The Los Angeles Lakers made a coaching change earlier this offseason, as the decision was made to part ways with Darvin Ham after two years. Almost immediately, one name began popping up on every list of potential candidates: JJ Redick, the retired sharpshooter who is now a media personality both on his own and with ESPN, the latter of which has him on its A-booth for NBA broadcasts alongside Mike Breen and Doris Burke.
Redick has never been a coach, but he’s known for being an incredibly sharp and well-respected basketball mind, and of course, one of his podcasts just happens to feature Lakers star LeBron James as a co-host. And apparently, Los Angeles has gotten to a point in its process where Redick can be viewed around the NBA as the frontrunner, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
“I’m told that last week the Lakers met with JJ Redick for an extended period of time..
“Going into this process, and right now, my sense is that JJ Redick, he is the guy around the league that everyone believes is the frontrunner for this job,” Charania said. “He’s in position. I think there’s an infatuation with JJ Redick right now, just in terms of his ability for right now, but also, being a coach that the Lakers can have for years and years to come. That’s someone who is obviously young enough in the industry, young enough in this space, when you feel like you have a four, five, maybe six year runway with a guy like JJ Redick as your head coach, where now, you have him command the respect of a LeBron James, an Anthony Davis.”
There’s no word for a timetable on when the Lakers could end up making a decision on their next coach.
It’s hard to explain the relentless intensity of having young children if you haven’t done it. It’s wonderful, beautiful, magical and all of that—it truly is—but it’s a lot. Like, a lot. It’s a bit like running an ultramarathon through the most beautiful landscape you can imagine. There’s no question that it’s amazing, but it’s really, really hard. And sometimes there are storms or big hills or obstacles or twisted ankles or some other thing that makes it even more challenging for a while.
Unfortunately, a lot of moms feel like they’re running that marathon alone. Some actually are. Some have partners who don’t pull their weight. But even with an equal partner, the early years tend to be mom-heavy, and it takes a toll.
In fact, that toll is so great that it’s not unusual for moms to fantasize about being hospitalized—not with anything serious, just something that requires a short stay—simply to get a genuine break.
In a thread on X (formerly Twitter), a mom named Emily shared this truth: “[I don’t know] if the lack of community care in our culture is more evident than when moms casually say they daydream about being hospitalized for something only moderately serious so that they are forced to not have any responsibilities for like 3 days.”
In a follow-up tweet, she added, “And other moms are like ‘yeah totally’ while childfree Gen Z girls’ mouths hang open in horror.”
— (@)
Other moms corroborated, not only with the fantasy but the reality of getting a hospital break:
“And can confirm: I have the fondest memories of my appendicitis that almost burst 3 weeks after my third was born bc I emergency had to go get it taken out and I mean I let my neighbor take my toddlers and I let my husband give the baby formula, and I slept until I was actually rested. Under the knife, but still. It was really nice,” wrote one mom.
“I got mastitis when my first was 4 months old. I had to have surgery, but my hospital room had a nice view, my mom came to see me, the baby was with me but other people mostly took care of her, bliss,” shared another.
Some people tried to blame lackadaisical husbands and fathers for moms feeling overwhelmed, but as Emily pointed out, it’s not always enough to have a supportive spouse. That’s why she pointed to “lack of community care” in her original post.
— (@)
They say it takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to raise a mother. Without the proverbial village, we end up bearing too much of the weight of childrearing ourselves. We’re not just running the ultramarathon—we’re also carrying the water, bandaging the blisters, moving fallen trees out of the way, washing the sweat out of our clothes—and we’re doing it all without any rest.
Why don’t moms just take a vacation instead of daydreaming about hospitalization? It’s not that simple. Many people don’t have the means for a getaway, but even if they do, there’s a certain level of “mom guilt” that comes with purposefully leaving your young children. Vacations usually require planning and decision-making as well, and decision fatigue is one of the most exhausting parts of parenting.
Strange as it may seem, the reason hospitalization is attractive is that it’s forced—if you’re in the hospital, you have to be there, so there’s no guilt about choosing to leave. It involves no decision-making—someone else is calling the all shots. You literally have no responsibilities in the hospital except resting—no one needs anything from you. And unlike when you’re on vacation, most people who are caring for your kids when you’re in the hospital aren’t going to constantly contact you to ask you questions. They’ll leave you to let you rest.
Paula Fitzgibbons shares that had three kids under the age of 3 in 11 months (two by adoption and one by birth). Her husband, despite being very involved and supportive, had a 1.5 hour commute for work, so the lion’s share of childcare—”delightful utter chaos” as she refers to it—fell on her shoulders. At one point, she ended up in the ER with atrial fibrillation, and due to family medical history was kept in the hospital for a few days for tests and monitoring.
“When people came to visit me or called to see how I was, I responded that I was enjoying my time at ‘the spa,’ and though I missed my family, I was soaking it all in,” she tells Upworthy. “My husband understood. Other mothers understood. The medical staff did not know what to make of my cheerful demeanor, but there I was, lying in bed reading and sleeping for four straight days with zero guilt. What a gift for a new mom.”
When you have young children, your concept of what’s relaxing shifts. I recall almost falling asleep during one of my first dental cleanings after having kids. That chair was so comfy and no one needed anything from me—I didn’t even care what they were doing to my teeth. It felt like heaven to lie down and rest without any demands being made of me other than “Open a little wider, please.”
Obviously, being hospitalized isn’t ideal for a whole host of reasons, but the desire is real. There aren’t a lot of simple solutions to the issue of moms needing a real break—not just an hour or two, but a few days—but maybe if society were structured in such a way that we had smaller, more frequent respites and spread the work of parenting across the community, we wouldn’t feel as much of a desire to be hospitalized simply to be able to be able to rejuvenate.
Steve Burns’ “Blues Clues” days might be behind him, but he has continued to be a source of inspiration for the now grown adults who once helped fill his handy dandy notebook.
The beloved former host has brought millennial fans to tears (and laughter) on multiple occasions with his heartfelt TikToks—from silent check-ins to awkward dating stories.
One video, recently posted by @umbrella.memes2, shows Burns delivering a commencement speech to a group of SUNY Delhi graduates. It’s filled with humor, but there’s one joke that’s particularly cute—with a beautiful twist.
Burns began by reminiscing about his “Blues” days, dubbing himself “the original gangster host” and joking about the “meaningful conversations” he’d had with condiments, going “crazy” when the mail showed up and searching for clues that “were painfully obvious to everyone” but him.
“And that’s where you came in, my friend,” he told the crowd. “In each and every episode, I would need your help and so I would stand in front of the camera and look into the lens as if I was looking right at you, my ride or die, and I would ask, ‘Will you help me?’”
He then shared how one of his most common catchphrases used to “concern” him, given that his mostly preschool audience was a “very literal group of people.”
“Very often, someone will repeat to me a phrase that I said all the time on every episode,” Burns recalled. “And that’s, ‘If you use your mind and take a step at a time, you can do anything that you wanna do.’”
Apparently one young viewer named Brian did in fact take the mantra to heart, and wrote to Burns saying “Dear Steve, I love your show. I want to be a pizza.”
“As the years passed, I’ve often thought of Brian, worried that he’s lived his life according to my advice in pursuit of the dream of actually becoming a piece of pizza. And I wonder if Brian is out there somewhere deeply disappointed, covered in marinara sauce. And I hope that he’s not,” Burns quipped.
This is where the speech took a profound turn.
Burns told that audience he hopes that rather than taking the message literally, folks will use the catchphrase as “an empowering reminder of the power of hard work” and an “empowering reminder of the importance of having a dream.”
“We’re all expected to have one of those, aren’t we?” he asked, before contemplating on how we are expected to know “what will ultimately make us happy” from an early age, and then “to follow it relentlessly.”
“It’s absurd, when you think about it.”
Burns then shared his own dream of becoming a serious actor, and how, even if it didn’t pan out the way he expected it to, the pursuing of that dream did help him find fulfillment.
“I left college to be a brooding, very serious, definitely pretentious actor in New York City. I wanted to live a life of impenetrable theatre and make films that no one would see. That was my dream. And it had absolute nothing to do with being on children’s television.”
That’s where the clip cuts off, but according to a post from SUNY’s Facebook, his conclusion was:
“Your life may not lead to your dream. But your dream will lead you to your life. There are often incredible opportunities in the surrounding areas, to the right and left, north and south of your dream. I’m a living breathing example of that fact, and my wish for you is that you will be too.”
Oh Steve, there you go again…tugging at our heartstrings and giving us remarkable wisdom.
Needless to say, viewers were moved…not to mention a little nostalgic.
“This is how you do a commencement speech. Inspiring people going forward and encouraging them in such a pure spirit,” one person wrote.
Another added, “I’m 28 and ‘Blue’s Clues’ was my everything. I still have my red chair and handy dandy notebook. As an adult having Steve talk to me makes me feel so good about myself…thank you Steve.”
We are so glad your dream brought you to where you are, Steve. May we all have the courage to follow our own dreams and be open to where they take us.
The usually respectful crowd at a “Wheel of Fortune” taping aired on Wednesday, May 22, couldn’t hold back after they felt that a puzzle given to finalist Rob Dodson was too harsh. A big reason for their outrage (and why the puzzle was so tricky) was because $1 million was on the line.
Before the puzzle, Dodson chose from a selection of cards that held the prize he would win for solving it. Amongst the cards was the $1 million jackpot, so, understandably, tensions were high. Did Dodson choose the million-dollar card? Will he solve the puzzle under the “What Are You Doing Category”?
Well, things didn’t start too great.
After the usual R, S, T, L, N, and E were put up on the board, Dodson was looking at “_ _ _ _ _ L _ N _.” He quickly guessed C, H, P and A, none of which appeared on the board. He then guessed “funneling” and “finding,” but they didn’t work.
After the solution to the puzzle was revealed, the audience began to boo because they didn’t think it was fair. It had 2 Bs in the short answer, started with a Q and was a word that isn’t used often in casual conversation. The crowd’s reaction was an excellent show of support for Dodson, who encouraged the crowd to keep going by raising his hands.
Host Pat Sajak, 77, pushed back against the boos, jokingly asking the audience, “Who asked you?”
So, would Dobson have won the $1 million if he guessed quibbling? Nope. The card he chose would have earned him an Infiniti car if he had guessed correctly. But all in all, it wasn’t a bad outing for Dodson, a father of 2 from Aurora, Ohio. He managed to win $33,500 against Venetia Brown ($7,550) and Jessica Huffman ($2,000).
The tough puzzle earned a lot of boos on social media as well. Twitter was lit up with people who thought that Dodson got cheated by being given a challenging puzzle with a word seldom used in conversation.
This is actually the sixth known time the word QUIBBLE or any derivative was used on the show, and the fifth in the Bonus Round, the first of which was EXACTLY ten years ago today. #WheelofFortune#QUIBBLINGpic.twitter.com/pAvHW05SmC
yooooo the crowd just boo’d the final puzzle on wheel tonight – category was “what’re you doing” and it was just one word – “quibbling”. Weak af @WheelofFortune never heard the crowd boo before bc it was so outrageous 😭😭😭
Big changes are in store for “Wheel of Fortune” in the coming weeks. The final episode with Sajak as host will air on June 7. Sajak has been the host of “Wheel” since 1981. Vanna White, his co-host since 1982, will remain with the show. “I couldn’t be happier to have shared the stage with you for all these years with one more to come,” she wrote on X last year after Sajak announced this would be his last season. “Cheers to you.”
Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)
Sajak has been a beloved host on “Wheel of Fortune,” earning 19 Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Game Show Host and winning three times. In 2019, he set a Guinness World Record for the longest career as a game show host for the same show, beating the previous record held by Bob Barker.
A familiar face will replace Sajak, Ryan Seacrest, best known for his work on “American Idol” and “Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve.” “I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White,” he said after it was announced he was the new host.
Sydney Sweeney’s career probably could not be any hotter for a single actress to handle without being cloned, and she’s navigating the job’s inherent pressure extraordinary well. Not only is she comfortable with acknowledging this type of attention, but she’s also a savvy marketing genius who (with Glen Powell as her partner in cinematic crime) might have resurrected the belief in romcoms at the box office. Additionally, she’s taken unexpected swings with success in the dramatic realm and has multiple movie projects lined up.
With Euphoria on the blink and that production on hold, that means that Sweeney can leap headfirst into projects for which she is very excited. That includes getting jacked to portray the most successful female boxer of the 1990s, Christy Martin, in a biopic. Here’s what we can expect.
Plot
The still-untitled movie will be directed by David Michôd, who co-wrote the script with Mirrah Foulkes. As relayed by Deadline, Michôd explained how Sweeney’s performance in Reality inspired him to cast her as the 1990s prizefighter who became Don King’s first female signee. She eventually became welterweight champion yet endured years of domestic abuse by her husband, Jim Martin, who also acted as her manager. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempting to murder Christy in November 2010.
Via Deadline, Michôd explained how the “Female Rocky” theme (as dubbed by producers) will roll out, including script’s main arc:
“The film is about Christy as a young gay woman in small-town West Virginia in the 1990s. She came from a relatively conservative family and wasn’t allowed to be who she was so she used boxing as a vehicle to express herself and her rage. She had to make some dangerous and fundamental compromises in her life, the most important of which was marrying an incredibly dangerous man.”
Sweeney detailed her anticipation to start training (and probably downing protein shakes) to get jacked to portray a boxing icon:
“I grappled and did kickboxing from 12-19 years old. I’ve been itching to get back into the ring, train, and transform my body. Christy’s story isn’t a light one, it’s physically and emotionally demanding, there’s a lot of weight to carry. But I love challenging myself.”
Sweeney also hopes to pay tribute to how “Martin not only legitimized female boxing, she overcame gender stereotypes, and fought through emotional, physical, and financial abuse.” The actress further insisted, “I’m passionate about the fighting world, Christy’s story shines a light on her incredible rise to the top while showing the struggles … It’s powerful, and emotional.”
Previously, Christy Martin gave an incredible (and graphic) interview to The Guardian, which she told about how — despite her significant injuries — she was training “in the gym” within a few months of the near-fatal attack. Additionally, the bullet stayed in her body for over a month:
“I was told, ‘It has to be left in because it’s evidence.’ But once they took it out, they basically sliced the area right open and popped it into a little container. The officer was there to take it, and off they went. All of that was quick. The physical stuff was the easy part. I mean, I was back in the gym a week after it happened with the stitches and the bullet and all that. But the mental part, I still deal with.”
Cast
Sweeney as Martin is the only definite here so far. Additionally, the role of Jim Martin — attempted murder, spouse, and boxing coach — is up for grabs (might we suggest the shapeshifting Sebastian Stan?), and there would be a missed opportunity if this movie didn’t include Don King in Martin’s story.
Release Date
That would ordinary mean an enduring wait for this film. However, Sweeney had planned to go into shooting Euphoria‘s third season this year, and those plans have changed with the indefinite postponement of that season. As a result — and following Sweeney’s own statements of excitement — we can expect filming to begin as soon as feasibly possible.
Trailer
No dice on a trailer yet. However, Sweeney did previously tell Women’s Health that she loves being fit because it’s “really fun to be able to kick a guy’s ass.”
You need to go to at least a few years of elementary school before you can graduate to middle school, so obviously there needs to be at least a few more years of Abbott Elementary before we move on to learning geometry.
Season three of Abbott Elementary just finished airing, but with thanks to that finale moment, fans can’t wait for the story to pick back up. Luckily, ABC’s hit sitcom was renewed for a fourth season earlier this year, just days after season three premiered. And based on the finale, there is a lot that could happen in the next season!
At the end of season three, Janine and Gregory share a kiss, so could season four finally bring the two together? Possibly! Tyler James Williams, who plays Gregory, told Decider, “I think the biggest tease I can give you is this isn’t an answer. This actually brings up more questions. I think people initially are going to see it as an answer. But when you really sit down and think about it, we have to explore all of these questions. And this isn’t a definitive. The show doesn’t stop here. If anything, it feels like it just got started,” the former Sesame Street star said.
Creator Quinta Brunson has no plans to stop the Abbott train anytime soon. Inna roundtable interview, she told The Hollywood Reporter, “Abbott is what people know me for, which I’m grateful for, but I’m also dealing with what that means. Because I think there’s a sense of responsibility that comes with it and continuing to keep this ship going. And I want to be able to retire my whole cast. I want it to go on for a long time,” she concluded. Hopefully there will be enough time to bring Big Bird on set to reunite with Williams.
Abbott Elementary is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.
The Atlanta Bass R&B revolution has begun! Fortunately, the ones kicking it off are a K-pop group, NewJeans, and they’ve already got a strong record of adapting the formulas of hyperspecific R&B subgenres and eras to their perky approach. On their new song, “How Sweet,” they employ the skittering laser-gun-laden sounds of groups like Ghost Town DJ’s and INOJ, updating them with pristine contemporary production and songwriting.
In previous singles like “Bubble Gum” and their inescapable breakout hit “Super Shy,” the quintet has smartly updated millennial R&B sensibilities to engage listeners informed by 2000s nostalgia. They’ve also wisely skipped around the straight-up radio hits of yesterday to ensure that their sound doesn’t get stale or come off as disingenuous, even though most of those hits came from before the group’s members were even born. There’s clearly a lot of appeal in their approach; the group was the fastest K-pop act to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, and their previous single “Get Up,” even reached the top spot.
The video for “How Sweet” even uses some of the most familiar tropes of the era, like the wet stage and baggy clothes (they wouldn’t be out of place in TLC’s “Creep” video or other late-stage newjack swing visuals).
Maggie Rogers is always a thrill on stage, and now she has kicked off her The Don’t Forget Me Tour. The first date went down at Petco Park in San Diego yesterday (May 23), and if you’re planning to hit up a future concert, here’s what you can expect in terms of the setlist.
At San Diego, Rogers played a 20-song set, and half of it was devoted to songs from her latest album, Don’t Forget Me, per setlist.fm. The site also notes that Rogers took the stage at 8:15 p.m.
Find the setlist below, along with Rogers’ upcoming tour dates.
Maggie Rogers’ The Don’t Forget Me Tour Setlist
1. “It Was Coming All Along”
2. “Drunk”
3. “So Sick Of Dreaming”
4. “The Kill”
5. “Be Cool”
6. “Dog Years”
7. “Love You For A Long Time”
8. “Shatter”
9. “If Now Was Then”
10. “I Still Do”
11. “Alaska”
12. “On & On & On”
13. “Never Going Home”
14. “Light On”
15. “That’s Where I Am”
16. “Overdrive”
17. “Don’t Forget Me”
18. “All The Same”
19. “Fallingwater”
20. “Different Kind Of World”
Maggie Rogers 2024 Tour Dates: The Don’t Forget Me Tour Part 1
05/24 — Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
05/27 — Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre +
05/28 — Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre +
05/31 — Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
06/01 — The Woodlands, TX @ The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion presented by Huntsman
06/03 — Rogers, AR @ Walmart AMP
06/05 — Indianapolis, IN @ Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
06/07 — Cincinnati, OH @ The ICON Festival Stage at Smale Park
06/08 — Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Pavilion
06/09 — Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre
06/11 — Alpharetta, GA @ Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
06/14 — Manchester, TN @ Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival^
06/16 — Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion +
06/19 — Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park
06/20 — Charleston, SC @ Credit One Stadium
06/22 — Miami, FL @ FPL Solar Amphitheater at Bayfront Park
Maggie Rogers 2024 Tour Dates: The Don’t Forget Me Tour Part 2
10/09 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
10/15 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
10/17 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
10/19 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
10/22 — Toronto, ON @ Coca-Cola Coliseum
10/24 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
10/25 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
10/29 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
10/30 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
11/01 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
11/02 — Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum
Don’t Forget Me is out now via Capitol Records. Find more information here.
A party during the Cannes Film Festival was reportedly interrupted by a brawl involving rappers Travis Scott and Tyga as their crews exchanged blows during the event. The melee was confirmed by TMZ after grainy, dark video of the fight emerged online (those darn iPhones, am I right?) alleging that Travis and Tyga were directly involved speculated that they were scrapping over their mutual ex, Kylie Jenner.
According to TMZ, Alexander Edwards — a music executive at Universal who also moonlights as a rapper under the name “AE” and has been dating Cher (yes, that Cher) since 2022 — shouted out the rappers on the DJ’s mic. Travis reportedly snatched the mic from AE and exchanged some heated words with him. After initially leaving the stage, Travis returned with producer Southside, and AE and Southside exchanged blows. At this point, AE and Tyga’s assistants also jumped in, trading blows with Travis. Security eventually broke things up, and Travis and Southside both departed, with AE and Tyga remaining behind and staying until the wee hours of the morning.
One fight Travis Scott won’t have to worry about for the immediate future is the legal one stemming from the wrongful death lawsuits filed against him in the wake of the 2021 Astroworld Festival tragedy. All ten cases have been settled, leaving him with just two hundred or so injury suits set to be argued as one case starting in October.
Hot water bottle in hand, I snuggle up to the frosted window and open my eyes to a sublime view of Peru’s Andean countryside. The rugged peaks of the Andes, the sacred “Apu,” stand out across this vast emerald valley. Alpaca graze the slope behind my cabin. I sit and listen to their soft humming sounds until an eruption of giggles breaks the silence. The children have woken up and they’re playing with the herding dog, their weather-reddened cheeks puffy with smiles.
How lucky am I to be waking up in this magical place — the remote village of Chaullacocha, Peru.
***
Like many good travel stories, I have a serendipitous encounter with a taxi driver to thank for starting my time in Chaullacocha. I was seeking a guide to show me beyond the popular Cusco itinerary highlights (Machu Picchu, Rainbow Mountain, etc.), so he brought me by a tour office, they made a few calls, and voila — I got connected with Domingo of Kallpa Travel. Over coffee and cheesecake the next day, Domingo spoke about his unique off-the-grid astrophotography tours, homestays, and glamping treks, and it felt like the stars had aligned!
EN ROUTE TO CHAULLACOCHA
Melanie Gordon
With Domingo’s promise of seeing the “real Peru,” we headed towards the home of Augustín: a father, alpaca farmer, and leader of the rural Chaullacocha community about 3 hours east of the Sacred Valley. From the passenger seat, my eyes traced swirls of ancient mountain footpaths and scores of purple flowering potato plants. The landscape here tells a story of millennia-old traditions; agriculture and herding as a way of life.
Remember, life in the Peruvian Andes has persisted relatively the same since well before the Inca Empire.
Melanie Gordon
As you can imagine, it was cold. The further we drove into the Andes, the more layers I added. First a beanie, then a sweater, then a jacket — all clothes I scored second-hand just in time for this trip. After a while, everyone we passed wore traditional Andean clothing: women in colorful pollera skirts and ornate montera hats, and men in beige trousers with red-tasseled caps on their heads. These are Quechua people, the largest indigenous group in Peru.
Of course, there were also Quechua people — mostly young men — in jeans and t-shirts. Though western style is more popular these days, the bright traditional clothing was the norm for over 1,000 years. Domingo (who is also Quechua) explained to me that this colorful, seemingly cumbersome garb keeps people visible to one another in the mountains while also bringing joy amidst the challenges of high Andean living.
WELCOME HOMESTAY
Kallpa Travel
We ditched the car at a pass with a sign marking the elevation at 15,000ft and headed off on foot, weaving around alpaca and llamas (and their droppings) toward the homestead. The mountain terrain felt unfamiliar to me. Bouncy and full of craters like the surface of the moon. And so green. Every few steps Domingo crouched over the earth, adjusting the micro-lens of his smartphone to capture the “pequeños universos” of the flowers.
The delicate dimension and sacred patterns of perfect nature; revealed only to those who care enough to see.
Melanie Gordon
Homestay tourism in Chaullacocha slowed after 2020, so it had been a while since the families had seen anyone who looks like me. Domingo warned me they might be a little shy. But when we reached the wooden gate, four joyous ladies in beautiful Andean dress draped me in a pink strewn flower necklace, warmly welcoming me to their village for the night. Their skirts swished back and forth as they led me to my cabin on the hill behind the main house.
All the rooms — a kitchen, small bathroom, and four guest cabins for homestay-ers like me — are made of adobe and stone. I was glad to find the essentials when I got in my room… A big bed, lots of blankets, and a light. But the electricity happened to be out. Of course, my reasons for doing this homestay didn’t include amenities and comfort. So I made an intention to listen closely, ask thoughtful questions, and be grateful for the opportunity to connect with people who know a life far different than I do.
And that is why we travel… isn’t it?
BREAKING BREAD
Melanie Gordon
I consider myself fairly well-traveled, but I did not expect to eat the most divine ceviche of my life at 15k feet. It was buttery soft and perfectly acidic, topped with toasted tricolor maiz and a couple of sweet potato slices. There I sat at the long wooden table in the dining room, scraping the inside of the little ceramic bowl to get the last morsels of what might be the only Andean ceviche I’ll ever eat.
Melanie Gordon
The eldest sons brought in more food and the rest of the families joined. We grazed elbows; sipping soup and passing silver platters of rice, chicken skewers, and potatoes five ways, ooh-ing and ahh-ing over a peeled tomato rose on one dish and a radish mouse on the other. Even breakfast the next morning was creative – a star-shaped frittata. Augustín played a few songs on the charango (Peruvian guitar) as we digested our feast.
For years he worked as a chef on the Inca Trail, hauling gear and cooking three meals a day for groups trekking to Machu Picchu. With homestays, men like Augustín can serve food from their own land (or lake), help the women weavers sell their goods, and share Quechua traditions with people from all over the world. Homestays help sustain their ancient way of life, which is especially important as younger generations drift away from their roots in hopes of economic gain.
THE WOMEN OF CHAULLACOCHA
Kallpa Travel
The Weavers
Kallpa Travel
After lunch the women weavers of Chaullacocha gathered on the lawn to showcase their artistry. Weaving alpaca and llama fibers is a skill passed down through generations in high Andean communities. At around eight years old, girls will begin spinning fur into yarn while walking the mountains and valleys with their mothers and aunties. It becomes so second nature, they don’t have to think about what they’re doing. They achieve a flow state with their craft.
Melanie Gordon
Peruvian weaving has garnered admirers from around the world for its intricate designs and vibrant colors. I was stoked to buy some one-of-a-kind gifts for my family and learn about the symbolism of the animal patterns and various color threads. Purchasing directly from the hands of the women rather than at urban markets felt good; proceeds go directly to those who truly deserve it.
The fathers and children were performing traditional dance on the slope in front, of course, I joined in. Laughter filled the air as we spun and I tried to follow their steps, bridging cultural gaps through the universal language of dance.
Cuy Breeding
Melanie Gordon
We then visited the home of a matriarch who breeds guinea pigs — yes, guinea pigs! They’re an Andean delicacy called “cuy”, and I ate them a couple times while in Peru. Among the Andean nations, Peru boasts the largest population of 35 million guinea pigs. It’s common for each village to have a cuy breeder, and in Chaullacoha, we were looking at her, Lucia. She sleeps above the few dozen guinea pigs on a bed made of wood, natural fibers, and woven blankets. Fascinated by this, I bought one of her stunning fine woven table runners to take home.
I was intrigued to learn from Lucia that guinea pigs are used in traditional healing to treat human illness. The rodent is passed around an individual to absorb disease. Interestingly, the guinea pig often dies after the healing. Before we departed Lucia’s home, the little girl who’s been tracing our footsteps captured a baby guinea pig and placed it in my arms.
The little girl lives just down the road, so we head that way to meet her mother, Benedicta, who has engineered a remarkable rainbow trout farm using a PVC pipe system. I was mind blown. This is the rainbow trout in the ceviche! Benedicta set up plastic tubes to funnel trout from the stream behind her house into hand dug pools. Quechua people work with nature, not against it.
Tears welled up in my eyes as I could no longer deny the lingering thought in the back of my mind, these people – -this way of life — it’s nothing short of a miracle. It’s brutal and trying but beautiful, and has managed to stand the test of time.
Melanie Gordon
I asked Domingo how aware the families are of the state of the world: the wars, expansion of globalism, and virtual reality… He said they hear about these things — they know they exist — but the concepts don’t preoccupy their thoughts. The people of Chaullacocha live a life that most people in modern society don’t understand: simple, in communion with the natural world, living closely with their lineage, and in support of their neighbors.
Surrounded by expansive mountainous terrain, I caught a glimpse of the humble yet resilient lifestyle of Peru’s high Andean communities, witnessing traditions and heritage that can serve to teach the collective about returning to our roots. Children of the earth and siblings to one another, the mountains, stars, and sky. It was unique to any other travel experience I’ve ever had. And that’s what made it so sacred.
If you’d like to stay with Augustín’s family in Chaullacocha outside of Cusco, Peru, get in contact with Kallpa Travel here.
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