Gal about the Globe on the Set of HBO's "Rome"

Araceli ran into some actors while touring the set as well. Perhaps she was an extra on the set of HBO's Rome, an extra from the future that is, as her clothes are clearly sewn and of the moment!

Araceli Speaks Out about Occupy Rome Protests Turned Riots

As for the Rome riots this weekend, what can I say. I’m horribly disappointed. I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t recognize my own city. My heart sank watching the news coverage of the riots. All I could see were groups of masked and hooded thugs destroying the city I call home and have grown to love just as much as my own country. Like any city, Rome has its own problems but nothing justifies what we witnessed this Saturday. Nothing justifies attacks on police, smashing windows, setting vehicles on fire and throwing up barricades. I pray they round up those thugs…and throw away the key!

I took a few pictures on Monday driving into work but nothing compares to the real damage they caused that was closed off for clean up. What happened on Saturday is NOT Rome! It’s the action of a few demonstrators that infiltrated a peaceful protest causing terror and havoc with no clear message. The results surprised us all. Occupy Wall Street...Occupy Rome...Occupy whatever capital city you want, but don’t destroy it!

Sagra dell’Uva (Grape Festival) in Marino

October is by far the best time to visit Rome. Temperatures are slightly cooler and grape season is in full swing. Wine is overflowing everywhere and bunches of fresh picked grapes are ready to be eaten. Especially in the medieval town of Marino where the “Sagra dell’Uva” attracted hundreds to drink up last year’s reserve to make room for this year’s vino novello. Since 1925, the town of Marino (south of Rome) has graciously shared with locals their abundant source of produce and wine by handing out over 150 tonnes of grapes and providing 3,000 litres of local white wine during their four-day festival. The highlight of the event is when they turn the water from the city’s main fountain into sparkling white wine giving visitors a taste of Marino’s famous wine.

The grape festival, which is one of the oldest in Italy, commemorates the return of Admiral Marcantonio Colonna to his home in Marino after his victory over the Turks at the Battle of Lepanto in October 1571. The sagra is celebrated during the month of October to give thanks for the safe return of more than 250 sailors sent to battle.

After all these years, Romans continue to show their appreciation for this victory and long-standing tradition by visiting Marino’s annual wine and grape festival.

Rome Today: Heroic Nudity

Rome Today

I recently read an article by travel writer Rick Steves discussing how American travelers often find themselves in a state of shock when they visit Europe and are exposed to European nudity in public. I couldn’t help but laugh since I was one of those Americans when I first visited Italy in 2004. I felt uncomfortable with such uninhibited behavior. My husband, who is from Italy, reassured me that it was normal and acceptable to go topless at the beach. Unfortunately, his words did little to get me to bare it all. Instead, I couldn’t help but secretly stare and wonder why or how so many people could feel comfortable in their birthdays suits (or at least half of them) in public. As I observed, I witnessed every body type: from my own in-laws sporting a bikini and Speedo at the age of 70, to little girls running around with only bottoms on, to little boys in the nude, to grown men in fitted boxers, underwear or the tiniest of shorts, to cellulite-free bodies, well-tanned biceps, stretch marks, no-tan-line silhouettes and everything in between. Not to mention, there were pregnant women on the verge of delivery staying cool in two-piece suits with no hesitation or discomfort enjoying the sun. Their self-confidence reminded me of Demi Moore when she made headlines for posing nude on the cover of Vanity Fair when she was seven months pregnant.

As the summer passed, I tried to muster up the courage to do the same, but couldn’t. I didn’t feel comfortable enough showcasing my breasts in mid-air or for any other man to enjoy the sight publicly. So I proceeded with caution until I started to learn more about Italian culture. I spent countless afternoons at local museums trying to immerse myself in Italian art and culture, and I started noticing one common theme: Exposed bodies everywhere…featured in art, statues and paintings. This sparked my interest in learning more about ancient Greek and Roman art, when heroic nudity was openly accepted. It was a time when the athletic body or human body was admired, when gladiators were cheered on for their Olympic-sized bodies and strength, when curves were the norm instead of the exception. Full-figured women were glorified for their childbearing abilities and all networking occurred in open bathhouses, with a towel-wrapped around waists, instead of behind the keyboard on Facebook. I realized the focus back then was accepting one’s body regardless of size, shape or ability. Embracing one’s own sexuality was part of the human experience until shame and embarrassment was introduced by religion, with the famous “fig leaf” covering up Adam and Eve. Once I reached this conclusion, I decided I would allow the spirit of Venus and the statue David to live on and abandon my overly prudish behavior abroad and embrace my body for all its curves and imperfections.

Check out more of Araceli's photos featuring "Heroic Nudity,” or some of her other stories and productions, by logging on to Rome Today's facebook page.

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Araceli Cardenas-Bon

Where's The Vatican? Araceli Reminisces This Christmas

In 2004, I experienced a life changing incident. Was it coincidence, destiny, fate – or, divine intervention? It started in Rome, Italy with one simple question “Where’s the Vatican?”

Let me back up a few days and explain that I originally went to Rome to visit a friend who was studying abroad. It was one of those opportunities to visit another country at a very reasonable cost.

I departed the United States on October 6th, with no expectations other than to visit a country which every Catholic dreams of visiting. My first stop was to visit St.Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City. My mission was to attend mass officiated by the Pope John Paul II along with filling up a few plastic bottles of holy water blessed by the Pope.

And I tried, but was very unsuccessful. Although I was able to attend mass, I wasn’t able to get the holy water I needed. For one reason or another, I couldn’t get Vatican officials to fill up my small bottles. They kept giving me the run-around, trying to avoid any requests that could potentially create a number of people asking for the same thing.

Again, I couldn’t leave Rome without Holy Water!!!! So every day for the next six days, I went back to the Vatican hoping that one of their priests would give me the Holy Water I needed.

By now, not only was I determined, but I was also frustrated with my mission and I was running really low on cash, so I opted to go back to Vatican City via bus. Although I speak Spanish, traveling in Italy is a little difficult because I didn’t really understand traveling instructions in Italian. So I got on the bus and I asked a passenger to please tell me which exit to get off at in order to be as close as possible. He gave me instructions, but I couldn’t understand him! I ended up getting off too soon, but what seemed like one more obstacle turned out to be a blessing in disguise!

Just imagine I’m at this bus stop, frustrated, tired, hungry and there’s no one there to ask for directions. At that moment, I saw a distinguished looking gentleman from a distance taking a last-minute sip of coffee, paying his tab and walking towards me. This guy didn’t even look my way, but I was determined to find out how to get there.

So I simply asked, “Where’s the Vatican?” and he kindly told me how to get there. His name was Mauro; and yes, he was an Italian.

He must have noticed my frustration because he offered to show me a short cut. At that moment, we started walking through an old hospital. I was a little nervous, but I was armed with “tourist equipment” just in case I needed to whack him with a swinging video camera or I needed to take a picture of the suspect. To say the least, I never had to use it!

Instead, this guy started to explain to me in Italian that this old hospital belonged to the Vatican and that it now served as a public hospital. I was a little surprised with his knowledge, but I was even more curious about why this guy would even be near the area.

As it turned out, he worked for a medical company as an engineer, and he handled the technical issues with MRI and CAT scan machines. As fate would have it, he was only servicing that hospital for the day because normally he’s all over the map in Italy servicing several hospitals.

What was best is that he spoke enough English to understand him. Luckily, I figured it out after spending more than 3 hours right outside the hospital talking about our lives.

As our conversation wrapped up, he asked if we could have dinner. I wanted to say “Yes!” immediately, but I reminded myself that I was in another country. Instead I accepted his invite only after he accepted my “Rules of Engagement!” The deal was he had to pick me up at my house no later than 8 p.m., and he needed to leave his identification behind just in case anything happened to me and he obliged

I can assure you that I have never ever done this, but sometimes it just feels ‘right’. Just to tell you how right it felt, that first night we spent at least four hours at a beautiful restaurant talking as if we’d known each other forever and guess what? You’ll never know what music was playing in the background? No, it wasn’t Italian romantic music, it was Tim McGraw. And, we danced our hearts away to “It’s your love…” by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill – in Rome. I’ll never forget how beautiful I felt that evening. Little did I know that this song would set the tone to a remarkable year thereafter?

I even re-scheduled my flight to stay an extra day! I spent the last three days with my personal tour guide.

When I left Rome, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see him again, but I’ll admit I was hoping I would. And luckily, I did! We spent all of 2005 traveling back and forth…. trying to combine it all - getting to know each other’s family, getting to know each other’s world and trying to find a way to establish a life together. Again, neither one of us ever expected finding each other near a bus stop in Rome, but, we did; and it’s been a true blessing! However, like any fairy tale there’s always a turning point.

At the peak of our happiness, right before I was departing to Rome to celebrate the New Year with Mauro right before my 30th birthday on January eighth and right before I was to be engaged, I received the phone call that would change my life forever. It was my father’s doctor telling me to hurry to the hospital. He told me that my father was dying, that he had suffered a massive heart attack and that his time on earth was limited. I drove to Laredo, Texas from San Antonio like a flying bullet. I called my sisters and in less than two hours we were all there. However, we didn’t make it on time. You’ll never know how much we prayed. We begged our Lord to spare his life, but God’s plan was different than ours.

The entire time I drove, Mauro and I prayed through our cell phones. Mauro kept saying, ‘Tell your dad our plans. Tell him that I was about to surprise you with an engagement ring. Tell him that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Tell him I’ll always take care of you. Tell him I’ve already confirmed the date at the church. Tell him to stay alive.”

Unfortunately, I was never able to tell him. On December 27, 2005, I lost the greatest man I’ve ever known. I lost my best friend. I lost part of myself. And on the last day of the year, instead of ringing in the New Year Italian-style, I buried the man I loved more than life itself. I swear this wasn’t my plan. It wasn’t what I expected. My plan was different. I had envisioned him walking me down the aisle…. I had envisioned a life with my father by my side.

Without even asking, within 24 hours of my father’s death, Mauro was by my side. The same way he had always been! Ready to comfort me during the most difficult time of my life, ready to be as patient and understanding as possible, ready to show me how much he loves and cares for me. Little did he know that it wasn’t going to be easy?

There hasn’t been a day since my father’s death that he hasn’t been by my side. He’s amazing and it’s his love that carries me through.

On October 15, 2006, exactly two years from the date we met and ten months after my father’s death, we exchanged the sacred vows in Holy Matrimony in the Eternal City of Love.

And, on our wedding day instead of dancing to the song that started it all, we danced to a “Candle in the Dark” by Diana Ross because, in my darkest hour God’s guidance and Mauro’s love kept burning like a “candle” when I felt I wouldn’t survive the loss of my father to heaven.

Fortunately, the lyrics “I'm shining like a candle in the dark … when he tells me that he loves me” still ring true.

Oh! By the way, if you’re wondering whether or not I ever got the holy water I so persistently pursued, I did, on the same day I met Mauro!

This is our incredible love story. The fairytale that allows me to Eat, Pray and Love in the city I now call Roma and not Rome. Since then, I firmly believe that “All Roads Lead to Rome!”

Rome, Angels and Demons World Premiere

By Araceli Cardenas-Bon

ROME - The cast of “Angels & Demons” graced the red carpet in Rome, Italy for its World Premiere last night, at Auditorium Parco della Musica, a theater located about a mile away from St. Peter’s Basilica.

The film, about a secret society trying to take over Rome, and, the Vatican, is a thriller based on Dan Brown’s best-selling novel. Sequel to “The Da Vinci Code,” “Angels & Demons” features Tom Hanks as symbologist Robert Langdon trying to save the Vatican from an ancient religious group, “the Illumanti,” from committing a terrorist attack.

Despite restrictions, Sony theatres managed to recreate a glitzy premiere with decorated angel and demon statues, and Swiss guards welcoming cast members, Tom Hanks, Ewan McGregor and Ayelet Zurer. And of course, director Ron Howard and author Dan Brown.

Expected to hit theatres worldwide soon (and in the U.S. May 15, 2009), the film made media headlines after the Vatican was accused of “exerting its’ influence by interfering with shooting permits in the Eternal City” - a charge the Vatican strongly denies as a “fabricated publicity stunt.”

Regardless of the controversy, Howard reminded attendees & fans alike, “Despite all that’s been said, remember that it’s just a film.” With that in mind, we tried interviewing one of the Swiss guards. But, it seems the Vatican has cast its’ spell. Oh well! We settled for Dan’s Brown autograph instead!