Angelitos
In Guanajuato
ANGELITOS…I’ve heard this word referenced in Spanish songs and poetry lyrics. I always assumed the literal translation ‘little angels’ applied, conjuring pretty images…mostly chubby cherubs or wispy waifs with wings growing out of their backs: a metaphor for lofty sweetness and innocence in humans! A visit to El Museo de las Momias in Guanajuato straightened...
Dulce
Desserts in the Latin American Tradition
Excerpts from the book , by Joseluis Flores, with Laura Zimmerman Maye: Cajeta Cajeta is a goat’s milk caramel similar to dulce de leche (cow’s milk-caramel originally from Argentina) or manjar blanco (what they call dulce de leche in Peru). In Mexico, it is traditionally sold in small, thin wooden boxes, or cajas, on the...
¡Viva Mexico! ¡Viva La Revolucion!
Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution
Mexico’s history is laden with severe social and economic challenges. In the beginning of the twentieth century under the rule of Porifirio Diaz (1867-1911), political corruption and the ever widening gap between rich and poor caused the country to erupt in a bloody revolution that lasted from 1910 until 1920. Once the Constitution of 1917...
Day of the Dead
Dia de los Muertos
The ritual known today as Diá de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, has been celebrated by the indigenous populations of Mexico for at least 3,000 years. Ancient civilizations believed that death was the continuation of life not the end. That living was just a dream and only in death did they become truly...
Fredrick Catherwood’s Lasting Legacy
In the early 1840’s, two haggard men on mules emerged from Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula telling stories of a lost civilization discovered and unknown cities explored, long before the days when Nikon cameras and National Geographic magazine told us of these things. Between the years of 1839-1842, American John Lloyd Stephens and Englishman Frederick Catherwood, spent...
Celebrating the Holidays
Mexican traditions and festivities
Mexico is predominantly a Catholic country, although every possible religion is very likely represented here… Mexico has many of the same Christmas traditions found the world over in Judeo-Christian countries, but like all places they have their own versions and regional differences, with unique customs particular to Mexico. Independent of religious celebration, the holidays in...
Dia de Los Muertos
The Mexican Day of the Dead
Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, celebrated in Mexico and other Hispanic countries, has considerable religious significance and predates the conquest of Mexico by Hernando Cortez. The festive period begins on the night of October 31, and continues through All Saints Day and All Souls Day, celebrated November 1st and 2nd respectively. On...
7th Annual Morelia International Film Festival
For the seventh year Morelia, Michoacán, hosted the increasingly prestigious international film festival, Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia (FICM). This year the special invited guest was Quentin Tarantino and his movie, Inglourious Basterds, inaugurated the week-long event. As every year, there was a wide offering of selections in many genres, with films and filmmakers...
Alfredo Tapia
The passion of the artist and teacher
When one gets into conversation with Alfredo Tapia, it does not take long to realize how much his work is his life. Not only is he prolific, he has the desire and the gift to impart his knowledge to budding artists. Born, bred and living in Zihuatanejo, he is determined to shape culture in the...
Michener’s Mexico
Mexico By James A. Michener, 672 pages, Fawcett, 1994
James A. Michener’s Mexico is 672 pages of historical fiction that takes the rich and varied history of Mexico, its people and places, throws them all together in a bag, shakes them up and dumps them out like puzzle pieces all across the country. If you know very little of Mexican history or have visited...
