Perroton

Last Saturday and Sunday was Puert0 V@llarta's Second Dog Show "El Gran Perroton". I found out about it on the Puert0 V@llarta Yahoo group I belong to and emailed one of the organizers about volunteering. He told me they needed help putting up posters so I took 5 and put them up at a few places in my neighborhood (2 pet stores, a cafe, a dry goods place that sells dog food too, and C@fe du Soleil). I also volunteered to take photos.

The show was supposed to go from 10-6 on both Saturday and Sunday. I showed up around 10:20 on Sat but they were still setting up the tents and chairs for people to sit under. The show took place in the middle of a large fenced in sports field which is part of a large complex that contains a stadium, a track, a skateboard area, etc. It's a pretty cool place, always active... but I have yet to run there.


I definitely was not prepared for the heat of the first day. I went out into the sun with a tank top and jeans. I'd put sunscreen on my face but that was it. I didn't even make it till 2 pm and I got so sunburnt and thought I was going to pass out from the heat. This scares me a little bit because it was only the end of February and the sun is that hot. I spoke to my friend Alden and he said he'd looked online that day and the UV index was 10 out of 10.

I came home and looked at the photos and felt crappy. But I figured that the 2nd day would be like a second chance for me. I had bought a little white T-shirt that I'd wear, I'd put on more sunscreen, I'd bring some Gatorade, I'd try to stay under the tents as much as possible, I'd take a break for lunch, and I'd try to just enjoy the opportunity to photograph.

Day 2 was much better. I met up with my reporter friend M. and he introduced me to a photographer friend of his (who is, of course, from Mexxico City -- friendly, interesting, intelligent person from here? Not so likely.). It was a fun day and there were so many great dogs.


The star of the show was a pug called Chilango. ("Chilango" is what people from Mexxico City are called.) This dog was so loved by his owner and family. They wore t-shirts with a big photo and his name. He was entered in several contests (dog who looks like his owner, best looking, best costume) and placed in all of them.


This photo definitely shows Chilango's personality. He was so calm and cool and enjoyed all the attention and didn't mind being dressed up one bit.

I shot this event for fun but also to give photos to the group who sponsored it (Patronato para el Control de Mascotas y Fauna Silvestre) who run an animal shelter here. I haven't been there yet. I'm a little afraid to go because I'm afraid I'll be depressed. It's not a no-kill shelter and the unfortunate reality is that only 6% of the dogs who go there are adopted. It's still in its early stages as is consciousness about how to treat pets here in Mexxico. And the sad reality is that a quick humnane death is better than starving on the street.





On Friday, I attended a press conference that the Patronato held to inform the press about the success of the event. I brought my new laptop to show a slideshow of my photos of the event and had printed out some photos to put up on the wall. I also passed out my business card to the reporters and told them if they needed photos of the event I could provide them. It was a good experience but maybe because it was at 9am and I had been up till 2:20am the night before editing photos that I had a really hard time understanding it all. My Spanish is really sometimes hit or miss. Sometimes I'm amazed at my fluency and other times it's like I can barely form a sentence or understand anything anyone is saying.