In Search of the Perfect Virgen: They're everywhere!!

In the Bus Station in Mexico City.  Waiting for the Bus to Oaxaca.  The bus ride was an adventure in itself.  There is a box in front of this statue to put money in.  If I'd known what kind of ride we were going to have, I'd have paid a bribe to this one.


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In Search of the Perfect Virgen, Again!

     The Search for the Perfect Virgen can take us anywhere.  This Paper Mache Virgen was part of an art exhibit of over-sized figures of folk catholic saints and sages.



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The Serch For the Perfect Virgen......... etc!

This is an image of Mary, in what some would call the classic Virgen del Rosario pose.  This one was taken in a small church in San Miguel de Allende.  My favorite description of her comes from Beverly Donofrio's book Looking for Mary, or The Blessed Mother and Me.  She wrote that this statue, with a golden haired Mary (and golden haired Jesus) and puffy dress looks much like Glinda, in the Wizard of OZ.  And so she does.  The chapel is small and cozy, and it has a feeling of spirituality that the larger chapels don't impart. 

In Search of the Perfect Virgen, Again.

Many of the Virgin Mary's Apparitions are from the European Tradition.  Our Lady of Sorrows, is one that is depicted often, in statues in many of the Churches.  She is very prevalent, however, in the time before Easter.  This is particularly so on Viernes de Dolores, the Friday of Sorrows, on the Friday that precedes Palm Sunday.  Typically, she is shown in a Purple Habit, with her head down turned, as she contemplates past events (such as the flight into Egypt) upcoming events of her son's sufferings (such as his crucifixion.


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In Search of the Perfect Virgen: The Search Continues!

Not all of the Goddesses in Mexico are post Spanish Conquest.  This pre-Columbian one was sitting on shelf with numerous other artifacts.  Modern versions of this are seen in a modified, less stark state, in artisan stores around Oaxaca.  And the search continues...................

Celebrating Mary! In Search of the Perfect Virgin! Part 1

     In Mexico, when Spain had conquered the indigenous people, the tale is told that the Virgen de Guadalupe, an apparition of the Virgin Mary, appeared to a native convert, Juan Diego, and told him to tell the Bishop to build a Chapel on the hill at the site of the encounter.  Juan Diego obeyed and was met with skepticism by the bishop.  The bishop asked for a sign.  Juan Diego went back to the site and the Virgen had Juan Diego pick some roses that, as it was December, shouldn't have been blooming on the hill.  Juan put them in his cloak and took them to the bishop.  When he opened his cloak, the roses fell out and there was an image of the Virgen on the Cloak. 
     A shrine was built on the hill; conveniently it was over ruins of a temple to the indigenous goddess, Tonanzin, that had been destroyed during the Spanish Conquest.  Historically, the Catholic church has, in the name of conversion, been able to absorb the beliefs of their converted flocks and help them align with the prevailing dogma.
     The Virgen has since been called the Queen, the Mother, the Empress, the Patroness of the Americas, by the church.  Being a Catholic nation, Mexico revers all forms of the Virgin Mary.  To celebrate that celebration, periodically I will post pictures of the Virgin as she appears in churches, plazas, mercados, on wall, in niches.  Part One is Guadalupe herself at a site in San Miguel:

 Que Viva La Virgen de Guadalupe!  Que viva!

On Flowers and Food.

     There is a hurricane, Hurricane Bud, off the western coast of Mexico.  For those along the coast, there are warnings of things to come, as early as today, but probably by tomorrow.  While the weather is a threat to the beaches, it is a promise to the central part of Mexico.  The rainy season---or potential thereof---begins with the hurricane season.  Farmers here in the highlands are looking forward to hurricanes driving near enough to both coasts to push clouds and rains upward and inward.  These first rains are crucial to "cool" the earth, la tierra, after the heat of April and May, and before the final furrowing and then planting can begin.  The three important food crops, corn and beans and squash, which still sustain many of the countries people will be planted when the earth is sufficiently moist.  Then the hope for continued rains, throughout the growing season, begins.  The word for hope is esperanza, from the verb esperar, to hope or to wait, or both.
     At Casita Dos Arbolitos, we also are waiting/hoping for the rains.  Much of our own gardening plans, beyond the Shelter Garden areas that are filled with greens and herbs, count on the rain, as well.  While we are waiting, we are always busy with one aspect of the Garden or the other, planting, watering, digging, making compost.  The most pleasurable part of the garden, however, is the walking through, the looking at, the touching, enjoying the sights and scents and tastes (especially when our Fig Tree is producing).  This week, one of our succulents celebrated spring by producing what we call its 'Little Shop of Horrors' flower.  Part of the pleasure of walking through the Garden is making these discoveries.  The flower opened Tuesday and gave a magnificent display.  That day, it also had a scent that I didn't find that appealing, but attracted numerous bees to immerse themselves in its pollen.  Today, it has become a fading star, mostly limp, soon-to-be-gone.  But in its one day of full glory, it was spectacular:

     Besides celebrating our Garden, we Celebrate Mexican Cuisine in our Kitchen.  We have many cookbooks about Mexican Cuisine.  Two are by the author Diana Kennedy.  She has lived in Mexico much of the time, since 1957.  Because we spent some time in Oaxaca, we are enjoying making thins from her Oaxaca al Gusto cookbook.  We bought it before our trip, when she was here in San Miguel de Allende for a book-signing.  The recipe for today is Amarillo, which is to say Mole Amarillo, an "esotfado," a stew made with chiles and spices, potatoes and chayote, masa, chicken and pork.  The amarillo part means it's supposed to be yellow, but the chiles that we have aren't exactly like those from Oaxaca, so the stew is more orange than yellow, but still delicious.  Que Rico!  How Rich!

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Buen Provecho! Good Eating!

Chop Wood, Carry Water Part 107.35 Still waiting for the rains.

     Because we chose to make a conscious effort of live a sustainable lifestyle, we built our house to function simply.  Our water is "captured" when the rains hit the roof tops and are directed to our cisterns.  The water is pumped up to a tank on the roof.  From there, gravity does the work and sends the water back down to the faucets and shower head, and outdoor spigots.
     Because we have a compost toilet, we don't use water to flush out human waste products.  These compost into a dry material which we use as a safe material to supplement the green and kitchen composts that we spread under trees.  By using a composting system for human waste, the water saved can be directed elsewhere, as needed.
    Besides saving water, we also reuse water.  All shower, dish and laundry "gray-water'' is directed on to plants and trees and bushes.  This second usage, save water (by not having to rely solely on first water usage) and time (the gray-water and gravity do the work; the water flows directly onto the intended area).
     While we are waiting for the rains, we are careful with our water usage, to avoid, where possible, supplemental water purchases.  Still, May is a month that we want our plants to get through without stress, so we are giving them what we can.  According to one of our campesino (a person who lives in the countryside) neighbors, Genaro, the rainy season has started, even if the rains haven't appeared, yet.  At first I thought that this was some country wisdom that he was passing on, but he clarified it and told me that he had heard it on television.  So much for romanticizing country living.....

Waiting for the Rains!

     It's May in the Campo, the Countryside, here in San Jose de Gracia.  As you can see from my last post, I have been neglecting my "Corazon" of Mexico; this, having abandoned it for the quicker Social Medium of Twitter. [See my Twitter Feed on the Right Hand Side]  Still, as we wait to sell our houses (visit our Website Our Homes For Sale!), we are enjoying our time here and have declared a creative sabbatical.  To that end, we are following our own creative urges.  Each of us has different "art" forms that we like to pursue.  Two areas where we come together are cooking (and eating, of course) Mexican and Mexican Fusion Cuisine, and Gardening.
     In terms of cooking, for example, tonight we are having one of our favorites, Stuffed Chile Poblanos.  When the the Chile Poblanos are filled with cheese, dredge in an egg batter and fried, they are the well known, served in every restaurant, Chiles Rellenos.  But Poblanos and other chiles, both fresh and dried, can be stuffed with a variety of fillings and baked, or fried with or without a batter.  A few nights ago, we had Poblanos stuffed with shrimp and goat cheese and served with a Chipotle reduction sauce.  Tonight, the chiles are being stuffed with a mixture of fried potatoes, sauteed onions and garlic, goat cheese, and the ubiquitous and delicious sausage called chorizo.  To complete the plate, we are having slices of mango, black beans with feta cheese, and a roasted tomato/serrano chile marinara.
     Gardening at this time of year is mostly watering our trees and plants, and planting and growing a limited food garden in the sheltered areas that are shaded and have walls blocking the fierce winds.  Our fruit and olive trees are all trying to hold on to their fruit, until the rains; these are due anytime between now and the end of June.  Our prodigious Fig tree is in a holding pattern, with numerous figs ready to spring forth at the rains.  Even though it is getting regular water, it requires that extra measure to encourage it to make its final push.  Until the, we'll wait for the rains and dream of fresh figs and fig chutney and fig bars and..........

And Check out Spring in Our Garden: Spring 2012

Just a Quick Note!

You can see by the Twitter Feed, that we have been to Oaxaca and back.  Now, we are preparing for Spring and taking what we've learned from previous years and applying it to this year's Garden.  In the meantime, we have had 4 inches of rain this year and the drought the devastated last year's nopal cactus crop has been mitigated.
 The early rains have refreshed the cactus and encouraged them to leaf out and bloom.  Both of these are important, as they are both food crops as well as high plateau forest greenery.  We have already had our first helping of fresh nopales, onions and tomatoes.  We'll be harvesting more throughout the month, while awaiting the ripening of the "tunas," the prickly pears.
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Time to Cozy in for the Night.  There is the potential of some rain coming our way.  And, if not, the Thunder and Lightning show that is beginning will provide a nice evening's entertainment.

Celebrating Mexico, One Day At A Time!

We are selling Our Homes in Mexico, just outside San Miguel de Allende and moving back to the United States.  People ask us why we are moving away and they cite such things as cultural differences, possible violence, their own perceived unknowns.  We look at the move differently.  Partially, we are moving back because that's where our children are living and making their homes, at present.  There, also are our oldest and dearest friends.  Beyond these relationship reasons, however, is the feeling that we have had an interesting and stimulating adventure, here; and now it is time for the next adventure.
That doesn't mean the adventure here is quite finished.  The homes are on the market, but the right set of adventurers has not yet appeared.  Until they do, we are looking at our time here with slightly new eyes.
A Zen Story:

  A man walking along a path, encountered a tiger.  He started to run away, but the tiger ran after him, getting closer and closer.  The man came to the edge of a cliff, with nowhere to run.  Just as the tiger was about to spring, the man grabbed hold of bush whose roots were growing it the wall of the cliff and jumped over the edge.  there, he was suspended just below the tiger and above the ground far below.  As he looked down, he saw another tiger waiting for him, if he could get himself down without falling.  Then, two mice---one black, one white---started gnawing on the root of the bush.  Just then, the man looked over and saw a wild strawberry growing on a plant near him.  He plucked the strawberry and ate it.  It was so very sweet!!

 As we spend our last months of living full time at our home, out here in the beautiful Mexican countryside, each experience seems sweeter, richer.

Sounds Wafting From The Village Part Two: Friday and Saturday.

What???  It's Saturday already!?!  What happened to the Friday Post?  Weren't there any sounds??  Well, yes.  Mostly, however, the sounds were the everyday sounds.  The Tortilla Guys, the Domestic Animals, Pastorals and Pajaros (birds).  The one sound that wafted down to Casita Dos Arbolitos was the Train Sounding its way through the flatter parts of SMA, somewhat to the West of us, near the Presa, a lake that receives all (and I mean all) of the waters that flow through and from San Miguel.  The Train, especially in the early, pre-dawn hours, has that mixture of loneliness and on-the-road-again sound.
Saturday has all of the usual sounds AND, around 8:30 or 9AM, from where we are sitting in the house, there comes what sounds like a large Bee buzzing one of the window screens.  After a few seconds of hearing it, one of two things happens:  It finally comes to us that the sound is really the Saturday vegetable vendor, making his rounds; or we finally hears some words coming out of the buzz.  Words like zanhoria or manzana or platano; which is to say carrot, apple, banana.  The buzz is ts coming from the Vegetable Vendor's loudspeaker, sounding that way because he doesn't make a space between words.  Hence, the above named fruits and veggies would sound like zanhoriamanzanaplatano.......   And, of course, besides the run-on words, it's in Spanish, which takes our minds a moment or two for adjustment.
When I say "he" when talking about the Vegetable Vendor, I'm not being fully accurate.  He is driving the truck; and it's his voice we hear buzzing our eardrums.  But there are usually other family members as well.  Riding in the passenger's seat is usually the Veggie V's wife; and riding in the back of the canvas-tented, large-bed pick-up truck is the VV's daughter.  Mother and daughter seem to handle most of the transactions, while the VV rests up from his long-winded vegetable soliloquy.
Lots of great veggies and fruits, at farmer's market prices.  These, brought straight to the village, every Saturday.  There is also a Sunday delivery, by a different VV.  And, recently, on Fridays, a family has set up in front of one of the locals' houses, selling his garden foods and some household products.  These vegetable deliveries take the burden off of householders.  The alternative is to go to the farmer's markets Tuesday (the big one) or Sunday (somewhat smaller); or to go to the supermarket; or to go to the open markets in SMA.  All of these offer products of comparable quality.  And, they all offer a larger selection from which to choose (more on the Tuesday Market, soon).  Still, to get to any of these other venues---and because most people in the village don't have vehicles, and because even in small villages, life isn't idyllically communal (another topic)---means walking the 2 miles to the highway, taking a bus, walking around the markets, the "supers" or SMA itself, getting back on the bus, then walking back up the 2 miles to the village, with your purchases dangling from your arms.  Given the choice, that Saturday buzzing is music to many a villager's ears.

Thoughts About Sounds, On a Cool Autumn Afternoon.

The Light of Autumn, the golden-tinged light, was shining throughout the morning and afternoon.  It gave an auric glow to the landscape.  Now, clouds are gathering.  Thunder has been rumbling for the past hour.  Because we had a short rainy season this year, we are hoping that these clouds, blowing from the northeast, rumbling in, will be more than the tease of last night.  Then, there were all of the dramatics of the false prophet, promising the end of the world, by deluge, when all we got was a few minutes of sprinkles, which were quickly soaked up by a thirsty earth.

The above paragraph was written just before it was time to stop for Dinner.  Dinner, last night consisted of homemade Guacamole.  This made in one of our Molcajetes.   And Tacos de Carnitas, with Homemade Tortillas.   During dinner, and throughout the evening and night, the gathering clouds kept their promise and delivered some rain; 8/10 of an inch!  

My thoughts, yesterday afternoon, were musings on the sounds of the countryside, the "campo" outside of San Miguel de Allende, where we live.  The sounds here, coming mostly from nature, differ from the hustle and happenings of SMA.  There, are the noises of cars and buses and trucks and commerce.  On any given day, there is celebration and fireworks; these from simple "cuetes," fire crackers, to bottle rockets and grand displays of pinwheels and facsimiles.  There are musicians playing in the Parks and Gardens and restaurants; sometime creating a cacophony, as mariachis compete with Spanish flamenco guitarists and the jukebox of the kids break-dancing on the bandstand.  Vendors calling out selling newspapers and cooked "elote" (corn) and the tin whistle of the knife sharpener.  And a siren or two, punctuated by the band whistle of the transit police, trying to find the people who have double-parked along the main streets.   And, for many who live and visit SMA, all of these are a part of its charm.  For me too; this, mostly because I visit SMA when I choose.  The rest of the time, I'm out here at Casita Dos Arbolitos listening to sounds out here.

We have no fewer sounds than SMA, mostly just different, and more natural.  There are some "industrial" sounds, if you will.  If one is awake at 5:30AM, the sound of the school bus honking the "claxon" (car horn) is hurried summonig the secondary-grade students.  From our house, it is a bit faint and only heard if we're awake.  A bit later, the Poorwill sings its plaintive to condensingly bouncy song, as the dawn breaks.  In the distance, a rooster or two crow to the awakening day, a few dogs, barking at an early delivery truck.  Other birds take over, as the sun begins to appear on the horizon and the Poorwill finishes its morning solo; later, as dusk begins, another solo performance will be staged, as the birds begin to quiet down and settle in.  At some point in the morning, the high plateau drylands sound a bit like a jungle, as the cactus wrens and woodpeckers begin their callings to one another.  And there are the doves who coo and "mourn" during the morning and early evening.  And the screech of the jay.  And chittering of the towhees.  And the beautiful song of the thrasher, a song that belies its sinister yellow-eyed appearance.
Besides the birds of the campo, there are the domestics.  The roosters, as mentioned, comment throughout the day, mostly in the morning and evening, and at abrupt changes in light and temperature.  Yesterday, the cattle on the hillside to the south of Casita Dos Arbolitos, in full view from our Patio Room, were carrying on some indecipherable conversation,  occasionally punctuated by the braying of a donkey in the village.  During the early afternoon, one of the villagers was moving his flock of sheep through the arroyo, looking for a little green for them to nibble on.  The sheep added to the domestic dialog, though not as much as they do during the time their children are still suckling.  Then, there is a bit more calling, back and forth, as mother and child try to locate each other; the children, as children of all species are wont to do, having wandered off to explore, instead of staying close to their Mamas.
At various times, throughout the night, throughout the year, coyotes yip.  Their reasons not fully understood, though some times they sound lonely and others more celebratory.  And, on occasion, the hoot of an owl breaks the silence of the night.
There are more industrial sounds.  There is a rhythm to them, throughout the week.  In the next post, I'll tell about them and their place in our village, out here in the campo.