Hello, all.
My name is Brian Zumba, but most people know me by my last name.
I guess if I had to describe myself, I would put down these words – music, books, comedy, coffee, trains, and soccer. Now let me explain.
I really love music – well, to be honest, listening to it. My interests lie all over the musical spectrum, be it the pioneering music of the Ramones to the hard hitting verses of the Wu-Tang Clan – they ain’t nothing to…well, you get the idea. Punk/Classic Rock, Blues/Jazz, some ‘80s music and into 80s/90s Hip-Hop in general. You would see everything on my iPhone, from the Beatles to the Sex Pistols to Grandmaster Flash to Biggie…again, you get the idea.
Books is where, well, I go to as a refuge. My favorite place in New York City happens to be a bookstore – the Strand, where once you get past the front, all you see are stacks upon stacks of books, usually sold for discounted prices. They have taken me everywhere imaginable, from the streets of the Chicago to the plains of Republican Spain (Hemingway, yo!), from joy to heartbreak and back. Steinbeck, Hemingway, Lorca are among my favorite writers to read from.
I don’t mind a few good laughs either. I love watching stand up routines, and my favorite performers are Dave Chapelle, Louis C.K., Bill Burr, and George Carlin.
Coffee is literally the best thing ever discovered by humanity…well, chocolate comes a very close second. I love coffee, and my days usually don’t start right until I order my cappuccino after I get off the subway. As of now, Birch Coffee and Third Rail Coffee are my go-to places, and although my wallet suffers dearly because of it, it is totally worth it.
I am obsessed with the subway system. Ever since I was a little boy, I would always look out the front window and wonder on how trains, and the system, operated. The 7 line holds a place near and dear to me, mainly because it’s the closest line to me. Today, in addition to wondering on how the system operates (I have an idea on how it does), I also love taking photos of it and at times, just riding it.
Ah, soccer. The beautiful game. The best sport to watch and play in, period. I follow it closely, not so much the European leagues (though FC Barcelona is my team) but more on the South American leagues. My favorite team to root for es el Deportivo Cuenca, the team that my dad rooted for since he was a kid in Ecuador. They might get relegated this year, so…it’s not going that great for them. Although the Champions League is a great competition, it doesn’t compare to la Copa Libertadores, the South America equivalent and the tournament I most passionately follow.
So there you have it. A snippet of what I am.
