| This was the old Cathedral in San Cristobal, and maybe the oldest in Mexico - our guide wasn't sure about that one. Unlike many of the other churches, it had a predominantly stone facade with intricate carvings. Outside of the cathedral there was a large market full of indigenous people selling souvenirs. I believe that many of them were probably locally made, though I saw many of the same items at the cultural fair in Skokie (a Chicago suburb) that Victoria and I went to last weekend (mid-May, 2001). The woman in this picture was selling leather that had been meticulously punched and then painted. It looked kind of cool, but I got the vibe that it was a Mexican version of the velvet rugs of Elvis that we see being sold in vacant lots in the US. Much more interesting to me was her dress - with the clean white shirt and bright red and yellow vest. Most of the people selling in this market were dressed in this traditional garb. This photo was taken near sunset, giving the effect of an extremely powerful flash almost directly behind me - which accounts for the extreme contrast in the details of the building facade. |
