Try say the word “Passion” with all the passion you’ve got!

And that’s what Latino culture seem to be all about.
Actually I don’t really know much about Latin American culture. I just know that they are very friendly, passionate, embrace food and alcohol, love to dance, play soccer and every lady on the Spanish TV channel has serious curves. So yeah, I went to check out the curv… I mean Latino Culture Festival.



So upon arrival, another thing caught my attention, which is color. Bold colors filled the entire festival, on the banners, on the stands and on people’s clothes. There were food and games as well as Spanish DVDs and CDs, but what’s more are the rows of stalls that sold national flags of various Central and South American countries, and almost everyone had one on as fashion to represent their origins. Still, it was something that you don’t experience in Asia for that matter. People simply don’t wear bold symbols on themselves. In fact, most people feel embarrassed to do so, unless it’s on some political protest or march. It was also interesting that with everyone wearing their national flags, it still felt very much like one culture. Maybe it’s the Americanization of cultures, such as Panda Express, Taco Bell, Beni Hana. It’s going to be hard to know unless I experience the real thing myself.











Going away from the event a bit, I’ve been a huge fan of Anthony Bourdain’s show “No Reservations”. I get goose bumps when he goes to Mexico to visit his friend chef at his house for a family dinner, and the endless seafood fest in Chile. It reminds me very much of the Chinese culture, or what it should be, a family oriented culture where everyone participates. Maybe it’s the identity erosion where everyone in Taiwan’s getting a meaningless English name. Maybe it’s the surge of trend that everything Jap is kawaii and everything kawaii is desirable. Or maybe it’s the kimchi flavored TV shows and pop music that has left every Taiwanese teen’s taste buds numb to what’s original… their very own culture! A family sitting around the table wrapping dumplings the entire afternoon for dinner, or grandpa teaching grand kids how to stack earth piles to cook sweet potatoes and chicken with hot earth on their own farm land, or helping grandma prepare ingredients for rice dumplings…. You just don’t see these very often nowadays. Thinking about where I want to raise my kids, yes, South America may not be the most technologically advanced place, it may not be the wealthiest place in the world, or one with the best option for education, but it has rich culture, and it is culture that shapes a person which in turn shapes a world. South America definitely seems like a desirable place, especially with all that curves…













More Festival photos HERE