In January of this year I took a trip to Mexico City. I met five amazing women entrepreneurs (four of them for the first time) for the inaugural Creatrix Catalyst retreat. This trip was special for so many reasons but I am not going to get into them now. This post is about everyday people working hard and supporting their families. Mexico City was so inspiring. It opened this creative part of me that had been stuck and unsure how to make its way out. There is so much to do and see in Mexico City and I only experienced a small portion of it during this trip. These three photos I took were moments that made me pause. Looking at them now I see a connection between them all.
On our first morning in Mexico we were on a mission for witchy things and Atlas Obscura led us to the Mercado de Sonora. As my companions and I walked through this massive place, we discovered we had walked in a big circle and hadn’t found what we were looking for. After escaping the horrific live animal section (I’ll just leave it at that), we found ourselves outside at the back of the market. We didn’t stop at the several produce and plant vendors because we were looking for a way to get back inside. I had to stop when I saw the bright magenta flowers hanging over a hill of garbage.
As we were walking, I noticed the mom consoling her toddler before I had even noticed the flowers. Seeing her reminded me that this was the first time I was in a different country than my little one. Then I noticed the men working to move every piece of refuse into an alcove that I had first thought was a dumpster but then realized it led nowhere. The gate above likely couldn’t be closed anymore because of the amount of trash being forced into the space.
I thought I was just capturing the juxtaposition of the bougainvillea’s bright beautiful blooms hanging over the pile of waste. Now I see the parallels of labor—the men physically and visibly working toward something, while the woman’s mental labor of raising a human is invisible but nonetheless strenuous. And the connection of the humans and the plants doing what is necessary to live.
These next two images were taken on our adventure through Coyoacán. The amount of art and inspiration in this borough is never ending. I think I fell in love with this part of the city, but I need to go back to know for sure.
I took the photo of the fruit vendor from the table where we had breakfast. The colors of this scene kept drawing my eye. At first, it was just the yellow building and the sprawling branches of the tree casting shadows on it’s facade. Then the woman’s blue shirt and beige apron; humble and practical. As well as the red umbrella with the purple towel attached to block her from the sun. Even the corner of the sidewalk has its yellow painted curb leading into the zebra crossing. It all drew me in and I knew I needed to capture the beauty. A moment to her that was likely just the same as the day before and the day after. How she spent her time to make a living; nothing special to her.
I wish I had gotten a better shot of the tailor. As I passed by the open door I saw an old man hunched over a sewing machine. I didn’t want to intrude on him working so I took a quick shot which really only shows his legs under the sewing table. But his image in my mind hasn’t faded. He looked as if he’d always been there, tailoring pants and shirts—for years and years. I imagine this being a family business where everyone is working hard to care for one another. One day someone else in the family will take over sitting at the machine—for years and years.
Leave a Reply