One A Day – 163

Summer afternoon walk in Centro

• Centro Histórico, Morelia, Michoacán, México
• June 28, 2013
• Copyright, all rights reserved

I was editing these two photos and I realized how hard it can be to “read” them if you don’t live here.  That is why you are getting a two for one today. It’s fairly obvious that the top photo was taken in a more affluent area – the cars parked on the street give that away easily. It is also obvious that the second photo of a busier street with more families who live “over the shop.” What is less obvious is the two locations are less than five blocks from each other.  The Centro area of Morelia is a complex place. There is no clear division between the well-off and the less fortunate. Behind the austere, conservative walls of the homes in Centro there are many stories. Families who have been rooted to the same home for generations and families who rent a small place from month to month – and neither description says anything about how well off they are or how they live.

I enjoy life here for what it is; vibrant, full of moments – illuminating or sad – and so many stories. Make your own stories of what you see, but realize these are real people and their lives we are peering into. Even when you have lived here for many years – you can’t judge from your own experience.