Mexico 2011: Veracruz, Mexico July 12-15, 2011

Veracruz, Veracruz
Felt urban and gritty, like a city on the decline. There were many soldiers stationed on rooftops and hidden around corners by our hotel near the port. It is a major port city with important oil and gas industries as well a regional headquarters for PEMEX, the nationalized gas company. The soldiers were fully protected with face masks.

Notice the masked sniper in the upper left corner

Veracruz has built-in social structures even in a big city. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday there is dancing, Danson, with a band in the main square – multi-generational but mainly old and young.

Two older bachelors dressed in white with hats invited different women from the audience for each dance.

Gran Café del Portale – best hot chocolate I have ever had and very good cheesecake.
The hot chocolate had cinnamon and nutmeg added and was called chocolate Espanola.
The English language menu labeled the cheesecake as ‘cheese ice pie’.

Amparo and her girls
Kind, devoted and fiercely loyal to her students and family. Amparo and her family all go to school together where she works as an English teacher, her husband worked in the office and this year as a security guard and her two daughters attend secondary school. Kenya wants to be a chef and her older daughter wants to be a fashion designer.

Que te gusta hacer los fines de semana? Click link below for a video response
http://youtu.be/FBH-fAqCqGQ

Xalapa, the capital city of Veracruz
Thursday, July 14th was a wonderful evening of unexpected and exciting events and encounters. Linda, Trina and I took a taxi to cathedral where a wedding was taking place inside and a protest outside.

Our taxi driver thought the protest might be because many people lost their homes in the rain and floods and the state promised to help them and it has not. As the rain started to fall, we crossed to the green municipal building to read the protesters signs. The protest was about jobs that had been promised but not fulfilled. Some signs told Duarte, the Governor, that they will remember this next year during the election. Duarte was in the municipal building that evening for an event, but did not make an appearance at the protest.

Next we crossed Parque Juarez in search of the Pinoteca Diego Rivera. To our surprise, we found ourselves at the opening night of a new contemporary art exhibit. Complete with press, dignitaries, artists, a flautist, food and drink.

While walking through the studios, a reporter from the Diario Xalapa asked to take our photos and write down our names, we definitely stood out. There was an interesting and complex canvas with text about the Amistad which we were unable to translate and a fun diptych video of photos of old VWs in Mexico.

Crossing back through Parque Juarez about 8:00 pm we experienced a large group of high school aged boys and girls in their uniforms running through the park and signing like military recruits. A women I asked said it was nothing and that they were just exercising.

One of our colleagues told us about a restaurant that had poetry readings so we continued on our way through the rain. Our trusty map, a few streetlights and several people on the street helped arrive 30 minutes later. We were very pleasantly surprised by a fantastic jazz-blues trio of a female singer a male flamenco guitar and alto sax, Codigo Postale, Zip Code.

It was beautiful, rich and personal music. the women’s whole family was there about 20 people supporting her and celebrating her parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. The best part was watching her family interact with each other.

Our photo did not make the newspaper the next day, but we did find articles about the Pinoteca Diego Rivera opening and Codigo Postale.

http://www.oem.com.mx/diariodexalapa/notas/n2145178.htm

El Café-Tal Coffee Hacienda - Fernando gave us a tour and a private piano concert

El Cafe-Tal is very environmentally friendly and waste conscious. This is a water system designed to clean the water and balance the pH to neutral before irrigating the coffee. The water flows over the falls and meandering through papyrus and other plants to clean and reduce the pH level.

http://youtu.be/jP1NypK1urE

Xico - Patron Saint festival of Mary Magdalene
We arrived just before mass with many boys and men in the square setting off bottle rockets, running around, singing and making noise with cow bells. I stayed in the church for the mass and then waited inside for the group of teenage girls dressed in black tops and gray skirts to lift Mary and carry her out of church. The girls started the procession, then the Mariachi musicians followed with the congregants, including me, bringing up the rear.

The story and history of Saint Mary Magdalene. Mary was born in a town called Magdale, in northern Galilee. She met Jesus at the house of Simon where she wept at His feet as a repentant sinner and then with her long beautiful hair, she wiped His feet dry and anointed them with expensive perfume. Mary Magdalene became a follower of Jesus and was present at his crucifixion and at his ascension. Mary Magdalene is honored as one of the first witnesses of the Resurrection of Jesus. She is believed to have moved to France after the crucifixion where she died in 68AD.

We moved slowly though the streets as a large group with neighborhood floats filled with fireworks swinging in circles leading the way to a chapel up the hill decorated and waiting for the Patron Saint to arrive.