Esta luz nunca se apagará

more developments on the smiths/morrissey phenomenon. three days ago i was at a bar (miércoles is the new viernes in mexico) and got into a conversation about mexican music with another student. we talked for quite some about the curious mix of older american classics and modern mexican music that was being cued up on the rocola (or jukebox, now you know) by the mostly young crowd, but as the bar near closing a strange thing happened. the rocola was turned off and the managers began a playlist of the best ranchero music i've ever heard. my friend told me this happens at every bar around closing time, the idea being to wind down the night and get people to leave. i don't know how well it works most of the time, but in this case the oompa ranchero tunes tapped into the beating heart of the bar full of kids my age who an hour ago were perfectly international in their musical tastes. they all started to scream lyrics to song after song when all of a sudden one came on that made me very excited. Its a classic norteño tune, what you might imagine your favorite mariachis playing, called 'cama de piedra,' and here is the point of this story. a lyric out of the song in traditional mexican fatalist baroque fashion is, "the day that they kill me, may it be with five bullets, and may it be close to you, to die in your arms." ridiculous, but now its all starting to make sense. 'esta luz nunca se apagará' is a bad spanish cover of 'there is a light that will never go out,' but hearing it here reminded of that classic smiths song that matches cama de piedra deathwish for deathwish. "and if a double decker bus, crashes into us, to die by your side, is such a heavenly way to die." boom. minds blown. also, i have pictures, after the jump.

here is the university, as pictured from my helicopter. they're cheaper than you'd think here.



and here is the volcano as viewed from my dorm. the smoke coming out indicates it could blow up at any time.



i need more pictures of real puebla, its muy cool. and that virgin mary shrine on the telephone pole outside the gate is calling to me, but how do you take a picture of something like that without everyone thinking im mocking it. i mean, i am, but how do i hide that sentiment? hasta pronto.