Last Time (You made me cry)

They're everywhere.....

The cashier at my supermarket is from India.  The lawn guys from Guatemala.  My bank manager is from the Middle East. The wait staff where I ate lunch are Chinese. The bus driver on the T is from Haiti.  My furnace guy is from Estonia..... This is a nation of immigrants and I am happy to have all these people in my life.  They make it better.

It musta been the lettuce...

There are certain things I always look forward to when I venture back into El Norte.  Things like dim sum in Chinatown, a Reuben sandwich, really good pizza and a nice fresh salad.  Flashback a couple of weeks at my local market, "Hey, where's the Romaine?"......

So I have been off my game, so to speak.  And all of it is pretty funny considering all the talk back and forth about lettuce, where to get it, whether to wash it or not, etc...  Never really a problem for me, because I grow my own and still wash it with bottled water and Microdyn.  So I come to the US and get sick on the food.  Lettuce pray....

I am so spoiled by the freshness and quality of most everything in Oaxaca.... and all the amazing cooks and their delicious dishes.

Still, I love it in New England (even though it has rain almost everyday except when it wasn't frigid) and there's still dim sum to enjoy.  Then.... Oaxaca!

In the belly of the beast...

Or maybe, just fat and sassy.  At any rate, after a couple of weeks of getting many necessary things done, I'm in New England just in time for frigid weather and the first snow.  Normally, I would be raking leaves, and I got a little done, but the leaves in the gutters blocked the rain that fell and then the whole mess froze solid.  I had to chip them out with a flat bar.  Oh well, the seasons in New England always provide a balance to those of Oaxaca.  I love them all.... and all that "dirty water."

All in a name - Xochitl

Congratulations to U.S. Representative-Elect Xochitl Torres Small.   I know several other Xochitls and I've always love the name.  It is a Nahuatl -- or Aztec -- floral name common here in Oaxaca.

Life (and Death) imitating art....

Or perhaps art imitating life (and death).  From Zaachila, a live rendition of this painted version from just down the same street.

The Muerteada in San Agustin Etla

Every year this famous muerteada in San Agustin Etla gets bigger and better.  It is crazy, but I love it and, once again, I placed myself in the middle of a few moments of total insanity, a Mexican version of a traditional mosh pit... or something like that.  I'll have more, but I wanted to share these shots of the outfits that the people wear.  This young man's cape, covered with mirrors, weighed forty kilos, 88 lbs.... and he was dancing like a maniac!

The other traditional outfit is one covered with bells.  The pants weigh more than the tops and I've worn one and it weighed 15 kilos, the pants 30.

They dance for over 12 hours, with breaks for food, beer and mezcal.  The music is fast and infectious.  You gotta move! Or.... just stand there.

I have video, but the is still more to do.... this is a marathon, not a sprint.