Handstands Friday afternoon

    The Temple of Music belongs in a different time and place. This edifice is in a downtown San Jose, Costa Rica city park where music is performed and people congregate. This afternoon there is a group of young gymnasts practicing handstands under the temple dome, entertaining those who are passing through. A young man with tattoos seems to be the leader, and, while I am watching, he is instructing another young man who is practicing handstands with wooden blocks set on the ground directly in front of him. While doing a handstand, the student lifts his right hand off the right block and supports himself with his left hand. Then, he drops his right hand back to the right block, supports himself, and lifts his left hand in the air, off the left block. It takes practice to learn to stand on one hand. Passersby take pictures and one girl says she only wishes she could do half the things these gymnasts are practicing. Pigeons, roosting on the outside edge of the dome, an upside down bowl, are nonchalant. They don’t have to work on their balance and keep people below them on their toes.