The here and now... and what and why

Complacency is a trap. At least that’s what I was thinking when I up and left the comfort of a Yankee prep school gig, where I taught music, amongst other things, for 28 years. There was also that life long career as a composer, musician and artist.

First, it was a year in St. Thomas, USVI, working as a reporter and shooting photography and then, a year in San Agustin Etla, Oaxaca, Mexico.
Time passed.
More time passed and a year back in the Athens of America followed by a hasty return to Oaxaca where it is all happening.
A couple of years in San Sebastian Etla and now, just down the road in San Pablo Etla. Life is good.

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For additional photography please visit my flickr page.
You can find my music on Jango (World & latin - Worldbeat) and at iTunes and most online stores.
¡Soy consciente de todas las tradiciones del Internet!
If you are coming to Oaxaca, please contact me for tours or advice.

Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo
The view from Corazon del Pueblo

The hereafter re me

My photo
Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico
Musician, photographer, videographer, reporter, ex-officio teacher, now attempting to be a world traveler

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Alone in Monte Alban



Blue and green. The day we visited Monte Alban was a rare one. Crystal clear skies and the site was spectacularly green with all the rain of the last month. September is normally a quiet month in Oaxaca with schools starting there are no tourists. This is not a normal year. There are really no tourists. So we had the place almost to ourselves, To be almost alone in this large ancient city atop the mountains was surreal. The scale and grandeur of Monte Alban tell of how advanced a culture it was that created it.

The site sits high overlooking a convergence of valleys. It took hundreds of years to create. They literally took off the top of a mountain to build it. Not only did they take the top off but they created an expansive plane that would challenge modern technologies. And they did it all by hand. They did not use the wheel. It’s use was reserved for toys. Manual labor created the site originally and it created the restoration,
which has been done to the highest of standards.

I have watched workers at Monte Alban and throughout the city. I remember watching them work on restoring the museum in town. I could see how Monte Alban was built. Here were men carrying large blocks of stone on their shoulders and climbing hand-made ladders. The walls at the museum are eight meters high and are built with the same craftsmanship that one finds at Monte Alban, Mitla and the other archaeological sites.

Plus there is a remarkable sense of wonder and awe that one always feels in these spots.

Imagine being alone in Chichen Izta, Palenque or Machu Picchu. That was the day we had in Monte Alban.

The infrared photo is by Sonya.

1 comment:

Tom Mc. said...

It sure beats commuting on Rte 128, eh? I was basically "alone" at Manchu Pichu one day in 1973 - or at least alone compared to today's crowds. I think there were about 50 people there that day.

Greetings from Massachusetts Chris!