I spent my early childhood trying to build a time machine with my cousin Delancey. We built time machine prototypes out of old cars, kitchen sink parts, and even used items like socks to peice our machine together. Imagine my Dad's delight when he found rocks and socks in his engine parts. But it was all for a greater purpose. Time travel. As you might expect, Delancey and I were heavily influenced by Back to the Future, a movie we had both watched only a thousand times or so.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I wanted to be an archeologist. Time itself fascinated me. I would become obsessed over certain time periods, most infamously, my family will tell you I was religious about my interest in the ancient Egyptians and the Titanic.
Nowadays I've given up my attempt to build a time machine, and put my focus on bringing life to old photos, through coloring and smudge paintings. I am not a professional. I hope to be someday. But for now I do it for passion, and to feel connect to people and places of the past.
The projects I have been working on lately have been moments captured in time of Mexico in the 1920's. These photos belong to my father-in-law and his family. The first one is a parade called, "Combate de Flores". The date is Oct. 21. 1921. So take a seat in your Delorean, our homemade time machine, because we are setting out for the State capital of Guatalajara, Mexico, in the 1920's.
I immediately fell in love with this photo. To me it looks like it came right out of a history book. It has personal meaning for my family too, as one of the little boys in the float is my children's great Grandfather. When you look at a photo like this for the first time, it's all a blur of details. My eyes skipped over most of it and focused on the little boy on the right with the hat and a flower in his hand. I wonder who he was. Where his descendants are now, and what they would think of this picture?
It isn't until I start adding color to a picture that it comes to life for me. Suddenly I can imagine myself standing on the street with one of those beastly 1920's camera's, watching the parade of flower floats and children come towards me. Now there are individuals in the crowd. The children in the lower right seem to be a class of sort. They appear to be wearing matching uniforms. The man with the blue jacket and cool, Indiana Jones like hat, looks at though he's posed for the photo. I imagine the boy next to him is his son. Next to them is a man who is almost faceless. By using the burn tool, I can bring out the shadows of the picture and return some of his features back to him.
Now we are fully in the moment. We can enjoy this moment in time, that was once the present, and wonder... Are there other photos of this parade, on this day, out there? Or is this the only one left? If so, I feel good knowing I've done some small effort to preserve it, and bring the moment back to life. :)
Let's move on to a less crowded scene.
This is the Corona Godoy Household. Still in the 1920's, and it's approaching Christmas time. I am told this is the very same house that Carlos Santana, famed guitarist, once lived in, and that it is now a little museum with a room dedicated soley to him. But during this time, it is owned by my husband's ancestors. And they have put in tremendous effort in creating a traditional Mexican Nativity scene. Complete, not just with the usual pieces of Jesus's birth, but also, various meaningful characters representing life, humility, and renewal. If you look closely, there are even cars at the bottom of this set.
Once again, color helps me to appreciate all the detail in the picture, and now I can see how much effort was put into this creation. There is a dancing couple in the upper left corner, choir of angels watching over the people, and people living out various aspects of daily life, and I'm guessing several scenes from the bible. At the top of the scene a ribbon says, “Mene, Thecel, Phares“. This is from the Bible where king Baltasar was using stolen sacred vessels during his banquet, and a hand appeared on the wall and wrote "Mene, Thecel, Phares," telling him of his condemnation from God.
Both of these photos had tons of small object to color, and were both pretty time consuming. But I feel like in the end, they really paid off. First and foremost because they were very meaningful to my husband's family. Secondly because they helped you and I connect, if only just a little, to life in 1920's Mexico. There are so many rich family photos out there. So many traditions and people that may otherwise be forgotten. But you and I can do our part to help hold on to those photos, and keep them for future family members, and future time travelers. ;)