Trujillo, Peru

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Today we had a day off. We were able to take a tour of the city of Trujillo and see many of the ancient ruins.

We also went out to eat Peruvian food that not only had an ocean view, but a yummy menu. The restaurant is owned by my roommate's, Olga, newphew and is called El Kero. I had the Arroz Con Marisco and went back later that evening for the Cebiche. Both were a delight to eat. The portrait above with the pretty young lady (Ketty A.) with her little boy is one of the owners of the restaurant. If you are in Trujillo, Peru look up the restaurant. It is worth the drive, plus you get a beautiful ocean view. How can you beat that?

In the evening I went out for a quick walk around the plaza. The city is so active at night. There were many musician just playing along the benches that surrounds the plaza. Above is a sweet moment where two young lovers were enjoying the brisk evening when a group of young musicians walked over and started playing some sweet music for the couple.

I enjoy Trujillo. The downtown of the city has a charm to it. The buildings are older, but full of character. It will be on my list of city to come back to for a visit.

Quito, Ecuador

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Day 1

We left Medellin, Columbia and flew into Quito Ecuador. Our agenda for tomorrow is completely full and we'll be meeting with many different sector of commercial businesses in Ecuador. This is the video of the hotel that we are staying in; Hotel Dann Carlton.

Me walking from the lobby to my room at the hotel

Day 2

Red roses from the hotel

Olga S. with Luis F., a young 13 year old boy who works a flower stand in the city

The delegation was so busy in meetings all day both days that we were in Quito that I did not get a chance to see the city. What I did see in Ecuador were amazing flowers. The flower industry in Ecuador is enormous. Olga, my roommate for the trip, and I went out for a walk our last day in Quito in the evening. It was our only and last chance to see the city. The whole town was asleep at 11pm in the evening except for this flower stand which still had the lights on. We went over to talk to some of the security guards and found out that the flower stand was still open. A young 13 year old boy by the name of Luis was managing the stand. He works the stand in the evening and does not go to school. I gave him my business card and I hope he learns to use the internet so that he may see the portrait that I took of him and Olga. Luis was an illustration of a need for education reform. I value education and it is sad to see a young mind with so much potential that won't be embrace an cultivated.

Medellin, Colombia

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From the airplane I was amazed already at how beautiful this city is. It's so green and lush. Medellin was amazing to visit. The images that I am able to share with you does not show you the beauty of the city. Due to the limited time that we had in the city, most of the delegation time spent in the city was for business and we were limited in being able to visit the sights of Medellin. We did take a city tour to visit different section of the city, but I did not bring my camera with me to capture any of the sights that we saw.

I plan to come back to visit the country and especially this city. I would recommend going to the Museo de Antioquia which features the artist Fernando Botero. I would also recommend if you go to the local bar to order the Aguardiente, an anise-flavored alcohol drink that is 60% proof. My last recommendation would be to have the Ajiaco, a tipico Colombian soup.

View from airplane of Medellin

View from my hotel room at the Intercontinental in Medellin

We went to the Santo Domingo Savio to observe the neighborhood as well as see the development and initiative that has been taken to build a stronger community. The Santo Domingo Savio barrio was once considered perhaps the most violent neighborhood in all of Latin America during the 1980s due to the cocaine cartel boss Pablo Escobar. The neighborhood now has a 5 story library that more than 1,000 people use the free computers, children’s play area and adult education classes. The neighborhood has gone through much transition along with the rest of Colombia since President Alvaro Uribe took office in 2002.

Local boys explaining the transition in their neighborhood of Santo DomingoView of Santo Domingo from the "Metro Cable"

Bogotá, Colombia Day 4

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Today we actually had some downtown to relax and see the city of Bogotá. There are so many different section of the city from the historical plaza where the Casa de Narina is to the financial district to the downtown section. The people in Bogota seem very friendly and there are many street vendors offering chips, dried plantain, and other treats throughout the city. The historical section was my favorite district of the city. It was filled with beautiful architectural that had fine detail and an array of texture and color.

Bogota, Columbia, Day 2

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I have not had a chance to visit the actual city nor take any photographs of the city. So instead I posted up a few videos that I captured on my cell phone. Just giving you a little overview of what has been going on. The first video is a room tour of my room at the Windsor House Hotel where I am staying.Sorry about the scary, horror movie breathing. My allergies have been horrific. The second video is just a view of the city of the AmCham building. The last video is a little clip of the reception that the Greater San Jose Hispanic Chamber hosted at the Ambassador resident.

Walking to room in Windsor House Hotel

Overlook of Bogota from the AmCham building

Business Networking at US Ambassador residents in Bogotá.

Delegation with the US Ambassador to Columbia, W. Brownfield, in Bogotá.

The meetings have been well. The Colombians are very friendly and very open to doing businesses with the US. I met with many textile owner and jewelry seller that I am considering using to put together Creative Buzz Kits. I am really excited about these kits and will be hosting a focus group in October to get feedback on what people want to see. I also want to use the textile and stone here in Columbia to create more product lines that incorporates your beautiful portraits into more than just a wall portrait, but a part of your life that you carry with you everyday.

Hopefully we´ll actually see Bogotá tomorrow or Saturday. I will update you if we do.

Hotel Hyatt hosting The Americas Competitiveness Forum

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The Hotel Hyatt has some interesting structural design that I finally went to see today in the evening. The forum has been continuous the whole time so I haven't had a chance to visit Atlanta at all other then the hotel and a mile radius when we walked to Walgreens to pick up some personal items. So rather than photographing Atlanta the city, I photograph inside the hotel we are staying at. The city is very beautiful in the parts that I have seen and I look forward to visiting again in November if I make it out the the business forum that PPA is holding.

Delegation with the United State Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez at a banquet held in the Federal Bank Reserve
Me with United State Secretary of Commerce, Carlos Gutierrez

The Americas Competitiveness Forum

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The second day of the forum. Today the panels that I sat in spoke mainly about how education and entrepreneurship are the main factors that are needed to be competitive. The basic purpose of this forum is to build the connections with representative in both North America as well as Central and South America so that we may work together as a Western Hemisphere to build economic growth as well as be competitive in the market. The images above are from a press conference that we, the chamber, were invited to. It is with the "3 kings";President Caballeros (Republic of Guatemala), President Gonzalez (Republic of El Salvador), and President Valez (Republic of Columbia).

The Americas Competitiveness Forum

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Many of you know that I will be away from the studio for the next three weeks. I am joining the Greater San Jose Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GSJHCC) to the Americas Competitiveness Forum and then to Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru. We left to go to the airport late Saturday evening and caught a redeye. We arrive to Georgia at 5am in the morning and the day started. We had breakfast and went straight to Durid Hill High School to meet President Uribe Velez of Columbia. Below is the video of Carlos F, the CEO of GSJHCC, addressing President Uribe on the mission of the our delegation to Latin America.



Here is a photograph from the delegation. It was taken from my phone so the quality is poor. Enjoy anyway.

A Child's Play

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I just had to post this video because I love the innocence of the it. This is a video of my daughter who just turned 3 years old playing with a balloon. We were walking downtown and I had to pull out my little camcorder on my phone to record this moment. There is such a innocence and delight that only a child has portrayed here. Sometime us adults have to reflect on this and remember what life is about; enjoying the little things in life.



Well if you post a video for one daughter, you need to post one for the other. Here is my youngest, 15 months. It's a short clip that I took while we were at the bank waiting for paperwork. She loves to wear my sunglasses and I think it's so adorable on her.