Eli - 11-2-2004 at 11:55 AM
Well for once in my life, I actually went and did the tourist thing and went on a tour bus out to a small village in the hills about a half hour out
of Oaxaca.
By my standards it was a late night, we left the city 10 p.m. and arrived back at 2 a.am.. The point of the journey was to go see a traditional play
that a local villages produces every year for who knows how long now, yet, another laugh at death, I expect.
They/We marched thru the village following an um-pa-pa band, going from house to house where they acted out this outragous farce of someone laying on
the floor, sick and dying, with the very willy nilly of a wife, kuku mother, absurd mother in law, idiot doctors, silly surgons, weird curanderos and
loco priest, each putting in their two cents worth, but no one can help the poor sick guy rise.
Than in comes these Abe Lincon looking dudes wearing merlin type flowing capes with all kinds of moons and stars painted in gold on them, and stove
top black hats cut out of consruction paper which had pictures of naked ladies cut out of playboy magazine glued on the front. They are fantasticaly
tall with these hats on.
So, anyway, they run in ringing a bell and wake the dude and get him to rise alive and the band plays and everyone, actors, locals and tourist all
dance for joy, and it is just plain all around stupid silly hilarity, really and truly great fun for all. I know my 6 year old grandson, Dlyan Angel
would have loved it.
I enjoyed it for about the first 10 houses that we visited and than once I figured the whole ritual of a play out; I was ready to disappear myself
alone into the trees, stars and the moon that truly are so much clearer and closer up there in the hills than they ever be down here in the city.
Somehow it brought on nostalga for a sweet and lonely baja sky.
Still, it reminded me of how little kids can laugh and laugh and laugh at the same joke over and over again, never getting tired of the sillyness. I
sure can love the innocene of it all.