the burned-over district

For those of you whose favorite historical era was the late-19th/early 20th, the above phrase is familiar. To those who preferred physics and civil engineering, check here for further information. The photo is of the lot next door, all burned and prepped for the Easter visitors. Before Fernando cleared it off it was heavily overgrown with shrubs and a couple of small trees. This gave refuge to those revelers who wanted to use the lot as a baño. No, no, no. Sorry. Clearing it off is the only way to keep folks from taking advantage of the cover the greenery provided. It is now barren and, we hope, uninviting.

Late this afternoon a truck full of workers in baseball caps and black T-shirts pulled up across the street. They got out carrying rakes and black plastic bags and short poles with either a nail on the end or grippers of some sort ~ I couldn't tell from where I was standing on the balcony. They got right to work, cleaning the streets, the sidewalks, a small empty lot across the street.

An hour later the truck came back, picked up the workers who heaved their bulging bags into the bed of the truck and drove away. If I remember correctly they'll be back again tomorrow to do our street and vacant lots. This only happens at Easter. Otherwise, you got trash on your lot? In your street? Tough! Oh, and here comes the mosquito sprayer truck to douse our dinner in some sort of spray that's probably banned in the US but used here like perfume. I knew they wouldn't let the swarms of bugs spoil the fun.

As I sit at this computer I can hear the disco truck unloading the scaffolding for the speakers and the lights. Tomorrow they will be setting up the "tables" and "chairs" inside the walls. This "furniture" is sawed-off palm trunks in different heights. A beer tent goes inside the disco, too. Now why anyone would pay to go in there is beyond me. You can stand outside on the malecón and get the same deafening noise without paying the 50 peso fee. I checked last year's blog submission to see when the actual "noise" begins. Probably not until Wednesday. But maybe tomorrow evening for a tune-up to see that all the speakers are working at their full million-amp strength.