LIFE: AFTER MATILDE

Produced by Samantha Guzman

The most colorful house in all of Valle de Bravo, Mexico, is squeezed into a plot on the slope of Avenida Toluca, one of the busiest streets in the city. Potted plastic plants sway above the porch; red, yellow and green light bulbs hang from the roof. José Mercado, an 84-year-old retired plumber spends most of his days sitting here on his front porch, a row of birds bouncing in their cages behind him chirping complex melodies. On the roof above, 40 whirligigs dance to the beat of the wind.

Mercado began making these whimsical wind machines after the death of his wife, the love of his life, five years ago. When the first whirligig caught wind and came to life, Mercado says, he began to find love again.