TMi

san miguel adventure fun time part four of six-    recorrido The major take-aways: do your homework and take a tour or two Guided, unguided- whatever you choose get out and tour around San Miguel. If you are able to deal with cobble stones and comically narrow sidewalks, walking ultimately is the best way to see the city.   You never know what you will find when out on foot.     Within a few days we got to see several wedding parties in El Parque Benito Juarez. A place which seemed to be the epicenter of all boda -dom, of all wedding-ness. These festive events are called callejonadas . The ones at the parque would be something like this: At an appointed time people would gather at this one particular gazebo. There would be wedding party guests dressed in white clothing with small clay drinking cups hanging at their necks, a mariachi band, a man with a festive donkey bearing tequila, two sturdy people wearing the appropriate mojigangas , and at least one professi...

{outside of Tipitina's there was this communal work of art: a staple and flyer encrusted telephone pole} I am still processing what I experienced in New Orleans. And I'm jet / time change - lagged. So I'm not really processing. I'm just tired and coffee compensation is giving me a headache. Maybe I am trying not to get a cold. Hugo and I were in New Orleans for one week (only one week!) and it was the best trip we could have hoped for: the city was celebrating Halloween, the weather was like New England summer time, food and drink were deliciously bountiful, rest was attainable, music was everywhere, and yes one could get their work done. I am so thankful that the Mexican consulate was able to arrange for us to stay at the Joan Mitchel Center . This is a note for artists especially: Check this place out! If you find a way to utilized this space, do so! It is a piece of artist heaven in the middle of Treme. My mouth was hanging open just a bit when we shown a...

I thought the parade was done and over. I had gone inside to charge my camera battery. But then my ears heard more noise. I dashed out again with my mobile and caught some video. I cracked up my friends by describing the style of Mexican music you can hear in the video like all the musical compositions and arrangements are constantly tripping and stumbling over themselves, all over the place. It is like listening to a pack of clowns. Or maybe I've just grown up watching too many cartoons. (Also note: Banda tuba is the sexiest, most romantic tuba you will ever hear. 😆 ) If you look really, really closely at the second video you can see a line of cowboy hats in the distance heading onto a side street. I bet they were all going to go ride on the beach! How much more craziness would that have been?!

Yeah, yeah the independence day parade got me all excited. I was not planning to take pictures whatsoever, but then I found myself fumbling for my camera as the trumpets started blaring. Who would be able to concentrate on anything else will all that racket any way? I bounded out the door like a five year old. To try and capture the larger scope of the event is generally stupid, so I worked more with the zoom function to see what smaller moments I could catch. Lucky for me, I didn't need a tripod when I had a metal gate to steady my little camera. Stuck behind that gate, I chose to work with that limited perspective. It yields interesting results when you don't muscle your way in to get that 'perfect' shot. I tried being quick about taking shots but the camera was not as fast as the action. And I would have lost time finding the right settings. This was another limitation I had to work with. All in all, I feel happy with the results. It was good to take ...

{ bright the eye } This week was a lost one. So much time went to dealing with Mexican Independence Day celebrations during a  heatwave. It was like early July all over again. Except more uncomfortable.  I lost writings because the electronics couldn't deal with the temperatures in the house. My work laptop kept overheating. I tried to go with it; make the most of the whole experience. I mean, 'magic' is supposed to happen when you are forced out of your comfort zone... meh. My thoughts get a little ahead of circumstance now that the heat has had it's run. I roll my eyes at the prospect of  wearing gloves and winter coat inside... I might officially hate this house... So some of this writing that I lost was another version this very blog post. It was going to be all about the parade. Oh the parade- let me start again about the parade. Preparations started well before the start of it. I mean there were these kiddy hit squads that got together right out front an...