Pitbull's Dirty Rodeo Night

Pitbull's dirty night at the Rodeo: Stripping dancers, plenty of tongue and the world's largest VIP party

Here’s a true life lesson from the 2015 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo: It’s a Pitbull world party and we’re just guests at it.

This year’s rodeo has already given us some spectacular performances, but only Armando Christian Pérez (aka Mr. Worldwide, Mr. 305, Pitbull) could so easily turn his concert into a stadium-wide party with 75,013 — the highest rodeo attendance this year — of his favorite Houston friends on his guest list. There was standing room only, until they sold out all the room we could stand in, and still the party went on.

Pitbull is such an expert at throwing a “Don’t Stop the Party” party, I feel like his example can serve as a party-planning tutorial for us all. So if you too want your next get-together to get your audience, I mean guests, on their feet and never let them rest, try these tried and true Pitbull partying tips.

Make a Dramatic Entrance After Your Guests Arrive

All the best divas and divos know this one and Pitbull certainly did too only appearing after a burst of NRG fireworks and then a scrolling bio on the giant Rodeo video screens above the stage. Now normally announcing your presence with an entry from your Wikipedia page might seem a bit gauche, but the scroll effect and narrative of his humble beginnings and how he battled life’s adversities to get there that night, made it seem like Pitbull was going to fight the Imperial Fleet for us right there on stage.

Always Let Them See You Sweat

A wet all over body sheen is hot, sexy and shows you’re working hard for your guests’ enjoyment, be it a special guest of one or tens of thousands. Pitbull began the night in a crisp black jacket, shirt, and pants and ended sans jacket, with his black shirt so soaked in his own sweat, he looked like he had just risen from the Atlantic waves ready to join us for a walk along his beloved Miami beach.

An Interest in Genealogy Can Be a Great Icebreaker

If Pitbull ever gets bored hosting these party extravaganzas across the globe, he might want to try his hand as a census taker. Certainly citizens would be much more likely to give their personal stats if Pitbull came knocking at their door.

I lost track after about the seventh costume change made by the lovely Pit dancers, but couldn’t figure out where the hell they were stripping and changing.

Armando took a breather after letting it “Rain Over Me” to poll the dancing crowd on our heritage and our rainbow of ancestral homelands. (For the record, the screams for Mexicano almost brought the roof down, even though we had been continuously raising that roof since Pitbull first took the stage.)

Have a Discreet Place for Your Guests to Freshen Up

I lost track after about the seventh costume change made by the lovely Pit dancers, but couldn’t figure out where the hell they were stripping and changing, because they would just suddenly pop up out of nowhere, hips thrusting alongside Pitbull in an entirely new and song-appropriate attire. It wasn’t until late into the show that I realized there were some black curtains towards the back of the revolving stage.

Always the gentleman, and a bit like a magician, Mr. Worldwide kept our attention on himself until his ladies were ready to materialize again.

If Your Best Friends Can’t Be There, Get Your New Friends Involved in Helping Entertain.

Not even Pitbull could call upon J.Lo, Usher, Marc Anthony, Kesha and Christina Aguilera to all attend his Rodeo party and sing their parts in his hits, so while their recorded presence was there Friday night, he also asked the rest of us to sing the best lyrics with him. Not only did our singalong bring us closer, now we all can say we understudied brilliantly for Usher.

It Never Hurts to Give Them a Taste of Your Best Attributes

Forget Miley Cyrus, Pitbull is the true master of the tongue flash and wag.

Don’t Be Afraid to Have a Hokey Theme

Sometimes a party with a message can fall flat, but if it’s truly sincere, take a chance. Pitbull did, using stories from his life and rise to fame as an inspiration for his guests to turn negativities and adversities into fuel to make positive changes in our lives and in the world. He let us muse on that final lesson as we headed home, our hips still gyrating away as we went.

Pitbull's Rodeo Set List:

Don’t Stop the Party

International Love

Hey Baby

Danza Kuduro

Sube Las Manos Pa' Arriba

Fireball

After the Rain

I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)

On the Floor

I Like It

DJ Got Us Falling in Love

Hotel Room

Timber

Feel this Moment

Give Me Everything

Pitbull certainly enjoyed himself on the grand Houston Rodeo stage.

Photo by Chinh Phan

Pitbull certainly enjoyed himself on the grand Houston Rodeo stage.

unspecified

a beautiful mind

Houston Health Museum's new exhibit shines a light on dyslexia

Sarah Sudhoff created "The Reading Brain" in honor of her son.

Photo by Rose Tylinski

"The Reading Brain" replicates neuron activity in a dyslexic brian while reading

No, "The Reading Brain" isn't the title of a B-horror film from the 1960s. It's a brand new installation at the Houston Health Museum that explores dyslexia.

The piece was created by Houston-based artist Sarah Sudhoff, in partnership with Dr. Guinevere Eden, Director of the Center for the Study of Learning at Georgetown University. Hanging from the ceiling of the Health Museum, it uses light-up colored circles to represent the frontal lobe activity of a dyslexic person while reading. MRI scans of dyslexic brains formed the foundation of the light activity. Sudhoff's own son has dyslexia, and she had to adapt her homeschooling of him to account for his neurodivergence. As much as 20 percent of the American population is dyslexic.

"The Reading Brain" grew out of a similar exhibit at the DoSeum in San Antonio. "Beautiful Minds: Dyslexia and the Creative Advantage" challenged visitors to see dyslexia not as a learning disability but as simply a different way some human brains work. The exhibit featured videos, stories, and art work by dyslexic individuals that show how they succeed and create, as well as a selection of brain puzzles used to teach dyslexic people.

“Even though your brain works differently, it still lights up and is beautiful to watch, a wonderful machine you have. It just means you have to navigate and pivot a little differently,” Sudhoff said.

Sudhoff's innovative bridge between science and art is a permanent part of the Health Museum's MindWorks exhibit. Like "The Reading Brain," MindWorks maps out thinking processes through light and hands-on activities. The exhibit will close on January 5, meaning visitors have a very short time to see Sudhoff's piece.

The Health Museum is a hidden gem in Museum District located a block away from the Children's Museum. It houses a variety of exhibits about the human body, such as a giant plastic colon that kids love to run through. Since opening in 1969, the museum has helped Houstonians and visitors from around the world learn about the way the body works as well well as public health protocols. As the only Smithsonian Affiliate Museum in the Houston Museum District, it has a high educational pedigree despite it's colorful and often whimsical offerings.

houston health museum museum district museums