pix rainstorm - vodou temple

70 images or so
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lost my cell phone at 8 a on the beach
went to walk the dog and swim.

some puertorican woman found it and she will wait for me.
\need to get to her place before 1 30.
it was just 12.35 when i realized my phone was not wit me.

she lives in little Haiti NW 51st street.
strange coincidence.

there are 5 kids living in her house.
i give her 20 bucks to buy some ice cream for them.

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a botanica on 54th st has a vodou temple in the back.
paintings on the wall -
knives - skulls - jars.
the girl tells me about the gods.
st lazarus is always by the entrance protecting the entrance.
mary is the goddess of love
and st patrick and st george i think - both represent the god of war.
i am surprised she shows me all this.
some photos on the wall showing some rites in haiti.
old women wearing colorful purple dresses.

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i see a guy painting some words on the wall - he turns -
it is $erge
in the art gallery district.
i give him some prints - it makes him so happy/
“oh man you are good - these photos are so sharp“

i tell him he could paint on canvas or boards and try to sell his
paintings -
he only paints these walls
in a few years will chip away -
would be nice some of his art could travel to different people and places.
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a guy sells produce from a van in the street
I buy a mango for a buck
i feel thirsty i get a coconut for another buck.
he cuts a hole with a machete -
i drink the water -then he cuts it into pieces -
i eat the pulp.
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it is hot sunny and humid.
i see dark clouds drifting south.
the sky turns gray and i see lightning -
a huge rain / thunderstorm soaks everything -
i have to wait 45 minutes under a roofed shelter.
i eat the mango with my hands -
it is very juicy -
buy i can wash my hands and my mouth with the rain .
the storm halts for a few minutes
i ride to chef creole -
order a sea bass
10 bucks for a whole fish with a lot of rice beans sweet plantains.
it is still raining - 45 more minutes.
the streets are flooded.
if i did not have a camera and a cell phone on me -
would just be nice to ride a bike in my swim trunks
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kids are styling their hair in the street -
i ask if i could take their photo - i am documenting little Haiti - i add
“we are not Haitians!“
they say no then they say yes.

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cemeterycometary
i ride thru the downtown cemetary
some tombstone bears the name “Crist“
I get on the Venetian way -
fancy homes - bougainvilleas and jaguars.
but after all in Miami
bougainvilleas are everywhere
on the rich homes and on the poor homes -
some beautiful color
that can be afforded by everyone here