MexConnect.com Forums: General: General Forum: Día de Muertos vs. Halloween?: Page 2

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Zorba

Nov 3, 2009, 2:36 AM

Post #26 of 32 (1351 views)

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Re: [husker] Día de Muertos vs. Halloween?

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"Not so in Catemaco,Veracruz... I saw nor had trick or treater's. The entire town has been filled with preparation. Last night was filled with family's going with flowers etc."

Of course ! Catemaco is full of witches ! Not surprising. You've chosen a great place to live (no sarcasm)!

Zorba

Nov 3, 2009, 2:46 AM

Post #27 of 32 (1348 views)

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Re: [Zorba] Día de Muertos vs. Halloween?

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For those of you not happy about having to endure US traditions and attitudes in Mexico...move south.

If you want to avoid the Yankee influence in Mexico, be sure to live south of Puerta Vallarta.
This would be central Mexico, not southern Mexico as a lot of people seem to think. Anybody living in Vallarta
and up is in Northern Mexico. A very different Mexico in my opinion and experience. The further north you go, the
more American influence of course. The further central and south, the more Mexican.

Catemaco is a very good example. Puebla, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Chiapas, Tabasco, etc etc.

If I were bold (and stupid enough) I might claim that most foreigners living in Mexico aren't actually living in
the "real" Mexico. But I would never say that because that would be a stupid and arrogant thing to say. What I can say
is that there are many Mexicos in Mexico. That is why it can be such a great country ! The feeling and vibe I got from
the Copper Canyon was totally different than Agua Azul or Michoacan. They are all Mexico in their own way. Wonderful!

Having said that, I found that the further north I went the more American influence there was and the less I liked it. No offense I hope !

(This post was edited by Zorba on Nov 3, 2009, 2:57 AM)

Gringal

Nov 3, 2009, 7:24 AM

Post #28 of 32 (1307 views)

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Re: [Zorba] Día de Muertos vs. Halloween?

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I like your attitude, Zorba.....and can you do that Greek dance, too?

Yes, there are many Mexicos, even within one town teeming with gringos. Some years ago, we lived in a house in one of the outlying colonias of San Miguel de Allende.....Colonia San Rafael. It was an almost 100% Mexican neighborhood, and a completely different flavor from the central area. Gave us a good opportunity to practice our pidgin Spanish.

That phrase "the real Mexico", when it comes from a supercilious expat, has an interestng twist, since most of them moved from the states, where there are so many "real" United States. Oh yes indeed, there's so much similarity between New York City and deepest Mississippi?? Yet, they are all the real deal, from "sea to shining sea". Like Mexico.

yucatandreamer

Nov 3, 2009, 8:30 AM

Post #29 of 32 (1289 views)

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Re: [Gringal] Día de Muertos vs. Halloween?

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In that same vein, I love hearing"I want to move to Mexico and live like a Mexican". I guess they want to live like a Mexican in the "real" Mexico.

Gringal

Nov 3, 2009, 8:38 AM

Post #30 of 32 (1285 views)

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Re: [yucatandreamer] Día de Muertos vs. Halloween?

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Hey...I want to live like a really rich Mexican from Guadalajara. Don't you? A lot of them have very cool wheels, too.

I know, slap my off the topic wrist. Adios.

richmx2

Nov 3, 2009, 10:34 AM

Post #31 of 32 (1261 views)

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Re: [Zorba] Día de Muertos vs. Halloween?

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The further central and south, the more Mexican.

OH? Miguel Covarrubius' 1946 "Mexico South" was the MEXICAN artist/anthropologist's look at a culture and region he considered alien to his own ...

The government of Mexico at one point considered leasing the Isthmus of Tehuanatepec and points south to the United States for a canal/rail crossing... reasoning that IT was not the "real Mexico"...

Many consider the Nahautl-speaking indigenous culture the "real Mexico"... which means the other 98 percent of Mexicans are unreal. Chiapas -- historically part of the Kingdom of Guatemala -- and only part of Mexico due to political issues in the 1820s has a different culture than other parts of Mexico -- is it "real" ...

The Yucatan had a strong separatist movement, the elites there figure IT was not the "real Mexico"....

... and so it goes.

Is FUTBOL -- coming from England not Mexican or Brazilian or Honduran or...

Is beisbol not Cuban, being a U.S. import?

Is banda music, rooted in German band music... or Danzon, an offshoot of Viennese waltzs and entering Mexico via Cuba... not Mexican music?

As to "Day of the Dead"... is a celebration in Venezuela or Peru (where there have been celebrations recently) then, not part of the "real Venezuela" or the "real Peru", seeing it's an imported Mexican custom?

Real cultures and real people are not frozen in time, but adapt and adjust, incorporating what real people find really meaningful to them.

http://voiceofmexico.com

esperanza

Nov 3, 2009, 10:52 AM

Post #32 of 32 (1255 views)

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Re: [richmx2] Día de Muertos vs. Halloween?

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Given that the topic of this thread is "Día de Muertos vs. Halloween", we have drifted far afield. I'll lock this now, but please feel free to start a new topic. "The Real Mexico" makes for a great debate.

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

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