Journey into the Heart of Lightness

Le Cumbre

 I was taken to this place by my friend Daniel. Both Daniel and Juan accompanied by others, have witnessed these plasma balls before. Looking for something to do on a night of a full moon, we drove to the summit of the road pass where there is a chapel and picnic area. In the daytime, at the edge of the clearing, there is usually a taco stand and the odd vendor selling trinkets.   I have crossed this pass by taxi and the local public bus several times now, mostly to visit Martin who has given me and a few select others permission to photograph and blog about him and his work.

Passengers and drivers make the sign of the cross at this summit as they pass by. Daniel has mentioned Le Cumbre a few times before.

Daniel hid the truck in the small roadside parking area from view of  the main road and turned the engine off to an eerie sort of silence. We quietly walked around the area for a bit to familiarize ourselves with our new surroundings. Silently but with a quick pace we turned onto the pavement of the road and ran about 100 metres down the highway towards Malinalco below.  I was here earlier that morning and walked down the mountainside along the road to try and capture some of the magnificent views along the descent into the valley below. The hazy hot day was a bit disappointing for that reason alone.

Along the right side the road, was a steep cliff created by the road cut through the top of the pass probably a hundred years ago. Just downhill of it, a winding set of concrete steps with a wrought iron hand rail led straight upwards. The climb was steep and breathtaking as I had to stop a couple times to catch my breath. Perched on a rock outcrop well above the road below, was an old shrine, with a copy of the Virgin Guadalupe behind a glass enclosed sort of altar, built on concrete blocks with a back wall of  blocks. The shrine was painted in a zigzag pattern of the green, red and white Mexico colors. It was all decorated in worn and torn colors of ribbon and flowers hissing from their movement by the cool mountain pass breeze. There were many burned out candles on the altar ledge. Earlier that day, a couple of them were lit.

 

 Daniel broke our silence  ...whispering that the place had a classic haunting look and feel to it. Overhanging the side of the shrine was a creepy looking dead tree that was missing a couple crows or vultures to perfect that reflective mood of energy we both felt. Here is my daytime version looking night time that I shot in HDR earlier.

After a quick prayer and respectful pause to breathe in the essence of the place we continued upwards along a winding narrow path amongst the shrubs and trees that followed the ridge line. The hike required me to focus on the task at hand with a keen awareness of my surroundings. In some places alongside the path it  dropped dramatically out of sight.


The top photo was taken from La Cumbre (summit) between Tenancingo and Malinalco,  two small towns with well known ancient ruins amongst the mountains surrounding many more magical pueblos. Evidence of some surviving cultural knowledge amongst the remaining aztecas generations, since the conquest of Cortez, harmoniously blends itself amongst the deep rooted and very popular catholic blend of spanish and the indigenous peoples. I will discuss this topic further in another time but not necessarily another place.

Right behind me from where the top photo was taken, is the valley of Malinalco (in the photo below). The rock outcrop I used as a tripod was limited to get a panoramic view....the winding road from the view you see of Teneria  drops  some 2000 meters along the mountain side I am on. A knife edged ridge giving a 300 degree view of the valleys on both sides of the ridge. Both valleys have different climates! Avacados grow in Malinalco but not in Tenancingo being much higher and much cooler in temperature. By the way this is the direction looking towards Acapulco and Zihuatenago, 3 to 400 kms away ...and its all down hill ... to the ocean. Tenancingo is at 2000 metres.

La Cumbre is not a place to visit at night. By the way, these photos were taken under the  luminesence of a full moon. |Normally it is a superstitious place and where many of the police, cab drivers, and some locals have spotted plasma balls of light. Some moving and some still as a rock ...which I believe I have captured in this night time 5 minute full moon lit exposure of a beautiful valley below La Cumbre. This ridge is  known as  the place where the brujas gather.
I must mention that in Teneria there still exists a hanging tree from the days of the mexican revolution. Although people have tried to burn it down but it still grows today. There are also legends that talk of secret caves and tunnels that link churches to escape routes in the mountains.

For those of you having persevered through this post, the link below will take you to my website of the hi res image.  Zoom in on the far left mountain side facing you, a dark spot  that looks like a cave. Here you will see a red plasma ball.

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/teneria-and-tenancingo-john-bartosik.html