Don Vitorio, originally uploaded by kx0101.

Don Vitorio passed away today at 11:30am peacefully in his house with the company of his family and friends. He was soon to be 102 years old next week. However He lived enough to see his family grow with a solid bond and planted in them the seed of respect and honor for his fellow man and his country which he hold dear to his heart.

May he rest in peace

Don Celestino el maratonista, originally uploaded by kx0101.

After a late lunch at Machete Rojo in Aguadilla. I started photographing some stray horses that were behind the establishment. Little did i know that the owner of the horses was around until I heard him calling me -”Mira tu eres fotografo?” asking me if i was a photographer I said sure “How are you doing?”. Then he presented himself -”Mi nombre es Celestino” my name is Celestino. He told me that he had recently bought those horses to do a improvised carriage by sawing in half an old car that he has a really old and broken down Toyota i think it was. He intended to use the Toyota’s chassis as a frame for the carriage so it can be pulled by the horses.

However the biggest surprise of this encounter unfolded when he invited me to enter his humble wooden house. As I entered the first thing i saw was that the walls were covered with newspapers. For a second i thought that he was using the newspapers to cover the wooden shapes of his house but as i looked closer i could see that Don Celestino has been meticulously collecting the history of the sport of marathon running in the island. It was really impressive to see all his medals, certificates, commendations and trophies alongside the press clippings. He told stories about the San Blas Marathon one the of the hardest and most unforgiving marathons on the island He told me that the distance to be covered in the San Blas marathon was like going from Aguadilla to Hormigueros in a straight line using #2 Road (that’s approximately a 1hr drive). I opened my eyes really big at that point. He also shared stories and accounts of his fellow marathon runners, legends like Pan-american marathon medallist Peco Gonzalez among others.

By the end of the conversation I asked him how does he stay in shape at his age. He told me that he hasn’t stopped running and that he keeps active running in various marathons across the island and training for them all year long. Celestino even went as far as to show me one of his training secrets for endurance and boost. To make his point clear he tied a tire to a rope and the rope to his waist at that time i was a bit concerned that the old man was going to hurt himself but he knew what he was doing from the get go. This old man is tougher and more resistant than anyone i know to date. And for the looks of it this tiny and skinny old man can out run even death any day for sure.

More pics here

Recently I finished editing the pictures i took for Icaro Azul a puerto rican band from the western part of the island. It was a very special project because for me the pictures took a very special and mystical look in a way reminiscent of our history, heritage and nostalgia as puerto ricans. Those blurry years in our history that are not really documented in books but live in the collective memory of our elders. I have to say it was really amazing to work with a band that is not ashamed to show their heritage in the open and accept that deep down inside we are all “jibaros” in one way or the other.