This year Halloween fell on a weekend! Yeah yeah baby it’s not a party until you go all out and paint yo face. Shout out to my hommie Little Alex for rock’n the crews make-up this year. Good times:)

Nail action and all…

Who’s next?

References…

Alex Medussa and her Boo!

Take a guess…

It’s just me and my 99 cent roses…

Alex Medussa, Veedel Castro, and Tooflowers

Dope:) Thanks for the make-up Alex!!!

Ready to get our creepy freaky night on!

Ricardo’s Halloween house jam with DJ itunes!

Vinyl lives 4ever…

Videl Castro what’s the status?

Ricardo Cortes artwork on walls. Awesome.

The freaks come out at night.

Dress up, paint your face, have fun. Happy Halloween!!!

Till next year!

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Finally going through all the messages I missed while I was away. Shout out to my homegirl Amanda Lopez for sending me the exclusive Girls Got Kicks flick she took at the Secret Garden last summer. Niceeeeee! I can’t believe it’s been a year since I linked up with Lori and Amanda over some rice and beans in bushwick to discuss their book project. I hope the info I was able to share in making their own book was helpful. So proud of you ladies!!! Can’t wait till it drops. Pictures are looking tiggggght….

Happy to have been part of the FSF fam from the jump. Logo design by yours truly:) For more info on the project and to see what the ladies with kicks are up to worldwide log in to Female Sneaker Fiend

Summer photoshoot steelo…

Artist, breaker, Younity artist Jen One!

Miss lady GDK! Mama Clothing/ M.I.S.S

Check out more flicks, and the full interview on SNEAKER FREAKER for all details of this book! It’s gonna kicks ass. Shout out to all the fly ladies blessing rock’n the photos, I’m very proud to see you all continue to make moves and stay true:)

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As I approached the third and final stage of my trip I  finally decided on the message I wanted to convey on my last piece. I’m big on experiences. They help guide you throughout your life. Giving you signs as you build up your intuition. Each moment and person I come in contact with is a chance to understand the world and help create the necessary links. It’s all about the bigger picture,  if you believe it to be so. I was extremely happy that my ecua friends have become full on organizers and wonderful human beings. I enjoyed watching them put together an arts and culture event that is sure to grow and inspire their community year after year. All for the love of Hip Hop, and for the love of their pueblo. I was also particularly proud of the chance I had to show my grams and gramps what this is all about! Especially since they had the opportunity to see it come full circle in the land of their ancestors. So even though things got a little crazy in the motherland the day hate erupted like a volcano the opportunity to look at it’s ugly face proved yet again to all who was watching that it solved nothing. Disappointed and embarrassed one can only learn and change which is always good. The only revolution I believe in is LOVE & PEACE!

So the “peace” piece begins. The wall is located in Quito on a street called La Patagonia. The house where my mother was raised, and where I grew up before coming to the states. I decided to go full on latex this time because I can’t stand the spray paint. In the end though using brushes for a large mural was not as fun. ha! It was a nice try, but I’m an aerosol lover.

Ohhhh shit….what you know about librillo? This lady has been feeding the neighborhood her infamous librillo dish for 35+ years! Sweet little lady she allowed me to photograph her as she told her story. She sells about 15 dishes of this stuff in one trip to the patagonia and is done with her day and her living off this stuff. Librillo with potatoes and aji is one of  my favorite native ecuadorian soup dishes:)

Papito knows wasup. He needed to get the energy necessary to get his day on the roof started…

He’s always up to something en la casa del sur. He’s gotta be the ultimate bob the builder type of pop…lol

This street hasn’t changed in all 25+ years. My cousin Nancy and I played as little pasposita girls here just like all them little kids that were running up, and down the block while I was painting. While on a break and snacking on mandarins I began to think about how good these little kids had it. 5-6 years old playing and running around without any parent supervision. Happy and free. Parents in the states leash their kids up at that age just to walk on the streets! It’s a funny thing thing when you stop to notice these things…

after all the thinking I was doing about what life is like en el sur, I took a nap under the sun while my grandma knitted her little doily’s. She’s so cute!

Once my grandpa finished fixing the roof he came down to help me prep the old wall I did back in…2005! whoa that was a while ago…

Then it was hours and hours of brush work…

with a handmade ladder! made by gramps…

11am, 12pm, 1pm, 2pm, 3pm…raindrops…

The hommies Diego and Disfraz who live near by came through to show some love before the rain rushed us out. Shout out to Barrio 593 for the 2 page interview and poster! The mag looks dope…and so does the design to their latest album release. I’m so proud of ya!!!

MUGRE SUR!

That rain turned into Graniso! I haven’t seen ice rain fall since I was like 6. I wish I would have had a cup I would have ate them little ice pebbles up!

but I settled for a rainy day of humitas con cafe and some some choclo con queso y avas! OMG…so good…native food is sooooOooooo gooood….

Thankfully one day before my flight back to NY and the day after all the madness the country went through I was able to get most of the piece done. Whew…and so it is…
“El Pueblo De La Paz” by Toofly. Quito, Ecuador 2010

When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” – Jimi Hendrix

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Running a little behind on my posts. In the middle of a move to a new apt. Finally got a chance to go through the rest of my flicks and the yummyest part of my trip. After I got my ecua grub on, and painted with the hommies, my grandparents and I hit the road to one of my favorite places, Baños. This little town is known for it’s hot & cold volcanic thermal springs which is said to be good for your health. Baños is about 3-4 hrs from Quito and makes a great road trip. The views are amazing!

Sweet treat. Got to see the Cotopaxi volcano on our way down the road once the clouds cleared up…

The roads were a bit screwed up this time round due to an increase in gringo eco-tourism. Took a few bumpy side roads as we approached the village…

This cow artist dude is everywhere…He should make stickers…

I did some research before my trip and found a lovely little hotel called LA LUNA RUNTUN located way up in the mountains overlooking Baños. The view is priceless! I decided this will be my travel gift to my Papitos…

I love small hotels. They are so much cozier…

Room 56 was perfect. Just how I like it, and no TV! If you come here be prepared to hang with nature, and simplicity…

I could so live here…or a place like this…far far away from the city…

At last made it to PARDISE! The volcanic pools overlooking the top of the mountains were beautiful…

Pure bliss…

My Papitos loved it. Spending time with them is always a sweet old time. They love taking trips, and discovering new places too. These two are down for everything! Lucky for them they can come here whenever they want…

A little peace and quiet helps clear the mind…

and them little piña coladas in the bubbly hot tub make you silly!

Good times!

After some long hours in the pool, we took the party to the Cafe del Cielo for some crepes and cafesito. Yum.

The view here was nice too. Beautiful day, beautiful night…

Stole this flick from the website cuz after dinner at the Runtun restaurant which was delicious… I took a nap, and didn’t wake up;( Lol! I felt so relaxed from the warm water I passed out as soon as I hit the pillow. Of course I missed the pool night shots I wanted so bad…

GOOD MORNING LUNA RUNTUN! After some cafesito con pan we were ready to hit the road again…

We vid our farewells to the volcanic pools we enjoyed so much, and promised to return to this beautiful place with the rest of the familia…

Down the swirly roads of the mountain we went…and with each passing hour the roads got hotter and hotter as we got deeper and deeper into the amazon…

It got hot! We had some fried fish with tostones, and then took a walk down the river…

life by the river is freedom at it’s best. The kids were playing and jumping off the rocks. I was clicking away my last shots before my battery gave out…

mama cumita was collecting rocks…

papito was reading the comercio…

and I was just taking it all in. Happiness in the most simplest of forms.

I soon realized that no journey carries one far unless, as it extends into the world around us, it goes an equal distance into the world within.  ~Lillian Smith

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Back to the “land of the free”. Still trying to figure that one out. Until I’m actually living off the land, snacking on mandarins, and napping under the sun I will be happy with just “back to reality”. Which I have no problem with. As long as it runs smooth I’m cool with that. This trip to Ecuador sure was different, and I got to see what life looks like when it’s disorganized and in a state of chaos. Everything in between was gravy during my trip until the police decided to take over the country and protest! WTF? Can you believe they actually kidnapped the president! The police, and I’m sure power tripping goverment haters held him hostage over some decrease in wages and without any proper dialogue to discuss the issue they went ape shit and rebelled. Leaving citizens, and the country in a state of emergency. I had returned from some paseos to the country side to witness the streets in pure chaos, and live minute to minute video of gunshot battles between the military and the cops as they struggled to rescue the president to gain control of the madness. Banks were robbed, shops were vandalized, the airports shut down. It was a sad day for the motherland on September 30th, 2010. I didn’t know whether to laugh at one point, or actually worry about what was happening. Straight up action war movie status for 12hrs. I was unhappy watching the country fall apart. It’s not a good look. Luckily once the president Rafael Correa was safe, and back at the palace to deliver his speech people finally regained consciousness. With the help of powerful words, emotional choke ups, and patria songs the people of Ecuador got busy fixing their mess. I’m just glad it lasted ONE DAY. Whew…as my grandma would say “benidito sea dios”

LA LIBERTAD ESTA EN PELIGRO…

EL PANECILLO, QUITO

Anyway…before all the madness I was able to get some painting done, hang with my fam, and enjoy the beauty and peace I so desperately seek each time I dip out of the rotten apple…

On my way to the location I got a chance to see a bunch of productions with artists from Italy that had visited and a local artist named INFAME…There’s def way more graff /murals this time around…

en camino a la Avenida 6 de Diciembre. I was digging the new color they painted all the streets in…it was giving me cravings for some elado de mango.

As soon as I arrived I linked up with my Ecua hommies from La Communidad Hip Hop Ecuador and Barrio 593 and locked in to paint at the HIP HOP SIN VIOLENCIA event held en el sur de Quito. On top of the little mountain called el Panecillo where I grew up as a little pasposita girl. At 7am the DJ crew was already getting geared up for the street art/hip hop jam. The fellas were carrying over a heavy ass wooden table…I thought to myself…man they need them lightweight folding tables, but then I thought…this is dope. Bring out your momz biuro! Gotta work with what you got…

It was a beautiful morning, quiet, and sunny…fresh day to get started and paint in peace…in a few hours these streets would be full of bikers, artists, kids, and families who come to learn about what the youth with baggy jeans are up to…

Materials are so important. I forgot my mask! Luckily my grandpa had his little rags in the car and I was able to protect myself from the toxic paint fumes of their paint. Seriously I can’t hang with this paint, it makes it extremely hard for me to get shit done properly. Male caps vs Female caps. Argh…luckily one of the fellas had a connector. Saved! I need me a few for the next trip…

I was loving the location of the wall….it was a fly spot to paint. Great for photos…

Once the music got set up it was on!!!

Especially when this song came on what! Loved the beat…{ LA NiÑA by Mala Rodriguez }

The rest of the artists began to arrive, each holding a box of paint donated by the Ministerio de Cultura, and UNIFEM the united nations development fund for women.

Got a chance to meet them all and make plans for future trips here with an endless amount of walls and paint as soon as I return. YES!!! That made my day:) Muchas gracias! Estare en contacto con todos ustedes:)

Got a chance to get my photo doc moves on…I’m falling in love with photography more and more these days…

Folks conserve their materials here big time. I assume in all third world countries because of the limited quality in materials and income to purchase the right stuff. They use latex and spray to create most of their pieces…

Love shots with our pueblo people and the youth of today…

Can Ecuador please link up with the Europeans and get some of their paint pleaseeeeeeeeeee….I can’t stress it enough…

Props. They do work it though…I’m spoiled, lol!

The street art/hip hop jam block party, was a success! I’m always happy to see friends, momz, and neighbors come together to develop community events in their own hood with little to no money but full corazon! It’s inspiring…

Why is there always 1% of women repping tho? There’s plenty of space, room, and opportunity for you to shine mis lindas. Step up, rise up. Big ups to the 2 local women who were holding it down for the ladies…

I must say since my last trip the imagery, teqnique and walls have sure improved…

Their stencil artists too…

Semi-finito. Wall was hella big and the street that had shut down from 7am-3pm for bikers, runners, and people who wanted to enjoy their neighborhood strollz was gonna open up again and let hundreds of cars and buses roam through. Sigh…hopefully one day we will have less cars so we can all stop and smell the roses of life!

YO SOY EL SOL…

YO SOY LIBERTAD…

Ecua homegirlz steelo…

Shout out to my hommie Andres “Sapin” for linking me up with Disfraz MC del grupo Mugre Sur y Diego Palacios aka Psicosis who helped to organize this event. I am thankful for the invitation, and was hella lucky I made the trip during these dates. I always have a great time hanging with my ecua peeps, learning from each other, building, and painting under the sun of our beautiful land. Shout out to the women of UNIFEM for the interview and the opportunity to build with you on future events. Also to Jorge Cinesos from the Ministerio de Cultura who is recovering from the gunshot wounds from the riots;( Un abrazo grande a ustedes y a todos los grafiteros/artistas que pude conocer en el tiempo pequeño que tuve esta vez.  Con mucho cariño a todos. Asta el 2011!!!

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