Mexico Redux #7 – the Dance of Life

So, Clinock, enough already with these Redux posts – when are you going to publish some new art? Well my friends – I’m working on it – not just for you but also for me, me, me (it’s all about me don’t ya know). I’ve been delightfully   moodling –  happily idling, dawdling and puttering.

This redux is from Mexico last year with strong connections to Easter which will be hatching for us all soon.

All photos by yo. Click on images for larger detail.

Spring 2012 – Hundreds of Indigenous dancers from across Mexico and from many tribes in North America recently gathered in the center of San Miguel De Allende to celebrate a local religious event connected to Easter festivities and ritual. When viewing the photos you can complete the picture by imagining the swirling movement of the dancers combined with the sensual intensity of the loudest drumming I have ever heard, the explosion of fireworks and the ringing of church bells.

This is an event that combines pre-Christian spring ritual with Catholic beliefs. J.C. (not me) is ever present but becomes a partner in the timeless dance of life.

I was blown away by the sensuality – sound, colour, movement, intensity and shared humanity of these dances. My Vancouver home has little to compare with these celebrations of new life – too much sangfroid in our northern climes.

The inclusion of animals in the dress of the dancers was a reminder of our sharing of this planet with all living creatures. In Mexican mythology and legend animals play a leading role. We are all animals – which one do you choose to be?

Sharing water – do you all grok this?