ele jou: two

(cashew tree)

(tile explosion)

(aqua edge)

(frond on yellow)

(toilet view)



ele jou: two

last night we went to see/hear flamenco at the cultural center art gallery. it's a stunning building with a huge interior courtyard open to the sky. for the performance, they pulled a black cloth over the space to make a temporary kind of roof. therefore, in amongst the folding chairs were enormous trees which added to the drama considerably.

the flamenco was non-traditional which meant no narrative, per se, and some fancy, quasi-experimental choreography to boot. amazing costume changes, skintight on the women with red or white flounces for kicks and spins. lots of devastating attitude and vogueing. one woman sang fado, one classical guitar played and the master was a middle aged man who danced a solo that left many of us breathless. well, actually panting.
lots of body-slapping, finger-snapping, hand-clapping of the kind that makes a person like me just want to dance all night.

meanwhile, in the Plazuela Marchado (the little plaza nearest where we're staying in the centro historico), they were busy Crowning the Queen for the upcoming Carnaval, due to begin March 3rd. (and no, friends, Queen here means something VERY different than it does in San Francisco...)

the theme of carnaval this year translates as: The Return of the Muses. and based on the scaled and single-fin outfits adorning gigantic nearly-naked posters of women popping up everywhere, the Muses appear to be MERMAIDS.
this seems fitting in a town whose vivid life revolves around the sea.

(Insurgentes bus)

today, we wrestled with the BUS SYSTEM.
we planned a trip to the Juarez Flea Market and our friends got information that we should take any bus that said JUAREZ which passed on the big street at the base of Heriberto Frias where we are living. once down on the big street, we double-checked with ladies working in the Farmacia Guadalajara. they consulted with each other and told us to take the Insurgentes bus.

when the Insurgentes bus came, we boarded, paid our 5.5 pesos (about 44 cents), got paper transfers and i asked the driver whether he went to the flea market. he shook his head and gave us a disgusted look. perplexed, i asked him again and he angrily refunded our coins, grabbed our paper transfers and basically kicked us off an otherwise empty bus.

Andrew and i were a little dumbfounded - that challenging combination of confusion, anger and shame that can accompany foreign-language transactions. i engaged a youngish guy who came to sit on the bus bench and he studied the map with me and determined a) where the market was exactly and b) confirmed that we DID indeed need an Insurgentes bus but told us to go up to Benito Juarez to catch it. we walked the two blocks and crossed the street to wait.

we waved by at least 12 buses destined for other places before another Insurgentes bus arrived and this time happily took our fares and allowed us to board.

we reached the market, an only sunday affair, which dominated a huge square and all the streets radiating out from it for blocks and blocks. a profusion of used and new clothing, cosmetics, toys, electronics, shoes, food and drink were in evidence. in addition, we heard about but did not see an open-air peluquería (hair salon). it was madness of the most delightful variety.

someone Sarah Farthing has translated my ELE JOU into the French
as SHE PLAYS (elle jou). i like it. because i do.