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Published: August 9th 2007
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Pura Sangre
The movie opens today, April 5th I have lived in Buenos Aires for over a year and all around me, in the expat community, I have met people that get amazing opportunities. People who are invited on amazing weekends, elaborate dates, and to fantastic parties where they rub elbows with top models and fashion photographers. While I have gotten small glimspes into these lives I felt that I was really lacking in the "cool factor". My life is mainly just sleeping in my bed, watching tv, lusting after "Biteable Boy", the local waiter, and teaching. I felt like some how I was missing out on these unreal experiences...and didn´t really know where to start...if I wanted to live this "cool" life.
My luck changed a couple of weeks ago, when I went to the US. My Aunt flew down to pick me up and while she was on the airplane she met Leo. Leo is an Argentine film director who wanted English classes, and had a movie opening in a couple of weeks. My Aunt was the Aunt of a niece who teaches English in Argentina. It was a perfect match. She got his business card and kept heckling me about emailing him. Normally I
Pura Sangre Premier
Erin, Jeramy, and Leslie in front of the theater am lazy about this sort of thing (one reason, without a doubt, I don´t get invited to do cool things...I am not a networker. But if there is one thing my friend Erin is teaching me....its dress nice, smile, and just talk to people.) So I emailed Leo and two days later got a phone call from him. "Lizzz, I am too busy to take English lessons at the moment. Can we start in a week or two...after the premier of my movie? BTW - do you want to go to the premier? How about four tickets?"
I was excited about the premier. I was going to a movie premier. A movie premier....a movie premier. I was at my friend Brian and Quin´s house when I got the phone call from Leo......"Who wants to go to a movie premier this Tuesday?" Everyone screamed. In the end it was my good friend Erin, my roomate Leslie, and my old friend Jeramy Vallianos (who is visting) who went with me.
Next question....what the hell do you wear to a movie premier? I had no idea. In Hollywood you see all the stars looking fancy...but that was hollywood. I am no
Erin and Lizzz
Erin fixing my belt. where near Hollywood and in fact I am a Northwestern American citizen in a sea of dressed up fancy fish here in Buenos Aires. My idea of gettin dressy is an old dress I found from a thriftshop...and its probably so bright people need to wear sunglasses to look at me. Top that off with a pair of cowgirl boots and you got a Lizzz all dolled up. After talking to an Argentine friend who has amazing style I decided I couldn´t be too dressy to the event. I knew I was out of my league. I needed to go shopping...and I needed a pedicure. In short....I had to get all ladyish.
I found two dresses at a clothing store. Both were my style...black, tailored with a boatneck style color....think 1960s. One was extremely tailored with a small pleat on the stomach to hide my little tum tum. The other was stretchy, shiny, had a large black belt....and unfortunetly didn´t leave much to the imagination. Everyone agreed that the more tailored dress looked better on me....it looked like it was ment for me. But the other one was WAY hotter due to the stretch (think butt huggin) and shininess....and
Getting ready
Lizzz, Erin and Jeramy a whopping $180 pesos cheaper. I took the shiny dress. Now I needed something to hold in my stomach.
At first finding a gurtle was an embarressing task....one I forced Erin to do. Erin has a tiny tiny frame....so small that she really doesnt even have a waist....its like it doesnt exist. She asked some other tiny tiny Argentine girls about what I needed "Ohhhh, you need a ´faja´. But we don´t sell those." Of course they didn´t. Do young Porteña women need theses? No. I started getting bolder and bolder until it got to the point where I would march up to a place and say "Necesito una cosa para me panza" "I need something for my stomach!" Always a peel of laughter and I would be handed these weird long underwear things that hit under the breasts and reached to my thighs. At one place they let me try on one.....in a public bathroom at the local shopping mall. Of course I couldn´t just try on the faja. I had to also try on the little black dress. This proved to be awkward...especially when I came out to show Erin and a long line of pissed off
bathroom users saw what the hold up was. And by the looks in their eyes I knew that the faja wasn´t doing its job. I needed something tighter.
Monday was a holiday and while there were stores open, they were limited. One underwear shop we went into gave me a corsette. "WOW!!!". I had a tiny hourglass figure. I had well defined hips, and waist. This was what I wanted.....until I saw the price tag....$68. A woman in the dressing room next to mine kept telling me to get a faja. Not so much in words, but in gestures she told me why a faja was the way to go. It holds in your tummy, thighs and lifts your ass. Erin and I had been quoted around $15 for a faja, and I decided to reconsider the faja.
Tuesday, the day of the premier was a busy one. Erin and I tore down calle Florida looking for a faja that was in my price range. No one had what I wanted....or were quoting me prices of around $50....time was getting dear and that corsette was looking better and better. Finally we walked into a store and met a very nice woman. She told me what I needed and what size. I was doubtful in the small that she wanted to give me. My pant size is around a 44 not a 34. But she insisted. I needed the smallest size so that I could get the most hold. She was right. When I told her we were going to a movie premier she got very excited. "With Argentine actors?????" Because she helped me find exactly what I needed and at a price I could afford she was my new best friend......should I invite her to the premier?
Next Erin and I get and got mani and pedis. I didn´t know that they were going to use a scaple to remove all my calluses and laughed hystericaly when they pulled out the electric sander to buff my feet. After we rushed home to find the largest disaster I have ever seen......massive leaks pouring from the ceiling of my entry way. I don´t want to talk about it....other than say its fixed Without ever meeting my neighbor I felt he was bad news and someone to stay away from....and due to his drunk actions and refusal to admit that he had a BAD leak problem in his apartment, I know that I never want to see him again in my life.
Once we got to the movie premier we realized we were over dressed. A bit embarressing for me at the begining but I finally realized that we all just looked really hot....and in the land of fashionistas you really can´t be toooooo over dressed here.
The movie is called Pura Sangre. It´s about a 8 year old boy who is going to meet his estranged grandparents for the first time. His parents die in a car accident on the way...and he is forced to live with his grandparents. What progresses is a story about 5 people who have to move through the painful process of healing. The imagery was amazing, the colors rich, and the angles of the camera unforgiving and intimate.
We all loved the touching film, but what was most exciting for all of us was being part of an intimate celebration of the birth of a project that many people had worked hard to create. This celebration was definetly something to get dressed up for and in the end all the money and embarressment was worth it.
And, if anyone has a little money to spend they can take me out on a date and I will wear my hot dress for you....please....don´t take me out for pizza though.
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Scott
non-member comment
Movin' on up
That is great that you are starting to get more connected to the world you are interested in. Just remember, the beautiful people aren't really. Man cannot improve upon the beauty of nature, only mar it. But it sure can be fun to bob and weave through the busy streets of popular social sector. Enjoy it. PS - it is a confusing syntax error to precede an amount in pesos with a dollar sign