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

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Grrrr.... (updated)

Count to ten... breath deeply.

Defeated!  I planned on taking a nice drive through mezcal land today and catching a fiesta in Tlacochahuaya, but....  normal life in Oaxaca got in the way.

I really know my way through the city and there is always a way to get by protests and blockades. So the first one on the north side of the city, by the moto-taxis and the huge CTE dump trucks, barely fazed me. Then, after fifteen minutes, I  made it into the city, only to come to a total stop as gridlock set in due to a march... by whom, who knows. The cops were directing traffic onto side streets, which are narrow and full of potholes and lots of topes, speed bumps. Imagine buses, dump trucks, pipas, water trucks and lots of cars...... good times ensued.

A one point I realized I was trapped, nothing moving in sight and I spotted the only one way out, did a u-turn, pulled every trick in the book, including going in between poles set in the road, backing down streets and going the wrong way down one way streets.

Trust me. I was not alone. This kind of stuff is almost a daily hassle. It is just considered normal and people do incredibly well under the circumstances. I eventually made it back to my initial spot, where by now, the marchers had passed, only to be stopped by a few buses blocking the road completely as I approached or tried to approach the new shopping center.

Again the cops directed traffic on to narrow streets.  By then I had given up getting over to the Mitla area, just bagged the idea, and using those same tricks made it back through the city, which was actually pretty quiet. I guess everyone was trapped elsewhere. Oh, well, such is life.  I will try tomorrow for the same drive, but will leave earlier to beat the protesters at their game. Yeah, right.  Like that could happen. They are winning. We are into the third month of these protests and it is someone or something different every day.

Update:  So you want pictures?
Protest #1
Mobile vet at your service.
I was slightly concerned when I saw this guy.  Where am I???

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

And the photographs ?????

Anonymous said...

;) I knew there was something visually interesting in your impatient morning.!I see oaxaca is full of color even in the chaos of the blockages.I loved how you catched the rainbowTruck.