N. Lauderdale Hispanic celebration.

As they say, better late than never and I totally agree.

Hispanic Heritage Month was celebrated in October in most cities in Broward, with one important feature everywhere being the music festivals.

But in tiny N. Lauderdale (population less than 45,000), their festival was apparently postponed twice and only held on the 1st November.

With my posse 😊.

I have never been to anything in N. Lauderdale before but as a Jamaican, felt an instant connection to that city. For their Mayor hails from Ghana, from which most of our ancestors were transported. Also they have a commissioner named Bustamate. 

That's a famous but uncommon name in Jamaica despite our years of Spanish colonial occupation.

 Only a popular former prime minister and National Hero Sir Alexander Bustamate, bore that Hispanic name, as far I can recall.

Entertainment started with a mariachi band

These two dancers were very professional.

The "Puerta de Oro de Colombia" expertly showcased Colombian music, dance and modelled traditional costumes.

A section of the audience 

This was the star performance backed by drummers. She was so good that Alfredo       (below) never left the dance floor once she started to perform 😊

The Mayor apologized for not holding the festival in the official Hispanic Heritage Month, but in my book, it made no difference as it was a well-planned, and executed event which had everyone enjoying themselves immensely👍.

The two female MC's were excellent too, teaching attendees to do dances from maccarema to our own Marcia Griffith's electric boogie.

Carol surely mastered the moves😊👍.

Culture

 Tamarac's annual multi-cultural event was held yesterday and as usual, Carol and I had to be there.

I also saw many other familiar faces from the Senior Center in attendance, yet somehow the crowd still looked a lot sparser than usual!

 I think it's the ICE effect, as Tamarac is a city of immigrants, yet even when people are in the USA legally, many seem to be nervous about going out. 

Maybe they are scared of harassment, since racial profile is the in thing now😡.

As usual, before going over to the big stage, there were cultural performances showcasing the countries represented in Tamarac.

Venezuelans

Thai

Mariachi band (Mexico)

Irish dancers

Then it was time for great music and the Lionel Richie band really delivered.

The Lionel Richie band

Their lead singer was really good and had us on our feet as he belted out Lionel's greatest hits.

These young people were however my all time favorites. 

They are super skilled.👏.

We had shuttle buses from convenient locations to the Tamarac Sports Complex where the show was held and they ran regularly.

Another well organized event.👏

Congrats to Mayor Michelle Gomez and her culture-loving team.

Return to Epcot

The first time I went to Disney's Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow, (Epcot), I think it was the one in California, was probably more than 35 years ago, but I had always wanted to go back. The problem was, each time I went to a Disney theme park, it was always with kids who loved superheroes, exciting rides, princesses, and cartoon characters. No one wanted to go to the Epcot theme park as either they complained they did not have enough time, they were tired or it just was not exciting enough. So it was always a Disney vacation minus Epcot. 

Well out of evil cometh good, for as I saw that they had a soft opening in Orlando after the long lock-down due to coronavirus, I thought I should take it in before it became too crowded. And it wasn't in September 2020.

When my granddaughter informed me that she wanted to visit me in December and go to Disney, I knew I had to move up my decision for I knew once we got there, Epcot would be out. To avoid any crowd, I decided to go right after the schools opened in Florida. It was the perfect decision and I am so happy I returned,  for it is really a fascinating and educational experience, far better than I remembered. 

Every attraction was a slam dunk except when I went to do the ride through the Alps to see the set of 'Frozen.' Then there was quite a line. It wasn't all that long but you have to remember the 6 feet apart system. So it wasn't that long a line, but it took the longest to get it.  It was worth the wait though, as was every exhibit in fact. Luckily I had checked the weather before I drove up to Orlando and took my plastic mac in my backpack, so when the heavy showers came down, I just strolled in the rain, feeling like a kid again. 

As there was a celebration of wine and food that week, many countries participated showcasing the best of their foods and attractions. I liked the China and Canadian displays the best and loved the Mexican mariachi band. I was fascinated by the exhibit on our relationship with the land, scientific advances in agriculture, soaring through the world, (a bit scary at first), spaceship earth, and in fact, just everything. It was so fascinating and interesting, that only when I was leaving that I realized I had been there from 11 am to 5pm.

As usual, I forgot where I parked and it was a bit scary for a while as I kept going around in circles for about 20 minutes before finding my car.😓

Leaving, I wondered how I had stayed away so long and resolved to go back again soon.

                                                OTHER PHOTOS FROM EPCOT

                            Elsa from Frozen rides in her carriage