Riu Yucatan Hotel - Riviera Maya, Mexico

 

Riviera de Maya in Mexico was the first plane trip I ever took 20 years ago.  I decided that I wanted to learn about a different culture.  I specifically chose Mexico for its monuments and history.  I was fascinated by their pyramids and went to Chichen Itza and Tulum. They are a must see if you go. I jeep rode in the jungle, zip-lined across rivers, swan in cenotes, tanned, ate well, partied, drank and danced.   It will forever be one of the most memorable vacations of my life. I do have a soft spot for Mexico. 

We stayed at the Riu Yucatan in Riviera Maya. I have really nothing negative to say about this hotel.  We ate like a king and queen; the food was delicious and the a la carte restaurants were unlimited and amazing.  The hotel is very clean, the lobby and cleaning staff were attentive, polite, accommodating and very helpful.  I have not seen such great entertainment talent since going to Santiago in Cuba.  The nightly shows were awesome and the weekly Riu party is a must go as it’s incredible.  What a night!  The extra bonus is that if you love animals, they have a monkey refuge, and you get to see how they coexist without bothering anybody.

I once rated a video of mine on my YouTube channel and still feel bad about it today.  When you stay at a hotel or resort, you must know what you like before you go to the place. Some people enjoy the sun, the beach, the food, the amenities, the pool, the excursions, the entertainment, the shows, the disco, each person has their preferences.  My experience may never be your experience and vice versa, so why criticize anything.  My only negative and it is not Mexico’s fault; the temperature was a constant 40 to 45 degrees all week as it was the month of August, so it was a little less pleasant to do the excursions. Even hot, the Xcaret Park is an amazing place to visit.

If you like great food, sun and heat, water and great entertainment, you should visit the Riu Yucatan. I would not hesitate to recommend it. 

You can view the video on my Femme Chara Travels YouTube Channel

Femme Chakra Travels

I believe it is a privilege to be able to visit a different country.  I have only visited 5 countries, some numerous times, and every time I do, I think how lucky I am that I get to have those memories.    For me, those memories are worth more than a new car, a better wardrobe, new furniture and anything else that people work hard to make a priority. You must have a passion for traveling if you really want to experience it, 

For me, voyaging is the ability to live in the present moment.  No phones, no texts, no e-mails, nothing.  Well maybe a little but in general I can relax and enjoy myself.  I understand that some people fall in love with a country and want to go back all the time.  I love experiencing new places.  Although I have been to same countries numerous amounts of times, I try to never stay in the same city and never at the same hotel.  The thrill of living something new, adventurous, educational, emotional, it’s for me, a once in lifetime experience. 

I have been making videos for over 20 years.  I still have some on VHS.  I enjoy filming and it has been a useful tool for me throughout my artistic & professional life.  Editing is never fun, but the end project always gives me a high.  When I bring my camera on vacation, I want to remember everything I did, saw or experience as I will not live it again.  These are my memories that I want to recall when I am old and gray.  It’s great taking photos and videos but if you don’t do anything with them, they will just be photos and videos in a phone. 

I tried to be as exact as to what I saw, I hope you enjoy some of them.  Don’t hesitate to let me know what you think and if you have been to any of the places, please feel free to let me know.  We just got back from Riviera Maya in Mexico, looking forward to sharing our vacation with you.  Thanks for subscribing and sharing.

Visit Femme Chakra Travels: Femme Chakra's Travel - YouTube

Losing someone to Alzheimer’s

 

We cannot stop time.  In my 30’s and 40’s I never thought about death and dying in the context that it would ever happen to me.  It was a thought in a far away place that was only going to happen in a different space and time.  As I just turned 50, which is old to some and young to others, I don’t look at it that way anymore.  I worry, which is something I never did before.  It’s inevitable that we will all get old someday.  I want to get older, but I want to be healthy otherwise what is the point. 

The people that have a naturel desire to be healthy amaze me. They do it with such ease, they eat right, exercise, limit their alcohol and they don’t smoke.  After spending years doing just that, they still may end up with Alzheimer’s.  If you did not know, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common type of dementia.   It progresses leads to loss of ability to carry on conversation and respond to the environment.  It is a slow process, and it is an anguishing to have to live. 

I, in turn have seen the devastation that it can cause.  How an awesome caring man goes from strong, hard-working, reliable, and outgoing; to feeble, dependant, anxious, frustrated, and unhappy. If it can happen to him there is a chance it happens to me or someone I know.  There are over 55 million people worldwide living with dementia.  These patients are the most vulnerable. 

The next time you hear someone mention that their father, mother, friend or loved one has dementia or Alzheimer’s, read about it.  Take the time to understand what they are going through.  The 40- and 50-year-olds will see only see the numbers get worse and in the next 15 to 25 years, it will be our turn.  The younger generation will still be living in that far away place in a different space and time.  Hopefully your children will take care of you but if they don’t, we will be the ones that will have to deal with the situation.   I worry. 

Coming Up in September!

For those that don`t know, me and my husband have been in the entertainment industry for a long time.  I (www.femmechakra.com) focus more on the producing, singing, dancing side while he (www.francoquebec.com) has always focused on the producing, Disk Jockey, Sound and Equipment.  We are lucky to have done so many events.  It was rough year this year with the passing of his dad, but we will slowly get back to the beat of things for 2026. 

We will at 2 benefit shows in September for great causes.  You can join us in Acton Vale for the Casino Night benefiting the Centre de Benevole D`Acton Vale on September 20 or in Roxton Falls with the tribute band to AC/DC on September 26 with Christian benefiting the Project Espace Roxton.  

The CBAV in Acton Vale is a non-profit organization whose mission is to promote volunteer action; to support and assist individuals and families in the community through assistance services, to meet essential needs, with the aim of improving their quality of life.  The Casino night on September 20, 2025, will be a fun night with some gambling (a lot of great prizes to win), dancing (DJ and live music) and you can come and listen to me sing! 

Project Espace Roxton is a non-profit organisation which aims at restoring the Saint-Jean Baptiste Church in Roxton Falls.  Christian will be doing the sound for the band Razor Back a tribute to AC/DC on Friday, September 26, 2025. Everyone is welcome! If you can make it to both or only for one night, then you are helping to support a great cause.  Hope to see you there!

I'm Back 2025!

Well, I’m back! I have been feeling a lack of motivation for a while and I think I need something new.  I opened this blog in 2010, and it has been at times, a great experience for me.  Some people are great at marketing themselves.  I admire the Twitters, the Instagramers, WhatsAppers, TikTokers and all the social platforms, I’m just not very good at it.  I’m a Facebooker and a You-Tuber at very best and I would not consider myself great at it.  Although I know that reading is not as popular as it once was, but I like writing.   Although I appreciate Facebook and YouTube for so many reasons, it does not let me express a story.  I miss being able to express myself properly.

Once I start talking, I never shup up but I figure if there are people that are interested in my knowledge, my ideas and getting to know me, then they can find me here.  Instead of wasting my time posting irrelevant stuff, why not take the time and be real. 

To all my wonderful French friends, I wish you could all read English.  I wish I wrote as well in French as I do in English, but I don’t.  I do not want writing to become a job, a responsibility or tedious and translating my feelings, thoughts and/or ideas it is just too hard. Maybe one day!  I do have the translate button if anyone wants to try it.

I want to post once a week and see where it will lead me. I want to find my discipline. I do hope you find it interesting but if you do not, that’s fine too.  I think I am interesting and maybe one day what I write may have a positive impact on someone else.  That would be wonderful!

As for my old posts, they are part of projects I worked on, things I did, my thoughts, shows I saw, artists I met, opinions, my music and parts of my life.  Please feel free to read them although they do not represent Anne-Marie in 2025.  I believe people do change; we can learn from our mistakes and grow.  With all my growth I am not the same person.  I’m stronger, wiser and I aim at being the best I can be.

Thanks for listening and please feel free to comment.  I would love to meet similar people that may have the same interests, ideas, or projects.  See you next week!

 

 

 

 

2020 The Covid Year

It took me a while to decide how I was going to start this blog as it has been so long since I have written that I did not want to start on a negative note.  That is a little hard as this year in particular has started out not like any of the others.  Myself and Franco Quebec Productions worked really hard in the last 2 years to produce and create a business that we thought would amount to something great this year.  We had bookings (weddings, corporate events, festivals) planned this summer as well as a 7 week run (14 shows) in Rougemont in September to promote the show Cabaret Pastiche. We had worked hard to promote our classes which in turn were also cancelled. Needless to say, we are rather disappointed that it did not work out.       

To all the artists that participated in the Cabaret Pastiche in February, we thank you for all your hard work.  That show in particular is on my list of one of the top ten shows I have done in my career.  It represented a small version of a grand plan that I believe would have led to the type of production I hope to one day achieve. If you missed it you can take a look at https://www.youtube.com/femmechakra . I know this year will be hard for all the artists that rely on their art to survive and I can only hope that you are all finding creative ways to keep busy as we all know that life without the arts is intolerable.  Be safe and my thoughts are with you. We are still working hard to promote and hopefully 2021 will be a very different year. 

On a positive note, the website for Franco Quebec Productions ( https://www.francoquebec.com/ ) is finally done! We are still looking for talent so if you are a band, duo, singer, dancer or have a distinct talent we want to hear from you.  We are hoping to evolve and promoting great talent is one our goals.  Please don`t hesitate to contact me femmechakra@gmail.com. 

Although 2020 did not start well I am grateful that I am healthy, safe and sane.  This is just another diversion from the route that I set sail a long time ago to journey.  Hopefully the rest of the year will be smooth sailing.  I wish you all good health, love and happiness.  I missed so many of you in the last few months that I cannot wait to finally see you.   

  

Looking for Talent / Recherche du Talent

Hey everyone, hope you are having a wonderful summer as of date. Not that I did not want to write a blog in the last 6 months, but I figured if I have nothing interesting, educational or positive to say, what would be the point! Between the winter blues, the battle of the wits and working hard, I`m glad the summer is finally here.   I have no plans this summer except to relax, get back some Zen and hopefully enjoy Montreal and it`s surroundings. 

As September will eventually arrive, I wanted to mention that I am looking into doing something different this Fall.  In conglomeration with others, we are looking for Montreal and surrounding talent: *Singers, dancers, bands, troupes, comedians, DJ`s and MC`s, all ages are welcome.

If you have talent I would like to know.  Please send any promotional clips, videos, CV`s or if you don`t have any promotional tools please contact me as we may hold auditions.  There are no costs involved, the focus is to build a new show as well as to help local talent with booking opportunities.  You or your agent can send all material to femmechakra@gmail.com.  We are looking for both English and French performers (SVP me contacter si vous avez besoin l`information en Francais) and/or if you have any questions. If there are any artists that I have previously worked with that would be interested, please feel free to let me know.  This is a great opportunity for upcoming artists as well as professional artists as the aim is to promote and support Montreal and surrounding talent.  Please share this if you may know someone or a group that is looking to join a great team of dedicated artists.  Applications will be taken until August 20, 2018.

I hope everyone has a great summer and that the weather is beautiful.  I will hopefully be next to water, enjoying the fresh air and/or enjoying great company this season.  Cheers to you!

*Qualifications:

Singers: Looking for solo lead male and female lead singers, cover or original.  Style may range but at this time we are not looking for hard rock or metal performers.  For cover music artists, we are looking for Pop, Hip Hop, Latin, Jazz, Blues and/or 50`s to today versatile artists.  For original music, please be sure you have all the rights to your music and/or specify what studio, producer or agent you have.  Auditions may be open for beginner singers, but you must have photo and CV. 

Back up vocalists: Looking for female back vocalists preferably with some dance experience. 

Dancers: Currently, we are only looking for solo male and female dancers with a background in ballet, jazz, tap, Latin, social, swing, and/or couples dance. We are also looking for solo Oriental and Belly Dancers. Couples and Oriental/Belly Dancers must have 3 to 4 choreographed routines already prepared. 

Bands: Looking for cover bands. If you are a duo or trio, you must have at least 50-minutes of material already prepared.  Full bands (4 or more), a 2-hour full length show is required. 

Dance Troupes (Must consists of 6 or more dancers): Looking for International dance styles, Hip Hop and New Age troupes.  Must have 3 to 4 choreographed routines already prepared.     

Comedians:  Clean programs with a minimum of 15 minutes of performance. 

MC`s/Hosts: Experience in public speaking or MC work, very comfortable with small and large groups. 

DJ`s: If you are an experienced DJ (more than 3 years) having worked at weddings, corporate events, festivals and such, please get in touch.