Portraits from Latin America

Memories are, oddly enough, like a fruit salad. Though the fruits commingle, each remains an individual part of the salad. Take a single item out and it's no longer a salad but a piece of fruit. This occurs with travel memories as well, and although the names and places tend to blend together over time, the images remain distinct. Just as with your own family portraits, images jolt memory, memory jolts emotions and emotions jolt a reaction. Each picture really does contain a thousand words and probably a hundred emotions punctuated by a powerful memory. Sadly, for the vast majority of us, we usually don't realize how special most moments are until they become memories.
   When my father was a 7 year old boy, back in 1939, his aunt while on her death bed said, "Life is like looking out a window, you open it to enjoy the world and before you realize, it closes on you." The opportunity to explore, participate, and live is limited, just like a window shutting without your permission. Though, ultimately, there are very few things in life we have the ability to control, thankfully, happiness is one of them. Regardless of circumstance, we each have an inner spirit filled with wants, hopes, and ideals and as best as we can suggest, nourish these parts and happiness follows. The following expression best illustrates what I am trying to say, "If you can't change the direction of the wind, change the direction of your sails."
   Below are images from our drive through Latin American - Mexico to Argentina. We tried to highlight the people primarily, along with a few places and things that make Latin America so special, energetic and authentic. Though each picture has it's own story, we purposely left the descriptions out, so that you could interpret these portraits through your own lens.