Smiles for you

F and I are in Alvarado, Veracruz.  I can´t say enough good things about this place.  It´s warm, there´s a beach, the people are incredibly friendly, there´s a  lot of fun noise and high energy as everyone is preparing for tonight´s festivities.  Many of the colonies will be having their own parties in the street as evidenced by huge speakers going up all over the place and a lot of Corona consumption.  As we walk around, music blasts from many a corner and everyone is singing along and moving along too.  It´s superfantastic.

This morning, the man above sold me the best pineapple I have ever eaten.  I ate almost the entire bag… juicy, sweet, fresh, and service with a smile.  I am beginning to think the Garden of Eden is a small fishing town on the Gulf of Mexico.

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Notes to self

• Catemaco to Nanciyaga: bikes and jungle
• Catemaco to Monte Pio: two rivers merge to the ocean
• Catemaco to Veracruz: Long walks on the beach.  Saturday market! Nights of salsa.
• Veracruz to Alvarado: Just arrived.  Small beach town. Will spend New Years here.
• Will post photos when I get a chance to download them. 

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Heaven

As I was riding my rented bike along Laguna de Catemaco today, I thought this very well could be JB´s version of heaven. Fernando and I had the road to ourselves. We were surrounded by jungle green, big leaves, tall grass, and a slight wind. The lake is beautiful and in the middle of it is an island of monkeys. Another island is full of white birds. The cows here are happy and have so much land to roam on. I have never seen such beautiful cattle. We stopped our bikes for awhile just to watch them. When there weren´t cows there were goats. And when there weren´t goats or cows there were horses. All of these lucky animals wandering around on the greenest grass with a panorama of deep blue lake behind them.

Later on in the day, we went to an eco-reserve, Nanciyaga, where we saw crocodiles, turtles, and archaeological artifacts. This place was a little too commercial, though, for our tastes. The tour, for example, was basically a walking advertisement for more services like a mud bath, mud massage, shaman cleansing, and temazcal. So we hopped back on our bikes and chose to ride a little more, enjoying the country and gorgeous animals.

Last stop was Salto de Eyipantla, a great big waterfall. It was refreshing standing in the spray. It was 85 degrees today, so I imagine this place is a big hit in the scorching summer heat.

Now we’re full of coffee, sun, and a good day. Hopefully there is some dancing in this bruja town on a Wednesday night.

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A Magical Christmas

We should be in Mexico City this time tomorrow, strolling the gardens of Coyoacán, home of Frida Kahlo. In the evening, we´ll board the bus and head for Catemaco, where we´ll explore the jungles of Nanciyaga and the dunes of Tuxtlas. Catemaco is internationally known for its brujos, or witch doctors that practice white, red, and/or black magic. This is an interesting part of the country as it carries influences from Africa and Cuba as demonstrated in the religion, dance, and food.

When Fernando lived in Veracruz, he shared a home with a well respected bruja. She was in her 70´s and had started learning the craft at age 15. He told me that even the priests came to her for cleansings which is borderline scandalous when I think about the separation created between European Catholicism and indigenous spiritualism it tried to eradicate in Mexico when it was introduced. Today, throughout Mexico, a mixture between the two continue to exist as exemplified by a Catholic priest seeking help from a bruja. At any rate, I hope we can find her again for a New Years cleansing.

After we explore the jungle area and small towns, we will head for Veracruz to ring in the New Year.

Much love and a Merry Christmas to everyone at home! Marly, Keelin, I am thinking of you constantly.

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Storefront deco

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Thinking Man

Misery is the river of the world.  Tom Waits

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Lunch with Madre L

Fernando and I had a nice time at the convent today.  The madres really went all out on a special lunch for us : chile rellenos, rice, chicken, a delicious soup, and papaya.  They have decorated the dining room with Christmas tablecloths and ponsettias and there are cookies and other treats all wrapped up and gifted to go for the various madrinas and donors that help the convent out. They are also planning a party for all the girls and their mothers on the 23rd.

I talked with Madre Lourdes for some time about the girls.  One of them, a 12 year old, is pregnant and expecting a child in February.  Even though the girls live at the internado (kind of like a weekday foster home) during the week, most of them go home for the weekend and on holidays and anything can happen.  This is why a social worker is so important: to bridge the disparate environments between home and convent and build some constructive communication between the two.  Anyway, Madre Lourdes hopes the girl gives her baby up for adoption because she is sure that there really isn´t another choice.  I agree.

Meanwhile, S came in last week to show off her new baby.  S lived at the internado for years and was dismissed after she proved to be too much to handle (the word used was tremenda).  She is 15 and her boyfriend is 18.  S is very happy with her baby because, as Madre Lourdes says, this baby is the only thing she´s ever had that is her own and that will love her unconditionally.  I grieve to think of her lost childhood.  Having a baby at 15 is a stark wake-up call and S will have to grow out of her tremenda asap.

Some of the madres are learning English.  In particular, I am happy that Madre Patricia is taking classes with Carl (an American innkeeper, and the most charming 80 year old man I know) and Madre Josephina, the youngest nun–early 20´s–and latest edition to the convent, is learning at the University.  The interest spread last summer after a traveling nun went from convent to convent here in Latin America teaching those interested English.  She spent one month at each convent and taught 8 hours a day.  I think this rather enterprising, and I am continually impressed by how powerful these women are.  Many know three of even four languages.  Worldwide, convents are highly organized.  They have to be as they do more work with a quarter of the resources of any academic institution or business.

Lastly, Fernando is going to try and wire Internet for Madre Lourdes and Madre Elvira.  Madre E would also like a webcam to talk to relatives in the States.  We´re hoping to get everything together so we can leave them hooked up by the time I have to leave.  We´re keeping our fingers are crossed.

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Galan

Magnificent fighting cocks.  I´ve never seen such handsome birds.  These were outside of Guanajuato, in a little mining town called Mineral de Valenciana. Each cock had his own cage.  I wonder if they only let them out to fight?

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Convent catch-up

It was wonderful seeing Madre Lourdes today.   Visiting the convent and catching up with ML and with Madre Elvira are always a highlight. Anyway, I gave her the donation sent to me and she was very grateful.  The convent has many expenses and very little income from the government and the Church. 

Things are coming along well at the convent.  A short while ago, a woman getting liscenced as a social worker asked to volunteer at the convent in order to complete her schooling.  She made lots of headway with the girls and their families.  She also created reports of her progress, all to add to her thesis.  Madre Lourdes was so impressed, she solicited some money from the government and was able to extend the social worker´s stay for three months.  Wonderful news, that, but Madre Lourdes is not sure what she will do in January when the time ends. She is hoping that a grant she is putting together goes through.

Madre Elvira needs to learn Excel.  The convent has been told they need to start sending their reports using Excel and digitally.  Their computer is 100 years old, and Madre Elvira doesn´t have a printer.  So on top of learning the software, she needs the hardware.  Fernando is going to do some pricing for her since he can get these things at cost and install everything for free.

As always, Madre Lourdes is scraping money so that the girls can attend school.  We spoke about this today, and it costs $330 a year to send one girl to school.  This includes her inscripcion: attendance fee, uniform, and school supplies.   Finding money for school continues to be the most challenging struggle for Madre Lourdes because it´s like food, water, and housing: they have to go. 

I was happy to hear that Madre Lourdes has been receiving her massages.  This is the one thing she does for herself, and for a 67 year old woman who works 16 hour days, 6 days a week, she needs it!  Before I left in the summer, I set up a package of massages for her using the money that Dennis H. gave me to use as I saw fit.  At the time, I thought this was the best way.  After speaking with ML, I still do because Madre Lourdes can only DO as good as she feels. The massages have helped relieve stress tremenously.  And now Madre Lourdes has run out of massages.  So I gave her the $100 Ms. D. gave me for this purpose and directed ML to use it for four more massages.  She was so grateful for this.  Thank you, Ms. D.  Madre Lourdes is going to say a special prayer for you every time she receives a massage and I hope her prayers do you as much good as your massage donation will do for her.

If anyone wants to pitch in via PayPal on my donation´s page, I will be here until January 4th and will be able to run the cash up to the convent.  If there is enough for a computer and printer, Fernando and I will buy the hardware and set it up before I go.  Here are the things they need most right now:

• School inscriptions: $330 a year per girl
• Social worker salary: $550 a month
• Printer: $110
• Computer: $560
• Madre Lourdes Massage: $30 per massage

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A very big butt

Does the ¨Latin Lover¨have butt implants?  This news segment took up 30 minutes (!) on a morning talk show.  Latin Lover, a dancer on the Latin equivalent of Dancing With the Stars, vehemently denies implants and says that his massive ass is due to years of working out at the gym. 

I couldn´t believe this subject took up so much time.  I kept having to ask F if I was correctly understanding what the hosts and Latin himself were saying.  Apparently, big butts make big news in Latin America.  By the way, the controversy all started when an Argentine talk host not only challenged the veracity of Latin´s pompis, but also his sexuality!  Oh no, not that!

¨Latin¨ is pronounded la-TEEN.

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The past three days

The past three days have been spectacular.  The first thing I did on arrival was drop off the bags at the apartment and go directly to La Dama.  Fernando and I danced until 4 in the morning.  We would have stayed longer, but a huge crowd ushered in around 3:30 and there was no room for dancing.  In fact, it was getting a little surreal.  At one time I looked down, and saw a little white dog darting between the feet on the dance floor.

The days here have been truly dream-like.  Everyday around sundown, there are hundreds of birds singing in the trees.  It´s wonderful.  And like magic, they all fly away as soon as the sun sets, and then you can hear the dogs and the bands.

There are many bands this time of year.  Christmas is a month long event in Mexico.  Every night, there is a cause for celebration.  Two nights ago, a band played in the square near our place.  They were celebrating the Saint assigned to that square.  Last night, a celebration and parade started at midnight in honor of the Virgin de Guadalupe.  Today is Her day and the whole town is out.  The little ones are dressed as pìlgrims and folks are carrying around baskets of fruit, vegetables, or eggs to offer as a gift to the Virgin.  On the news this morning, I saw that many walk for days (in some case, they crawl, or carry huge backpacks filled with heavy weights) to the Nacional Basílica de Guadalupe where they spend the night on the floor and worship today. 

Finally, the image up top is of the Magician of the major arcana in Tarot.  I was blown away by the exhibition of the Major Arcana that has recently opened at the University of Guanajuato.  The paintings are inspired by the people and the geography here in Guanajuato.  They are absolutely haunting.  You can see all the cards at the artist´s website,  http://www.lamberttarot.com/ 

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The Kindness of Strangers

A good-hearted person found my donation’s page last night and sent me $1000 via PayPal. I was shocked because the page is over three years old and the money came from a complete stranger. What a coincidence since I’m leaving for Guanajuato on Saturday. Madre Lourdes has some seriously powerful prayers!

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