This is the story of my experiences living as an ex-pat in Mexico since 2003. It's to culminate in a published book. With your help, I'll be editing, selecting a title, and cover art: a participatory project. Your comments encouraged!
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Letters from Mexico
Letters
August 25, 2018
Jose of Tepoztlan
Nestled in the valley between two volcanic mountain ranges in the central highlands of Mexico lies the Magic City of Tepoztlan. Secondary volcanic deposits formed spires, temples and other unusual shapes. The rock composition is a rare combination of piezeoelectric quartz and igneous. This presumably creates the magnetic and gravity anomalies in the area, and as some say, creates an energy vortex similar to Sedona, Arizona.
With a population of 50,000, mostly indigenous, the city is a tourist attraction for other Mexicans and international travelers. Some, attracted by the energy, have settled to form a loose expat community. Many are actively creative—filmmakers, musicians, artisans, artists, writers. And many would be considered strange by those in the mainstream.
I interviewed Jose Rodriguez, an expat from the US with relatives in Mexico. He’s an excellent filmmaker/photographer. I featured his photos of murals on a previous post. We’ll see more of his work here. He lives on a local estate with an incredible assortment of beautiful flowers, which I’ll also showcase.
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Jose Rodriguez as the Grim Reaper, Brownsville, Texas demonstration against family separations. 2018. Photo courtesy of Jose Rodriguez.
Interview of Jose Rodriguez, Tepoztlan, Mexico, Aug. 2018. Video by Don Karp.
Jose's Domain, Tepoztlan, Mexico, Aug. 2018. Video by Don Karp.
Patti Smith, Chavela Vargas, Frida Kahlo y La Casa Azul. Dec. 2015. Video by planetjose.
Bailando en La Calle - Dancing in the Streets, Sept. 2015. Video by las.calles.de.tepoztlan.
Jose has a strong presence on YouTube. His channels are las calles de tepoztlan and planetjose.
What’s your opinion of Jose?
Did you enjoy reading about him? Would you like me to feature some of the other personalities of Tepoztlan?
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