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Last posts

Eric Benét in New York

Mónica Boixeda New Yorker, Only-Be

On the 27th of June, at the Beacon Theater in New York, the American R&B and neo-soul singer Eric Benét will be playing live, together with the also American singer/songwriter Ledisi. This versatile singer, whose long career has brought him to different stages, will be playing to meet his New York fans once again, reminisce his old songs and present the new ones, which keep him always at the forefront of music. Eric Benét Jordan, the real name of Eric Benét, was born in 1966. His early days in music go back to the late 80s, when he participated in the band Gerard. Later, with his sister Lisa and his cousin George Nash Jr., they formed the band Benet and released their first album, with a homonymous name, with such success that they sold over 100,000 copies. In 1994 he signed an important contract with Warner Bros. Records and in 1996 he released his first solo album, ´True to Myself´. The songs on the album were highly successful and the song ´Spiritual Thang´ was even in the R&B Top 10. Also, the song ´Let´s stay together´ was part of the original soundtrack of the film ´A Thin Line Between Love and Hate´. His personal life has been full of tragedies that have affected his career temporarily, such as the loss of his father to cancer and then his girlfriend and mother of his son Maria Tami Stauff. Despite this pain, he managed to overcome it and carry on with his career. Today, he´s married to Manuela Testolini and has a daughter that was born in December 2011. His taste for... read more

Around the beaches of the Cap de Creus Natural Park

Mónica Boixeda Barcelonian, Only-Be

Far from the hustle, crowds, contamination and wild urbanism are these beaches that make up the Cap de Creus (Creus Head), not far from Barcelona. They´re a succession of secluded beaches, almost inaccessible, with a clean and crystal-clear sea, wild nature with its many pines and low hills, towns that still preserve the lifestyle of previous decades… all of that and more you can find at the Cap de Creus. Here, time goes slowly, man coexists in harmony with natural spaces, bands of migratory birds go from north to south and from south to north, the bottom of the sea is paradise for snorkelers and divers… oh! and the beaches… the beaches of the Cap de Creus are made up of fine sand, at the bottom of mountains (actually, we´re at the eastern tip of the Pyrenees), the aroma of marjoram and thyme mixes with wild flowers and the transparent sea water allows us to see the small fish that venture close to the shore in search of sea weed. “A place created for the gods” said Salvador Dalí, the illustrious summer visitor of these coasts, around about the 1920s, when the avant-gardes shook old Spain. This was a place that he came to right until his death. You only have to remember that in one of these towns, Cadaqués, Dalí lived with his partner, Gala. A few steps from the sea, inside towards land, there´s Púbol Castle, a unique witness of the peculiar art of this surrealist genius. The castle is “a delight to feel the passing of time, drop by drop” according to the words of another local writer,... read more

The Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam

Paul Oilzum Amsterdammer, Only-Be, Practical Guide to Amsterdam

In the 90s, the controversial American feminist Camille Plagia wrote a book on the great Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds, in which she made special and compelling Freudian emphasis about the importance of Melanie Daniels, the main character played by Tippi Hedren, never being separated from her purse and even holding onto it firmly, as if it were the only anchor capable of preventing the collapse of that artwork known as the identity which is presented to the world and most particularly to the world of men. In fact, the one time she does lose her handbag the consequences are formidable. Indeed, perhaps there are few things as suggestive, polysemous and ductile as handbags, which is the subject of devotion at the curious and interesting Tassen Hendrikje Museum of Amsterdam (http://www.museumofbagsandpurses.com/). It has beautiful rooms in an amazing seventeenth-century building and is home to the largest collection of handbags in the world, totaling over 4000 handbags, bags, purses, trunks, suitcases, backpacks, suitcases, boxes and other accessories from all time periods from the Middle Ages onwards. In addition to their impressive permanent collection, whose distinguishing mark is the attention paid to the bag in all its variety of forms, functions and materials, the museum also organizes permanent exhibitions of both national and international handbag designers, in line with their interest in the degree to which the various designs have always changed the fashion and lifestyle of each society. This alone would make a visit to this museum worthwhile, but there’s also the elegant historic building where they display the pieces. It boasts magnificent painted ceiling rooms, exquisite decoration and chimneys from the 17th and 18th... read more