Grab Your Chopsticks!

Grab your chopsticks--imagine an incredible surf adventure,  be the first to surf unimagined Chinese surf breaks. But if you only have a week off our Troncones' surf hotel/ rental villa may have some fun uncrowded waves right out front.

 "Micro" wins big in China

By Jake Howard
ESPN.com

MunozGlenn "Micro" Hall came away from the Hainan Cup with the biggest -- and only -- win in Chinese surfing history.

If a key component of surf travel is accessing foreign cultures under the guise of scoring a few good waves, then the Hainan Classic has to be considered a success. Over the years wave-riding adventurers have dabbled in China, uncovering a beachbreak here or river bore there, but the country's potential has never been witnessed by a large, global audience, that is until the ASP and ISA joined forces to webcast two back-to-back events from the otherwise quiet island of Hainan.
Irishman Glenn Hall captured the four-star ASP Hainan Classic today in very contestable three- to four-foot lefts, just edging out South Africa's Royden Bryson in a back-and-forth final.
"China's been amazing, I was honestly stoked to come here regardless of the contest, but to come here and have fun, uncrowded waves, was great," told Hall of the experience. "The first couple days were two-foot and fun, then it got to four-foot and pumping, and then it got bigger and it's just been a good week. I'm pumped, it's been the funnest week of surfing, so to have a win and a check to go with it is amazing."

Munoz

 A goofy-footer through and through, Royden Bryson finished second overall, and swears he'll "be back" after seeing the potential of the left point on Hainan Island.

Surf contests are obviously about winning and losing, but the ISA's China Cup (won by Team Australia earlier in the week) and the ASP's Hainan Classic carried much more significance than just awarding a couple of oversized cardboard checks and a jade trophy. This was about, as ISA President Fernando Aguerre noted, "growing the sport." Already well entrenched in the Americas, Australia and Europe, with the exception of Indonesia and Japan, surfing in Asia has yet to truly take off ... and what better place to get a foothold in than China, the most populated county in the world.
"There's little to no beach culture in China," explained Aguerre shortly before departing for the events on Hainan. "They never went through a 'Gidget' boom phase like we did in the West. You saw something similar happened with Japan a number of years ago, and now the sport is thriving there. Nobody went to the beach to go surfing in Japan, but that's not the case anymore, it's very popular there today. China is a country on the rise, for the first time there is a middle-class emerging, and with it comes a disposable income. Our hope was to show them that you can come to the beach and enjoy the ocean."
It must be noted that a large part of Aguerre's agenda as ISA President is to see surfing eventually become an Olympic recognized sport, and a country like China holds considerable sway in that decision making process. And it's also worth pointing out that for a company like Quiksilver, who supported the recent events, there's a windfall of cash to made selling boardshorts and beachwear to this new middle-class ... if they're willing to riot over the release of the iPhone, in five years just think how they'd react if Dane Reynolds' signature boardshorts were in short supply. But all of that is neither here nor there, for the Chinese kid watching his first surf contest or maybe riding his first wave, this could very much be a life-changing, watershed moment, because as so many surfers will tell you, once you're bit by the bug there's no going back.

Munoz 

Hall enroute to his win in a tightly contested final.

Maybe it's cliché to say, but the China Cup and Hainan Classic have indeed been historical milestones in the evolution of surfing as a global sport. For starters, Glenn Hall's win is the biggest ASP victory for Ireland, a country whose profile is very much on the rise as big-wave scores and a dedicated local population is elevating its visibility. But in terms of China, "this is just the start of things to come," said Aguerre, ever the politician.
But the most telling indication of what lies ahead came from the surfers. Runner-up Royden Bryson remarked, "I cannot believe the quality of the waves. It's a place I'll definitely visit again in the future." It would appear that the future is now, and surfing is no longer a foreign sport on a foreign shore.

Jaqueline at our rental villa / beachside hotel is into all things Ghoulish

In Mexico, getting into Guinness can seem like a broken record

The record-setting phenomenon is, in part, testament to the eye-popping scale of the Mexican capital, the venue for many of the record-breaking stunts. About 20 million people jam the place.

The living dead snarl for the camera in November. Nearly 10,000 people smeared with fake blood lurched through Mexico City’s central plaza in what organizers said was the World’s Biggest Zombie Walk. (Marco Ugarte, Associated Press / November 26, 2011)

By Ken Ellingwood, Los Angeles Times

December 30, 2011, 3:27 p.m.

Reporting from Mexico City—

Mexico is setting a record pace — again.

Hardly a month goes by without someone here breaking a world record, or claiming to. The world's biggest cup of hot chocolate. Most people kissing at once. Longest carpet of flowers. Biggest group haircut.

Recently, people were flocking to the parking lot of a stadium in Mexico City to see what promoters called the World's Biggest Nativity Scene: a faux Bethlehem covering five acres and populated with 1,000 life-size figures.

On Dec. 13 came recognition for the World's Biggest Soccer Tournament, with 12,000 teams and a player roster larger than the population of the city of Glendale. In November, the living dead took center stage: Nearly 10,000 people smeared with fake blood lurched through Mexico City's central plaza in what organizers said was the World's Biggest Zombie Walk.

The record-setting phenomenon is, in part, testament to the eye-popping scale of the Mexican capital, the venue for many of the record-breaking stunts. About 20 million people jam this place. On many days, it's a certainty that you are stuck in the World's Most Hopeless Traffic Snarl or packed inside the World's Hottest and Most Crowded Subway Car.

Having so much humanity available means it's not hard to scoop up at least a few thousand for the most obscure record-setting event. In the recent zombie walk, ghoulish participants gathered to call for an end to discrimination, collect food for impoverished children and draw attention to a Mexican horror film festival.

Event organizers are gathering videos, lists of participants and other evidence to have the zombie walk registered by Guinness World Records.

The quest for world records can be a way to boost a social cause, as when 4,125 people in pink created the longest human ribbon in Mexico City in October to publicize the fight against breast cancer. Or the event can serve as a gimmick for tourism or other commerce.

Mexico City authorities have hyped some of their seasonal projects as record-setters, including the biggest ice-skating rink (344,000 square feet) and artificial Christmas tree (362 feet high and 115 feet across).

This year's gigantic Nativity scene was mounted by a Colombian company that charges as much as $5 to enter. The village, with 57 separate scenes and looking like something out of "Life of Brian," is done up with fake camels and palm trees and actors in robes and gladiator sandals. Robotic plastic figures depict the biblical story of the Annunciation, when the archangel Gabriel tells Mary that she is to give birth.

Adrian Lozano, the project's media director, said the installation set the record last year in the Colombian city of Cali, but that this Mexican version is even larger.

"We wanted a big city that would provide a platform for the whole world to see," Lozano said.

Some regard the records fixation as plain silly and say it may be a sign of a shortcoming in the Mexican makeup.

"We don't like to compete. They are records based on the idea of not competing," commentator Carlos Elizondo Mayer-Serra once wrote. "If we have the tallest Christmas tree in the world, it's only because our city government decided to use our taxes to make one taller, and called in a Brazilian company to do it."

But during a period when Mexico has suffered economic troubles and horrific drug violence, what's a better diversion than making the world's biggest taco (200 feet long in the city of Queretaro in November) or getting the most people to dance folkloric ballet at the same time (457 dancers in Guadalajara in September)?

Pablo Guisa, who organized the zombie walk, said most of the Mexican records, such as the mass kiss in Mexico City two years ago (39,897 people), are "pretty stupid." Nonetheless, he said, they help take the pressure off.

"In a country with so much violence and so many crises, to be able to take people out of their reality for a moment to be part of something bigger is, in the end, a good thing … even if the effort is a bit empty," Guisa said.

With so much record-chasing, Mexicans sometimes find that the only marks left to smash are their own. Astronomy buffs here announced this month that they had surpassed their previous record for mass moon-gazing, with more than 15,000 people peering through 2,753 telescopes.

And anyway, who doesn't want to leave a mark?

"In the United States, they're very perfectionist. Mexicans try, but we tend to settle for less," said Lily Juarez, a Mexico City native who lives in San Antonio and was visiting the Nativity display.

"We say, 'If we don't reach it, that's OK,' " she said. "But we do like to break records."

ken.ellingwood@latimes.com

Copyright © 2011, Los Angeles Times

Twelve Grapes and Other Mexican New Year Traditions

This New Year’s is going to be different,” said 23-year-old Lynwood resident Rebecca Hernandez.
As her father and other relatives head off to Mexico to visit family, Hernandez said she plans to celebrate the New Year with close friends at her home.
“Previous years, it has just been with family always at our house. We’ll have everyone come over and make food like posole, tamales... a lot of Mexican food,” said Hernandez.
Along with the usual celebration of welcoming the New Year, some families like Hernandez’s, have also tried Mexican New Year’s traditions that are said to bring good luck into the next year.
According to Hernandez, she has done everything from eating 12 grapes for 12 wishes to sweeping her house with a broom in order to take out bad spirits. All while the clock counts down to midnight.
“Traditions, I think, are always wacky,” said Hernandez.
However, she did say that one of her New Year traditions did come true.
According to a Mexican travel website, you have to encircle your house with empty suitcases right at midnight to ensure you get to travel during the incoming year.
“I did the luggage one and it worked because I went to Brazil that year,” she said.
The website also states that women who seek certain things in their life, such as love, happiness and health, must wear certain colored underwear which corresponds to what they want.
Maria Reyes, a South Gate resident for 36 years, said she tried that tradition last year.
“The yellow one is for money and the red one is for love…and you have to wear them inside out,” said Reyes.
Another New Year's tradition for good luck that Reyes has tried is to put fruit and uncooked lentils on the table to bring prosperity.
“When that is done, you put a few lentils in a plastic bag and leave it in your purse for the whole year…it’s so you are never left without money,” said Reyes.
According to Reyes, the reason for using lentils is because its shape is similar to that of coins.
However, Reyes believes spending time with family, whether her husband’s or hers, is most important for her.
“Everything will be alright while you have faith in God,” said Reyes.
“It’s just something funny to do,” she adds.
For Hernandez, these ‘wacky traditions’ are just another way to be together with her family.
 “It’s funny to look at your aunt trying to shove 12 grapes in her mouth as she’s saying her wishes,” said Hernandez.
 “I don’t believe that if I eat 12 grapes my twelve wishes come true, but I do like the fact that we’re all doing something together.”