Lou

When I was 11 years old, I started listening to the music my dad listened to. He lent me a Lou Reed CD, along with a Pat Benatar, a special Rolling Stone album featuring famous female singers and bands, like The Runaways, and Jimi Hendrix CDs. I got all excited, I spent that whole afternoon singing & dancing "Walk on the Wild Side" on my bedroom, I felt special, like that feeling you get when you know you're into the right thing, and I couldn't stop grinning like a fool. The next week, I went with my mother to Madrid's street market and bought my first The Velvet Underground t-shirt; she hated it; my dad loved it and promised he was going to take me to a record store soon. After I finished my exams, he took me to buy my first The Velvet Underground CD. I put it in the car one afternoon, my sisters laughed because they thought it was 'music for old, boring people', my mother felt relieved because it was calmer than the Sex Pistols' songs that I was so obsessed with at that moment. 
I remember talking about The Velvet Underground at school, when my classmates didn't even know that band existed. I remember wearing that t-shirt at a summer camp, and how cool I felt. I remember studying to my finals while listening to The Velvet Underground in order to avoid headaches. I remember listening to Sunday Morning at 3 AM when I felt sad. 

I remember all the times and the things I've done & felt while listening to those songs. That band was there when I started growing up, when I begun to become myself. It gave a rhythm to my calmness, sadness and the times I felt alive. It means a lot and this has hit me hard in the face today, I'm not ready to let go of Lou, and I'm still trying to convince myself that even now he's gone, what he means for me is still there; I know it is and will always be, but it's just hard. This is not a goodbye, but a thank you; and beyond an "I'll miss you", it's a huge "I love you", for all that you are and for what I've become thanks to the songs, the memories and the feelings.

You'll always be a hero, Lou, you'll always be.

Rest  in peace, Lou.

X

Inés

'Fangirl' by Rainbow Rowell

Urban Dictionary defines 'fangirl' as: A rabid breed of human female who is obesessed with either a fictional character or an actor. Similar to the breed of fanboy. Fangirls congregate at anime conventions and livejournal. Have been known to glomp, grope, and tackle when encountering said obesessions.

So, I guess that from the title of this book, and being able to add two and two, you can kind of figure out what it is about. True, that's the title of this book, alright, but the great thing is that it's not only about fangirling. It's also about Cath. And Wren. And, oh well, maybe yes, maybe it is also about fangirling over Simon Snow.

Cath is a freshman in college. She is also a twin, an identical twin. When her twin and her were eight years old, something in their lives changed and they kind of tried to fill that void with something new they’d just learned about, and instantly became obsessed with, Simon Snow. You might wonder who that Simon Snow is, it's only reasonable, and let's say, Simon Snow is a book character, but he's THE book character. And for them, it is their whole world. Or it was. Cath isn't very sure about her sister anymore.

Fast forward to Cath and Wren going to college. Fast forward to trying to make the first friends, maybe even going to a few parties, maybe even meeting some new.

Sounds pretty typical to me, doesn't it? Well maybe it is, which doesn't make it less great.

I think this book fell into my hands exactly at the right time. I read it in a day and a half, maybe? Yeah, I really liked it.

Let's find a place to get lost

The best thing about being half peruvian is that I've got the chance to discover this country and share this culture since I was very young. This year I went to Cuzco for the second time and to Machu Picchu for the first time; these are the photos I took on this trip. (All photos were taken in Peru, the cities and places are indicated in the captions).

xx

Inés

At the Mario Testino exhibition in Lima.

On the plane to Cuzco.

Girls and boys dancing with festivity clothes in front of a train at the Poroy train station.

Pizaq street market.

Andahuaylillas.

Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu.

Machu Picchu.