Happy New Year Everyone!

Prospero Año Nuevo!

Thanks for all the support.

Be safe, have fun, and look for more posts on January 1 or 2, depending on how badly my head hurts.

Todos Santos Film Festival Update

This is just in!

The Todos Santos Film Festival has had a change of dates. According once again to Nanette Hayles, the new confirmed dates are February 28,29 and March 1 and 2. The festival will open with a locally produced film from the school children of Elias Calles (under the direction and assistance of Sergio Morkin, an Argentinian documentary filmmaker.)  On each of the other three days, two films will be presented from the SF festival.  This year local Baja Sur films will be highlighted including one on the Yucatan that was previously aired on the Discover Channel and from the University in La Paz BCS.

Nanette also adds that the films shown here will be the best of the Latin films from the Latino Film Festival in San Francisco, courtesy of Sylvia Perel the director of the SF festival. She and her husband Leonardo reside part time in the Todos Santos area.

December/January 2007/2008 El Calendario de Todos Santos Is Online

That about sums it up, the new issue is online here:

El Calendario de Todos Santos Dec/Jan 2007-2008 Issue

Fiestas Tradicionales – October 13 The Midway

Now for something much lighter in tone and spirit. Every child in Todos Santos looks eagerly forward to this fiesta for a chance to be in the Midway. Rides! Games! Thrills! Chills! Spills!

The Ferris Wheel, la rueda de la fortuna.

We are in Mexico. Prices in pesos.

Useless plastic junk for sale and lots of it.

The midway in its glory.

Bumper cars! Carros chocones!

Fiestas Tradicionales – October 13 Cock Fights

I had always wanted to check out the cock fights but they were held at night and didn’t allow flash photography so I usually missed them. This year the adverts said they would begin at 4 pm so I showed up, cameras at the ready only to find a nearly empty auditorium.

I waited around and made some new friends.

And I waited some more…

Various people arrived with their fighting birds and all had to be weighed in.

The police arrived, automatic weapons and all, and even they were bored.

Too many beers, too long a wait.

The sun began to set, the lights came on, and the activity increased.

Note the roulette wheel. Between bouts, they sell tickets for the wheel and then spin it and pay the winner 10 – 1. However there are 12 numbers so they make 2 ticket sales each spin of the wheel.

It’s dark now. They fooled me again. Four hours after I arrived, the scene was just about set to do battle.

Sergio and Santos were there filming the action.

Loading the bird up with razor spurs. The scenes after this are not for the squeamish nor for animal activists.

Blood is spilled. One cock wins, the other dies.

Nice little birdie!

The photography part was difficult. The lights were not bright and flash was not allowed. Next time I will know better.

Baby It’s Cold Out There (At Night)

I believe I failed to mention that after it stopped raining, Monday Dec. 10, the temperature in my trailer (minimal insulation) was 49F at 7 am Tuesday morning. This morning, Wednesday, it was 50F. It seems the winter weather patterns have arrived a bit early this year but at least good surf swells have come with it. BTW 49F is very chilly with the humidity right now. The cold goes right to your bones.

Todos Santos Film Festival

According to Nanette Hayles, the Film Festival will be held March 5-8, 2008. That’s all I know.

Posting Videos

I am looking into how I can post videos on the blog, even while it is hosted at wordpress.com – I have some vids of surfing on December 6 (the big day) and of the Cabo 500 road race that blew through Todos Santos on the morning of December 9. Hopefully I will find a graceful solution soon.

More Rain And One Incredible Video

Yes, it rained again. It sprinkled a bit on Sunday, which was a cloudy overcast day from the beginning. Then late Sunday night it began to rain in earnest and just kept raining, all the way into Monday. The roads (mostly dirt) had just mostly dried up from the previous rains nearly two weeks ago. The roads are all muddy again, full of pot holes and ridges. I had laundry on the line and it got soaked, no excuse me, it is now “rain water fresh!” This is not normal late fall weather. But we need the rain so it’s all good, right?

Not global warming, rather global climactic change!

I found a link to this video (Mountain Wingsuit) on a photography blog that I visit regularly. It is so incredible, I just had to share it:

http://www.biertijd.com/mediaplayer/?itemid=4262

Ezio Colombo Receives Cooking Honor

Our very own Ezio Colombo of Café Santa Fé recently was selected to submit a recipe for the newest edition of “La Cuchara de Plata”, the bible of Italian cooking. The publishers in Barcelona called Ezio and sweet talked him into submitting a dinner plan with recipes.

Ezio’s dinner starts with swordfish carpaccio, then lobster ravioli, rabbit in a two-wine sauce and finally a mango sorbet. Ezio was the only Baja chef to be included and only one other chef from Mexico can be found in the current edition. In total, 15 international chefs participated and shared their preparation of classic and modern Italian dishes.

Ezio Colombo shares a moment at the restaurant.