Day 63 (Sunday, August 13)

I guess I didn't realize it. Or maybe it had not hit me. But for someone who loves the idea of being on the road and loving my time in Route 66 in Arizona, I sure didn't make the connection...

Route 66 starts in Chicago. I guess I didn't realize that til yesterday when I was driving around in Berwyn. This morning when I stopped to load on gas, I made sure I got me a Route 66 photo. It's not the best, but it will do for now. I want to go explore this road now.

Today's agenda at the beginning of the day was very calm and relaxed. I knew members of my Chicago Family were going to come over for a bbq. That was all that was on the agenda.

Then all of a sudden everything changed.

I got a call from Adriana, a cool photographer I met in New York that extra night I stayed whenever my flight got cancelled. She was at the concert where I saw The Pinker Tones. I met her at the end of the show as I was heading out w/ Omar and the rest of the L.A. crew.

I have been pretty busy these past couple of days w/ White Sox baseball games and last night's photo shoot that I didn't get a chance to hang out w/ Adriana during her visit to Chicago. But thankfully, we made up for it today.

I sat around reading the Sunday paper at the table when Adriana called. In passing, she mentioned that she was going to go to a Panteon Rococo concert.

That's when my jaw dropped. Panteon Rococo is among my favorite Mexico rock bands. They hold the same spot as Molotov and Cafe Tacuba in my favorites' list.

So when I heard that Panteon Rococo was going to be in town, I had to jump on it.

It's funny. Yesterday I was on the Panteon Rococo web site looking for information on upcoming shows. All their shows for the rest of the summer are in Mexico. The funny part is that when I read Aug. 13 concert at Plaza Garibaldi, I immediately thought it was Garibaldi in Mexico City.

Turns out there is a place called Plaza Garibaldi in Chicago and it's just two miles from my house.

I HAD TO BE THERE!

I told Adriana I'd see her there and proceeded to take the quickest shower in history.

I jumped on the truck and headed toward the concert. During the drive, Adriana called and asked for a drive because she was having a horrible time getting a cab. So, I picked her up and we went to the show together.

The day of surprises got started when we got to the concert. The first thing we saw when we got there was Lucha Libre!!!

Nice!!!

Lucha Libre has got to be the best theatrical show on earth. It's too funny and entertaining.

Adriana and I talked to the people in charge of the event and they allowed us to get access to everything. They even allowed us to go on the side of the ring in order to get some nice images. I guess having big cameras w/ you could be a good thing.

Lucha Libre was a great addition to this spontaneous Sunday afternoon.

Then, the real attraction happen. Panteon Rococo took stage and everyone went wild. Yes, everyone. Especially me.

One of the reasons why I love Panteon Rococo so much is because they are from Texcoco, Estado de Mexico. There are many implications w/ that. First of all, Texcoco was the Washington D.C. of Tenochtitlan, the city home to the Aztec Empire. Second, because I was born and raised just 15 minutes from Texcoco. I know the town pretty well. Third of all, because Panteon Rococo has never forgotten where it came from.

Earlier this year, if you weren't aware, there was conflicts in Atenco, a town that borders Texcoco. Authorities in this town were taking advantage of indigenous street vendors because it was drawing away from the big box companies such as Aurera, which is owned by wal-mart. Because of all of this, Panteon Rococo has been in the forefront fighting for indigenous rights along w/ the EZLN, the Zapatista organization that's fighting to better the conditions for indigenous peoples in Mexico.

Panteon Rococo's music is very political. It's also very proud. It sings against Bush and against money-hungry Mexican politicians. Their songs also aim at the bad person who tore your heart appart.

Today, they opened w/ a song about how a person's betrayal of their partner comes and haunts you for the rest of your life. And of course, the last segment was kicked off by the song that put Panteon Rococo on the map: La Carencia.

The place was packed w/ people wanting to have a good time.

Misael played his very distinct SKA Saxophone tunes.

I had to make sure I got a portrait of myself at this concert. Last week I saw my other favorite band, Molotov. I didn't bring my camera because it wasn't allowed into the venue. But here, I made up for it. That's Shenka, the lead singer on stage as I try to look cool w/ my Pachuco hat and cigar from the Dominican Republic.

Above is Adriana. Isn't she gorgeous?

I was really lucky to meet this attractive Colombian girl in New York. She's a Queens native that loves photography.

"You really got this Weegee look going for you," Adriana told me later today as we closed out the evening w/ a few drinks at a local bar. "I mean, you got the hat and the cigar going."

When she said this my respect level for her grew. I mean, y'all know how much I love Weegee! He's my idol. He influenced a lot of the ways in which I was introduced to photography. No one besides photo professors has ever mentioned Weegee to me. The fact that she knows who he is makes her that much more attractive.

As I said, Panteon played "La Carencia", the song that made them blow up across the world. That song has so much power because it tackles the daily life of your average person living in any society. The poor person who cannot get ahead because every aspect of society is keeping him/her down.

During the song the crowd and band went crazy. Above is Misael, the Sax player, after he crowd surfed and ended up in the photo pit w/ me. Of course I had to get a photo of me next to him. I mean, how many people can say they shared photo pit space w/ a member of their favorite band? I know one - me!

Today was a total spontaneous day. I went from having a relaxed day ahead to having the most fun I've had all summer.

Wow!

Yesterday - Main - Tomorrow