Outdoor Markets

I love outdoor Latin American markets. You can get nearly anything. Fruits and vegetables; used books; clothing and shoes; old postcards; spices; sunglasses; art; toys; and, for tonight, fireworks.

Old men with reedy voices sit on folding chairs. Hip young couples stroll with a thermos of hot water hugged in the crook of an elbow and a maté cup with a silver straw in hand. Families push strollers. Recorded tango music flows on one street, and the next brings a cacophony of bird chirps from birds for sale. And the sun and breeze washes over everyone.

As I was walking, I thought about the New Year when I lived in Ecuador. Water bombs and water were dumped off roofs and out of windows on unsuspecting bypassers. And viejos were created from straw or papier mache...figures of politicians and others that were burned at midnight on New Year's Eve. Both this and the calendar pages are a letting go of the old year, letting it pass to get on with the new one.

And so, to all...

¡Prospero Año Nuevo!