Sunday, August 16, 2009

Racatacataca

I love this picture.

So this week we found a dance studio called BEAT. They have one room, with mirrors and a giant window overlooking the city. They have classes of breakdancing, salsa, reggaeton, hip hop, merengue, etc. We are wondering what teaching reggaeton means...

The reason we discovered it was because the breakers were going there to practice.
SO...here's the story:
Kelsey breaks, met Hector when we sat in a dance class @ UP. He told us where the breakers practice. We went: Sofia, Kelsey, Dom and I. Hector and Kelsey exchanged numbers. Days later someone called Kelsey randomly.
After a struggle of a phone call Kelsey said the breakers had practice at Calle 50 by the MsDonalds. Lol. We said....lets go! Hopped in a cab. Got out at the McDonalds and walked around.
We found the studio, walked in real geeked and took a break at the top of the stairs before we went in. Kelsey was toooooooooooo hype.
This day it was just Kelsey, Dom, and I.
I love watching Kelsey break. She is too beasty. She told me by winter break she will be able to do a windmill and the splits. I believe her.
By the end of practice we found ourselves speakin with Tito, Alci, and the owner of the studio about what we do with First Wave, how long Dom and Kelsey have been dancing, what the scene looks like here en Panamá, how long they have been dancing; when the next practice was, if there were any b-girls...
We left the studio, Alci walked us out and we didn't leave until the end of another hour long conversation about breaking in the park and how the people cut the lights to try and kick them out, the cost of US brands en Panamá, figuring out how to say sales in spanish - Oferta -, and the true roots of hip hop.
He helped us catch a cab home:
He told us he had an hour long busride home.
We had a ten minute car ride.
The next day we returned to BEAT. We explored before we went in though because we were early for practice. There was this abandoned building at the corner that was tagged up.
It was beautiful.
Peep the website behind Danez: http://panamagraffiti.net/
I'm saying tho...you ever seen this in spanish...i feel like its more ill.
We wanted to go here but everyone was in a car. We didn't have enough courage to make the trek across the street. Mighta gotten run over.
It looked BOMB tho.
Observe this bus. This is a party bus.
No windows, extra loud music, people standing: getting it, balloons.
On another note: Adam found the Jewish community here;
it's a statue.

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