Oh, Mexico – It Sounds So Sweet With the Sun Sinking Low.
Wednesday, May 27th, 2009
Hi friends,
I feel like I start out every blog with “this has been an amazing week”, but this week has been exceptional. I’m on a plane leaving Mexico City headed back to LA. This week in Mexico City has been a time I will never forget. We shot the video for my single “Big For Me” and I am so excited about it. The director Bambo Velasco is so creative and artistic. He thinks outside the box and is all about pushing the envelope. We both wanted to do things that no one has done before. From what we shot I feel like we achieved that goal.
The video should be finished in a couple of weeks and we got some great behind the scenes footage. So those of you that aren’t so patient (like me) can get a little sample.
Day 1:
From the start the video team made me feel so comfortable. Even though some of them spoke little English (and my Spanish is slim at best), they instantly made me feel like family. We shot so many different scenes. Way too many to even explain. You’ll get some of the scoop from the behind the scenes footage in my video blog. I’ll try to have that up in a few days. We shot from morning till night and I thought I would be tired, but I was like “adrenaline Jd”. I was totally wired after the shoot, so we went to a club that had a great live band. They asked me to sit in. I sang Superstition and I Wish. It was so much fun and the locals know how to have a great time! As much as I wanted to hang out all night, I knew that I had an early call time and I wasn’t trying to look like “raccoon Jd”. 
So we headed back to the hotel (which was doh ope!)
Day 2:
The director said that we got way more accomplished than he expected the day before so we may just have a half-day. Some of the scenes were challenging because the whole video was shot on green screen. It took a lot of imagination. But I’m always up for a challenge! The video team was professional, chill and hilarious. The perfect combination! We wrapped around 5:30 and I have to say I wasn’t ready for it to be over. I felt like in just a couple of days, I had made friends for life. (Very rare on a video shoot)
I went back to the hotel and took a serious power nap and then headed out for my last night in Mexico City. We headed to Centro De Coyoacan. They had these great local artist shops. I got to pick up a few cool souvenirs. Then we headed to this authentic Mexican restaurant. I was feeling like part of the culture so I asked what their specialties were. They said that they were especially known for their Ant, Larvae and Maggot dishes! Oh sweet Jesus, I’m brave, but not that kind of brave! So my adventurous self ordered a Mexican Pizza. (So much for adventure)
After dinner we took a late night tour of some of Mexico City’s landmarks. Some of the architecture was gorgeous. It was cool to see the city that late on a Sunday night. The streets were practically empty (maybe it was the swine flu scare), but it felt like we had the city all to ourselves.
The only way I can describe this trip is magical. It’s rare when everything goes so smoothly and just falls in to place. Sometimes I just have to close my eyes and say “thank you God for such indescribable blessings” I feel like I’m in a constant state of awe. The road hasn’t been easy, but the journey has been dream-like at times. This week was one of those times.
