With help from friends

Now that the time is getting closer we are getting excited about our trip to Mexico.  I have been practicing my spanish with my friend and neighbor Jackie.  Every evening she takes her dog Shawnie for a walk.  On a few days a week I have been walking with them.  Jackie grew up in Uruguay where she spoke both Spanish and English as a child.  She has been very patient with me as I stumble through my attempts at speaking this new language.  It is best when I listen to my spanish tapes before we go out.  Then words and sentences are still fresh in my mind.  I am understanding better but have a long way to go!!

This photo by George Olney, of The Procession of Silence, shows one of the many local groups participating

Our contact in Mexico, George Olney, of Olney Studios, is a professional photographer and artist.  On his suggestion we googled his name along with BBC, National Geographic, and Cuetzalan We came up with a number of his superb photographs.  He has had his photographs published by BBC and just recently was one of ten finalists in their contest for photos depicting world liberty.  He has been sending us some photos to get a taste of what there will be in San Luis Potosì to photograph.

George Olney took this shot of a local Mercado from a balcony which overlooks the area

George has worked with our sponsor, Dick Davis, on several projects in the past.  They went to the Morisma Festival in Zacatacas, which we had found the film on, a few years ago to take photos.  Another trip was to to photograph the Cuetzalan festival where George got some fascinating pictures of Young Men performing a dance with tall poles.  The final, death Defying part, is where they jump, like a bungie jumper, from the top, flying around the pole, hopeful that the rope on their leg is short enough to keep them from hitting bottom.  Dick Davis has a website where he presents many of the projects he has sponsored.  He is eager to document local festivals and customs from Mexico, feeling that modern ways are already changing these events and customs. The link to his webpage if you would like to see more is:  http://www.dickwdavis.com/

George and our second contact, Nuria, who is the director of the Modern Art Museum in SLP have been helping us find hotels and places to explore.  We will spend our first week in San Luis Potosì and close by locations.  Armadillo is one town George recommended which is close to SLP.  Our second week we will go a bit further afield.  We are making reservations to stay in Real de Catorce for several days.  At one time this was a very active silver mining town.  Just like our mining towns in Nevada, it became a near ghost town but has been revived as an artist colony and vacation destination.  Many of the grand old buildings from the 1600 and 1700 are still there along with the cobblestone streets.  We will return to SLP then go on to see Zacatacas, another city which played a major role during the height of the silver mining in Mexico.  They have a mine which one can tour, and still maintain the grandeur of the early Spanish City.  We look forward to exploring all of these places.