Member-only story
Still Lives on the Streets of Oaxaca
Lives, With a Long ‘I’ — the Adjective, Not the Verb — Confusing, I Know
During my long years as a photographer, the Still Life has been an important motif in my work. The subject of this story is not that.
The striped blanket is clean, with a fold line showing down the middle of his chest. His clothes and shoes are not clean. I can only guess some caring soul covered him at some point during the night or early morning.
This is not an uncommon sight in Oaxaca City. Though his wide open, vulnerable position is a bit rare for street sleepers. I found a certain beauty in his sleeping form, almost angelic. His face looks so peaceful.
I was able to enlarge the words on this man’s shirt which read, El Mezcal Te Vuelve Magico, which translates to, Mezcal Makes You Magical. I have a difficult time seeing anything Magical about this sleeping man.
Sleeping face down, with his covered head pushed against a dirty crate seems truly un-magical. I also find his back support belt a bit odd for his condition and posture.
He is sleeping in a raised, semicircular stone basin built into the sidewalk. I am…
