Say wha'?

Passing by the vendors in the plaza some incredible handicrafts caught my attention. They were not beautiful, nor were they ¨barbaro¨... really these objects just had me confused. I thought at first that they were those napkin rings made of silver, but upon closer inspection they were in fact rings.... HUGE elaborate rings with maya and inca gods and godesses. One of these rings was about the length of my entire thumb. And if I even begin to describe the necklaces you wouldn´t believe me.

I stop to gawk at these monstrosities, not having the heart to actually say anything other than, ¨nice work.¨ I asked the vendor if he made them all by hand. He nodded and bobbed his gypsy-style hair with its frizzy black curls and with more of a sneer than a smile informed that they were made from spoons! They were melted and reformed silver spoons.

I looked down at some - thank heaven - smaller items he had as well. He said they were figures from the maya calendar and asked me my birthday. Believing he would show me which figure represented my birth month year and day I told him when I was born.

He began instead to tell me that I am a magnet for people (haven´t noticed that) and that whatever I do will grow and prosper. I didn´t know the word for ¨seed¨at the time but when I pondered the word later I figured out that he had said that my seeds are fertile, which would explain his last warning: with a big gesture with his arms arching over his belly he said, ¨Cuidado¨(be cautious).