Guacamole City

Rainbowsssssss

Flying out of New Mexico was a trip. This is what I saw through my sunglasses.  an example of New Mexico love.

I haven't yet eaten any guacamole. My flight landed at 830 last night, and between my obligatory BBQ BEEF BRISKET SANDWICH at Dallas airport and the coffee I chugged on the airplane, I haven't had much of an appetite.

Ron, an old ranching friend of mine... still up to the same old, same old.....

Most of my fears are melting away, and I am finding that my little saggitarius tail is wagging uncontrollably.

I thought that child had a bite to it. Haw haw haw! By the way... this was front page on a 'real' newspaper in Dallas.  

Although less than 1.5 km away, I opted to take a taxi to Museo Nacional De Architecto y Anthropoligo.  I read on tripadvisor.com of a woman who got mugged at gunpoint in broad daylight right outside of my hotel, so although the scrawny concierge thought I would have no problem walking, I arranged for a ride both ways.  I wish I had brought my camera for the museum!

The museum was filled with instuments, vessels, textiles, and sculpture. Although most of the pieces ranged from thousands to hundreds of years old, I appreciated the contemporary photo exhibit that followed the preparation of cacao caliente from its beginnings as seed pods to its saleable state as hand-packed cakes roughly the size of one's fist. Usually doled out by Doñas. They're like spiritual, Willy Wonka matrons.

Panorama of Guatemala City as seen from my penthouse. 

                                 
I can hardly speak a word of spanish, but was surprised to comprehend a majority of the label plaques and explanations at the museum.
       
The most impressive part of much of the guatemalan art is the force it conveys despite its visual simplicity. Whereas much of the art and craft I witnessed in Indonesia had very fine, detailed line work, depth of field, and all that,  the art and craft of guatemala displayed fewer components and details. One of my favorite pieces was a small clay sculpture of a man and a horse creature. The horse's body was so simple, and it's head was so monstrous that I was immediately enamored.  It looked like the horse in The Science of Sleep, if you've seen that movie. The difference being that this piece was crafted intentionally by the hands of a living, breathing, laughing, loving human--- hundreds of years ago! My heart swoons at the mystical anthro- and zoomorphism so ubiquitous in so many of those    sculptures.  Confirmation to my nature loving heart....        

I'll end on this note, which my taxi driver Juan taught me:       no te preocupo;  don't worry! Sé feliz! (Divertad?!)

Guatemala City nightscape