Walkabout - Mexico

Calle Colon Cobblestone Streets

Calle Colon
Oil On canvas
by Melanie Banayat

I like to take my camera with me most places in case I come across something interesting. On one of my many treks through the village in Ajijic, Mexico, the cobblestone streets on Calle Colon were being torn apart and rebuilt stone by painstaking, backbreaking stone.

"You can see a lot just by observing"
- Yogi Berra

Most of the men were not large men, but some certainly had some amazing bodies. I chose to paint these two men because of their beautifully defined arms.

I was amazed at how hard they worked and the long hours they put in each day. It took them a month or so to finish the streets around the town square.

I decided to position myself off in the distance a bit so I could just zoom in on the workers without them taking notice. It worked for a little while, but inevitably someone would always look up and see me, then clue the others in on my presence. And, of course, the "muscle man" poses would proceed. I would just laugh, signal to them that I was done, and walk away.

The best way to appreciate your job is to imagine yourself without one."
- Oscar Wilde

Walkabout - Mexico