Guanajuato, Mexico~ Festival Internacional Cervantino

El Callejon del beso

There are several kids around the site of Callejon del beso. They tell the story of the kiss while leading the tourists through the mazes of houses, and everyone gives them some pesos for their hard work.
We are all being led by our small story teller to the place of the kiss.
One of the streets that cars can drive on in Guanajuato. There are a lot of streets that are so narrow, you can only get to the house by foot.

The university. You have to be dedicated to go to this one. They built it with about 250 stairs. I guess they figured if you can get to the top of the stairs, and you still want to go to school there, you can be admitted.

If you look behind us, there are building, but the other blurry things are people. There were tens of thousands of people.
Guanajuato is a fun place to visit. I have never seen a place like it. The houses are colorful, and attached to each other (like most of Mexico), but unlike most of Mexico, the city is built into the hills. If you live at the top of the hill, you must walk up to your house, as most of the residential streets are not make for cars to drive through. I was there for the Cervantino Festival. There is more info on it below. I am, also, going to include the legend of the Callejon del Beso after.

The festival takes place every October (specific dates vary) and features world-class performances by international and Mexican acts, in music, dance, theater, visual arts, and street-performance. Every year the festival invites a different country of honor, as well as a specific Mexican state, to bring traditional and contemporary performances from that region. The attendance is very wide, drawing spectators from throughout Mexico and the world and often tickets to performances (as well as local hotels) are booked months in advance.
In recent years, the festival has become a magnet for a younger generation, more interested in the party atmosphere that accompanies the festival than in the performances themselves, and the streets are often jam-packed. In recent years (1998-2006 approximately) this young partying affluence affected in certain degree the festival reputation because many just went to excessively consume alcohol and some drugs. However, in 2007 edition, the Festival Internacional Cervantino was renewed and alcohol sale was regulated (making it illegal to consume it in the streets); besides, police increased its presence in the event, making its cultural sense to prevail. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festival_Internacional_Cervantino )

Legend of Callejon del Beso

One of the most surprising legends, given its tragic and romantic flavour, is this one.The story is told that Doña Carmen was the only daughter of an obstinate and violent man, but as tends to happen, love wins out, unlucky as it might be. Doña Carmen was courted by her beau, Don Luis, in a church near the maiden's home, where first he offered her holy water with his hand. On being discovered, she was subsequently locked up, threatened with being sent to a convent, and, worst of all, with being married in Spain to a rich, old noble, a marriage which would help to restore her father's dwindling fortune.
The lovely, obedient creature and her companion, Doña Brígida, wept and prayed together. Then, before the young girl submitted to her sacrifice, they decided that Doña Brígida should take a message to Don Luis with the unfortunate news. A thousand plans occurred to the young lover, but of all of them, there was one that seemed the best. A window in Doña Carmen's home gave onto an alley so narrow that it was possible, leaning out the window to touch the wall on the other side with a hand. If he could get into the house on the other side of the alley, he would be able to talk with his beloved and, between the two of them, find a solution to their problem.
He asked who the owner of the house was and bought it for a fortune. One can only imagine Doña Carmen's surprise when stepping out onto her balcony, she found the man of her dreams so close.
When a few moments had passed since that indescribable lovers' conversation began, and the lovers were deep in thought, violent words were heard from the back of the room. It was Doña Carmen's father shouting at Brígida, who risked her life trying to prevent her master from entering her lady's chambers. The father pushed Doña Carmen's protector aside with ease, and with dagger in hand, with a single blow he plunged it into his daughter's breast.Don Luis was shocked into silence. Doña Carmen's hand, still in his, slowly went cold. Resigned to the inevitable, Don Luis left a tender kiss on that smooth, pale hand, now lifeless. This is why this spot, undoubtedly one of the most typical of our city, is called the Callejón del Beso (the Alley of the Kiss).

Pyramids in Colima, Mexico

You may remember my earlier post about the pyramids of Teotihuacan, Mexico... Well, Colima had pyramids, too. The pyramids are probably 1/10th of the size of the ones outside of Mexico city. These pyramids are located in Villa de Alvarez, which is, also, the town where the college that I attended was located. Here is some more information:
El Chanal - archeological zone located some 4.5 kms. north of Colima. First explored by archeologist Vladimiro Rosado Ojeda in 1945, the site extends over some 140 hectares on both sides of the Rio Verde. It comprises ceremonial plazas, altars, pyramids and several ball courts. Particularly prevalent on the site are figures of the Rain God, Tlaloc. Characteristics of artifacts made of clay and obsidian with the use of metals indicate that the inhabitants of El Chanal were in some way related to Tula.The biggest and the oldest archeological zone in the state is "La Campana" from 600-900 AD. La Campana is located in Villa de Álvarez between ITC (Tec de Colima) and "La Comercial" mall. La Campana has the only "Tumba de Tiro" open to the public in Colima. Inside the grave you can see handmade figures like the little dogs and old instruments made of mud and obsidian. ( http://sparks-colima.blogspot.com/2006/11/ruins-of-el-chanal-and-la-campana.html )

The letter D

Piedra Lisa, Colima, Mexico

Through the wonders of the internet, I am able to give you a true feel of the actual Piedra Lisa in Colima, Mexico. When I was there, I did not have a digital camera, nor did I have video taping capabilities. Whenever I go back to Mexico, I will have lots of videos and photos. For now, I have to show you other people's photos of the same slippery rock.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aw5kG2eNP7A&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tqbxcYr8QI

Preschooler sized "heelys"

I found the answer to heelys for a 4 year old. Jaden has been wanting heelys since before she turned 3 years old. Obviously, she couldn't wear them. They are way too advanced for her. Kacey got heelys for her birthday last year, and that just made Jaden want some that much more. I found these shoes/skates for $20. The wheels are retractable, so she can wear them as shoes. Also, each wheel retracts with it's separate button, so she can choose to have no wheels, one wheel, two wheels, etc. out at one time. Right now, the most I am letting her do is 3 wheels. That means that she still has the toe part of one shoe to stop with in case she feels herself falling. We practiced in the house on the carpet, and then, I let her go up and down the neighborhood. She didn't fall at all outside. She did keep begging me to let her take out all four wheels, but she is not ready for that yet. She really thinks she's grown now!

Los Viejitos de Michoacan

While trveling through the state of Michoacan in Mexico, we stopped at a market. While there, some children showed up to put on a dance. It was odd to see these tiny kids (5 to 9 years old) dressed up to look like they were 120 years old. Kind of creepy, but very unique. To find out more about this dance, see below:

Los viejitos dances have been performed for over 450 years, reaching throughout Mexico to become a key staple in Día de los Muertos festivities. A celebration of the life cycle in Michoacán, this humorous depiction of old age, embellished with movements that constitute the theatrics of this genre, is interpreted by the young as they honor their elders. This fountain of youth and agility is inspired by the distinct rhythms of the P'urepecha indians of Michoacán. (to view the web-site: http://www.calpullidance.org/michoacan.htm )

My Mexican boyfriend

Many of you don't know this... I met a very nice man while I was in Mexico. He listened to everything that I said and never complained. I tried to bring him back to the US with me, but I couldn't get him a VISA. I had to leave him behind. I am sure his has a new woman in his life by now, I mean look at how handsome he is!!!! He makes everyone's head turn!!!! LOL!!!

My preschooler

Jaden officially started "preschool" at home 2 weeks ago. She has really enjoyed it. I let her go for as long as she wants to because sometimes she will do as many as 20 pages in one sitting. She thinks that it is all exciting, so I am cherishing her enthusiasm.

El Dia de los Muertos~The Day of the Dead

If you haven't been to Mexico at the end of October or beginning of July, you probably missed out on the celebrations. Though it sounds odd to us here in the US, it is tradition for them. The first days of November are spent remembering their loved ones who have already passed on. The decorate the grave site elaborately and bring things that the love one enjoyed while alive. Then, the hang out in the cemetery with the other people that are doing the same thing. While at the cemetery, the mood is happy~remembering the good times and funny things that happened with that person. They bring food and hang out for most of the early evening and into the night.
In other parts of town, you will find children with their jack-o-lanterns~ They are not trick or treating for candy... They want money :0) You just toss some pesos into the jack-o-lantern.
Before the day of the dead, you will find all kinds of cookies and candy shaped like skulls and skeletons~It's not meant to be scary or gory. It all goes back to remembering those who have passed on. To read more about this tradition, please see below:
The holiday focuses on gatherings of family and friends to pray for and remember friends and relatives who have died. The celebration occurs on the 1st and 2nd of November, in connection with the Catholic holy days of All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day which take place on those days. Traditions include building private altars honoring the deceased, and using sugar skulls, marigolds, and the favorite foods and beverages of the departed. (you can find the whole excerpt here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Day_of_the_Dead )

The opposite of cake and ice cream

A birthday means shots. I scheduled both of the girls' appointments for the same date and time. It was a LONG visit. First off, here are their stats:

Morgan~ 22 pounds & 31 inches at 18 months

Jaden~ 40 pounds & 41 inches at 4 years old

Now, Morgan had to have 2 shots, and Jaden had to have 4. Morgan got hers first, and then, they left us in the office for 10 minutes while the nurse went to get Jaden's shots. The anticipation was killing Jaden & Morgan was getting scared right along with her. There has to be an easier way to do these~ 1 shot for Jaden in every leg and arm!!! It was horrible. I took the video after Morgan had already gotten her shot & Jaden was waiting for hers.

Pyramids~ Teotihuacan, Mexico

Slightly less than 25 miles from Mexico City, you will find Teotihuacan. Here is a website you can get facts at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teotihuacan
Teotihuacan is a sharp contrast to Mexico City. Mexico City has all of the big name companies you will find in the US, and tons of people trying to share one small space. Teotihuacan is a small community that makes it's money from tourists coming to see the pyramids and artifacts. It is a long hike from where you park to the place where the pyramids are. Vendors take advantage of the hike by setting up shop along the trail. The business owners mostly sell reproduced artifacts and fake silver (of course, they don't tell you it is fake).

Colima, Mexico 1999

Look closly at the picture above. This is how most of the roads are paved in Colima. There are a lot of pot holes, so it is not unusual to wind back and forth on the street to avoid the various holes.
This is the house that I stayed in for 4 months. The family that I lived with had 9 children (most of whom were already grown and moved out). All three of their boys and one of their girls was still living with them. Although they were married, the father slept downstairs, and the mother slept upstairs. Divorce was not an option for them. The father and 2 of the brothers ran the family business of "Autolujos" (an auto parts store). They had two stores. One of the stores was in downtown Colima, and the other store was in Tecoman.

This is a picture of the windows. Look closely. I have never seen any of these kinds of windows here in the US> Since they didn't have air conditioning, and it get very hot, all of the windows had to stay open like this to get a breeze in the house.
This is the roof of the house. You can see the clothes line that served as our dryer. Who needs a dryer when it is 100 degrees outside?!!
By they way, I took many cold showers before someone asked me if I had turned on the water heater??? Huh??? Apparently, the water heater is turned off, and whoever is the first one up in the morning would be the one to turn it on to get hot water ready for the ret of the house. I just thought everyone was taking a cold shower!
This is the inside of the house. Yes, that is dirt. Many Mexican houses are built this way. Since there is no air onditioning or heater, the outside and inside are kind of one in the same. If you were to stand in that area where the dirt is and look up, you would see no roof. Of course, that's bad when it rains because that means rain in your house, too!
This is the room where I slept. Two of the girls were away on foreign exchange programs (the twins), so I got their room. I could choose which bead I wanted to sleep in. However, there were weekends that some of the girls (not the twins) came home to visit, and I would have to share the room.

This is a picture of the room from a different angle with the open windows and my trusting fan :0)
This store is Walmart~ Literally... I don't know why they don't use the same name.
This is the internet cafe inside the mall. This was the easiest place to check our e-mail. The mall wasn't too far from where I lived, and I just had to pay by the hour to use it. The computers at school were harder to use because they were in high demand. We would have to wait up to an hour to get on one, and then, our time was limited to 15 or 30 minutes, depending on the people in line behind us. This is Sherean who was part of our group of 13 students.
There is a McDonald's everywhere, and Colima is no different. Their hamburgers and fries do not taste the same as the ones here, though.
This is one of the malls in Colima. Thre were actually 2 malls in the city, but they weren't very big.

If you are hungry for ice cream, this is the place to go. Dolphy is the Haggen-Daz of Mexico

It's not unusual to run out of things to do in Colima... If you get bored, just climb a tree!

5 people in our group (including me in the middle). We are waiting for the bus to take us to school.

For those of you who don't know, I spent a semester in Mexico in 1999. I have photo albums full of pictures, and Kevin scanned them for me last week. I will be posting some of the pictures as I get a chance. For now, I am posting the pictures of Colima, Colima (city and state). Colima is not a place that people usually know anything about, so for the geography and cultural buffs, here is a link to info: http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/colima/colimaindex.html

Mexico