Well, I won't tell you all about me, just a little bit.
I love to travel, and to write or photograph all about it. I have been to about 80 countries, and all 7 continents, and I have lived on 3 of those continents.
My writing and/or photography have appeared in the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, Bloomberg News Muse Division, Budget Travel, Business Traveler, Travel Savvy, the Advocate, Out Traveler, Gay City News, Women's e-News, MAMM and numerous other publications.
My two favorite countries to visit, and they seem complete opposites, are Argentina and Afghanistan. These countries welcome travelers like few places I have ever been to. Both leave something in your heart, giving you a longing sense that something is missing in life until you go back. One leaves you burning with the passion of her people, the other gives you a sense of hope in the face of any adversity, and charms you with enduring strength. I'll leave you to wonder which is which.
In 2003, I published a travel article in the New York Times on visiting Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan. This groundbreaking work was the first post-war travel article on Afghanistan in a major U.S. newspaper.
Click here to read this article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/11/business/11ground.html
I continue writing on this intriguing destination, and dozens more, traveling around the world about half of the year. Most of this work is concentrated on the Middle East and Latin America.
Acknowledging that so many people want to be travel writers and only dream about it, I also teach travel writing here in New York City and online through the Gotham Writers Workshop and also at New York University.
I am a Senior Editor with Haworth Press, in charge of the new Out in the World Series on gay and lesbian travel literature. Within the imprint, I have brought out the recent Looking for Love in Faraway Places, an anthology about gay men who fell in love overseas. In July, my book Gay Travels in the Muslim World, sure to be both controversial and meaningful, will be out with Haworth Press.
I also live part-time in Buenos Aires, the glamorous capital of Argentina, to do the Frommer's Buenos Aires Guidebook. The Second Edition will be published in July. In December of 2005, we had the First Edition's promotional party at the Argentine Consulate in New York City. With about 450 people attending the event, it was one of the largest book parties ever held in New York. It was also the largest travel-themed event the Nation of Argentina ever held in New York, and Argentina's third largest event ever in New York. Only a visit by the Argentine President and an Argentine Independence Day party had more attendees than my Frommer's Buenos Aires book event. This has become the best selling U.S. published guide to Buenos Aires and is purchased by about 1 out of 10 Americans heading to the Argentine capital. If those people who purchase the book travel with one or two friends, then at least 20-30% of all Americans traveling to Argentina rely on my advice. Shouldn't you? Find out more on my extensive Argentina work at www.misterbuenosaires.com.
If you want the boring usual BIO stuff - I grew up in New Jersey near the fabled Jersey Shore in Freehold, Bruce Springsteen's hometown. Sometimes, I still believe that no matter how beautiful a beach is, if it doesn't have a boardwalk and pizzerias, why bother? I went to Rutgers College of Rutgers University where I received a BA in Communications with a Minor in English. I received a Masters in Urban Planning (technically a MCRP) from the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy of Rutgers University. My concentration was tourism and I published my Masters Thesis. I also studied film and television on a non-degree basis at UCLA during the late 1980's. I now live in Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City where I can walk across the bridge back to New Jersey whenever I want to.
Want to know more?
email me at mtluongo@aol.com or mtluongo@hotmail.com
Don't forget the middle "T," it's for Theodore . . . but my mother might say it now stands for "Terrible"
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| The Casa Rosada, home to Evita's balcony, under guard before the 2003 Presidential Elections. |
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