Category Archives: Mexico

Taxco de Alercon, Mexico

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Taxco, MexicoI am currently in Taxco de Alercon (“The Silver Capital of the World”) a beautiful colonial Mexican town, all whitewashed walls and red tile roofs lining narrow cobblestone streets. Very picturesque.

Typical Street - Taxco, MexicoThe government has designated it a heritage site. I’m not sure if that is the official name or not, but the result is that all the houses and business have to maintain that colonial appearance – circa 15-1600s. There are no neon or other lighted signs, only black lettering on the whitewashed walls  allowed, even at McDonald’s (though they managed to put golden arches graphics on the inside of the windows, how very out of place they look in this snapshot out of time.)

Plazuela - Taxco, MexicoBuilt on and surrounded by several mountains, where they mine silver, cobblestone roads zig, zag, and  wind steeply up and down the mountainside. Streets are narrow, the equivalent of an alleyway in the US, and accommodate moving cars, trucks, mini-van buses, people walking,  steps into houses and shops, and sometimes parked cars as well —  all at angles that would give you vertigo. It is an adventure to say the least to walk up or down the street trying to avoid rocks and potholes and have a delivery truck come along, causing you to brush along the wall of the houses with mere inches to spare, or a taxi swing far to your side of the street in order to make a tight  (280 degree) turn, then jam it into low gear and growl its way up the hill. When you see them do this, or you are riding in a combi (a shared ride van) shuddering up a steep hill, you wonder how it is possible. It is even more interesting watching the taxi dances, when one is coming down the hill and another wishes to go up — somehow they all manage though.

Winding streets - Taxco, MexicoAs with most of Mexico, the cars spew fumes. Thankfully my accommodations are on the 4th floor, above it all; I usually go out early, retreat to my room mid-day for siesta or work, and go out again in the early evening when the traffic dies down, or I just sit on my patio and enjoy the quiet, the breeze, and the beautiful view. I have a fabulous room in a private home with a private bath, hot and cold running water ( luxury in these parts), a balcony overlooking the alley on one side, a patio on the other side overlooking the valley between three mountains, and a big king sized bed in between (must have been a sight watching them get that bed in here; had to have been lifted in from the alley below through the balcony door, since the steps to this level are a wrought iron circular stair that I have enough trouble negotiating with a little something in my hands.)  There is even an automatic washing machine for my clothes though I use the cistern water to run it, so I won’t run out of clean water for my bath.)  It is as good or better than a room in a luxury hotel especially since meals are included. And the bonus —­­  every morning I awaken to a view of the sunrise over the mountains from my bed. Bueno!!!

My Hostess, Irma

My Hostess, Irma

My hostess, Irma,  a sprightly and beautiful (inside and out) 70-year-old Mexican woman (a sister, who looks 50) does not speak much English and my Spanish, though better (I know many more words but have difficulty putting them together) is still woefully adequate for conversation. I muddle my way through with a little help from my  offline English/Spanish dictionary and translation program (Jibbigo) on my phone.  It is not perfect, sometimes the word for word translation makes no sense, but I try another word or phrase and eventually we get close enough. Irma thinks my “talking phone” is a little brusque; she calls it the Sergeant because it barks orders. Yet if I do not have my phone on me, she sends me off  to get it.

Zocolo at night - Taxco, Mexico

Zocolo at night

The weather here is beautiful — warm sunny days and cool nights. I (as most people, there is no where to park a car) walk everywhere unless we have far to go, then we take an autobus/combi, a large van fitted out with extra seats as a taxi that whisk around from place to place on a specific circuit. If the seats wrap around the outside of the vehicle (most do) and they are covered in plastic, it can be a wild ride if you are sitting sideways. I love to  walk the winding streets to the Zocolo (central square of most Mexican towns) of Taxco where the locals come to gather in the evening and shop the local fresh market, where you can get just about everything if  you look hard enough, and probably get lost doing so. It always amazes me what the local commercial market, sort of a mini-super Walmart grocery selling everything from soup to nuts literally (and I do not mean the kind you eat), even tires, plaster and pots and pans, and what it doesn’t. Certain things are only sold in specialty stores.

Teleferico - Taxco, MexicoIf you come here, you need to ride the teleferio (cable cars) to the fancy Hotel Montetaxco (resort and country club) on the mountain overlooking the city  where you will find spectacular views of the city and countryside. The ride up and down is pretty exciting too. Don’t come between Dec 12 and Jan 6  though or you may find “no room at the inn” as it is filled with “vacaciones.”

Overlooking Taxco

Mexican Traditions – Feliz Navidad

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The holidays in Mexico are an interesting mix of indigenous, colonial, and modern somewhat international customs and traditions. I am told that the evening of December 24 is more important than the 25th here and that certainly seems to be the case.

Between December 12 (the Festival of Guadalupe, the Mexican virgin) and December 24, people are busy visiting neighbors delivering gifts of flowers and food, enacting las posadas, and feasting with family. There are solemn candlelight processions, raucous parades, wandering bands, pealing church bells, airworks (fireworks with just the boom), and, of course, children battering pinatas until treats shower down upon them.

Being a stranger to these traditions, I watch with curiosity.

I was puzzled by a group of people that gathered before the “la purisima virgen” (the purest virgin) shrine one night. Usually people gather before the shrines to pray to the virgin or ask blessings, but this group set up a TV for video and blasted American style country western music while a mass of human bodies, jumped , writhed, and shouted to the beat and the direction of a microphoned emcee. I wondered if the shrine was just a good landmark at which to meet because any religious significance escaped me.

Pinatas- Taxco, MexicoThough there are signs of North American Christmas traditions, colored lights, Christmas carols (en espanol of course), and even decorated trees mostly in more well-to-do houses, the pinata is the traditional Mexican decoration and hangs everywhere.

Pinatas overhead- Taxco, MexicoThey are very different from the cartoon character type pinatas sold in the States. These have seven pointed cones that, in the Mexican Catholic tradition represent man’s struggle against the seven deadly sins; the beating with the stick represents the struggle against temptation and evil, and when it breaks the rewards of keeping the faith. As with many traditions, this one had its roots in the Mayan celebration of the birth of Huitzilopochtli, which was celebrated in mid-December, and was adapted into the Catholic traditions in this area by Augustinian monks in the late 1500s.

Breaking the pinata

 

Several nights, a group of children gathered in the alley behind my house to sing, shout, and take a whack at a pinata dangled above them by one of their parents. Their faith kept for another year.

Zocolo_poinsettias - Taxco, MexicoPoinsettias are also prevalent. The Aztecs called them “Cuetlaxochitl;” the sap was used to control fevers (Mexican willow bark?) and the bracts were used to make a reddish dye. The first US ambassador to Mexico, Joel Roberts Poinsett, is credited with introducing the plant to America and since “Cuetlaxochitl” was so hard to say, as it became a popular Christmas decoration, the name was changed to honor him. Thousands of potted poinsettias, creating one giant poinsettia blossom, fills much of the street at the zocolo (the park/plaza at the center of town.) Though beautiful to look at, it hampers traffic (both foot and vehicle) even more than usual. With thousands of “vacaciones” in town, that is not necessarily a good thing; the narrow, winding, cobblestone streets are often filled, but the past couple weeks, the mob of bodies and cars often brings all movement to a standstill. Just the normal act of going to the market is nearly impossible due to the crowded conditions.

Zocolo - Taxco, MexicoThe zocolo is also the center of culture and entertainment. It is where everything important happens and where everyone gathers — to sit and feed the birds, play chess, see and greet friends, and watch the mariachi band serenade a special girl or teenagers posturing and giggling. This is also the center of entertainment both formal and informal — political presentations, musical performances, dancing troupes, and other activities.

Harlequin on stilts, Taxco, MexicoSaturday afternoon, the local Rotary Club sponsored a fund-raising campaign that may or may not have been related to a pile of blankets, the Red Cross, and a shiny new car. There was a dance contest, some local kids performing traditional dances, minstrels, masked harlequins on 6 foot stilts, balloons, racing cars with nowhere to go so they just revved their engines, and more. I really felt for the clown, on stage in the direct and very hot sun, keeping up non-stop banter and dancing the gorilla song (whoot, whoot, whoot, whoot) with contestants, while readjusting his red nose every 30 seconds to keep it from sliding off. His partner was doing much better; she painted her red nose on.

As promised on December 12th, all the celebration came to a head last night, with many parties, much music, singing, and laughter floating through the air. There was also much shouting (pinatas?), cherry bombs, airworks, agitated dogs barking, church bells ringing, and generally noisy festivities into the wee hours of the morning. Today all is quiet. At least until Three Kings Day on January 6th.

Chilpancingo

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Barely in Taxco a day and a half, and I boarded another bus, with my friend Vanessa, for Chilpancingo to visit mutual friends  from a couple years ago (when I visited her there). It is a long and winding road through the mountains to a lower altitude and about 10 degrees or more increase in temperature. (Mas caliente!!! Or calor, if you are talking about the weather.)  Along the way, there was evidence of the severe flood damage this area received from the torrential rains associated with the hurricane that hit Acapulco this fall. Actually Chilpo and the surrounding area suffered more damage than Acapulco (sort of like the Peshtigo, Wisconsin fire that destroyed more property and lives on the same night as  the Chicago fire — the big sister got all the attention and sympathy.)

The highway showed evidence of having been washed out by the raging river as we traveled over smooth new asphalt in many areas, with a sharp drop on the edge to the river bed below. There were topless trees that once marked the river’s edge that now stood mid-stream looking like a line of 4-foot fence posts waiting to be strung with barbed wire. The opposing bank showed a water line 20 or more feet above the river bed and parts of the mountains had washed away giving them the appearance of a very large, somewhat haphazardly designed ski hill.  Our friends told us that at least one friend had died in the flood and a whole town was washed away.

Chilpancingo itself appears to be returning to normal, though the concrete basin that channels the river through the center of town is broken and rubble strewn. Maintenance crews are still working to repair the hardest hit area which washed away the road and several houses and businesses in the main business district.

As devastating as the flood was, and as quickly as the Mexican authorities responded to help the people affected, our brothers came to the rescue of those in need and within a few weeks, all the friends who were displaced were back “home” either in their own repaired property or relocated, with the necessities to start anew. It was a heart-warming and faith strengthening experience for all. Now people just need to get over the shock of what happened and refocus their lives with some routine.

Blue Bear & Friends in Chilpancingo, MXIt was so good to see old friends again, many smiles and hugs all around. They asked when I would be back and begged me to stay and help there; believe me it is tempting (hearing the meeting in my own language instead of totally incomprehensible espanol was sooooo nice) but the location of the city, in a bowl surrounded by mountains, makes the air quality level way too poor for me. (As soon as we turned the bend and Chilpo was in sight I could see the haze settled over the city.) We stayed with a sister a little outside town which was much better than the city itself, but 5 days in the smog of the city was enough.

Blue Bear at cafe

With Vanessa & Vicki – Chilpancingo

So for this year I guess it is learn Spanish or bust. Though Vanessa, who has lived in Mexico for more than 5 years now and is fluent in Spanish, says it was hard for even her to understand the meeting, so  bust it may be.  I will continue my search for an affordable location with an English congregation.

I have been given contacts in Cuernavaca, San Miguel de Allende, and Huatulco. One is likely too hot (described as like Gehenna in the mid-day), one is likely to big (700,000), San Miguel may be too Americanized — but all worthy of a visit at least.

Like Goldilocks, I am sure I will find my just right.

Travis, Ana, Tonatje, Mael & Daniel Ashworth

Travis, Ana, Tonatje, Mael & Daniel Ashworth

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Loli and Nincy

 

Festival of Guadalupe

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I never quite understood the idea of the 12 days of Christmas until I came to Mexico this year. It seems that the biggest day of the whole Feliz Navidad (Happy Nativity, aka Christmas) season is December 12, when Mexican Catholics commemorate a feast day for Guadalupe (the Mexican virgin and mother of Jesus). They go on to celebrate the season day by day until its culmination on December 24.

Little did I know when I made my travel plans from Mexico City to Taxco that travel would be hampered by roads clogged with shrines on the back of pickup trucks followed by ardent believers called pilgrims on foot and bicycle slowly making their way to the main Cathedral of Guadalupe in downtown Mexico City, and in smaller numbers to other towns with churches dedicated to her, like Taxco.  (Sorry I don’t have pictures.) So what are usually 4 lane highways clogged with traffic racing to and from town become one lane slowed to the pace of a burro (walker or bike rider) trying to get out of that lane and into the one next to it so they can race on by the “obstruction” only to get caught up in a similar situation a few miles further along. Not only are the roads clogged with the faithful but school is out for a month and everyone is trying to get “home for the holidays.”

The trip to Taxco which usually takes 2.5 hours, took over 3. But, I arrived safe and sound to Irma’s house where my room and a joyous reunion with her and her grandchildren and later on my English speaking friends commenced.  Sleep was a bit disturbed due to the revelers, the bands, and the “airworks” (fireworks without the fire, only the boom) into the wee hours of the morning. I was so exhausted from traveling though that after midnight when most of the noise settled down, I slept soundly.

Blue Bear in bedIt feels like home – Mexican style.

Mexico City — Of Volcanoes and Pyramids

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Esther & Sebastion @ TeotihaucanEsther and Sebastion,  took me to see “the pyramids” at Teotihuacan, north of Mexico City.  Along the way I had a good view of the two snow covered volcanoes nearby.  Popolcatepetl (Smoking Mountain) is active; his appropriately named companion, Iztaccihuatl (The Sleeping Woman), is not. It is an interesting  legend, sort of the Mexican Romeo and Juliet, that you can read about here.Popocatepetl & Istaccihuatl volcanoes

Teotihuacan-qpr

Teotihaucan is a huge archeological site,  that the Mexican government has been excavating for 100 years, and they are nowhere near done yet. Dated to 10 BC or before, the city grew to 85,000 people and some 20+ square km at its zenith. Two giant, slant slope pyramids give evidence that the natives here worshiped the sun and the moon and since the main entrance to the city is called de la Avenida de los Muertos, practiced human sacrifice. Climbing to the top is steep; but what a commanding view of the valley and the mountains  around. After the Teotihaucan people died off, perhaps due to the practice of the warriors wearing the skin of the people they killed in battle and thus being exposed to their diseases (especially the Europeans), the Aztecs and other native peoples respected the city as a Teotihuacan sacred site (and apparently the Spanish never went there), thus it remains for us to see and wonder about today.

Pyramid of Moon - Teotihaucan Pyramid of Sun - Teotihuacancan

It never ceases to amaze me to see not only the building skills and the understanding of the movement of the sun, moon, and stars, that they could build such structures (without power tools, no less)  and align them with perfect precision.

Steps - TeotihuacanI wonder how the natives, who evidently were shorter than us, managed to run up and down the knee-high steps. The museum is filled with artifacts, murals, sculptures from the temples,  and a scale model of the city.Museum artifacts - Teotihuacan

This is a trip well worth making; buses leave regularly from the north terminal. I hear the crowds can be huge so go on a weekday though; not very many people on a winter Tuesday in December.  In fact I think the vendors may have outnumbered the visitors this day.

That’s one thing that detracts from the experience, not only here but anywhere in Mexico. Anyone can sell anything almost anywhere, without a permit or any regulation.  Vendors try to sell you things, wash your windows, or dust off your car at intersections. People sell any matter of things in the park. Kids beg you to buy gum on the Zocolo (plaza at the town center). You get used to it, don’t make eye contact, and wag your finger a lot.

I really hate the commercialization of the archeological sites though;  having someone approach you to try and sell  you something every 5 minutes is annoying and interrupts both your conversation and your experience of the ancient site that you are in.  I, of course, so obviously a gringo, would not only be approached,  but when  I shook my finger and said, “No,” emphatically, and kept walking, they would follow me and say, “Almost free.” Pretty funny, the first time.

Mexico City — Speak, Eat, Dance

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I went with my friends to an Arabic class today. They are learning enough Arabic (and a little Russian too) to round out their language skills (which include very good English and some sign language.) It was interesting seeing and hearing, the very foreign to us, flowing letters and sounds. (reminded me of when Rachel was learning Persian – very pretty script.)

For now I think I will stick to Spanish; one language at a time. My hosts say I know many words. I am not conversational by a long shot but I can make myself understood and even amazed myself asking for things at dinner in espanol. I just might, as they say, know more that I think I do.

The temperatures are cool at night but by 10 am it is sleeveless shirt warm (especially for a gringo escaping a Midwest winter).  With good public, transportation and much in the way of culture, I would enjoy living in some areas if it were not for the air pollution. As I feel about most large cities, “it is a nice place to visit but I would not want to live here.”

Blue Bear dancingAfter the class, we were invited to a fiesta — a party to welcome my friends to a new congregation. There was pozole – a traditional Mexican soup made with maize (think corn nuts) boiled in broth which in this case some pork and a whole lot of pig skin and chunks of fat (not my favorite concoction.) You add oregano, chili, and onion to taste, and top with chunks of avocado. It is a dish for special occasions since it takes a long while to cook — a good thing too since  it is so full of fat that a few bites has me full to the brim even with plenty of limes to cut the grease. Afterward we “danced it off;” a little merengue is a good thing and fun too especially with people who grew up dancing this way.Alan

It is the end of the day and I am being serenaded by my host’s son, singing an aria in the shower. The sound, amplified by the shower stall, flows out into the courtyard and drifts to my ears below. A lovely way to end the day.

Mexico City — Chapultepec Castle

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Mexico City is almost beyond comprehension to this humble Mid-westerner. The sheer enormity of a city boasting 28 million people is evident in the constant traffic — lanes and lanes and unofficial lanes wide, horns honking, and people scurrying everywhere. Metro (subway) cars packed like sardines; doors close on shoulders and fannies that didn’t quite squeeze in fast or far enough.

Friends in front of ChapultepecMy hosts, Dr. Claudio and Caro Serrano, took me to the central city to “The Castle,” originally built, in the European style, for the Emperor Maximillian, one of the Hapsburgs, who had been governor of Milan, Vienna, and France  (if I read it right) before this post (their family motto was something like “we rule the world.”)

Chapultepec Castle facade, Mexico CityRising above the city on a steep, rocky hill, thick stone walls accented by grand balconies and watchful turrets kept an eye on the emperor’s  empire stretching out below. Much of the grounds now is a forest preserve with an artificial lake, zoo, and several other museums  (think Chicago museum campus). They call the area “the lung” of the city for the oxygen the trees provide to try to offset the air pollution.

LouisXV chair & candle standThe building is 1700’s  European spectacular  filled with mementos of the Emperor and Empress – gold buttons, watches, and jewelry, fine china, crystal, jewels, and opulent rooms decked out in the most fashionable European furnishings of the day — mostly Louis the XV and XVI France (Limoges  floor length clock and candlestands stood out as exceptional) as was the ornate Italian made carriage.

Emperor Maximillian & Carlotta's's carriageCan you imagine what it cost to ship this here?

After the Emperor went back to France, it was a millitary college that fought off a US invasion (of the fames Heroes de Ninos fame), a territorial governor lived here and ruled for 30 years until he was run out (and escaped to France) because of his love for all things French that drained the coffers, and finally the house of the Presidente who rattled around in it for awhile and then gifted it to the people of Mexico for an historical museum but still uses it for official functions for ambassadors and such.

Rooftop Garden, Chapultepecstle, Mexico CityThe rooftop garden, surrounding the old observatory tower is impressive, as is the long stained glass lined corridor and the view of the courtyard and from the courtyard overlooking the city.Stained Glass wall, The Castle, Mexico City