Give Me Five
Oaxaca, Mexico 2016
Once again, I’m back to Oaxaca, the sixteenth time to be exact, and with the same desire like the first time in 2002.
A nice group of students are with me besides my carnalito Juan: Calvin, Frank and Linda belonging to the old school; Archana, Rob and Odette are studying with me for the first time.
We even have an assistant, Kios, to help Frank with his 8×10 camera that he brings for the first time to shoot with sometimes. Even I would like to use it to see what it feels like! And I did take two negatives!
The seven-hour drive to reach our magical little mazateca town is even more beautiful than before. I wish we could stop and delve more into the changing landscapes we drive through.
Thanks to Panfilo and his brothers each day we discover new villages and situations. The two days spent in the middle of nowhere in what I consider the most beautiful cemetery in Mexico are just incredible!
The magic, the fog, the rain, the mescal, as always, do the rest.
As I like to say these days, all the beautiful images Archana, Calvin, Frank, Kios, Linda, Odette and Rob took are almost irrelevant in their sheer poetry and intimacy! What really counts is the spiritual experience we all shared in such generous way!
After twelve unforgettable days as we are driving back to Oaxaca we run into the pilgrims walking from La Perla, a small village from the state of Veracruz to the sanctuary of the Virgin of Juquila in Oaxaca state: a place where sooner or later, I also want to walk too. I listen to their stories with fascination. I promise them that I will join them in the years to come!
EB
