Una vida tropical..

The Caribbean.. This place immediately brings to mind colors and happiness. Blue above, blue below. White from the sand, green for the coconut palm trees. But most predominantly.. the yellow of the sun.

Before paint was made widely available in the Antilles, the color of the houses were determined by the raw materials.. dry straw and natural wood that where used to build them. Paint became a common imported item in hardware stores between the two world wars. Then soon bright colors replaced the natural hues.  Brighter colors where more of Haiti while the French influenced islands where more pastels.

>>FOREIGN INFLUENCES<<

..in the search for gold, some of the europeans stayed as colonists.. and they where living good.. really good.

THE POPULAR HOUSE

 I bet these ladies know how to cook amazing food..

Meals are often taken in the gallery, which is open to the interior. Doors on three sides of the small house allow the maximum of air and people to circulate.

Near the kitchen, a scale for weighing the fresh produce and seafood brought in by the local farmers and fishermen.

Direct access for produce sellers to the kitchen by a doorway in the courtyard that leads in from a small back street.

I love these tiles and the tall wood windows / doors. I would spend hours here.

And this living room!!

I love how the bathtub here is only divided by a sheer lace curtain. I would probably have the mop handy but.. that's usual.  

The gleaming array of pots and pans reflects the owners' pride in her cooking.

This house was built by a carpenter for his sister, a school teacher. Made entirely of wood.

I believe this one is circa 70's early 80's house because of all the electronic gear.. I love this one!

When we were shooting our summer lookbook "Tropicaleo" in my grandma's friend's house I found this book called "Caribbean Style" by Suzanne Slesin & Stafford Cliff. My mind immediately started blowing away! Then I bought the book and here it is. I almost uploaded the whole thing! There're so many more amazing images! This book represents my ideal living.. I'm not a fan of fancy brand new houses. Im so much happy on a wooden house with plenty of windows and plants.  Not the most ideal plan since Caribbean island weather is so unpredictable and we get many hurricanes or at the least, tropical storms. That's why most of them right now are simple cement boxes. The more colonial houses are more of what Old San Juan and Ponce (Central South of Puerto Rico) looks like.. They are this type of lofty caribbean / spanish look. They really are like dream houses.. the huge problem is the parking. But really.. my ideal plan would be to live in one of this houses and be able to grow my own food.. and of course.. cook a lot! I love to cook.. now the question will be.. where do I get money from? I'll just keep dreaming and working for that dream.

☼ TROPICALEO ☼

Model >> Ileana Mariela Hernández

Photographer >> Quique Cabanillas

Styling / Creative Direction >> Melissa Hernández

This one's for the beach bums, the "everything with coconut", the sandal wearers, the oyster eaters, the moon gazers, the night time skinny dippers, the pool party crashers, the salty beach hair babes and the one's that have been wondering: when's the summer gonna start??

I'm more than excited with this summer lookbook! A simple day at the beach that became a beach shoot with my gorgeous sister and my lover/photographer. We shot everything in Puerto Rico between Piñones and one of my favorite girl's grandma's beach house… Mabel. It had been a while since we visited the island. Every time I go I ask myself what am I doing in New York? Then I remember: work!  I think Piñones is one of my favorite places in the metropolitan area because it makes me feel i'm not in the metro, it has the nicest beaches in the area and the most sinful and delicious food you'll ever find. 

So for this summer lookbook we went super tropical..with vibrant colors, mixed patterns, soft fabrics, a super breezy loose fit with super shorty shorts. We are loving the oversized look. Who wants to be all tight on a hot summer day!? Kind of effortless but sexy at the same time. Hope you like it :) and if you're going to Puerto Rico feel free to ask for recommendations! We know super cool places which we'll share with you soon.

About the bathing suits.. They are Pan Dulce and they belonged to my aunt Liyi. She used to be a Miss Hawaiian Tropic back in the days so you can imagine ;) She gave them to my sister and she won't let them go. Which means they're not for sale.. sorry ladies. I'll keep my eyes open to see if I can find some of those. 

We'll be uploading more stuff soon! Follow us on Instagram @coyotenegro and FB so you can get thing first.