On the way into the venerable Rosemead swapmeet, we get soothed by the melancholy sounds of a man and his accordion, singing for us to “let him cry, because he’s wounded”. Actually, he’s just singing an old favorite “Dejenme Llorar” by Los Freddy’s, a popular hit in the 70’s but which resonates just a bit more since this musico appears to be blind.

Entrance line, accordion, crying, wounds, tips, 75¢ entrance fees, tickets, ticket takers: it all happens so fast that you can only get a snippet. Probably the musico doesn’t care, it’s the way he makes his money. But still, I could have waited a bit to catch some more. Oh well, la vida sigue pasando, en chinga y de aprisa.