“The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us.”
Ashley Montagu
Surprise
Last weekend, coinciding with International Workers’ Day, I was surprised by an unexpected visit from my older son, who, accompanied by his girlfriend, came to the city where I live.
This unplanned trip marked the first time the young woman had visited Barquisimeto, and it also gave my son the opportunity to introduce her to his grandmother—my mother—and his uncles and aunts, since I had met her a couple of years earlier.
We took the opportunity to visit some of the city’s key landmarks and tourist attractions, including the Manto de María Divina Pastora Monument (Monument to the Mantle of Mary, Divine Shepherdess), a kinetic artwork made of aluminum standing just over 47 meters tall, supported by two reinforced concrete towers with a total height of 62 meters, and located on a hill on the outskirts of the city.
As I have described in previous posts, I process the original photographs using the editing tools offered in their free versions by the applications Picsart and Snapseed.
Sorpresa
El pasado fin de semana, coincidiendo con la celebración del Día Internacional del Trabajador, fuí sorprendido por la inesperada visita del mayor de mis dos hijos, quien acompañado de su novia, vinieron a la ciudad donde vivo.
Este viaje no planificado previamente, significó la primera vez que la chica visitaba Barquisimeto, además sirvió también para que mi hijo la presentara ante su abuela, mi madre, y sus tíos, dado que yo la había conocido un par de años atrás.
Aprovechamos el tiempo para recorrer algunos de los puntos estratégicos y atractivos turísticos de la ciudad, entre los que se encontraba el Monumento Manto de María Divina Pastora, una obra de arte cinético elaborada con aluminio con una altura de poco mas de 47 metros, soportada por dos torres de concreto armado con una altura total de 62 metros, y que está ubicada en una colina en las afueras.
Como he descrito en posts anteriores, las fotografías originales las proceso haciendo uso de las herramientas de edición que ofrecen en sus versiones gratuitas las aplicaciones Picsart y Snapseed.
All the Photos are of my Authorship, as well as the Edition of the same ones.
This is my entry for the PhotoFeed Portrait Photography Contest. This is an initiative of 
| Camera: | Samsung Galaxy A12 |
| Photo Editor: | Picsart / Snapseed |
| Location: | Barquisimeto, Lara, Venezuela |
| Date: | 01-05-2026 |