It is January 1, 2020 and the morning is bathed in sunshine. I am in my oficina wearing a black T-shirt. It is warm because of my electric heater.

There is a strong possibility that in spite of today’s sun in Vancouver that it will be followed by showers in the afternoon and then a week of rain.

There is a strong possibility that Rosemary and I will book tickets to go to Guadalajara, Mexico (perhaps a few days in beaches of Puerto Vallarta on the coast of the state). What is the reason?

It is a combination of environmental warmth and human warmth. And I am sure that both cities will be full of reds, oranges and yellows that will brighten my spirits.

I look at this photograph I took of Ivette Hernández some years ago in my studio. I projected some fake clouds in an attempt to mimic the heat of Mexico. It was to no avail as I can discern some cyan and blue (both icy colours) so often seen in the sky over the North Vancouver mountains.

I look at Hernández and I can remember and imagine her Mexican Spanish, its warm timbre, all with expression, a particular one, on her face.

Here I was attempting (and I believe I succeeded) in imitating Manuel Álavarez Bravo’s El Trapo Negro (look it up as the image would not pass social media censorship but you can see it in my Medium Blog). The photograph does not show the woman’s face. It was taken in what was surely a hot Mexican afternoon with puffy clouds. The hand, her right hand is so placed that you can bet that there is pride and elegance in the woman’s unseen face.

Hernández shows that in spades in my photograph.