Under MAJOR construction.... Mexico

I apologize because this is not fully edited. We will work on it, it's been somewhat busy... we'll fix and post more at a later time

---

La Virgen de Natividad is the towns virgin. There is a three day festivity which we arrived on the first day. When we arrived to the festivity we saw two beautiful float carts (we will attached pictures at the end of post). We went to the first mass where the priest gave the town a blessing and the carts went all around town, with the majority of the town following until they arrived to the Padrinos home where they fed the town of about two thousand people. Ken danced with the turkey but unfortunately the camera was at fault and no footage was captured. Our feet were very tired and swollen so we decided to call it an early night and went to sleep! This little town that here papa grew up in finally got a paved road to it just 5 years ago. It is about 10 blocks by 10 blocks and most of the streets are still mud which makes it fun during the rainy season when we came. It is amazing that you can have a little wooden shack that is 2 rooms next to a large house with 5 rooms and looks more like it belongs in a gated community. You can really see the economic difference between the classes (read into that people that get money or had jobs in the united states) its sad to see a people that used to be able to supply their own food and more to ship out to other towns now depending on trucks to bring in food because they depended so heavily on the money that came from the states to live. But enough of politics, the variety of colors on the clothes of the indigenous people that mostly live here are like nothing i've seen before, you can tell the region they are from by the style and shape of their clothes. The group i like the most is the ones with the bright red, blue purple ribbons they braid in their hair.

Day number two of the celebrations, we slept in because we were exhausted from the travel and the towns festivity. However, the float carts were outside our window so, we saw them for a bit, then we got breakfast and tried to find them but we were unsuccessful. So we just went to the Second Padrino's home and much to our surprised realized that the carts and the town were already there, eating…so we ate again! ;) After that we took a taxi (cause we are lazy) and went into town, walked a while and then headed to Marisol's granfather's grave. After seeing much of the town, at night time we headed to the front of the church because there was going to be the annual lighting of the "Castillo," castle and the "Toros," bulls. They were big and colorful… actually, it was quite an amazing experience. We went to bed early and skipped the nights party because the next day we had to be up by 5am to sing happy birthday to the Virgen de Natividad. A little bit more about this night, so it was raining that night they set the fireworks. The streets were all muddy and it had that earthy smell in the air. The town took on a whole new life that night for me it changed from a town to a very large family. Everyone was happy enjoying the virgins birthday they put so much work into just a few days that you can't help but wonder at the dedication they have to tradition. I guess what really hit me that night was the whole tradition to their religion people were coming from far and wide to the virgins birthday. I kind of have to tell you about the castle "Castillo" it was about 40 feet tall and shaped like a person. Ive never seen 3d fireworks, some of them just spun around but others looked like a flower blooming over and over and over, then there was the two girls clamping. They also had the names of the main sponsor family (which im now part of) and the year spinning around, once that was done the finally was a flower that started spinning around and then unfolded to shoot a huge spinning firework high in the sky and exploded. I think this was the most amazing night so far the sights of all the street vendors frying up all kinds of things the rain coming down, the smell of the mud and sulfur mixed to make such a vivid image of that night.

Day number three, we woke up at 515ish, got dress and hurried to church. We made it on time, and heard the band and Mariachi playing happy birthday to the virgin. Again, an amazing experience, i guess what i took away from from this mass was that. Then we came back to take showers and dress up for the second mass. Once we arrived to mass, Marisol's grandma was announced as the Mayordomo and host of the festivity. When we were done, instead of following the float cart, Zenon (marisol's dad) asked Eric, (marisol's uncle) if we could borrow his car to go to Abasolo. We took off and went to the town which Darrin made a dress for their virgin symbol. It was a very little town, then we to the area's well (pozo), it was an artisan well that was huge. We headed back to Chalcatongo, where we incorporated ourselves back to the festivities. We ate mole, rice and chicken (the best of three days) and then we met Amilkar (marisol's cousin) who came for a while to enjoy the towns party. We headed back to Tia Nati's place and along the way we found Tio Eric sitting and drinking at the local bar. Also, we saw a picture where Marisol's grandfather was infront of the Palacio Municipal in the 50's. We then made it home, where we took a nap to be fully ready for the partying. When we woke up, we headed back but ran into TIO Erik again, who invited Ken to have a beer. Ken hates beer but he accepted out of courtesy. We headed back to the party house where La Furia Oaxaquena was starting to play. My uncle was so drunk that he was teaching ken how to waltz to cumbia's-it was quite an interesting sight. We stayed at the party and dance fpr a while, but then the place got overly crowded about a thousand people, that we decided just to call it a night. We took off and began blogging :)

The next day we had a late breakfast then we finished packing to head to Oaxaca city. We were luck enough to get a ride with one of our uncles that lives just a few min's away from our new house in Oaxaca so it saved us a little money to get back. I have realized that any road that is not a federal built road is pretty much what ever was easiest to build, be is windy hilly or just plain narrow. This mean the ride back was like something a test track but for about 100 miles of twisty turny roads that really would have been fun in a bmw or a mitt not a suv …. but of course like everyone they drive like they are in a race. We got into Oaxaca and it started to rain not just a little but to the point that is was flooding causing roads that were built for sunshine to turn into long lakes and even longer lines of cars. Our uncle was able to hop onto a side road which was like a off road commercial very bumpy and rough and we followed a bus that was going down roads that barely fit it. We finally got past the mourns that blocked the road and was able to get our first take out in Oaxaca cliautas big flat tortoas that have ground beans and cheese spread over it like a pizza. Just a note to im not sure how they got this idea but they think that katachap on top of pizza is how americans eat pizza…. that just pain wrong. When we got to their house we meet they daughter whose cinsinura we were going to be going to that friday. Karn their daughter just started learning english, it is a little broken but still very good and clear. While we were eating she told me that during the dance part of her ceremony that she wanted to do the walce. Turns out she is a very good teacher of dance, she taught me the basic step of the walce and the chapanins which im still a little rusty on, for a guy with two left feet that is a feat… hehe. Their house is different then I've seen before the main part is separate from the sleeping and bathroom area you have to go though an open hall way in order to access the rooms. The front of the house has an area where you can wash your clothes and a sytrine which holds a good amount of water. The house has a living room, dining area and a kitchen. The other half of the house has the rooms which are separated, there are two rooms on the bottom and two on the top (think of a mini hotel/motel). The bathroom sits on the bottom part of the house, next to one of the rooms.

M: The next day Amilkar came and met me and ken to take us to La Infonavit, unfortunately ken had to stay behind because he needed to help get the mattresses from Tia Tere's house to our new home. Amilkar and talked as we drove to la infonavit and the streets seemed familiar to me. I recognized some of the stores and other areas and when we turned the corner I knew we were very close to my childhood house. When we got there the house did look different, the new color it has is more colorful and vibrant and it did not look anything like I have always paint if in my mind. Once i was there, looking around and getting all the luggage; my parents arrived. I was happy to see them since they had stayed in Chalcatongo an extra day. We inspected the house and some things looked bad while others were better than expected. At this point, ken arrived with my aunt, the guy driving the truck with a table some chairs and mattresses.

K: I got volunteered to move the matteress so its

M: My parents had not eaten anything after their morning trip from chalca to Oaxaca so they left with my aunt, and they guy driving the truck back to her house. I also remembered I had left our passports and money in my cousins car, so my aunt called him to let him know. He brought them back to the house since he works very close the house. While inspecting the house earlier, we noticed that the front door glass was broken, and breaking in the house would be very easy. So my dad asked me to ask prices at the store down the street, so I did and decided to get it replace for security reasons.

Once the guy had completed the installation of the glass, i saw that my cousin was pulling in the driveway and looked at me like he waited to cry. I asked him what was wrong, and he couldn't speak, it was as if he had seen a ghost. THen he pulled out his cell phone and dials a number (that's when i noticed something had happened… i then started panic a little). I asked him again what was wrong and he told me that they were told we had been sequestered. I thought he was joking, but then my mom, aunt and dad get there (in the same truck they had left). My dad came straight to me and hugged me, then I aw my aunt and she let out a sigh of relief and then my mom… her eyes were filled with tears…so I hugged her. We all walked in the house, sat down and heard the story. Apparent.y my father got a call at my aunts house while they were about to eat. THe call was a muffled voice saying " Dad?… dad??" and so my dad answered the call…. so he thought it was me… and then the muffled voiced said " dad… i'm in trouble dad…some men took me"… ( so my dad remembered he asked me to go and ask about the glass prices, so he thought somebody had kidnapped me there. So, then some guys took the phone and said, this is an "express kidnap" if you want to see your daughter alive you will have to go to an "electra store and deposit money. Well my dad at this point got freaked out, very tense and worry he was not thinking straight so he wanted to take money out and deposit money. But then the caller asked my dad's name and he said a fictitious name… and the guy said, nice to meet you. Thats when my dad relayed that it was all "perhaps a lie" but they were not going to be sure of it until they saw me alights. Tha's when they drove back to the house and called Amilkar… and that was what happened with my "apparent kidnap" From then on my cousin let me borrow his cell phone, so they could communicate back and forth with us. Our day continued but we spent a lot of time together just because my mom was a bit nervous and paranoid. After that we headed to the store and finished things that needed care at the house.

THe next day was the Qinceanera. The party was beautiful, the set up was great, and there was a lot of family. The hall was an outdoor round tent which held about 200 guests. EL Gigante band was playing and they were really good but the music was extremely loud. Ken was very nervous that night because, Karen, the quinceanera, had asked him to dance part of the waltz with her. They announced his name and he was very worried but went up infront of a couple of hundreds of people and danced beautifully. After that there was more entertainment that filled the night and by 2:00am Ken and I were ready to call it a night. We took a taxi back home (our first taxi ride alone, at night) and we made it home safe. My parents

K: Ok so a little about Qinceanera's these are all out parties at least this one is bigger then any wedding I've been to. They start off with a mass, which ive only been to one and it was in spanish but she is dressed in something like a wedding dress but usually pink or something else showing youth. When she comes into the hall its a huge deal usually she has a few ive seen 4 and 8 and they do a pre-set dance that is elaborate. In some order im not sure what but they bring out to her flowers big freaking set of roses, then her last doll (very large and elaborate, this one was from her grandma), her first set of high heals, then there is a toast from the dad. After that she has a list of guys she wanted to dance the waltez to (about 15 guys) and then another dance but this one more modern with her escorts. Finally the dance floor is opened up to all couples. Its huge lets just say.

THe next day we cleaned the house a bit more, went to Tia Tere's house, and to downtown.

K: Downtown Oaxaca is AMAZING once you get past the fact that they are trying to fit 3 lanes of cars onto 500 year old roads that were only ment to carry horses and carts. walking in mexico is best compared to a live version of frogger… when they say walk your run here…. RIBBIT RIBBIT I now know how frogger feels. All of downtown that ive seen so far is very old buildings thick walls arched doorways and stone carved reliefs, there is a large downtown square with local shops and old churches around it. When we went with some of her aunts on sunday there was a La Marimba band playing in the square. We went to the main market to get some grasshoppers for the rest of the family, its a local delicacy that is ate alone or in anything from tacos to flatas. They found ones they liked after tasting a few stands and just about bought the lady out of the type (they are kind of cut up and spices are added or just whole) after that they treated us to Oaxaca ice-cream (its a water based ice-cream) I had Mexcall and Marisol had Maracuya and lime. While we were sitting there several ladies came up trying to sell little handmade crafts (this is very common in mexico even little kids will). it was just a short bus ride back up the hill to the house were all the family was.

After that it was a long bus ride back to mexico city to sleep at our Tio Leo's house and then her parents were off to the airport to fly back to the states. We found ourselves in Tia Anita and Tio Leo's house. We are happy to be spending time with them but saddened at the fact that she is not doing too well. We would like to see her doing well and wishing she was talking to us but all in good time, perhaps when we come back again, she will be doing better.

K: Her Aunt recently had some problems in the hospital and required a trachea tube put in so she is recovering from that right now at home. Teo Leo used to do hand made furniture but it has been a few years because the economy has gotten so bad down here people don't want to pay for the high quality he makes. Mostly we just hung out there for a few days talking to them and their two kids Maru and Mario looking at family history and talking about old times. We were able to shot a video of the thanking the family in San Diego for their help during this last few hard weeks.

After a few days there Uncle Porfirio came to pick us up but we just took the metro back to their place (keep in mind that Porfirio is younger then me he is 29). Currently he lives in Marisol's godparents place with his sister Yaz and Julio his brother and her aunt and uncle down stairs. It pretty much two houses one on top of each other with a connecting courtyard and stairs that are out in the open. Porfirio is a physical ed teacher, Yaz is a business admin, and Julio is a delivery truck driver. The first night we were there they had the main night of mexican independence there was some of the family that was in mexico city there so about 20 people. It was a lot of fun after the food which was a mix of a red mole, Pozole de Oaxaca (a white large grain) and pork or chicken meat, it was very delicious with fresh made tortillas, they started singing the national anthem. And of course then they started singing all kind of different mexican songs none of which i knew and what night would not be complete without dancing the Chilenas and a couple of other dances i don't know but just shuffle my feet to. It was a blast since Julio is an amazing dancing and was trying to teach me a few steeps but the Tequlia was kicking in hehe. One of her aunts tried with a little better success to show me a simpler dance that was a lot of fun cause it was very easy to pickup. We danced and drank till like 2 am and we did teach them herman the worm not that they understood it but it was all in great fun. These people can laugh, joke and dance like it was the only thing they have ever done, they enjoy life even though it is tougher down here. Im starting to see why she loves Mexico

K: So its almost 11 am on the 26th of September and I'm kind of sad to be soon leaving Mexico city. Last night and this morning was such a blast we had a 15 year old party for a set of twins (one boy one girl) most of the family that we knew was there so it was not odd or strange not knowing any faces. It felt much more like a party then a queencincera they did some of the normal stuff but all of it, no last doll, first high heals they did do the waltz but not 20 people just her dad and god partents. It was kind of odd but very cool, the dance floor was opened up and everyone started dancing, it feels kind of intimidating down here to dance. Let me explain, in Washington we would go to dances and most everyone knew the dance from chalachatongo but no other type of music was played. Down here it seems like everyone knows how to dance very well and can dance like 10 different types of dance steps also its very hard to step up there and mostly just shuffle your feet know only the beginning steps for 2 dances. It is starting to get easier the more I dance, the whole dancing with anyone is still a hurddle that I need to over come. All in good time. It was so much fun probably the most fun I've had at a party so far. We pretty much danced the night away till like 3 am then they told us to go home.

M: When we got to The party I was veer happy because I saw my grandma and other uncles…but I was thrilled to have seen my very good friends, Maciel and Tamara. They both looked really good and happy. The summoned me because I did not stay with them a night while in Mexico. I explained that I had forgotten to call them, but all was fine. I promised that when I got back to Mexico again, I would ring them and let them know I was coming.

After the party, Porfirio drove about half an hour to get to a Taco place. This is the most interesting Taco Shop I have seen, they had a parking lot set up with a bunch of guys that worked there taking your orders in your car. It was pretty cool, think of Masterburger or Sonics burger in the states, except here you got Tacos and a drink. We got home around 5:00am and we began to packed for our travel to Oaxaca.

I on the contrary was not sad to leave Mexico City. I was very happy to have seen my family but I was very ready to come home and work on various projects we have in mind and on theatre. The following day after we got here, we spent cleaning and catching up on sleep. So, here we are today, needing to pay a bill that is due today and going to visit my aunt to find out about a few things that are pending.