license to Still

Thanks to the Swine Flu last May, (remember that), quite a few brides canceled on Elizabeth Lloyd, leaving me, the lowly second shooter at the time, consistently out of work.  This GLOBAL PANDEMIC and civilian population at eminent risk of death-by-cough blessed me (although not financially) with an ungodly amount of free time.

Cool, free vacation days.  I literally got on Google Earth, picked a place on the map I’d never been to and got on the first bus headed East.

A couple of bus transfers later in Guadalajara and León and I arrived in the heart of the mexican Bajío.

Located mainly in the central mexican state of Guanajuato, the Bajío was traditionally an agricultural center, and later, manufacturing.  So large industrial cities in the state like, León, Irapuato and Silao were predictably suffering from certain economic conditions you all might be aware of.

Guanajuato state is home to a lot of history; colonial cities like Guanajuato, San Miguel de Allende and Dolores Hidalgo.

The rural areas just outside of any one of these cities are also incredibly poor.  Many many Mexican immigrants to the U.S. come from this small state.

You may remember this photo I posted in July that I took on a dirt road in between two small villages outside of Silao.

Below I’ve continued with some more scanning of photos from that trip.  I have about seven more rolls to scan and edit from Guanajuato plus I’ve got some more edited Holgas coming up later this week.

These are three overlapping frames forming a panoramic view of the Bajío from on top of the Cerro del Cubilete.  Unfortunately, the image doesn’t look as bad-ass all small like this.

On top of the Cerro del Cubilete; the statue of Cristo el Rey.  The same as the top photo in this post.

The next five I shot in Silao centro.