Oscar2
Dec 7, 2009, 12:01 PM
Post #1 of 9
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One of several mornings I awoke to 72-degree weather, clear blue sky’s and the distant drone of the city, mixed with cathedral bells making itself known it was another day in the city of Morelia. It was an invitation for me to walk la calle principal, Ave. Modero, who’s wider than the usual wide sidewalks in some 8 other large cities traveled, to date, was akin to a 4 lane highway rarely experienced most anywhere. The heavy shadows cast by some of the more venerable, very tall limestone, ageless, baroque, gothic, and medieval structures, is in itself memorable. When the ancient shadows fall and pierced by ones presence, as so many who have since died and of those who continue to breathe the air and bring new life to it, etched in the limestone are legends of endless generations greeted through its portals for hundreds of years and more.
It’s Centro Históricos large bold strength, with its intrusive fingers, reach out grasping the imagination through the ancient yawning and moaning of ageless buildings still standing to retell its stories like tall, antiquated soldiers, dressed in their finest, leaning over its masses and braced with proud old medals whose age catches the eye of visitors and those born to its city.
While there, an International Music Festival echoed, from different parts of city plazas, and community squares. One street near the aqueduct called Calzada de San Diego or Fray Antonio de Miguel, led to one of the most internally beautiful church’s called La Virgen de Guadalupe. It was renown for the heaviest gold leaf glittered alters imaginable. It was stunning!
At the end of this at least 3 block Calzada, which was painstakingly, artistically and beautifully decorated in its entirety with pictorial floral, seed and nut collages which laid on the ground from its entrance to its other end. At that end, there was a staged live band tribute to England’s Beatles and Rolling Stones and rocking the undulating audience, singing along and dancing to the steam this hot group vaporized its audience with.
When the group stopped playing close to sunset, we stopped and talked to two women to ask where the Casa de Salsa was, and they snickered and sort of laughed with us when they pointed out it was this huge metal door right next to where we were standing. In the exchange of laughter and conversation, I mentioned I was looking for a pair of small speakers so we could play our CD’s on our portable CD player.
One of the slim, petite, tight jeaned women, which carved her assets well, smiled and affably volunteered to take us to El Centro and help us find the speakers. It was our first experience on a small combi/colectivo, which stacked us all together with other locals. Our street was announced and off we went to the Mercado. It was allot of fun getting there, like a local.
After shopping, thirst inevitably opened our eyes toward quenching this thirst and fervor for something cool. It was Saturday night and a massive crowd of people where assembled on Ave. Madero, la calle principal, in front of the gigantic main Cathedral. Every Saturday night at nine pm, a Cathedral lighting ceremony takes place, so we decided to go to Sanborns on its corner across the street and quench our thirst. As usual, in some Sanborns there is live entertainment at the cocktail lounge and yes, the drinks were cold and the Margaritas had a nice snap to them.
It was then that we were able to get to know our new adopted friend, whose long name was something like Maria Helena de la Cruz. She had a pensive quick smile, as if quick consideration was digested, and from it the flash of her teeth made it welcomed. Maria was a real surprise to us. In her adjusted, intermittent speech patterns, she hedged and at times struggled to make herself clear even though I enjoyed and took it as an opportunity to practice my perfect Spanish ;-) we all engaged in a good time together. Maria still had more surprises for us when she casually put on the table that she was a professor in two universities and held a PHD in economics. She was smart, good looking, petit and well carved, as a result of her yoga endeavors.
As the evening Cathedral celebration ensued outside while we viewed it from Sanborns terraced porches, we were feeling real good by then and Salsa dancing became a definite must. We left Sanborns about eleven-ish, caught a cab and went to a club called Portafina. The club was rocking and more impressive, it was none-smoking. We danced and carried on until the wee-hours and packed Maria Helena de la Cruz in a cab and sent her home, calling it another day of good times, friendship and adventure found in the hollows of limestone structures which are a fortress to its city kind and all that has occurred for centuries.
Note: I’m not the best of writers, nor do I pretend to be. But yes, I would like to share with you other bits and pieces of our month long travels. Some outstanding experiences in Morelia, Patzcauro, Santa Clara, La Mariposas, Oaxaca and its beach’s. Such as Puerto Escondido, Zipolite, Puerto Angle and the impressive environs of Huatulco and the friends we made along the way. Maria Helena along with others are still friends and there are some interesting, moving developments yet to follow.
MODERATOR, please don’t let these threads to be stepped on by lurking, “dominating,” antagonistic, sly, poison pen trolls who come off the wall, with something akin to “A turd by any other color is still a turd.” Gracias
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