the last tiagues of the season

It was a very strange experience to go to the usual sight of the weekly open market and find virtually no vendors in sight. The President of Mexico asked people to stay away from public gatherings over this long (5-day) holiday weekend. And they took him seriously. Whereas there is usually a market 5 blocks long with vendors on both sides of the closed-off street, this morning all the vendors could have fit in 1/2 block. I didn't need much since we are leaving on Wednesday, but I did want to take one last stroll up and down to check out the produce, clothes, tools, music, electronics, handicrafts (mostly yarns for embroidery) and plants. Nada. The chicken man was there, the banana/papaya man, and four vegetable and fruit vendors. That was it. So I bid them all adios until next December.

These are the chaps who run my usual vegetable stop. They grow the delicious round zucchini that I love. When they see me in December they know it's time to get those seeds in the ground. By February those sweet little nuggets are ready! And by April they have some grandes good for stuffing. Always cheerful, always helpful. Especially the little gentleman.

Down the way there are two beautiful stalls, one for fruits, one for vegetables. Since I am loyal to my Michoacan guys (above), it is the fruit vendor I patronize. Great place for berries, mangoes, melons, pineapples and, best of all, oranges. This morning he had a wonderful display of apples and plums.

What I really wanted to photograph was the newest selection of bras on sale this year. Many bright patterns and colors. But since they are all the same size as those I photographed a couple of years ago, who would know this not the current stock?

The manufacturer much think that all Mexican women (a) want padded bras and/or (b) that they all wear the same size. These are cookie-cutter bras, all the exact same size.

On the way home I stopped in the Pemex to tank up the van for the start of the ride home. The blazing Primaveras are now in full bloom along the road between here and Armeria. What a show. They usually appear in February but this year they decided to hold off, to make us wait in eager anticipation of this beautiful show of color. We feared we had missed it. Not so.


I also had to tell the beer delivery guy, the gas delivery guy, and the bread delivery guy that we would no longer be buying things this year. El año próximo . . .