It’s a beautiful thing when worlds come together seamlessly and we get along famously! Together, we planned our 2nd Carnival cruise for the end of August, 2008 to celebrate Melila’s 30th birthday in September.

Day1

We set sail on a hazy Sunday afternoon from Tampa’s port, originally headed for Grand Cayman. However, due to Hurricane Gustav’s activity in the Western Caribbean and Hannah’s antics in the east, they decided to redirect us to…Key West. Can’t say I was thrilled, since I’ve already passed through there once and more importantly, it is still on American soil, something we all were trying to escape. Nevertheless, a hurricane is not to be messed with and we were all glad the trip hadn’t been canceled.

Sunday afternoon and early evening was spent getting accustomed to the rocking motion, making last minute phone calls, changing our clothes, and dining at the late seating (8.15pm). We had a few drinks and checked out the jazz club (Satchmo’s) featuring a live funk band of mixed Asian ethnic descent. They were pretty good, especially their sassy and confident female lead singer.  They ended up holding us down most of the week, although I honestly don’t know how they can sing “We Are Family” as many times as they did without starting to pull out their hair or at least moon the audience. True professionalism… Read more

Roscoe’s House Keeps on Cooking

It’s like putting the best part of a Sunday morning breakfast and a Sunday afternoon picnic together on one plate. The last time I was in LA at Roscoe’s House of Chicken & Waffles, I was a pescetarian, and let me tell you that fried fish and waffles just don’t taste so great together.  But chicken, well that’s just downright delicious and I couldn’t wait to taste theirs.

Trying to beat the Sunday church crowd, I treated my family to brunch at the Roscoe’s in West Hollywood around 12.30pm. No reservations are accepted, but they do have seats, so we waited outside, in a half-standing, half-seated line for at least 20 minutes.  We all should have been doing jumping jacks and push-ups to preempt the calorie attack we were in for.

Inside, the restaurant was cozy, the music was pumping, and people were having a good time. The waiter took a little longer than expected.  He actually skipped us and took another table’s order before ours. It could have been a race thing, but we didn’t let it bother us. We were too focused on the food.

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Hot Wheels

Looking for a cheap way to travel? If you’ve already realized renting a car is the least expensive and most efficient option, you might be able to save yourself extra money by NOT renting a car from the airport.   I’m talking discounts greater than 50%.Airports are easy to get to and around, but they are also costly. Car rental companies charge additional “Airport Service Fees” of around $10-15, to say nothing of how much it costs you to get there.   At the airport, the companies are all competing with one another and with such high consumer demand, they can all pretty much agree to charge the same high prices. Off-site rental companies are looking to do business and might have a special discount in addition to much lower standard rates.

For a weekend rental (Noon Friday-Monday) of the same Standard car, at the same company in the New York City area, here are a few calculations… Read more

Do you like Merengue?

This is the question the tall manager at a local shoe store asks as I try on a pair of wedges. “You must let me take you out to dance tonight. You will love it. I will come get you at 8 o’clock.”  Surprised by his forwardness, I giggle off his advance with my friends and ask him about the local nightlife in Santo Domingo.

Merengue, the national dance of the Dominican Republic is played in clubs and bars throughout the island. Young and old will grab a partner to swing and show their fancy foot work. Though Ruben, our friendly manager’s offer was tempting, we decided to venture on our own to find out what Santo Domingo had to offer.

After dinner at El Meson de la Cava, we hoped to find a fun place to dance outside of the colonial zone where we were staying. After driving to many different dance clubs that were closed or looked a little shady, we finally ended up at Copa which is connected to the Hotel Melia. As we entered the club through a side entrance of the huge hotel property, we looked around at the empty dance floor and few occupied tables and chairs and we quickly began to feel disappointed. It seemed as though we had not found a fun night spot. We found a few seats at a round high table and were quickly greeted by a very friendly server. We decided to suck it up and order drinks. The DJ was playing a great mix of music, the drinks were great, and overall the atmosphere was nice even if it was empty…silly girls. This soon changed! Read more

The New Shockoe Bottom

I remember growing up in Shockoe Bottom, located east of downtown along the James River, in my hometown of Richmond, VA.  Before the millennium ages, Shockoe Bottom was the more industrial part of Richmond, where many goods were loaded and unloaded.  Apart from the industrial feel, for me, Shockoe Bottom was like a gregarious countryside Caribbean Island.  Within a five block radius you were surrounded by several small family owned businesses and the largest Farmer’s Market.  There would even be, on rare occasions, a man on a mule or tugging a cow, passing through.  The people of Shockoe Bottom were a community of friends, whom bonded well and supported each other’s businesses. And I remember my Dad’s business, Pacific Seafood Market, located at 19 18^th St. 

 

On a recent trip home (to lend a hand in my mom’s latest entrepreneurial venture) my burning desire led me to revisit Shockoe Bottom, the community which felt like immediate family during my adolescent days.  It’s been over 17 years, since my Daddy, sold his Seafood Market, and that was probably the last time I visited the neighborhood and stepped foot into the market, and boy has a lot changed.

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