Color, Glorious Color!

Original patio at the  Posada Del Rio Sonora hotel

When we first happened upon Banámichi, my eyes were immediately captivated by the wild colors of the Posada Del Rio Sonora Hotel. The outside colors were wild, the inside was filled with crazy color combinations and a riot of plant life, and the talavera tiles...well, WOW! I was instantly in love. Color speaks to me. It uplifts me and makes me happy. Lack of color is, well....dullsville.

Beautiful standard white Banámichi home

Back in Tucson, where the colors are more subdued, if we happen to pass a brightly colored house we  always joke that it belongs to a Mexican family.  However, our  friend Irma tells us that  the bright house colors are  characteristic of southern Mexico, and that it is more usual to find white homes in the north.

Pink and yellow in Aconchi

Peacock blue in Aconchi

That said, as we cruise around Banámichi and some of the other pueblos along the Rio Sonora, we see some amazing and beautiful house
colors. Perhaps the owners are transplants from the south? Or are they just expressing a wild exuberance for life? Wouldn't you feel happy living in a glorious color like  one of these?

Hot pink in Aconchi

Pale pink in Banámichi

Orange in Aconchi

 

Green in Aconchi

The tasteful  yellow and brick  colored Los Arcos Hotel in Banámichi

 Our friend Rogelio in Banámichi recently raise the bar for a mind-blowing house color. His wife passed on several years ago, and he has been in obvious mourning ever since. One day recently though, he upped and painted his house radioactive green. It is so bright, so phosphorescent, that it actually hurts my eyes when the sun shines on it. And, ever since he painted the house, he has been flirting with the ladies across the street at the pharmacy. Apparently, the color tells the world of  his emergence from mourning and re-entry into life and happiness!

Rogelio's radioactive green

Drab US color samples

Who ever told us that houses have to be dull colors? Recently, the complex where we have our Tucson home approved a new group of house colors. Somehow, though, they still all look like mud, or as our handyman called it, "calf-caca brown." For some reason, US culture has evolved in direction of sedate colors, and ever the consummate capitalists, of course the paint companies supply that demand. You CAN get brighter colors, but few do. Mostly folks just go with the drab muddy flow.

Color evokes emotions, excitement, movement. Color can excite or soothe. Color can speak to joy, and drabness can speak of depression. Much has been written about this. For example:

"Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow. It is associated with joy, sunshine, and the tropics. Orange represents enthusiasm, fascination, happiness, creativity, determination, attraction, success, encouragement, and stimulation."

"Green is the color of nature. It symbolizes growth, harmony, freshness, and fertility. Green has strong emotional correspondence with safety. Dark green is also commonly associated with money."

To me, the color chosen for a house says something about the owner, and maybe even their predominant emotion. It is an expression of the owner's enthusiasm for life and their pleasure in beauty. It most likely also shows  an appreciation for the vibrant colors of nature - the cobalt sky, riotous flowers, brilliant birds, lush trees, glorious sunsets.

 I also think the differences in home colors points to a deeper difference in national character between Mexico and the US. I think of the US as a serious country...people with their ears or thumbs plastered to cell phones, constantly communicating serious, important things. Gotta make that sale, solve that problem, tell X about Y. There is no time to hang out and just be, or to stop in just to visit a friend. Gotta keep moving, lest the demons of non-doing catch up with us! People are guarded and suspicious. What do you want? Why are you approaching me? What are you trying to pull? All business. Brown, beige, gray. Dull, drab.

In rural Mexico, people seem more relaxed and seem to take pleasure in relationships. Sure, they all have cell phones and their busy lives. But they are genuinely friendly. Drivers passing on the streets wave at one another in acknowledgement. People sit on their front porches in the evening and greet passersby.  There is always time for a chat, or simply to exchange pleasantries. Someone might drop by in the middle of the day just to say hello. Or if you stop by their home for any reason, you are invited in and offered some coffee, tequila, sometimes even cake and hot chocolate, or at least some water. They seem offended if you don't stay at least an hour. People are happy to see you and to take time to visit.

Maybe it is all the result of climate. Mexicans live in a warm, sunny place. Flowers bloom year around. They have happy music. They enjoy flavorful, spicy food. They live from their hearts. Since I first visited Mexico in 1966, I have been drawn to its colors, flavors and warmth.  I like the way the Spanish language rolls around on my tongue. I sense that somehow I was born into the wrong culture. Could be that June-Elena thing again.

 Perhaps it is no coincidence that a popular folk song in Mexico is "De Colores," some of which goes:
((Translation from Wikipedia)

     De colores, de colores                                                 In colors, in colors
Se visten los campos en la primavera.                            The fields are dressed in the spring.
     De colores, de colores                                                 In colors, in colors
Son los pajaritos que vienen de afuera.                          Are the little birds that come from outside.
     De colores, de colores                                                 In colors, in colors
Es el arco iris que vemos lucir.                                        Is the rainbow that we see shining.

  
     Y por eso los grandes amores                                     And that is why I love
De muchos colores me gustan a mí.                                The great loves of many colors
     Y por eso los grandes amores                                     And that is why I love
De muchos colores me gustan a mí.                                The great loves of many colors

     De colores, de colores                                                 In colors, in colors
Brillantes y finos se viste la aurora.                                 Brilliant and delicate is dressed the dawn.
     De colores, de colores                                                 In colors, in colors
Son los mil reflejos que el sol atesora.                             Are the thousand gleams the sun treasures.
     De colores, de colores                                                 In colors, in colors
Se viste el diamante que vemos lucir.                              Is dressed the diamond we see shining.

Dawn in Banámichi

   Y por eso los grandes amores                                     And that is why I love
De muchos colores me gustan a mí.                               The great loves of many colors
     Y por eso los grandes amores                                    And that is why I love
De muchos colores me gustan a mí.                               The great loves of many colors