spanglish

There are two topics I want to quickly mention today. I can’t decide which one is more important, so I’ll start with whatever comes to mind.

When I started writing this blog I was finishing college in Boston, about to graduate with a degree in Graphic Design. I was taking a web design class and we were asked to keep a blog. I thought at the time it was a great idea to also develop my own personal blog and take advantage of it to make it some sort of portfolio/designer showcase. It didn’t end up being a showcase, but more of a vault of me and my inspirations…and lately some happenings in my life. I feel like I’ve, in a way, come to discover my biggest passions in the design world through this blog. However, something that’s been bothering me for a while is that I’ve only written it in English, and I’m a native Spanish speaker. I love my culture, my country, my language and my people, and somehow have missed to show that to the world. One of my greatest characteristics and definition as a person, and I’ve been hiding it all this time. So today is the official day when my blog becomes written in Spanglish!

The second topic, is that I want to take back what I wrote in the last post. As I finished writing it (I was obviously upset with my mother because she didn’t return in time for me to go to the exhibition), she came through the door, put everything aside and offered to take me to it because she knew how much it meant to me. So I want to say, officially, that she is the greatest. Ever. In addition, we went afterwards to one of my favorite restaurants to grab a bite of veggie pizza and a glass of Sangria. It couldn’t have been any better!

Hay dos temas que me gustaría tocar. No puedo decidir cuál es más importante, entonces voy a empezar con lo primero que se me venga a la mente.

Cuando empezé a escribir este blog estaba terminando la universidad en Boston, con un diploma en diseño gráfico. Estaba llevando una clase de diseño de páginas web y nos habían pedido crear un blog semanal. A mi me pareció una excelente idea crear al mismo tiempo un blog donde podía enseñar mi portafolio y a mi persona como profesional y diseñadora. Al final se convirtió más en un tesoro de mis inspiraciones y de mi vida personal, y últimamente de acontecimientos en mi vida. Incluso siento que he llegado a encontrar cuáles son mis pasiones a través de él. Sin embargo, tengo tiempo de estar pensando cómo me molesta que siendo latina, nunca lo he escrito en español. Yo amo mi cultura, mi país, mi idioma y mi gente, y de alguna manera he fallado en enseñarlo eso al mundo. Uno de mis atributos y de cómo yo me defino como persona, y había escogido esconderlo. Así que hoy es el día oficial en que mi blog se empieza a escribir en spanglish!
El segundo tema es que me arrepiento de lo que escribí la última vez. Claramente estaba resentida con mi mamá al escribirlo ya que había llegado tarde y yo no había podido asistir a la exhibición que quería ir. Al terminar de escribir la nota de ese día, ella abrió la puerta de la oficina y no sólo se ofreció a llevarme, sino también a acompañarme, porque ella sabía lo mucho que significaba para mi. Así que quiero decir que verdaderamente es la mejor mamá del mundo. Jamás habida! Y por encima, al terminar la exhibición nos fuimos a comer a uno de mis restaurantes favoritos por un pedazo de pizza vegetariana y una copa de sangría. No pudo haber quedado mejor!

hamburg style

Although the 4th of July is the US's independence, it has widely become an international celebration. I was away in the beach this weekend, where many Americans live near the coast, and the fireworks celebration was greatly anticipated by many. My family is purely Costa Rican (if any, we have some Spanish ancestors from my dad's side of the family), so the 4th of July is just like any other day in the calendar. However, as I have a profound esteem to the US and having lived there for nearly 4 years, I decided to have an unusual dedication to today in my blog.
Hamburgers are known to be a popular food for 'Americans', so I rushed into some quick research. It turns out that the word hamburger comes from the German port of Hamburg. It began in the 17th century, when Russian ships arrived at Hamburg and introduced the steak tartare, which later became known as 'hamburg steak'...and was quickly introduced to the European and New York scenery. In an attempt to attract German (and European) sailors, New Yorkers offered steaks cooked in Hamburg style along the city harbor. The first documented hamburger appeared in the menu of Delmonico's Restaurant in New York in 1826.
All in all...there's always room to learn something new! I wanted to give this brief introduction because I recently discovered the packaging for LT Burger (coincidentally located in New York) done by catchtwentyfour and there's something about that box that makes me want to rush out for a thick Angus burger! Wood type was used for the designs...all in all, an attempt (and to my opinion a glorious success) to bring out the chic of the not-so flattering art of eating a hamburger!

tasting africa

World-renowned Ethiopian chef, Marcus Samuelsson, opened a restaurant and lounge called Merkato 55 in the Manhattan meatpacking district. Not only is he cooking edgy pan-african cuisine, but also delivering it with fine ambiance: pounding drumbeats, eccentric cocktails, silkscreen African arts, and lots and lots of color! The restaurant is named after a famous Ethiopian market, it's described as one that “pivots into a sexy evening for the Marc Jacobs set. It’s Spice Market on the Serengeti”by the Time's Frank Bruni.