12th October 1492

This date marks the arrival of Christopher Columbus to America.

This huge mural by Tito Salas in Bolivar´s House, in Caracas, Venezuela, is about that historic date.

Colombia for women

Today I was in a special meeting only for women in the Embassy of Colombia. It was nice to see people from different countries and cultures enjoy themselves to the sound of Colombian music and learn how to dance it. 

For lunch we had Ajiaco, the symbolic dish of Bogotá. it’s usually made with chicken and three kinds of potatoes.

Papa criolla (creole potato) and an herb called guascas are the key ingredients in this dish. It is usually served in special occasions and also to foreigners and friends who visit Colombia. It was accompanied by corn, avocado and capers, which give an exquisite taste to the soup. 

It was a great party!







It remindeed me of my holidays in Colombia earlier this year:

Bogotá in 4 days

Art in Bogotá

The Fortifications of Cartagena de Índias

Museum of Modern Art, Cartagena

Cartagena Highlights

Las Colores de Cartagena

Barranquilla

Fashion in Portugal

Portugal is fashionable....but is it leading fashion?

Read The New York Times Style Magazine.

Caracas: o Ávila

      O Ávila de Amália Guerrero

Praça do Comércio

Depois dos 100 Parques Nacionales Más Hermosos Del Mundo foi a vez das 100 Praças, em que Portugal foi contemplado com a Praça do Comércio.

Edição do jornal El Universal

Encanto Europeo para explorar

Portugal

Encanto Europeo para Explorar 

Foi com estes titulos que despertei esta manhã ao ler o El Universal e o El Nacional:

Los Acordes de Lisboa

871º Aniversário de PORTUGAL

No dia 5 de outubro de 1143, com o Tratado de Zamora, resultante da conferência de paz entre D. Afonso Henrique e Afonso VII de Leão e Castela, Portugal é reconhecido como uma monarquia autónoma, abrindo assim o caminho para a sua independência.

VIVA PORTUGAL!

Happy Teacher´s Day

World Teachers' Day is held annually on October 5th since 1994.

Happy Teacher´s Day!

October 4 is World Animal Day

This day was established in 1931 by ecologists in Florence, Italy, and has spread around the world, celebrating not just endangered and rare species, but all kinds of animal life.

October 4 is St Francis of Assis Day, the patron saint of animals.

Tag der Deutschen Einheit

25 Jahre

October 3 is the national day of Germany. It commemorates the anniversary of German reunification.

Although the Berlin Wall came down on 9 November 1989 it was 1 year later the reunification was formally completed, on October 3, 1990. 

The German Ambassador, who is also a musician, presented his guests with a concert perfomed by Venezuelan musicians he met during his assignment in this country and he also played the piano in "Wind of Change" and the flute in "Locomotive Breath". 

(If you have read this till now, don´t miss the lyrics of the song)

Wind of Change is a 1990 ballad written by Klaus Meine, vocalist in the German rock band Scorpions. He inspired himself in the winds of change that spread in Europe after the end of Cold War, the Soviet Union and the Fall of the Berlin Wall. 

Locomotive Breath is a song by the British rock band Jethro Tull. It is notable for its flute solo. It was performed by the ambassador himself who took this opportunity to say goodbye as he is soon moving to another assignment. 

The term "locomotive breath" refers to the fatigue from a steam locomotive. 

I wish the ambassador and his charming wife L “Alles Gut für die Zukunft”

Indonesia national batik day

Today I went to the embassy of Indonesia to commemorate its national batik day. It has been celebrated since 2009 soon after UNESCO inscribed Indonesia batik as an intangible World Heritage for Humanity on Oct. 2, 2009. 

The first book about batik written in Spanish was launched and some designers showed models using batik.

There was also a display of the ambassador´s private collection. It was a memorable evening with typical Indonesian and Venezuelan dances and music.







All the pictures were taken from the net.

Mi compañero de desayuno

A el no le gusta tanto las fotos.

Marvão

Marvão, Portugal is in the list of the 25 Secret European Villages

100 Parques

Nacionales Más Hermosos Del Mundo

A edição de hoje do jornal El Universal trouxe como oferta este livro. Gostei de ver Portugal incluído na lista com a Laurissilva da Madeira, que já mencionei neste blog.

Feira de Arte

Hoje visitei a 23ª feira ibero-americana de arte (25 a 29 setembro). Fiquei muito impressionada com a qualidade de algumas galerias, as quais apresentaram mais o seu rico espólio do que artistas novos. Não foi a primeira vez que visitei esta feira. Lembro-me que havia obras muito caras de artistas consagrados, mas também de outros recentes com preços mais acessíveis. 

Alejandro Otero

Desta vez, ainda perguntei o preço de algumas peças de arte cinética, porém como eram do artista venezuelano Carlos Cruz-Diez (1923), reconhecido internacionalmente, os preços rondavam os 180-190 mil dólares.

Carlos Cruz-Diez

Contudo, obras de outros pintores de renome também estavam presentes como Alejandro Otero, venezuelano (1921-1990), Mateo Manaure, venezuelano (1926), Santiago Cárdenas, colombiano (1937), Fernando de Szyszlo, peruano (1925).

Santiago Cárdenas

Fernando de Szyszlo

Revi Ramón Chirinos (1950), um pintor que vive em Barquisimeto, onde visitei o seu ateliê quando estive naquela cidade em 2006.

Ramón Chirinos

Ina Bainova

Também fiquei a conhecer Ina Bainova, (1938) nascida na Búlgaria e ainda, hoje em dia, a lecionar arte na Venezuela e Reymond Romero (1979).

Veja mais Arte na Venezuela

Todas as imagens foram tiradas da net

Há cidra e sidra

Cidra

Cidra e Sidra são duas palavras homófonas com significados muito diferentes. 

Cidra é uma fruta cítrica, fruto da cidreira, muito usada no preparo do bolo de mel ou de frutas, que se come pelo Natal na ilha da Madeira. Neste caso usa-se depois de cristalizada. Tenho uma receita de pudim de amêndoa que leva cidra. É delicioso, porém é muito difícil prepará-lo em Lisboa por não conseguirmos encontrar aquele ingrediente essencial. 

Felizmente encontrei aqui não só o fruto natural, que cheira um pouco a limão, mas também cristalizado. 

A sidra é uma bebida preparada com sumo fermentado de maçã. Para mim a melhor sidra era preparada no Santo da Serra, Madeira. 

Pode ser natural ou gaseificada, à semelhança dos espumantes. Prefiro tomá-la natural, com açúcar e casca de limão, pois pode ter um sabor demasiado amargo se não adicionarmos açúcar. 

O ano passado bebi  sidra engarrafada, na Finlândia, mas não gostei. O sabor era muito diferente da tradicional sidra  fresca do Santo da Serra.

Fin di Siman na Korsu

Curaçao is an island near the western part of Venezuela, which together with Aruba and Bonaire is part of the Dutch Caribbean (the so called ABC islands). One explanation for the origin of the name Curaçao is that it is derived from the Portuguese word “coração”, which means heart.

Fin di Siman na Korsu is in Papiamentu, the local idiom, a form of Creole that is taught in primary schools, as well as Spanish, English and Dutch. It means “Weekend in Curaçao”.

Queen Emma Bridge

The capital is Wilemstad and the city centre is divided in 2 parts: Otrobanda and Punda. Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge separates the two halves of the city.

Queen Juliana Bridge is the tallest bridge in the Caribbean and from there you have an amazing view of Otrobanda and Punda in one side, and of the industrial area of the other side .

When oil was discovered in Venezuela (Maracaibo) in 1914, the economy of the island changed as Shell built a huge oil refinery which employed around 10 000 people. Curaçao was an ideal site for the refinery- it had an excellent natural harbour that could hold large oil tankers.

The rapid industrialization of Curaçao, based on oil refining, resulted in an urgent need for labour, which the small community could not provide. The Portuguese, mostly from Madeira, were among the immigrant workers who came from the 1920s until the 1950s. A small group managed to stay either at the refinery or in the agricultural sector while others came to join them.

The Portuguese citizens evolved since the 1960s into a group with a strong entrepreneurial spirit, particularly in the supermarket sector. Nowadays there are about 40 different “cultures” in the island.

A special hat used for "culture week". At this time there is a hat competition.





Although the florin is the currency, the dollar is used everywhere and you can even withdraw dollars from the ATM machines.

You can find many different sorts of cactus.

This Divi-Divi tree has been "sitting" for more than 80 years, according to our guide, Mr Eric Sommer

Mt Christoffel, the highest point (375 metres)

The iguana is a typical animal and you can find it easily in the woods. Iguana soup is a delicacy eaten mainly by men: as iguanas have two penises some people think it can improve their sexual performance by eating this soup.

Flamingos can also be found

and many birds...

Main attractions in Curaçao:

Willemstad is included in the Unesco World Heritage.

Floating market

Wedding cake house in the district of Scharloo where the rich Jews lived

Rif Fort was built at the beginning of the 19th century to provide defense for the harbour.

Plantation Houses  (Landhuizen) are historical and cultural characteristics of the island. They date back to the time of slavery (slave trade was officially abolished in 1863). They were the main building of the plantation, where the family of the owner lived. Nowadays they are used for different purposes (restaurants, art galleries, foundations...)

The beaches are quite small compared to the ones in Aruba and are hidden in bays but each one has its own charm.

A touch of Caribbean art by Nena Sanchez

It was indeed a very good "Fin di Siman na Korsu"!!