Good Friday in San Miguel de Allende- Mexico- March 2008

 
 
 
 


The Mexicans sure know how to celebrate. They have so little but so much of what they have is put into their celebrations. After having studied so much about the Mexican culture while working on my Spanish certification, it is truly a joy to be here and experience another holiday. Before coming on this trip, I had gone on-line and read "Attencion", the newspaper that informs the gringos about the happenings. I discovered that their was to be a re-enactment of te crucifiction in one of the poor colonias in San Miguel. The article called it one of the best kept secrets and that usually not more than a half dozen grigos attended; sounded perfect to me.

I took a taxi to this colonia around 9:30, as this was the time the paper said it was to begin. I got out of the taxi in a very run-down village but it was all decorated with purple and white flowers. I found a few other gringos there and we had a nice chat while waiting. An hour passed and I decided to walk down the hill toward the church where the procession was to leave from in another colonia, San Luis Rey. All along the way, puple and white streamers and paper flowers, made by the people living here, were hanging. Stations were also laid out and beautifully decorated with palm fronds, flowers, and colored sawdust arranged on the ground to make pictures and designs.

By the church, the crowd had gathered and many of the crowd was dressed in costumes. There were soldiers, many on horses, the priest, little girls dressed as angels, Mary, Joseph, and other disciples of Jesus. Jesus and the two thieves were carrying crosses and walking barefoot on the cobblestones. There were probably close to 100 people participating in the "play" and I would guess at least a thousand people watching and marching along behind the procession.

The procession set out, stopping at each station and the march was acted out with whippings, the priest praying, the holy family weeping, the thieves yelling and swearing. The day was hot and the walk was all uphill so I am sure it was very uncomfortable. The walk lasted at least a hour hour and the crowd arrived at the top of the hill where the crucifiction was to take place. This was located in front of the building with the blue tarps in the picture. This is their church. Each year, when they hold this pageant, they collect money to build a proper church for their colonia. It was very moving to watch the soldiers strap the thieves and Jesus to the cross and raise them.

I think the whole colonia turned out for this event. Work pretty much stopped for 3 1/2 days here. Almost every business was closed for the day so that people could participate and watch the many events for Good Friday. The Mexican people take their religion very seriously and I'll explain more about that the next time when I rite about more events of the day.

Happy Easter and Happy Spring to all of you!

Good-bye Argentina 2008

There is so much more that could be said about Argentina, but I leave today for San Miguel de Allende, Mexico and there will be lots more to tell. I actually depart from Telluride after school and will drive for two hours through the mountains and stay at the farm in Austin, CO tonight. I'll leave early tomorrow morning and fly out of Grand Junction. Tomorrow evening, I will stay with my friend, Roz, for one night. It is expected that I will move into the casita on Friday....wow!

We were due to fly out of Bariloche on a Friday but when we arrived at the airport after a 5 hour drive, we found out that due to an airline strike, everything was delayed. We still expected to leave that evening, but it didn't happen. Instead, we spent the night in the airport, catching a few winks sleeping on the floor or benches.......not great. We did leave at 5 in the morning but had missed our connection in Buenos Aires so had to rebook. We were not able to leave for two more days.

We settled into a lovely hotel in Buenos Aires and enjoyed two more days of sightseeing. I was glad to have gone back because we traveled on different roads and I gained a different perspective of the city. We passed by a huge area of extreme poverty and slums which we had missed the first time. In the city itself, I witnessed a family of three bedding down on a cardboard box in the train station to sleep off the day. It was similar to how we had passed the night before, sleeping on cardboard in the airport; the difference of course, was that we had to endure it for only one night and for these people, it was their home. It was a good lesson for all of us.

We also had time to see some more of the tourist sights we had missed on our previous visit. I especially liked the gigantic metal flower which opens and closes with the light. We enjoyed more lovely parks as Buenos Aires is one of the "greenest" cities I have ever seen.

Hoping to have a place to hook my computer into internet in SMA so I can blog from there. If not, I'll be back on track asap and share pictures of the casa and the holiday celebrations in Mexico.

Hasta luego, amigos!

Yerba Mate- Argentina 2008

There is still so much I could write about Argentina but I realize this is dragging on! More adventures loom ahead so I will try and wrap Argentina up soon! However, I particularly enjoyed learning about Yerba Mate which is more than just a beverage!

The plant that the herb comes from is grown in parts of Argentina, especially in the area around Iguazu and is considered one of Argentina's major crops. I had showed the children a video on Argentina and we spent a lot of time learning about the country before visiting, so we had all heard about Yerba Mate before embarking on our journey.

Though it has no caffeine, it is considered a beverage that "packs a punch" and is widely enjoyed by Argentines. It is sipped through a bombilla which is usually a silver straw with a filter. The vessel that holds the "tea" is a gourd and often edged with silver, but there were many other varieties that people used. Everywhere we went, we would se people sharing "mate" and learned of the ritual. Hot water machines are available in many public areas for people to fill their thermoses.

Drinking mate is not only an individual activity but often is done socially with everyone sharing. The person who is the server, fills the gourd, and prepares the mate. He/she takes the first sip to be sure it is okay. The gourd is passed to the next person who takes a few sips and hands it back to the server, who puts more hot water into the gourd. It is passed to another person who sips for a few minutes and again passes it back to the server who prepares the mate again. It eventually makes it around to everyone in the group and then starts all over again. I learned it is not polite to say thank you when you hand it back to the server until you are all done with your mate.

The "tea" has a somewhat bitter taste and some people do add sugar. The kids did try it but once was enough for them, even though children all over Argentina were partaking along with their families and seeming to enjoy it! I guess it is an acquired taste.We all brought mate home so perhaps, someday, you can share some with me!

La Estancia- Argentina- March 2008

In northern Patagonia, north of San Carlos, we stayed at a 180,000 acre estancia for a couple of days. We drove over dirt roads, lined with poplars, for close to an hour after entering the property, before we arrived at the lodges, workshops, barns, and out-buildings. Wild deer with huge racks, grazed along the side of the road and we spotted fox, jack rabbits, and many types of birds.

There was a marvelous Argentine family who managed the ranch for three absentee owners. The estancia had been owned by their father and it had been famous for its polo ponies. Today, Martine, Paula and their three children keep busy schedules living on the property. Paula manages the lodges and guests and Martine keeps track of the 100 horses and 5,000 head of cattle. The children live on the ranch on the weekend but live in San Carlos, with a nanny, during the week to attend school. For 5 years, the children commuted the 1 1/2 hour trip each way to San Carlos, 3 days a week!

Polo ponies are still trained on the estancia and polo matches are frequently held. There is a separate polo lodge, as well as another for fishing and a third for hunters. Riding through the beautiful fields and roads, going on a picnic by the river, and hiking (along with school, of course!) kept us busy.

Large dormitory style buildings house the many gauchos and another building houses the women, who are the cooks and chambermaids. The rooms were lovely with comfortable mattresses, abundant pillows, and gorgeous fabrics for the long drapes and bedspreads. Antiques were used in all the bedrooms.

Poplar and willow trees were brought to Argentina many years ago by the Europeans. We had noticed the stately poplar as we drove through the mountainside and there was always a house or farm nestled within a large grove. Besides providing shade, their real purpose is to block the Patagonian winds which can be very strong. All of the estancias are well irrigated and are very lush around the area of the houses and barns.

Beyond the "living area", the land looks very similar to that here in CO, except for the types of vegetation. You can see the large, plumed grasses in one picture, and that is pampa grass; much different than what I had expected.

Our meals were lavish and laid out for us with lovely table settings including linen, wine and water goblets, and typical Argentine wooden plates for the parilla. All the food was home cooked and included delicious biscuits, vegetable dishes of all types and lavish desserts. The night we dined outside in front of the open fire pit was especially lovely. Dinner was served around 10:00 and it stayed light until then, which was a little hard to get used to! It was hard to eat a large meal just before bed, especially when it included lots of red meat.

I really enjoyed seeing the gaucho clothing. The Argentine gaucho wears a baggy pant called bombachos and always carries a knife with him, usually tucked into the back of his belt. We also learned all about mate, an herbal beverage that is shared and very much a part of the social customs. Mate is prepared in a gourd container and sipped through a bombilla, which is a silver straw with a strainer. The Argentines drink it all day long which is perhaps why they stay up so late and still can get going in the morning!

While at the estancia, we witnessed the full lunar eclipse. It was no problem staying up for it since dinner had just been completed! Another day, we spotted a large herd of guanacos, which are similar to llamas. So much to see and enjoy that was fresh and new............!

La Recoleta- Buenos Aires 2008

Recoleta is one of the more upscale barrios in Buenos Aires. It is difficult to be able to live there when you are alive because it is very expensive. The "first" public cemetery in the city of Buenos Aires is also located in this barrio and is named La Recoleta. It is said to be just as difficult to reside there when you are dead, as when you are alive! Only the "most important", well-known, influential people in Argentine history are buried within the walls of this magnificent cemetery. You enter through a beautiful gateway building and walk along shady lanes filled with mossoleum style tombs, glimpsing into the lives of those now resting in peace. Beautiful messages and even pictures adorn the walls of the tombs.

Evita Peron lies within the walls of her father's tomb, the Family Durante. This is not her first resting place, and there is speculation that it will not be her last. While there, a hearse arrived with the newest member in this elite club. La Recoleta is an amazing cemetery but we were glad none of us had to stay beyond our brief visit!

Back Country Trek continues........Argentina-2008

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The weather was perfect as our back country trip continued. There were many opportunities to stop and cool off in the many rivers we crossed. I never have seen such clear water. In fact, it was our drinking water source. The guide had brought along a few bottles of bottled water but then proceeded to refill them from the river. We were a bit nervous at first, but since it was our only water, we began to drink it. It was delicious but we were not convinced we wouldn't be sick at a later date! So far, so good! The kids particularly enjoyed swimming and Todd and Jack did some fishing.

The guide had been told by Todd that he would like to fish. Juan Carlos, one of the gauchos had the equipment and we laughed when he produced it.....a tin can with string wrapped around it, with a hook on the end. Well, guess what? It worked! Todd was able to catch a couple of rainbow trout which we had that night for dinner.

Meat had been brought along for the overnight and was cooked over the open fire on spits for several of the meals. It was hung in the trees overnight to "keep it cool." Again, we weren't convinced! Todd's fish was wrapped in newspaper and buried under the coals to cook. It was delicious and moist.

The gauchos keep a long knife on their back, tucked into their wide belt. It is a tool they use for everything. When it is time to eat, they spear the food off the serving plate and then, cut it up with their knife. The same knife is used all day whenever the need arises. "Germs" do not seem to generate the same fear in Argentina as they do in the US and the people seem very healthy....perhaps we need to learn from them.

It was a real joy to travel through the rugged countryside and see the sights. Another interesting one was when we came upon the remains of a sheared sheep hanging in a tree. The wool held the form of the sheep it had been removed from so at first glance, a sheep was hanging in the tree! We were miles from anywhere, seeing a part of Argentina that many miss......spectacular!