Tchauzinho querido...

When I arrived to mexico, the first familiar face I saw was him.. Filipe, who had arrived only 3 weeks before to Mexico city, and who would be my mate for trips, cinema, parties, and much more.

Yesterday in the airport, it was not easy to let you go, and even if it sounds like cliche, there is a big part of you with me (and it weights about 30 kilos!!!!) :) :)

I will treasure all the time we spent together my dear, I know life will put us together again in the same land, I wish you all the best, and be sure that I will miss you tons!
beijao enoooooorme!!!

The earth is moving... my first earthquake!

well.. I actually did not feel it, but while i was sleeping, I heard someone screaming downstairs: EVERYBODY LEAVE THE HOUSE!!!! so I had to wake up, since it was dark outside the window I only could see a shadow of someone running to the garage door, and I thought Oh sh.. we are being assalted!!! (again!! since I was already assalted here in Mexico, just one block from my house!)
I woke up my roomie and we went to meet the others, finding out that what really attacked us was a 6.3 earthquake that lasted 30 seconds but that thanks God it did not make major damages however it was enough to make people go to the streets in Pijama at midnight!
After the earthquake there were about 9 more, with a smaller intensity, and unfortunately I think I will have some more, since Mexico is very susceptible to this kind of incidents, however I only pray they are not as strong as the one in 85 that almost destroyed the city (high buildings, old houses, and sadly many people)... especially when they say that these events tend to be repeated every 20 years... (so.. maybe it is about time...)
Anyways, this is my quick update, I'm fine, happy, working, and living... the earth keeps on moving!

Otro triunfo para Betty...

this post goes in Spanish for my colombian fellows!

En una noche en que se enfrentaba la industria del cine mexicano (que vive uno de sus mejores momentos) y la cultura telenovelistica tan caracteristica de Mexico pero esta vez con un fuerte componente colombiano, Betty la fea, o mejor La fea mas Bella acaparó la atención de todo Mexico.

Mientras los directores, actores, guionistas y fotógrafos mexicanos nominados al Oscar vivían una de las experiencias más importantes de su vida, al ser protagonistas de la 79 edición de la entrega del premio más famoso del cine, en México la dos televisoras más importantes peleaban por ganar la audiencia.

Así, Televisión Azteca apostó a la transmisión en vivo de la ceremonia de premiación del Oscar, mientras que Televisa, en un hecho inédito en la historia de la televisión nacional, programó en domingo y en el mismo horario (19:00 horas) el final de la telenovela La fea más bella, que protagonizaron Angélica Vale y Jaime Camil, y que la población mexicana siguió fielmente desde hace meses.

El final de la telenovela La fea más bella acaparó la preferencia de los televidentes la noche del domingo, pues superó al programa competidor, la 79 entrega de los Oscares, por 33.5 unidades de rating, llegando a su punto más alto de audiencia a las 9:15, cuando tenían 48 puntos de rating y 67 puntos de share, es decir, en algún momento de la noche, 67 de cada 100 televisores encendidos estaban monitoreando el final de La fea.

Marca un hito...

• La fea más bella duró trece meses y se convirtió en la telenovela de más altos ratings en los últimos años


• Cinco veces fue cambiada de horario debido a su creciente sintonía


• Es la única novela que ha terminado en domingo


• Nunca antes el final de una telenovela había durado tres horas y media

Candelaria's day

Here I am again discovering new things from Mexico, today I was surprised with the announcement that we would have TAMALES sponsored by AAB (my bank) in the cafeteria... the reason?? Today was the dia de la candelaria, and to celebrate it Mexicans eat Tamales and Atole, two very "typical" mexican foods.

Well, to my surprise Tamal is just what we call in Colombia "BOLLO" some corn based stuff that is wrapped in Corn leaves. Of course the Mexican ones had chili and Mole, which means they were HOT!!!

What is this tradition about?? well I have to go back to January 6, el dia de Reyes (the three kings or three wise men), a day when children get gifts from these kings (again!!! since most of them also received gifts in xmas from santa!).

In the afternoon, family and friends gather to share the "Rosca de Reyes" , which is a traditional wreath-shaped bread that is made only during the first days of January. On that day we had Rosca de Reyes at work offered by the bank, and then at home offered by AIESEC members :)

The Rosca is served with chocolate caliente (hot chocolate), and tamales. Hidden inside this delicious rosca, are several small figurines, of Baby Jesus. Each person cuts a slice of the rosca, and whoever gets the baby figurine has to invite everyone present to a new party on February 2, Candelaria day.

On February second, Candelaria day, the many Baby Jesus figurines are taken from the nativity scene to the church to be blessed. Practically all the markets will restore, paint and dress these dolls for the occasion. This year the Catholic church asked mexicans not to dress baby Jesus with Charro or Soccer player dress since according to them the image was not a toy and respect should be showed!

Apparently, this particular tradition comes from the Mexicas (an acient indigeneous grou) and it was "catholized" after the colonization, for Mexicas the 2nd of Feb was the first day of the month and the day when they honored the Tlaloques, representants of the Rain god, Tláloc. This day they used to sacrify children that they dressed with special outfits in order to pray for good crops.

SOCCER IN MEXICO

Just like in Colombia or Brazil, Soccer is like the national sport here in Mexico... so I was very curious about going to my first game.
I had to admit that the experience was very different here in Mexico, as you see in the pic, games are one of those activities to attend in FAMILY, yes, they take all the gang to the stadium, dressed with the colors of their favourite team, they eat tacos, tortas, carrots with chile (hot!), quesadillas and all mexican typical fast food available...
The game was Cruz Azul vs Pachuca, Cruz Azul is one of the teams from Mexico City, and Pachuca is the team where three colombians are playing, so guess for whom I was cheering?? :)
The game was really nice, it was the first of the season but we had the chance to see 5 good goals, 3 of them made by Cruz Azul which means that Pachuca lost, but I still had a lot of fun!
The weirdest thing of all was the show in the break, we had a group of fighters "luchadores", who played soccer with some random people from the audience, only that the rules of the game were kind of different, allowing all the acrobacies and special moves like "tijera", "salto mortal", to quote a few of the complex fighter moves that we are used to see in cable from MExican TV stations.
I think I will try again this experience, now I'm looking forward to see the CHIVAS of Guadalajara, according to some people, the best team in this country... I'll let you know!

Año Nuevo en Acapulco
I'm one month late with the post but in order to satisfy your curiosity, let me tell you about ACAPULCO!
Getting there took us about 6 hours in car from Mexico, it was sooooo nice to see the sea again and such a relaxed/informal environment.
As we were driving around the city, I could enjoy the beautiful views of the beach and the bays, mixed with the glamour of sofisticated hotels and houses located around the beach. In fact some famous people in Mexico have huge houses in Acapulco, like Luis Miguel or Thalia for example.

The center of the city has plenty of options for bars, discos, restaurants, making night life very active in this city! Actually more than for having nice beaches Acapulco is nowadays famous for the crazy and wild parties that take place there.


My friends and I stayed in a beach located at 30 mins from the center, it was called Pie de la Cuesta, it was very quiet, taking into account that half of mexico city was in Acapulco, so it was like an oasis in the middle of the madness for new year's eve.

Dos colombianos fueron elegidos entre los líderes jóvenes más destacables del planeta

Se trata de la directora de 'Amigos del Chocó', Catalina Cock, y el codirector del Banco de la República, Juan Mario Laserna, quienes fueron destacados por el Foro Económico Mundial (FEM).
Un total de 25 de jóvenes latinoamericanos han sido incluidos en la lista de 250 "Jóvenes líderes mundiales", difundida hoy por el FEM, en la que se incluyen personalidades de 70 países.

(noticia completa en: ELTIEMPO)

yeah, those are excellent news, I'm sooooooooooo proud of my country and especially of this young woman who is working everyday to make from this world a better place.
Catalina, is an ASHOKA fellow who is tackling the environment issue, with innovative ways to avoid deforastation involving the communities affected. I had the pleasure to meet her last year in our EXPLORA meeting in Colombia, where she was a speaker and shared with us the experience of being a social entrepreneur.
It is hard to put in words how excited I feel with this recognition, and I only hope this can inspire more people to change the world... yeah, I'm still a dreamer, but this kind of people are the ones that feed my dreams and make me think it is possible to reach them.

Xmas in Mexico

My 4th xmas in a row out of town, again a time to realize that friends can be family too (although not replacing them, I missed you guys)

we exchanged gifts, offered food from our countries (Czech Rep, Germany, Colombia, Brazil, Spain, Panama, England, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile and Mexico!).. my speciality this time was turkey with mushrooms and almonds sauce... not typical from Colombia, but I had to do something with the Turkey I got from work (thanks ABN) :) but we also had NATILLA and I tried to offer some buñuelos, but I had to learn that Queso Crema is not a good option for buñuelos :( so we had to pass on buñuelos this time.

XOCHIMILCO

Xochimilco lies 28 km south of Mexico City. With its network of canals and artificial islands, it testifies to the efforts of the Aztec people to build a habitat in the midst of an unfavourable environment (as they did with what today is Mexico City too). Its characteristic urban and rural structures, built since the 16th century and during the colonial period; have been preserved in an exceptional manner.

As usual, Hana and Filipe were part of this journey, so we woke up early in a saturday morning to discover the beauties of Xochimilco.

The whole city, or to be more precise "village", still looks like the colonial times, it is beautiful coloured, the streets are small, and even if it is a touristic city, it keeps the simplicity of mexicas, and it is amazingly cheap!

The main attraction in Xochimilco are the trajineras that is the name they give to the boats that take you around the channels of the city in a very typical mexican style, in fact while you are in your boat you can get a serenata by mariachis, northern bands or instrumental music, you can get mexican food served in your boat, or simply bring from home food and your sound system and start the party in your own boat!!

Acuerdate de Acapulco... Remember Acapulco...


Although I decided it at the very last minute, today I'm heading to Acapulco to spend new year's eve. I'm priviledged I know it and I thank God for it :)
This city has been in my mind for so many years, and I know is the dream of my mom, my cousin ofelia and many more to visit this city, I can't believe that it is actually happening, and I promisse to enjoy this trip on your behalf! :)
Hope you celebrate this new year in peace and filled with happiness wherever you are. God bless you and happy new year!!



(pics stolen from Filipe's post) soon my own will come!

Posadas: The mexican way to prepare for xmas!

One of the main traditional events that occur in december here in Mexico is the Posadas. This is something similar to what we do in Colombia (the novenas), as it is an event that takes place everyday since the 16th of december (exactly 9 days before xmas).

Posadas, recall the journey that Jose and Maria did in order to find a place to give birth to Jesus, knocking every possible door to spend the night, they couldn't find any place until some sheepers gave them refuge.

And as religious as it can be, Posadas are actually very fun; basically families, friends and neighbors get together in a house, and traditional food are served ( mexican tamales), and when everybody has arrived they divide in two groups to start the act, one group stays inside the house representing the owners of the house and the other group goes outside to represent jose and maria, they sing some songs (canticos) which main versus says:

"En nombre del cielo os pido posada, pues no puede andar mi esposa amada". In the name of Heaven, I ask thou shelter, since my lovely wife can not walk anymore"

the owners of the house deny shelter for a while (singing other versus) until they finally realize who they are and open the door singing:

"Entren santos peregrinos, peregrinos,reciban este rincón no de esta pobre morada sino de mi corazón". Come in saint peregrines, and accept this corner, not of this poor house, but from my heart.

(if you want to know the complete lyrics click here)

After this ritual, the piñata game starts, it consists of a shaped balloon filled with candies or fruits. In order to open it someone has to blind his/her eyes and try to break the balloon, it usually takes several trials before someone can actually break it and then the party starts (yes alcohol is part of the party!!)

My second posada in Mexico was organized by the bank I work for, as part of their CSR activities, they did an alliance with a foundation and sponsor a posada in a foundation for children in risk (abandonned, living with poor families, etc), it is basically a school run by nuns where children live during the week where they recieve education based in moral/religious principles.

So as one of the volunteers from the bank I went there to share some love with these georgeus kids, playing and teaching them a bit about Colombia. Besides playing with piñatas, they recieved some gifts from the bank and were offer a nice lunch!

Although I enjoyed a lot the day, I still think that this kind of activities don't offer a sustainable solution to the issue, as after this day the lives of these children will go back to the "normal" state, I strongly believe that more engagement is needed to actually improve these kids life, and I definetely hope that the bank assumes education (or any relevant topic) as an issue to be tackled and implements a planed and structured way to be a corporate citizen.

Inocents day (our version of April's fool)

In Colombia, and also Mexico, Spain and some other latinamerican countries (spanish speaking), today 28th of december is celebrated the Inocents day, a day where all jokes and pranks are allowed!!!

The way we celebrate it in Colombia, is by making jokes (usually very soft ones) to our family or friends, also the media plays a key role today, as they prepare false news (in newspapers or tv) making fun of celebrities, or making fun of themselves (like a reporter trying to present something and a dog coming to bite him, or the mistakes they do when they are presenting or interviewing someone), so for a country where bad news are the bread of each day, the 28th of december is the day we are waiting the whole year to just smile while seeing the news.

The origins of this day has a lot to do with christian religion, since this day is made to remember the children that were killed by Herodes, so he could get rid of the just born Mesias, Jesus. Although some people say they were thousand of children, some studies reveal that at that time only 800 people lived in Belen, and there were no more than 20 new births by year, so they calculated that taking into account the mortality rate of children under 2 years old, no more than 10 babies were killed, still it is a strong reason to regret their dead.

Well, it is just interesting for me to realize that this humorous celebration is actually based in a very tragic story.

Anyways, if you are in Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina or Spain.. be aware, don't belive in everything you are told (especially surprising news), and don't lend anything to anyone!!! or you might be suprised with the phrase:

"Inocente palomita que te dejaste engañar, sabiendo que en este día nada se puede prestar".
"Inocent peageon who was fooled, knowing that in this day anything can be lent"

Have a fun day!

Becoming a goddess

My first trip in Mexico took me to Teotihuacan, the largest city in the Americas (by the time it was created, hundreds of years ago!)
The name means in Nahuatl: "place of those who have the road of the gods", or according to other versions "the place where men (or women in my case) became god". This name was given by the Mexicas (Aztecas) who discovered the city.
No one knows when it was created (But they suppose it was by the 800s BC), nor its original name, and neither why this city was abandoned, but what is known is that it is the oldest and most majestous pre-hispanic city.
The biggest attractions in Teotihuacan are the "pyramid of the sun" and "pyramid of the moon" which were the center for worshiping gods at that time. About 250 stairs took us (Hanna my czech roomate, and Filipe) to the top of the sun, and although we got there without breath we enjoyed the view and the energy that this place gives you.

After catching the breath again we went down and got ready to start our new mission, going to the moon!!

Although is not as high as the sun, the moon has an amazing view of the Avenue of the Dead, named like that by the Aztecas as they thought that the platforms located there were tombs, but now it is known that they were ceremonial platforms instead.

However, my non-existent athletic condition, or simply laziness stop me from going to the top of the moon; I was already happy making it to the sun, so i decided to stay in the middle of the way contemplating the view and reflecting about the sacrifices humans have done since ever to reach salvation.

It was a fun trip, thanks to Gerardo and Lidia, mexican friends, who were amazing hosts and taugh us a lot about Mexico's history!

Learn more about Teotihuacan, in english or spanish

Crossing paths...
Most of you might have faced a situation when you say good bye to one great friend keeping the hope that God or life put that person in your path again... well, Mexico seems to be a country where I will see that happening.
Some very special "reencuentros" have occured, and knowing that many more are about to come, makes me very very happy, here some of them:
Elizabeth Munive, "lizmy", 5 years ago she came here as a trainee from my LC (uninorte) at the time I was LCVP X, well she not only had an amazing traineeship, but also got a scholarship and did her masters in one of the best universities in Mexico, she just got her mexican citizenship and will be staying a long period here in DF.
Jonathan Cardoso, akas "Jona", this mexican charro was part of my OC at AXLDS 2002 (in Cartagena, Colombia), we met couple of times more at international conferences, and finally I see him again, now he is a responsible married man, with an cute argentinean wife and a successful and entrepreneur business man. I even stayed with them during my first days in DF, and had the chance to catch up with them!

Carlos Castillo, "the chamo", although he is not living here I am happy to know that I will be meeting him often here thanks to his job. This was the first of many to come encounters, that will make our friendship bigger and bigger!!!
Filipe Balbi, my loved Filipe, we met in Brazil two 1/2 years back and since then we became very close, he did not only came to pick me at the airport when I arrived here but he has been part of almost every special moment I had had in DF.


I am looking forward to have more shots of "reencuentros", and I hope some of you feel jealous of this people and decide to come and visit me too!!!! :)

first night out

DSC03026
Originally uploaded by johy_81.

During my first weekend, Ana Paulina (my AIESEC buddy) and David (trainee at ABN) took me to San Angel a very nice neighborhood with lots of bars and antros (as they call the discos here).
It was not a typical night, we went to a kind of arabian bar, with this thingy that some people call Hookah, nargile(h), arguile(h), hubble bubble, water-pipe, or even shisha... I enjoyed a non-acolholic night with a drink that had the name of my zodiac sign, with strawberries, banana, and other fruits... if you think this in not unusual well let me tell you something, in this bar 90% of the guys were actually HOT!! and yes, it was still mexico!! :)
hehehehee, well the thing is that no matter how adorable they can be, most of mexican guys don't fit the standards of hot guys (well at least the ones defined by myself, hehe), unless we are talking about some singers or actors that I actually think are chosen from the hospital bed were they are born and directly taken to TELEVISA (the greatest tv broadcast in mexico) or to Universal Music/Sony...
So ladies, it is not true that you can't find the hot love of your life here, so if you come be happy I know exactly where to take you!! :)

ABN building, originally uploaded by johy_81.

After 5 months of waiting I got my visa to work at ABN-AMRO bank (dutch bank), as a business Support, for an area called Transaction Banking, it might sound fancy but what I actually do is being the vicepresident assistant, it is a cool position since I have the opportunity to learn a lot from banking and from my boss (who happens to be Brazilian!) doing a mix of operative and strategic work.

I work in one of the tallest building in the area, exactly in the 23rd floor, from where I have an amazing view of the city, which is reaaaally big almost endless, (comments about the city will come after).

There are three other AIESEC trainees working in the bank, david from USA, Melanie from Germany and Noemi from Venezuela, but we are not the only trainees in the building, in floor 17th and 18th Mc Graw Hill have their headquarters and about 4 AIESEC trainees are working there, so we could say that AIESEC is slowly taking the building :)

The area where the bank is located is called Santa Fe, and it is a brand new neighborhood in DF, it is very fancy and lots of multinationals and big national companies are located here, so the most expensive stores, restaurants, etc., are sorrounding the area, but what it is ironic is that the place used to be a garbage deposit few years back, which have let the annoying legacy of a very bad smell... so it this case, money sucks!

MEXICALAND... MEXICO... MEJICO... my new home

well..It doesn't feel like home yet, but it is a fact that I will be living here for one year so I have to syncronize my mind and be open to feel it like home. I got here 12 days ago, and soon I realized that this will be such a different and open-eyed experience, that for the first time maybe I feel like I really need some back up, angels, friend and everything that God can send me to give me some light. Mexicaland, tierra de Mexicas, on behalf of previous civilizations who habited here centuries ago, and who built the basis of this amazing culture, amazing country... Mexicaland, a new chapter just begins!

new beginning

Teotihuacán 096, originally uploaded by johy_81.

hello all,
due to technical issues with my blog, I will be posting my entries about mexico and this new year here in this blog, my second part of life in motion, be welcomed!