Gayle Brennan Spencer – sending random thoughts to and from South Austin
Above: Part of a community art project of Color a Mexico
Sharing snatches of artwork brightening up walls and doorways we encountered while meandering the streets of Morelia. Some of these murals resulted from Morelia’s Festival Internacional del Arte Urbano in 2022. These photos were taken prior to the fall 2023 event, so presumably there is a fresh crop greeting visitors now.
Continue reading “Postcard from Morelia, Mexico: Festival marks walls with color”
Above: Souvenir display in a shop window
Mass-manufactured souvenirs might be tacky, but they often serve as indicators of what distinctive symbols a community values. Assigned positions of prominence here are replicas of the pair of treasured bejeweled crosses from the Cathedral, the ancient ones recovered and repaired following a brazen 1977 theft. And the beloved Virgen de la Esperanza (Hope) from Capilla de la Balesquida across the plaza.
And then there is apple cider. Almost a religion as well. The ritualistic way to pour cider is to hold the glass at waist level and pour from above one’s head, essentially aeration. Obviously, a talent best left to the experienced waiters circling within the sidrerias, which are far from difficult to locate. You are supposed to down this serving immediately before it goes flat and then wait patiently for a server to stop to pour another glug from your bottle. The cider has about the same alcohol content as standard American beer.
And there, completing this cherished trinity, perched front and center in the window, is Mafalda. Argentinian Quino created the wise-cracking six-year-old girl, usually with a smile on her face, to voice satirical criticism of her enemies: Fascists, militarists and, for some strange reason, soup.
Continue reading “Postcard from Oviedo, Spain: Things that matter along the streets”
Sadly, World War II bombers left a wake of damaged buildings behind them in Palermo, many still not renovated. Blank walls, even crumbling ones, are magnets for street art.
Some of these photos from our explorations are authorized works; some are enormous murals attempting to humanize housing projects; and others are found in random spots within the city’s labyrinth of narrow streets.
Continue reading “Postcard from Palermo, Sicily: Artists color bombed-out and new walls”
Postcards from Barton Springs 