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August 9, 2012 9:54 AM Subscribe
He had been married, had two children and was divorced by then. She called him and he invited her to come see the house. It was in its first stage — a house in the shape of an octagon — but still, the woman was impressed. Roberto Sanchez Rivera of Ponce, Puerto Rico, has constructed an elaborate blue spaceshipesque house using discount-store knickknacks and discarded auto parts...that makes a five-tone sound like the greeting of the mother ship in “Close Encounters of the Third Kind." [NYT] [Slideshow]
FTA: You might think that a fellow who builds a house in the shape of a spaceship would believe in visitors from outer space, but that is not the case. Mr. Rivera is not even particularly interested in movies about outer space, and often confuses “Close Encounters” with, as he puts it, “the one with the finger ... ‘E.T.’ ”
Ponce is home to some already spectacular/overwrought architectural landmarks:
La Cruceta de Vigía (at night)
Parque de Bombas (at night)
FTA: You might think that a fellow who builds a house in the shape of a spaceship would believe in visitors from outer space, but that is not the case. Mr. Rivera is not even particularly interested in movies about outer space, and often confuses “Close Encounters” with, as he puts it, “the one with the finger ... ‘E.T.’ ”
Ponce is home to some already spectacular/overwrought architectural landmarks:
La Cruceta de Vigía (at night)
Parque de Bombas (at night)
Wow, the inside is even more awesome.
posted by DU at 10:09 AM on August 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
posted by DU at 10:09 AM on August 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
Mr. Rivera, who has the soul of an artist,
I wonder if the NYT's fact-checker had to check that.
posted by yoink at 10:11 AM on August 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
I wonder if the NYT's fact-checker had to check that.
posted by yoink at 10:11 AM on August 9, 2012 [3 favorites]
There's a huge derelict concrete house high in the hills above Puntas that I want to buy every time I'm there, with a view over Rincón out to Mona. It would be perfect for this treatment!
posted by nicwolff at 10:32 AM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by nicwolff at 10:32 AM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
This is ridiculous. A real alien ship would never have desk chairs at a dining table!
posted by orme at 10:47 AM on August 9, 2012
posted by orme at 10:47 AM on August 9, 2012
my dad is from Ponce (am from the Sabater & Mejil families). i grew in Mayagüez and mami is from San Germán ... enisgüeis ....
i was gonna say that my people have a long tradition of building with recycled materials. i have a whole bunch of LPs i want to get rid and was pondering making plant pots out of them, but alas, i have no space for potted plants in my NYC apt.
this guy though, takes el arte de reciclaje to a whole'nother level.
my people, we are so ingenious when we want to be :D
posted by liza at 11:26 AM on August 9, 2012 [4 favorites]
i was gonna say that my people have a long tradition of building with recycled materials. i have a whole bunch of LPs i want to get rid and was pondering making plant pots out of them, but alas, i have no space for potted plants in my NYC apt.
this guy though, takes el arte de reciclaje to a whole'nother level.
my people, we are so ingenious when we want to be :D
posted by liza at 11:26 AM on August 9, 2012 [4 favorites]
There's a huge derelict concrete house high in the hills above Puntas that I want to buy every time I'm there, with a view over Rincón out to Mona. It would be perfect for this treatment!
posted by nicwolff at 1:32 PM on August 9
UGGGGH! SHOOO SHOOO GO AWAY I SAW IT FIRST!
posted by liza at 11:28 AM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by nicwolff at 1:32 PM on August 9
UGGGGH! SHOOO SHOOO GO AWAY I SAW IT FIRST!
posted by liza at 11:28 AM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
Holy moly that pink-backgrounded painting of Mary is WANT.
posted by carsonb at 11:58 AM on August 9, 2012
posted by carsonb at 11:58 AM on August 9, 2012
Awesome!
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 12:23 PM on August 9, 2012
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 12:23 PM on August 9, 2012
Mr. Rivera wanted her to see where he lived, so when she drove by she would know it was his house, Ms. Martinez says. He also knew that this would be the only time she visited. Although the woman was now interested in him, Mr. Rivera no longer wanted anything to do with her.
The highest of fives for Mr. Rivera.
Later, he asked her to dance, but he was so shy he could barely look at her. When she left that night, he said, “Wait a minute,” and grabbed a napkin, twisting it into the shape of a rose.
“That’s how he stole my heart,” Ms. Martinez says. “With a rose.”
I'm not an adherent of the hipster maker subculture except through appreciation, but this story causes me to use the term Maker as a towering complement. Well played, sir.
posted by Celsius1414 at 1:20 PM on August 9, 2012
The highest of fives for Mr. Rivera.
Later, he asked her to dance, but he was so shy he could barely look at her. When she left that night, he said, “Wait a minute,” and grabbed a napkin, twisting it into the shape of a rose.
“That’s how he stole my heart,” Ms. Martinez says. “With a rose.”
I'm not an adherent of the hipster maker subculture except through appreciation, but this story causes me to use the term Maker as a towering complement. Well played, sir.
posted by Celsius1414 at 1:20 PM on August 9, 2012
Ñañu ñañu?
posted by lalochezia at 1:51 PM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
posted by lalochezia at 1:51 PM on August 9, 2012 [1 favorite]
It's an awesome piece of work. Just beautiful even if it weren't so ingenious.
posted by spbmp at 3:21 PM on August 9, 2012
posted by spbmp at 3:21 PM on August 9, 2012
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Thanks, I've passed this UFO and it's good to learn its story.
(Yes, I know what ponce means in British slang.)
posted by dances_with_sneetches at 10:03 AM on August 9, 2012 [2 favorites]