Winter videos
Last modified: April 2, 2018Buckle-up as we take a super fast car ride
through Álamos on a grey winter day.
Driving across Álamos on an overcast December day starts at La Puerta Roja Inn.
We head east and circle the Plaza de Las Armas before heading to the Panteon
– Cemetery. We head back to La Puerta Roja exploring different routes. The
best way to travel is walking.
A parade of lights brings song and joy to
colonial Álamos streets during Christmas.
We see a traditional Posada visiting from house to house and arriving at Casa
de los Tesoros where children in their holiday attire play and adult family
take in another Christmas in Álamos. It is a tradition.
Another scene is a trip to the Alameda.
A special time in a special place for people who feel special.
This is the introduction to a film that was shot over the 1993 winter holidays
in Álamos. This is a glorious season for the town. We start out at the airport
and head east into town and visit the Alameda lined with stores and professional offices.
Warmth Radiates off of Adobe Walls as Another Winter Day Begins.
We start at Bishop Reyes Cathedral as the ringing bells bring people to church.
Three songs are sung by two Álamos singers including Shoeshine Bobby. A young
girl flies a kite as friends share a drink near an arroyo. Passing clothe-lines,
candy making and stick men takes us to the Figueroa Brothers wood shop.
Pember told Anders, “always call us Álamos, Sonora, Mexico.”
And Anders has.
Pember and Elizabeth Nuzum were a major part of the North American Community
for decades. Their casa next to the Church on Calle Comercio #2 greeted many
many who visited Álamos, including Anders. It is not uncommon to have
rain squalls in December. And it was common to hear Pember playing his
theater organ in the Nuzum music room. Those days are gone. But the spirit
lingers, it always does.
Music is part of the Álamos fabric, the Álamos way of living.
The location is the Old Miners Hotel on the east side of Plaza de Las Armas.
The event is a holiday wedding reception with imported polka band and a free
flowing bar. High spirits, friends, family and a driving beat makes for a good
time. Tomorrow would be another day.
The morning after a Winter night’s rain.
Álamos, Sonora, Mexico is celebrating the 1992 Christmas holiday. It had rained
last night as we go on a morning walk from the plaza, past a school, and across
Arroyos la Aduana and La Barranca to visit Barrio La Barranca. Girls and jail
guards play with balls, clouds stream across the mountains, and streets are swept.
It is a day of shooting arrows, playing street baseball, pickups and horses.
Time stands still: a river moves on and
letter-press printing continues.
Two days before Christmas 1993 the film crew travels out to the Rio Cuchujaqui.
It is a world unto itself but not that far away from Álamos. And then we visit
a print shop that has been in operation for over 100 years. Álamos had the first
printing press in the Californias. One wonders if these presses are still at work.
Letter presses have an imprint-edge that can be felt with the fingers and the soul.
They come from all over the region with things to buy and sell.
Sunday, north of Arroyo La Aduana, there is an open-air market filled with people
and music. Meals, snacks, produce, clothing, toys, tires, bikes, tools and what
ever folks bring to sale fill out both sides of a colorful promenade. It is a
wonderful place to shop and meet neighbors, family and friends, new and old.
Sunday Night in the Plaza
Sunday Night in Álamos Sonora México’s Plaza Las Armas. It is the last week of 1993.
The holiday spirit is alive. Video and film by Anders Tomlinson, Robert Ganey,
Gary Ruble and Kit Nuzum. This is “Good Morning Álamos Sonora México’s” for
two sd scenes in a hd format. Edited by Anders Tomlinson.
©2017 Anders Tomlinson, all rights reserved.
‘Tis the Season of Love and Jackets.
Christmas in the Plaza de Las Armas is a time of of sharing and joy. Food,
fireworks and the town coming out to be seen and see is what community is all about.
Night is Filled with Sounds and an Occasional Lull of
Only Stars Whispering to Each Other.
The Bells of Álamos ring through the day and night. They have for over
two hundred years. We visit the bells as they are being rung, watch folks
mill about the Plaza and enter the church from the belfry. And then it
is out for an evening walk from the Plaza to the Alameda. And the steps
we take have been taken for hundreds of years.
Towns Live On Through the Skills and Attention of
Its Maestros, Craftsmen and Laborers.
Walking is a common choice of transportation in Álamos, Sonora, Mexico. To school,
work, play, church, shopping to the buses. There are taxis and cars but walking
is the Álamos way for most. And in the day wherever you walk there are workers
at work. Big jobs, little jobs, it is all work.
Exuberance is Everywhere: Listen for the Laughter
of Youthful Rhythm.
Kids playing games on the streets of Álamos is a common fabric of everyday life.
We also tour a couple of homes and their gardens. Smiles are honest and come easy.
It takes a Village to Make these Films.
Here are, left to right, Chaco Valdez, Anders Tomlinson, Gary Ruble, Donna Beckett,
Robert Harrington, Robert Ganey, Jo and Kit Nuzum, and Elizabeth and Pember
Nuzum. Rudy Hale and Teri Arnold also provided assistance. A fine time was
had by all. Photo-Gary Ruble.
Special thanks to the following contributors:
Pember, Elizabeth and Kit Nuzum, Puerta Roja Inn, Estudiantina de Alamos, Quartet
de Alamos, Los Angeles Cathedral Choir, Museo Costumbrista de Sonora, Antonio
Estrada, Francis Curry, Jose Antonio Figueroa Carrasco, Teri Arnold, Sharon
Bernard Harrison, Rudy Hale, Chaco Valdez, Dr. Joaquin Navarro, Ernesto Alcorn,
Antonio Mendoza, San Sanchez, June Ray, Swickards, Meisenheimers, Frielobs,
Cooks, Stephanie Meyers, Bruce Miles, Earle and Joan Winderman, Doug Reynolds,
Robert Ganey, Gary Ruble, AtomicSonics, William Brady, R. Harrington, Donna
Beckett, Del Mar TV 38, Robyn Ardez and all the people of Alamos for their grace,
warmth and hospitality
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©2013 – 2018 Anders Tomlinson, all rights reserved.