the surfboard quiver
Today marks four years since I’ve been living here in Mexico. If it weren’t my own life, I wouldn’t believe it. Has it been so long? Where has the time gone? Why isn’t my spanish better than it is?
A curious thing has happened along my four-year journey. I am no longer the person I was, when I packed up my stuff at the advice of my parents, put my life on hold and moved to Mexico. What started out as a “surfing sabbatical” of sorts became so much more – and more permanent. Mexico has changed me, probably in more ways than I am consciously aware of. If for some reason I where to move back to the United States, I’m sure I could fit back in to that existence with relative ease. But without noticing, the US has changed just as much as I have. It is no longer the place I left it.
I love Mexico – but in many ways I’m living in a country that is still not my own. I spend each day trying to immerse myself more fully into its magical culture but to say that I am fully immersed or somehow ‘mexicoified’ is not being truthful. I am still very foreign, which is not to say that I’ve failed at ‘becoming Mexican’ on any level – that was never my goal. It’s to say that I’m not quite American and not quite Mexican. The borders between countries are now slightly more arbitrary things, except in the hassle it takes when crossing them, the pleasant differences in language and culture, and the changes in infrastructure upkeep. I’m a citizen of both and neither, simultaneously.
Marcia and I are coming up on our two-year anniversary in December. In January we will welcome our son into the world. These are not indications of a temporary journey; these are milestones of the adventure of a lifetime. And so in some ways, the four-year mark is a fitting time to acknowledge that the “sabbatical”, as a temporary time and place, is over and the adventure is just beginning.
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On another note, this is my 2096th post on ‘Quality Peoples’. I crossed the 2000 mark some time in June, I think. I arrived in Mexico, in late August 2004 and started the blog proper in October. So, anniversary and celebrations all ’round.
photos by Holly Beck
Holly Beck gives us an awesome behind-the-scenes look at the Billabong Pro at the ‘Cho, Tahiti. It never occured to me that there are no hotels near Teahupoo:
With no hotels at Teahupoo, home stays are the only option. The Tahitian families at the end of the road earn their living for the entire year by temporarily moving out of their homes, lining the floors with as many mattresses as will fit, and feeding and housing all the surfers, media, and ASP staff for nearly a month. I was lucky enough to find some space in the Billabong media house which was filled with Billabong staff, security staff, and journalists. There were quite a few of us, but since there was only one other female, she and I got to share our own room.
Holly is an amazing surfer and so down to earth as well. She doesn’t post often, but when she does, it’s always a good read. tons of pics.
photo by José Leonel Salazar
Amazing photo pilfered from Magic Seaweed, taken by Arrobo. Pascuales is a crushing beach break in Colima near Tecoman. Legend has it that the break is even more dangerous when it’s small as it breaks in shallower water.
A friend went down about a month ago and came back with stories from a heavy swell. The waves were 8 meters (25 feet) and the only people who could get in the water were tow-ins, save one loco guy who hand-paddled into and successfully rode the largest wave of the swell. This is the stuff of legends.
Latin American Graphic Design. TASCHEN has just put out a insanely large survey of Latin American-flavored design, historical and contemporary. The book is text + photo heavy and weighs in at 504 pages, lots of profiles on prolific designers past and present. For anyone interested in design south-of-the-border, this is the book for you. Taschen has a full flash-based preview of the book, you can actually leaf through every page. Very impressive.
Comprised of 20 countries located in North, South, and Central America as well as the Caribbean Islands, Latin America is populated by over 500 million people. From Argentina to Mexico, all Latin American countries are Spanish-speaking with the exception of Portuguese-speaking Brazil. Latin America has been producing a very unique form of graphic expression for decades and this historical publication brings together the best examples from the 20th century as well as today. The book begins with an extensive historical essay about the region’s contribution to design, featuring the development of graphic design in the region from 1900 to current times, while the main body of the book features A to Z entries of almost 200 designers and design offices that have built up and continue to champion the Latin design identity. Finally, a handy index facilitates access to key information in the book, such as designers’ names, countries, publications, educational institutions, and famous events.
Thursday, Aug 21st, 2008
Categories: my photos
taken next door to “Tacos el Gordo” between Bucerias and Mezcales.
Thursday, Aug 21st, 2008
Categories: surfing
I’ve been messing around with Thumber and some old surf videos I made a few years back. I like the mosaic-style. These would be super cool as printed posters. It seems that the longer the movie is, the smaller the frames get and the more abstract the mosaic becomes.
Peep the source videos: Saturday Morning Sliding and Sunday Log Rolling.
This was inspired by Brendan Dawes’ Cinema Redux project. I think I’ve linked to him before.
