Parting Shots

 A random selection of photos from my trip to Mexico:

 

A couple well dressed skeletons in a store window.

I was taken by his custom inlaid violin.

Yes, its a real bull, at least, it used to be.

An Afternoon In Mexico City

After submitting myself to some really cheap Mexican dentistry, I hopped a bus to Mexico City and stayed one night before flying home. My hostel was located behind a really big, two-stage cathedral with a huge square in front of it. I say two stage because one portion of the cathedral was obviously older and a little tilted. I was once told that Mexico City was built on a lake because the Aztec leader was informed by some ethereal higher up that they were to build their city and settle on the spot that they found an eagle with a snake in its beak. They found it in a lake and settled, gardening on woven mats and on and on, eventually filling the lake in. Not a very firm foundation, yet these buildings are hundreds of years old.

An event was being held in the square called Festiva Patria, a bit of nationalism on display. There were large white tents obscuring the view, stands full of people watching and cheering for something I couldn't see.  A military helicopter, tank and other similar vehicles were on display. Small children were going up a climbing wall and sailing down a length of zip line with the aid of uniformed soldiers. Lorries were parked all up and down side streets and soldiers were everywhere, as were the police. I understand the president made a public appearance the day before and there was a huge counter demonstration. No riots though.

I walked through the historic district and was awed by some of the architecture there. There was a lot of ironwork, tile in floral patterns, and what seemed to me like the influence of an art deco-arts and crafts era mix.

In closing, I would like to say that I felt perfectly safe in Mexico at all times. I did not witness any drug related murders, robberies, nor was I harrassed in any shape form or fashion. The people I encountered were always friendly and helpful.

Notice the rough outside edges of the cape,,,

...it's made of keys, thousands of them!

What About That Mexican Food!

Here in Mexico, buying and selling food seems to be much like it was in the US before the big packaging craze. Bulk is very much in fashion. I pass by little stores with large burlap bags open to display the various beans available. Even dog food is sold in the same fashion but in cardboard barrels. I see five gallon plastic containers selling several different fruits in their juice, I assume, in stores as well as in the carts of street vendors. Fruit and veggies are sold by weight. Today I saw a man unloading a pickup truck full of broccoli, none of it bagged.

There are many food vendors around. Many of them cook meat right there and serve it in tortillas. Some make some kind of corn masa thing dipped in chili, not shaped like a tamale but flat and round, without the corn husks. There is one around the corner that even has ice cream in little metal containers just sitting on the ground. I usually stay away from the carts but meant to try the ice cream and forgot.

The markets are the place to go for food. Not only do they make it there but it is authentic and cheap. After trying huevos Mexicana scrambled with pepper, onion, tomato but no chili; huevos rancheros on a fresh tortilla with a tangy but not hot greens salsa made mostly of tomatillas; and enchiladas in very mild green salsa, I made the market my home. The restaurant meals cost between 40 and 70 pesos. Now I wake up in the morning and head to the market for atole that is sold in plastic buckets on a folding table. Atole is a thick drink made chiefly of masa harina and sweetend.They sell arroz con leche, atole blanco, atole chocolate and a couple others I haven't tried. I pay six pesos for a plastic drinking glass of warm atole and usually buy another for the little old lady who sat on the stairs wrapped in shawls.

In the afternoon I go for a midday meal that costs me between 30 and 40 pesos. I've had chili rellenos stuffed with a mild farmer's cheese served with beans, rice, tortillas and a side of red chili that was so day-glo red I thought surely it would make smoke come from my ears. It didn't. Though jalapenos are served, hot food doesn't seem to be standard fare. Another market meal was nopales, those big flat cactus leaves that are sliced, stewed with potatoes in a chili broth...yum! There was the usual side of beans, Spanish rice and tortillas. I even got brave and had a bowl of menudo.

I am really a sucker for the very little kids that sell food. I bought napoles sliced and ready for cooking from a boy who needed his slightly older sister to help complete the sale. Then I gave them to a girl I bought a shoulder bag from. Another little fellow comes by the hostel with bags of avacados, three for 10 pesos. He knows a soft touch when he sees one. Imagine paying less than a dollar for three avacados!

A window display of exotic sweets in Guanajuato.

He put a ball of masa in the press, pressed it, then flipped it onto the griddle like a big frisbee while she flipped them and moved the in time for the next. These two were absolutely amazing to watch. Here the camera caught one in mid-air.

He stuffed the casings to make what seemed like miles of chorizo. His partner hung it on the racks above him.

Museo de Las Momias

Okay, folks, this one is grim. If you have a weak stomach, don't say I didn't warn you.

In the Guanajuato area, the elements are perfect for preserving bodies. When bodies last forever and the population increases, burial space gets crowded. Someone has to come up with a solution: move them. I understand that's how these were discovered. There were crypts and catacombs, for lack of a better word. In the museum, there are photos of some of the original discoveries where bodies lined the walls in underground tunnels as well as lying in tombs. They aren't all ancient. I'm not sure any of them are. I saw dates as recent as 1922 and into the 1940s. There was an introductory movie but it was in Spanish and I didn't understand it.

Modern science has given the means to discover information about some of these discoveries such as sex, approximate age, even what some of them may have died of. They think one woman had some sort of seizure, was buried alive, then woke up in her tomb. Not a pretty picture. Neither are the babies and I will spare you those.

I suspect they dressed some of these mummies for display but some of them seem to have remnants of the real thing on. I notice that many were buried with their shoes on and they remain on, some almost seeming like part of the feet because of the age and dehydration, They also put explanations with a number of the mummies that tend to get a little tongue and cheek.

I notice that Guanajuato likes to use the author Cervantes as their claim to fame. I personally think the Museo de Las Momias is a much better known attraction.

The reflections are actually from the mummies across the hallway.

Guanajuato, Mexico

The bus trip from San Miguel to Guanajuato was another trip through somewhat mountainous land, but this time even drier. Villages tend to be far apart and small, not to mention fairly poor. But anything seems poor after San Miguels de Allende with its huge affluent retirement community. We passed through agricultural land with a huge hacienda, green fields and irrigation equipment, though outdated by our standards. Then there was mile after mile of flat land having ghosts of furrows but now in dry grass and cactus.

Guanajuato is the place I should have come to in the beginning. Somewhere I read that this is the most Mexican of all towns. I believe it because I haven't found anyone who can understand or speak English and I have to admit its a challenge. This is an old silver mining town built on several hills. It seems the more I climb its narrow winding streets, the more I still have to go. If there's a top, I can't find it, but there sure is a view and I found it over and over. This city is a university town, bustling, colorful and friendly. There is grandeur in its cathedrals as in every Mexican City and there are a lot of statues and sculptures. I took a bus to the Museo de las Momias and actually found my way back on foot, first to the main market and back to the hostel. Then I went out to get lost again. What fun!

First two boys hammed it up for the camera. Then the whole pizza line joined in.

Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato

Inside the Basillica.

Teatro Juarez

Senor de la Conquista Festival

I wish I could figure out exactly what this festival is about. I got a few explanations from my hostelmates who aren't really sure themselves. I was told it is held in honor of one of their saints who helped free them from the clutch of the Spaniards or maybe it has to do with Semante, the advent of Easter. I am totally confused and am certain much of that confusion is created by language barriers. What I do know is that it is Catholic and has deep roots in the indigenous culture.

There has been dancing in the Plaza Jardin accompanied by drummers all day long. Most of the drummers are are young men pounding drums made of steel oil barrels, or the like, with skins stretched over them. The costumes are fantastic and varied. The common denominator are the quetzal-feather headdresses. Even some very small children dress up and take part. Animal symbolism is big and costumes are adorned with skulls, furs and talons. It is all very colorful and energetic. There is something being burned that is more aromatic than sage. This evening the image of Christ was carried at the head of a procession and that image has brown skin rather than blond hair and blue eyes. This is Mexico, after all.

...and the temptations of Eve???