Las Parejas y Las Palomas

People over 60 in Guanajuato can often be found dancing after sunset in public places. They move slowly but deliberately, like tightrope walkers or trapeeze artists. Tonight they gathered in the Plaza de San Fernando -- one of my favorite plazas for its seclusion and for the elegant veil of trees that soars above it.

I have a favorite couple, too -- I've seen them four or five times now. The woman is taller, owing to the heels on her shoes. She has calves like a mountain climber. Tonight she wore black nylons and lovely white wedges with ankle straps. Her partner's ears are always carefully plugged to protect from the indelicacies of the sound system. His pants sit high above his waist.

I like the way they move together -- they have a kind of symbiosis that can only come from years of watching and listening to each other. There's also another couple I admire. The man, who must be pushing 80, has more movement in his hips than the Cuisinart in the tomatillo sauce we ate for breakfast this morning. I just hope I'm that sassy when I'm old.

Enjoyed three days in Hugo's studio in Piletas, a neighborhood up a very steep and narrow hill from the house where I live. We made monotype prints and ate luxurious lunches in the garden.