Monday, September 03, 2012

sunday in the street with steve


It is 9 AM.  The avenue is Francisco I. Madero.  The main street through Morelia.  The capital of Michoacán.

I would understand if, based on that information, you thought it was a set from On the Beach.

But you are missing one important fact.  It is 9 AM on Sunday.

Morelia cannot let the residents of Mexico City have all of the fun.  When Gary Denness of The Mexile was still in Mexico City, he told us about the city closing some of the streets in its historic center on Sundays.

So does Morelia.  And for the same reason.  Runners.  Walkers.  Bicyclists.  Skaters.  Zumba dancers.  Families.  Dogs.



What would otherwise be a traffic-choked street turns into a pedestrian mall.

Not a very busy mall, though, when I snapped that photograph at the top of this post. 

But let me repeat -- it is 9 on a Mexican Sunday morning.  Not even the Baptists had yet crept into their pews.

After leisurely strolling down the street, we stopped for an open air breakfast where we watched local artists setting up their paintings in a small park centered on a fountain.  With a little accordion music, I could have been sharing coffee with Edith Piaf in Paris.

When we started our return trek, Morelia was starting to shake off the wages of Saturday night.  You could see the colors starting to come together.



In fact, you could even have your photograph taken with the Tecate man.


So what is Steve's moral based on this fine morning outing?

Let me answer with the other Stephen's lyrics:  "Morals tomorrow.  Comedy tonight."