Night Life Merida

There was a downtown festival on Sunday that was full of flavor and music. The towns people have a little festival with booths of food, drink and conversations. The streets were full of music. A group of bongo drummers was beating out this fast tempo rythum that was intoxicating with raw emotion and drive. Music was infusing everyone and they were all moving, from tapping their feet or outright dancing.


Each square block had different music and texture. We went only a few blocks and the atmosphere transformed to many outdoor cafes next to a park with a bandstand set up next to a beautiful old church. The music began with a women singer and full band. They were really good so we stepped into La Parrilla cafe and it was hopping.

The food was as rich as the music and culture surrounding us. The dragon had to have some flaming food and the chef was excellent. He truely looked like he knew what he was doing and I asked him if this was his only job. He said "he was going to culunary art school to become a five star chef". He was graduating and will be working at the Presidente Hotel, were we were staying. It was one of the finest meals I had in a long time.

Hurrican Dean Aftermath

After the cool old guy asked me to dinner along with my colleges, I told him that I have had a hell of a time in Mexico, so far I have been pick pocketed at Coco Bongo by a guy I was dancing with. He then shows up at the hotel Gran Melia at the front entrance the next evening, while I am going in to the hotel for the pre-satellite conference dinner. He says he has a room and wanted to give me a key. That turd had probably bought it with my own damn stolen cash of $300 and then wanted to take me to bed. I told him "Kiss My Grits" and strutted right the hell out that crazy situation. I knew there was no way to prove that he stole it, so calling the police would been a waste of effort. Believe me you just can't make this up, life is better than fiction in my world. Then I said it would be nice to be treated to a decent meal by a decent guy, and listen to more of his stories of his life. I love to listen to my elders and find out what type life they have lived with real history, other than the messed up tv and history books written by the current victors. He suggested a Chiles restaurant across from the hotel and told him I would meet him later. I couldn't miss this beautiful opportunity to shoot. It was a surreal photographers dream with the atmosphere so clear and deep blue, being cleaned up by the Hurricane. It truly was a perfect backdrop for all of the beautiful flowers and colorful architecture.

There were so many wonderful full colors like have not seen in many years, with no haze and pollution to distort the light by refraction and the beautiful strong colors of Mexican culture. It was one of my best shooting days yet. I took over 200 photos and can only post a few.

The Mayan Archaeology Museum was a surreal blending of Mayan and Spanish architechture. The blending of cultures is seen in the crowns above the windows. They seem to symbolise the jaguar and the symbol of a rabbits head, lion body, snake tail facing each other. The flame symbol is in the window crowns between the two. They remind me being at the momento a la Patria, during the Hurricane. It was one of the best archaeological buildings I have ever seen, but I dont get out of the United States very much and get to see all of the really cool architechture of the world.

I then walk to a side street one block from the 21st century plaza avenue to the real Mexico. Their buldings were alive with color, texture, and wraught iron.

This was the doorway to Where? What type of life laid behind that door? Did they have different concerns than us? They do seem to have a lot more music than our culture. I was even able to sing for our cab ride through the city of Merida. The driver had no music on and we were driving back from the downtown festival. We had not seen Merida yet and had some free time, so he started driving us to different landmarks in town. I asked him if he could play any latin beat music with some type of salsa in it. He said do you sing? I said yes and he but in a CD that we could sing to. It was really cool to let my emotions sing and let out all of the heartache and pain I was feeling. The driver was a pretty good tenor who sang for a mariachi band, go figure! We must have sang for hours, it was like being home and singing with my neighoors on a Sunday. We when got out of the cab and the bill was like 500 pesos, he said no he wouldn't take a peso from me, that I sang for the fare. That was alot of fun and release.

Hurrican Dean Winding Down 2

I looked down the way and saw a sculpture of a domino and it reminded me of playing dominoes with my grandfather. I then saw an old man get on a neat bike, that had been sitting on a bench near me, I asked him where was the Mayan archaeological museum. He said "I was sitting in front of it". He asked me were I was from and he proceeded to tell me he lived 50 years in Cordova, Seward and Valdez Alaska. He had retired to Merida and started up a special Modiva fruit farm. He wanted to know about edible flowers and I told him they have them in supermarkets now and I know someone at our botanical gardens that was talking about using them as an experimental crop.
It was almost like the Mayan tradition of rebirth was happening all around me and I was talking to someone like my grandfather. He also had sat out in the hurricane, in front of the Mayan museum, and knew something was going to happen. We continued talking about Alaska and then he must have felt comfortable and proceeded to tell me a romantic tragic story of his life. He had meet his wife in Cordova Alaska and fished with her on her father's boat. They hit it off and he had to run the gamut with his father, which consisted of going into the water a few times. I know how cold that water is by falling myself in a few times sailing in Seward. When you fall in you wish you could walk on water and try and get out as soon as possible. It shocks you first and once you get over the shock you have to force your limbs to function and get the *&(&(&* out of the water, but once you have conquered one of your worst fears it gives you a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment.
Well he passed the test and they got married a few years latter and tried to have children. His wife couldn't have kids and so they adopted. They were the best years of his life and his daughter moved out and was going to college at UAA when tragedy struck. She was driving in Anchorage and lost her bearings and drove off the top of a hill and rolled her vehicle down the embankment. She was lost to him and his wife forever. His wife never recovered from her loss and regressed into a vegetative state, he feed her and bathed her for 20 years. I thought about would I be strong enough to do this for the one I love and I didn't even take a second to think of yes I would. It is who I am, and hopefully some day I will find that type of love again and stop being lonely. I told him about loosing my family 10 years ago and I understood his pain. This trip was almost a cleansing of the heartache and pain, that I would allow my self to feel again. I told him about how important truth and honor are for me being in a relationship, which has driven some people away. He told me they were afraid of finding such a good person or that they thought I deserved someone better than themselves. That just talking to me for an hour, he thought I was one of those special human beings that would help anyone and I will find someone strong enough someday to enjoy life like I do.
He opened up his hand made painted box on his bike and showed me pictures of his native wife and daughter. They were beautiful and had the twinkle of life in their eyes. He had no regrets about his life and told me to cheer up and my life was in a cycle of rebirth, because of the signs life was sending me of sitting in front of the Mayan archaeological museum and experiencing the hurricane at the monumento a la Patria. He told me he doesn't show these pictures to usually anybody but he felt safe with me and saw that I was truly listening to him.

Hurrican Dean Winding Down

It was close to noon and the wind was scouring my bare legs. The hotel was around the corner and I didn't want the raw power and excitement to end. If I didn't get back Kelly and Tulasi would start worrying about me and we need to stay together. After fighting the wind on the windward east to west bound street, I made it to the hotel and the bellman looked at me like I was some crazy gringo. There were ropes across the front door and I had to knock and have him let me in. I went up stairs and Kelly and Tulasi were working way and were happy I was safe. I changed into jeans and tried to go back out through the service entrance, but the manager had been watching me and made this crazy gringo go back to the room. The government had ordered everyone indoors and not to be out in the storm. They even had stopped all liquor sales in the grocery stores and restaurants. I would have thought you would want people a little relaxed with a beer than being all keyed up, but there are a few percentage that can't handle their alcohol and would hurt themselves in the storm. I have never been in a country where there was so much control of direct commerce sales by the government.

They finally let us out around 2:00 pm, so I headed out towards the Mayan archeological museum. The buildings were works of art with arches, turrets, and beautiful strong color. The Spanish truly influenced the Merida architecture. There were sculptures everywhere along the street, bounded up with protective coverings from the storm. I didn't exactly know the street number, but didn't care because the sky was so crisp and blue which is a photographers dream photo shoot day and the wind was still blowing but with a lot less intensity.

There was building that I came up to and it was a piece of architectural art with beautifully women face sculpture that looked a little like me and there was a bench to sit upon, so I sat down and relaxed.