La Isla Nena: A Trip to Vieques

Puerto Rico has the most beautiful places of the Caribbean, well I'm Puerto Rican it's obvious that I would say that, but in this case, it's true. From the coast, with the beautiful beaches, to the center of the Island with the amazing mountains, Puerto Rico has a great diversity of scenarios for the in-land tourists or the international tourist. One of the places that I had an amazing time was in Vieques, one of the island Municipalities of Puerto Rico.

Playa Media Luna, near Sunbay

Vieques is approximately 21 miles long and 3 miles wide, with an area of 52 square miles. The island is located to the eastern side of Puerto Rico, near to the U.S. Virgen Islands. It's home of one of tree bioluminescent bays of Puerto Rico, known as Mosquito Bay. Around the island you can go to great snorkeling spots, and I'm sure you won't regret it.

I made a trip to Vieques on July of 2011, all the pictures that I will show you are from that time. Some places might have change, but the essence of the place it's what it counts. 

The camping area is located on the Sunbay Reserve, which is part of National Parks Company. For the camping on this area you are charged $10 per night, on the area there is showers and bathrooms, also a common area. 

For me the most beautiful beach on the Island is Media Luna, the way there is a little complicated but the outcome is amazing. The sand is almost white, and the water is very clear. 

The place that caught my eye was the Black Sand Beach, I didn't know that place existed in Puerto Rico. To get there we had to pass through a complicated trail, but at the end of it there it was, black sand and a beautiful scenario. 

The trip there was great, and I want to go back so bad. I hope to go there soon and update my pictures, and there might be a few changes too. I hope you guys like the pictures and that a new interest for another place in Puerto Rico has born. Come and visit my beautiful and enchanted island of Puerto Rico!! Like and share ~.^ 

On the Charts: My Top 10 Kpop Songs, 4th Edition

It's that time again. My Top 10 Kpop Songs are here!!!! This time it was really complicated for me to choose 10 songs, since September and October are the months for comeback on the kpop industry, and the dramas had incredible OST. But I made it, here are My Top 10, hope you guys like it and try to check them out.  

1.       Full House by MOBB (Mino x Bobby): This time YG has launch solo projects from the main rappers of the groups iKON and WINNER. The name of this new unit is called MOBB, a combination of the name of the rappers, Mino and Bobby. When you hear the songs that where release you can feel the fusion of both artists, with the result of an incredible record. Since the time that both where trainees and part of the reality/survival show "WIN: Who is Next?", we could see their friendship and how well they get along, and this project is the best way to pay tribute to it. (On the MV for this song you can have a glimpse of Nuna, The Baddest Female a.k.a CL.) 

2.       Holup! by Bobby: Bobby has been well phrased on the hip-hop industry, especially after winning "Show Me the Money Season 3". During all the season, Bobby's songs placed well on the digital charts. Aside from winning $100 Million on the show he also was part of the "Illionaire Records 11:11 Concert" as part of the price. On 2014 Bobby was part of the models for the brand NONA9ON, which is a collaboration between YG and Samsung’s Cheil Industries, on the campaign also where B.I. from iKON and Lisa from BlackPink. He also has collaborated with other hip-hop artists like Epik High and with label mates Lee Hi and Lee Suhyun for the single "Different". After the reality/survival show "MIX & MATCH", the group iKON officially debuted on September 2015 with the track "My Type", and the album "Welcome Back" was released on October of the same year. One way to describe this track is a way to express his style of music and reassure us about his incredible talent on the music industry.  

3.       Body by Mino: Before he got into YG Entertainment, Mino was part of the group BoM but disbanded two years later. He then auditioned for YG and got in, soon after he was set to be part of "WIN: Who is Next". Mino was set as leader for the Team A at the reality/survival show, but because he got injured and couldn't participate with the group on a mission, Yang Hyun Suk decided to name Seung Yoon the leader of the group. The group won the competition and became WINNER. With their album release we got a glimpse of Mino as a solo act with the song "I'm Him", which I gotta say it's one of my favorite songs of the album. He was a contestant on "Show Me the Money Season 4" on which he was runner-up, on the beginning of the year WINNER released their second album "EXIT: E" for which he did a duet track with Taehyun. With his solo debut we can see a more mature side of him, which it can be a little sensual (((for me, super sexy ♥.♥))).  

        

4.       Promise (I'll be) by 2PM: The group new album wants to get out of the label of beastly idol with this mature project. This album is produced by the very own 2PM, and Taecyeon was the one who did the production for the title track. The group collaborated on the writing of the lyrics and some compositions. Some of the lyrics are kind of racy, but for the western fans it is not that big of a deal. The sad news about this 6th studio album is that is the last one of the group before they enlist to the mandatory military service (((NOOOOOOOO T.T))).    

5.       Can You Hear My Heart by Epik High ft Lee Hi: This song is part of the drama Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Moon Lovers OST. You wouldn’t think about a hip-hop fusion song for a historical drama, but remember that the female lead traveled thru time and ended up on that era, so it's ok. Aside from that, the song is great, Lee Hi has an incredible talent and been able to hear the first OST from Epik High is awesome. The song is a confession, how you can't get that person out of your heart, which it's exactly what the male lead is going thru on the drama. You guys have to check this song out!!    

6.       Hit Me by MOBB (Mino x Bobby) ft Kush: From this incredible unit made with Winner's Mino and iKON's Bobby, the song "Hit Me" is more upbeat and great for you to lose stress. Alongside the new duo you can hear the collaboration with hip-hop singer Kush. On my opinion, YG is amazing creating units, the new sounds that came out of it are outstanding.   

7.       Dancing King by EXO x Yoo Jae Suk: This song can really get you, is a dance track and the choreography is really good. The collaboration for this song came after the show "Infinite Challenge" in which Yoo Jae Suk is part of. Thanks to one of the show members, Yoo Jae Suk get his chance to be part of EXO on a special performance for one of their concert in Thailand. This production was part of SM Entertainment new division SM Station, which it's main target is to create collaborations with other artists outside of the SM label. The audience can watch the process of this project thru one episode of the show. The song was number 2 on Gaon's Digital Chart and number 1 on Gaon's Download Chart on their release on September 17.  

8.       Hard Carry by GOT7: "Flight Log: Turbulence" is the second studio album from the group, and the song "Hard Carry" is their title track. The album is part of a series, been "Flight Log: Departure" the first album from it. The song and the choreography is really good, and with each album the fans can see how the group is maturing on their music. Till this day the group has won first place on several music shows.   

  

9.       Only One by Apink: The group has come back since their last release on July of last year with the album "Pink Memory" with the title track "Remember". The girls haven’t change their concept since the beginning, which is innocent and pure, and the desire for a sexy concept is not in their plans. "Only One" is the title track from their third full length Korean album, "Pink Revolution". 

  

10.   The Eye by Infinite: What I like about this group is their unique sound, which you can get the hang of it on all their work. Also, the choreographies that they do are precise and always have an impact on the lyrics. Every time you see the group perform you don’t get disappointed, because is like watching a musical, they are very dramatic on their moves since the lyrics match them. The song talks about how difficult is to get away from someone and how hard it's to go through a breakup.   

Hope you guys liked my list, and that you gave these songs a chance. Korean Pop Music is really good, not what you might think when you hear pop. The entertainment industry in South Korea is very influential on the society, and their music has travel all over the World. And like a lot of people say, music is a universal language, so go and explored. Thanks for your time peeps, hope you come for the next edition.  

On the Charts: My Top 10 Kpop Songs, 3rd Edition

Well, here we go again!! It's time for the K-pop Charts!! These are the songs that I have been listening to for the past couple of weeks. I hope you check them out and share the post.  

1.       Lifted by CL: South Korea's Baddest Female has finally made her US debut!!! After Lee Chae Rin signed with Scooter Braun for management in the US as a solo artist, her fans were anxious to see this new step on her career. So, two years later and the waiting stop. CL made her solo debut with the song "Lifted" on August 18, which brings a new sound based on the 1990's hip-hop. The song has been placed 14^th on the Top 40 Hip Hop Chart on iTunes, and was on top of the list on international iTunes chart in Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. But even though she has achieved recognition on the US music media, her pass success as part of 2NE1 and the PSY sensation with "Gangnam Style" has shaded her success, since she hasn’t been able to break into the mainstream of the US music industry. Nevertheless, this song is a great way to prove that she has talent in the music industry, and that she isn't afraid to take the risk of parting ways of the kpop trends to make her own sound.      

    

2.       Boombaya by Black Pink: The most anticipated girl group from YG Entertainment has finally made their debut. After years of teasing the fans with videos from different trainees that could be part of this new group, YG made the line-up public on June of this year, with a four members group (Jennie, Jisoo, Rose and Lisa). Black Pink is the first girl group the company has release since 2NE1, seven year ago. On August 14 the single and MV of "Boombaya" was release, and ranked 1^st place on Billboard's World Digital Songs.     

    

3.       Into You by Kolaj ft. Eric Nam: Into You is actually a song from an indie dance-pop duo from the US, but Eric Nam is a well-known singer and entertainer in South Korea. The song was release on June 9 on iTunes, SoundCloud and Spotify. Nam co-produced and write lyrics for this song, that is one of the main reasons for me to decide to put it on the list, and because I have it almost all the time on repeat.    

4.       Whistle by Black Pink: The second single of the rookie group, "Whistle" has been placed 2^nd on the Billboard's World Digital Songs. Now the group is part of the seventh artist that has hit the No. 1 spot on the list, with fellow label mates PSY, Big Bang, 2NE1, CL, G-Dragon, Taeyang, and the boy groups EXO and BTS. The group is only the third South Korean act to take the first two positions, alongside PSY and Big Bang.   

5.       Lotto by EXO: On August 18 the group release a repackage of their last album "Ex'Act" entitled "Lotto". The album contains the original 9 tracks from the last album with four new songs, one of them a remix for "Monster". The song "Lotto (Louder)" was classified unfitted for broadcast on KBS, one of the top stations on South Korea, since "Lotto" is a brand on the country. But this didn’t stop the group to appear on the channel, they changed the title track for KBS and MBC, and won first place on several music shows.   

    

6.       All Mine by f(x): After the promotions for the album "4 Walls" ended on the last months of 2015, the group has been busy working in solo promotions. Amber and Luna had release tracks on 2016, and Victoria has been active as an actress in China, it was on July that the group release the song "All Mine". The song was part of the agency project SM Station, and was release while the group was busy on the SM Town concerts on Japan. The song is a EDM track and the video was directed, filmed and edited by Amber.   

7.       Think About You by Jun. K (2PM): At the beginning of August the 2PM member, Jun. K, made his solo comeback with the first Korean album "Mr. No Love". The singer wrote the lyrics for the track "Think About You" and co-composed the music for it. The song is about how he can't get someone out of his head the regrets of heartbreak. All the songs of the album were wrote by him and some of the compositions with other musicians.   

8.       For You by Baekhyun, Chen and Xiumin (EXO): This song is part of the new drama from SBS, Scarlet Heart Ryo: Moon Lovers. The song is performed by the of the vocalist of the kpop group EXO, been Baekhyun one of the leads of the drama. This new drama is set on the Goryeo Dynasty, after Ko Ha Jin is transported during an eclipse of the sun to the body of Hae Soo, the cousin of the wife of the 8^th Prince Wang Wook. A love triangle with Hae Soo, Wook and the 4^th Prince Wang So would be part of this drama, that also involves action, rivalry, politics and the fight for the throne.   

9.       Comfortable by Team D & Gray (One, Simon Dominic & Gray): From the hip-hop battle TV show, Show Me the Money 5, the rapper Simon Dominic and singer/producer Gray did a song with the contestant One, who is part of their team. The song was released on June, on episode 7 of the 5^th season of the program.  

10.   Confession by Sin Bi (GFriend) ft Si Jin: This song is part of the OST of the drama Cinderella and Four Knights. The drama is about a girl contracted by a millionaire to make his grandsons better people. So, she ends up living in an incredible house, with four amazingly good looking men. Family, friendship and love, these are a few of the statements that the drama will embrace.  

Well, this are the songs that I have been listening to for the past days. Some of the songs are from June, but they are new to my ears. Hope you like the list and share it!! Thanks for reading ^.~