Virgin! Calm Yourself!

Be Careful What You Wish For

Just like everybody else at Lake Chapala, Michael and I were fervently hoping for a robust rainy season.  Of course, most central to the success of any rainy season, is the Virgin of Zopopan.  She comes to town each summer and is escorted around the Lake and is in charge of making sure that the Lake prospers -- or at least doesn't dry up.  Well, I may have been a doubting Thomas before-- but HOLD ON!  Somebody needs to rein this Virgin in!  Things (like rain) are getting out of hand and she is only due to arrive in town tomorrow (photos to follow).

The arrival of the Virgen de Zapopan is accompanied by a flyover by an ultralight plane...

along with the usual cojotes,  which seem to be aimed at the ultralight.

However the ultralight flies through the smoke of the cojotes, ...

while this plane, participating in the flyover for the Virgen, dodges the birds stirred up by the cojotes.

We missed the parade this year (see pictures from last year's blog), but still captured some of the participants.

This one looks sad, perhaps due to sore feet from marching in the parade.  Deirdre:   Different, more sinister take.  Check out woman on left staring daggers at sad/mad woman.  Man looks a little fraught too.... hmmm.

While others look happier...

now that they can rehydrate with a giant drink.

A large poster welcomes the Virgin of Zapopan, with the fifth anniversary of the celebration of Mass with her arrival.

Due to the large number of people who show up to greet the Virgin, the mass is held in front of the church.

Men dressed as Spanish conquistadors guard the Virgen of Zapopan.

The Virgen of Zapopan (or at least the traveling version) is on display for all to see.

This will give you an idea of the size of the Virgin as she is flanked by her Spanish conquistador guards.

The arrival of the Virgen de Zapopan is such a big event that the Archbishop of Guadalajara comes to Chapala to celebrate the Mass.

The faithful have booklets with the songs and responses for this special Mass to welcome the Virgin.

Because the Mass is outside, many participants wisely bring umbrellas to provide shade (some of which are quite whimsical & colorful).

Each year many flowers are used to decorate columns with headers for the parade route.

This gives you an idea of the many people attending Mass.

I won't bore you with statistics but we are getting BUCKETS of rain.  How much?  Well, during Storm One we noticed we had a good size puddle in the middle of our bedroom floor.  No big deal.  Happens all the time here.  During Siam's 20th birthday party (congrats!) we had Storm Two and folks were forced to wade barefoot through our front patio as waves threatened to inundate our front door.  Big Storm Three was the humdinger.  We awoke to deafening thunder, brilliant sabers of lightening seemingly piercing our windows, howling winds and the relentless tick/tack/smack of hail on our skylights.  Michael performed perimeter duty and ascertained that there were no ceiling leaks.  Back into bed.  Ten minutes later...

"I hear water," says Michael. Well, duh, it's raining I think.  He hops out of bed and "OH, S*#!&", I'm wading," he shouts.  I leap out of bed and now I, too, am wading.  And then the lights go out. "Well, at least we won't get electrocuted," I offer. "Well, not yet," says Michael.  So there we are.  I'm in my fetching shorty PJs, wearing Wellies and balancing a flashlight as I use a squeegee to push water out of the bedroom, through the bathroom and down the shower drain.  Michael, stylishly suited up in boxer briefs and a headlamp "swims" across the front patio to the bodega to liberate mops and pails.  We use every towel in the house (7 washer loads worth), spend two and a half hours in frenzied effort and fall into bed.  Every room in the top floor (not casita) was swamped.  It turned out we had a clogged drain (one out of three) and that was enough to almost drown us.  Mind those drains Lakesiders!  And it just goes on.  Thursday night at Breakfast Club about 50 of us were seated at tables mostly arranged under a huge awning.  Bang!  Here it goes.  Big Storm #4. We're all balancing food, and more importantly drinks, as we try to push all the tables into the actual restaurant while hail pelts us and water rises to our ankles.  Waitresses are forced to go to elaborate gymnastic lengths to negotiate tables inches from one another.  These storms are not for sissies.  I'm talking almost hurricane force winds.  The first two summers were much tamer than this.   I am going to see if Michael can embed the link to this video which shows the main street in Ajijic during Storm Four.  Mind you, Storms 2-4 occurred within a period of six days.   Ah.... what might lie ahead if the Virgin cannot regain some self control.

Follow this link to see what Calle colon looked like during Storm #4:

Calle Colon in Ajijic during Storm #4

So, all in all, with the house blowing up and then our flood it has been a somewhat vexing July. Therefore, it is necessary to counter these untoward events with glimpses of beauty and insanity to lighten the mood.

Let's Start with Beauty

Manu and Paco invited us, along with Jim, to be their guests at the Ballet Folclorico de la Universidad de Gualalajara on Sunday.  It was held in the Degollado Theater on the main plaza in Guadalajara which is an absolutely stunning building.  There is nothing I can say that would equal what you can see from the pictures.  The dances and songs were from various areas of Mexico and some were performed in indigenous languages.  We had a terrific lunch, roamed an outdoor antiques market and generally had a marvelous day in the big city.  Then back to the pueblo.

The finale of the Ballet Folclorico shows the colorful costumes, ...

and the traditional dresses used in the performance, ...

representing the state of Jalisco (where we currently reside). These three photos courtesy of Manu.

These pictures will give you some idea of the beauty of the theater from the proscenium ...

to this view of the colorful dome above the theater, ...

and this view as well.

Now the Adorable

We discovered a nest of swallows near the door to our casita.  By the time we stumbled upon them they were almost fledglings ready to fly.  But not quite.  What they were ready for was FOOD! Lots of food.  Day and night. Poor Mom and Dad.  They were most virtuous parents and very attentive.  We watched as they learned to fly and land on the nest (not so easy with the nest plastered to a wall).  Then they were gone.  But now, the Mom (we think) is back on the nest.  Someone needs to have a talk with her about rampant procreation.

One of the parents drops by to feed the chicks.

At this point the chicks barely fit in the nest.

In anticipation of Mom or Dad coming, the chicks open their mouths (and what big mouths they have).

Another parent arrives to feed the chicks.

And Now:  A Bad, Mean Man

Sometimes it is just flat out embarrassing to be a Gringo.  Mostly when other Gringos go around giving you a bad name.  Like this.  Our pal Manu (who is -- if you didn't guess from the name-- Mexican) took his brand spanking new Jeep to the car wash.  As he drove out, an old Gringo geezer (see photo) banged into his car.  Not bad but, hey, come on, the car is BRAND NEW.  Compounding his poor driving behavior, the Gringo then began to try to buy Manu off by throwing pesos at him.  When Manu wanted to do the correct (insurance) thing the guy started going on about "Mexicans".  When Manu told him to wait, the guy said he was leaving and when Manu stepped in front of his car, the guy tried to run him over.  Multiple witnesses attest to this. So, Mister, you know who you are.  And now a lot of other people in town know who you are.  So cut it out and start acting like somebody who is only a visitor in somebody else's country.  Get some manners on.  Now.

The picture of the offending & offensive gringo taken by Manu.

Small Towns Are Small Towns -- and They are Silly

Faithful readers are familiar with Vino Blanco -- the white burro that was Pedro Loco's compadre and now is cared for by Yves of Yves restaurant.  In his heyday, Pedro traveled the streets of Ajijic in a cart pulled by Vino Blanco and, when Pedro had a bit too much to drink, his buddies just loaded him into the cart and Vino Blanco took him home.  Quite the burro.  So she has received an award.  However, not for ministering to the inebriated.  Inexplicably, she is now an honorary member of the Rotary's dog-assisted therapy program.  Although she is not a dog. And does no actual therapy. But she is sweet.  So, that is fine.  In the FULL PAGE article "Celebrity Donkey honored for spreading Joie de Vivre" an even sillier fact emerged.  It turns out that Vino Blanco is a GRINGA.  She is from Kentucky.   "Vino Blanco is one of the few remaining donkeys imported by the Mexican government to replenish the dwindling burro population around Lake Chapala."  Can you say "coal"?  Can you say "Newcastle"? Another inspired Mexican governmental decision.  If you drive 30 miles in any direction from Ajijic you are going to trip over burros EVERYWHERE.  We once got stuck in a donkey train traffic jam in Guanajuato.  It's like one giant Juan Valdez coffee commercial here.  Well, enough of that.  On to some good old American silly.

Vino Blanco ensconced in her new home at Yves' restaurants new location.  She is taken for walks daily on the shore of the Lake and gets to go play with other farm animals once a week at a hacienda.  And SHE gets the award?  How about Yves?

We came to Mexico from Wellesley, Massachusetts where we had lived for over 30 years.  It is a VERY quiet town.  It is a very rule bound town. Everyone plays nice.  For years, my friend Betsy and I would race to get the Wellesley Townsman every Thursday and the first article we'd head for would be the Police Log.  We would then call each other and laugh hysterically about what passed for crime in our little town.  It was kind of a contest to see who could find a really stupid one first.  Betsy wins.  She posted this on Facebook and, in the words of the esteemed Dave Barry, WE ARE NOT MAKING THIS UP.

Police Log:  July10th edition

"A man told police that at some time the previous night, someone had thrown yogurt and vegetables at his home.  The man was able to wash the yogurt off the siding and roof of his home averting permanent damage.  It's unclear what vegetables were used.  Police did not specify whether the yogurt was frozen, Greek or stirred."

Let's just HOPE it was all organic.  But, of course, it would be.  Have some fun and do a Mad Libs thing with the above article assuming that the crime had happened in Mexico.   Mine might be:

"A man told police that at some time the previous night, a black Suburban with dark tinted windows came roaring into his heavily fortified compound and hand grenades and Molotov cocktails were hurled through his windows while covering fire was provided by six masked men with AK47s.  Police did not specify if the weapons were provided by the U.S. government or had been acquired through straw buyers at a gun show in Houston."

Our cops don't deal in vegetables.  Please feel free to send your Mad Lib entries directly to me. There are so many possibilities.

Well, we are about to hit the road again.  Next weekend we head off to San Luis Potosi for the wedding of our friend Luzma's daughter Elisabetta.  It is our first Mexican wedding and we will report extensively.  From there we are going to spend a few days exploring the countryside.  A cave with a gazillion swallows, waterfalls (I know-- we never find them-- but we're taking a guide), an eccentric's garden and an abandoned gold mining town.  If the GPS doesn't land us in Detroit (or if it does), there will be many tales to tell.  In the interim, have fun and enjoy your summer.

Some of the friends who joined us for our July 4th/Siam's 20th Birthday party.

A very patriotic cheesecake for the party created by our friend Wes.