20 de noviembre

Today is 20 de noviembre - actually in Japan it's just gone midnight so it's actually the 21st, but let's not worry too much about that. In Mexico today is a national holiday. This year it’s on a Saturday meaning that the children don’t get any extra days of school but such is life.
So, what is 20 (veinte) de noviembre? It’s the anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. Today there will be (have been) parades in the streets. I think this is the most important parade day of the year. Everyone will be out in force, either marching or watching.
But why this day? Well, it’s the day it all officially started. “How can a revolution start on a specific day?” you may ask and that would be a valid question. Let’s have a little Mexican history lesson. The president of the time was a certain Porfirio Diaz who, originally, had been a decorated war hero. But he became president and stayed there, forever, or so it seemed. When he won the elections of 1910 his opponent, Francisco I. Madero announced that the elections had been fraudulent. He then escaped across the border to the US where he wrote his Plan de San Luis (San Luis Plan) where he set out his opposition to the current government and called other opponents to arms. He said that the uprising should begin on the 20th of November, 1910, which is why this is the day when Mexicans remember the revolution.
The Mexican Revolution is extremely complicated and went on for years. People betray each other and change sides all over the place. Too many people were killed and many more displaced. It’s way too complicated to get into here though I might give it a go on another day. It is very interesting though. There are also several highly interesting (colourful?) characters whose lives make for interesting reading too, though that might also be of interest.
As for places relating to the revolution a couple come to mind. First of all in Mexico City there is a huge arch which commemorates the revolution and has the ashes (or remains) of 4 of the main leaders buried in it. Underneath the arch is the Revolution Museum, which was a strange little rather unorganized place, the last time I went, though that was several years ago.
Somewhere else that comes to mind is the city of Zacatecas, where one of the many important battles took place. Up on the top of a hill called the Cerro de la Bufa there’s another small museum relating to the Revolution. There are also 3 huge bronze (?) statues of revolutionary heroes. I have a photo of the one of Francisco "Pancho" Villa.

Zacatecas 

Autumn in Mexico part 2 continued

Marigolds.

This sounds very nice, you may think, but is it really that colourful? Yes, it is – though I’m missing one important aspect – the flowers. Marigolds are used on the graves as their strong scent is supposed to help the dead find their way back to earth. They are normally orange though there are some burgundy ones. These flowers are sold in markets and on street corners in the final days leading up to Day of the Dead and are really beautiful – this is what makes Day of the Dead the second reason I love the colours of autumn in Mexico.

Autumn in Mexico part 2

Chocolate skulls.

September ends and the flags are mostly put away. Mexico changes colour schemes – from green, white and red to orange, white and black. No, not for Hallowe’en, though it is becoming more and more popular, but for Day of the Dead. This is the second major reason that autumn is colourful in Mexico; and how colourful it is!

Day of the Dead is celebrated at the beginning of November. Traditionally Mexicans decorate the graves of their departed loved ones with things that they liked in life: their favourite food and drink, a cigar. They also light incense and candles. You might think this is not very colourful – let me continue! Often the tablemats and cloths that are used are brightly coloured. Then there are the paper decorations flying everywhere which show Mexican images, such as “calaveras” (skeletons) doing everything they did in life. This cut paper tends also to be in bright colours – pink, red, yellow, blue, green, purple, as well as black and orange. Mexicans also tend to put lots of skulls made out of sweets and chocolate on the graves, or to give them to their friends as presents. So when you go into shops or to the markets there are sugar and chocolate skulls all over the place. They are sold in other shapes but the skulls are the most popular. By the way, as well as the graves themselves it is also common for schools and organizations to have their own “ofrendas” or “altares” (offerings or altars) to commemorate the dead.

Uxmal

Uxmal
Uxmal is the other major Mayan archeological site on the Yucatán Peninsula, though it's in the state of Yucatán rather than Quintana Roo (where Chichén Itzá is.) It’s name means “occupied three times” in Mayan, (if I remember rightly.) This is the main pyramid called the Pyramid of the Magician as there’s a story behind it. So legend goes, this pyramid appeared overnight out of nowhere and was the work of a dwarf magician. (Or something like that!!)
I’ve been lucky enough to have gone to Uxmal twice; once with my parents in September 1993 and once with Rafa and Sarah in December 1994. I can’t believe that was 10 years ago now. Wow. How time flies. I climbed the pyramid both times, as you do, and one thing I remember is the bats inside the penultimate level of the pyramid. You can only climb up that far.
This photo actually shows the pyramid from the side.

Autumn in Mexico part 1

Mes patria flags, Morelia, Michoacan.

I love autumn in Mexico. It's a colourful time - and I don't mean that in the Northern European sense with the leaves changing colour on the trees et al. Not to say that doesn't happen - it does - but not on the scale I'm used to, and anyway it's overshadowed by the "man-made" colour of the autumn.

Autumn should herald the end of the summer rainy season - with any luck - though some years the rains seem to go on and on and on. And it's a good thing that the rains do end, or at least die down, as the Mexican people want to get out into the streets in mid-September to celebrate Independence Day - the first colourful event of the autumn. (I'm not really sure this counts as autumn though.)

Independence Day is celebrated on the night of 15th September but the colour starts at the beginning of the month: everything turns green, white and red. It’s fabulous. The buildings are adorned with huge flags; in Mexico City you can see huge flags that run down the skyscrapers. Then ambulantes (street vendors) appear on street corners selling flags, whistles, dolls, toys, sombreros and just about anything else you can think of with a Mexico flag on it or in Mexican colours.

The celebrations themselves take place at night. At 11pm the president goes out onto the balcony of the Government Palace, facing the Zocalo (main square) in Mexico City and pronounces his grito – his cry for independence – emulating Father Miguel Hidalgo whose grito from the church in Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato was the original cry for independence back in 1810. No record has survived of what Hidalgo said so now the president creates his own grito. This is usually full of Vivas – Viva México (Long live Mexico) is very common. He also rings a large bell. When he is finished, the president then waves the huge flag he is carrying, before going back inside. This event is watched by literally millions of people, in the zocalo itself and on national tv. Afterwards there is normally a spectacular firework display. This grito is repeated in squares all over the country. It’s also common school children to re-enact it during the day.

The fireworks are another reason for the colour at this time of the year as are the clothes; many Mexican people choose to wear traditional costumes which are generally very colourful. Traditional food also tends to follow the green, white and red colouring too – honest. It’s very common to see huge bottles of flavoured water lined up: green is lemon flavoured, white is horchata (rice water) and red is jamaica – I’m afraid I have no idea what this is called in English! Sorry. There’s fabulous food at this time of the year – then again, when isn’t there? With a proliferation of red and green sauces. However, I’m not going to go into detail about food here or I’ll never finish this blog entry, which is what I want to do now.
Mes patria – patriotic month, or Mexico month, is a great time to visit Mexico.

Chac Mool

Chac Mool, Chichen Itza
I found the Chac Mool photo, as you can see. The Chac Mool is actually quite a common statue in pre-hispanic Mexico. This one is the one I mentioned at Chichen Itza and it's in the Temple of the Warriors. The "bowl" he is holding is supposedly where the still-beating human hearts were put!!

Chichen Itza Part 2

The Observatory - Chichen Itza

A good walk away from the main pyramid you come across this strange looking building - the Observatory. Many ancient Mexican people, including the Mayans, are known to have watched the stars and there are buildings which are considered observatories at many of the main archeological sites. This is the second main part of Chichen Itza that I liked. There are several other sites of interest, such as the ball court and the temple of the warriors with its many columns. There is also a "Chac Mool" statue which is where the Mayan priests supposedly used to place human hearts used in sacrifices to the gods.

Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza - The Castle

This is probably one of the most famous sites in Mexico and I was very lucky to take this great photo many years ago - back in December 1994. This pyramid is the one where the snake curls down one corner during the spring equinox. I just wonder how the ancient Mexicans (was it really the Mayans or before?) were able to build a pyramid with such accuracy. The other interesting thing is the mathematical symbols within the pyramid itself, with all the steps adding up to 365, as in "days of the year". Strange. It's wonderful to look at too and there's a great view from the top. For obvious reasons this is the main attraction at Chichen Itza but there are many other ruins spread out over quite an expanse of land. It's a pretty flat area and is very dry. There are some low trees, shrubs and bushes. It looks quite hard work for the grass. It's tropical so it's pretty hot. The rainy season is through the summer and autumn can bring hurracanes. Chichen Itza is in the state of Quintana Roo in the south east of the country and is about an hour from Cancun.

What am I doing?

I may never write my book on Mexico.
This is a fact.
It's been on the cards for a long time now and though for a while it was progressing, life in Japan has just got in the way. So, the idea of setting up a blog about Mexico, with the title of "My Mexico" which I'd love to be the title of the book, is for me to start blogging my way through my ideas for the book. Then maybe, just maybe, one day I will finish it. Maybe. That's the theory, anyway. I blog a little here, blog a little there and the ideas increase, the writing increases and the book progresses. We'll see.