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Archive for July, 2012

Respect and ritual

Posted in Celebrations, Churches, Culture, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 9, 2012| Leave a Comment »

The convite (covered in the Uplifting post) is only one of the traditions of the patronal festival of La Preciosa Sangre de Cristo.  During the five days of the celebration, the church is filled with floral arrangements and believers stream in and out clutching flowers; the Danza de la Pluma (with Moctezuma, Cortez, Malinche, Doña Marina, danzantes, and soldados) is performed several times; and the cargo holders of the community preside, are honored, and presented with fresh fruits, vegetables, sacred herbs, and beverages.

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Sunday was another amazing day in Teotitlán del Valle.  And I haven’t even mentioned the tacos and tamales we devoured during our three visits this past week!

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Uplifting…

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Religion, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 7, 2012| 10 Comments »

Late yesterday afternoon, we returned to Teotitlán del Valle for the convite (parade) of unmarried young women and girls, a part of the annual patronal festival of La Preciosa Sangre de Cristo.  The sun was shining, the rains of two days before were nowhere to be seen, and the sacred mountain, El Picacho, gracefully, but commandingly, presided as the soldados and danzantes entered the church courtyard.

Soldados and danzantes with the mountain in the background

Bands also arrived to take part…

Band with tuba in front; mountain in background

Canastas (baskets) were lined up, ready to be carried…

Canastas with images of the Virgen Mary lined up.

3 canastas with images of Jesus

Canasta with Virgen de la Navidad woven into the design

The young men of the village gathered…

Young men sitting on a ledge

Young men in profile

Family and friends awaited…

Women standing and facing down the street

And then the young unmarried women and girls, the stars of the evening, raised the canastas over their heads…

Young women and girls in red skirts and white blusas carrying canastas on their heads lined up and

3 young women carrying canastas on their heads

Close-up of 2 young women carrying canastas on their heads

Balancing the canastas, they processed from the courtyard, down several long and cobblestone blocks, turned left, and headed back up another street to where they had begun, to be greeted by proud family and friends, who had gathered to acknowledge and celebrate the young women and girls of Teotitlán del Valle.

For some inexplicable reason, we never cease to feel moved and uplifted by this ritual.

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Food for the soul

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 5, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, fellow blogger, Chris, and I drove out to Teotitlán del Valle for their yearly patronal festividad de La Preciosa Sangre de Cristo.  The rains came and we didn’t stay long.  But, as we almost always find, just being out there provides much appreciated food for the soul.

Black and white photo of Zapotec woman sitting upright with a rebozo draped on her head.

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Room with a view

Posted in Buildings, Churches, Gardens, Weather, tagged , , , , , , , on July 4, 2012| 4 Comments »

Late yesterday afternoon; outdoor room (aka: my terrace) with a view.  Ahhhhh….

African Red-orange blossoms of African tulip tree in foreground, San Jose church bell towers, and cloud dotted blue sky in background.

And, despite the clouds above, this morning I can report, no rain for 36 hours!

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Scenes from election day…

Posted in Parks & Plazas, Politics, Protests, Signs, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 2, 2012| 4 Comments »

Yesterday, I walked down to the zócalo twice; once in mid-morning and again late in the afternoon.  My Spanish teacher had advised her students of the probable presence of army trucks, soldiers, and federal police; but to be assured this was standard operating procedure on election day.  However, all I saw were the normal transit police directing traffic and only 2 federales.  From my terrace, I did watch a helicopter circle the zócalo a few times.  A friend filmed a tussle re lack of ballots about the same time as my helicopter siting.

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To begin to understand the Mexican electoral system, the Instituto Federal Electoral has a FAQ page, in English, where it answers, 30 Essential Questions.  In addition, readers might be interested in Robert Pastor’s article, 8 things the U.S. election system could learn from Mexico’s.  While I don’t agree with some of his points (his conclusions re the PRI and the issue of voter ID cards in the US; problematic given its troubling history), I think the article is worth a read.  By the way, the Yo Soy 132 movement was present yesterday on the zócalo and vows to continue.

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Google doodles Mexican election

Posted in Creativity, Politics, tagged , , , on July 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Google Mexico doodles today’s election…

Googe doodle with voting booths, Mexican flag...

Click on the Doodle for election news.

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