Playful children in Puerto Vallarta

I rarely do street photography and I often regret not capturing interesting moments later. I have also never taken images of kids without parent’s permission before. However, I few days ago I was having a nice stroll with my family in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico and we witnessed this innocent scene of kids playing in a public square. I had to pull my cellphone out and capture this moment.

A picture is worth a thousand words and I don’t think my literary skills are apt enough to really describe everything this image symbolizes. Childhood is a wonderful thing, most of us are still kids inside. Unfortunately, our inner childhood is often shadowed by our adult responsibilities, commitments, stress and worry about what the future would bring. Sometimes I just feel like I want to sit on a statue of a donkey in a middle of a square during a warm afternoon and share a bonding experience with my peers, be completely ignorant of any world problems and have a bag of cookies in my hand.

Although the innocence of this scene can be a bit deceiving, some of you might have already noticed that the girl in pink is not really participating and is staying back. It seemed like she was being excluded from the play. Unfortunately, separating yourself from others is an inheriting trait of all humans. Most of us seem to like to stick to groups and frown upon people not a part of that group. I am new to the Steemit community but it seems like it’s no exception.

However, later on a homeless man that’s sitting in the back under the pavilion came over and started to play fool and threw a little show for all of these kids.

There are a bunch more themes I can try to unravel in this image but that might put me on a path of a psychological deep dive, and I am just not ready for that this early in a day. For now, let’s just enjoy this scene and for the fun of it here are some more shots I’ve taken in the area:

Old Town area of Puerto Vallarta is a true gem of a neighborhood. Although it is very touristy, it’s still full of history and vibrant culture. If you want to have a fully authentic experience you can walk away from the shore and venture up the hills.