Today the streets have been full of balloons and ice cream, celebrating el dia de los nin@s – the day of children. Images that stick out:
Children painting beautifully coloured images on a long roll of paper stretched out in a small square. One girl painting the hooves of the horse she had drawn with very serious attention.
A girl with a yellow balloon animal (unidentifiable but quite cute!) much taller than she was.
The macho grace of men dancing in the squares – light and agile on their feet, dressed in fancy costumes and moving with grace and energy. But when taking hands with other men in the circle of the dance, there’s a definite machismo going on – the grasps are more reminiscent of arm wrestling than dancing!
Finding a policeman the same height as me. This is particularly surprising seeing as I’m only fractionally over 5′. I knew that policemen are supposed to get younger as you get older, but their getting smaller surprises me! Actually, it’s not that funny, because many people here are small due to not being well fed as children.
The cool green peace and freshness of a quiet square, high above the streets where the air is thick with pollution.
The dark, wrinkle-seamed face of a woman, with her eyes shut, apparently taking a brief respite and enjoying the sunshine in what I imagine is an incredibly difficult life – she was selling nuts and dried fruit in the streets.
Wish I had photos to post but my camera batteries ran out! Soon, I promise…
Words that sing 