Up to the Auditorium

Our days have a rhythm now. Sunday morning we started out at 10 am for the climb to the auditorium at the top of a hill quite high above the city. The huge metal structure was completed in 2010 and is used for a Oaxacan festival of concerts, theatre, art and dance on only two Mondays in July. Bonkers really to spend so much money on so few performances in such a spectacular outdoor auditorium. We didn't rush because our climbing legs are not in form. The temperature was just right as Goldilocks would have said.

   From the hotel terrace.

  Hundreds of steps to get up there.

    An elegant woman.

 Oh what you can create with a saw and a muffler.

   At the top.

    Aerial welders replacing large metal tubes.

             Almost a high wire act.

     The old and the new.

   The new ones waiting to be welded in.

        Wall paintings at the top of the stairs.

   This woman's soul is ascending.

  Some buildings here have razor wire on the roof.

 A marimba passing by.

  Kids playig in the park.

      Local art gallery.

  A Sunday morning run to honour International Women's Day. This view is looking down from our suite.

  El Teatro Juarez where dances are held during this week of the International Dance Festival.

   Spain, the U.S. Ecuador, Argentina and Mexico are giving two presentations a day.

All the presentations are free and well attended. There are so many aspects to Mexico. The government is way far to the right with tons of power, huge personal pockets to put the people's money. But at the same time, there are festivals such as the dance festival this week where everyone can attend free of charge.

As I've said before, people are less reserved than we are. Last night as we were leaving the theatre, I was struggling to get my arm into the sleeve of my jacket when someone simply held the sleeve from behind. I turned around to thank the young woman who had a broad smile. I think in Canada we might think it an invasion of personal territory to do this.

It's so much fun to run into situations that are so different from our culture.

Hasta luego!