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

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Breast feeding

Breast feeding is so natural and common here that one barely notices it.  You see it everywhere, in markets and parks, on the streets, I mean, everywhere.  So I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to see this statue celebrating it, which I had never noticed before.  It is in a little triangular park which was pretty much cut off by the rerouting of the major roads entering the city from the north.  I pass it every time I go into the city, but somehow had never noticed it before.  I shot this from the car and will have to go back and try to figure out how to dodge traffic and get a better shot.
With all the talk in El Norte of the "moochers and parasites sucking at the public teat," the story about Kate Middleton's exposed breasts and this wonderful post from BagNewNotes, one of my favorite blogs, I guess I was struck by the absurdity of it all.

I know that some women get arrested or shunned for breast feeding in the States and when you think about it, that sure says a mouthful about what a bizarre culture we have created.  I mean between our obsession with breasts, boob jobs, side boob shots, clothing malfunctions, etc., it is hard to comprehend why one of the most natural things in the world is somehow verboten.

What I love about this statue, besides it very existence, is the look on the mother's face, almost Pieta-like, and how her hand lovingly cups the butt of the other child.
I did go back for some additional shots.  It is sad, but it is almost impossible to get into the little park which I am sure used to be a popular and clean green space.  I had to jump a couple of small walls, but it was worth it just to be able to get up close and personal.

1 comment:

Hillary said...

Lovely lovely statue. Can't imagine seeing something like that here!

Here in the States, amongst a lot of minority groups, breastfeeding is looked down upon as something that "poor people" do. In some circles it's a sign of affluence that you can afford that can of formula with the pretty gold label. I was surprised to learn about this angle after I became a mom myself and made friends who worked at WIC and community health centers (which, ironically, often hand out formula for free.)