Hola!
So I've only recently realized how remiss I've been in sharing a lot of my photos from different events and trips the past few months. I started this blog post some time ago to share with you, but time got away from me, and suddenly it was the night before I was to leave for Washington DC. I thought, well I'll just update it from the States. Events conspired against me, however, and a blizzard overtook the entire mid-Atlantic and northeast. Though I'm staring at perfect party cloudy skies, my fate was determined by the DC weather and my flight has been cancelled. Thus, I'm in Isla Mujeres for one more day, and am on hold with the airlines, cancelling flights (fun, fun). What better time to go ahead and finish this post to share with you!
This post will be filled mostly with captioned pictures, to fill in some of the photo and story gaps of life here. It's literally a mash of things from the past 4 months, so hopefully I can give it a bit of cohesion.
Apologies for the excessive length, I have trouble with blog moderation. Anyway, here we go!
Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution
November 20th was the 99th anniversary of the 1910 Mexican Revolution, one which overthrew a dictator and sparked a 10-year (at least) period of bloody civil war and strife across the country. The dates this year for both Mexican Independence and the Mexican Revolution are quite significant, as they were the 199th anniversary and the 99th anniversary. Expect blow-out patriotism next year for the Centennial and the Bicentennial.
Anyway, so the anniversary was celebrated in Isla Mujeres by not just one day off for the week, but two (still a bit confused as to why, but figured it was better to just enjoy rather than ask questions). On the 20th itself, there was a big parade right through our "colonia" or neighborhood. The police academy was there, as well as every single school on the whole island (and, by extension, all of the parents on the entire island). The streets were packed, but I had a chance to see everything, including some of my English students performing with their schools. It was a lot of fun.
This little guy was so adorable! A lot of the little kids were dressed up to represent figures of the revolution, men like Pancho Villa or Francisco Madero. The little girls were dressed up as "Adelitas," female fighters of the revolutionary period. They all had little fake bullet holsters, rifles, and the little boys had painted on moustaches or beards. The girls were all wearing their hair in long braids with elaborate and patriotic hairpieces. Very, very cute.
This little drummer was so sweet. A lot of the kindergarten-aged kids, if not dressed as Pancho Villa, were wearing other sorts of little patriotic outfits, including little Mexican soccer jerseys.
A big part of the parade seemed to be building human pyramids. From elementary-aged kids up, each group seemed to have some sort of acrobatic routine that they showcased in front of the Mayor's platform. This is the police academy, who built the most impressive human pyramids. They also had each of the recruits doing leaping somersaults into a ring of fire. Oooh! Aaaah!
Sea Turtle Release
As I've mentioned before, the island has a "Turtle Farm" (Tortugranja), which is actually a sea turtle conservation and research center. You can visit and see different turtles and sea critters in tanks, as well as admire some full grown sea turtles in a big caged area in the Caribbean. The center has workers who go out at night to the beaches during sea turtle mating season. They wait for the females to dig their nests and bury their eggs, and then these workers dig the eggs back up and transfer them to the conservation center, where they wait for them to hatch. Once hatched, and they hatch en masse, they put the little bitty guys inside tanks to let them get a bit bigger and stronger. Once they've amassed a big group of babies, they organize a "Liberacion de las tortugas," or a sea turtle release. They invite volunteers, and especially children, to come out to the beach to help send off the babies into the surf.
One of these events was organized early on in September, in the middle of one of my class periods. We decided that liberating sea turtles was more fun than English, and since it only happens about 4 times a year, we skipped English for the day and had a class at the beach instead. I went down with about 5 students and we had a blast. I didn't have a camera at that time, unfortunately, but Ray did, so the following photos are hers. Enjoy!
A bucket of baby sea turtles, waiting to start their grand adventures.
Andale, andale! Le vaya bien!
With some of my students at the "liberation."
Lucha Libre
A really popular sporting activity here in Mexico is the "Lucha Libre," or "free fight." It is a style of wrestling, most notable (in my mind, anyway) for the distinctive factor that all participants wear elaborate leather masks during the fight. The wrestlers, or "luchadores," are stars here, and there's a really popular game currently, like a trading card game, with faces (or masks, rather) of the most famous luchadores on round disks in potato chip bags. These disks are a thick laminated cardboard, and you throw them on the ground, trying to get them to flip, and whoever flips the most wins. All my little boy students love it!
Back in September or October, Isla Mujeres sponsored a lucha libre fight here on the island, with some relatively big names coming out. I obviously had to go see it, so I've got a few pictures below. The fights were held in several rounds, the first few being warm-up acts for the later fighters. Each round, the men seemed to get bigger and meaner, and their antics were off-the-wall. They would throw one another out of the ring, right onto the baseball field where the ring had been set up. By the end, each of them was coated in reddish baseball field dirt, and sweating profusely. It was fun to see though.
A local fan getting into the action and cheering on his favorite luchador.
Watching a smack-down in front of a vividly purple sunset.
Meeting one of the luchadores! He was exceedingly polite, as a matter of fact, and was patient with the horde of kids who surrounded him for an autograph following his fight.
Finally on this note, a fantastic piece of Mexican kitsch from a souvenir shop in Playa del Carmen. A votive shrine with the Virgin of Guadalupe tattooed on the chest of a luchador. Doesn't get much better than that.
Merida
A few weeks ago, Ray and I made a bus trip over to Merida, one of the oldest cities in the Americas: it was initially a Mayan city called T'ho, and was captured and transformed into Merida in the 1500s by the Spanish conquistador Francisco de Montejo. He murdered or enslaved thousands, as conquistadores were apt to do, and even forced the Mayan inhabitants to tear down their holy temple, using the stones to construct the base for his new Catholic cathedral. Not a very pretty history. Remarkably, however, the Spanish and Mayan influences in the city remain really strong, and the city only feels marginally "Mexican." There is also a distinctly baroque-European feel to the city. Back in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Merida had a near monopoly on trade in sisal, the natural fiber used for rope-making. They had huge plantations outside of the city where they grew the "green gold." This linked them into a network of trade with places that needed sisal, particularly European places that needed rope during World War I. Wealth poured in, and the locals built fantastic huge homes that would not look out of place on Embassy Row in DC.
As I mentioned, we took the bus over, choosing the significantly cheaper second-class route. This route takes you through dozens of little towns dotted across the Yucatan Peninsula, and offers you a chance to savor the local experience. Driving through the jungle and coming across these little dusty towns, I felt like I was living in a forthcoming Gabriel Garcia Marques novel.
A tiny Yucatecan town, just waiting for a dose of magical realism.
Merida is famous for its hammocks and guayaberas, the white button-down shirts also associated with Havana. Apparently Merida and Havana have a long-standing rivalry over who has more of a cultural ownership of the guayabera. Regardless, hammocks and guyaberas sell like hotcakes here in Merida. I myself succumbed to the desire for a hammock--no regrets, it's wonderful!
The cathedral in the main Plaza, as seen from the balcony at our hostel.
Inside the cavernous cathedral during a lightly attended mass.
At the regional Anthropology Museum, one of the very best Mexican anthropological/archaeological collections outside of Mexico City. The museum is located inside one of the huge baroque former homes built for the sisal barons. One of my guide books pointed out the irony well: "one of Merida's most opulent examples of European architecture housing a tribute to the ancient civilization Europeans nearly extinguished." The piece in my photo is one of the famous Chac mool sculptures, believed to have been sacrifice sites.
Finally, (though I could say much more about Merida) one of my favorite things in the city was the weekly event called "Merida en domingo." Every Sunday, the streets of the Plaza Mayor are closed to pedestrians only, and the air smells like churros and deliciousness. Literally scores of dancers show up, to perform everything from ballet to jazz to hip-hop, and they top off the night with a recreation of a traditional Mayan village wedding. The most famous dance performed at Merida en domingo is the "Jarana," a local Mayan dance performed in elaborate huipils and white suits. One incarnation of the dance involves the performers balancing beer bottles and trays of beer on their heads while spinning and doing elaborate footwork. It was great fun to watch!
A "virgin-tastic" week in Isla Mujeres
Early in December within a week of one another, we had two feast days to two different incarnations of the Virgin Mary: the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception (Isla Mujeres' patron saint), and the Virgin of Guadalupe (often referred to as the "Queen of Mexico"). As a friend of mine put it, the week was "Virgin-tastic!"
The days were celebrated with lots of praying and lots of viewings of the Virgin Mary. One of the school secretaries held a "Novena" at her house, which is a 9 or 12-day event in which thick prayer and hymn books are read and sung through cover-to-cover. Following the praying and singing, the small statue of the Virgin Mary is literally picked up and taken for a walk around the block, as the participants continue to sing. We joined in for the walk, but never learned the words to the prayers nor the songs.
Not only did the Virgin Mary statue go for a walk that week, however. She was also brought out to bless the boats on the Feast day of the Immaculate Conception, passed along from boat to boat to bless the owners. Furthermore, on the Feast day of Guadalupe, the island held a big race, in which locals, adults and children alike, ran much of the island, passing along the Virgin Mary statue until they reached one of the local cathedrals for another long session of praying and singing. That Virgin Mary, she gets around!
The school's secretaries participating in the novena.
One of the particularly enthusiastic shrines to the Virgin on the Feast day of Guadalupe.
Yuletide Yucateca
Though you wouldn't believe it from the weather here, my calendar tells me it's December and nearing Christmas. Despite the sun and sand and surf, the Yucatan gets into the Christmas-spirit big time, wholeheartedly importing all of the symbols of Christmas I'm familiar with, including Santa Claus, reindeer, Christmas trees, and, most interestingly, snowmen and penguins. Though I've yet to see them, I'm told you can actually buy Oregon-grown live Christmas trees in Cancun! Most Christmas trees, however, are enthusiastic adaptations of foam, garland, and oversized ornaments. Like everything in every place, locals have adapted customs from other places to suit their own interpretations.
A Merida-encarnation of the Nativity scene. Note that they are no longer in a manger, but under a palapa. The people in front are also wearing traditional Meridian dress: the men in guayaberas and the women in huipiles.
A Playa del Carmen-encarnation of the Nativity scene. Here, we see the guayaberas again, but Jesus is even resting in a hammock. Brilliant.
A festive scene: famous habanero peppers, the Yucatan Peninsula's favorite kind, atop a holiday tablecloth.
Pinatas are apparently a huge part of the holidays here, as they've started cropping up in nearly every tienda in town. This was a small selection of the variety available in Merida's local market.
A native tree turned Christmas-y.
A not so native snowman decorating the front of the Municipal Building.
Whew! Well, I have more I could say, but I can't in good faith possibly ask you to read anymore or see anymore pictures. New stories will have to wait for another day. Finally got off the phone with one airline, and considering tackling the other. Better plan, however, would be to enjoy my beautiful weather for one more unexpected day! I'm so sorry that I'll be missing those of you in DC--makes your visits to see me all the more imperative! Wishing everyone a very happy holiday, and be in touch with you soon!
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