Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra Performs

When someone discovers something awesome, one doesn’t keep it to one’s self, but instead, shares it with everyone. Recently, I discovered something rather surprising. The Teresa Carreño Youth Orchestra performed recently at the Ted Talks Conference. They are the product of Venezuela’s El Sistema, where the most talented youth go on to be part of a real orchestra and go on to making great music. At the conference, where the founder accepted the TED Prize, they played Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 10 (2nd movement) and Arturo Marquez’ Dance Song No. 2 (wait or forward to that second number, it’s great!). The conductor is Gustavo Dudamel, also a product of El Sistema, and who is the new Musical Director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.

I saw one of L.A. Philharmonic's performances but unfortunately Gustavo Dudamel wasn't part of the performance that weekend. I guess I should have reserved another ticket for a performance in which he was conducting.

Landscapes: Westwood Village

Westwood Village in Los Angeles, California as seen from the J. Paul Getty Museum. Home to entertainment and technology industry companies, University of California - Los Angeles, budding filmmakers, Fox Theater at Westwood, Diddy Reese (cookies!), Noodle Planet and a lot of other restaurants and shops.

Back Lot Tree

I always feel blessed when I see this picture. We were riding the tram that goes around the Universal Studios lot in L.A., and since we were on a studio tour, we were restless. There were a lot of information that were being given to us, so many facts and so many interesting things to see. I could never remember in which particular part of the lot that tree stood, but I can remember that it was in the middle of a cicular driveway. There was something about the tree’s shape and the way that the light fell on it that I was compelled to just take a picture of it anyway. Everytime I look at it, I feel thankful for the blessings given to me at that particular moment. Who knew that light and shadow could ever work together like that?

On Sunday, there was a fire that destroyed parts of Universal Studios Hollywood back lot. It is said that even the popular King Kong exhibit was burned down. I hope that the tree is still there, standing proud and playing tricks with the light.

If some areas were destroyed, maybe there will be additions to the park soon. Change can be a good thing. What new attractions do you think can we expect to see this year and next year?

Frank Gehry and MOCA Los Angeles

Earlier today, I discovered this video of Frank Gehry's talk (From 1990, defending a vision for architecture). I never realized that it's kind of long but it's a good introduction to him and his work. I loved his design of the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, California.


When I was in Los Angeles, I happened to wander into the Museum of Contemporary Arts (L.A.). It's also a great place to discover design. It's just in front of the Walt Disney Concert Hall and it has a great collection of Frank Gehry's designs, including the previous versions of the Concert Hall when it was still being designed. There are also a lot of interesting stuff there like, like a mechanical skirt that "blooms" or sort of moves. There are architectural models of the Bubble Building in Beijing, the Beijing Olympic Stadium, fabric designs by Issey Miyake and other great stuff on fashion. What's more, the entrance fee is only USD$8. That ticket also got me free entrance to their satellite museum at the Pacific Design Center. But I wasn't able to go there anymore as I ran out of time.

Grand Avenue is a good place to wander and explore. What are your favorite architectural highlights in your city?

Pasadena Museums

Around five hours ago, the Mars Phoenix Lander landed on Mars. In mission control at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California everyone was celebrating in the middle of the chaos. This reminded me of my little adventure about a year ago, when I went to the Huntington, maybe took a wrong turn and got lost along the way, then ended up at the gate of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. That was exciting... but it also scared me in a way, so I quickly made a U-turn and looked for the highway.

Why was I in the area again? I was looking the Huntington Library, Art Collection and Botanical Gardens, which is only one of the most beautiful gardens in the East coast and has one of the most extensive and impressive art collections. The Huntington is free every first Thursday of the month. When I was there, I didn't have to get a ticket, but it seems they now require everyone to get advanced tickets on Free Day.

Another great museum to visit is the Norton Simon Museum, also in Pasadena. It's free every first Friday of the month, from 6pm to 9pm.

More great links and info to free museum days in Los Angeles here: Free Museum Days.