Oaxaca-The Year After: "The smell of fear"

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.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

"The smell of fear"

That is the headline to this story from Noticias, one of Oaxaca's leading newspapers. You will have to translate it yourself, but you know how to do that. Most times, I accentuate the positive, but in all things, all places, there is another side. This article has some dismaying facts and figures. If one chose to, one could/should take pause... and ponder....where will it go from here?

I am a guest here, an alien. There is much I don't know and much I don't understand. I do try to stay abreast with what is happening. I ain't seeing nuttin'. I keep going into the city, but aside from some small protests, I have not seen the massive marches or sit-ins that were so prominent and disruptive last year. I read that they may kick in tomorrow. We will just have to wait and see.

But for now, things are quiet. Understand that there is always a police presence here, so seeing these guys lined up is not that much of a rarity. I asked them, "What's up" and they answered that they were there to protect the tourists. I said, "From what?"