Cabaret...

Because words like... Speakeasy, burlesque, bohemian, club soda, lounge, scotch, vaudeville make me smile and fill my soul with nothing but pure naught. And if you asked me to describe myself as a genre my answer to you would be Cabaret. To understand Cabaret you must understand Burlesque since it predates such but in the end Burlesque became Vaudeville to then be recognized as Cabaret in the USA during the 1920's. A mixture of the drama, satire, dance, fire breathing from Vaudeville while containing some of the Burlesque aspects of Europe.

Last night I attended such a show and here are my images...

So there you have it a dose of the wild side. 

From Savannah GA signing off... 

Have a great weekend and please stay sweet.

La Vie Boheme...

There are things that make me really happy some of those things are French. Why the Francophile obsession. The answer is quite simple. I am a brown girl and all the eras in history have sucked for those that are brown. Except one space and time that was grand enough for anyone with enough talent. There was one place in time. One era glamorous and fabulous enough to satisfy my sensibilities regardless of my skin color. The time, space and place would have been Paris. Bohemian 1830-1930's Paris, France. My father fell in love with Paris when he performed and lived there and taught me the lyrics to La Vie En Rose as if it was my national anthem.

Not In Paris. Savannah GA.

A place where I could have been that brown girl sitting in a cafe, writing , while smoking a cigarette. 

A place where my photography could have lifted me regardless of my gender. 

A place where I could have had as many lovers obvious in inspiration to Cuban Spanish Anais Nin.

Not Paris...

And I sit here in front of this laptop while I imagine the cobblestone roads, the cafes, the fashion and the way the sun might set on a rainy afternoon in Paris. I crave the promise of a long gone era as if it wasn't carved out in time yet. I crave it and this is my vehicle... my time machine... my escape.

River Street Savannah GA

And I discuss with passion and intensity every aspect of politics, art and religion with my fellow Bohemians. We drink absinthe and toast with made up poems that are bred out of smoke and foreign languages. Poems so intense and those words were never heard of again. I would have bedded many free of shame. I am the rebel and the outcast. The misfit, outlaw and anarchist... not far fetched from who I've been in decades past.

Not Paris...Forsyth Park.

Like most things, I would have grown tired of it because it is fickle the mind of a time traveling Bohemian. At some point I would have rather been on the island selling alcapurrias by the beach. At some point I would have probably settled for a litter of kids and scrubbing rags by the river. Salted cod fish instead of caviar. Coconut water instead of champagne. That's the beauty of this place and space. The ability to time travel. 

Is there an era in time you wish to have existed? 

Punk Rock Girl...

The beginnings of Punk rock music and the history is often debated.  Maybe because everyone has a different definition to what punk rock is. In the mid 70's punk rock music emerged in New York with bands like The Ramones, Blondie and The Talking Heads. Playing at different venues mostly at the famous CBGB's , a new music phenomenon was born.



Punk Rock music was born out of a need for something and most members of such bands had no musical training and limited skills therefore they would break the rules of music composition. Making Punk rock a music genre without any limits or barriers. Meanwhile across the pond in the UK the economy and the government were not in the state they are today. England's youth were unemployed angry and with loads of time to waste. This is the place were Punk fashion is born and the birthplace of The Sex Pistols.



I was so happy to be able to photograph a Punk concert in my city it was my latest assignment for the local paper.  Why would I be crazy enough to want to be in the middle of a mosh pit?
Well, I too had strong opinions and free time when I was a teen.  Homeless roaming the earth... angry at my makers... at society... at the government... anti anything that was not making me happy. I found a home in Punk rock music. They were screaming my anthem they were the rejected lost youth ... they were those that after the 60's hippies had the guts to scream back at the face of those in power. They We faced each one of our oppressors and made them accountable for their sins... unapologetic and unaware of any consequences we lived.



I made it out of my Punk rock youth era some were not that lucky and are no longer here...
Some have become successful. One of my punk rock friends is a Grammy award winning artist... Another friend of mine from my Punk rock days is an amazing artist and one day books will be written about him and how his art has influenced not only the art world but Latin American artists. Many of the revolutionaries minds today were Punk rockers as kids and for that reason today I celebrate the spirit of the Punk Rock movement... The same movement that taught me strength and boldness. Because it gave me a voice when I needed one because it taught me not to conform and to be a leader not a follower.

Next up... The Russian ballet it's all about balance peeps.



Have an awesome rockin' weekend and please...
Stay sweet!