Don Giovanni @ OCPAC

Free tickets to see Mozart's Don Giovanni @ OCPAC? Sure, why not. Something I'll regret for the rest of my life. It was awful, simply awful. Mixing genres and eras in a drab red setting just didn't do it for me. A 1970's Al Pacino/John Travolta inspired Don Giovanni, coupled with a 1940's trenchcoated henchman and a Napoleonically dressed murder victim--and this was just the men! The women wore garish colours and seductresses were none too seductive, crossed between Holly Hobby dresses and cabaret fuschia. It was all too much, too Orange County.... There's something to be said for updating a classic, but in this case it was a total failure.

Erika, Josefina & Claudia

Though I've always sought out strong, independant, creative people, this year in particular I realized that a lot of my photos gravitated towards these personalities and more specifically to women. So here are a few of my favorite photos to share....




Erika is one of the most strong-willed people I know. I love the mix of an "oppressed" looking woman according to Western values and the very obvious strength that just emanates from her gaze.

Josefina was my big 2005 Day of the Dead model and it was through photos I took of her that i realized just what a digital camera could do. Here she is gazing out from her home.



Claudia is a flamenco dancer, teacher and artist. She created an experimental flamenco show in Santa Ana back in September and this shot is emblematic of her performances.

Alfonos Maya & Edgar Oceransky @ Calacas 1.27.07

This is the first El Sapo Cancionero show of 2007, so I'm excited that it will take place at the very cool Calacas in Santa Ana. If you haven't gone, go! We bought our Day of the Dead supplies there in October and it's a great place to find an original gift for a good friend. But if you happen to like trova music, come by on the 27th to hear Alfonso Maya--he's very cool and he's been coming to southern California for several years now.

2007........time for a resolution

I've realized that the movies, shows, museums, siteseeing, eating & general hanging out I do in LA has not made it to the blog unfortunately. So my resolution is to be good about posting more regularly and not being a flake.

Why am I doing this mid-January? Well, this weekend we celebrated Orthodox New Year, Serbian/Mexican/LA style. So I'm right on time.....

We were in Europe for the month of November, and I'll post some fotos soon.

Some of my favorite things of 2006

Experience/Theater/Concerts/Shows
Taking the Jesus Pull @ King King in Hollywood--it absolutely blew me away
Day of the Dead @ Cultural Stage of Art in Santa Ana
Slava's Snow Show @ UCLA
The Black Rider @ the Ahmanson
MamaCoatl at Solart (& organized by yours truly)
Tania Libertad at the Orange County Performing Arts Center
Manu Chao in San Diego
American Ballet Theater @ Orange County Performing Arts Center

Also, I got more serious about digital photography so I'll start posting more of my favorite things. Later.....

Griffith Park & Observatory

Hiking in Griffith Park

It was a fabulous way to spend Christmas Day. The sky was clear and you could see LAX, Santa Monica, Pasadena & more. So coming back a few weeks later to check out the newly refurbished observatory was a treat.