A sign outside the Cathedral of Cuernavaca.
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
A Fin De Cuentas II...
I was in a hurry to share my final thoughts on Friday. I had to pack everything, and I didn't have time to spell check either. I have a few more thoughts to share.
-If you want to use a public bathroom in Mexico, you have to pay between two and five pesos. It's not much, but it underscores the need to always have loose change. The $10 peso, a golden coin, is the most useful.
-At bookstores (liberias), you cannot open most of the books. They're laminated. Browsing is discouraged.
-At many stores, including liberias, and Bodegas, you can't enter with a backpack. You have to check it in at the entrance.
-A tortilla on every stove (estufa), and a gas tank on every roof. That's how it is in Mexico. Tortillas are the staple of every household (see my previous post), and every house and apartment has its own gas tank. I remember entering Guadalajara, and I saw lines of black tanks on tops of the roofs. It's a slight inconvenience. To get a hot shower, you have to light the pilot light (llana piloto), and wait 10 minutes. When you run out of gas, you have to call a gas company. A truck carrying tanks full of gas comes to your house, and pumps your gas line. As your correspondent found out the hard (and cold) way, gas companies aren't always prompt. We asked our gas company every day for two weeks to come to the apartment and fill it all the way (llanelo bien todo!). Even so, that didn't guarantee a hot shower, and I had to put up with a tepid shower. But life can be much worse.
-I recommend traveling to Mexico for certain types of people. If you are interested in anthropology, archaeology, art, and architecture, then come. Mexico's thousands of cathedrals and hundreds of museums will not disappoint. If you enjoy wildlife, come. If you enjoy various biomes (the combination of climate, environment, landscape, flora, and fauna), Mexico offers everything, except snow: from the desert that spans the states of Sinoloa, Cholula, Chihuahua, Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur, and Durango, to the beaches of Guerrero (Acapulco, Hitualco), Veracruz, and Quintana Roo (Cancun), to the jungles of Chiapas and Oaxaca, there's plenty of nature.
-On the other hand, Mexico suffers from every environmental problem: air pollution, water pollution, water shortages, garbage, oil spills, and endangered species.
-Not a thought, but a fact: there are 14 fiestas per day in Mexico.
-Every cathedral is stunning. It doesn't matter when it was built, who built it, or which town it was built in, the architecture and detail is magnificent. The amount of physical work, natural resources, and expertise needed to build them is testament to the meaning Catholicism has in Mexico. On the other hand, in a country where 40 million still live in poverty (particularly along the border in appalling cities such as Juarez, Matamoros, and Nuevo Laredo, and in Chiapas, and Oaxaca), and in which most of the people have been poor for the greater extent of its history, the cathedrals are a spectacular display of waste and misuse of resources.
-The exchange rate is 13.40 today.
Your correspondent,
Kevin Burciaga
-If you want to use a public bathroom in Mexico, you have to pay between two and five pesos. It's not much, but it underscores the need to always have loose change. The $10 peso, a golden coin, is the most useful.
-At bookstores (liberias), you cannot open most of the books. They're laminated. Browsing is discouraged.
-At many stores, including liberias, and Bodegas, you can't enter with a backpack. You have to check it in at the entrance.
-A tortilla on every stove (estufa), and a gas tank on every roof. That's how it is in Mexico. Tortillas are the staple of every household (see my previous post), and every house and apartment has its own gas tank. I remember entering Guadalajara, and I saw lines of black tanks on tops of the roofs. It's a slight inconvenience. To get a hot shower, you have to light the pilot light (llana piloto), and wait 10 minutes. When you run out of gas, you have to call a gas company. A truck carrying tanks full of gas comes to your house, and pumps your gas line. As your correspondent found out the hard (and cold) way, gas companies aren't always prompt. We asked our gas company every day for two weeks to come to the apartment and fill it all the way (llanelo bien todo!). Even so, that didn't guarantee a hot shower, and I had to put up with a tepid shower. But life can be much worse.
-I recommend traveling to Mexico for certain types of people. If you are interested in anthropology, archaeology, art, and architecture, then come. Mexico's thousands of cathedrals and hundreds of museums will not disappoint. If you enjoy wildlife, come. If you enjoy various biomes (the combination of climate, environment, landscape, flora, and fauna), Mexico offers everything, except snow: from the desert that spans the states of Sinoloa, Cholula, Chihuahua, Baja California Norte, Baja California Sur, and Durango, to the beaches of Guerrero (Acapulco, Hitualco), Veracruz, and Quintana Roo (Cancun), to the jungles of Chiapas and Oaxaca, there's plenty of nature.
-On the other hand, Mexico suffers from every environmental problem: air pollution, water pollution, water shortages, garbage, oil spills, and endangered species.
-Not a thought, but a fact: there are 14 fiestas per day in Mexico.
-Every cathedral is stunning. It doesn't matter when it was built, who built it, or which town it was built in, the architecture and detail is magnificent. The amount of physical work, natural resources, and expertise needed to build them is testament to the meaning Catholicism has in Mexico. On the other hand, in a country where 40 million still live in poverty (particularly along the border in appalling cities such as Juarez, Matamoros, and Nuevo Laredo, and in Chiapas, and Oaxaca), and in which most of the people have been poor for the greater extent of its history, the cathedrals are a spectacular display of waste and misuse of resources.
-The exchange rate is 13.40 today.
Your correspondent,
Kevin Burciaga
Friday, January 23, 2009
A Fin De Cuentas...
Tomorrow I will leave Sahuayo and go to Guadalajara, from where I will take off on Sunday morning. This will be my last post in Mexico. I'd like to share a few miscellaneous thoughts. So far, your correspondent has been impartial, but I'd like to speak frankly.
1. Happy Birthday, Em.'
2. When foreigners travel abroad, they experience "culture shock." I had no such experience. I had no expectations of Mexico. I didn't know what to think. Perhaps it would have been different if I had lived in an aldea (village), but I quickly adapted to Sahuayo. Having a gym, pharmacies, familiar merchandice, and American roommates helped.
3. The other thing that happens when foreigners travel or live abroad is that they pardon the inconveniences and pitfalls of their adopted culture. They are highly critical of their native country but seem to think they've arrived in paradice. All the sudden, what they would otherwise consider barbaric, antiquated, or annoying in thier country, they consider cute and adorable in their adoptive country.
4. I don't think it's cute or adorable that people run stop signs and disobey traffic laws. I don't think it's cute that little kids drive motorcycles. I don't think it's cute that no one wears helmets. I don't think it's cute to harass your pet dog. I think it's rude to stare at people. I think it's rude and obnoxious to blare advertisements from loudspeakers. We complain about too many laws in our country, but I have to admit, sometimes they're established for good reasons.
5. It's good to visit home again.
1. Happy Birthday, Em.'
2. When foreigners travel abroad, they experience "culture shock." I had no such experience. I had no expectations of Mexico. I didn't know what to think. Perhaps it would have been different if I had lived in an aldea (village), but I quickly adapted to Sahuayo. Having a gym, pharmacies, familiar merchandice, and American roommates helped.
3. The other thing that happens when foreigners travel or live abroad is that they pardon the inconveniences and pitfalls of their adopted culture. They are highly critical of their native country but seem to think they've arrived in paradice. All the sudden, what they would otherwise consider barbaric, antiquated, or annoying in thier country, they consider cute and adorable in their adoptive country.
4. I don't think it's cute or adorable that people run stop signs and disobey traffic laws. I don't think it's cute that little kids drive motorcycles. I don't think it's cute that no one wears helmets. I don't think it's cute to harass your pet dog. I think it's rude to stare at people. I think it's rude and obnoxious to blare advertisements from loudspeakers. We complain about too many laws in our country, but I have to admit, sometimes they're established for good reasons.
5. It's good to visit home again.
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Morelia
I ended my excursion in the capital of the state I work in: Morelia, Michoacan. Formerly it was known as Valladolid but was renamed in 1828 to honor Jose Maria Morelos, another hero in Mexico’s struggle for independence. The city center, a World Heritage site, still shows the legacy of the Spanish nobility and religious orders who established the city in the 1500s. I started in the main plaza, which is where the main cathedral is located. It took over a century to build it. The Palacio Municipal, the Palacio de Justicia and the Museo Regional Michoacano surround the Plaza de Armas. I passed the Casa Natal de Morelos, where Jose Maria Morelos was born, and then walked east towards the aqueducts. The taxis show the pride that Morelians have for the aqueducts. 
The Morelia taxi drivers are proud of their aqueducts.
Conservatorio de Muscia de las Rosas. A good example of the architecture that you can find in Morelia
A tribute to Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon in La Plaza Villalongin.
As I was walking along Avenida Aqueducto noticed that the bottomo of this tree trunk was the target of disgarded gum. Disgusting, but interesting nonetheless.
The aqueducts of Morelia. Avenida Aqueducto.
La Fuente de Las Tarascas (The Tarascans are an indigenous people here in Michoacan. They're famous for their textiles and pottery).
A spectacular golden Christmas tree next to La Iglesia y convento de San Francisco.
The Morelia taxi drivers are proud of their aqueducts.
Conservatorio de Muscia de las Rosas. A good example of the architecture that you can find in Morelia
A tribute to Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon in La Plaza Villalongin.
As I was walking along Avenida Aqueducto noticed that the bottomo of this tree trunk was the target of disgarded gum. Disgusting, but interesting nonetheless.
The aqueducts of Morelia. Avenida Aqueducto.
La Fuente de Las Tarascas (The Tarascans are an indigenous people here in Michoacan. They're famous for their textiles and pottery).
A spectacular golden Christmas tree next to La Iglesia y convento de San Francisco.Friday, January 16, 2009
Dolores Hidalgo/Atotonilco/San Miguel Allende
The following morning I started the day (and the new year) at Mercado Hidalgo and then continued along Avenida Juarez. I walked through Jardin Morelos and the Plaza de San Roque. It was quiet when I started my journey at 7:00. It was New Years Day and nobody was awake. Until 9:00 am, only one pharmacy was open. I visited the Callejon del Beso (The alley of the kiss), which is wear, according to legend, two lovers looked at each other through their bedroom windows. I passed the important sites, including the house where the famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera was born; the University of Guanajuato; the Templo de la Compania de Jesus; Teatro Juarez; and the church of San Diego.
My next tour took me 45 km northwest of Guanajuato to the birthplace of Mexico’s independence. San Miguel de Hidalgo is a small but important town. We stopped in the plaza and visited the parroquia where Miguel Hidalgo made his famous grito to overthrow Spain in 1810 (refer to my previous post about Mexico’s independence). Two blocks away is the house he lived in, and from where he planned the uprising with Ignacio Allende and Juan de Aldama. Dolores Hidalgo is also unique for the flavors of ice cream it produces. Shrimp ice cream anyone?
My group continued to San Miguel de Hidalgo, not too far from Dolores Hidalgo. Between Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel Allende is a small town called Atotopilan, where there is a baroque church that somehow earned World Hertiage status.
In San Miguel de Allende, we started across the street from the Templo de San Francisco, an 18th-century church with a Neo-Classical tower. I passed the Templo de Nuestra Senora de la Salud, the Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, and Santa Casa de Loreto. San Miguel Allende was important during the colonial era when it was the crossroads for the mule trades. Silver and gold would leave Mexico, and expensive goods would arrive from Europe. Today, it has a large American expatriate community, and is also famous for its arts. The Escuela de Bellas Artes is one the country’s most respected art institutions. I continued my walk and passed the birthplace of Ignacio Allende, a Mexican hero; the Casa de la Inquisicion; and the Casa del Inquisidor. I ended at the Parroquia in the middle of town. At sunset, my bus stopped at El Charco del Ingenio, which offers an aerial view of the city. The town is pleasant, clean, and isolated, but it’s also packed with tourists. This town and Guanajuato remind me of Venice: they’re intriguing, interesting, and beautiful, but they’re almost a facade, and they’re packed with tourists.
My next tour took me 45 km northwest of Guanajuato to the birthplace of Mexico’s independence. San Miguel de Hidalgo is a small but important town. We stopped in the plaza and visited the parroquia where Miguel Hidalgo made his famous grito to overthrow Spain in 1810 (refer to my previous post about Mexico’s independence). Two blocks away is the house he lived in, and from where he planned the uprising with Ignacio Allende and Juan de Aldama. Dolores Hidalgo is also unique for the flavors of ice cream it produces. Shrimp ice cream anyone?
My group continued to San Miguel de Hidalgo, not too far from Dolores Hidalgo. Between Dolores Hidalgo and San Miguel Allende is a small town called Atotopilan, where there is a baroque church that somehow earned World Hertiage status.
In San Miguel de Allende, we started across the street from the Templo de San Francisco, an 18th-century church with a Neo-Classical tower. I passed the Templo de Nuestra Senora de la Salud, the Oratorio de San Felipe Neri, and Santa Casa de Loreto. San Miguel Allende was important during the colonial era when it was the crossroads for the mule trades. Silver and gold would leave Mexico, and expensive goods would arrive from Europe. Today, it has a large American expatriate community, and is also famous for its arts. The Escuela de Bellas Artes is one the country’s most respected art institutions. I continued my walk and passed the birthplace of Ignacio Allende, a Mexican hero; the Casa de la Inquisicion; and the Casa del Inquisidor. I ended at the Parroquia in the middle of town. At sunset, my bus stopped at El Charco del Ingenio, which offers an aerial view of the city. The town is pleasant, clean, and isolated, but it’s also packed with tourists. This town and Guanajuato remind me of Venice: they’re intriguing, interesting, and beautiful, but they’re almost a facade, and they’re packed with tourists.
Where Miguel Hidalgo made his famous grito, or call to arms on September 16, 1810.
The streets of San Miguel Allende. There are handicrafts, luxury goods, and tourists on every street.
A statue of an eagle (aguilla )just outside the parroquia in Dolores Hidalgo.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Guanajuato
Another World Heritage site, Guanajuato is the most unique city I’ve been to. No street is straight. Many homes are only accessible through alleys. The whole city is nestled between hills, and many homes are built on the hill. The homes are a dazzling array of red, orange, pink, and brown. Guanajuato was founded because of its proximity to silver.
My first tour took me to the hills of Guanajuato. We stopped at the church of San Cayetano, next to the old mines at La Valenciana. From here you get an aerial view of the city. My group stopped at an art museum, and another smaller mine before we went to the statue of Pipila, which offers the best view of the city. Our final stop was the Museo de los Momios (Museum of the Mummies), a collection of about 100 mummies that were exhumed when the city expanded its cemetery. They are in fact not mummies, which are deliberately preserved. There are many theories as to how these corpses are preserved (the type of water in the ground in Guanajuato, for example) but nobody is certain.
Teatro Juarez.
The tunnels underneath Guanajuato. Originally the city was built at the same level as the tunnels, but the annual rising of the rivers forced the Spainards to build the city on a higher level.
Casa de Diego Rivera, Mexico's most famous muralist.
Guanajuato is situated in a valley among hills. Many of the homes are built on the hills. The colors of the homes are spectacular.
In Guanajuato people live on alleys (callejones), not streets. When you open the front door, the house across the street is only ten feet away.
El Callejon del Beso (the alley of the kiss). According to the love story, two secret lovers exchanged kisses from opposing balconies.
Guanajuato at 7:00 AM on New Year's Day. It was dead silent.
El Museo de las Momias (the museum of the mummies). As my guide said, the name is a misnomber. A mummy is preserved on purpose, but these disinterred "mummies" are naturally preserved. Nobody knows how.
An aerial view of Guanajuato from the Pipila Monument. The yellow building in the middle of the picture is La Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato, Behind it is El Temploy de la Compania
My first tour took me to the hills of Guanajuato. We stopped at the church of San Cayetano, next to the old mines at La Valenciana. From here you get an aerial view of the city. My group stopped at an art museum, and another smaller mine before we went to the statue of Pipila, which offers the best view of the city. Our final stop was the Museo de los Momios (Museum of the Mummies), a collection of about 100 mummies that were exhumed when the city expanded its cemetery. They are in fact not mummies, which are deliberately preserved. There are many theories as to how these corpses are preserved (the type of water in the ground in Guanajuato, for example) but nobody is certain.
Teatro Juarez.
The tunnels underneath Guanajuato. Originally the city was built at the same level as the tunnels, but the annual rising of the rivers forced the Spainards to build the city on a higher level.
Casa de Diego Rivera, Mexico's most famous muralist.
Guanajuato is situated in a valley among hills. Many of the homes are built on the hills. The colors of the homes are spectacular.
In Guanajuato people live on alleys (callejones), not streets. When you open the front door, the house across the street is only ten feet away.
El Callejon del Beso (the alley of the kiss). According to the love story, two secret lovers exchanged kisses from opposing balconies.
Guanajuato at 7:00 AM on New Year's Day. It was dead silent.
El Museo de las Momias (the museum of the mummies). As my guide said, the name is a misnomber. A mummy is preserved on purpose, but these disinterred "mummies" are naturally preserved. Nobody knows how.
An aerial view of Guanajuato from the Pipila Monument. The yellow building in the middle of the picture is La Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guanajuato, Behind it is El Temploy de la CompaniaQuaretero
Quaretero is the middle of the colonial heartland, about two hours northwest of Mexico City. It’s the center of Mexican history: The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which gave the United States half of Mexico’s territory, was signed here; French emperor Maximilian was executed here in 1867; and Mexico’s last constitution was signed here in 1917. The center of town is a World Heritage site. The Casa de la Corregidora is the former residence of the governor of the state of Queretero. His wife alerted leaders of the independence movement that her husband, the governor, had discovered the plot.
Queretero’s distinguishing feature is the aquaducts, built over 250 years ago by Don Juan Antonio Urrutia y Aranda. It consists of 74 arches and almost two kilometers long. The center of town is the Plaza de la Indepencia, to the right of which is the tower of the church of San Francisco.
At the western part of the center of town is the Cerro de las Campanas, where Maximillan was eventually executed. Today there is a statue dedicated to Benito Juarez, one of Mexico’s political heroes, as well as a museum.
The colorful streets of Quaretero.
The acuaducts.
A nativity set.
Plaza de la Independencia.
The Devil (El Diablo) in the Jardin de Los Ninos.
The center of Quaretero is pedestrian-friendly.
Queretero’s distinguishing feature is the aquaducts, built over 250 years ago by Don Juan Antonio Urrutia y Aranda. It consists of 74 arches and almost two kilometers long. The center of town is the Plaza de la Indepencia, to the right of which is the tower of the church of San Francisco.
At the western part of the center of town is the Cerro de las Campanas, where Maximillan was eventually executed. Today there is a statue dedicated to Benito Juarez, one of Mexico’s political heroes, as well as a museum.
The colorful streets of Quaretero.The acuaducts.A nativity set.Plaza de la Independencia.The Devil (El Diablo) in the Jardin de Los Ninos.All over Mexico, these electronic signs say how many days remain before September 16, 2010, the bicentenial of Mexico's independence (actually, it marks the bicentenial of Mexico's independence. As I've reported earlier, Mexico was not independent until General Austin Iturbide marched into Mexico City in 1821).
The center of Quaretero is pedestrian-friendly.
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