While Dia de los Muertos is religious and family-related, Halloween seems to have crossed the border in a big way. Olga and Humberto's daughter, Olga Elise, and her husband, Roberto, entertained about 75 people, from tiny babies to old ladies (yeah, including me) Saturday night. Almost everyone, including the babies, came in costume. There were little witches, three little butterflies, a trio of cute female demons in their teens/20s, a boy Dracula and a girl Dracula, etc. Olga and Humberto dressed as famed Mexican artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. I went as -- what else? -- una turista Americana, complete with bush hat, jeans, sunglasses and camera.
Black paper rat silhouettes outside welcomed us to the party around 5 p.m., and music -- mostly U.S. oldies -- blared. Behind the living/dining area, in the grassy patio, was a large tent with six large round tables. Two long tables along the patio wall held beverages and the platters and bowls of food the guests were bringing -- macaroni salad with bits of jalapeño, little sandwiches, a carrot salad, desserts -- enough for three times as many guests, I think. (Olga had spent most of a day preparing sandwiches of pulled chicken and pork, both in mole sauce. YUM!)
Everybody ate, drank, laughed and talked, and until the rain came, the kids bounced in a bounce house. When the rain hit, the waiter and the guys quickly moved the tables of food and drink into the living room, and the party stayed in high gear. I took lots of pictures -- a good icebreaker for the stranger with limited Spanish. Olga plans to get lots of prints at Costco -- 1 peso (about 8 cents) apiece, and I'll probably print some there, too.
After the rain stopped, boys from about 7 to 12 had a marathon race around the tent, somehow miraculously not colliding with anyone else, though they seemed to be running full tilt almost all the time. The children were enthusiastic but well-behaved, and the parents were tolerant. I never once saw a child reprimanded or punished. On the contrary, the little ones were admired and complimented on their costumes, and the babies made the rounds of their admirers, handed from person to person.
We left about 10:30, just before the karaoke started..
Monday, November 1, 2010
Claxcala pyramid
Last week several students went to visit Claxcala pyramid -- far more accessible than the more famous ones not too far from Puebla that we'd visited previously.
The main pyramid at this site is covered by a HUGE roof to protect against damage from light and erosion. The main pyramid wasn't found until the mid-'90s, after a smaller one was located by accident when a farmer was digging with his tractor.
The other pyramids were too difficult for me to climb because each step was too high and the stairs were too steep . . . and there were no handrails. I climbed up -- and back down -- and up to get to the bases of the two biggest pyramids (Sun and Moon), but for once, I stifled my sense of adventure and stayed at the base, looking up -- when I wasn't busy turning away swarms of vendors.
But at Claxcala there were few other visitors, the roof kept the blazing sun off us and, for the protection of the site, there were boardwalks and wooden stairs, the latter actually built to human scale and with handrails. I huffed and I puffed (Hey! It's above 6,000 feet!) and I saw this amazing place with beautiful (though damaged and fading) murals, an elaborate layout and immense size.
Generations of laborers hauled the rocks to build it, and very clever engineers figured out how to build it with few tools of any kind. Once I'm back in the States I hope to post pix and links to info, but the Spanish-language keyboards here have me a bit boggled.
As with the other pyramid complex, there are smaller pyramids nearby, and a small museum with objects recovered from the site. As in the other museum, there are many pottery vessels -- some obviously useful in daily life, others ceremonial. Unlike the other museum, though, the human figures are all female. This was a pyramid dedicated to fertility. (They needed an endless supply of laborers to build the pyramids, after all.)
The main pyramid at this site is covered by a HUGE roof to protect against damage from light and erosion. The main pyramid wasn't found until the mid-'90s, after a smaller one was located by accident when a farmer was digging with his tractor.
The other pyramids were too difficult for me to climb because each step was too high and the stairs were too steep . . . and there were no handrails. I climbed up -- and back down -- and up to get to the bases of the two biggest pyramids (Sun and Moon), but for once, I stifled my sense of adventure and stayed at the base, looking up -- when I wasn't busy turning away swarms of vendors.
But at Claxcala there were few other visitors, the roof kept the blazing sun off us and, for the protection of the site, there were boardwalks and wooden stairs, the latter actually built to human scale and with handrails. I huffed and I puffed (Hey! It's above 6,000 feet!) and I saw this amazing place with beautiful (though damaged and fading) murals, an elaborate layout and immense size.
Generations of laborers hauled the rocks to build it, and very clever engineers figured out how to build it with few tools of any kind. Once I'm back in the States I hope to post pix and links to info, but the Spanish-language keyboards here have me a bit boggled.
As with the other pyramid complex, there are smaller pyramids nearby, and a small museum with objects recovered from the site. As in the other museum, there are many pottery vessels -- some obviously useful in daily life, others ceremonial. Unlike the other museum, though, the human figures are all female. This was a pyramid dedicated to fertility. (They needed an endless supply of laborers to build the pyramids, after all.)
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