Barrancas Del Cobre, Chihuahua, Mexico

Photo by Iory Allison

 The bright orange and piquant smile of Hotel Mirador lures tourists into her embrace where we are all struck with awe at the naked beauty of Barrancas del Cobre, Chihuahua State, Mexico.

Photo by Iory Allison

A river of old silver wood flows over the bumpy road of time. Locked in the history of her trunk the angular tango of life’s struggle is a triumph. Olé! Olé! Olé!

Photo by Iory Allison

An old knurled tree branch on the rim of Barrancas del Cobre speaks of long decades of blazing sun and strong winds dashing over the empty expanse.

Photo by Iory Allison

The profound silence of vast spaces at Barrancas del Cobre is interrupted by the faint chatter of swallows dancing on the wing in the effervescent sparkle of afternoon sunshine

Photo by Iory Allison

My Hubby, Señor Leo looking as cute as a button, posing on the rim of Barrancas del Cobre. Time adds a twinkle to the eye of a wise man.

Photo by Iory Allison, painting by Oscar Soto H. 1998 in the collection of Hotel Mirador, Barrancas Del Cobre

The weary gaze of this Rarámuri or Tarahumara young man (indigenous people of the area) is a result of centuries of harassment by European invaders and their censorious priests. His people have been chased into the hinterlands of Rarámuri country where the last scraps of arable soil are loosely held by families enslaved and abused for over 400 years. The imperial capitalist wrenched gold, silver and other minerals from the Sierra Tarahumara mountain district with relentless greed. Now the Rarámuri are even further exploited by drug cartels and logging companies that in concert strip the last vestiges of natural resource from the land and continue a reign of terror that is intrinsic to “civilized cultures.”    

Photo by Iory Allison

The tenacity of life clinging to the edge of geological time is resilient without measure. Sitting on a cliff beside a bone-dry rivulet I listen to the vast and open spaces whisper the truth of what is enough. I am my breath – the empty canyon is full of wonder.

Photo by Iory Allison

The scrappy twig salutes his sister clouds, each knows the other’s place – they are becoming.

 

Click here to join Iory at Barrancas Del Cobre