In the late afternoon, prior to the preparation of the oil lamps and the candles that would give us light during the night.
The women of the village would go to the well for water, the one that was at the edge of the village at the exit for el Tamarindo, near the house of dona Maxima and don Santos, the one who killed the jaguar and displayed the hide in the living room of his house.
You could heard the crickets and cicadas in the distance the sign of that day was ending and the night was beginning. Mothers were boiling the corn to have it ready with rooster's calling the early morning to take it to the mill were everybody shared information about what was happenings in the village. The beach was clean and full of tiny treasures, small crabs and chocolopas and bits of driftwood that showed the wear of months of sailing and that would serve as fuel in my grand mothers kitchen.
The hours passed slowly or not at all, no body used a watch, the sun marked the time and the rooter's call started the day.
A summer morning that you could smell and almost drink like water of a thousand tastes and smells.
A simple life full of magic inherited from our ancestors who lived in adobe houses with gardens of tzempasuchil.
Dead did not exist it was only a passage to a better life.
The respect for the trees huge and strong and benevolent like giants full of life.
It is impossible to imaging a time when the hot and dry forest smelling of decay was green.
A time when you could see black iguanas wherever you looked. A good time to hunt for ancient treasures that no one had discovered for years and and that promised kilos of gold and life without worry and the power to influence the lives of others and convert paradise into something ordinary like a house with a pool and air conditioning.
mokita 2009
Re: raises
Posted by Kathy G on March 29, 2023, 7:27 am, in reply to "raises"
What a beautiful image of local life before La Costalegre became a destination point. Thank you for sharing memories of the not-so-distant past.294
Re: raises
Posted by david dagoli on March 29, 2023, 7:28 am, in reply to "raises"
Wonderful!
Re: raises
Posted by Julia on March 29, 2023, 7:38 am, in reply to "Re: raises"
Beautiful and sad. Requiem for bygone days and paradise irrevocably altered.
Re: raises
Posted by duane on March 29, 2023, 11:42 am, in reply to "raises"
raises?? oh, raízes
that's so sad
Re: raises
Posted by Steve N on March 30, 2023, 9:50 am, in reply to "Re: raises"
My first time in La Manzanilla was Xmas 92. At that time there were maybe 20 foreigners visiting town. It was an amazing introduction to Mexican culture. Beach, which seemed much larger, was practically deserted. Now that we have lived here for 4 years, we are looking forward to our favorite time of year. Low season. Still 1000x better than life up north. Though great for local economy, sad to see the spirituality that our town once had tainted by visitors wanting to change it.
Re: raises
Posted by M Morgan on March 30, 2023, 10:09 pm, in reply to "raises"
I have seen adobe buildings in Tomatlan, and El Tuito but never in La Manzanilla. Are there any? Or, are there any remnants of adobe houses here? I ask out of architectural history curiosity.
Re: raises
Posted by Jo Anna H on March 30, 2023, 11:15 pm, in reply to "Re: raises"
"tainted" How interesting.
Re: raises
Posted by Patricia Regla on April 1, 2023, 7:17 am, in reply to "raises"
Lovely. You took me back to quiet simple times. Not sad but rather Nostalgic is a better word that it stirs in me. Changes are inevitable. Nice to have folks like you that raises the RAICES back to us with beautiful imagery .🙏🏽