Headed South: A Cornucopia of News

Mexican Revolution, The Fiesta de San Andres, Thanksgiving, many visits of family and friends... ah! where to begin. Well, it's 6:30 AM and I am typing as: 1) a fusillade of 25 bottle rockets explodes over the village; 2) a Mariachi Band cranks up to lead the procession; and 3) church bells of amazing volume sing the praises of San Andres. OK, we'll start there.

The Festival of San Andres

When the Spanish first sauntered into the Lake Chapala area they noticed, to their great distress, that the indigenous people observed some religious practices -- like human sacrifice-- that were "no goes" even by their standards. The Franciscans aimed to modify their behavior in a number of ways. One was to rename all the villages around the Lake for various Saints. Ajijic got San Andres. So now, for nine full days, the Village celebrates its patron saint. What does this entail? The Kick Off is a parade featuring various Biblical scenes on flatbed or pickup trucks led by the ever present Mariachi Band (Mariachi music originated in the state of Jalisco). There are seven families each sponsoring a fiesta to celebrate each night of the holiday. They each get a float in the parade. Today is Day One and I have chronicled the noise level accompanying the morning procession to the church. It is alleged that this only intensifies each day leading up to the grand finale on Nov. 30th during which, I can only imagine, they incinerate the entire village while a cacophony of bells, rockets and Mariachi music serenade its destruction. I will report on this in the next blog. For now, photos of the parade.

The Construction Trade Union sponsored this float

This float depicts the martyrdom of San Sebastian

Realism of the martyr's wounds is a must in the depiction (no gore is too much)

Children praying to Mary & the baby Jesus

The Mexican flag is proudly carried by an angel

St. Michael slays the devil

Since Christmas is close we need a wise man following the star to Jesus

A real burro would be too challenging

Celebration of the Mexican Revolution

This is not to be confused with Mexican Independence which involved chucking out the Spaniards in the early 1800s (see previous blog). The Mexican Revolution also involved chucking out folks but this time it was the descendants of the Spanish (as opposed to mestizo or indigenous folk) who had stepped right in to refine the methods of oppression practiced by the Spanish. There was a tremendous disparity in wealth (hmmm... where have I heard that before?) and the peasants were held in a state of near slavery by the wealthy landowners. So, on November 20, 1910 the Mexican Revolution began. As with so much in Mexico, it was complicated... and protracted. There were various Revolutionary Factions that were fighting each other as well as the Established Order of Porfirio Diaz making things confusing and messy. The fighting went on for 10 years and everybody got very tired and/or killed. Names you might remember include: Emiliano Zapata, Pancho Villa, Alvaro Obregon and a bunch you wouldn't remember. Over the years, the various armies would need to resupply and would raid villages and farms to get food and water and probably tequila. Each revolutionary band would have a flag identifying it. So, in our area, the clever villagers or farmers would construct a flag for each faction. They would post a young, nimble lookout in a tree or on a hill to look for revolutionaries. Once they spotted them, and their flag, they would run back and the appropriate flag would be hoisted. This insured that, while they may have to pony up supplies, but they wouldn't have the whole village or farm ripped apart. A typical, practical Mexican solution to a messy problem.

To celebrate this holiday, Ajijic has (of course) a parade and a big fiesta in the Plaza. You will notice that this is two parades in two days. This could be our favorite parade so far. It's almost all kids and they are pretty adorable. All the little boys are dressed as Pancho Villa complete with mustaches and guns. No one is horrified that all the little boys have guns. The little girls are dressed as Adelitas -- the women of the Mexican Revolution. Like in the song. "Adelita, it's time to remember. Only one hour more and I must go. To the hills of Sierra (something I forget). For the glory of Old Mexico." Nobody seems to mind that the girls all have babies (not real) strapped to their bodies.

Kneeling on cobblestones to make a human pyramid (ouch!)

To be the top of the pyramid you better be good --- cobblestones don't make for a soft landing!

All of the schools are represented in the parade

The Mexican boys & girls reach puberty at a very young age

The creativity of the costumes is astounding

A band of young revolutionaries --- with their weapons

The revolutionaries with their Adelitas

Even some of the Adelitas carry weapons in the revolution

The creativity of some of the floats is amazing

Even the youngest can participate in the parade

Is he a young boy looking like an old man or an old man looking like a young boy?

No parade is complete without at least one band --- if not more

The name on the float says it all --- Sweet Love!

Onwards to Thanksgiving

Today is Thanksgiving -- well, at least in the U.S. We thought it would be a good idea to fix a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner and invite displaced Americans to share our table. Most of the restaurants here offer a Thanksgiving Dinner at a set, and reasonable price. We dismissed that out of hand as being unauthentic and for lazy folk. Ha! Little did we know! Teaming with Wes and Ron, we set out to acquire the necessary items for the meal. Suffice it to say we could have gone to the most upscale, rip off restaurant in town and dined at far less expense. Turkey is 54 pesos a pound (about $4), Applesauce (Motts - $4.50) Cranberries -- well, you get the idea. If Mexicans don't eat it, Americanos pay big time. Worth it? Absolutely. But the day is young. Check back with me later.

Nightlife in Ajijic

It is a strange little village. I mean it really is a retirement kind of place but definitely no Sun City. The range of events/clubs here is unusual. There is a Mens Choir that is phenomenal and tours widely. They have the Northern Lights Classical Music Festival in the winter that runs for a week or so and features professional talent. There is ballet and community theatre. And there are the more unusual groups and venues. One of our favorites is The TallBoys Band. These are four guys who ended up here and formed a band, really quite good, after very different careers. One was a cowboy, one was an IT guy who created the first MLS in Mexico, one was a professional drummer and the last was a professor who taught demographics in New England. We went to a lecture he did on the cartels and drug trafficking trends in our area that was really interesting and well done.

Then, last night, Michael was reading about a new club that just opened in Ajijic called El Piano Rojo. Just a few quotes from the article:

"The headliner this week is Joanna (aka Joe Schmitz) a wildly popular entertainer in New York, Maine, Cape Cod and Puerto Vallarta. Her signature vocal impressions include Patsy Cline, Judy Garland, Barbara Streisand..." OK, you get it.

"Co-owner Francine Peters is a proud transgender Canadian from Vancouver. Being a part of El Piano Rojo adds an exciting new element to her diverse resume which includes work as a heavy equipment construction operator, logger, chef, long haul trucker, ice road trucker and artist."

"Coming soon. The Kinsey Sicks. For over 16 years America's Favorite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet." They had competition?

Nope. No Sun City. Can't wait to go.

We Get By With a Little Help from our Friends...And Family

Well, it's Thanksgiving and we'd be remiss if we didn't extend our best wishes to all of you for another year to be Thankful for. We've been very lucky to be able to see as many of you as we have -- both with your visits to us and our trip through Boston. Last week, my brother Steve and our sister in law Lee were in and it was great to see them. I'll report on our exploits hopefully in the next blog. Justin just arrived for Thanksgiving. Alex is hard at work in Vieques. He has managed to get a job at an upscale restaurant and a second job (poor thing) crewing on a charter sailboat. He loves it and though we will miss him mightily at Thanksgiving and Christmas, we are happy to know that he is doing well. When Justin leaves, Michael's brother Brian and his wife Dian arrive for a few days. More fun to be had. Have a great Thanksgiving.