Tijuana is never quiet. The city’s soundtrack of bustling traffic and barking dogs syncopates with the surrounding beats of banda and hip hop. Bright blue, green and orange homes punctuate a sea of gray cinder block.
But beneath it’s sun-dried skin, boys like Benjamin step into adolescence. Not ready to venture out into the world alone, but old enough to want it. A quiet and restless awakening.
Music: Perfidia (instrumental) by Café Tacuba
It’s impossible to point a camera in any direction in Tijuana and not find something interesting. It’s a cultural war zone, the mezzanine between two worlds. But in the middle of this political purgatory, there are people. And my Saturday routine is about family.
The song used in the video (On Our Own by September Malevolence) is available as a free download on Last.fm.
Here’s a video of my nephews hunting for shells on their first trip to San Felipe, México. We drove down Thanksgiving weekend.
For anyone who might visit, we stayed at a hoste/hotel called Maya Bell. It’s actually inside the National Park of Palenque. We had a great time exploring and soaking in the ancient city.
Some of my best photos from the trip were shot here in Palenque.
Video recorded September 20, 2007
While shooting in the town square, a tour guide approached and told me I should put the camera away. He said the police would take my camera and throw me in jail. At first, I thought he was just trying to get me to pay to join his tour.
The town enjoys unique autonomous status within Mexico. No outside police or military are allowed in the village. Chamulas have their own police force. – Wikipedia
A few minutes later, I was eating a bowl of chicken soup at a streetside restaurant. The texture of the chicken was unlike any I'd ever eaten. It was more chewy, almost spongy. After a few bites, I realized this chicken leg was previously attached to one of the many running freely nearby. It wasn't the couped-up, hormone-filled, force-fed flavor I was used to. The visceral experience gave me a sudden respect for my surroundings and I didnt take the camera out of the bag again.
View more photos of San Juan Chamula.
Video recorded September 19, 2007
Chiapas is beautiful. We visited Sumidero Canyon, las Cascadas el Chiflón, las Lagunas de Montebello, and more.
(on technical note, I've started using iMovie'08 instead of Final Cut Pro for these videos. I still haven't finished editing our summer vacation from 2006 in FCP. I'm hoping the simplicity of iMovie (limited options) continues to speed up the process and get through all this tape…)
Video recorded September 16, 2007