John Eagle - photoblog

Guadalajara

John Eagle — 2010-03-02

Juan Escutia and the Niños Héros The Niños Héros (Boy Heroes), also known as the Heroic Cadets or Boy Soldiers, were six teenage military cadets who died defending Mexico at Mexico City's Chapultepec Castle (then serving as the Mexican army's military academy) from invading U.S. forces in the 13 September 1847 battle of Chapultepec. Legend says this cadet (Juan Escutia) wrapped himself up in the flag and committed suicide, jumping from the roof to keep it from falling into enemy hands. (Wikipedia)

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Guadalajara

John Eagle — 2010-02-25

Los Arcos de GuadalajaraLos Arcos is on Avendia Vallarta, not far from the Minerva statue. This 14 meter double arch was built in 1942 by architect Aurelio Aceves to commemorate the city's 400th anniversary. Reminiscent of European arches, this one contains the coat of arms and welcoming words for visitors (thanks Wikipedia). Originally built at the border of Guadalajara it is now far from the entrance to the city. The city has since grown around and beyond the arch. Great for night time shooting. The Arch is lite up with changing colored lights White, Blue, Red, Magenta...

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Guadalajara

John Eagle — 2010-02-24

Lake Chapala, skate park. Even the most quintessential Mexican fishing town needs its skate park. Gives the kids something to do while the parents go for a stroll. This fellow is pretty awesome. He was getting a good 3 plus meters air above the half-pipe.

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Guadalajara

John Eagle — 2010-02-23

Lake Chapala, Jalisco, Mexico. Lake Chapala (Lago de Chapala) is Mexico's largest freshwater lake. It is located southeast of Guadalajara, Jalisco. Many believe that the lake is haunted by the lost souls of natives from the past. Lake Chapala's water levels and water quality are threatened due to over-exploitation of its waters and of the surrounding land. The over-exploitation of this lake has been a result of Guadalajara's growing demand for fresh water. Chapala is a city located on the north shore of Lake Chapala. It is very quaint and peaceful. Nice place to sit back and watch time pass.

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Guadalajara

John Eagle — 2010-02-22

Guadalajara's own Edward Scissorhands. I was taking a walk and shooting the parks, street vendors etc and came upon this fellow. He was creating quite a stir. People really liked him and wanted thier picture taken with him or did not like him and cursed him. I have to say this fellows costume is very detailed and accurate. Notice he is wearing ear pones. Wonder what he was listening to?

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Guadalajara

John Eagle — 2010-02-21

Templo Expiatorio de GuadalajaraThe Expiatorio Temple of Guadalajara is a catholic temple dedicated to the Saint Sacramento, located in this city, in Mexico. It is of style neogothic and considered the biggest work in this style in Mexico. Its construction began the 15 of August of 1897 and finished 75 years in 1972 later. The head in this shot is of a turtle, spider sculpture with a human head. Fits ell with the gothic temple.

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Guadalajara

John Eagle — 2010-02-19

Lucha Libre! Free Style Wrestling. One word, Awesome! Mexican wrestling is a must. Very campy and raunchy. No cameras allowed but I as able to get a few snaps with my iPhone . The audience was very into it chanting obscenities and drinking. The wrestlers spend all week rehearsing the choreography of their fights. If they didn't I am sure they would get hurt. Their moves and acrobatics are very elaborate and skillfully executed. Then there are the costumes, the masks and names: The Rooster, Maximo, Metro, Fog, Black Assassin and Tai Chi! Hilarious even if you don't understand Spanish. Often one or more wrestlers would get thrown into the crowd, people would jump from their seats. One of the beer selling guys got landed on by two wrestlers and beers went flying everywhere. The wrestlers were chasing girls in the audience, drinking peoples beers, kissing one another and verbally sparing with the audience. Yes, two of the wrestlers are Japanese and one (Maximo) is... well a cross dresser. Fun was had by all. Very fun.

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Guadalajara

John Eagle — 2010-02-17

This is Satan. He is one of two feline guardians of Panteón de Belén. Panteón de Belén (also Santa Paula Cemetery) is a historical cemetery located in Guadalajara, Mexico. It opened in 1848 and it was formally closed in 1896. Many ghost sightings have been recorded and many legends have surfaced and are part of the local folklore. The cemetery actually had a very peaceful and serene feeling. The architecture and sculpture definitely transported one back to the 1800's.

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Guadalajara

John Eagle — 2010-02-16

Zapopan Arch Zapopan is a city located in the Mexican state of Jalisco, which is part of the Guadalajara Metropolitan Area. The name Zapopan comes from the Nahuatl word "tzapopantl" which means among sapote trees (Wikipedia). This is a combination (stitch) of 3 photos.

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Guadalajara

John Eagle — 2010-02-14

Panteon de Mezquitan This is a head stone from the Mezquitan cemetery (Panteon) in Guadalajara. Some of the head stones are crumbling and falling apart. This one intrigued me. We think what looks to be a rock where the dove is resting is actually a sitting figure. If you look you can make out the remnants of a head and shoulders and on the left is a arm broken at the wrist or forearm. I did a little work on this one. I masked the sky and changed the temperature, saturation and exposure. On the foreground I warmed up the temperature and lightened it using the exposure.

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Guadalajara

John Eagle — 2010-02-13

Last night we went to a free concert at Plaza Liberacion in downtown Guadalajara. First up was Nortec Collective a musical ensemble from northern Mexico. Their musical genre includes electronica in the nortec ("norteño" + "techno") style. Like a cross of Polka and Electronica. Very cool. I loved it. Lots of energy. Traditional instruments and computers as you can see in the background.

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Guadalajara

John Eagle — 2010-02-12

Took this shot of an unknown (to me) duck species while at the Blue Water Park Avairy in Guadalajara.

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