Sierra Gorda - Favorite photos

These are an assortment of photos that I took that I like - not for their artistry but for the subject matter. The first is a house in Landa de Matamoros that when I saw it it reminded me of the houses in the countryside of England near Stratford-on-Avon. The undulating roof looks like the thatched roofs that were so prevalent in that part of the world. My curiosity made me want to open the door and see what was behind it................but of course, I didn't! I stood in the plaza in front of the church at Jalpan and watched this old woman deliberately sweep each and every leaf into the corner with her "trusty" broom. She was totally unaware of me and totally focused on her task. I think she is so beautiful!

Aah, and lest you think these brooms leaning up against this wall in Conca are just for show, look up at the picture of the woman and you will see that these are REALLY used. I took this photo a couple of days after seeing the woman and didn't get the connection until I was sorting through
the many photos I took! Darn I wish I had bought these brooms.................aren't they wonderful?

And the last photo of the Huichol Indian was taken because he is so out of his element here. The Huichols live in the highlands of Nayarit which is on the Pacific coast and they make a pilgrimage each year at Easter to Real de Catorce which is probably 12 hours by car apart.......they walk.......to smoke peyote, have ancient ceremonies and create the beautiful bead and wax creations of Jaguar masks and jewelry. He was in Las Pozas to sell his creations and probably to make money for his family on the other side of Mexico. It used to be VERY rare to see a Huichol but now they do come to the villages to sell their wares.