Trashumance: thousands of sheep cross downtown Madrid

October 20, 2019

Today a sea of sheep invaded Madrid.

Wherefore art thou, Buffalo Tom?

September 16, 2019 in Spain, Concerts

I've been waiting two decades to see Buffalo Tom in concert ever since I was introduced to them by a former bandmate, who is probably their actual #1 fan. Kitchen Door was the first cover song we ever recorded, on a 4-track tape recorder. The band broke up, we went different ways, but I kept Buffalo Tom in my Walkman, then Discman, then MiniDisc player, then iPod, then iPhone, and now Spotify.

The 7 wonders of the ancient world: Mausoleum at Halicarnassus

April 22, 2019 in History, Turkey

I visited the ruins of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, in Turkey, and the statues which used to be there and are now in the British Museum.

La Tomatina: The Great Spanish Tomato War of 2018

September 03, 2018 in festival, Spain

In the summer, mostly every city, municipality, town, village, you name it, has their “fiestas”, which are celebrations usually in honor of the location’s patron saint. Madrid, for example, celebrates in August 15th with concerts and film showings in open air theaters. Last year I went to the beach in Andalusia and the local fiesta was a carnival, with lots of food and a fashion show. Well, in Buñol, they have a humongous tomato fight in the streets end with red rivers of tomato juice flowing down the gutter in a scene that could easily be used in gory horror flicks.

A Turkish wedding full of joy and emotion

July 02, 2018 in Daily life

Last weekend I was invited to a wedding in the city of Bodrum, Turkey. Okay, I wasn't technically invited, it was Emma and I was tagging along. And I invited my camera.

This was my first time in the country and also my first Turkish style wedding. While it wasn't a conservative traditional Muslim ceremony, it was full of local traditions, which I believe represent modern Turkish customs. It also had so many foreign guests that the whole party was a mixture of everything.

Carrying the weight of tradition in Spain's Holy Week

April 02, 2018 in Culture

Twenty-four-year old welder Antonio Caparrós breaks into tears while he hugs friends and relatives in a storage room with two gigantic, intricate, and beautiful statues and another few dozen sweaty men. He confesses that he has been released from a physical and emotional burden after having carried, along with another 39 men and for nearly five hours, a 1.1 ton statue of a Pieta, the depiction of a dying Jesus Christ in his mother’s arms.

The Buddhist temples of Kyoto are full of cute Japanese kids

March 26, 2018 in History, Culture, Japan

Kyoto is possibly Japan’s most important city historically. It was not only the imperial capital of the country for over a thousand years, but also the birthplace of none other than Super Mario. And Nintendo. Yeah, I like Nintendo.

In 2011 I was in Japan shooting the FIFA World Cup of Clubs, which Barcelona F.C. eventually won. I was on my way from Tokyo to Toyota, where one of the matches took place, and stopped for a day trip on Kyoto.

8 hours in Portugal: a quick visit

February 08, 2018

In between flights from Brazil to Spain I had 8 hours to spend in Lisbon and I wasn't going to spend it all in the airport. I had been to Portugal only once before when I was 5, so it doesn't really count.

We took the bus directly to the Praça do Comércio (Commerce Square), on the margin of the rio Tejo (river Tagus). This place is commonly known as Terreiro do Paço, because it was the location of the Paços da Ribeira, the royal palace of Portugal, home to one of the largest libraries in the world and that burned down after the 1755 earthquake and tsunami. Most documents regarding the discovery of Brazil were lost, as were hundreds of paintings.

Men walk towards the city's main square early morning. In the back dozens of little restaurants that cater to tourists on high season.

Man sits in a restaurant quietly while others shop outside.

Fruit vendor makes jokes and laughs with other villager.

Naxi women sell produce in the village main square.

Baisha village is on the foothills of the Himalayas. In the back is the Snow Jade Dragon Mountain.

As most places in China, grandmothers take care of children while the parents go to bigger cities for better jobs and send money home.

Two Chinese tourists browse souvenir and antique shops in the evening.

Woman carries two buckets of water while two other women, dressed in a more modern fashion, head back to work, most likely at the restaurants close to the frescoes where all the tourists are taken.

Naxi woman walks to work with an empty basket on her back.

Early morning these two vendors get ready to sell their produce.

Bicycles and motorized three-wheelers are the most used means of transportation in Baisha.

A man prepares food for a large group of monks.

Despite being ancient and traditional, electronic rides have arrived in this small town.

Woman waits for customers to sell fruit from her basket.

Group of Naxi women enter a restaurant in the evening.

A bit before sunset, a Naxi woman returns home with a basket full of corn.

Baisha: Life in an ancient Chinese town

June 27, 2017 in China, Daily life

On the foothills of the Himalayas there is this tiny Chinese village called Baisha. It is one of the oldest in the region, having its roots in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD) and home to the Naxi people. With its cobblestone streets, fresh air, and ancient constructions, you can almost feel as a fly on the wall watching this traditional Chinese town.

Gasoline in a bottle and the beach in Cambodia

August 29, 2016 in Daily life, Cambodia

Sihanoukville is a coastal city in Cambodia. It's the third largest after Siem Reap and the capital Phnom Penh. Just like so many other cities in the country, it is full of small villages where people live in wooden shacks. Just beside the road, only a few meters from the beach, I found this group of houses.