I had a great time in the photographic colorgasim that was the 2010 Gathering of Nations.  The venue was outdoors for the first time at University Stadium this year, and the sunlight certainly made the bright colors pop. I met some great photographers and despite my late afternoon concern, I didn’t get a sunburn.

I should also mention that we at Tortuga workshops have our next workshop scheduled for July. It’s a b&w film class, taught using the Holga, and the workshop fee even includes your own camera to keep and film, what a deal!

I hope you enjoy these photos. Be sure to use the full screen button on the bottom right hand of the gallery to get the full effect.

Running of the Toritos in Taxco Mexico. My technique for not getting gored by the Toros? Take a knee as they ran passed and pray they didn’t choose to run me over and set me of fire. I love witnessing things like this in Mexico and Central America, events that would be outlawed before they ever stated in the United States. It reminds me of the Bolas de Furgo in Guatemala.

The Marigold Parade is without question one of my favorite things to photograph on the Albuquerque calendar each year. The fun challenge is trying to find a picture you haven’t made already in previous years.

Last year I was in Guatemala for Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead. November 1 and 2 marks a very important ritual throughout Guatemala, especially in the predominantly indigenous town of Santago Sacatepequez, where a unique kite-flying festival of the Katchiquel people integrate the Catholic feast of All Saints day with pre-Columbian Mayan practices of remembering the dead.

It also marks the end of the rainy season. I’d been in the area since the beginning of July, and as if someone flipped a switch, the daily pouring vanished and for the first time in months if felt the wind. Bamboo kites are made  as a way to communicate with the dead, symbolically attracting the spirits to earth to reunite the living and the dead.

I’ve always loved the traditions associated with Día de los Muertos because it’s about remembering and celebrating life, not fearing death.