Chicken Toys, Market Food and Honey

You just never know
what you are going to find at the Tuesday market
Which is also known as "the Placita"
Formerly known as the 'Tianguis"
And still called that by some.

Today I had a real nostalgia moment
When I heard a sound
That was quite familiar 12 years ago
In the Jardin and at fiestas
A chicken, but not quite
But one of the best chicken toys around
But First - a closeup photo:
I want to know who thinks these things up?

[caption id="attachment_328" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Chicken Toy"][/caption]

This simple little toy
Is made of:
A small plastic cup
A colored foam cutout chicken
Complete with feathers
Glued to the top of the cup
A string attached to the cup
With half a toothpick
A piece of foam to hold in your fingers
Hold it up in the air
String hanging down
And pull tightly down the string
Jerking it as you go
Voila!  a cockle doodle dooo 

And the video demonstration
of how to use the chicken:
 

We tried to get there early enough
To video the making of the enpapelado fish dish
But arrived as they were already cooking the very last one
(for someone else)
So instead, I had the filete
All fried and something you probably should eat
Only once a year, if that
But excellent

John ate the caldo de pescado
With everything, including 8 whole shrimp
including the antennae
Not bad, but not great, he says.

Afterwards, we wandered around looking at things
And found these great cheese balls
Queso fresco, on top with Habanero peppers
On bottom, with Jalapenos 
I love the shape and the way the mold leaves it's shape
All over the outside. 

Papayas cut into swirling stars
They are masters of cutting fruits and vegetables
Into beautiful shapes.

We bought a liter of honey for 50 pesos
About $3.75
Poured from the drippings of the honeycomb
And ladeled into a liter jar

Then, one of the best, most colorful underwear booths I've ever seen
Between the glow of the orange and blue tarps
And the colors in the underwear
It was blinding to look at.
 

Around the corner,
We ran into our next door neighbor Aron
His son Ariel, and friend Oscar 

I wish I had taken a photo of the log that this wood came from
It was being shaved into pieces that are used medicinally
We're not sure what for,
But the design in the wood is amazing. 
Next week, we'll find out what it is used for 

And a found object in the parking lot - a large tin can
with hand made handle of wire
That had a utilitarian use at one time
Now run over by a car.  

 Last but not least - what you can buy for 45 pesos
($3.30 at today's exchange rate)
One Pineapple
6 Zucchini
1 Chayote
One large batch of mini bananas
5 Large bananas
Two heads of broccoli
Two large heads of garlic
One Cucumber
9 roma tomatoes 
It doesn't get better than that 

Christmas, Long Walks and Other Things

What we've been doing these last few weeks...

Christmas has come and gone
The crazy markets that I love
Have been dismantled 
All those baby Jesus dolls
And their wardrobes
Of colorful satin and gold sandals
Hand knit jumpers

Women crocheting in their stalls
Paper flowers, mylar decorations

And really bad cookies, candies,
Oranges and Mandarinas,
Ponche fruits and sugar cane.
All gone already. 
It's all a little over the top
wonderful and Crazy

Mexican Christmas Markets click on this link to view the slideshow

We've been taking long walks
All over San Miguel
We discovered that from our hill
In Colonia Santa Julia,
If you can see it, you can walk there
Within 1 hour.  Anywhere.
Really. You should try it.
You find interesting things in the streets
Like this fish on the beach, found nowhere near the beach
And not really a fish, but we like the photo. 



 

Today we walked down the hill
Along Calzada Aurora
Up into the hills into San Luis Rey.
From there we spent the whole walk back
Trying to pick out our rooftop
On the opposite hillside.
In three hours we walked there,
Into town for a few errands
And back home.
You can't ask for anything more
In the weather right now

Last Tuesday
We walked up to the Placita
It takes about 45 minutes to get there
Down to town, up that big hill,
And you're there
The first thing we found
 

Was a stand selling Watermelon and Papaya
We've been having really bad luck with Papayas lately
But these were fantastic, so we bought two.

We immediately went to the food booth
That sells meals of fresh cooked fish.
You can get a caldo de pescado, fish soup
Pescado frito - more or less fish without the chips, but with Tortillas

Or pescado enpapelado, our favorite
Which we have been trying to replicate at home.

The woman who makes pescado enpapelado
Starts with two layers of aluminum foil on the table
To this she puts down mayonaise and a sauce
That either is, or is like, Valentinas sauce.
To this, she adds shredded cabbage,
cubed carrots, tomatoes, chayote, brocolli, corn
And whatever other vegetables she has around 
A few pieces of shrimp and Octopus
All of this is piled on top of each other in a little mound
Which is topped off with a white fish - perhaps tilapia
A piece of cheese - a velveeta type that comes in a wrapper
And a canned chipotle chile and lime.

The foil is closed up and it is placed on an open grill
On top of a comal, and it steams for 15 minutes
When you open it up, everything is steamed in it's juices
It is a treat to eat and burns your mouth
If you aren't careful.

Here you can see the foil packages roasting on the comal

This week, maybe we'll get little video of it being made.
We replicated it at home  in a stainless steel pan
On top of the stove and it was fantastic.

Last Sunday, the 20th
We made another excursion 
To Atotonilco.  
  

It was baby baptism day
Hundreds of families were there,
Dressed up, with their babies
In white christening gowns and caps,
Tiny white shoes, some wrapped tightly
In blankets being held by their proud fathers

The left nave of the church holds the nacimiento, behind locked doors 



In the church, a nun came out
Made everyone get up and reorganize
So the families with babies could be in the front
There was a lot of shuffling around,
People moving to the back of the church
And clergy checking the paperwork
Before they could begin.

Outside, our friend Ron
Bought crowns of thorns,
Disciplinas (for flagellating and repenting)
And a netted decorated bridal veil
To take his family for Christmas
We aren't sure how this went over
Or who got to be the bride of Christ
We're still waiting to hear.
  

There was a group of cyclists
On a pilgrimage, being led and followed
By two trucks carrying nichos with Virgins

Decorated in plastic and paper flowers
Stopping by the church for a blessing,
Some food, and a rest. 
Look for more pictures of Atotnilco on one of our earlier posts. 

On December 12
The saint day for the Virgin of Guadalupe 
All the virgin altars, paintings and shrines are decorated.

We took a walk in the late afternoon
To see what was going on below.
Across the gully from us
We'd been hearing music all day
We could see locos dancing
(John and his new local loco buddy below!)

Paper and floral decorations were moving in the wind.
As we walked up into Colonia San Felipe
We felt a little awkward walking past the party
But before we knew it, we were being pulled in
By our neighbor, Pastor Juarez and his wife Lourdes
Given an plate of chicken mole, rice and tortillas
Manzana soda, and introduced to our neighborhood locos.



The permanent altar to the Virgin of Guadalupe
is decorated with flowers, plants and ballo0ns
Large decorated breads are hanging around it in plastic bags
And decorated with paper flowers. 



It sits on the side of  Pastor and Lourdes' house
And is maintained by them.
Pastor is a house and decorative painter
Lourdes keeps the house and the rituals alive.
A large blue plastic tarp (lona)
Covers the end of the street 
A DJ was there with five foot tall speakers
And they were dancing in front of the altar
From 8am to 8pm.
All costume, men dressed like women
With balloon breasts, children lighting off firecrackers
And booming loco music.
The children allowed us to take photos
Which we printed and took to them at Christmas
With homemade Christmas Cookies.

Guadalupe day  and neighborhood Locos click on picture to view

 

Here are a few more photos from the last couple of weeks.

An altar to the Virgin of Guadalupe at the Placita/Market

Another Shrine to the Virgin of Guadalupe



A rooster running free at the market



Large paper angels and paper mache ornaments hanging on a yukka tree
At the back side of a fountain in Colonia Guadiana 



The noche buena ornament, above the fountain.



The all-seeing door  



And the local transito on Calle San Franciso
Has not been forgotten.  
By the third day - when we did not have our camera
The presents were calf high and two feet around him. 

Back in town

I see my last post was in the end of September
Festival of San Miguel is long gone
El Dia de los Muertos has passed
Posadas have begun
I've had a grandchild
And spent most of October and November
Welcoming little Andreas into the world


I arrived in Sacramento October 24th
Hoping I would be in time for the birth, Nov 4th.
Election day.  Election day came and went
I was happy to be there for the historic moment

Nov. 14th Anna's labor began
And Nov. 15th he was here.
So now, I have to brag, of course
Here's a few of my favorite photos

[caption id="attachment_199" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="Andreas and Grammy"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_200" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Andreas, 12 days old"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_213" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="A happy camper"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_201" align="alignnone" width="225" caption="One Month Old"][/caption]

And a little video
Thanksgiving day, 2008, 12 days old

Andreas, Thanksgiving

Photos below: Andreas at 6 weeks





With Mama anna:



and with Tia Zoe



Thanksgiving Video

Little Boys and Grass Fires

I'm making up
For the last few months away -
Here's a little video of boys
Having fun with a grassfire
They were loving it

Little Boys and Grass Fires 
Colonia Independencia,
Nov 30, 2008

Festival of San Miguel

Festivals and rituals
Are taken VERY seriously,
Historic and religious beliefs
Are acted out in public passion plays,
The many faces and times of Mexico
Are featured in this festival
The Aztec dancers, local Indios,
Homage to San Miguel Arcangel
In the form of floats with young girls
Acting out San Miguel slaying the devil,
Baby angels all around.

The battle of the France against Mexico
Fought in the streets
The youngest to the oldest participate
And a trance is created
With three days of drumming, pounding
Dancing Singing, rockets and fireworks.
Pilgrims come by the thousands
On foot, horseback, and carried by others
To watch, participate, pray, sing,
And just have a good old time.

Here is a slide show of John's 25 favorite photos:
click on the photo to start the slideshow


Saturday -


1PM - Chinelos in the San Juan de Dios Market
On our way into town
We ducked into the outer entrance
To the San Juan de Dios Market
We could hear a banda
Bandas are whole stories unto themselves
Groups of locals who play traditional,
Fun, lively, out of tune, almost Cacaphonic music.

Then the colorful costumes
Made of velvet, sequins and embroidery
Hats made of upside down lampshades,
Velvet with swinging strands of colorful beads
Men wrapping their heads in scarves
Dancing and jumping around
Where the tortilla ladies usually sit.

[caption id="attachment_184" align="alignnone" width="133" caption="Chinelos Video Click photo to start"][/caption]

From the market we wandered up the streets
Which were uncharacteristically quiet
Just a few men on horseback,
A few parade people, carrying costumes
And the transito police talking to each other

1:30pm - a pilgrimage
From the ranchos outside of San Miguel
They wander in on the Salida de Queretaro
They have walked six hours
120 on horseback
1000 by foot
Waving flags and carrying altars
Singing traditional chants,
wrapped in shawls, wearing baseball hats,
carrying children.

2pm - the blowing up of the Monitos
The horses make a procession out of the Jardin
Followed by chanting pilgrims.
A pickup truck drives in, filled
With paper mache dolls, called monitos,
Or little monkeys.
They stand on a round frame
Built from bamboo.
They are decorated with...........   more to come...

The Voladores (for now, see our previous post)


The Parades -Below - The slideshow of parade photos
click on the photo to begin

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="160" caption="Slideshow of Parade Photos"][/caption]



The Dancers

Surprises

Festival of San Miguel 2008!

The BIG weekend is here
The town party for San Miguel de Allende
Parades, fireworks, and dancers from all over Mexico
You would have to travel all over Mexico
To many fiestas, to see the number of dance groups
Who will be here this weekend performing their traditional dances.

If you are here, don't miss it, (hard not to!)
and if not then come back
for more photos and stories
as the weekend progresses.

This afternoon we went to the Aurora
Where the Banda Aguascalientes
The official banda of the festival
Was giving an impromptu concert.
Watch for a little slideshow of that
And the accompanying rockets being shot off.

For now ...
Here are two slide shows from the 2007 festival
And a schedule of events below that.

Voladores from Papantla, Veracruz

Tomas, Voladore who lives in San Miguel

The parades and Dances

Today, Friday, October 3
5:15pm: Pilgrimage from the Colonia Aurora to the Jardin
Expect lots of music, dancing and noise all night long!

Saturday, October 4
3 am: Meeting of hte dnacers & Mojigangas, corner of San Francisco/Nunez to Jardin
4 am: Alborada - fireworks in the Jardin
7 am: Mananitas - happy birthday to San Miguel at the Parroquia
8-11am: Dancers in the Jardin & Plaza Civica
11 am: Mass to honor San Miguel Arcangel, Parroquia
1pm:  Voladores of Papantal in the Jardin
2pm: Burning of the Monitos (little paper monkeys are blown up)
3pm: Big Parade!  Mojigangas, Xuchiles, dancers from all over Mexico (Calzada Estacion to Jardin)
5pm: Entrance of Xuchiles to the Parroquia
7pm: prehispanic dancers in Jardin
8pm: voladores
9pm: Rockets and fireworks

Sunday, October 5th:
7-9am: Dancers in the Jardin
11am:  Another big parade through the downtown
1pm: tribute to San Juan de San Miguel, the city founder
3pm: 7pm Voladores
9pm: The BIG fireworks

No Bull Will Be Sacrificed

August 2, 2008
Anna, who is visiting right now
has expressed an interest in going to a bullfight
When we are downtown we see a poster
For a bullfight - Young matadors!
No Bull will be sacrificed.

[caption id="attachment_101" align="alignnone" width="161" caption="Tickets!"][/caption]

I, who have been to a bullfight
Say no thanks - not because I am
An animal rights person
But because I have seen one
And don't get the point.
Anna, who has never been to one
And is curious, talks me into it.

[caption id="attachment_102" align="alignnone" width="160" caption="Anna"][/caption]

The bull is probably drugged
Then tortured by picadors,
Then medieval looking men on horseback
The horses wearing mattresses for protection
The bull is poked, prodded, stabbed and teased
Until the matador makes the final Kill

It's all a little too weird for me
But nevertheless, we go in and look at the poster
Which says 'Young matadors, ages ten to thirteen'
So we decide to go

As it turns out
We find it to be quite different
From the regular bullfights.

It's sunny when we leave the house
By the time we get in to town it is raining
Not a good sign, but we have our umbrellas.
As soon as we pull them out, it stops
We are expecting crowds for the event
But in fact, only about a tenth of the plaza de toros is filled.
The banda arrives, wearing black and white paisley shirts,
Black pants and carrying horns, clarinets, drums and trumpets
They set themselves up under the portales
Everyone who is sitting below them moves.
The sound is cacophonous.


North Americans arrive in broad brimmed hats
Carrying umbrellas and water bottles
Wondering if it is going to be gory.
We arrive about a half hour before the event
Immediately order stale potato chips
In plastic bags,
dripping with hot sauce,
topped with a lime


They hit the spot
As does the Snickers bar which we share
The food sellers are a group of men wearing aprons,
Carrying baskets which are filled with food
And we admire the orderliness which they pack it in.

There is no beer to be seen, but we are told it will arrive soon.
Sure enough, across the arena we see large bathtub size buckets
That say Corona moving up the stands.
It takes a minute to get over our disbelief
And see that they are empty, not full
But you might very well see something like that here

The ring has been painted with two chalk rings
A ring worker dressed in red and white
Walks into the ring with a long garden hose
Waiting for the water to come on he flips the hose around
Nothing happens, the water doesn't come on so he leaves
His hose trailing behind him in a big loop.

The band strikes up 'the lonely bull' - how fitting
To announce the first matador
Three young women in red and black flamenco dresses
Ride into the ring in a convertible
Red and black mantillas, waving to the crowd
They circle the ring
The matadors and picadors enter carrying their hats


Capes are draped over their arms
They make a cross in the dirt with their feet
Relgious beliefs are brought to the ring.


They make a left turn,
Walk to face the banda
Who play more songs for them
They take their places around the ring

Brandon Campos, Age 13, Queretaro

He is by far the smoothest of the group,
tall, lean and very confident
The red doors to the holding pens are opened
The first bull runs out jumping and snorting
And this video is worth at least the 25 pictures
It would take to convey the skill it takes
To maneuver around the bull.
The bull is young and small for these child matadors
But fierce and a force to be reckoned with as well.

Video: Brandon Campos - Queretaro, click on photo below

Brandon Campos, Matador, Queretaro

Brandon is thirteen years old and a force himself
Self assured, body erect and so graceful,
He plays sport with this bull
Does an excellent job

Then comes:
Angel Giovianni, Age 11, Zacatecas
Juan Pablo Llaguno, Age 12 Queretaro
Fernando Gomez, Age 10 Guadalajara
Paola San Roman, Age 13, Queretaro
The only girl in the group, the only one
Of all the matadors
Who is able to wear the bull down

Video: Paola San Roman, Queretaro, click on photo below

Paola San Roman, Matador, Queretaro

Jorge Salvatierra, Age 11, Aguascalientes

In the USA our kids play soccer, t-ball, baseball, football
Here, they do this



So Graceful, and so young

We are in awe over how
He is able to bend his body so deeply
It's a ballet of sorts
A drama that unfolds
Minute by minute
While the crowd hopes
For some action.

The afternoon is a success,
Without injuries
Without the killing of a bull

In the end,
On the way out,
You can buy a cape,
a matador's hat,
A boda bag with a bull imprinted on it
And most useful, a fan



Last but not least
Amini matador jacket Christmas ornament.