One can hardlly travel in Mexico without happening upon a fiesta. Whether a national holiday like El Grito or a municipality celebrating the dedication of a new bell in a church tower, Mexicans are known for joyous celebrations. Any excuse for a party will do, some have said. Now, that's my kind of country.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Fiestas, Mariachis: Una Tradición Mexicana
Monday, June 25, 2007
El Dia de los Muertos
El dia de los muertos, or Day of the Dead, has been celebrated throughout Mexico and parts of Central America since pre columbian times. Originally an Aztec celebration, the November 1 and 2 holiday has become infused with Catholic symbolism and faith.
“Our relations with death are intimate”, Octavio Paz wrote in Labrynth of Solitude, “more intimate perhaps than those of any other people.”
He further described the celebration as an escape from the difficulties of every day existence – not only the poverty, but also a kind of blackness in the soul which perhaps has its roots in the joining of two antagonistic groups, the Indian and the Spanish.
For more images from this project, go to http://photojournale.bladepicturecompany.com/categories.php?cat_id=63
Jail Cell, San Isidro, Honduras
Rural San Isidro, Honduras, has no actual police force, so when troublemakers are afoot, the townspeople take it upon themselves to lock the culprit in a concrete cylinder, under Hiroshima-class sunshine, on a hillside along the road.
This unfortunate prisoner had been causing trouble while hopped up on dope, so was apprehended & locked in the hoosegow for three or four days.
As in much of Latin America, family or friends are counted upon to provide the creature comforts of food, water & to provide -- and empty -- the chamber pot.
Woe unto the culprit who has no friends.
Tough Feet
Most children I've seen in the Honduras countryside appear to tromp around barefoot with no complaint. Me? I say 'ouch' if I step on a Captin' Crunch while walking on carpet.
Washing Machine
While missionaries build her a new home, a woman scrubs laundry with water brought in from a nearby hydrant in Santa Cruz, Honduras.
Mother and Child
A young woman stands in the doorway of her cousin's one-room shack with her son while missionaries with Corazon para Honduras build a new home in the background in Santa Cruz, Honduras.
Brazos Abiertos, Pentecostal Church Meeting
Pentecostal church meeting in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Temperature, 90 degrees; humidity, 90 percent.
Kitchen and Bath
A young woman bathes her little sister while her grandmother and cousins cut up some chicken for dinner in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Meanwhile, some dogs wait for scraps.
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