MEXICO
Craftsmen in the city of Metepec honor the mid-century tradition of creating clay sculptures called the Tree of Life, which include the biblical scene in the Book of Genesis, with Adam and Eve in the middle separated by the tree’s trunk and a coiled snake. The artwork is displayed at Metepec’s Clay Museum, which hosts an annual contest asking artists from all of Mexico to submit their versions of the scene.
Metepec’s Clay Museum has over 300 Tree of Life pieces. APJAPAN
An NFL hopeful from Ichikawa learned how to kick a football from watching YouTube videos. University of Hawaii kicker Kansei Matsuzawa, dubbed the Tokyo Toe, made headlines on the opening weekend of the NCAA college football season after he kicked a 38-yarder as time ran out to give Hawaii a 23-20 win over Stanford.
Kansei Matsuzawa learned how to kick a football from watching videos on YouTube. Marco Garcia-Imagn Images
AUSTRALIA
A gay nightclub in Sydney slated to open in December is under fire for its unconventional door policy, which will “unashamedly” permit only “boys, pretty much 18 to 35” to enter, according to its manager. The club, which has yet to be named, is located in the suburb of Darlinghurst, the center of Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ scene. The venue was supposed to be named Pink Pony, after the popular Chappell Roan song, but its name is now being changed because of the backlash.
The Sydney club, located on Oxford Street, was originally named Pink Pony, inspired by the Chappell Roan song. GoogleITALY
A 2,000-year-old secret tunnel under the Colosseum, once used by Roman emperors so they could enter the arena without being seen, is opening to the public this month. The 180-foot Passage of Commodus is named after the merciless emperor, played by Joaquin Phoenix in the 2000 film “Gladiator,” who was nearly assassinated there. “Once this passage is now open to the public, visitors will appreciate what it was like to be an emperor,” said archaeologist Barbara Nazzaro, who led the restoration.
The Passage of Commodus was named for the merciless emperor, who ruled from 177 to 192 CE. facebook/parcocolosseoANGOLA
The dilapidated Globo hotel in downtown Luanda, with broken windows, cracks in the wall and its sign missing, hasn’t welcomed guests in many years. Now, the hotel’s rooms are being filled with artists, who have turned the spaces into studios, galleries and performance areas as part of an artistic rebirth in Luanda, one of Africa’s most expensive cities.
Hotel Globo was one of the hippest places to stay in Luanda 50 years ago. wikimediaWith Wires
