The FOOD is served.

I am obsessed with FOOD. I love food. I love eating, cooking, buying, growing (even thought at this I am a failure) but especially, nowadays, knowing where my food comes from. Since the latter is kind of a new thing for me, when I heard about the new exhibition at the History Colorado Museum named FOOD, I thought, “this is calling my name.”

The exhibit has a small extra charge, which is a bummer, but since it is a traveling exhibition it is worthy of the extra fee. Located on the 4th floor, as soon as the elevator opens, a path of tomatoes, chilies, lemons and carrots will lead your being to a magic, informative and definitely tasty world. 

In this world, visitors will find how small corn used to be. You will learn how the juicy, sweet, refreshing watermelon was everything but at its beginning, or which cultures shape square this beloved fruit for storage purposes. Moreover, you will swim through smells like chocolate, lavender, oregano, and I hope you like garlic. At the same time, you will realize what happens when you can not smell your food.

Movies play throughout the exhibit taking you on a trip to different cultures, flavors, colors and traditions around the planet. Showing the importance and differences in the relationship between humans and food.

FOOD takes you on a journey of products, from the moment they are strewed to the moment they are placed on your table. Helping to recognize the changes food has gone through, from size, color, taste, forms of production, ways of trade or acquisition, and the ways humans have changed their eating habits.

Initially, the exhibition might seem a little too academic, because there is a serious amount of reading. However, as soon as you are out of that curve, all of your senses are called to be part of this magnificent experience.

While navigating this exhibit you can:

• Learn how to make hollandaise sauce or tamales on a virtual kitchen
• Challenge your chopsticks abilities
• Taste the product of the day in the kitchen
• Discover the diets of Gandhi, Phelps and others.

Guess whose breakfast this is

At the end of the day, what I liked the most about FOOD was that in a very entertaining way, it educates goers about the Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 

I left the exhibition questioning myself about waste, abuse, eating habits and food shortages. Moreover, I left thinking of ways to help solve these problems. Simple solutions as Urban farming, food sustainability and the consumption of Earth’s resources.

I firmly believe in the saying “we are what we eat”. However,  in the process of feeding ourselves better food, we have to consider that food and humans are part of a larger ecosystem, that has to be healthy in order to provide us with a better life. 

TAKE CARE OF YOUR FOOD, LOVE THE PLANET.

Bring your kids for special Global Kitchen Family Days.

History Colorado Museum

Museum Hours: Monday - Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday Noon to 5pm

FOOD exhibit: Extra charge $5

Bring a receipt from any Whole Foods Market for $2 off.

By Loren Escandon

VALENTINE'S DAY TIPS

Even though Valentine’s day is now days pretty far from its religious origins, and very close to the perfect capitalistic celebration. Where the amount spend in the gift measures the love of your valentine.... I still think it is the perfect occasion for couples to find the excuse to enjoy each other.

Most people wouldn't think that Denver is the most romantic city in the world, and honestly they may be right. However, there are tons of activities that could make your Red roses and heart shape chocolate box day a unique, exciting experience.

For the ones with Olympic potential:

Start training right now for the next Winter Olympics by the hand of your love one. Head to downtown to the Southwest Rink at the Skyline Park, this is the last weekend you will have the chance to grab your partner and make fool of yourself while pretending to be Meryl Davis & Charlie White. This is a FREE activity so take your Valentine for a cup of Hot Chocolate after to The Market at Larimer Square.

For the Gluttons:

A culinary Date Night can be the best option for you. Spice up your Valentine with a dinner for two, cooked by each other. If you are not a good cook, no worries, first of all you are there to learn; second it is time for your partner to find out that painful true, third, there is wine involved so by the time you finish stirring up that date, he/she might not notice your seasoning abilities are not right on.

BACK TO #DEVERLIVING

Ok, I am not going to pretend that almost 6 months hadn’t passed since the last time I wrote a word in this blog. However, I have very powerful reasons for the abandonment. 

First, I was traveling non stop with my show Montera, Russia, Spain, Cuba. I am going to assume you all read about it in this blog, since Paula took the time to spread the news.

Cuba theater Festival Poster

Solo Festival Moscow

Then I moved to our house, which for a New Yorker transplant is a big event. I have never had a HOUSE, you know. In that part of the country people live in tiny places where the bedroom has a queen bed and a mounted T.V. that’s it. A Living room, you might ask... forget about that, most people have a sofa bed so when parents come to visit they don’t have to go and rent in airbnb the same sofa bed in some else’s house for a low rate of $60 a night. So as you can imagine I had to spend some time decorating my house... my house... I still cant believe I have a house.

Stencil painting 

Then by the time the moving/decorating madness passed, my beloved Mother was visiting from Colombia. I had to show her Denver, Boulder, Vail and all those amazing places Coloradans are surrounded with.

Without even noticing it was January, and then the Christmas hangover sat in, leaving me incapable of writing anything.

However, after this very long hiatus, here I am ready to talk about my favorite subject... 

Fun in Denver

Lets start with Love in the Mile high city.

I am happy to be back :)

By Loren Escandon

AN ITALIAN PARTY

When someone is married with an Italian, as it is my case, you learn 2 basics; family is the most important thing in life and food can’t be poorly executed.

My husband is one of those Italians who does not speak Italian, has never been in Italy and knows nothing about wine. But what he knows very well is the perfect recipe for meatballs (sponsored by his mom Diane), the best stuffed artichokes (sponsored by grandma Roslyn) and the best “gravy” which for all of us is tomato sauce (sponsored by grandma Rose) He knows exactly the difference between a good and bad canolli, italian sausage with pepper and onions and penne a la vodka. 

I remember the first time I met the family, it was a thanksgiving week where grandma Roslyn made me chop tones of onions, garlic and parsley for which I did not complaint a bit, because like people say “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” We made an Italian feast that the ladies cooked for 2 days and the gentleman ate in 2 hours. But that is Italian, a great homemade meal in a long table filled with family and infallible olive oil for the bread.

I miss it all.

That is one reason I am very excited about the Festival Italiano at Belmar. An entire weekend where I feel I might have the chance to enjoy all those homemade Italian specialties I usually enjoy with La Famiglia. The festival promises to have great live music, kids activities, like grape stomping (so bad I am not a kid anymore) a bocce tournament 

and much more. 

Don’t miss the chance to have a slight idea of what La Famiglia means to Italians and to try the richness of their cuisine. It is a free event.

Mangiare! ! !

Belmar

408 South Teller Street
Lakewood, CO 80226

For more info click here.

By Loren Escandon

LA SANTA CECILIA, a band with faith in Music.

La Santa Cecilia

La Santa Cecilia, a band with faith in Music.

La Santa Cecilia is a Mexico American band creating music with Latin-American influences. They will be visiting Denver August 23rd as part of a very special fundraising event for the Museo de las Americas.

“Treinta Dias” their most recent album has hits like “Hielo” and “Monedita”. 

La Santa Cecilia, Pepe Carlos (Accordion and Requinto), Alex Bendaña (Bass), Miguel Ramirez (Percussion) and Marisol Hernandez la Marisoul (voice) talked about their beginnings, their music and what is ahead in the future for this band and why the sky is the limit.

How did you meet?

Marisoul: Pepe Carlos and I met during our teen years. We used to play in a street in L.A named Plaza Olvera, we played Boleros individually, we became friends and invited Miguel Hernandez to see our gigs. We always talked about how beautiful it would have been having the chance to create our music, tell people our own stories, that was the way we put together La Santa Cecilia. Later we met Alex who became part of the group.

Santa Cecilia is the patroness of musicians. It is written that as the musicians played at her wedding she "sang in her heart to the Lord". Is that what La Santa Cecilia wants to do with the audience, sing to our hearts?

Miguel: I think one of the most beautiful things you can create with music is that connection with your own feelings or everyone else feelings. As musicians we aim to connect with people and their faith. In our case that faith is music, however, for them that faith can have roots in a goal, a dream, anything and awaking that faith for them to feel motivated is fundamental to us. Helping people to escape their routines and remind them their feelings, roots, sadness and happiness, how beautiful life is, that is our goal.

Your song El Hielo or Ice has caused a little commotion because of the lyrics and the video. Where did you get the inspiration for the song?

Pepe Carlos: Hielo was written by the band in collaboration with the writer and composer Claudia Brant.