Posts from the ‘mexico city’ Category
MEXICO CITY – the airport files
All checked in. Almost two hours ’til boarding time. Hey – how about a little airport street photography?
This won’t be easy… in an airport there’s nothing but ridiculously empty spaces and ludicrously shiny floors…
Shiny floors and shuffling people…
And architechture of dubious aesthetic worth…
Empty spaces, shuffling people and big… hey: big billboards. Maybe, just maybe…
Hey – there’s a decent one!
And a huge tiny dog one there!
And, oh wow – modern art! How wonderful, how huge, how… Mexico!
And a young girl having a hissy fit over a truly Spanglish issue: she wants a treat from the… “Cupcakeria.”
And over here there just seem to be more empty spaces and shin-
Here – a brief seventeen minutes after it began – endeth the merry tale of the airport street photographer. It endeth abruptly because a gentle policeman approached me asking whether i was taking photographs. Camera in hand, i beamed my smilest and said “Oh, no. Of course not…”
He said “Good, because it’s not allowed.” And then, leaning in a little closer as i was putting the camera away for good, added: “I’m about to go to the other terminal now. In five minutes, you can start again…”
Adios, Mexico! (for now…)
Alessandro Ciapanna
MEXICO CITY – the Regina files
Mexico City streets in monochrome. A photo essay.
Seriously, i’m trying to eat here. Can’t you just lay belly-down like all the other dogs?
Crumbling around the edges? We’re working on it, amigo…
Say queso!
Let’s see… how can i make you look a little taller?
“But, daddy – why do we have to sit on this narrow ledge?”
“There are girls standing on the benches…”
Reading this kind of news just drives me up the wall.
“I don’t care how or why you did it. I just want you to get my bicycle back down!”
The big issues: was Christ really reborn? And: is marijuana good for you? (Hint: if you spell it with an “h” you’re likely not to think so.)
Sitting, knitting, chatting. Being. Viva Mexico!
My Mexican days are almost over. But i couldn’t resist taking my camera for a stroll on the streets – several of which closed to traffic – around my hostel in the city’s hitoric center. Which is on Calle Regina – hence the title.
Mexico City is vibrant, bright, colorful and people really enjoy each other’s company. A great place to be, a wonderful people to photograph.
Alessandro Ciapanna
HOSTEL – the faces, the places
where i stay when i go. a photo essay in black and white (and a bit of red) on backpackers’ hostels and the people who inhabit them.
PART I – THE STAFF
j_, from mexico, staffer, the happy geko hostel, playa del carmen, quintana roo, mexico
s., from australia, staffer, iguana hostel, san cristobal de las casas, chiapas, mexico
m., from mexico, staffer, happy geko hostel, playa del carmen, quintana roo, mexico
m. from slovenia (left) and d. from italy, owners, tribu hostel, holbox island, quintana roo, mexico
r., from germany, resident carpenter, tribu hostel, holbox island, quintana roo, mexico
PART II – THE PLACES
dorm room, mundo joven hostel, cancun, quintana roo, mexico
dorm room, yo mama’s casa, san pedro de la laguna, guatemala
guest kitchen, yo mama’s casa, san pedro de la laguna, guatemala
reading in the shade, yo mama’s casa, san pedro de la laguna, guatemala
checking email, mayflower hostel, puerto escondido, oaxaca, mexico
internet room, mundo joven hostel, cancun, quintana roo, mexico
common area, hostel centro historico regina, mexico city
reception, candelaria hostel, valladolid, yucatan, mexico
tribu hostel, holbox island, quintana roo, mexico
PART III – THE GUESTS
s., from sweden, traveler, iguana hostel, san cristobal de las casas, chiapas, mexico
s., from the usa, guest, k3 hostel, acapulco, guerrero, mexico
travelers enjoying the sunset, iguana hostel, san cristobal de las casas, chiapas, mexico
s., from austria/germany, traveler, nomadas hostel, merida, yucatan, mexico
f., from flanders, belgium, traveler, tribu hostel, holbox island, mexico
n., from scotland, traveler, iguana hostel, san cristobal de las casas, chiapas, mexico
r., from austria, traveler, pool room, yo mama’s casa, san pedro de la laguna, guatemala
PARTING SHOT
you’re from where?, pins in a map, colibri hostel, zipolite, oaxaca, mexico
each and every hostel has it’s own personality. it’s days. it’s moods…
about the guests. any person who enjoys sharing a kitchen, a dormitory, a sink, a drink, a meal and a smoke with other travellers from every corner of the globe can only be a friendly, optimistic, honest, positive person. people tend to smile a lot in hostels. in the good ones, anyway. like the ones suggested by the good people you meet along the way. they are never wrong.
about the hostel staff. about half are locals by now used to crazy gringos and their ways. the rest are travellers who don’t have much cash but have fallen hopelessly in love with some place along the road. so they get a job working a few hours a day in a hostel, and then they stay as long as their heart desires. in the place they love. these, some say, are the wiser ones.
as a traveler, i spend about three months a year in hostels. at the price of 6 to 8 euros (say around ten us dollars), staying in hostels almos seems like it’s cheaper to travel than to stay home. it’s a lot more fun, though…
if i may offer one word of advice, always choose a hostel with a guest kitchen…
pictures taken between december 2011 and february 2012
alessandro ciapanna
ALMOST HUMAN – in mexico
humanoid shapes, faces, icons from the south of mexico
ancient statue, national museum of anthropology, mexico city
outside the national museum of anthropology, mexico city
mannequins, mexico city
mannequin, mexico city
mannequins, mexico city
mannequin, playa del carmen, quintana roo, mexico
jimi hendrix on a t-shirt, mexico city
cluttered skyline, mexico city
masks in shop window, san cristobal de las casas, chiapas, mexico
photographer’s studio window, playa del carmen, quintana roo, mexico
photographer’s studio window, cancun, quintana roo, mexico
graffiti, san cristobal de las casas, chiapas, mexico
chocolate drink mix package, cancun, quintana roo, mexico
pinatta after the party, cancun, quintana roo, mexico
sex shop, playa del carmen, quintana roo, mexico
shopfront, playa del carmen, mexico
kindergarten, playa del carmen, quintana roo, mexico
don’t touch, mexico city
please give, church, valladolid, yucatan, mexico
poster, playa del carmen, quintana roo, mexico
shot between november ’11 and february ’12
alessandro ciapanna
