My LATEST PAINTING – OIL ON CANVAS COPYRIGHT 2014 BY GIOVANNA AGUILAR
I cannot believe it’s been over two and half years since I wrote on this blog. Wow! HOW quickly time passes by, like sand through the hourglass (sorry can’t help it). OK. maybe not so original right there but I ‘ll share something that truly is, and it’s from my heart, my latest project, HourGlass – Time to Talk, an audio podcast that began as an idea to pay it forward by sharing stories about the artist’s journey—not just the work but the humanity. And while there is a lot of color on each journey, the variations of light and shadow flickering on life’s canvas not only define our individuality but also help connect each one of us to each other. So with that in mind my co-creator and co-producer Maria Torres and I hope to these stories about artists, across all mediums, can inspire each of us to move forward with wit, humor and empowerment.
Please see the release below and click on the audio file below for the first episode.
Thank you – Giovanna Aguilar
Maria Torres and Giovanna Aguilar Proudly Present the First Episode of the Podcast HourGlass
On a winter walk around a frozen lake nearly two years ago, Maria Torres and Giovanna Aguilar wondered: “How can we pay it forward as artists and create content that matters to us?”
We invite our friends to tune in to our answer —HourGlass Time to Talk, a dynamic podcast that shares the artist’s journey with personal stories that define not just the work but also what have shaped the person’s humanity. From the stage to the silver screen to the recording to the writer’s keyboard, HourGlass celebrates the artist’s voice across all mediums.
On the first segment of our episode #1, we introduce our show’s mission then follow up with the highly entertaining segment “Kick, Ball, Change—Keep it Moving with Maria Torres,” spotlighting the mishaps that happen when performing for a live audience and how these are aptly suited as metaphors for recovery after a misstep in real life. On the launch of this highly entertaining segment, Maria Torres talks with Sylvia Roldán Dohi who was a swing on Miss Saigon for 10 years on Broadway.
Stay tuned for our upcoming episodes with exciting hot topics from Broadway and Beyond.
HourGlass – Time to Talk is a SAG New Media audio podcast conceived Maria Torres and co-producer Giovanna Aguilar.
On a recent trip to Ecuador, I had the fortune of traveling to El Valle del Chota, a town about 3 hours away from the Andean country’s capital, Quito. I traveled with a small film crew on assignment for a documentary, Dreamtown http://www.voicesofdreamtown.com directed/produced by Betty Bastidas, which follows three Afro-Ecuadorian soccer players at different stages of their careers as they pursue their dream- – achieving a better life, financial security through the sport.
While I was in El Chota just for one day, walking around its dirt roads, meeting the friendly, smiling faces that greeted me at every corner, I couldn’t help but to be immediately captured by the beauty of the simple way of life, and the utter beauty of the Andes embracing its fragility.
Perhaps it was because I went void of any preconceived ideas of what I might find, so many people had spoken of the town’s poverty and marginalized Afro-Ecuadorian community. “No opportunities exist,” I was warned. So there I was on a hot, sunny Sunday attempting to capture a critical moment in one of our characters, Carlos Maldonado, life as he realizes his World Cup dreams might just have been shattered after losing a soccer contract. But there it was… within the dilapidated, humble and quite small houses that I felt were large enough to home families…. faith. Faith in a better future. Faith that no matter how little one has, there will be enough to go around. That the next-door neighbor, or the one down the block, opens the door to you with caring, and that the community really is invested in everyone’s security. Doors unlocked, neighbors are neighbors looking out for each other. Children with holed-shoes are passing a soccer ball to one another. All smiling and calling out for better passes.
This touched me. This inspired me to think deeper about what motivates a story, and where within us do we need to go to strip our vanity and tell a story with real, down-right honesty, simplicity and passion. It’s not what we may think sometimes, or the attitudes that we are better off so we MUST be in a better place to know real happiness and privilege. For me, I realize, it’s about capturing unshakeable faith in each other. This I had to share.
Taking in the Pacific Ocean’s summer breeze on a warm summer evening from Laguna beach is spectacular.
Nature is always the perfect backdrop to any story. Mine has begun.
First day of July so I decided to go for a walk in the sweltering 95+degree, NJ heat. Love days like this. Every second counts when you are taking in the sun, as it fades below the horizon. Reminds me of a time of innocence – when I was a child in a town not too far away, jumping rope with the girls on the block, playing hide and seek with all the kids. Just a little sun glow before the night. If you stare at it for more than a few seconds, you can’t help but feel warm.
Summer is in the air and tonight’s sunset is exquisite in North Jersey. On a 2-hour walk around a pond near my home. Every few steps I stop to take in the those moments. You know, those picture-framing worthy life shots … Continue reading →
Today was beautiful. It was a perfect Saturday. The sun warmed me on my hour’s walk to get some sweet potatoes with marshmallows. Nothing like some soul food to fight the numbing sensation of writer’s block that has been brought … Continue reading →
Blue skies are upon us and Spring is in the air in NYC. Can’t think of a better way to shake off the winter blues and get mega inspired than by strutting through the colorful, animated and boisterous streets of good ole Manhattan. Yes, nothing like the Empire state of mind to get the energy flowing and recharging the creative channels. How do you get inspired?
