There's no place like Vegas

I had been planning my trip to Las Vegas for over a year, and it had a sole purpose: watch Shania Twain’s concert at the Colosseum. Well, my priorities didn’t change, but my plans did. My good friend wanted to take a little vacation after he graduated from college in the spring and before starting working in the summer, so we decided to go to Vegas together and actually stay a couple of days. We randomly started looking for hotel and airfare prices one night and BOOM we had bought our tickets and made reservations in less than one hour. It was spontaneous, but I had been saving for this trip for a year, and that same night I bought my ticket to Shania’s concert. I already made a post about the concert, but now I’m going to talk about the trip because, well, it was epic.
We stayed four nights at the Quad Hotel and Casino, which is affordable, comfortable, and conveniently located on the strip, near famous hotels such as Caesar’s Palace and the Flamingo. Our hotel’s attraction was Frank Marino’s Divas Las Vegas, which is a drag show where Frank Marino starts as Joan Rivers then introduces men impersonating the biggest divas of pop music. We had a guest discount and went to see it, and it was such a great show, definitely worth watching, I’ll always recommend it to anyone. Special praise to the guy who impersonated Cher and Celine Dion, his gestures and facial expressions were flawless!
My friend and I spent our days in Vegas sight-seeing and looking for cheap entertainment. We visited most of the famous hotels: we went in the pyramid at the Luxor, visited the Excalibur, rode the roller coaster at the New York New York, saw real flamingos at the Flamingo, watched the Sirens of the TI in front of the Treasure Island (it’s free, thank goodness, because it’s so silly), the Volcano eruption at the Mirage (free as well), visited the Secret Garden of Siegfried and Roy and Dolphin Habitat also at the Mirage, went on a Gondola Ride at the Venetian, saw the talking statues at the Forum Mall inside Caesar’s Palace, had a super fancy meal at the Eiffel Tower restaurant at the Paris, gambled a little (we stopped after we lost 3 dollars), enjoyed the pool at the Quad, and of course, we had to see and take a picture at the famous “Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas” sign.
Never has a city impressed and awed me as much as Vegas did. It is so over the top fabulous that thinking about it takes my breath away. Not even Rio de Janeiro or New York, both gorgeously amazing cities, had that effect on me. I had a great experience and would love to go back there. Shania’s concert on our last night was the cherry on top, of course, but the whole experience was simply surreal. I had to blog about it so I can come back and read and reminisce whenever I miss my days in Sin City.

Track-By-Track album review: Agnetha Fältskog - A

I’m going to write reviews of stuff artists I love do from now on, and the best way to begin is with ABBA’s Agnetha  Fältskog’s latest album, entitled A. I took my time to listen to this much expected album, that’s why I only wrote a review after almost two months of its release on May 10, 2013. I made sure I listened to every song carefully and repeatedly, after getting over the joy of Agnetha’s comeback to keep that from making me too biased. Well, here we go, a track-by-track album review:

Album cover

1.       The One Who Loves You Now – this is a nice romantic song that reminds me a lot of Agnetha’s 1983 album Wrap Your Arms Around Me. It’s a great way to open her extremely anticipated comeback album, with a little more modern take on the kind of song we like to hear from her.
2.       When You Really Loved Someone – the first worldwide single of the album was rightfully chosen. It is a great song, very current and unlike Agnetha’s usual stuff. The song is truly grand, fit for the diva that she is. The lyrics are simple and beautiful, perfect for her, and the melody is a little more up-tempo than I expected from her. I was pleasantly surprised.
3.       Perfume in the Breeze – at first it seems to be a pretty little romantic song, but after carefully listening to it, I realized it was about a one-night-stand with a stranger in the beach! How edgy! Totally unexpected from the melancholic blonde who sang “The Winner Takes it All”. Another upbeat song, fun to listen to, and shows a new side to this singer who is clearly trying to break away from her Greta Garbo image. Catchy chorus, too.
4.       I Was a Flower – the Agnetha trademark melancholic lost love kind of song. She sings it beautifully, and it’s a great song. As usual, she touches your soul with her angelic sad voice, making you pity her as she accuses someone of making her colors fade.
5.       I Should’ve Followed You Home (with Gary Barlow) – she reaches a new audience with her partnership with Take That singer Gary Barlow. Their voices go well together, but it is far from being my favorite Agnetha duet. Barlow co-wrote the song, which is great, makes it a little more personal instead of being an entirely commercial tune.
6.        Past Forever – it feels like another melancholic tune, but it has a note of conformation with the past. It’s more like a “shoulda coulda woulda” kind of message instead of the expected “oh no, it’s gone” kind.
7.       Dance Your Pain Away – a disco song by Agnetha in 2013? Yes please! It is great to hear a fresh dance song done by the girl from ABBA, the Dancing Queen herself. On the other hand, it is truly an attempt to reach the gay audience, and it has been said it was indeed intended as a gay anthem. It is a commercial song, no doubt, made for the sole purpose of selling records. It is the second single of the album, and it’s a great choice commercially.
8.       Bubble – Agnetha’s favorite song of the album. It is darker than most of her material and it has artistic value. It’s almost hauntingly beautiful. A nice song for a rainy day.
9.       Back On Your Radio – I consider this to be the silliest song in the album, but it is suggestive in the sense that Agnetha is “back on your radio”. It has a somewhat catchy chorus where she sings with a sweet voice that reminds me a little of ABBA's “Slipping Through My Fingers.”
10.  I Keep Them On The Floor Beside My Bed – she loves a long title, doesn't she? Well, I absolutely LOVE this song, not only for the fact that it is beautifully sung, but also because she wrote it. The fact that she made an attempt of composing a song makes me give her a standing ovation. She has always been a talented songwriter from an early age, and this song is no different. It is a rare gem of pop music, and my favorite from this album

Protests Happening In Brazil

I've been feeling more patriotic towards my homeland than I ever felt in my whole life, and this includes the World Cup seasons. The reason is that a lot of protests have been happening in Brazil. It all started with a 20 cent (about 10 cents in dollar) increase in bus fare in Sao Paulo, that was the last straw. People went out to the streets to express their indignation towards this, to show the government that it can’t do whatever it wants to the people, that they will no longer just sit and accept whatever injustice is thrown at them. Seeing the uproar in Sao Paulo and the violent response of the police against the peaceful protesters, the whole country decided to wake up and protest together as one.
But it’s not about 20 cents. Not anymore. The protests aren’t happening for just one reason, every city and/or state decided to pick their own reason to protest. But there are the main ones, which are as follow:In preparing to host the World Cup in 2014, Brazil has spent a ridiculous amount of money and taken absurd measures to accommodate tourists. Stadiums cost three times more than they should have, the biggest example being the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, which was completely reformed for the Pan American Games in 2007 and for no reason was completely rebuilt. Brazil has spent more money with this event than the last two World Cups combined! Also, people are being FORCED to leave their houses so new roads can be built for the World Cup. Yes, people are being kicked out of their houses just so some tourists can get to a stadium and have a couple hours of fun. The people have also turned against the biggest TV network in the country, Globo, which has been ruling the country for over 5 decades with its brainwashing news shows and award-winning novelas. The media coverage of the protests shown by Globo only showed the isolated acts of vandalism that happened in the protests, and highlighted that the protesters were being violent, as if they were the villains. There’s more, the same old situation of hospitals not being able to care for the crowds that line up their corridors every day. Doctors often tell patients to leave and look for another hospital on their own! And of course there is the good old corruption, which is a huge reality in the country, one that the people have revolted against as well.
The responses so far have been slow. The bus fare in many cities cut the increase, which was a small victory. Globo had to take their logo off the microphones of their reporters to avoid people jumping in front of the camera and yelling, which happened a few times. They are using national heroes such as Ronaldo and Pele to tell and convince the people that they should focus on soccer, on the World Cup, and forget everything else. Surprisingly enough, the people also turned against these heroes. The president, Dilma Rousseff, has proposed a pact, and met with every governor and the mayor of every capital in the country to try and reach an agreeable plan to deal with health care, education, and public transportation.
As we wait to see the result of the protests, we can be assured that the Brazilian government no longer mounts the people. As the slogan used in protests said, “the giant has awakened” and will not rest again until changes happen. I am extremely proud of my country and super excited about everything that has been going on. I’m outside the country, so the least I can do is to make some noise, publicly show my support to my friends and family, to show them I care about their fight and that I’m with them. There was a symbolic protest here in Boston to show support to the Brazilian people, and I was there (where the picture above was taken) doing what little I can to get the word out. I’m happy to see and be a part of a historic moment like this. #changeBrazil.

Meeting Shania Twain

I was 14 years old in 2005, and it wasn’t a good year for me. I had moved from my hometown and had not yet adapted to the new environment, I made no efforts to make friends and my only company was a handful of people I knew, and my husky Latiffa. I was lost in many ways, trying to find my “vibe”, as I called it, and I remember trying to find a type of music to love. Around that time a classmate lent me Shania’s album Come On Over, and I decided to give it a try. Long story short, I absolutely LOVED it! There were a lot of tracks I knew from the radio and TV, after all she is huge in Brazil, and soon I was listening to that one CD all day every day. I went to the local video store and rented her DVD “Live” (which I’m watching as I write this) to see this woman in action, and it was then that I officially became a fan. I loved every aspect of her show.

Well, the years passed, I got to know her other albums and in 2007 moved to the US, all the while waiting for her comeback as she took the huge hiatus that lasted until last year, when she signed with Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas for a 2 year residency at the Colosseum. I almost went bananas; it was my chance to see her! From the day the residency was announced I started to literally save my pennies, I served tables and plowed snow and avoided wasting any money so I could afford to make my dream come true. It took long because, well, with me it’s go big or go home: I wanted to buy the VIP package, which, among other little freebies, gave me a seat on the front row and a meet and greet with Shania. That’s the ticket I bought after a year of saving, and with a friend’s help I flew to Las Vegas and spent 4 amazing and anxious days there. On the last day, which was Friday, May 31^st 2013, my craziest dream came true: I met my idol, the queen of country music, Shania Twain.The meeting was too quick, of course, but it was amazing, I got to hug her, talk to her, and take a picture. But the most amazing moment of that night was not the meeting itself, but something unexpected that happened during the concert: while singing “Honey I’m Home” walking down in the audience, on her way back to the stage she stops by the front row and dances with two girls right next to me, and I, starstruck, wave at her. At that point the puts the mic to my mouth, and we sing together back and forth the “yeah, yeah, yeah… honey I’m home” part of the song. I almost had a heart attack and the moment she left I sat down on my seat, not daring believe what had just happened. And that is, at least at this point, the highlight of my life. I am super happy and still can't believe that I got to see Shania's show, meet her, and even sing with her. It was definitely worth every penny and I would do it again any day.

Restore Joplin - A few memories of my Spring Break

On my Spring Break this year I returned to Missouri with a group of UMASS Boston students to volunteer in Joplin, where a tornado destroyed over 30% of the city, killed over 150 people and harmed at least a thousand more, and wiped out houses and businesses in 2011. We got to work with Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org) building sheds and even a garden for houses inhabited by victims of the tornado. There were lots of overwhelming experiences and unforgettable moments, especially bonding with the other volunteers, talking with the locals and hearing their stories of the tornado, as well as exploring not only Joplin but also venturing into Oklahoma and Kansas. There were lots of loud conversations and laughs in our van as we drove to the sound of "Whisky for My Men, Beer for My Horses", "Girl On Fire", "Trouble" and "Diamonds". I even played volleyball and ping pong, without sucking as bad as I thought I would, and getting over my fear of being hit in the face - which did happen. There was a lot of movement, few (communal) showers, and a lot of food, so it was definitely a good time.Two events of that week stand out for being the happiest, and the saddest ones. The first, and happiest, was our little Extreme Makeover parody, where we made a video in which we played a family that wanted to get a new shed. The video (link below) contained interview with 'the family', the building of the shed, and the not-so-glorious revealing of the shed to the family as the crowd yells "move that bus!" We all laughed so much recording those videos that some of us had to leave the room, but you can still hear us laughing in the video.The other event, the sad one, was a really scary moment when one of our group members got a call saying that one of her siblings was going through an emergency surgery and no one knew how it was going. It was a tense moment where we joined our thoughts and prayed for her family, trying to show support for a friend in that time of need.One of the most surreal moments, though, was when we were watching a documentary on the tornado as we were leaving Joplin. We watched the ruined city in the small screen in the van as we saw the restored reality outside the windows as we drove by. There was a feeling of hope to see the city back on it's feet, even though there is still much to do.I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to serve people and have such a good time while doing it. I'm thankful for my friends who were there with me, doing God's work alongside each other. I hope we get to do this again many times in the future.

Xtreme Makeover: Shed Edition

Agnetha is Back!

I never thought I’d live to see Agnetha Fältskog returning to music, but after a nine year hiatus ABBA’s blond girl is back with a brand new album! ABBA and Agnetha fans worldwide are ecstatic with the news, and I am one of them. Since I became an ABBA fan there was not one solo album release from any of the band members, and I did not think there would ever be one, although I was convinced it was possible for Frida to release something. The fact that Agnetha, who became (maybe unfairly) known as shy and reclusive, was the one who came up with a whole album of new songs came to me as both a shock and a surprise. This is definitely a milestone in ABBA history!
The first single of the album, “When You Really Loved Someone”, has a modern sound, very unlike Agnetha’s 2004 album My Colouring Book, and the video released to promote it is also different from anything Agnetha has ever done. It is not over the top or full of special effects, it is simple, beautiful, touching, and current, and Agnetha looks and sounds incredibly amazing. The single released in Germany is “The One Who Loves You Now” and it is a beautiful song that took me back to her 1983 album Wrap Your Arms Around Me, making me think of the title track as well as songs like “Man” and “To Love”, which are very Agnetha-ish. She also attempted to write a song in the new album, something she hasn’t done much in her English albums, and only a couple times with ABBA. She definitely got out of her comfort zone, both figuratively and literally. She even said in a BBC interview that she is overcoming her fear of planes! I am delighted with her comeback, and beyond excited to hear the rest of the album.
Agnetha’s new album, simply titled A, will be release on May 10, and we fans are looking forward to it.
Welcome back, Agnetha. You have been missed. Check out her new video below:

The tragic fire that killed over 200 people in Brazil

Today I went on Facebook and saw the following post from Lady Gaga: “My heart is with you Brazil. Sending my prayers to the families and friends who lost loved one in the fire in Brazil. I'm thinking of you today during this tragedy.” I scrolled down a little and saw all the other posts from my family and friends from Brazil about this tragedy, so I looked it up on Google. Sometime this morning a fire started in a night club in Santa Maria, Brazil. Updates came all day from websites and TV news about the number of the deceased, and as I write this the final report is on TV: 234 dead, over 120 injured. I can only imagine the pain of the victims as chaos took over. Most people died from asphyxiation, but some were burned and there were even some people who were stepped on by the crowd. It was such a huge tragedy that it touched the whole country. Most TV shows in Brazil changed their normal programming to give reports on the fire, and even the president of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, cut short her visit to Chile and flew in to Santa Maria to personally talk to the families of the victims.  There is nothing anyone can say or do that can ease the pain of the families and friends of the victims. My thoughts and prayers go to them at this very difficult time, and I pray that God gives them strength and the will to go on as they mourn their loved ones.