Sunset door

A last ray of sun caresses an ancient door at La Estancia. A beautiful restaurant in Cuernavaca, Morelos, not too far from Mexico City.

A beautiful afternoon and eve.

Sometimes, a glorious spring evening it's all a dream is worth.

Albaicin, a window

I had forgotten how beautiful the Albaicin was, how full of little details, corners, passages, trees, towers, churches, plazas... is. Every little thing is in harmony with its surroundings. I guess that's why I love Yucatan so much. Something, a deep sense of beauty, of equilibrium, is present here as well.

And yes, I have something about windows...

That angel at the top of Granada's Cathedral

This is my first post in a while. In the meantime I've been to Mexico DF and back to Spain to meet my newly born nephew and attending my dad's birthday... Not to mention a very hectic period at work.

But I'm back and reloded.

More pictures to follow soon!

PD.- The image is of St. Michael the Archangel

Winged Warrior

This is a well known sculpture at Ek Balam.

However impressive as it is on the outside, it's the inside of Utik Kan Le'k Tok' tomb what it's set to change many of the views that we currently hold about Mayan culture.

Little has been published about what the archeologists have found, but expectations are pretty high. Much has been said about Ek Balam, but little is known for sure as it's a relatively new archeological site. Works only started in the mid-eighties, and 2 big structures have not been excavated yet.

This impressive winged warrior is one of the tomb's guardians. The entrance to the tomb is guarded by Kukulcan's fauces and it's meant to be an entrance to the underworld, probably used for initiation rites.

Today I met with Mario for the 1st time in months... Our Mayan project it may still have a future. More to come!

More Ek Balam...

This is the Oval Palace at Ek Balam, as seen from the main pyramid. The fact that this building has an oval back, tells us about its Peten (Guatemalan) influence. Another peculiarity of this city is that it has strong defensive walls, unlike most Mayan towns. Quite remarkable too are their cisterns to preserve rain water. One of the theories about the Mayan demise it's actually that they suffered a very severe drought and its consequential scarcity of food...

Whatever the reasons are behind Ek Balam's architecture, the real truth is that this is a very special place.

It was a beautiful afternoon spent driving, walking, taking pictures... Today I went to change my truck's internal fluids and filters, as I can't wait to hit the road again and wanted to have a hassle free ride. Bronco is at 120,000 miles and never missing a beat. What is it with men and their old vehicles? Why do we get so attached to them?

Bronco Days

Yesterday I took my big and old truck and went for a long drive to Ek Balam, a Mayan site close to Temozon (around 20 miles from Valladolid and a 330 miles drive all in all).

This is one of my favorite archaeological sites as it's a pretty compact, and normally deserted (although yesterday the parking lot was full). It has some of the most impressive, and unusual, sculptures ever found in Yucatan (including winged warriors). Most puzzling are the hieroglyphics that can be found at the entrance of Utik Kan Le'k Tok' tomb, by looking at them you'd believe that you were somewhere in Egypt or the British Museum, not Yucatan...

After 4 hours and a hundred pictures I headed to the little Mayan community of the same name, that it's located just up the road from the site. I wanted to see if they could fit in my photography project, and was also curious to meet those crazy Italians that had decided to open up a restaurant and a hotel in the middle of that wilderness ("Dolcemente Ek Balam" it's called the place).

The Mayans and the Italian food proved disappointing (it was a rather sad Mayan community and the restaurant, ended up being one of those places run by people who prior coming to Mexico had never cooked anything), but the hotel was cute with well looked after grounds and clean rooms (but executed in a motel kind of style, without the boutique feeling that I was expecting). At least the meal was inexpensive.

On the way back it occurred to me that this was my first (non-business related) solo trip since I live in Mexico. I've done loads of leisure trips here, but always with friends. Next weekend will be the second, with a scheduled weekend trip to Yaxuna's Mayan community already on the books. That one should be exciting, it's one of the few Mayan sites that I haven't seen yet.

THEhotel...

Somebody had a really hard time coming up with this hotel's name...

A night view from my room at The Mandalay in Las Vegas, captured a couple of weeks ago.

Lightworks

I have said it before... I've something about windows. I always find them incredibly romantic. I guess for a photographer they're, what would we do without light? Windows are exactly that... an opening for light.

This is from the Alhambra in Granada.

St. Isaak Cathedral

St. Petersburg on a cold December morning.

Pool

This is my idea of what a cool pool is. Amazing beauty and detailing all around the property.

Color walls

Under a bright sun, you need bright colors... Otherwise they wash out. Another one from The Hacienda Santa Rosa.

Red walls

I want a house with doors that look this good... Every little detail in The Hacienda was simply beautiful.

Paradise

Today's sunset at The Hacienda Santa Rosa, not far from (happy coincidence) Granada, in Yucatan, Mexico.

I love Yucatan. After all, this is my place of choice in the world. And as Desire Charnay once said: "Anyone who can leave Yucatan with indifference, has never been an artist and will never be a scholar".

Reflections

One from the New York series. Need to go back soon because I missed B&H this last time...

But first I'll wait to see what Photokina brings us this year :)

Convento de la Natividad

It looks like a medieval monastery set in Roncesvalles Valley, in the Spanish Pyrenees, yet it's set in Tepoztlan, not far from Mexico City.

The place is stunning, and according to the myth, the birthplace (1,200 years ago) of Quetzalcoatl - the feathered serpent god.

I'll never forget this place, or how I lost my breath climbing the nearby Tepozteco Mountain.

Taxco de Alarcon (Guerrero)

A picture of Taxco's Santa Prisca's church. Taxco is a pretty old colonial town on the west of Sierra Madre del Sur. Famous for its silver mines, the town is full of jewelers (more than 200 of them have their shops here). A short trip from Ixtapan de la Sal. I went there with Kika a year ago. A charming little place that I wouldn't mind to visit again...

I'm sorry that I had to copy-paste Prisca's story for you (this is taken from Wikipedia). It makes up for an interesting reading...

Prisca was of a noble family and at thirteen years of age was accused of Christianity before Emperor Claudius. By his command she was taken to the temple of Apollo to sacrifice there, and when she refused, was buffeted and sent to prison. She was released from prison, but when she still held steadfastly to the faith, they flogged her, poured boiling tallow upon her, and sent her back a second time. She was at last thrown to a lion in the amphitheater, but it quietly lay down at her feet. She was starved for three days in a slaves' prison house, and then tortured upon the rack. Pieces of flesh were next torn from her body with iron hooks, and she was thrown on a burning pile. She miraculously still remained alive, and was accordingly beheaded outside the city.

Cloister

Another one from last weekend's trip to Izamal. The summer sunset helped producing some amazing lights and textures.

Izamal

Izamal (from the Mayan word "Zamná" translated as "dew from the sky"), it's one of my favorite places in the world. One that never disappoints every time I go back. This temple, the former San Antonio de Padua's Convent, was built over the remains of a previous Mayan structure. But it's not the only Mayan building within the city, as another four pyramids are part of the urban landscape of this amazingly beautiful and gentle place.

This weekend Kika and I hit the road and went to Izamal and some other remote places. It's was an eventful trip... one filled with images, and stories to tell.

NYC

A very simple composition. I guess I just like the way the light reflects on the window, and the contrast between the bricks and the deep blue sky. Somehow most of my NYC pictures ended up been building details and light reflections.

I fell in love with NYC, can't wait to go back.

Rome

On days like this, I always wish I was there.

Of all places on Earth, I love Rome the best. And this building, the Pantheon, is quite simply magical.

Until you visit it, you can't possibly imagine how special it is, and not only because it inspired Brunelleschi's desing of Florence's Cathedral dome (and by consequence Michelangelo's St. Peter's or Wren's St. Paul's... or even the Capitol in Washington). Its top opening gives the interior a very peculiar atmosphere, with a permanent mist and even an ocassional light rain.

I used the Oly E500 with the consumer 14-45 zoom, hence the barrel distortion. Nevertheless I still like this picture. It brings happy memories.