JC Agid

Turning ‘C’est Beau’ into ‘C’est Bio’

December 18, 2019December 19, 2019 by JC Agid Leave a comment

Turning ‘C’est Beau’ into ‘C’est Bio:’ From Mexico’s Roma to New York’s Chelsea with Cihuah’s Franco-Mexican designer

(CIHUAH Pop up in Mexico City until December 24^th: Havre 46, Colonia Juarez, CDMX)

Jet setting from a fashion show in Punta Mita to a pop-up store in la Colonia Roma neighborhood of Mexico City, founder of the fashion brand CIHUAH, Vanessa Guckel, also flew last week to New York where ethical bags designer Ingrid Bruha had invited her as a guest of honor for a special Mexican night.

With her blond and curly hair, Guckel has lived for 10 years in Mexico, a country where women are more likely to have dark and straight hair. Born in France, Guckel is an architect turned eco-fashion designer. She recently received praise for creating a fully bio-degradable garment that can dissolve over time when plunged in water.

Ingrid Bruha and Vanessa Guckel attend A Mexican & Ethical Fashion Evening At Ingrid Bruha at Ingrid Bruha on December 11, 2019 in New York. (Photo by Sean Zanni)

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The Black and White Photographer at the Deauville American Film Festival

September 8, 2019September 8, 2019 by JC Agid Leave a comment

The Black and White Photographer at the Deauville American Film Festival
Fire-chat with Stéphane Kossmann, Photographer

Stéphane Kossmann could have been an American football player. He was built for it. Yet, he became an artist instead. Tall and almost bold, his looks are unmissable. His true strength is not his physical force, but his unique, sharp eye at people and objects, which he captures through the lenses of his Nikon camera. A selection of his work is currently exhibited in Deauville at the 2019 45^thAmerican Film Festival.

Kristen Stewart—the actress who performs the role of Jean Seberg in the eponymous upcoming movie and to whom the Deauville Festival will pay a special tribute, but also Catherine Deneuve—President of the Jury, Robert de Niro, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, and of course Michael Douglas—who romanced in Deauville in 1996 his wife Katherine Zeta-Jones—are all among the actors and actresses whose candid looks have been captured by Kossmann.

Deauville . Waiting For The Barbarians Photocall - 45th Deauville American Film Festival — Stéphane Kossmann and Johnny Depp at the 2019 American Film Festival | Deauviile | (c) Jacques Benaroch

A Hug to Humanity

July 24, 2019December 13, 2019 by JC Agid Leave a comment

A Hug to Humanity
Fire-chat with Saskia Niño de Rivera, founder of Reinserta in Mexico

Saskia Niño de Rivera was the first of the Vital Voices Gala evening’s honorees to walk back on stage at Washington D.C.’s Kennedy Center Opera on April 24th, 2019.

The Mexican activist went straight to Hillary Clinton, and without hesitation, hugged the former Secretary of State and co-founder of Vital Voices, a global foundation launched in 1997 to support women who advance economic opportunity, increase political and public engagement, end gender-based violence and promote human rights across 180 countries and territories.

A few moments before, the audience saw a video of children playing in Lucha Libre disguises (the famous masked Mexican wrestlers). One them, drawing, is heard wishing: “I want to go to the zoo; when I am big, I want to be a fireman; and when I am really big–yeah–if I am really big, I will be The Hulk.”

A childhood fantasy, indeed, except this child cannot even go to a zoo. This child is one the 700 children born and raised in a Mexican jail.

Saskia Nino de Rivera and Hillary Clinton | (c) Lancer Photography | 2019 — Saskia Niño de Rivera and Hillary Clinton | (c) Lancer Photography | 2019

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Tres Abejas for a Nectar Named Happiness

July 18, 2019July 19, 2019 by JC Agid Leave a comment

Tres Abejas for a Nectar Named Happiness: The new Café in Mexico’s Colonia Roma

Just like his brother Rafael Tovar y de Teresa, the former and first ever Mexican minister of Culture who wanted his country to shine through ideas, music, dance and visual arts, the late Guillermo Tovar de Teresa was a man of letters and knowledge.

Until his death in 2013, Guillermo spent his life in various homes of la Colonia Roma in Mexico City, chronicling from his wooden office the life of a city he was enamored with. His latest address of more than two decades was on 52 Valladolid, steps away from Parque Mexico. The writer’s two bedrooms—one for the winter; another one for the summer—have remained as they were at the end of his life, and tucked behind his office, a courtyard still hides a marbled angel. The 119-year old house, filled with Tovar’s collection of more than 10,000 books, paintings and furniture from the 19^thcentury, porcelains from France and a Victorian lush garden, is now part of the Soumaya Museum.

Somewhere inside 52 Valladolid, there are tiny purple-pale blue flowers with a yellow pistil alongside a green ivy. They could be hidden on a painting or an object.

Try to find them or venture pass the tall, heavy door, next to the villa’s entrance on Valladolid. Separating the home in two, a long narrow-path has morphed into a contemporary European-style bar: a place for people to reflect, think, exchange ideas, and perhaps even love.

Its name is Tres Abejas (three bees).

It Is Not The Bullet That Kills

July 7, 2019July 18, 2019 by JC Agid Leave a comment

It Is Not The Bullet That Kills

She has been known as Lady Liberty.

On June 28^th, 2019, dressed in white clothes, Alaa Salah stood on the stage of the 3^rdedition of the Women in Africa summit that took place in Marrakesh, Morocco. Next to her was Hafsat Abiola, the Nigerian activist, entrepreneur and President of Women in Africa – the only Panafrican summit for African women in business, entrepreneurship, science, culture, and politics.

“It is not the bullet that kills…” Alaa Salah said in Arabic in front of the 550 delegates.