A Feeling

There is something electric about being in Mexico in September. It is a time when celebration is around every corner. I have been to Mexico many times, in the fall, in the spring, summer, you name it. But this time felt different. It seemed that everywhere I went there were symbols of festivity. Streamers, banners, flowers, signs of impending joy.

A balcony in San Miguel de Allende

The Trip

I was there to spend time with close friends of mine and meet their family. We stayed in my friend's family home, ate papaya in the mornings, and during the day we would drive out to different pueblos magicos. The voyage came at just the right time. I had just finished my very first photo exhibition in March, the first personal project I ever put into print and framed, called En Mi Vida. The event had been a success but, as all creative people know, after a big accomplishment there is always a nagging question: what's next?

The Question

I did not have the answer yet. What would be my next personal endeavor? I had poured my heart into En Mi Vida. Exhibiting my work had been a dream of mine for years. And it had finally come true! I felt happy, but I also had this feeling like I had not done enough, like I had to do much much more.

Finding Inspiration, Again

My friend is the kind of person who prefers to show you rather than tell you. We did not talk about work. Maybe she sensed something was on my mind, or maybe she's just a good host. Either way, every day she had something planned for us.

On Thursday we went into the historic center of Querétaro for coffee and pastries at La Mariposa, a really charming bakery and candy store.

On Friday, we visited a ceramics showroom and workshop. There we saw both the finished ceramics and the process behind them. Each piece there is unique. The designs are created directly on the piece, and the drawings are not traced or part of a pre-made pattern. Each vessel is drawn and painted based on what the person working feels inspired by that day. Because of this, there is a unique connection between the decorator and the piece of ceramic.
This is not only special but means that there are no two pieces that are identical.

A table full of goodies

Hand-painted mugs and a tea pot

By Saturday, we were in San Miguel de Allende, walking around without much of a plan. I had my camera with me, as I did every day, but I wasn’t looking for anything in particular.

We walked along the tiny streets of San Miguel eating churros, and I asked if we could stop by a market. The sun was setting as we entered the building and the sunlight was fading. As I walked around trying to photograph the last bits of light on the fruit stands, I walked into a hallway and saw rows and rows of flowers. I stopped and admired it for a moment, then pressed the shutter. 

Recuerditos, 2023

I took a small number of photographs that day. Among them, was a photo of a man singing in the town square, the photo at the flower stand, and the last a photo of a balcony decorated with streamers, the photograph that opens this article. 

I remember looking at those streamers and thinking about the people who put them there. Someone had taken the time to decorate their balcony in anticipation of the upcoming celebrations. I imagined the parades that would soon pass through the town square, the music, the families gathering in the streets. There were signs of joy everywhere, and it was starting to be contagious. 

I wish I could say that I consciously knew what I was doing, but I was only following my instincts. Picking up the camera when something caught my eye. 

Vecindad (Neighborhood), 2023

On Sunday, we drove to Guanajuato.

The streets were more crowded than in San Miguel. My friend’s uncle was our guide that day, and he shared with us some of the top things to do in the city: go to the mummy museum, visit the callejón del beso, tour the mines. It was that point in a trip when you feel physically exhausted but you know that you’ll regret it if you don’t push yourself to see as much as you can. We walked to the callejón del beso and my friends got in a long line of people waiting to get their photo taken on the famous balconies.
I stayed off to the side, eating an ice cream we had picked up on the way. The crowds were overwhelming me so I walked towards a different street. As I turned around, I stopped in my tracks. I stood there for a while in silence, observing, remembering, thinking.
Then, I pressed the shutter. 

Feels like Home, Again. 2023

What Stayed With Me 

When I got to Mexico, I did not know what I wanted to create next. I left without a definitive answer, but with a collection of photo souvenirs, memories and observations that would eventually led me somewhere.

The flower stands, the tiles, the walls, the buildings. These were the things I kept returning to. 

A few photographs from the trip eventually became exhibition pieces. Other ideas found their way into my work much later. 

I think there’s something special about spending time somewhere without expecting to come away with anything in particular. Being away from my usual routine, spending time with friends, meeting new people, seeing the joy of a city unfold around me, gave me room to create without feeling the need to produce my next masterpiece. 

As a photographer, I think I sometimes measure a trip by the number of photographs I bring home. But I’ve learned that give photos you truly love can mean more than hundreds taken simply because you felt you should. 

September in Mexico helped me realize that inspiration doesn’t always announce itself. Sometimes you return home from a place with only a handful of souvenirs, and it isn’t until much later that you understand what the experience gave you. 

The End

Love,

J

Dedicated my friend Cynthia.