7th Avenue and Indian School Road, Phoenix, Arizona

Flower in Vista Hermosa, Oaxaca

Storm over valley northwest of Oaxaca

Street Dog in Granjas y Huertos de Brenamiel, Oaxaca

Goat Herder, Vista Hermosa, Oaxaca

Girasol, Vista Hermosa, Oaxaca

From Vista Hermosa, Oaxaca

San Agustin Etla and Vista Hermosa are considered by many to be the most desirable part of Oaxaca

San Agustin Etla, Oaxaca

Donkey grazing in San Felipe del Agua, Oaxaca

View of Oaxaca from San Felipe del Agua

Notes on my table in Brenamiel, Oaxaca

My kitchen counter in Brenamiel, Oaxaca

View from above Oaxaca

Flower, San Felipe del Agua, Oaxaca

My bathroom in Brenamiel, Oaxaca

Store in San Jacinto Amilpas, Oaxaca

Morning sun in my kitchen, Brenamiel, Oaxaca

Foliage, Park above San Felipe del Agua, Oaxaca

Butterfly in San Felipe del Agua, Oaxaca

Morning Glory in San Jacinto Amilpas, Oaxaca

Estetica cerca a La Merced

Reparacion de Calzado, Tacuba

Mexico City Girl, downtown on Isabel la Catolica

Casa en delegacion Azcapotzalco

Chava andando de compras por Circunvalacion

Poor man's New York, La Torre Latinoamericana, Mexico City

Bombay Niteclub near Plaza de Garibaldi, D.F.

Couple, Calzada de Guadalupe near the Basilica

Colonia Roma Norte, Mexico City

Andenes, Metro Hidalgo

Periferico, looking south from Calle Sullivan

Colonia Roma Norte, Mexico City

Metro Hidalgo Station

Cafe along Calle Michoacan in Colonia Condesa

Rooftop Restaurant at Spanish Cultural Center in Mexico City

Sunday afternoon in the Alameda

Parque La Alameda, looking towards Puente de Alvarado

Tlatelolco, Plaza of 3 Cultures

Here, a twenty minute walk from the present center of Mexico City, is an important battleground. A plaque has this message: El 13 de Agosto de 1521 heroicamente defendido por Cuauhtemoc cayo Tlatelolco en poder de Hernan Cortez. No fue triunfo ni derrota, fue el doloroso nacimiento del pueblo mestizo que es el mexico de hoy.

In english: The 13th of August 1521, heroically defended by Cuauhtemoc, Tlatelolco fell to the power of Hernan Cortez. It was neither triumph nor defeat, but the painful birth of the mestizo race that is the Mexico of today.

Calavera de Vaca, Los Dinamos, Distrito Federal

Los Dinamos is a large park in the mountains in southern Mexico City.

Local Verde Azul, Mercado la Merced, Distrito Federal

Local de Elote, Mercado la Merced

Local Morado, Mercado La Merced, Distrito Federal

Altar, Centro Historico, Mexico City

Mysteries of Tepito

Tepito is a neighborhood north of the central zocalo in mexico city. its an important cultural symbol for mexicans, in some aspects comparable to the role the "south bronx" holds in the american imagination. ive been told tepitenos have their own accent. daily, there are massive street markets where, supposedly, one can purchase just about anything, including stolen and pirated wares. known for purse snatchings, shoppers should be able to run fast to catch up with or avoid "rateros". want to know more about tepito? read "the children of sanchez," a classic anthropological study of a family in this neighborhood during the 1950's, by Oscar Lewis.

Zocalo, La Cuidad de Mexico

Mexican caricature by Vargas

Poster of Phoenix

Sands of Penasco (Slide show)

I've winnowed down my shots of camping/painting trip to Penasco in March. Here it is:

http://public.fotki.com/charker/puertopenasco/?cmd=fs_slideshow

Night in Nogales

This is one image from a slide show. I spent a few hours on friday nite strolling the main street of Nogales, Sonora. Nogales is the biggest border town along the Arizona border and has a somewhat unsafe, aggressive character. To see the complete slide show follow this link: http://public.fotki.com/charker/nogalesatnite/?cmd=fs_slideshow

Puerto Penasco, Provincetown, Fire Island?

I put the 3 names in the title together because this is the first attempt by a human being to combine them. they are the same species. before this moment, rocaportenses (spanish term for residents of rocky point/puerto penasco) were unknown to populations of the other two, and vice versus. like Cris Columbus, or more likely, the vikings, ive blended intelligence of the new world resort on the sea of cortez and the old ones hanging at the edge of the atlantic. like the viking discovery - this one might end up as the majority of mutations, sperms and seeds, failing to create something new and advantageous. how long will it be before andrew sullivan, john waters and kevin sessums are vacationing in Las Conchas instead of P-town? rhetorical question. probably not by next monday when im planning to return to Puerto Penasco. sadly i wont have much in common with the rocaportenses but equally ill be relieved of having to compare my own achievements to the great gay artists and intellectuals from the east should i have spotted one of them strolling along the malecon. ill be in my cultural tower of babel or behind a one way mirror, unable to find locals, for their lack of interest, to communicate with me in language of my values and interests. but i'll understand them, in english or spanish since i can and must if i don't want isolation sickness. i refer to the mexicans, gringos and pochos who dont know much nor care about gay, artistic, intellectual life in New York, San Francisco and Mexico City. that life i miss in the deserts. It had been a while since i'd spent much time in penasco. i felt too isolated and had lost interest. its a huge contrast to my life in manhattan for 18 years and san francisco for 8 years before that and the many long stays in Mexico City during the last decade. the growth is astounding in penasco, sometimes called the "Mexican Dubai". all the investment in tourist infrastructure and second homes for wealthy arizonans results in opportunities for mexicans from the south who migrate with much less money. they are creating humble communities spreading out into the vacant, enormous desert, such as the one pictured above on the side of town heading towards the Mayan Palace.