explore the city i live in

This morning on the corner of my house during rush hour, there was a cow roaming free. They’re two of them and are usually tied up in an empty lot in front. He first went to one side, not enough grass; then went to the other side, still no grass and cars were rushing by. Then he headed to the trash dump in the corner; it didn’t look appealing, but he spotted some tasty-looking bushes in the house next door. A goat —who also became loose and was scavenging in the trash— decided to go after him and mount him! Of course, the cow just pulled away and continued his search for more food in peace.

The entertaining surrealism of this town is never-ending.

Despite my rants and being ready to move out, I really like living here in Cholula. It is a fascinating place with the charm of a small town. And I just love the way of life here.

Today, I stopped at this corner to photograph a convenience store with an English name: “Baldo’s Store” —which seemed so out of place. It already made for a colorful shot… just when a bright-yellow VW bug pulled right in frame!

I cross the street as the traffic light changed, and a man with his horse comes to a stop for the traffic light, and a young boy pointing to it to his mom. Immediately after, the horse is passed by two bicycles. Everyone going around doing their thing in their own unique way of transportation, and everyone’s happy :)

One of the bad things about Cholula is the practice of burning trash. This is not only done here, but in many places of Mexico as well —and I can only assume in many places in our planet, too. I believe it comes from the custom of burning agriculture waste supposedly as a way to compost the fields. People also do it in a smaller scale in their homes.

In past centuries, this practice was a mere burning of organic waste. But now, in the age of plastics, people do not think it twice before throwing in all kinds of trash. “It’s cultural; it’s been done for centuries”, that’s their excuse. “We need to get rid of the trash”, that’s another one. “Nature also burns down forests; it’s part of nature’s cycle, and we’re just giving her a hand” (!).

This is bad no matter where on the planet this is done, but it’s even worse when they do it in the middle of the city next to residential homes. Many mornings, I have woken up to the smoke of my neighbor’s bonfire. We have gone to talk to them, but they continue to do it, although more sparsely. I now keep my window shut, but the smoke still seeps a bit through the cracks.

Moreover, I live just a couple blocks from a few agricultural fields which are in the middle of the city, just south of the pyramid where it’s prohibited to build since there are many archeological vestiges underneath. So the people in these fields, also burn their waste as if they were in the open country.

I just think it’s sad that we take for granted our breathing. We breathe without thinking, but it is the main thing that keeps us alive —even before water, before food… But let’s keep on burning our trash, so it “disappears”! How long will it take us to notice that we’re just transforming it into the smoke we’re breathing in? Maybe never. The trash will be within our bodies, our brain cells will be dead to comprehend, and maybe we’ll be dead altogether :(

I knew that the neighbors behind our house had some hens, ostriches, and other birds. Today, the neighbor beside me let me climb to her roof to see the sunset —she’s the only one with a fixed ladder to reach the roof. Turns out that behind her house there’s an urban barn with cows and all! I could see pigeons, roosters, and lambs, apart from their several dogs and cats. Now it makes sense the foul smells we regularly get in our house. The birds behind us could not be that bad.

It’s incredible what you discover when you climb up above the roofs of the town. Everything here is behind cement walls, so unless there’s an open door when you pass by, you have no idea of the life going on behind it. Of course, the smells should’ve given me a hint…

Due to the wind, today was a very clear day. So much, that on my daily walk with my dog, I spotted the volcano Citlaltépetl, the highest peak in Mexico better known as the “Pico de Orizaba” (“Orizaba Peak”). It is about 100km east. Today there was an unobstructed view except by the hill of La Paz neighborhood, which adds to the landscape.

Also, I spotted my first, not one, but three eagles. Those were an everyday thing when I was living back in Puerto Morelos, but here is a rarity, as it’s the first time I’ve seen any in seven months that I’ve been here.

Hurricane’s Rick furiousness made up for some spectacular views of the volcanoes Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl.

“Don Goyo” (the Popo’s nickname) was exhaling fumes that looked quite venomous with the sunset rays.

“La Mujer Dormida” (the Sleeping Woman, the Izta’s nickname) was ethereally resting in a bed of clouds and surrounded by strokes of clouds “painted” by the hurricane.

Breathtaking.

I’ve wanted to check as done this goal before, but every time I think of it, I find myself in a new city…

Today, while making time for an appointment to see an apartment, I walked around an area that overlooks Lake Washington and the I-90 bridge.

Though I have passed through the car tunnel a few times, I never knew there was a bike tunnel, and with a charming balustrade overhead.

These are the little “digs” you discover while wandering around…

So today I finally decided to go to the Seattle Art Museum. I walk down Pine and stop at 6th for the pedestrian light to change, when I hear concert-like music coming from a block to my left. I spot a crowd and think Well, I might as well turn here and check it out.

As I get closer, I think These guys are really good. What is this going on here at the Sheraton? Maybe it’s a local band playing for some seminar... Traffic is still going through and there are crowds on both sides of the street.

Out of curiosity, I was just going to pass by. But the music caught me; they were ON!! So I get even closer and then they start playing “Get Down On It”. Thinking what a good cover it was and how good these guys were, I manage to bring myself to about 20 feet from the stage. I see the sign on the drum — my jaw just dropped! It was no less than Kool & The Gang THEMSELVES!!

OMG!! What? How? When? Where am I? — I grew up with their songs, and here they were outside a hotel lobby giving a free concert, and I just happened to be walking by! Crazy!!!

I still can’t digest this, so surreal!! I can’t imagine how many times they’ve played their songs and, yet, they played and danced as if it had been their first time! They were so good!! They danced spectacularly!! The rhythm and the atmosphere were so contagious!!

I stayed for the rest of the concert where they played their most famous hits including “Get Down On It”, “Ladies Night”, “Cherish”, and closing with “Celebration”.

After reflecting about today’s experience, I can only imagine how fans felt when The Beatles played unexpectedly on the roof of a building, or when U2 popped in the middle of LA… Two of my favorite bands — Wow!!

Of course, I never made it to the SAM…

On Airport Way (in an industrial zone in Seattle, out of the beaten path), a linked fence surrounds a bus depot. An eyesore as such could be deliberately ignored; if it had a wall, it might even have some graffiti on it.

Still, some very talented artist (or artists) decided to give this fence a twist with a very imaginative idea: inserting white “dots” in the holes of the fence and producing an image, like pointillism artists did in the 1800s —or like pixels produce images in our screens today.

We were driving by, and I could just catch two images of the entire fence (about four or five in total). Yet both images clearly depict what this art is about: Peace —and how serendipitous that just the past week we were Celebrating Peace Day :)