Some folks feel afraid on Latin American buses, on those windy mountain roads.
I guess I felt nervous in Peru sometimes, in the windiest of the windy, mountainiest of the mountains, the Andes.
And I guess I'm also getting a bit bolder.
These days, I enjoy a bus ride in the mountains.
Let go of fear,
of control over my fate.
Enjoy slip-siding round the edges
of steeply slanted earth.
As a lover's fingers
might caress the curves
of hips,
of lips,
of the earth's
breasts.
I enjoy a bus ride in the mountains.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Don Quijote
I went to the Museo Iconografico de Don Quijote with my mom.
Guanajuato is really in to Cervantes, and Don Quixote. Cervantino Festival, statues, drawings everywhere, of both Cervantes and Quixote. I don't know how the association started, but it's a strong one now, all right.
And I don't know the story of Don Quixote as well as I should, but I knew enough to make at least some sense of the museum, of visual artists' responses to and representations of Quixote, the quixotic. And I found it rather fascinating that one figure could simultaneously be...
hero
fool
dangerous
villain
messiah
artist
scholar
dreamer
prophet
warrior
victorious
defeated
explorer
colonizer
a legend
a joke
Wow. That's crazy, right?
Or maybe we're all that complex, if somebody takes the time to really look.
Guanajuato is really in to Cervantes, and Don Quixote. Cervantino Festival, statues, drawings everywhere, of both Cervantes and Quixote. I don't know how the association started, but it's a strong one now, all right.
And I don't know the story of Don Quixote as well as I should, but I knew enough to make at least some sense of the museum, of visual artists' responses to and representations of Quixote, the quixotic. And I found it rather fascinating that one figure could simultaneously be...
hero
fool
dangerous
villain
messiah
artist
scholar
dreamer
prophet
warrior
victorious
defeated
explorer
colonizer
a legend
a joke
Wow. That's crazy, right?
Or maybe we're all that complex, if somebody takes the time to really look.
What I like about El Jardin, and... exactly where I stand
Guanajuato's main plaza is called, colloquially, El Jardin.
It is a tree-lined square bounded by the magnificent Teatro Juarez, a church whose name I shamefully do not remember, and rows of restaurants and shops. There's a gazebo in the middle. Benches abound.
What I like about El Jardin is that, unlike the main plaza in a place like Cuzco, it doesn't feel overrun by American tourists. Now, don't get me wrong, Guanajuato is a site of significant tourism, and concessions are obviously made, in the Jardin and all over the city: menus are in English too, kitschy toys and trinkets abound, and particularly in the center of the centro, the Jardin.
However, many, I'd say even most, of those tourists are Mexican. And, I don't know, that makes a difference. I could wax philosophical about the colonial gaze or something like that... but, long-story-short, I don't feel so... dirty? when sitting in the Jardin as I did in Cuzco's main plaza.
In Cuzco's Plaza, I felt so painfully self-aware. It hurt to think that I was part of the process of making the city's historic center inaccessible to its own residents; what cuzqueno could pay those restaurant prices? And I winced when approached, sometimes even bombarded, by vendors who spotted my foreign garb, Chaco's, North Face knapsack, a poorly-rolled-r. I was even more bothered when those same vendors worked so hard to convince me of how very "old" and "authentic" and truly "Inca" were there wares. I tried to imagine what this would be if it were me, in my own context; dressed in a garish sombrero, hawking maracas to well-meaning rich white folks... I didn't think I would like it, this particular variation of selling one's self.
Now, not to idealize Guanajuato, but it just doesn't feel like that. Selling Mexico to Mexicans does not give me the heebie-jeebies that selling Peru to Americans/Europeans seems to. Mexicans who come to this part of the country, to beautiful Guanajuato, historic Dolores Hidalgo, are proud. (Well, ok, some come for a good time, no mas, but many are proud.) I've watched tour guides beaming, chests puffed, as they lecture in local museums to visiting Mexican tourists. The comments in museum guest books say things like "God bless you for safeguarding our nation's heritage." On Saturday I saw a tour guide scold a group of rowdy tourists for their lack of respect in a museum! He flashed his official badge with - there is no other word for it - pride.
And the difference is simple, I suppose. There is less of a power differential. The Guanajuatense are not begging for approval from their visitors; they're not begging at all. They are dealing with folks of similar socioeconomic standing. In Cuzco, however, I felt a... desperation in the hands, the voices, the gestures of those who sold to me. Begging.
So what I like about El Jardin... is that it is nice to be here and not feel so... guilty... so conscious of my unjust place in the world order... It's nice. Sometimes a person, and perhaps especially a sensitive do-gooder like myself, wants, needs, and even deserves... to forget.
But I'm glad I wrote this post, to remind me, regardless of a pleasant afternoon in the Jardin, exactly where I stand.
It is a tree-lined square bounded by the magnificent Teatro Juarez, a church whose name I shamefully do not remember, and rows of restaurants and shops. There's a gazebo in the middle. Benches abound.
What I like about El Jardin is that, unlike the main plaza in a place like Cuzco, it doesn't feel overrun by American tourists. Now, don't get me wrong, Guanajuato is a site of significant tourism, and concessions are obviously made, in the Jardin and all over the city: menus are in English too, kitschy toys and trinkets abound, and particularly in the center of the centro, the Jardin.
However, many, I'd say even most, of those tourists are Mexican. And, I don't know, that makes a difference. I could wax philosophical about the colonial gaze or something like that... but, long-story-short, I don't feel so... dirty? when sitting in the Jardin as I did in Cuzco's main plaza.
In Cuzco's Plaza, I felt so painfully self-aware. It hurt to think that I was part of the process of making the city's historic center inaccessible to its own residents; what cuzqueno could pay those restaurant prices? And I winced when approached, sometimes even bombarded, by vendors who spotted my foreign garb, Chaco's, North Face knapsack, a poorly-rolled-r. I was even more bothered when those same vendors worked so hard to convince me of how very "old" and "authentic" and truly "Inca" were there wares. I tried to imagine what this would be if it were me, in my own context; dressed in a garish sombrero, hawking maracas to well-meaning rich white folks... I didn't think I would like it, this particular variation of selling one's self.
Now, not to idealize Guanajuato, but it just doesn't feel like that. Selling Mexico to Mexicans does not give me the heebie-jeebies that selling Peru to Americans/Europeans seems to. Mexicans who come to this part of the country, to beautiful Guanajuato, historic Dolores Hidalgo, are proud. (Well, ok, some come for a good time, no mas, but many are proud.) I've watched tour guides beaming, chests puffed, as they lecture in local museums to visiting Mexican tourists. The comments in museum guest books say things like "God bless you for safeguarding our nation's heritage." On Saturday I saw a tour guide scold a group of rowdy tourists for their lack of respect in a museum! He flashed his official badge with - there is no other word for it - pride.
And the difference is simple, I suppose. There is less of a power differential. The Guanajuatense are not begging for approval from their visitors; they're not begging at all. They are dealing with folks of similar socioeconomic standing. In Cuzco, however, I felt a... desperation in the hands, the voices, the gestures of those who sold to me. Begging.
So what I like about El Jardin... is that it is nice to be here and not feel so... guilty... so conscious of my unjust place in the world order... It's nice. Sometimes a person, and perhaps especially a sensitive do-gooder like myself, wants, needs, and even deserves... to forget.
But I'm glad I wrote this post, to remind me, regardless of a pleasant afternoon in the Jardin, exactly where I stand.
Guanajuato dogs
So, there are a lot of stray dogs running around the narrow, cobbled colonial streets of Guanajuato.
From my experience in the cities of Peru, I'd say this is pretty common in Latin America. Dogs run around everywhere. Messy, kinda mangy looking dogs. They're generally not mean, or menacing to people though. They've got their own thing going on. Lots to do. Trash to dig through, food to find, fleas to itch. (I'm sure some folks out there have got some Latin-American-stray-dog horror stories, but I haven't personally witnessed any.)
Guanajuato dogs, however, are special. A remarkable amount of these dogs are actually very pretty. I mean, these dogs look like purebreds of some kind. I really think if you caught one and tried to sell it you could make quite a bit of money in some markets. I've even seen a couple with cute-looking haircuts, but no collar... maybe they got lost? Maybe the well-to-do of Guanajuato aren't too good at holding on to their fancy dogs? Or perhaps the UNESCO regulations that keep eyesore McDonalds and WalMarts outside of Guanajuato city limits also apply to ugly and unfortunate-looking dogs? I just don't know.
The other striking thing is that some of these dogs are also incredibly nice! I've met several who just loooooooove people. One, nicknamed "guera" by my classmates at Academia Falcon because of her fair complexion, trotted right into our school and into our classrooms, curling up at professors' feet during their lectures, skipping through the hallways, then flopping on her back, head lolled adorably to the side, belly exposed and begging for scratches.
And of course I couldn't help but think of my own dog... my chick's best friend who would never abandon me to run off to another country! Ooooh! She followed me (and boyfriend at the time) in a similar manner, like she just decided that she belonged where we were. And she also happens to be an exceptionally beautiful dog.
Is Gobo a cousin of Guera? Is she secretly a Guanajuato dog?
From my experience in the cities of Peru, I'd say this is pretty common in Latin America. Dogs run around everywhere. Messy, kinda mangy looking dogs. They're generally not mean, or menacing to people though. They've got their own thing going on. Lots to do. Trash to dig through, food to find, fleas to itch. (I'm sure some folks out there have got some Latin-American-stray-dog horror stories, but I haven't personally witnessed any.)
Guanajuato dogs, however, are special. A remarkable amount of these dogs are actually very pretty. I mean, these dogs look like purebreds of some kind. I really think if you caught one and tried to sell it you could make quite a bit of money in some markets. I've even seen a couple with cute-looking haircuts, but no collar... maybe they got lost? Maybe the well-to-do of Guanajuato aren't too good at holding on to their fancy dogs? Or perhaps the UNESCO regulations that keep eyesore McDonalds and WalMarts outside of Guanajuato city limits also apply to ugly and unfortunate-looking dogs? I just don't know.
The other striking thing is that some of these dogs are also incredibly nice! I've met several who just loooooooove people. One, nicknamed "guera" by my classmates at Academia Falcon because of her fair complexion, trotted right into our school and into our classrooms, curling up at professors' feet during their lectures, skipping through the hallways, then flopping on her back, head lolled adorably to the side, belly exposed and begging for scratches.
And of course I couldn't help but think of my own dog... my chick's best friend who would never abandon me to run off to another country! Ooooh! She followed me (and boyfriend at the time) in a similar manner, like she just decided that she belonged where we were. And she also happens to be an exceptionally beautiful dog.
Is Gobo a cousin of Guera? Is she secretly a Guanajuato dog?
Getting up to speed...
So I'm back in Guanajuato, this time for just about a week and a half.
My friend in Austin is doing well. She's kicking cancer's butt, responding to treatment really well, much better than most folks, really. I'm enjoying getting to spend some time with her, regardless of the circumstances.
And I found myself very happy back in Austin. I thought I would feel kinda lost, and I guess sometimes I did, but I managed to keep myself busy. I was substitute teaching with Theatre Action Project, and also found myself with lots of time and energy to invest into developing my one-woman performance, "Muntu." I did a performance in San Antonio's Teatro Fest, and put together an application for city funding to do more performances in Austin. I also started to lay the groundwork for an installation that will feature audience responses to the piece; I'll be applying for funding for that project when I get back. And then, I was also cast in a new play, "by a quiet sea," that will premiere in Frontera Fest Shortfringe; aaaaand I was asked to direct another new play, "T.A.G.," also premiering in Shortfringe! The artists involved in both of these pieces are amazing; they are women I've been hoping to get to know, and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to collaborate with them. So when I get back in Austin on the 17th, I'll be busy!
I never would have planned on coming back to Austin in the middle of the semester, since that's an awkward time for me to find teaching work. However, being forced to come back, and unable to work as many teaching hours as I did before, did open up some time for me to focus on projects that I had been wanting to develop, but never seemed to be able to get to when I was teaching almost full time. I guess things happen for a reason, and we find ourselves where we are meant to be. I'm making plans now for the spring, treating my art more as a profession than as a "hobby" or something I do "on the side," which, ultimately, is what I want; this unexpected time that was granted to me allowed me to lay the groundwork so that I can do that. I don't think I would have ever allowed myself to just "take off" work and concentrate on working for myself had things not happened the way they did.
At any rate, I decided I did want to go back to Guanajuato to be there with my mom when she was visiting (since she already had her tickets booked to come visit me!), and as long as I was going, I might as well spend a little time there. So, I've just finished a fun weekend with my mom, and I'm about to start a new week of classes at Academia Falcon - a few that I was hoping I'd get to before but didn't quite have time for.
Photos and stories will be forthcoming!
My friend in Austin is doing well. She's kicking cancer's butt, responding to treatment really well, much better than most folks, really. I'm enjoying getting to spend some time with her, regardless of the circumstances.
And I found myself very happy back in Austin. I thought I would feel kinda lost, and I guess sometimes I did, but I managed to keep myself busy. I was substitute teaching with Theatre Action Project, and also found myself with lots of time and energy to invest into developing my one-woman performance, "Muntu." I did a performance in San Antonio's Teatro Fest, and put together an application for city funding to do more performances in Austin. I also started to lay the groundwork for an installation that will feature audience responses to the piece; I'll be applying for funding for that project when I get back. And then, I was also cast in a new play, "by a quiet sea," that will premiere in Frontera Fest Shortfringe; aaaaand I was asked to direct another new play, "T.A.G.," also premiering in Shortfringe! The artists involved in both of these pieces are amazing; they are women I've been hoping to get to know, and I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to collaborate with them. So when I get back in Austin on the 17th, I'll be busy!
I never would have planned on coming back to Austin in the middle of the semester, since that's an awkward time for me to find teaching work. However, being forced to come back, and unable to work as many teaching hours as I did before, did open up some time for me to focus on projects that I had been wanting to develop, but never seemed to be able to get to when I was teaching almost full time. I guess things happen for a reason, and we find ourselves where we are meant to be. I'm making plans now for the spring, treating my art more as a profession than as a "hobby" or something I do "on the side," which, ultimately, is what I want; this unexpected time that was granted to me allowed me to lay the groundwork so that I can do that. I don't think I would have ever allowed myself to just "take off" work and concentrate on working for myself had things not happened the way they did.
At any rate, I decided I did want to go back to Guanajuato to be there with my mom when she was visiting (since she already had her tickets booked to come visit me!), and as long as I was going, I might as well spend a little time there. So, I've just finished a fun weekend with my mom, and I'm about to start a new week of classes at Academia Falcon - a few that I was hoping I'd get to before but didn't quite have time for.
Photos and stories will be forthcoming!
Monterrey
So, on my way back to the States at the end of September, I spent a day in Monterrey. This caused my dear, loving mom endless anxiety, but it was actually a rather uneventful, not-at-all dangerous day. It was raining all day, and the ground was soaked and all covered with puddles since it had been raining like that all week, but I insisted on walking around anyways since I was only going to be there for a day. You can see my umbrella in the picture above. :)
I went to a couple of museums, tooled around the Macroplaza, ate, and rested in the hostel. I found a hostel right by the Macroplaza and the Barrio Antiguo, so I didn't have to walk more than two or three blocks to go anywhere. Photos are here.
For anybody going to Monterrey, I highly recommend the Casa del Barrio! Good price, location, very friendly and helpful staff!
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