Honduras

This is the parque central (Central park) where everything in this town happens! Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

While photographing this young man a lady came over and introduced herself to me as the instructor of a dance troupe. She informed me that he was part of the troupe and that they were performing that evening and she invited me to come. So I did! Ruinas de Copan, Honduras

These kids are part of the dance troupe. I like how the two on the right smiling and friendly, the guy in the middle is maybe a little too friendly and the girl in green just wants to be left alone. It is almost as if she is saying... Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

This woman is the teacher of the dance troupe that I met in the park. She saw me photographing the kids and walked purposefully towards me. Immediately what flashed through my mind was "don't photograph children!" and I started looking for her machete. She was very nice! She came over and told me that the kids were performing at a local hotel and invited me to come out. As her English was as limited as my Spanish it was a lot of fun trying to figure each other out. Finally, we flagged down a police officer and asked him if he had a pen. He didn't but he went over to a taxi driver and borrowed one for us. She then just wrote down the name of the hotel and the time for me. I don't think that she thought that I was going to come because when she saw me she looked very surprised but also very happy! Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

One of the dancers getting ready. I just walked into the dressing room (after seeing other males coming and going of course) and started snapping photos. I think that they thought that I was a little crazy but they also had a lot of fun with it as well! She is very beautiful no? Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Another one of the dancers. Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

The kids said a group prayer before their performance. I could not help but think of a song by the Counting Crows in which they say "So I just say my prayers and I set myself on fire and I walk on the wire once again" I think that an artist, of any medium, can relate to this. You ask for help from the Divine (Whichever your God may be) and you do light yourself on fire. By this I mean the intensity of what you do is all encompassing and sometimes maybe not so pleasant. But you have to, as an artist, walk out on that wire once again. You have to work without a net, as it were. And it is a repeated thing. It doen't happen just once. Every performance, every poem, every photograph, each time, you are out on that wire once again. It is both terrifying and exilarating simultaneously. I really felt this sort of intensity from the boy saying the prayer. He was very passionate. Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

The happy couple! They were both very proud of themselves. The girl because she knew that she looked good. Notice that even on the boys left you can see her skirt because she wanted to make sure that it was perfect! I think the boy was very proud of himself because of the girl! Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

This is the girl from earlier in green again! Her attitude is unmistakable in both photographs. She is sassy! Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

The whole enchilada! What I like most about this photo is the teacher in tha back struggling to get into the frame, her little hand waving in the air. Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Group photo number two. Our teacher finally found a spot where she can be seen. And rightly so. These kids were really good and the performance lasted over an hour. Both they and she worked very hard and I was very impressed. (Thank you again for inviting me!) The whole enchilada! What I like most about this photo is the teacher in the back struggling to get into the frame, her little hand waving in the air. Ruinas de Copan, Homduras.

This lady asked me where my family came from. I told her I was German. She said no, you are Hispanic. We went back and forth for like ten minutes and she was still convinced that I am Hispanic. (My German forebearers are very surprised to hear this) Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

A very patient young lady who was working at a cafe in Ruinas de Copan, Honduras. She was nice enough to open early for me as I really needed a coffee and people in Honduras get up MUCH later than people in El Salvador.

This fellow was making tiles. There were two guys, one would set the mold out and put the cement inside and then this guy would spin the wheel threby compressing the cement and voila! You have a tile! Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

It was really interesting watching these guys work. It was almost like a ballet, a performance. They both had their roles in the piece and they knew what they were exactly. At one point I noticed the guy spinning the wheel to compress the tile actually started to spin the wheel while his partner was still putting cement in the mold. They had worked together so long and were in such unison that the performance was seamless! I saw these guys two or three times a day for a couple of days and we kind of got to know each other in a way. The were very friendly! Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

The ball court at Copan. During the games players would try to put a ball through a hoop. Sounds simple right? The ball could be as heavy as nine pounds and the players would strike the ball using their hips. Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

The ball court at Copan. There is some debate as to who would be sacrificed after a game. Some believe that the loser would sacrifice their life to the Gods for their failure. Others believe that only the winner would be allowed to offer himself in sacrifice. Personally I don't really know why a God would want a loser so I tend to believe that the winner would make a more worthwhile sacrifice. But this is only my opinion. I welcome yours. One thing is known for sure, someone was sacrificed! Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

A couple of macaws on the wing. I had seen these birds before, all over the place. However, I had never seen them in the air and they are magnificent both in color, obviously, but also in shape. Look at how angular they are. Beautiful! Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

More macaws on the wing. What I like about this photo is that if you look very closely, you can see that the birds are flying in formation. They are all about equal distance apart and the two on the top are both on an upstroke while the two on the bottom are both on a downstroke. I said it before and I'll say it again, absolutely beautiful! Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

The ball court at Copan. As a former military man and, truth be told a bit of a savage, I love sites where men have proven themselves against each other. You can still feel the rawness and energy of sites like this. I felt very similar when standing in the arena at Pompei. Places like these bring out the primal nature of man. We are at our core animals and we tend to embrace that. For better or worse. Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Side of the ball court. Can you tell I like the ball court? Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Lizard. Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Lizard. Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

The one on the left was very sweet. She climbed on my finger and I stroked her head. I put her on my shoulder and she leaned against my cheek. The one on the right did his absolute best to take the tip of my finger off! Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Toucan. Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Toucan. Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.

Blue and Gold Macaw. Ruinas de Copan, Honduras.