This afternoon in Llano Park was exciting.
I was at a stand trying to surreptitiously take a photo of a baby in a basket among the other produce for sale when I heard a whistle blow loudly and for what seemed to be a long time; then I heard it again. People started moving quickly; several men started running.
I looked at a woman and asked what’s happening. She looked at me with a look that said you don’t want to know. I asked again, “What’s happening?” She said that someone was just robbed.
From a distance, I watched a crowd form around the person who had been caught. It reminded me of an elementary school fight, but it was over money rather than girls.
I noticed that the people who sell goldfish are the same people who sell tiny turtles in Tlacolula. I saw a man with a parrot and saw them both again the next day in another part of town. I saw an artist painting with spray paint and a gas mask. I bought a blouse with pretty flowers and a bird, and then I had arrachera tacos soaking in lime juice and pico de gallo from my favorite stand.
Another of the students from the Spanish school said she wasn’t brave enough to eat in the puestos (stands). Like a commercial, I quickly informed her that that only are these tacos more affordable, 9 pesos each or three for 25, but they are also super delicious.
