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Alejandro

I met a man one night in a restaurant/bar in Vilcabamba.  It was the first karaoke night in a bar that had had some open mic nights and they were trying karaoke on for size.  Huge success. I’d been waiting for near two years for something like this to happen.  I didn’t know it was so easy.  YouTube now has such a karaoke library that the days of cd libraries and huge books of song lists are over.  Just type is what you want to sing and voila!  It’s on the computer ready to go.  Any and every bar can do it.

I went with a girlfriend and her friend and they were the first to sing.  I needed a little more lube.  I’m under no illusion that sing better drunk.  However, if the REALLY drunk line is not crossed one can still sing on key but with far less abandon.

Some more of my friends arrived and I had someone to sit with after my first two friends left.  I’d noticed a guy sitting at a table by himself.  I didn’t know what to make of him really.  He looked to be about 30 years old (now I now he was over 40)  He had beautiful eyes, a handsome face, a goatee.  He wore a hoodie  and a sweater cap.  I couldn’t tell if he was a hoodlum or just a brooding young man.

My friend Nancy gave singing a try but decided it was moving too fast for her.  She’s not used to karaoke.  I decided to sing Anna by the Beatles, one of my favorites, and it has to do with my name even though it’s usually a song sung by a man, not a woman.  That’s a problem with singing our favorite songs:  they often don’t fit your gender.  I really appreciate artists Miley Cyrus and Pink singing Led Zeppelin’s “Babe, I’m Going to Leave You” without changing the lyrics, one of my all time favorite songs. one I can play on the piano but have never dared to sing in public.

Then the cute brooding guy got up and sang a Pink Floyd song.  He had instant fans.

Then he asked me to sing with him.  And I did.  I don’t have a clue what song now.  I was busy being in the moment.

I went back to my table to gossip and keep the alcohol level up.  Then my friend Nancy said, “Skye”  She kept poking me.  “Look.  He’s singing to you.”  I scoffed.  She persisted.  “Really.  That guy is singing to you.”  She reminded me today that the song was “Girl” by the Beatles.  I love it when a man pays attention.  So I turned around and I’ll be damned.  This guy was fucking singing to me, his eyes on my eyes,   Nancy says my face lit up.  I just remember smiling.

We asked him to join us.  He kept taking my hand and pulling me up to sing again with him, over and over.  I can’t say what we sang.  My memory of this night involves always having eye contact with him.  Being on my tippie toes to hit some high notes.  Some vague memory of “You’re the One That I Want” from Grease.  Thankfully nothing in Spanish.

He told me his name was Alejandro and he was from Argentina.  “Skye,” I said, “New Mexico.”  Then Magdalena had to close to avoid issues with the landlord. And we parted.  Alejandro told me how much he’d enjoyed the evening and requested that I learn an Olivia Newton-John song for next time.  I replied, “I can’t wait to do this again!”  We parted each seeming to walk on air.  

Three days ago Alejandro Fraccia was stabbed 22 times in the back.  A slasher type tourist had come to town and cut a woman badly. The cops held him awhile and then released him.  Wounds apparently are not a criminal offense if they will heal within 30 days.  Alejandro, a couple of others, had made it a mission to warn people about him.  They warned his landlady who did nothing.  Sometimes poverty wins.  Alejandro moved to a hotel here where he was working on a mural in the reception area in exchange for his rent.  His last FB post said something along the lines of “I must be the unluckiest person in the world.”  He told about how the slasher had not only moved into his hotel but the room next to him and was harassing him.  I hear that the situation was so bad that the management escorted Alejandro to his room every night.  He ended his post saying that if you don’t see me around, you can figure out what happened.

Alejandro and I were not FB friends.  I only read his FB after his death.  Prior, I didn’t even know his last name.  I was in extreme denial.  His FB profile picture meant nothing to me.  My Alejandro didn’t have a braided beard or a big nose or an angular face.  I told myself that surely there had to be two Alejandros in town from Argentina.  And there were times before when he’d passed by and Nancy would nudge me and say, “There’s Alejandro”  Huh?  I was like I couldn’t recognize him unless he was wearing a hoodie and had a goatee. Sometimes there was a man-bun.  Different ways with the hair.  

I asked my friend, Brooks, a co-conspirator with Alejandro to bring down the slasher, “Did you ever see Alejandro at the Beverly Hills Cafe?  The one I knew went there.”  Denial searches for any excuse, you see.  “No,” he replied.  “I never saw him there.”  I explained that I was trying to decide how sad to be and realized how utterly lame that sounded when Brooks looks at me perplexed.  My first instinct was to completely break down in grief.  But, in denial, I told myself, “Really?  You going to  cry for some stranger?  How stupid will you feel then?”  Brooks, I’m sure, thinks I’m a moron.

Yesterday afternoon Nancy called me.  “It’s him,” she declared.  

“No, I’m pretty sure it isn't.”

“I investigated.  I went to his FB and it’s him.”

“Well I went to his FB too and while similar, I’m sure it’s not him.”

“No,” she assured me.  “I saw his photos.  It’s him.  I’m sorry to tell you this but it’s him.”

I hung up.  Once again I hit FB.  And this time I paged down to his videos.  And there he was with his goatee and green sweater cap.  I felt my heart break.  And I spent a couple of hours reading all his posts.  The video (with the sweater cap) was about music, musicians, composers and the desire to sing.  I saw the post right after that said, “I love parting without saying goodbye.  If you really want to find me, you will find a way.”

The karaoke place stopped having karaoke.  In fact the joint closed down completely.  Alejandro and I travel in different circles.  But I truly believed that we’d meet again, sing together again, and who knows?  Never in my two years in Vilcabamba have I met one single man who put a spark into my heart, who made me look forward to seeing him again.  And I’m in no hurry.  We have all the time in the world, right?

I had a good cry last night.  It’s hard to really want to see someone again and realize that in a flash all hope of that is gone.  No possibility.  Done deal.  Will never happen.  Today I needed to be around my friends.  I was ready to admit that it was him.  That he was gone.  And Nancy is my only friend who knew.  I needed to be around her.  She said she’d go with me tomorrow to his memorial service.  No one else in town knows.  To everyone else we were strangers.  I would never post this on FB.  But I needed to put it somewhere.

My friend Patrick today told me that I had some extra energy around me.  You really look great!  When he mentioned it the second time, I replied to him.  “Someone reminded me what it’s like to be in love.”

[skye7w]

Life outside of Ecuador!  Sensing a theme here?

by Buttersafe

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One parent’s take on raising their kids in Ecuador.  Decent read. My take on this is not that the US doesn’t have cool things to do, it’s that folks just don’t do them anymore.  It’s more about instant gratification, constant entertainment and consumerism.  Ask any alcoholic.  It’s easier to stop drinking when you’re not in a bar.

[skye7w]

State to block delivery of supplies

The governor of North Dakota, Jack Darlrymple, issued an evacuation notice to the near 15,000 people at Standing Rock Oceti Sakowin camp, effective immediately. The ambiguous order does not indicate Water Protectors will be removed forcibly but does say, “Any person who chooses to enter, reenter, or stay in the evacuation does so at their own risk, and assumes any and all corresponding liabilities for their unlawful presence and occupation of the evacuation area.”

Rob Port reports:  “ What this does is it gives us – because it’s a mandatory evacuation – certain powers under the law to include basically they’re on their own,” she said. She said that it warns protesters that the state will not send in first responders like ambulances if there is an emergency, and it also allows the state to block those bringing supplies to the camp. “If there are any kind of businesses that are delivering supplies to camp we can stop them from going there from the north,” she told me.  (Rob Port is the editor of SayAnythingBlog.com, a columnist for the Forum News Service, and the host of the Rob (Re)Port on Fargo-based WDAY AM970 from 1-2pm weekdays.)

Now, while the First Nation view of this is that the Governor has zero jurisdiction on Federal or Sioux treaty land, they can opt to make the situation more difficult for the water protectors.  Since both eviction/evacuation orders state this is out of concern for the safety of the water protectors., it seems an odd thing to do to cut off emergency services to the camp in light of the brutal treatment of water protectors by the militarized police which sent 26 people to the hospital by ambulance early Monday morning, November 20, 2016.  Now they must do without any emergency services or supplies.

However, supplies can be delivered from the south by going through the Standing Rock Sioux reservation.  Do not stop sending much needed supplies please.  Just give delivery instructions.  And pray no DAPL employee sets fire to the camp.  This has been tried before.

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Here I am walking up to the front line at #standingrock with one of the greatest civil rights leaders of our time @revjjackson and sister @wahleah from @nativerenewables to meet the brave #waterprotectors peacefully holding the line. Come be part of this historical moment. Come #standwithstandingrock #nodapl

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Did you know that Ecuador is the first country to give legal rights to Nature in its constitution?  This is a great interview with Pres. Correa as he speaks about the lawsuit against Chevron for the horrid damage to the Amazon.  He addresses the trade agreements I've been ranting about for over a year now. And his views on HIllary and Trump may amuse you.

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I keep wondering if this will ever end.  Tourism is barely noticeable and the economy is suffering; tens of thousands still in shelters.  I’m scheduled to go whale watching in about six weeks and it is not without some trepidation, to be honest.  But these guys need the business.  And I need the whales.  Without the attractions of the coast, we lack tourists in extremely safe areas as well. Sucks all over.  

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A spontaneous street performance July 3, 2016.

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Vilcabamba now it’s own weather station atop Casa Amarilla!  A good bookmark to have before walking out.  We’re hoping soon for a UV index as well.

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Una bella toma de Guayaquil desde lo alto del piso 15 - http://youtu.be/nYdPyY3NkD4

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And here I thought President Correo was cute.  Foreign Minister Long is a hottie!  But I digress, the issue is Julian Assange as events all around the world begin today and will continue for five days as the world pleads for the freedom of Julian Assange and for the freedom to simply tell the truth. Gracias Ministro Long. I can tell you what living in Ecuador means to me. :)  I wish Julian had been able to make it all the way here.  I’d love to show him my views, and where he could take long walks in a most beautiful country.

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Muchas gracias, Ecuador.  Me protege también. Tiene mi corazón.

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62 world wide respected speakers will address the issues of why Julian Assange should be freed after four years in isolation after being given asylum at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.  They will address why freedom of thought, the sharing of information, and the education of the public is vital along with the need for transparency in democratic governments.  While many claim transparency, they only pay it lip service.  Representing Ecuador will be:  Maria Agusta Calle, a member of the Ecuadorian Congress for the Province of Pinchincha;  Guillaume Long, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador;  René Ramírez, the Minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation of Ecuador (SENESCYT).

The five day event in ten cities around the world will feature the various speakers, in Ecuador Participation in Quito will take place on all five days.

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A local girl, Asona, entered a local talent contest in Loja, accompanied by her own band.  She sang a traditional Ecuadorian song in Spanish and then followed it with . . . of all things . . .a Supertramp song.  You go girl!

Enjoy.

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This is a brilliant and highly recommended read, complete with photos.  This company in Quito offering dirt bike tours is the same one I featured when its owners made heroic efforts the night of the earthquake.  If you’d like to rent a dirt bike and do a tour, these are your guys!  It would be a vacation you’ll never forget!