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.

Click on an image to see it larger.
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

Friday, July 3, 2009

Aguas!

"Aguas! Aguas! Look out!"

With the rains come landslides and rocks crashing down the mountains onto roads filled with hairpin turns. Yesterday, on our drive back from visiting Acatlan de Osorio in Puebla, we came to a screeching halt for this one. Cars were backed up on both sides and people jumped out to clear the road. No one was going anywhere fast and we quickly realized it was up to us to do the job. There was no waiting for heavy machinery to show up, it could take days. So as folks posted lookouts for additional falling rocks, we all pitched in to take care of business. Henry and I did our part. The two of us could have moved it by ourselves, but we didn't want to spoil the fun.

Every few minutes someone would yell, "Aguas, aguas!" and we would all jump out of the way as more rocks came tumbling down. It was hairy and scary, but everyone was still having fun. So I learned that "aguas" means "watch out" as opposed to "cuidado" meaning "be careful." We speculated that maybe it had something to do with chamber pots being dumped from balconies, but who knows? Actually, Henry says that it comes from people throwing water out onto the streets after cleaning their homes.
Eventually, we moved it with the help of the guy on the far right's truck. He was a stone worker and had a good idea of what he was doing. The guy on the far left was the normal self-important jerk who had just cut in front of tens of cars. Everyone yelled at him, "If you are going be like that, you have to at least get your hands dirty." He didn't.

Incidentally, no one was hurt.

2 comments:

Abi said...

Wow, that's an original way to spice up your day :D

*waves hello*

Christopher Stowens said...

Thatsa some spicy meatball?