Suspicious in Matehuala

September 23, 2012 Skip Hunt

Don't want to get all dramatic & paranoid, but something has definitely changed in this town just in the last year.

I've been passing through Matehuala for nearly 2 decades now, but this rustic country outpost never changes much. Not until now & just since I was here just a year ago.

It looks like someone spent a lot of money giving all the public spaces a major rennovation. There are a lot more police here & not your average police either. These guys are heavily armed with full body armor & black combat helmets. They cruise around in police trucks that have huge machine guns mounted on the roofs & they have a new building that looks expensive & modern.

When I was walking into town earlier from the bus station I saw these dudes with their heads shaved prison-style but they were driving big black & shiny SUVs. Sorta creeped me out a little.

There's never really been much graffiti in this town, but now it looks like every other building has gang tags.

I just got my hair cut by the old fellow I like to visit every time I pass through. I mentioned the changes & new observations. He said, with a very serious look, that there is BIG money here & that I should watch my back & be very careful. I asked him about all the new wealth & hardcore police & he said it's all narcotraficante & cartels all over the area. I asked if it was safer out in the desert pueblos. He said it's even more dangerous out there where I'm going because all the police are all in town.

He might be exaggerating or watching too much TV, but I think I'll keep my head down & a low profile until I get more info. Wouldn't want to be mistaken for a journalist or anything. Yikes! I'm sitting here with a camera tapping away all this writing to post. That's likely not wise. Think I'll wrap it up & keep movin' while I'm ahead. ;)

Most likely just too much TV & that I was sitting in a plaza near a new club watching women who looked like prostitutes walk by with young folks dressed in hard core gang-style clothing on a Saturday night. Maybe it's just the style & Matehuala has enjoyed some recent economic prosperity, but something seems suspicious & doesn't quite fit. Will get more info in the desert & update in a few days when I get access again.

Time to head out to the desert & get back to work on my story:

http://storify.com/skiphunt/chupacabra-1

Wish me suerte! (luck)

Suspicious in Matehuala

September 23, 2012 Skip Hunt

Don't want to get all dramatic & paranoid, but something has definitely changed in this town just in the last year.

I've been passing through Matehuala for nearly 2 decades now, but this rustic country outpost never changes much. Not until now & just since I was here just a year ago.

When I was walking into town earlier from the bus station I saw these dudes with their heads shaved prison-style but they were driving big black & shiny SUVs. Sorta creeped me out a little.

There's never really been much graffiti in this town, but now it looks like every other building has gang tags.

Time to head out to the desert & get back to work on my story:

http://storify.com/skiphunt/chupacabra-1

Wish me suerte! (luck)

UPDATE

UPDATE: Skip Hunt Ok, well... It doesn't appear to be my imagination. Just went for a walk to kill time & get a few more images. A new car with 4 young guys were at the stop sign talking to another guy on a motorcycle. I made sure the driver saw me before I crossed. Just as I crossed he hit the gas looking right at me. I barely got out of the way in time. He only stopped after I slammed my hand down on his hood yelling WTF?! at him. He & his friends just looked at me & laughed. I got his tag number but I don't really trust the police either so I decided to keep moving.

A local woman was outside her home & saw the whole thing. She asked if I was OK. I told her I was fine but worried about the changes I've seen in what used to be a very tranquilo town. She confirmed the drastic changes since last year & said its all happened just in the last 6 months. I asked her if it was safer in the desert towns & her eyes lit up and she said, "No! It's even worse out there because that's where the narcotraficantes & cartels are!" She added that it's pretty segura & tranquilo (safe & peaceful) in Real de Catorce.

Dang it! I can't turn tail now! I came all this way and am hyper-focused to get stuff related to Chupacabra done while in the desert solitude. I have a friend who lives out there who I've known for over 15 years. I'm going out there & see what the real scoop is. It's likely concentrated in this other town called Vanegas about 20k away. Might be just fine in Wadley where I'm going. If not, I'll make it quick & take a jeep up to Real de Catorce where it appears to be safer. I've also noticed people don't seem to be as friendly to me as they've been in the past. Not sure if that's a result of American anti-immigration sentiment, or a new distrust of outsiders. Likely both I suppose. I had to Google SUR 13. I think that's the same as MS 13? Dios Mio! I sure hope not. Have heard that gang is the worst of the worst. So sad that I have to feel a bit afraid in this place that has been nearly a sacred destination for me going on 20 years now. :(

It's ON like Burro Kong!

September 10, 2012 Skip Hunt

Signing off & pulling away from gate. Next stop Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!

Aye Mami!!!

CHUPACABRA: A True Story

August 25, 2012 Skip Hunt

When one man's singular obsession leads him to the brink of death

CHUPACABRA: A True Story © 2012 Skip Hunt | Audiobook

There's a true tale I've been telling for over 13 years now. My obsession with writing down a screenplay in Mexico very nearly cost me my life. I tell the story most often as a warning to others, but the response I most frequently get is that my true story may be better than what I was writing at the time. The last person I told this story to late at night, out in the desert of the Wirikuta region of Mexico was an Argentinian juggler. We didn't particularly hit it off, but we both found ourselves killing time late at night in the middle of a full-moon night and too wired to sleep.

This fellow was game for listening first to my entire true tale of obsession and then the entire story I was trying to write at the time. His assessment was that the true story was his preference. He very much loved both, but he believed the true story actually happened exactly as I told it, and this gave it more appeal.

I decided to finally record this story that I've told for so many years by desert camp fires, jungle treks, and caffeine-fueled late-night cafe chats. I'm not certain what I'm going to do with it, but I broke it down into chapter notes in pieces that I felt I could get through a recording in one take. It was recorded in the same room I used in the desert 13 years ago.

"This is an absolutely incredible, riveting story! I do agree that THIS is the story that should be the screenplay!" ~ E. Davie

"I could visualize the scene of the 'Ladie's Bar' through a fish eye lens sort of in the style of Twin Peaks. Truly an odd trip with some weird encounters." ~ Y. Buckley

SAMPLE TEASER: Chapter ONE: Ladies Bar | 8:13

UPDATE: This audiobook is just the beginning. My intention is to evolve this into more complex pieces and maybe even a feature-length film. Stay-tuned!

(Will play on anything that supports iTunes standard audiobook file type)

Seven Chapters | Running Time 1:45:32

Also available HERE

Chupacabra Audiobook
$2.99

Wirikuta Has Once Again Summoned Me

August 15, 2012 Skip Hunt

Click to read "Transported from Quemado"

Wahoo! Just bought a one-way to Mexico! Gonna fly into Puerto Vallarta for a few, then meander my way back up towards Texas via bus with a stop off in the San Luis Potosi sacred desert region known to the indigenous as Wirikuta to see how that peace sign made of stone that I started back in 2009.

I was just there a little over a year ago, but find myself drawn there once again. The last time I was there I had a very strange experience unlike any I've had before. Wrote about it in this post called Transported from Quemado.

I don't think I'm going to fashion this trip into any sort of project this time. Last year's THE DEEP END: Mexico produced a nice enough photo book as well as another fine book of iPhone only images that featured my peace sign on it's cover. I've been traveling in Mexico off and on for over 20 years now and producing content wares like my Skip Hunt Vagabond book and a recorded story of an amazing experience having a ceremony with the Mazateca indians high in the Oaxacan mountains where the famous currandera Maria Sabina once entertained the Beatles, Timothy Leary, Dylan & Donovan. And recorded the experience here.

Unless I think of something between now and September when I fly out, I think I'll just make some more Mexican images for the collection and mostly wander & let the great spirit's will direct me this time.

Another time, these Argentine jugglers appeared from seemingly nowhere and entertained me with their brilliant juggling skills. :)

Looking forward to the return to the land of strange magia!

I met an Argentine juggler in the Huiricuta desert region of Mexico while I was communing with Mescalito and working on a large peace sign outlined in stone... started in 2009. I asked if he wouldn't mind juggling inside my peace sign and obliged. :-) For your pleasure...

DON'T PANIC.

August 6, 2012 Skip Hunt

In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move. ~ Douglas Adams

While wandering around the Colombian volcanic mud farm just outside of Tolú, I met the most curious fellow. Despite his festive attire, his absurd aggression both befuddled & amused me.

If you enjoy colorful travel photography, you might very well enjoy having a look at THIS

In Limbo

July 20, 2012 Skip Hunt

I just got back from 6 weeks in Colombia, then about a week hiking the concrete jungles of Washington D.C. and back home now.

At the moment, I can't decide how I feel about travel. I'm partially happy to be home and not feel like I need to go see anything, but on the other hand... my obsessive wanderlust is tugging in the background asking, "Don't get too comfy bro! Where we headed next?" And I reply, "Geez! Can't a brothah chill for a spell while he recharges his batteries a little?!

~ Skip Hunt