The Manrilla Blog | Life. Art. Religion. Culture.

In 2004, I took a long road trip/vacation and drove from Madison, Wisconsin, to Monterrey in Mexico. It was an incredibly long drive that took over four days of long, serious driving [though we did stop for a couple of days in St. Louis to visit a friend’s family] to reach our destination. I love road trips [I have driven from coast to coast a couple of times now]. I like being out on the road with the wind in your hair just observing what flies by you. It’s as if time becomes modal. You catch so much more than when you fly. The city of Monterrey itself was not terribly remarkable, though the food was fairly decent. The most striking aspect were the ring of mountains [Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range] that surround the city [as a side note - one of the names of Monterrey is Sultana del Norte. Really shows how much of an influence Islam/Arabic language had on the Spanish language. I wonder of the US government knows there’s a sultanate in their backyard?]. It was nice to visit a part of Mexico that was not a tourist location. The people were fairly nice [known as regios] and if I had the chance I’d return, though I’d like to spend more time in the mountains. This is the scene of a church that sits in the foothills of the San Pedro mountains. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Kodak T-Max 100 ISO. Hand-held.

Retrospective?

Pensando en Monterrey: México es un paíz fascinante. Era más diverso de lo que yo había pensado y Monterrey era mucho más diferente de lo que había imaginado. Había imaginado una ciudad más colonial. Sin tantas fabricas. Sin tanta industria. Este viaje era mi primera vez que iba a México y no sabía que esperar. Pero ahora, sabiendo lo que ya sé, quiero regresar. Hay tanto más que ver.