Friday, February 13, 2026
I was up at 6:30 a.m. this morning so that when I ate breakfast at the hotel I could have enough time to do a walkabout.
My walkabout today started by turning left out of the hotel and going across the Pan-American highway.
WALKABOUT #3
After walking a distance the road curves to the right and begins a slow climb into the Xochimilco neighborhood.
My Oaxacan heroes
While I was shooting this guy's house he came out to go to work. He only spoke Spanish and my Spanish is weak but between single words, gestures and some laughing we managed to agree that I should head to the Barrio de Jalatlaco for the best wall art. (P.S.: I never made it on this trip)
This walkabout today was quite a climb into this neighborhood above our hotel. After cresting the highest height I was going to walk, I turned back towards the hotel.
I am NOT walking to that cross
Rumors of parrots exist but I have never seen one in all my trips here
Check out her eyes
This might be my favorite photo from the whole trip
This lady did not seem to mind me shooting her house
so I did not mind using her for a street photography moment
When I walked around this guy to shoot him from the front
he gave me a look of distain and went into the shop leaving me with no shot
As I headed downhill I realized I was near the street that the entrance to the Xochimilco cemetery at the Parroquia de Santo Tomás Xochilmilco is on. This is a very familiar place for me during Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). It might be a little less colorful during Carnaval but it is still a magical place for me to visit.
There is a sadness in this cemetery that is palatable. Perhaps one of the saddest things to see is the monuments that some folks thought would be maintained into perpetuity are now off the graves and leaning against the walls that surround this cemetery.
Now it was time to leave the cemetery if I was going to make it back to the hotel by the start of class.
I shoot street art--not tagging. I hate tagging on someone's street art.
But...sometimes the tagging draws me into taking a photograph.
I have shot this street art in other years but this might be one of my all-time favorites in Oaxaca
After walking back to the hotel, it was 10:00 a.m. and time for class to start. Today we started the construction of our creature’s body. I also got a head start painting my complete puppet head—ahead of Michael’s painting tutorials—but I just could not help myself.
How it started today
First everything is made a blank canvas
The first coat of paint goes on
How it finished today
By 3:30 p.m. I was ready to clean up because tonight if the opening parade of Carnival. Luckily for us the parade stages right by our hotel.
There are 11 communities participating in the parade for Carnaval. I cannot tell you exciting it is to be around a parade in Oaxaca no matter what the festival being celebrated. We were lucky this year that the parade was staging at the top of the alcala, right be our hotel.
The cowboys, their whips, and the first oily boys (sort of) that we have seen
Next I walked down the alcala and got in position for the start of the parade.
Photo by Denice
Mezcal!
At some point during the parade a "bride" pulled me into the parade and I found myself doing the wedding dance with "her" behind the villages banner. I told "her" where my esposa was standing but she failed to get a picture of her husband dancing with another "woman." In case you are not getting it, I am pretty sure "she" was a "he," but whoever it was we danced, danced, danced.
Photo by Denice (evidently I am not the only photographer in our family)
The Bugenhagens and Niebuhrs walked to our restaurant tonight.
We stumbled onto a great gallery named Cuatrosieze.
Origins (photo by the waiter)
Origins, a restaurant that Marilyn had researched for us was great. Three of us had the special, sea bass, along with all the accompanying fine food you get in a high end restaurant. As with many restaurants in Oaxaca, we ate in an open air courtyard. For the third time we found ourselves amazed by the dining experience.
We got back to the hotel at 9:30 p.m. and went to bed eventually in preparation for our first group excursion tomorrow.
No comments:
Post a Comment