One A Day – 303 – Preparations

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Dec 082013
 
2013-12-07-03

2013-12-07-03
One of the last adobes – decorated for the procession. Our home replaced an adobe.

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A young drummer on his way to join the procession.

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A family preparing for the evening in front of their home.

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Yes, there will be many guests stopping by – and they will all have an honored place to sit.

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A band warms up as preparations continue.

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The young ladies who will carry the icon of the virgin.

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Black powder is laid. The street will be cleared for the procession with a flash of gunpowder and exploding firecrackers. Yes, that is smoke, still rising from the last block. They run from from block to block, in front of the procession.

  • Cuerámaro, Guanajuato, Mexico
  • December 7, 2013
  • All rights reserved

We’re preparing for the procession honoring the Virgin of Guadalupe. Every pueblo in Mexico has its own traditions in the Christmas season. Ours is to give each street a chance to host the Virgin and have a posada. During the evening, virtually everyone in town will walk down the street, visiting friends and family. Homes are decorated, open to visitors and have punch, posole, tacos, tamales, and much more laid out for them. People come back to Cueramaro from all over to return to their homes and families during this time.

There will be more…

Next to the Bone

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Dec 062013
 
2013-12-06-11

2013-12-06-09

Not a fad

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Nose to tail and everything in between. Everything.

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Down to the bone…

  • Cuerámaro, Guanajuato, Mexico
  • December 6, 2013
  • All rights reserved

In the US, “nose-to-tail,” “breaking down the carcass” and “grass-fed lean beef” are movements – and some say various forms of food fads. These ideas are also quite expensive to fund. I happen to think they are fine but I also know that here in Mexico – if you avoid the biggest supermarket chains – this is just our way of life. If you don’t look closely, you might think these photos were taken 50 years ago, but actually they are from today. A carcass is brought in – and the break down starts immediately. The same thing would have happened (before the advent of supermarket chains) at a market in a small town in the US, 70 years ago.

Now, meat processing in the US is done with power equipment at large factory-style butchers. People express a fear, or at least disgust, at seeing “where it comes from.” It is sad – really. Yes, this process does cost more – but it favors the small shops who care about every sale and every animal. And somehow – we have good quality meat and less problems than the gigantic supply chains seem to have. Yes, we do cook differently to accommodate the lean, fibrous quality of our meat. But – it is good and healthy.

Don’t believe everything you read or hear. Your neighbors across the border have many of the things you pay extra for and I hope we will continue to. You can try it for y9urself anywhere in Mexico. Maybe you already have.

One A Day – 301 – Cuerámaro!

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Dec 062013
 
2013-12-06-18

2013-12-06-18

Parroquia San Francisco de Asis – Cuerámaro, GTO

2013-12-06-24

Nochebuena – Poinsettia at a stall in front of the church

  • Cuerámaro, Guanajuato, Mexico
  • December 6, 2013
  • All rights reserved

Don’t push, don’t push. I’m here all week – plenty for everyone!

Yes, I am back in Cuerámaro and I will be here for a week. You can expect nothing but Cuerámaro photos for the coming week and likely for a good while after. I’m already backed up and I just took a short walk today. And you can expect to see more color, monochromes and duotones – all manner of manipulations to pull out the best (IMHO) of each scene. It is just the way we roll now.

As evidence of that fact – the top photo is technically a split tone over color – what we used to try to achieve with what was called a cross-process. The difference is that process was a bit unpredictable. This is completely intentional and controlled. I balanced it to my tonal memory of Agfachrome – a European color film that had a definite warm tone point of view. Here I wanted it to bring out the color of the stone, without making everything else go completely into rose and sepia. 

The Nochebuena? I didn’t have to do much to them. Well, I did work on them a bit to keep detail. They were under a dark blue tarp and in the shade a color like that can bloom. The plants are already blooming – they don’t need any help!

One A Day – 300

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Dec 052013
 
2013-12-05-33

2013-12-05-33

The Imitable Alethia – on her birthday

2013-12-05-42
The Natural – Rodrigo Nefthalí López Alarcón

  • Jungleria Bar
  • Centro Histórico, Morelia, Michoacán, México
  • October 20, 2013
  • Copyright, all rights reserved

 

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