Chica Mexicana

There was a group of young Mexican-American women dancing in the intense heat at the Hispanic Festival on Sunday. This chica was fabulous, full of energy, beauty and perhaps danger.

Look carefully at the first picture: black lasers for eyes, aquiline nose that suggests she could tear you, a slight sneer and a provocative, even aggressive pose.

She reminds me of the most famous opera about a Hispanic woman ever written in French, Carmen. In the first act, after Carmen and the other women working in a cigarette factory spill out into the street during a fight, she tries to charm the soldiers who might arrest her. Carmen sings about her passion for life and romance. L'amour est un oiseau rebelle que nul ne peut apprivoiser. Love is a rebellious bird that no one can tame. She ends her song with the phrase, si je t'aime, prends garde à toi! That is, if I love you, you better watch out for yourself.

I didn't speak to this young woman. I only took her photograph. But just from the effect of her image, I feel that she has a lot of Carmen in her. Do you agree?