CHARITY BEGINS AT HOME. IS THIS HOME?

Got a Guatemalan phone, so I guess that means I'm in it for the long haul. That was my intent when I came here, but my mood changes with the day. And yesterday was Mardi Gras Day, and I just wanted to go home. It didn't last; I'm over it today, but there's nothing in Antigua for Mardi Gras. At all. It's a Catholic country, so it's weird no? So I got to thinking, in this town of charitable contributions, maybe I could throw together a Mardi Gras Ball for some group. I dunno. It would be something to occupy my time. The most important thing, as everyone knows, would be finding a band that knows Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music." There's this old Cathedral, San Jose el Viejo, that I pass every day that I'm obsessed with. Maybe there. It looks like this.

And this...

Yeah, this town is pretty stunning. 

Anyway, it's an idea. Speaking of charity event, last week was big on that. First, there was boxing, which was a damn blast. Several local bartenders and other notables took to the ring to benefit Los Ninos Guatemala. My friend Laurie, who owns The Snug, who I have spoken about before, got involved. Then, a few days later there was mechanical bull riding at Monoloco and my friend Kike lasted the proper 8 seconds. So it was a cool week for a good cause. 

One of the weird upsides about living in Antigua is the ready availability of new release movies on CD. In the past week, I've watched LaLa Land and Moonlight 

and apparently neither are available in the States. Oh, that they're 10Q, which is about $1.50. So kinda cool. I feel bad about buying bootleg art sometimes, but we don't have a theater here (in a town of 40,000 people, which is odd but Guatemala so who knows), and I don't have a car to go to Guate City, so we do what we can. And really, 10Q is a boatload of money for the kids who sell them on the street. I worried that the quality would suck but so far, they've all been perfect. So, score.
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Semana Santa has begun. It's a very big deal here. Similar to Mardi Gras from all accounts but I think they take the Jesus part alot more seriously. One of the things I'm most excited about seeing during Semana Santa are the alfombras. Alfombras are these "rugs" that are made from all natural materials, dyed sawdust, fruits and vegetables etc. They're all over town until a parade comes through it and poof, it is destroyed, just like that.

The parades here are different than what we're used to also. You know how the floats are hauled by jeeps or trucks in Mobile and New Orleans. We're pussies. 

So I'm excited about it. But apparently in brings in hundreds of thousands of folks into town and me, I'm not about a crowd, so I'll probably go into town and check it out for a day or two then ride it out here at the house with Steve. Because I'm sure there will be fireworks. There are always fireworks in this damn town, and nothing scares Steve more. SPEAKING OF STEVE: he may have stopped howling in his crate when I leave. But then, I'm gone, so who really knows? But, I load up his Kong with food and cream cheese and slather a rawhide with peanut butter, and it occupies him. He used to bark as soon as I leave the house but now he doesn't. So progress? We'll see. 

That's the end of this session, my good people. As always, y'all stay cool and you are missed. Come see me, why don'tcha?