Acá en Mexico, todo es posible

Here in Mexico, everything is possible. This is what Agustin says every time he drives down the wrong side of the road. At first he seemed to be looking for a reaction from me, but having lived in Colombia for almost a year, driving down the wrong side of the road for short periods of time just isn’t that weird to me. Driving in reverse downtown makes me much more nervous! Mexico, like many other countries in the world, simply isn’t as structured as the US. And in a way it does make it so that todo es posible…

About a month or so ago the town had a bunch of festivities including parades, floats and fireworks. We went in to watch the fireworks and it was rather… exciting…. They had built these wooden towers with all kinds of fireworks attached. They were designed so that when they went off you would see different shapes and words attached to wheels that would spin. Mostly it was a chain reaction kind of deal, but there were a few times where (to me anyways!) it looked like a stray firework set off something on a different tower. And to light the top towards the end of the show, a guy climbed all the way up there- while there were still fireworks going off! I know because we were standing VERY close to all of the action. We were standing behind the show, with a good view point of the stands of something Roman-Candle-like that were shot off in a variety of directions. (Did I mention there were trees next to us, too?) By the time it came to the finale, everyone involuntarily backed up because of all the noise, light, as well as the ash and sparks that were landing on everyone. It was crazy! I tried to take a video, but it didn’t really capture the effect.

Before the main firework show, we saw some wooden bulls with fireworks attached sitting next to us. Soon people came over, picked them up and put them on kind of like a giant mask. And then they lit the fireworks and ran around.

Obviously, none of this would have gone down in the US! It’s part of what makes living in another country so interesting. And also gives me a new appreciation for safety regulations.

Only a small part of the whole production.

All ready to go...

The beginning of a parade the next afternoon.

Micheal Jackson?

Just one of the intricate floats

The other half of this float was a crucifixion scene.

What were these festivities about, again?

Some tigers came to visit as well.

This bike was parked in front of the church Sunday morning.

Not quite sure why the shovel was needed, but hey, todo es posible....

A homemade Chia pet.

Work Party

This Saturday we had another work party. This time it was to piscar, or pick, corn and also to start on painting the outside of the house. Family members arrived to help with their own basket and a nail to open up the corn husk. It was amazing to me that a whole crew of over 20 people could disappear in the corn field. Walking along the edge of the field, all you could hear was rustling, which didn’t sound that different than just hearing the wind rustle the dry leaves. It made me think of that one Mel Gibson movie with the aliens in the cornfield. It looks so innocent, right? But what’s really in there….?

Agustin asked me to take pictures, so I got to play photographer again. I also did want to help with the painting, but first I had to wait while someone went on a run to the store to buy some more brushes and rollers, and then people kept taking the one roll of masking tape and asking to borrow the paint brush I was using. So, I can’t say I did very much. But I did take pictures!

Into the cornfield they go...

You can't tell, but at this point there are about 25 people in the cornfield.

The corn will be used for making tortillas.

"This corn is for eating... see?"

Preparing to paint

Father and son bonding time

That's a lot of corn!

Día de los Muertos

Of course, since it was Día de los Muertos weekend, we didn’t just see forts. We went to see ofrendas as well. I was excited to see how it was celebrated, and thankful for my tour guides, especially since, as fellow Methodists, they don’t actually celebrate Día de los Muertos. We spent one day in Puebla and another day in Huaquechula and Atlixco. We went to a cultural center where we saw a life-size ofrenda in honor of Revolutionary heroes, and some figurines and candelabras as well. Then we went to the city hall in el centro that had another life-sized display. After we finished the tour, we went to look at ofrendas that were set up in el zocalo. These ones were less professional and more homemade looking. Some were for family members or important people, some were for groups of people and one was pre-Hispanic with everything labeled in its indigenous name. At this point it was dark, crowded and I was concerned about my camera- but, thankfully I still have it!

Pancho Villa

Happy guitar-playing skeleton

Ofrenda for Frida

Pre-Hispanic ofrenda... not sure which language though.

For our massacred, migrant brothers

For 49 babies and 1200 children killed in the Narco war.

After seeing the ofrendas there was a parade that went by. There were lots of people chanting and walking. I guess it was a parade in honor of death. My tour guides said they were adoring death, and they were amazed by how many people were there. They had dolls that signified death, some big, some small, all with fancy dresses, long hair and a black skull. Me, I was confused by everything, but was not getting good vibes. Suddenly the little kids in their US-style Halloween costumes didn’t look cute- they looked extremely out of place. The strength of belief around me seemed overwhelming. Between the Catholics who believed their loved ones would be coming for a visit and the people who had made some sort of pact with death… It all seemed very real. Nothing like any Halloween party I’ve ever been to. Apparently, worshipping death has become more common and open in the last few years. Followers hand out information and even have “misas” for death. Some people have replaced the Virgen de Guadalupe with a death doll in their homes. Kind of like having the Grimm Reaper in your living room- only dressed up as a pretty doll. It was all very disturbing. And I still can’t help wondering… how do people, often initially Catholic, end up worshiping death? Isn’t it clearly the opposite of life and light?

The next day was significantly less creepy. First, we picked up a couple more family members and went to Huaquechula, where they are known to have large ofrendas. Households that had had a death in the family in the last year set up giant ofrendas, often taking up half the room. We walked around visiting the different households. Because the town is known for its ofrendas, many out-of-towners come to visit. I think in towns where there aren’t so many visitors, they offer everyone something to eat and drink. But with so many visitors, they had a system worked out. If you put some money in the donation tray, they offer you juice or hot chocolate. If you pay to light a candle, then they invite you to eat. (I’m sure if you’re actually friends or family it’s different!) The ofrendas were beautiful. They had 3 tiers. The bottom tier had things to eat such as fruit and bread. The second tier had things that that person had enjoyed in life. The top tier usually had a cross, the Virgen de Guadelupe or angels. This experience was a lot closer to what I had been imagining. The people who set up ofrendas had a quiet reverence and pride for their loved one. They seemed happy to be able to honor their loved one in this way. As one of my companions confided to me, not everyone believes that the dead actually come back, but it is still a day to remember them. And so the tradition continues.

Finally, we went to Atlixco for dinner and to watch a parade. Thankfully, this was a normal sort of parade with lots of people dressed up and high school marching bands. Good fun!

Ok, so you can't really tell in this photo, but the picture is actually a mirrored reflection. All the ofrendas had this, it is because they recognize that it is just the persons spirit or reflection that comes back. Also, the pretzel-shaped bread is a typical pan de muerto for Atlixco. It represents the face of a skull.

This ofrenda was for 2 people- it was impressive!

Definitely my favorite costume.

They played Mony, Mony!

An Invitation

Dia de los muertos is actually more than one dia. It’s more like 4 days. Which meant a 4-day weekend for students (and me). I was excited to be in Mexico for dia de los muertos, but wasn’t sure exactly where or how to spend the holiday. All of the students went home for the weekend, and Agustin and Irene are not Catholic, so they do not celebrate the holiday. I thought it would be a good opportunity to go back to Puebla, but then I didn’t have any luck getting a hold of Priscilla. When she didn’t come to the work party on Saturday, I had pretty much resigned myself to spending the long weekend in Tlaxiaco.

Luckily, Roberto and his wife invited me to come back to Puebla with them and stay for the weekend! So, not only did I learn of a new website, and new improvements in the making, but I had an invitation as well. Hope abounds! It was like an answer to a prayer that I hadn’t even made. Soon I was on my way with them and their 3 kids. It was a great weekend. It was nice to have a change of scenery, and a chance to get to know new people. And it was wonderful to have internet and hot water! They took me sight-seeing, and their oldest son was my official tour guide. He loves history and even speaks pretty good English!

Here are some pictures from two forts we went to. Did I mention that Puebla is where the official Cinco de Mayo battle happened?

The chapel at Fort Loredo.

It's like a giant bathtub!

Walking along the perimeter.

Canon outpost

We also went to a museum that had this battallion flag carried during Cinco de Mayo.

Fountain commemorating Cinco de Mayo General Zaragoza. Apparently he is burried there as well.

The second fort we went to.

It's a moat!