a visit to Carmelita

I made a visit to the outrageous Carmelita this morning to get my bi-monthly haircut and to test my body's immune system. This delightful woman would be arrested in the US for the state of her salon, but she's such a good hair cutter that I just close my eyes to the mess and hope for the best. I wish I were brave enough to take photos of her and her establishment but my wiser instincts tell me it would not be a good thing. Perhaps of her only; that I can probably pull off.

I was the first client there this morning at 10:30. You don't make an appointment; you just show up. She was the only one in the shop; her sister, also a very good cutter who always uses a razor to "shave" my hair, was not in today. The floor was covered in the locks of yesterday's clients. There is no visible sterilization mechanism so the combs and brushes of the last clients are the same for me. So far I have not come down with anything.

Carmelita is a fashion statement that probably ought to be edited a bit but she has such fun with her clothes, hair color and style that she's a sight to behold. Today her hair was jet black, a change from the neon orange of my last visit. She was wearing v. tight jeans rolled up to just below the knee, a tiny yellow T-shirt and an even tinier black and yellow plaid bolero-type blouse, and the tallest platform sandals ~ black suede with yards of ankle-wrapping straps ~ I've seen outside the tiangues shoe tables. When she walks around she looks like a caracature of Bette Midler at her most wiggly. A few minutes into my cut the phone rang, and for the rest of the appointment she chatted happily while snipping and razoring my hair. But somehow it all comes out just the way I want it, all for 50 pesos ($4) plus a 20 peso tip. I'll do this one more time before I go home which means I won't have to shell out $50 US for a haircut until mid-July by which time things will be completely out of control and I will be unable to be seen in public.

Meanwhile, back home we're putting the finishing touches on the guest quarters. Daughter Alex and granddaughter Emily arrive tomorrow afternoon for a week's visit. Lots planned; a trip to Tlaquepaque and Tonala, dinner at Dago's, a lunch party to celebrate their visit. They'll be gone all too soon.