Monday, January 26, 2026

It Doesn't Hurt To Dream


It doesn't hurt to dream, or like they say in my hometown, "soƱar no cuesta nada." Last night I had a dream I was relaxing on the beach in Cabo Rojo. We've been buried under snow, rain and miserable weather this entire week in Philadelphia. 

I guess my subconscious mind is sending subliminal messages telling me that this snowstorm, at this point in my life is only temporary, to stop stressing out. Can't wait to be relaxing on the beach, definitively.

Saturday, January 24, 2026

Thursday, January 22, 2026

My First Attempt At A Food Photography Selfie


Right now, there are almost 300 million food photos on Instagram. Someone asked, "why would anyone be interested in sharing photos of their food?" 

This is my first attempt at a food photography selfie. Who would have thunk it.

Throwback Thursday : 2003


Cementerio San Jose de Villa Palmeras, visitando el panteon de Ismael Rivera (el Sonero Mayor) en Santurce. Ese dia tuve el honor de ser invitado por Afrika Clivilles y Norma Salazar (QEPD) (Folklorista, Teatrera, Declamadora, Pintora, Escritora y Profesora) a participar en un homenaje con musica en el cementerio de Villa Palmeras para celebrar la vida de Ismael Rivera. 

Entre algunos de los presentes con Norma Salazar (QEPD) se encontraban, la vedette Lourdes Chacon, algunos musicos del grupo de Bomba y Plena de Norma llamado Plenibom, Afrika Clivilles, y este servidor.

Wednesday, January 21, 2026

The Real Zombieland Photo Request


The corner of Kensington Avenue and Allegheny Avenue in Philadelphia is literally the city's "ground zero" for the fentanyl-opioid crisis. As someone wrote in his own words, "if you look up videos of the worst of the opioid epidemic, you will see Kensington's "zombies." "People seem to fall asleep standing up, lingering under bridges and near subway stations". 

In 2016, my first year into photography, I took a couple of pictures of SEPTA's Metro L train station building of Kensington and Allegheny Avenues. I've always liked the architecture of this building, in addition of being the train station I took to work to the Health Center every day.

A couple of weeks ago, I received an email from the editor-in-chief of a magazine called Novellum Magazine. He said they came across one of the images I took of the corner of Kensington and Allegheny in Philadelphia (Ground Zero of Philly's Opioid Crisis) and asked for permission to use my image as a cover picture for their magazine. 

After reviewing the magazine, I agreed to their request. The top picture is a copy of the corner of Kensington and Allegheny Avenues train station building; the bottom image is a sample of their magazine cover.

Tuesday, January 20, 2026

Real Women Fart


They say that everyone farts between 10 and 20 times a day. Sometimes it may be loud and odorless, or smelly. Sometimes it's really smelly, sometimes it's silent but deadly.

One of the great inconveniences of riding public transportation is that you are at the mercy of people. Sometimes you take the bus or the train, and its so crowded that it feels like you are inside a pack of sardines.

On this particular day, I was running late for a health center staff meeting. I hopped on the crowded Market Frankford Line, politely made my way toward the middle of the train and grabbed the overhead grab rail to keep myself from bumping into people. There was no room to move.

And then it hit me ....

A well-dressed elegant woman standing in front of me farted. The foul smell resembling the smell of rotten eggs was so intense that the stench burned my nostrils and made my eyes water. I looked the other way to try to get away from her, and to prevent myself from fainting. I could barely breathe. 

The train was so packed with commuters that there was no room to move anywhere. I thought her silent deadly fart was peeling the paint off the walls. Interestingly, people around us totally ignored the rotten smell and no one seemed to notice.

It was the longest most uncomfortable train ride of my life. Just another day riding the infamous Philadelphia Market Frankford Line.