deProdundis @ Quarai

Just in from a delicious nuevomexicano afternoon with MrStinky -- barely/finally back from his week of yogadventures in SanFran -- as well as a motley gaggle of fabulons. (Well, that is, IF "gaggle" can be construed to refer to the gents of Thistlecot & Pablito of "magic fingers" fame...)

See, a week or so ago some bee settled in StinkyLulu's bonnet to get some culture & some out-of-doors. So, the Stinky gaggle piled into a borrowed Sporty Utility Vehicle, braved the perils of carsickness, & dragged off/up/over the Manzano mountains to the ruins of a 17th century Franciscan church. There, the astonishing ruins at Quarai created a truly wondrous setting for an afternoon of surprising, smart & skilled acapella singing from the men of de Profundis.

Now ere a couple weeks ago, StinkyLu knew not of either Quarai or de Profundis, but somehow it happened that the Stinky gaggle got themselves sitting there, within the walls of this ancient church of a forgotten pueblo. Flagstone and sandstone bricks, still securely stacked after 300 or so years, reached to meet a ceiling of New Mexico sky. Where a roof might have met the walls, wildflowers sprouted, creating a surprising fringe of color several stories above our heads. And before us, where a colonizing priest might have ministered a few centuries prior, stood 13 tidy men standing in a cozy semi-circle. At first glance, these guys looked "churchy" -- in that way of prissy nerds & nerdy sissies, you know -- but then those boys started to singing. Or -- more precisely -- singing, hollering, yodeling, & yelling, in careful harmonic precision. The first song -- a three part, call & response folk song traditionally sung by groups of male field workers in Georgia (the former Soviet Republic, that is...) -- started the afternoon's program &, had StinkyLu been wearing socks, might have knocked 'em right off. The next hour brought all kinds of male choral music (not StinkyLu's favorite genre, to be sure) with de Profundis' selections blending the ancient & contemporary, global and local, all with an ear toward the abstract. All told, the combination made for a uncommonly exhilarating convergence of voice & scene.

Then the Stinky gaggle toddled over to some benches for a delicious picnic of cherry cider, Pablito's homemade oatmeal-nut-raisin cookies, assorted crudite & Lulu's very first try at a muffaleta sandwich -- a New Orleans (via the Italian deli) sandwich/casserole which, when wrapped & prepped & popped in the fridge is about the size of a moderately sized watermelon, or securely swaddled infant. Amazingly tasty pile of cold cuts. Yum yumyum yum.

A delightful afternoon, really.
And the whole thing was just so...so...so...civilized.
Who knew the Lu could behave like that?