#18 At home with Elton, Chinelos, the Big Shawarma, less is more, Riverdale re-imagined.
Throw these into the conversation.
starter
Just two more chances to see my solo stand up cabaret ‘glamour + despair’ at New York City’s downtown, bohemian hotspot, Pangea, Oct 6 & 13. Tickets: here. Last week saw the Divine Ms Bette Midler attend! I can confirm as I was sitting two seats away! It wasn’t my show, but Zora Rassumussen’s gorgeous masterclass in intimate, soulful cabaret the night before. (She’s back monthly, so check Pangeanyc.com for tix.)
But back to me. This is what they’re saying about ‘glamour + despair’:
‘A remarkable show that demands to be seen.’ the Bistro Awards
‘Hilarious and harrowing and just spot on about so, so many things.’ Elysa Gardner, NYTimes
‘Debonair, urbane, sophisticated and outrageously funny!’ Penny Arcade
And who knows, maybe a living legend will wander in off the street.
1. Into the Elton-verse
Elton and David have left the building.
Elton John’s palatial 4 bed / 7 bath (4 full / 3 half) Atlanta pied-à-terre is on the market for a cool $4,995,000 and if you’re looking for somewhere to indulge your Succession cosplay fantasy - this is it!
Part luxury plastic surgery clinic waiting room, part first class international flight lounge, the whole place is slathered in neutrals — cream, white, grey, and blonde wood. For such a renowned art collector, the walls are strangely bare, which probably makes sense. Floating high above the urban sprawl, 360 degree windows provide a constantly shifting mural of light and colour. How can abstract homoerotic scribblings compete?
The sprawling condo was initially six separate units so, unsurprisingly, awkward spaces abound. Take the bedroom above - what’s with all the empty space and why no doors? Maybe it’s for the 24-hour help to crash between shifts. Don’t be surprised if someone wanders in during one of Elton and David’s 'Residents’ Association’ mixers.
Also, this bathroom is a nightmare. One full length mirror is all anyone needs. I have a tough enough time confronting my physical flaws from the front much less in 360 degrees. This bathroom would give me self-critical whiplash and I can’t imagine it doing any good for Elton’s self-esteem.
One problem with so much space is that you invariably fill it with junk like artisanal ‘display crystal’. Is this stuff ever touched other than to be dusted? Notice the lack of books. Maybe they’re kept in a separate wing in the St Tropez house.
It’s not the penthouse, but close. Apparently it comes with nine reserved parking spaces, six private storage units, and five dedicated wine storage units which probably combine to match the square footage of the condo itself.
And below… the pool. Somehow I don’t see Elton and David frolicking in the shallows with the hot polloi. I expect they’re used to more exclusive swimming circumstances. That said, their boys Zachary and Elijah might hang out by the pool to pick up Atlanta’s nepo baby, debutantes.
So Atlanta loses an international pop star but now offers the perfect crash pad for a Mexican cartel chief, Russian oligarch or homegrown Christian mega-church pastor. Thankfully, the 1% all seem to embrace the same drab, corporate, interior chic, so no need to redecorate. Phew!
2. Dance of the Chinelos
Costumed dancing Chinelos are a regional Mexican folk tradition, which began as a way to “diss the man” several hundred years ago. With a long history that allowed participants to skirt both convention and authority, the Chinelos’ dance of defiance has evolved into a year-round tradition in some parts of Mexico.
Mexico is not a noted Carnival country. The celebration was introduced in the colonial period, but authorities frowned on the disrespect it encouraged among the the indigenous and it was eventually stamped out across most of ‘New Spain’. A few colonial-era annual celebrations survived in a number of small towns in Tlaxcala, Puebla and Morelos. But the indigenous in Morelos were forbidden from participating, so they created their own getups using old clothes and faces that were carefully covered to maintain anonymity.
(The image above show Chinelos with uncovered faces which was rare. The more typical dress with mask can be seen below.)
This need to hide their identities was part of the Chinelos’ origin story. Hiding was extremely important to avoid authorities’ reprisals, as the purpose of dressing up was not only to participate but to mock the ruling classes.
Although participating in a Chinelos group is nowhere near as dangerous as it used to be, maintaining anonymity is still an extremely important part of the tradition. Costumes are hidden carefully when not in use. Dancers will dress up while in different houses and even change their costumes periodically to keep from being found out.
And while definitely regional, the Chinelos have become an important and still-growing tradition nationwide. Their performances are no longer limited to Carnival celebrations or even Southern Mexico but can even be seen on the streets of New York City for the annual Cinco de Mayo parade.
¡Viva los Chinelos!
2. Waste of Space
And while on the topic on New York City…
Opened in March 2019 and closed to the public indefinitely in May 2021 after four tragic suicides, the Vessel has to be the most pointless structure in Gotham.
Alternately known as ‘the Big Shawarma’, ‘the Wastebasket’ and ‘the Beehive’, I think writer, Cory Doctorow, said it best when he called the Vessel, ‘a perfect symbol for the grifter capitalism of New York City's privatized Hudson Yards ‘neighborhood’.“
For me, it’s been a solid punchline in my stand-up routine since arriving in New York. It seems everyone thinks it’s a joke. Including deezen.com which included the following quotes in its recent take down of Thomas Heatherwick’s public art structure at Hudson Yards.
"The Vessel shows us how bad the vampiric ultra-wealthy are at making public space"
“This huge, embarrassing failure could have easily been prevented.”
And then there’s this damning passage:
It was reported by Kriston Capps of CityLab that Hudson Yards diverted at least $1.2 billion from affordable housing programs in disadvantaged neighborhoods. How no one was held accountable is astounding, but not surprising. While taking public financing, Related had the audacity to claim ownership rights over any photos taken in the vicinity of the Vessel, in addition to collecting biometric and shopping data from The Shops & Restaurants.
With a contempt for the public, the developers of Hudson Yards see people as numbers on a spreadsheet: faceless masses of potential consumers ripe for data extraction – a mass of potential advertising dollars. There is no sense of generosity, only taking. The Vessel is the embodiment of this ideology.
The lesson: beware privately funded and managed ‘public’ spaces. What exactly does the public get and what is it giving up?
3. Minimalist Photography
A few of my favourites from recently announced winners of the 2023 Minimalist Photography Awards. Take a look at the winning images, but be warned - when it comes to categories and honourable mentions, their approach is actually quite maximalist - there are a lot of them!
5. Archie… is that you?
Who knew cornball comic standard, Archie, was a cultural phenomenon in India?
I didn’t, but that just shows my ignorance. Turns out Archie comics - especially the 1990’s / 2000’s vintage — made a huge impact on contemporary Indian pop culture and even went on to inspire a number of successful Bollywood films such as Jo Jetta Wohi Sikander (1992) and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998).
This new Netflix musical version filters Archie’s 1950’s Americana styling, through an Anglo-Indian Bollywood lens and adds a dash of contemporary Riverdale. The cast is bursting at the seams with red-hot Indian talent including several high-profile nepo babies.
Of course there’s been some pushback to the universally ‘light skinned’ cast and the imposition of American styles on 1960s India - and this is in response to just the trailer.
Still it’s amazing to me how the iconic Archie brand lives on, keeps getting re-interpreted and savoured by new generations. That’s got to count for something.
Small print
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Final word from Brothers Comatose and AJ Lee.
x/David.
parting shot
