My fascination with life and accomplishments of Santa Elena came to me accidentally this year, as I struggled to unravel the traditions and customs of one of Mexico’s most popular Feast Days—May 3rd, the celebration of the Construction workers on the Day of the Holy Cross. Surprisingly, none of my Mexican friends, not even the […]
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All around town, people are carrying babies. It takes me a moment to realize, (mostly because they are swaddled in blankets) that they are not real babies but dolls. Then it takes me another moment and a scolding from my new mother-in-law to realize that they are not dolls either. They are Niños Jesus — […]
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In Mexico and all over the Catholic world, December 28 commemorates the Santos Inocentes or Holy Innocents, considered the first Christian martyrs. Upon hearing of the birth of Jesus, King Herod ordered the death of every child in Bethlehem under the age of two in an effort to wipe out all competition to his throne. […]
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Decorated evergreen trees, garlands of greens and ivy, yule logs, shiny glass balls, seasonal music, twinkling lights, special family meals, shimmering stars, brilliantly red poinsettias, silvery ribbons, mounds of presents, and Santa Claus are the vibrant heralds of the Christmas season in the United States and Canada. Few North Americans recognize that the roots of […]
Continue ReadingI saw My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and I thought, how different could a Mexican-American wedding be? Well, while there are many, many similarities, I overlooked the fact that my wedding is being held in a different country and in a different language. At least in the movie everyone is still in the United States, […]
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The eclipse has special meaning for the Huichol, because it represents the eclipse of July 11 1991 at 10:21 A.M. Pacific Coast time. This is the sixth sun according to the ancient Meso-American Calendars of the Maya. When Cortez arrived it was the begining of the fifth sun. As we all know, Cortez changed their […]
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If Lake Chapala could speak for itself, Mark Twain’s famous comment might come to mind: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” Since torrential rains began battering much of central Mexico in mid-August, the nation’s largest lake has undergone a truly astonishing transformation. Tourists boats that were forced to dock over a kilometer away […]
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In today’s world, where massive factories churn out goods at breakneck speed, it is hard for many people to imagine that there are still devoted artisans tucked away in remote villages of Mexico who dedicate days, weeks and even months to creating one exquisitely crafted piece. These artisans, toiling away in their secluded studios, are […]
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Gallery: In memory of Don Pedro: Alebrije art from a master artist A constant fluttering, deafening whirlpool of claws, fangs, fins, tongues and horns bewilder the senses in a frenzied shuttlecock of figures. This is the Mexican art of crafting alebrijes, monsters lovingly formed out of ordinary cardboard. Their grotesque faces and body-parts are delicately sculpted and […]
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Whether you live in Oaxaca or vacation here on a regular basis, if you’ve begun to integrate into the community, eventually you’ll be asked to be a padrino or madrina (godparent) to an ahijado or ahijada (godchild), so you’d better familiarize yourself with “compadrazgo,” or co-godparenthood. In a nutshell, it’s a web of mutual rights and obligations of monumental importance throughout Mexico and […]
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