Towers

World Trade Center Mexico (1994)

Latin American Tower (1956)

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Organ Grinder

Organilllero playing old and nostalgic tunes at Historic Center.
The organ grinder was a musical novelty street performer of the 19th century and the early part of the 20th century, and refers to the operator of a street organ.
Period literature often represents the grinder as a gentleman of ill repute or as an unfortunate representative of the lower classes. Newspaper reporters would sometimes describe them cynically or jocularly as minor extortionists who were paid to keep silent, given the repetitious nature of the music. Later depictions would stress the romantic or picturesque aspects of the activity. Whereas some organ grinders were itinerants or vagabonds, many were recent immigrants who chose to be street performers in order to support their families. Those who actually owned their barrel organs were more likely to take care of them and pursue the "profession" more seriously. A few organ grinders still remain, perhaps most famously Joe Bush in the United States.music+image
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Menus

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Break

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Saturday Shadows

Manuel Tolsa Square. In the background Los Girasoles Restaurant.
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Near The City

If I want to do anything, I want to speak a more universal language.
Seventy Thousand Assyrians 1934. William Saroyan.
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Balloons

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Bird Vendor

“Poverty is the worst form of violence.”
Mahatma Gandhi
"La pobreza es la peor forma de violencia"
“The mother of revolution and crime is poverty”
Aristotle
"La Madre de la revolucion y el crimen es la pobreza"
Aristoteles
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Yesternow

To be a surrealist means barring from your mind all remembrance of what you have seen, and being always on the lookout for what has never been.
Rene Magritte
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Trio

Whippet puppies.
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Hands Talk

The mouth obeys poorly when the heart murmurs.
Voltaire
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The Fountain

The light is the daily bread of the eyes.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
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Silent Shout

Questions From a Worker Who Reads

Who built Thebes of the seven gates?
In the books you will find the names of kings.
Did the kings haul up the lumps of rock?
And Babylon, many times demolished
Who raised it up so many times? In what houses
of gold-glittering Lima did the builders live?
Where, the evening that the Wall of China was finished
Did the masons go? Great Rome
Is full of triumphal arches. Who erected them? Over whom
Did the Caesars triumph? Had Byzantium, much praised in song
Only palaces for its inhabitants? Even in fabled Atlantis
The night the ocean engulfed it
The drowning still bawled for their slaves.

The young Alexander conquered India.
Was he alone?
Caesar beat the Gauls.
Did he not have even a cook with him?

Philip of Spain wept when his armada
Went down. Was he the only one to weep?
Frederick the Second won the Seven Year's War. Who
Else won it?

Every page a victory.
Who cooked the feast for the victors?
Every ten years a great man?
Who paid the bill?

So many reports.
So many questions.

Bertolt Brecht

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The Balmori building

The heart of the Roma district is found where the Alvaro Obregon and Orizaba avenues meet; located in this corner is the Lamm House, an outstanding eclectic mansion in which the family García Collantes once resided and is considered one of the most beautiful houses in the area. Today, this space is occupied by an important cultural centre that has interesting temporary exhibitions, a library and a restaurant. The Balmori building is located in front of this mansion, was constructed in 1922, it’s an elegant stone building that possesses a beautiful patio with a slender fountain. The ground floor contains several shops specializing in luxury items.
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Guanajuato Sketch

Guanajuato is the capital of the state of the same name. It is located 370 km (230 miles) northwest of Mexico City. The Spanish name "Guanajuato" comes from Quanaxhuato (or Kuanasiutu in a different orthography), meaning "Hill of Frogs" in the local indigenous language (a large rock formation outside of the city of Guanajuato looks remarkably like a frog, and frogs are common in the region). In the native religion, the frog represented the god of wisdom.

The city was originally built over the Guanajuato River, which flowed through tunnels underneath the city. However, after years of raising buildings to accommodate repeated flooding, in the mid-twentieth century, engineers built a dam and redirected the river into underground caverns. The tunnels were lit and paved with cobblestones for automobile traffic, and this underground road network carries the majority of cars driving through the city today. It is one of the most notable features of the city.

The city played a major role in the Mexican War of Independence since it is the capital of the state of Guanajuato in which Miguel Hidalgo started the independence movement. [Wiki]
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The Still of the City

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Moment of Light

In the beginning there was nothing. God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better.
Ellen DeGeneres
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Metrobus

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The Wooden Peacock

Ver.2

Carved door on Roma borough.

We are living a million lives in the space of a generation.
Henry Miller. Tropic of Cancer

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February Theme Day: WooD

Tulum, a beautiful beach and archaeological ruins near Cancun.
A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy?
Albert Einstein
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An Occurrence at Purple Wall

Ability is commonly found to consist mainly in a high degree of solemnity.
Ambrose Bierce
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Games

Hidalgo Square in Coyoacan.

Happy Weekend!
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Rural Hopeless

A jug fills drop by drop.
Buddha
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Telamon / Atlante

Kings, Warriors or Gods
The Atlantes at Tula are four colossal statues almost five meters in height which were discovered in a pyramid located in the archaeological zone of Tula, Hidalgo, located 40 miles from Mexico City.
Some legends tell that the Toltecs, after mysteriously abandoning the city of Teotihuacan, built a replica that would later become the capital of Toltec culture. This city was named Tollan, which for many years was ruled by a dynasty of kings, priests and warriors, descendents of Quetzalcoatl (the feathered serpent, ancient god of Teotihuacan and protector of culture and civilization). Such is the case of Toptzin, who ascended the Toltec throne, took the name of Quetzalcoatl and consecrated himself to its service. The name of Quetzalcoatl as god and Quetzalcoatl as king is said to have caused much confusion throughout Mexican history.
In present day the city of Tollan is known for its great pyramid Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli, or The Temple of The Morning Star, whose summit holds the famous Atlantes of Tula. They are representations of gods, warriors or Toltec kings that are believed to have been the pillars of a former wooden roof on the temple. One can climb up this pyramid to observe the Atlantes up close and appreciate the complex archeological treasures.
The Atlantes of Tula measure approximately 4.96 m in height by 90 cm in width. Each one is formed by four sections or blocks of wood that represent human figures. The first section represents the head, which is found covered by a headdress of feathers. The second and third sections form what would be the body, and the fourth and last were the legs and feet. It is worth mentioning that only a few of these statues have survived the passage of time, so several of them have been restored.
In regard of the “clothing” of these colossuses, the objects of great size that appear over the ears of the figures grab the attention; the chest is covered by a great plaque with the figure of a human being. The Atlantes also show anatomical differences in their faces despite maintaining the same expression, which bestows each one with a unique personality. Warriors, kings, gods and more are some classifications used to identify the Atlantes. Each one of the Atlantes holds an object in its right hand. It is known that the Toltecs were an artistic, wise and cultured people, but they were also warriors. Among their weapons was the Atl-Atl, which shot darts and arrows with lightly curved edges; however, according the current knowledge and discoveries made up to this moment, the Toltecs brandished the Atl-Atl in the left hand and not in the right like the figures of the Atlantes appear to be doing. In one of the pillars found next to the giant figures, appears the figure in relief of an individual who carries on his back a backpack or container with a sort of flame shooting out a stone. This has led some to suppose that the object the Atlantes carry is a flame thrower or blowtorch.
The legends also tell that the Toltecs, in their march toward the south led by Quetzalcoatl, arrived at Chichen-Itza (an archeological zone located in the Yucatan Peninsula) where they built a new capital fusing with the Mayan culture and tradition. The city of Tollan, in its age of decadence in the 13th century, was occupied by the Aztecs who came from the North.
The archeological zone of Tula gives visitors the opportunity to appreciate in an instant a chapter of the glorious past of the Toltecs. Despite the fact that this zone is not considered one of the most important in Mexico, it is worth visiting the city of Tollan, which has a great relevance in the history of Mesoamerica and constitutes a link in the chain of civilization of the central high plateau of Mexico.
Information was taken from “A Guide to Unknown Mexico No. 62 Hidalgo,” Sept. to Oct. 2000.

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El Mastuerzo

"El Mastuerzo" playing at CLETA in Casa del Lago (House on The Lake) in Chapultepec Park.

Francisco Barrios aka "El Mastuerzo" is a Mexican musician, composer, record producer, actor and drummer of the band Botellita de Jeréz. El Mastuerzo is an active composer of rolas and founder of the artist collective Kloakas Komunikantes. It participates with his work supporting social movements. Actually are in filmation of Plan B, a film of the story of Botellita de Jeréz.

Francisco Barrios, mejor conocido como "El Mastuerzo", miembro activo durante los 14 años de existencia de la banda Botellita de Jerez (1983-1997), en un acto de malabarismo quirúrgico pone al descubierto un extraño apéndice inflamado y purulento: prohibido (disco compacto y caset) que lejos de ser un estorbo al cuerpo creativo que lo ve parir, en su momento se reveló como una necesidad de expresión individual pero paralela a ese "caldo de cultivo" llamado Botellita de Jerez.

La promiscuidad que da origen a las extrañas perversiones de El Mastuerzo se remontan no sólo a las vivencias botellescas, sino a anteriores experiencias creativas con el grupo Los Nakos, colectivo artístico multidisciplinario cuyo trabajo se centra en la canción política a través de formas paródicas siempre permeadas de recursos teatrales. Los Nakos surge como brigada cultural del Consejo Nacional de Huelga durante el movimiento estudiantil de 1968; El Mastuerzo se integra a esta banda desde el año de 1976 llevando a cabo distintas realizaciones discográficas y participando en muy diversas giras, festivales y encuentros de canción y teatro en Europa, USA, Cuba, Centro América y, por supuesto, a lo largo y ancho de la República Mexicana hasta 1984.[Wiki and Trovadictos]

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