The Road To Machu Picchu: Day One

The Road To Machu Picchu is a four-part series that chronicles my exploits travelling form Cusco, Peru to the mountain of Machu Picchu, an ancient site built by the Incas that is preserved and protected by the government of Peru and UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

My Machu Picchu adventure began in the city of Cusco on the chilly Saturday morning of October 12th. The city is a huge tourist destination thanks to its proximity to Machu Picchu and architectural heritage. Many pre-Colombian streets and buildings are still in use today such as various Incan ruins and a small alleyway known as Loreto where one can touch the foundation of a building laid down by Incans centuries ago.

My friend and I woke up incredibly early, grabbed our bags and were escorted out the door by our Couchsurfing host Willy. Willy helped us set up our trip to M.P. through the Inka Jungle Trail, a four-day, three-night hike from Cusco to Machu Picchu and back. Luckily for us, our host was also an employee of a travel agency and took care of everything we needed for our trip other than the fee.

We met our tour guide Ricardo who introduced us to our group before we hopped in the van and took off to the town of Ollantaytambo.

Continue reading “The Road To Machu Picchu: Day One” →

Student Art At The Escuela Superior Autonoma de Bellas Artes In Cusco

I spent a good portion of my time in Cusco, Peru admiring the work created by art students of the Escuela Superior Autonoma de Bellas Artes. My favorite piece was a large installation by Victor Salvatierra Laime, Oscar Alberto Llalla Cordova, Elio Pumasupa Solano, and Mario Gamarra Valdez. The piece illustrates the famous battle at Cusco between the Incas and the Chankas.

The battle of Yawarpampa, “el campo de sangre” (the field of blood)

The Chankas was a indigenous tribe in Peru primarily located in the Andahuaylas (modern-day Apurimac) region and consisted of two separate tribes: the Hanan Chankas and the Uran Chankas.

In 1438, Hanan Chanka leader Anccu Hualloc led an army of 40, 000 strong, including warriors from the Ayamarca tribe, and invaded the city of Cusco. Incan prince Cusi Yupanqui led the resistance with allies from the Canas tribe and regained control of Cusco. The battle led to the formation of the Incan empire, known in Quecha as Tawantinsuyu, by Yupanqui who became Pachacutec.

There are more photos of student art at my photoset at Remezcla, From Graffiti To Pre-Columbian Art: Peru Photo Series.

Possibly Hanan Chanka leader “Anccu Hualloc”

Possibly Incan prince Cusi Yupanqui (later Pachacutec)

The Chancas were feared as fierce warriors

Designer Con 2012

I attended Designer Con, the annual art & design convention, in Pasadena recently alongside my friend who runs his own label, Chickenfarm. The convention gives smaller, mostly independent designers a chance to promote themselves. Needless to say, there were a lot of very interesting, creative people in that building that day.

Below are some of my favorite photos from the event. Check out all my photos from the event at my flickr page.

Star Wars bling. More photos after the jump: Continue reading “Designer Con 2012” →

Pre-Halloween Shenanigans With Mexicans With Guns, Toy Selectah, Them Jeans, and La Chamba

I returned from Peru (more posts about my trip coming soon, I promise!) with one weekend to recover and prepare for a number of Halloween/Day of the Dead-related events. The first two stops on Oct. 30th were at Los Globos for Indio beer-sponsored event Hola Indio feat. Mexicans With Guns, Toy Selectah, and Them Jeans followed by La Cita for La Chamba’s album release party.

More pictures can be found on my flickr account.

Street Art In Lima, Peru

I’ve been in Lima, Peru for three nights now and love it so far. I am impressed by the amount of street art throughout the city. Below are a few of my favorites. I’ll add more to the Street Art in Lima folder on my flickr throughout my stay as I find them.

Next Stop: Lima, Peru

I’m off to Peru for three weeks. Don’t expect much in the way of posts/updates (not that there have been many recently anyway) though I have a few things queued. I’ll do my best to update while in Peru.

And yes, I am going to visit Machu Picchu.

The Gaslamp Killer Celebrates Release of “Breakthrough” at Mayan Theatre

Low End Theory co-founder and Mexico City native (bet y’all didn’t know that!) The Gaslamp Killer (William Benjamin Besnussen) released his full-length debut album Breakthrough last Tuesday Sept. 18th. He celebrated with a concert at the Mayan Theatre in downtown L.A. with the help of Red Bull Music Academy, Computer Jay, J-Rocc, Adrian Younge with Venice Dawn, Eprom, Flying Lotus and Daedalus.

Check out a few photos from the event below. All photos can be found on my flickr.

Monsieur Periné Makes Its LA Debut At Levitt Pavilion

Colombian swing (Suin a la Colombiana) group Monsieur Periné made its debut in Los Angeles with a free show at the Levitt Pavilion in MacArthur Park. The group performed tracks from its debut album Hecho A Mano (Handmade) at the BMI-sponsored event, which included headliner Palenke Soultribe. Check out a few photos below and see the full album at my flickr.

Monsieur Periné

Palenke Soultribe

My Guest Appearance on Culture Remixed Radio

I was the special guest on Culture Remixed on Kill Radio this past Monday.

Afroxander is the guest on Culture Remixed episode 74 on killradio.org. The Remezcla and LA Weekly contributor sits down to talk about his work for each site as well as the current state of Latin Alternative music in Los Angeles and beyond. It’s a very fun conversation with some cool music played between segments.

Check it out at the Culture Remixed website or you can listen to it HERE.