Entonces?

Just a word. Arrived in Venezuela- Stop.

Caracas is HUGE, five million people- Stop.

I speak a leetle Spanish but they talk so fast I spend more time listening then talking- Stop.

What I did so far: surfed a couch in appartment with Sandra, Ariana the karate kid and grandfather Fransisco in the middle of Caracas, El Paraiso. Had some very interesting walks throughout cloudy Caracas with 74-year old Fransisco, who told me everything about the history of the city and the good sides of the Chavez-regime, en francais! Visited the Museo of Art Contemporaño, Simon Bolivar birth place, El Teleferico.. Danced the salsa in an authentic club with live salsa band after mucho rum and coke. Took the bus to Maracay to stay with another couchsurfer Jose Luis (don't know where I'd be without this couchsurfing thing, it puts you right in the heart of the country; so you're not talking strictly English with other backpackers.. Gracias). Went for a long and windy taxiride through Henri Pittier Parque National (taximan ripped us off) and crazy busdrive (with a better soundsystem then most clubs in Europe blasting Reggaeton and other excitos) to Choroni / Puerto Columbia and back, for a day at the beach. Forgot to put on suncream again, auchito-Stop.

More later- Stop.

Generation Revolution

I'm sure you're all wondering what The Man is doing on a thursday night. Listening to a fine hip hop mix on Nuwave Radio.. Preparing the Grand Voyage to Venezuela.. Seems I found a couch so that's good news 'cos I'm kinda nervous but no Hill Street Blues, check the three stripes on my shoes, and see what world wide walking will do.

Last week was cool: Check(ed) The Rhyme in Ghent for some old skool hip hop Nostalgia (the Nineties are almost 20 years away?). A sold-out venue for the Liks, the Beatnuts, Jeru et all.. Daaamn! I guess we were all listening to our rap CD's in our bedroom back in 1994.. Seems like I'm one of the chosen few who doesn't have any kids yet, too! Still feeling like a fan after many beers and headnodding with an inner smile, somewhat timid asking the performing rappers for a drop for the B2N radioshow. Peace to the Gods. Feels good to know the cycle is almost full circle: the appreciation for good quality hip hop is rising, soulful house slowly making a comeback. Guess I gots some rhymes to write in South-America to cause mass hysteria. Ha! Somebody get the beats ready! Create to elevate, set the record straight, in with the cake and out with the fake, 72 on tape.

Bad boys can be good sons, so I spent the weekend in Budapest with mom. A wonderful city to walk around and admire the Old Europe atmosphere, not yet spoiled by abstract new (ugly) buildings and advertising overkill. Charming..

Going soon! Gettin' on a jet plane, leaving behind a freshly found girlfriend and passing the mic to Miss Honey Brown.. What will happen? Go with the Flow.

This is a crime but I'm downloading Wild Style The Movie, nowhere to be found on DVD in local stores, so I have no choice, really.. Trust me, I've searched this piece of classic hip hop culture but it's still (!) largely ignored by mainstream media. Somebody scream Revival, I'll be back in June.

Don Pedro.