Sentiment of Mexico

I have ignored you, my journal, for many months.  As I walk my path of life I look towards so many paths that I often spin around and cease to become grounded in one direction.  It is my soul to take small bites of life, but what is often needed is to take one big hunk and chew on it for awhile.  Today my artist friend, Erin, inspired me to write again.  We are kindred in the fact that we know writing takes us through journey’s that are difficult, as well as those that are smooth. So, without hesitation, I take pen to hand.

MEXICO:

Mexico is such a conundrum for me.  I have highs so high that I lose my breath, but often times of longing for home, creature comforts, my family and friends. I plunder forth and ride with the spirit and try to move with the flow of life here. Sights and sounds mix together to create energy and excitement, and the philosophy of just being happy. “Relax….have fun, they say.”  I have a friend here that often says she is living in paradise.  I often ride on her optimism. Mazatlan is not the easiest place to get to so travel back and forth to visit home is pretty much out of the question.  So you ride the tide of emotions of being away, and know, that as it gets closer to returning home, you will conjure up all new emotions on having to leave!!!  Yes, it is a conundrum….

So, having said all this, why do I return year after year?

Dance to the beat.

 Is it the tequila that makes me dance in the Plazuela Machado with a young vendor whose feet can’t stop tapping to the beat of the music being played in the El Centro Pagoda, or dance around the square one night like Isadora Duncan with her famous scarf, or dance down the beach to the Banda’s, or is it just the air in Mexico that seeps into your soul and grabs the spirit? I dance so free here.  Who cares who sees you or what they think about you.  I just let it go and the happy spirit that I receive back with smiles and laughter only enhances that experience.

Color

There is something in the light of the Sun that makes the vivid colors of the earth bloom with brilliance in Mexico. I dare count the number of times that I have stuffed my suitcase with pillow covers, rugs, pottery and all manner of decorative items that sing here and kind of fall flat in the Northwest light.  I never give up though for the colors make me smile with delight.  I walk through old town seeking out colors and taking pictures so that I can transform those colors into works of art in the hopes that I capture just a taste of the beauty back home in my studio.  Terracotta, Gold, Emerald Green, Cobalt Blue, and clear Red all blend in a symphony as they play on tiles, fabrics and pottery to sing their happy song of harmony.  This is not the monochromatic feel of serenity, but the jolly dance of color!

Homes

Last week was the annual home tour, and although the modern homes were lovely, it is the homes in El Centro that speak the language of Mexico.  Tattered walls of stucco and brick; sidewalks that undulate to the force of tree roots; solid doors that take two people to open; behind all this you will find vista’s of such beauty that it takes your breath away.  How magical to open the door and walk into a paradise.  I feel a bit like Alice in Wonderland……what lies beyond.  Lush plants weave around atriums anchored by tile that beckon you forth to explore.  The Hacienda style is my favorite for room after room of color and style spin around like a carousel until you almost become dizzy with the tactile and visual senses.  I have been fortunate to enter many of these homes throughout Mexico.  They not only speak the language of Mexico, but they portray the personality of the inhabitants. Nationals and ex-pats have taken ruins, literally, and pulled them up from the dirt and gnarly vines to visions of beauty.  I can’t even imagine the fortitude for such an adventure.

My time to leave is creeping up on me, but I have one more favorite escapade before I leave.  Tomorrow is the annual Art Walk.  More homes to explore, more walls to take shots of and some beautiful art to admire and possibly squirrel away in the suitcase.

Hasta la vista