confetti + mani

confetti + maní (caminata de santo santiago, anzaldo)

breast milk

Wiracocha slashed the breast of his daughter Volcán Tunupa for bringing war to the region.  Her milk spilled over and formed El Salar de Uyuni.


"people used to make records,
as in the record of an event,
the event of people playing music in a room.
now everything is cross.marketing.
its about sunglasses and SHOES
or guns and drugs.
you choose..."

[ani difranco]

where do babies come from?

infant mortality at the chapel belltower (sucre 08)

I used to spread the theory that pigeon reproduction must akin to that of Gremlins.  We associate them with the sewer.type accomplices, i.e. rats.  Perhaps through a replication process, the young spawn from the back of an adult bird that has bathed in radioactive waste.  Well, the other theories of marsupial pouches or adult.size births seemed equally irrational.

AND then I found a nest (and an informative pigeon webpage).  While most young birds leave the nest within two to three weeks, pigeon squabs remain nest.dependent for an extended period of time.  Life.mates nurse the young with regurgitated milk until the juvenile has reached a mature size to leave home.  Compared to a human’s eighteen years, the maturation stage only requires two months.  The distinct difference between juveniles and adult birds can be seen in the size and coloration of the beak.  Juveniles have a white cere (fleshy portion at the top of the beak) while adults have a grayish pink color.

resisting raisin.hood

To view the skyline but omit the jacaranda tree is a wasted view on a 24.hr walk...(August 17, 2008)


resisting raisin.hood

we were two grapes
tangentially aligned
by the growth of the stem
and the force of gravity
pulling our swollen bodies back toward
that which satiates our thirst.

we nestled within the cluster,
thin, taut skins gently receiving
similar forms:
reciprocated pressure of
respiring bodies.
perspiring bodies,
transpiring to be
bodies.

your tannic traces
stained every fissure
as i soaked in your
puckered embrace.

shadowed curves
concealed the delicate whisper
of skin sashaying over skin
like a pig-tailed raincoat over rain-puddles,
deliberately touching every gap
and sending abrupt undulations
to a deeper source.

our sodden surrender
of pliable flesh,
a fresh cyclical secretion,
resisted the wryness
and the sunstroke.

tacones + banderas

Celebration commences with zampoñas and charangos as flags of Bolivia, Cochabamba, and Suyu Wiphalas undulate in unison.  (August 10, 2008)

Two months have passed since el referendum revocatorio overwhelmingly confirmed Evo Morales' popular support.  However, the vote also substantiated prefects (governors) of his opposition, proving the complex division within the country.  Speaking from his Presidential Palace balcony after his validation, Morales addressed the necessity for political dialogue.  With the continued stalemate between MAS supporters and those in favor of autonomy, the movement toward compromise seems logical.  Nevertheless, after weeks of blockades, hunger strikes, and violent confrontations, the leaders met in the Cochabamba province to discuss the tenets of the new political constitution, but without agreement.

Itching for action, Evo spoke in front of thousands of MAS supporters in Caracollo at the conception of a week.long march to La Paz.  Beginning Monday and hoping to collect thousands more as it covers 200 kilometers through the altiplano, the demonstration will demand that Parliament determine a date for the referendum of Morales' constitution.  Meanwhile, the opposition continues to implore that the document does not address their demands for greater autonomy.

"to burn meat"

The vegetarian decides to forego her principles to carry charque kan on the El Choro trek in Las Yungas.

The Quechua word CHARQUI identifies a cured meat once supplied in tambos along Incan roads as a source of nutrition that could withstand long journeys.  The drying process in high altitudes of the antiplano proved ideal for the preservation of llama meat.  Charqui's significance changed after its industrialization in charqueadas, particularly in Uruguay.  However, it can still be purchased "fresh" in mercados (where further drying may be necessary to keep away the worms).