Rusting rails in Oaxaca

[bixaorellana]

"Aboard! All aboard"



*run run hustle hustle pant pant*



"Ha ha -- you snooze, you lose!"











~ That's all until next time! ~

[bixaorellana]

And here we are again!

Sunday a week ago my friend Therese asked me if I was interested in going to a cultural event at the train station, as a friend of hers was involved in something there that included a puppet show. Therese was surprised at my enthusiasm, as she didn't know the station nor my affection for it. When we got there, it was most gratifying to see that she quickly became as enamored of it as I am.

We got there well before the event in order to have time to wander around. Right away we saw life where there had been none before. The nice man told us that this erstwhile abandoned building was now being used by the station guards ~

All surfaces are still exuberantly being used as art canvases ~



Strange how some cars get the treatment and others only some uninspired tagging ~



Looking back I see that Kerouac captured this sleeper on his visit here in November 2016.
It finally dawned on me that the painting is a clever play on words, as sleeper in the sense of a railroad tie is the same in Spanish: durmiente ~



This little building always captures my attention because of the structure on top and because it seems to attract anyone with paint in hand ~







Therese peered through the rotted wood over the window and discovered its use. ~

[bixaorellana]

This is the real thing of "the other side of the tracks", as it's a viable neighborhood with a name, lot numbers and everything.
We speculated whether the property holders gave permission for their outer walls to be adorned or if indeed the painters were also residents of the neighborhood ~





I don't know enough about trains to wager a guess on the age of this locomotive. '50s or '60s?





This sturdy building is snugged right next to the water tower and appears to be someones home ~



An outlying little shrine that I don't remember from previous visits ~



Therese up to her old "because it is there" tricks ~



Checking the time, we proceed back to the big building now used for art workshops and the like ~

[bixaorellana]

It was SRO inside the large space where the event was held. The proceedings began with a traditional drummer and piper, after which the small orchestra played quite well.

The painting projected on the back wall was a clue that this was to be about the painter Rodolfo Morales, a greatly loved native son whose work I have never been able to like.
Pues, ni modo -- on with the show ~

All of the front was reserved for children, including some huge inflatable mattresses for them to sprawl on.
There were two musicians and a reader on the right side of the stage. The book is a biography of Morales for children, and the reader had a most pleasant voice and style.
The musicians had the voices and harmony of angels!





The very fact that the stage wasn't already set was a clue as to how bad the puppet show was going to be ~



What tha ....... ?? The puppets have no strings and the fully visible humans manipulated the floppy dolls more clumsily than a toddler would have.





The curtain mercifully closes on the first act, after which we were treated to more excellent music and singing ~





Act two show the boy Morales and how imaginative he was and how enthralled by the village fiestas. The children must have been enjoying themselves, as they laughed at some of the puppet's exploits ~



The finale was lively and well executed, with instruments dancing to the music of the orchestra ~

[bixaorellana]

Wending my way home in the golden late afternoon, I came across one of those reasons that we should always carry our cameras ~





Oddly, as I gazed in this window, I suddenly wanted ice cream ~



As I walked down a completely deserted street, this young cat came up to me, protesting loudly about something ~



Shortly the first one was joined by this girl ~



and then by the white puddy tat ~



I left before the street filled with cats, and thus ended my most recent excursion to the rail station.

[mossie]

The cats are on the scrounge for food, the first one might even be asking you to take him/her home.

The puppet show is marvellous, so amateur as to be unbelievable.

[kerouac2]

Wonderful to see the continued popularity of the train station. However, I refuse to hope that real trains never return to Oaxaca.

Actually, blacksuit puppetry is a revered Japanese technique, which also inspired the world famous Swiss Mummenschanz puppetry troupe. When it is well done, it is amazing how one's mind can totally filter out the real people and bring the marionnettes to life in spite of the big people moving them around right in front of you.

[bixaorellana]

May 22, 2018 8:19:21 GMT mossie said:

The cats are on the scrounge for food, the first one might even be asking you to take him/her home.

The puppet show is marvellous, so amateur as to be unbelievable.

Mossie, there was a split second when I thought about taking the black cat, but I came to my senses.

I continue to be amazed and even a little angry over how dreadful the puppet show was. On the preceding page at #83, anyportinastorm.proboards.com/post/275880/thread, you can see that there are real puppeteers around, along with skilled puppet makers. As Kerouac points out, blacksuit puppetry is a respected and enjoyable art form. What stunned us was how well thought-out and rehearsed the rest of the production was, making the sloppy puppet show that much more unforgivable.

May 22, 2018 13:50:42 GMT kerouac2 said:

Wonderful to see the continued popularity of the train station. However, I refuse to hope that real trains never return to Oaxaca.

Yes, it's great that the place is being maintained and enjoyed. But I so hope that is not end of the story. I stubbornly cling to the hope that train travel will return to Mexico and I use the fact that none of the original tracks have been usurped by the museum to shore up that hope.

[kerouac2]

Tonight's evening news in France had a major report on El Chepe, the Chihuahua-Pacific railway (Ferrocarril Chihuahua al Pacífico), which looks like it is absolutely spectacular. I just don't understand why there is not yet a photo report about it on our Mexico section.

[kerouac2]

I loved visiting the old station on Oaxaca and I hope that it has continued to evolve in a good way.

[cheerypeabrain]

I enjoyed revisiting this thread