A Night of Firsts for BB & LatismSF - Day 20 of SMCSF 30 day blog challenge

When Babushka accepted this challenge I thought of all the pictures and stories I had waiting to be told from earlier in the year. Got a lot of 'em. Seems like so much has happened since Hispanicize and the marvelous people and world I discovered there. Case in point is Latism- Latinos in Social Media who tonight finished their yearly conference. This year the conference was in Houston, Texas and I couldn't go, but I did get to go to the first EVER get together of the Latism chapter in South Florida. Oh yes I did- and I almost didn't make it. You see, there was a storm...

May 10, 2010

Babushka usually uses public transportation in Miami, so Sonia, La Gallina Vieja doesn't like to be all "Babushkaized" while riding. Thankfully she's outgrowing that silliness, but for this event she was going to do her Clark Kent imitation and had BB's hat, heels and blue eyeshadow in the Popa bag. Upon arriving at the Lincoln Road Mall Babushka was in for quite a shock. The last time I was there it was a quaint little outdoor mall which catered to the older, mostly Jewish population of the area and though slower paced , BB always enjoyed going there- especially for the delis.

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the Lincoln Road Mall circa 1976

Bueno delis, make room for discos, 'cause this is the mall now!

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Besides the shock, Babushka was battling the elements. From out of nowhere a storm hit the city. Ok si, it wasn't a tornado like we have Up North in The South, but it sure was close! Sonia had to duck into store entrance to begin her transformation. Queee?? JU SO FONII!!! No there weren't any phone booths, everyone in Miami has a cellular- and usually a smartphone at that. Continuing. Here's the first doorway I ducked into

Babushka now had her hat and heels, but there wasn't enough reflection so I moved to

and completed the transformation.

Ah yes, that was quite a sight- una vieja in a furry Babushka hat taconiando and running between empty shops trying to keep dry, not melt, and not be carried away by the wind or the men in the white suits.Thankfully, like most sudden rains in Miami, it lasted about 10 mins. Fast, Furious y Fuerte- typical Miami.

But all ended well.

I made it to the event, met a great group of people