Providence

[Waterfire, Providence RI; August 12, 2006]

I discovered my new camera's night scenery setting last night. Not bad. I drove down to Providence to have dinner at around 5pm with my friend CA at Don Jose Tequila's, which serves pretty authentic Mexican food in predominantly Italian Federal Hill (now restaurant central in Providence). We sat outside at one of their three outdoor tables eating delicious food and watching the beginnings of the nightly Federal Hill parade of characters. Oh yeah, and drinking excellent margaritas. I chose a chicken in mole sauce special, despite the nose-wrinkling of our waitress - turns out she's from Columbia and can't stomach mole, but it was excellent. CA had a sopa de camarones and "tamales" sliced like polenta (maybe influenced by the Italian neighborhood) and stuffed with egg and spinach - really tasty.

There was a Waterfire going on last night, and perfect weather for it, so we walked downtown. Before we got to the canals, however, we found ourselves in the midst of a Bolivian festival - impressively costumed dancers performing at the skating rink. I missed getting photos of some dancers wearing thigh-high lace-up boots, bustier-topped flouncy skirts, and colorful plumes shooting up from their hats that would have put the Rockettes to shame, as would their figures which were far from skinny. Best I could do were a couple of shots of these fun dancers:

We got to the canals before the braziers were lit, so wandered around some more and as darkness came on we found the salsa/son music of Jose Conde y Ola Fresca at one of the side stages. The sponsor, Sovereign Bank, was handing out sombreros (the hat, not the drink) to the crowd, and everyone seemed to be in a fiesta mood. It was probably one of the nicest evenings they've had this year, what with the all rain and/or the heat we've had. There are several more Waterfires scheduled right through September, so if you're in the area you should definitely check it out. It's getting more commercial than ever (and there's some unsightly highrise construction that thankfully is mostly unseen after dark), but it's still a great multicultural, multigenerational gathering, and still entirely free.


[Stage at Sovereign Plaza]

Comments

[marja-leena]

You visit so many communities around you with such interesting events! Makes for fascinating reading and photos, thanks, Leslee.

[joanna]

Awwwwww. I won't be in Providence until late October : ( .

[leslee]

Thanks, Marja-Leena. Glad you enjoy them!

Joanna: you'll have to go next year, then. I'm sure it'll still be going on.

[MB]

Looks like your camera is working quite nicely for you!

[leslee]

Well, I haven't been entirely happy with my shots but I think it's me not the camera! I also still have to figure out all the settings and get used to the feel of it in my hand - many things come out askew. But yes, I think it's a pretty cool camera. Happy purchase.