Spain to “dance the chiki chiki” at Eurovision 2008

by Abha Malpani on

What’s a country to do when two million residents vote for a man who calls himself Rodolfo Chikilicuatre and looks like an exaggerated (not to mention distorted) version of Elvis, to represent their country in this year’s Eurovision?

Although condemned by the press, there is nothing that can be done but laugh and join in the “chiki chiki”!

Eurovision is one of the longest running television programs in the world. It’s a singing competition where each country sends a representative; the day of the contest, all participants must sing their respective songs live as the European audience votes for the best song.

Being a continent-wide singing competition, the contest is generally taken seriously, but the Spanish people seem to have a different definition of that as they chose to send the contestant they found most absurd and hilarious. The representing song “Baila Chiki Chiki” is a rap reggaton that includes reference to politicians and to grandmothers waving knickers in the air as they dance the “chiki chiki”. Go Spain!

The word is that our Spanish chiki chiki will only face competition from Ireland’s rubber turkey puppet Dustin. The contest this year in on May 24 in Belgrade.

“Swapping Kosovo for a pair of sneakers”

by Catherine Bodry on

The person who posted the YouTube video of two young woman looting with glee in Belgrade described their actions thusly: “Belgrade bimbos exploit unrest to steal from smashed-up boutiques without the slightest shame. They are so greedy they even have to carry things in their teeth.”

Their arms laden with clothing, bags, and other sundries (including chocolates), the two women could barely carry their booty through streets clogged with other seemingly joyful looters. Although the video is in Serbian (I assume), Reuters translates some of the dialog for us; the cameraman follows the two around, asking sarcastically if they’ve found their size yet. When one of the woman asks him to turn the camera off, he responds, “but you are the heroines of this protest for me.” The video aired on Serbian television and has prompted scores of negative responses on YouTube. Reuters speculates that the shame of the publicity might be better punishment than being arrested. Decide for yourself:

Breaking: Rioters set fire to US Embassy facade in Serbia

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Protesting US support of Kosovo’s recent declaration of sovereignty, today Serbian rioters set fire to the facade of the US Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia. Some protestors also broke into the building, which is apparently unoccupied today, except for some Marines and security personnel. The protests were eventually broken up by riot police, who sprayed tear gas into the crowd.

According to an MSNBC News story, “Doors were ripped off, set on fire and wedged in the embassy windows. Black smoke billowed from the building. Papers and chairs were thrown out of the windows. One protester climbed up to the first floor, ripped the U.S. flag off its pole and briefly put up a Serbian flag in its place.”

Welcome to statehood, Kosovo. More here.

Kosovo: The world’s newest country?

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Those of us who like to show off at parties with our knowledge of world capitals apparently have another city to commit to memory: Pristina, Kosovo.

Today, the speaker of Kosovo’s Parliament declared that “Kosovo is a republic– an independent, democratic, and sovereign state,” in a statement to a Parliament chamber that erupted in applause. According to an AP story, the sovereignty declaration provoked celebration throughout the capital: “[R]evelers danced in the streets, fired guns into the air and waved red and black Albanian flags in jubilation at the birth of the world’s newest country.”

The move is supported by the US and other Western powers, but vehemently opposed by Russia and Serbia, who lost control of Kosovo to the UN in 1999 after a civil war that killed more than 10,000 people.

About 90% of the 2 million people living in Kosovo are ethnic Albanians, and most are secular Muslims who are pro-Western, according to the LA Times. “Pristina has a main boulevard named for former President Clinton, who is revered here because he ordered the NATO airstrikes that drove out Serbian forces,” the story says.

So, congrats to Kosovo on its newly-declared independence. Now what was its capital again?

More here and here.

Concierge’s IT List: Places for upscale tastes, but maybe cheaper

by Jamie Rhein on

There’s The New York Times list of 53 places to go in 2008 (see post), the 40 travel tips and suggestions from London’s Times (see post )and now Concierge.com has an IT List of 10 more suggestions, all with sound reasoning behind each one.

The way a destination ends up on this list is that it’s had enough people show up to increase the odds that it has some sense of what travelers like, therefore it can deliver a vacation to write home about–or it’s a place people have gone to for years, but has something new to offer. In the case of this list, it’s luxury.

When I looked over the Concierge list, it occurred to me that there are places I’d like to go on a vacation if I had A LOT of money. Any place could be spiffy.

Oman, a place I never thought of going, but now that I’ve seen what it has to offer, I think it’s an option. For one thing, everyone I know who has gone to the United Arab Emirates talks about how expensive Dubai is. Oman, from Concierge’s description, seems to be a cheaper version of a place to travel in the Middle East that can provide some Western comfort, at least when it comes to lodging. Oman, like the UAE has luxurious hotels that I’d venture to guess are less expensive because a lot of people are not heading there yet.

The history of Oman is what attracts me the most.The 14th century explorer Ibn Battuta passed through here and from what I read, even though tourism is being developed, it’s possible to get a healthy dose of traditional culture.

If you’re looking for something tropical–like Bali, but not Bali since much of Bali has loads of tourists, one suggestion is Hainan Island, China. You can stay in luxury here too, but what caught my attention was the description of mountain villages. I’m not a more than a day or two beach person, but give me an afternoon of wandering through a village and I’m happy. Since I’ve been to several places in South East Asia, this would be a choice based on a place that would be different but familiar.

Mozambique is also on the list. I love the word Mozambique. Say it. Doesn’t that sound lovely? The trendy hotels and a beach scene are part of the draw, and the political stability has helped it excel. I’m intrigued by the Portuguese influence, plus the national parks and the music. I bet the traditional architecture is also fabulous. Besides that, I’d like to see how it compares to the other African countries I’ve been to.

Although I love Tuscany, Sicily, the Concierge.com’s suggestion of where to head in Italy this year, would be the place I’d pick to go if I could pick just one. The thing I like about this choice is that there is so much variety in not such a big place. I have a tendency to want to see everything. If there’s not so much ground to cover, it feels like the vacation can be interesting and restful.

After watching the Amazing Race teams navigate Croatia, Montenegro, a country that has been compared to it in looks and feel, seems as if it would be a fabulous choice. It’s also supposed to be cheaper than Italy and Croatia.

Paris, San Diego, Ecuador, St. Lucia, Puerto Escondido and the Oaxacan Coast are also on the list.

For some more details about what Ecuador offers, check out Aaron’s post on his trip there. For St. Lucia, check out Adrienne’s series St. Lucia There & Back. She has the ins and outs about all aspects of travel here. She did it all.

As for San Diego, Erik presented a list earlier in 2007 that tells you what to see there, a good place to start. He’s a guy who lived there, so he should know.

If you head to Paris, another possibility is a houseboat stay on the Seine, as Martha did with her mother.

As for the Oaxacan Coast, my dad, who has been to Mexico several times loves this section of Mexico. If I ever go to Mexico on an extended trip, Oaxaca is where I’m heading.