Hispanic Heritage Month in Atlanta

I am part Puerto Rican. So of course, I celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month every year... actually, I guess I celebrate all year long. I am a musician. And I play latin percussion professionally with my latin jazz band, Rio Negro, and salsa y merengue con Orquesta Macuba every weekend at Loca Luna. However, this month is a good time to reflect, remember and learn from our past as we look forward to the future. Here are some things that I am doing to celebrate:

The other night, my wife and I watched a great documentary on the history of Latin music on GPB.

Atlantic Station is hosting a "Latin Taste of Atlanta" this Saturday.

Traditional dishes from Colombia, Cuba, Brazil, Mexico and Peru, plus new
culinary Latin creations will spice up Atlantic Station on October
17th, with DeGustar, a Latin taste of Atlanta event by the Georgia
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (GHCC).

At least 25 restaurants, caterers and markets are expected to
participate. Among them are Coco Loco, Brazilian Bakery Cafe, Frontera, Fuego
Mundo, Lucianos, Lime Taqueria, Machu Pichu, Pampas, Palomillas, Rosa Mexicano,
Sal Grosso Brazilian Steak House, and Tia Maria Bakery.

This one day event will take place in the Central Park Area of
Atlantic Station from 11:30 a.m. to 5:00 pm.

Currently on display at the Atlanta History Center until January, 2010

The Atlanta-based newspaper, MundoHispanico, has served as the voice of Georgia’s Spanish-speaking community, witnessing and recording its growth and
its contributions in Georgia, including those of leaders in business, politics, and the arts.

Opening during our nation’s Hispanic Heritage Month celebration, the Atlanta History Center presents the exhibition, Through the Lens of MundoHispanico: Georgia’s Hispanic Community. Presented in both English and Spanish, this new exhibition celebrates the 30th anniversary of MundoHispanico and its important role as a news outlet, while revealing stories and images from
the newspaper’s archives that explore the growth, diversity, success, and growing influence of Georgia’s Hispanic community.

So if you're interested in dancing this weekend, check out Loca Luna on Saturday night... if your spanish is a little rusty, check out the informal spanish lessons at Starbucks offered by the Latin American Association... if you're a history buff, check out the music documentary on PBS/GPB or visit the Atlanta History Center... if you love latin food, meet me and my family this Saturday at Atlantic Station. Hope to see you there!

Promo Code for Rio Negro Fans! 6th Annual Harvest Midtown - October 4th

Enter the promo code “RioNegro” for $10 off tickets
online at www.harvestmidtown.com until midnight Saturday!!

Hey Rio Negro Fans! We talked to the festival producers on YOUR behalf because WE know you really want to hear us play this weekend! Come out and join the fun at Harvest Midtown this Sunday, October 4th.


www.rionegromusic.com

Atlanta Flood - How YOU can help

I live in Austell, GA. My family and I are okay. We live on a hill and didn't experience any flood damage. However, many in our community have experienced the Great Flood of 2009 in the worst way... they've lost everything. They, our friends, our community need YOUR HELP! Please visit www.HopeATL.com to find out how YOU can make a difference.

We need volunteers to help sort through the donations. We need volunteers who can help folks clean out their homes and try to salvage what they can from the soggy mess. And most importantly, we will need your help in the coming weeks as the clean up and rebuilding of lives continues. So if you're not able to help today, that's okay... this isn't going to get completely fixed over night.

Thanks!
Broderick

Georgia Aquarium's Fourth Annual Aqua Vino - Sip, Savor & Sea

Georgia Aquarium's Fourth Annual Aqua Vino - Sip, Savor & Sea

Oct. 29, 2009; VIP Tasting: 6-7 p.m., Grand Tasting 7-10 p.m.
Georgia Aquarium and Oceans Ballroom
Aqua Vino provides guests an open door to Sip, Savor and Sea the wonders of the ocean, against the beautiful backdrop of the Oceans Ballroom and the Aquarium’s five galleries. Exclusively for one night, enjoy the sounds of Rio Negro (Atlanta's premier latin jazz band), more than 200 fine wines from around the globe, gourmet fare from Atlanta’s best restaurants and two amazing auctions. All proceeds from Aqua Vino support the Aquarium’s Veterinary Services through the Correll Center for Aquatic Animal Health. Purchase tickets now and take advantage of Early Bird special pricing! Learn more.

6th Annual Harvest Midtown - October 4th

For the last few years, my latin jazz band, Rio Negro, plays at the Harvest Midtown Festival. We bring our wives, girlfriends, friends and family to enjoy an afternoon of wine tasting, great music and delicious samples of Midtown Atlanta's best restaurants. I hope you'll consider joining us this year.

Sunday, October 4th - 1pm - 5pm @ The Georgia Terrace

If you don't drink wine, they also have beer tasting and even water tasting! A few years ago, when my wife and I were expecting our daughter, she really enjoyed trying a wide variety of bottled waters and decided that Panna brand water tasted the best. Visit www.harvestmidtown.com for tickets.

Cobb County Restaurant Week

Do you have a birthday, anniversary, special occasion coming up?

September 19 - 26th - Enjoy lunch or dinner at a restaurant you haven't tried yet at the very first Cobb County Restaurant week. Details and a list of participating restaurants can be found here.

Saving Your Home from Foreclosure Part 2

A couple of weeks ago, I published a post on how to save your home from foreclosure. I had three steps but really, we only covered steps 1 and 2 in the earlier post.

1. Do your homework: make sure you have all of your loan documentation and understand the terminology
2. Call your lender: there are a number of programs, including Making Home Affordable, that your lender may have available to help you

Number 3: If all else fails, you may have to sell your home

Selling your home in a good market used to take about 90 days. Today the market reflects a trend of 6 - 12 months... But what if you can't afford your home anymore? What options do you have available to you to avoid foreclosure? One option is a short-sale.

Unfortunately, steps # 1 and # 2 may work to prove that you really can't afford your home anymore. In part 2 of this post, we will explore "short sales." A short sale is basically when you work with a realtor to sell your home for what you owe on the mortgage. The bank has to approve the sale. It's up to the bank whether or not they will allow you to sell your home for less than what is owed on the mortgage. This still will negatively impact your credit but not nearly as bad as a foreclosure. How your credit is affected depends primarily on how / if the mortgage lender reports the sale of your home and thus the repayment of the loan (mortgage).

There are a lot of variables when it comes to making the decision to sell your home. It's best to seek expert advice. Here are a few resources to become more familiar with the concept and the process of a short sale:


Video from CNN Money

Video from CBS News

About.com article on Short Sales

List of articles on Short Sales and understanding Foreclosures available on About.com

What Happens in a Short Sale When You Have Two Loans?


As a real estate agent, I've worked with a few clients who've successfully sold their home via the short sale process. If you think this option is a solution for you, contact me and let's talk about it.