Ashes and Snow

We are so fortunate to be in the International Cosmopolitan Capital of Mexico City! The incredible International Nomadic art and theatre exposition of Ashes and Snow is here from 15th December thru 27th April. In a nutshell:
A. sponsored by the Rolex Institute
B. Canadian artist, Gregory Colbert who studied in Paris and traveled around the world for the past 16 years to capture interactions between man and nature thru video and still-photography, resulting in this expo
C. all shots are natural....not digitally altered...done in black, white ...no color
D. 50 large-scale photographic artworks, 60 minute video, and 2 short film
E. 6,000 sq. metre bamboo building it is housed in: built by Columbian architect, Simón Veléz
complete with shallow water canals under the photographs and 3 theatres

It is free of charge for the people of Mexico City and tourists alike. The wait varies depending on the time of day etc. I waited about an hour in a very patient and organized line of mostly Mexican citizens. What can I say.... it was breath-taking and inspirational. The photos I included were posters being sold in a souvenir shop.

The Flight of the Butterfly - Magic

There was music in the air again in Mexico, but in the genre of nature or butterfly wings! Sounds from these otherwise silent creatures you say? Only when you are fortunate enough to attend one of their migration stops. This week-end we visited El Rosario, migrating grounds for the countless Monarchs who make their way from Canada through the U.S. and finally Michoacan Mexico each year at this time. They arrive earlier in the year, but February you will find them mating and very active.


We hiked up the mountain at the altitude of 9,000 feet to experience the full effect of this miracle of nature. It was worth the long trek from Mexico City by car and then the hike of about an hour and 30 minutes. For the effort we witnessed millions of Monarchs gracefully flying through the air and millions more perched together on the tall evergreen trees branches, weighing them down. This is the spot where my colleague and friend, Brenda noticed the sounds of the butterflies. It was a very gentle sound..comparable to a light breeze. As they flew around together the sound was only noticeable if you stopped and listened carefully....this was truly a place where you felt at one with nature and very blessed to be there, and also one very hard to leave. After many photos and meditation, we worked our way down the trail and purchased some butterfly souvenirs. Later that day I discovered that I could close my eyes and envision this beautiful scene of the peace and gentleness of nature and it will be a treasure to me always. As a final note, the Spanish word for butterfly has always been one of my favorite:MARIPOSA.

Sweet Sounds of Music

Spring is in the air, 80 degrees on both Saturday and Sunday... including a variety of outdoor concerts. This week-end , I attended an opera concert at the Casa del Lago/Chapultepec Park. It was a free event put on in collaboration with the UNAM/another public university.










Next, was a concert/dance at the Bellas Artes/Fine Arts Theatre representing dance from the north of Spain/including non-stop bagpipes!
On Sunday, there was a free outdoor concert with a charming group from Argentina, called Paté de Fuá. It felt like an outdoor summer concert in Colorado. People of all ages were in the audience enjoying the music and day.

I'm sorry I missed a Maná concert (one of the most popular rock groups/from Guadalajara) on Saturday. They played 4 different concerts/on 4 days and filled the Auditorio Nacional, which holds approximately 10,000 people for all four concerts! I thought I could walk up and buy a ticket that day, wrong! Fortunately, I saw them in the U.S. a few years ago and have fond memories.

Mexico City cultural society publishes a magazine every week called Tiempo Libre...this helps organize whats happening in the city so you can make your plans based on your individual interests. Many, many events are free! They are always well attended by the local people, who appreciate their culture in every genre imaginable. You can be well entertained on a shoe string budget if you plan it right.

Sharing My Experience

Family from California, Karin and Steve and Brian, my husband all came for a 6 day whirlwind visit and tour of Mexico. They loved the museums and wonderfully inexpensive food (they were here during the Candelaria and we ate tamales for breakfast each morning!). It is so fun to show others the "real" Mexico and perhaps change wrong impressions of this beautiful country.

We toured one day on the Turibus...a double decker bus that gives you an informative and comfortable tour of the centro historico and lots of the more quaint areas around the main city. It costs 10.00/a day with a headset to hear about all the sites and you are able to get off and on wherever you desire. They were also impressed with Teotihuacan's pyramids and La Gruta Restaurant, which is on the site but in a cave! Great ambiance. Two other must sees were the Basilica of the Virgen Guadalupe and the Ballet Folklorico at Bellas Artes Theatre.







My coordinator, Edith was also kind enough to take us to Taxco for a beautiful visit to this colonial town known for it silver. Long story short, 6 days isn't really enough to see this city. I've been here almost 7 months and haven't even put a dent in seeing all the museums!

Tamaliza

February 2 is the Candelaria celebration in Mexico. This is the time that officially marks the end of the Christmas celebration. The nacimientos or nativity scenes will all come down now and the lenten season started on Wednesday February 6th.

My favorite thing about the Candelaria is the tamaliza. This is a breakfast style party that includes tamales of all flavors.....mole, green chile, plum, rebanada(sliced chile and cheese), these are just the ones I was fortunate enough to try. I am told that they put just about anything else you could imagine in them as well! To drink there is a rice or corn based drink called atole. It too comes in different flavors....I had chocolate and vanilla. Another wonderful time to be together with friends and family in Mexico!

Flowers in the Winter

Well it's the end of January here in the D.F. and the average temperature is in the low 70's during the day and 40's at night. Flowers are blooming everywhere. At Christmas time I was surprised to see poinsettias in the form of 10 foot trees. As I walked home today I was amazed to see a Norfolk pine tree with bright pink bougainvilleas vining their way up it..had to remind myself, yes it is winter. Freezing weather is something I am not missing this year, in Colorado it is below 0 some days. It's interesting that people here do dress as we would back in Colorado, that being apres ski boots and fur lined jackets..it is winter.

Think I'll take another walk through my neighborhood!

Going East - Xalapa and Beyond

My personal goal for the second semester is to continue exploring this beautiful and intriguing country of Mexico. Also, my professional goal would be the opening of the English Language section at the Polytecnico ESCA library and help my students use it to develop their English skills. Finally, work is still in progress to have an student exchange with a prepa or high school here in Mexico and Highlands Ranch High. I have a feeling this semester will be a quick one.

This past week-end I took a 5 hour bus trip east to Xalapa for $45.00/round trip. It is also sometimes spelled Jalapa for the Spanish influence. Xalapa is about an hour from Veracruz, where Cortez made his first landing in Mexico from Spain. My fellow Fulbright colleague and friend Nancy hosted me at her apartment. Xalapa is her assignment of teaching English at a university associated with the Universidad Veracruzana. We made the most of the week-end, I had already done some research on places of interest that we could visit.

Being my first time venturing in this direction of Mexico, the scenery from the bus was quite breath-taking. We passed yucca, pine, and cactus forests and the volcanic area of Perote...most of the trip passing through the state of Puebla.

On Saturday we visited the small town of Xico (he-ko), about 45 minutes ($1.80/round trip) from Xalapa in search of the Texolo waterfalls. We disembarked in Xico and strolled for about an hour down a long stone road to reach the falls. The walk was so beautiful through banana groves and small quaint haciendas covered with all kinds of colorful plants and flowers. This area is quite humid and supports all kinds of bromelaids, orchids and variety of flowers I didn't recognize.



People in this area were so very hospitable and gracious! People caring about people and enjoying nature together!

Next we stopped in a small town called Coatepec. For being such a small town, it certainly had its share of colorful Catholic churches. The style is much more simple that in the D.F. area. We had lunch in the Coffino Caffe & Restaurant housed in a small rustic building with a courtyard full of flowers and a fountain. It is hard to believe it is January, where it's snowing back in Colorado. I tried something new called Milanesa de res, which is a narrow cut of meat breaded and cooked. ¡Deliciosa!

In the evening we met some friends of Nancy at La Casona de Beaterio, an old monastery. It was a lovely place mostly open air with live music. The band used very regional instruments, a beautiful harp, the smaller guitars and percussion instruments.









Sunday, Margarita, her daughter Miriam, Nancy and I took off for Hacienda El Lencero, outside of Xalapa.





It was a refuge for General Santa Ana back in the 1800's.













It also has a beautiful garden of exotic flowers, plants and a 500 year old tree. ( if only those branches could talk!)











We relaxed on their portico after our visit and then went over to elMuseo de Antropología. This museum houses the best collection of original stone megalithic heads from various Olmec sights. It was quite impressive indeed.













There is so much more to see in Xalapa and I hope to return soon! Muchas gracias Nancy!