Oaxaca-The Year After: Guelaguetza in Etla

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.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Guelaguetza in Etla - The faces of dance

Yesterday, the final day of the 2015 guelaguetza celebrations, and once again, we were in nearby Etla for their version. It was wonderful, with four different folkloric groups who presented lots of dances, some of which I had not seen before. It was great.

This year they moved the stage and well, there was no place from which to shoot. The press area, if they even had one, was behind all the action and there was no way to get in front of the stage. So...... lots of shots from behind and lots of closeups as the dancers came up to make their entrances. The light was brilliant, so when given lemons, here's the lemonade. Just stunning.

Lots of guapos

And guapisimas.

Young musicians

And some old masters.

This young man was an incredible dancer. I'll post some more shots of him high-steppin' shortly.

"Mr. DeMille, I am ready for my closeup.

Really, the title of this post ought to be "I've just seen a face" because look at these wonderful faces. This gentleman was the Devil in the Dance of the Diablos. I'll post him with his mask shortly.

Yes, I have some dance and action shots... well, really a lot to go through. I'll put them up as they are ready, but for now, just look at the faces of these dancers.