The Best Things In Life….

great choreography

 Quite often they really are free. Today we dropped by the Culture House in Puebla and saw a live performance of a Band called Bandula. And they were very good, great muisic, good costumes and a terrific performance, … price of admission FREE!!  This occurs so often here in Mexico, We find performers who love their country and are very patriotic, enough so they will perform free so working people and families can enjoy their music also.

Singing group “BANDULA”.

So we had a very enjoyable afternoon along with a lot of other families.

To see more photos of this event click on these links…

Mexican Bakeries

 

the Sweet taste of Mexico

 

My wife & I lived in Georgia for awhile…I asked her..”What do you miss most of all from Mexico?”  She told me…”Pan Dulces” (sweet breads). And she is right , they are soooo tempting and appetizing.

 You can find bakeries all over Mexico, Big ones and small Mom & Pop bakeries that make the most exquisite breads. The Spanish brought wheat to Mexico and the art of baking and the French came along and polished it up.

My favorite are Bear Claws…….

Pan Dulces,  shortcake and Bear Claws with chocolate.

To see more Bakery photos check this link….

 
Hmmmmmmm…. pass the hot chocolate please.

The dog that will lead you through Hell

The Florentine Codex of the XVIth Century says:  And the owner of the dead dog put a cloth collar on it and said… “Wait for me on the other side and help me to cross the nine rivers of the underworld”.

The xoloitzcuintli, the only dog of the aztecs was their companion in life as well as death. This canine came with the tribes across the Bering straits. It is hairless and weighs in at 18 to 25 pounds. It is on the verge of extinction as the ancient Aztecs considered them a great delicacy also and very few survived the gastronomical tastes of the Aztec Empire and the onslaught of Spanish Dogs that came in with the conquest.

Aztec Dogs... Xoloitzcuintli

 It was believed in precolombian times that if a woman didnt want to have more children she should feed the lastborn childs umbilical cord to a dog.

To see a fine group of these dogs go to the gardens of the Dorothy Olmedo Museum in Mexico City where they are raising them in an attempt to keep them from extinction.

Mexican caninesOlmeda Museum Mexico Cityplaque at the Dorothy Olmeda Museum in Mexico CityOlmeda Museum Mexico City

 

 

Chapultepec Castle

If you’re in or close to Mexico City be sure to check out Chapultepec Castle. The oldest part of the Castle was built in 1758 and used as a fort. In 1841 it was converted into a military academy. It was the site of a final battle against invading American troops. twenty years later it was remodeled into the residence of President Porfirio Diaz & was the official residence of the presidents of Mexico until 1944. It now houses the National Museum of History, a great place to visit to see remnants from Mexicos past. Amongst the many things there you can see the elegant coaches of King Maximilian, and get a look at some of the castles room to see how Royalty lived.

When Napoleon 3rd withdrew his supporting troops, Max & his wife were given the choice to leave with them but Carlotta liked being a Queen & didnt like the idea of having her status lowered to Duchess so she convinved Maximillian to stay, this eventually cost him his life in front of a firing squad in Queretero.

Chapultepec is the only castle on this side of the world to have had a monarch living in it.

Maximillian's wheels

Maximillian's wheels

the dining room

the dining room

MEXICAN TRIVIA


Did you know …… Robert Louis Stevenson while in the port of Ensenada, waiting for his ship to go to Hawaii, wrote part of his book, “Treasure Island”.

Lucia Zarate, billed as the worlds smallest lady, at the age of 18 weighed 2 kilos, born in Sonora, Mexico, she worked on the Barnum & Bailey Circus. She died at the age of 26 from hypothermia, when the circus train got stranded in the Rocky Mountains during a blizzard (1890).

The Scwartz & Meurer Construction Company along with architect Gustav Eiffel of tower fame, designed and built the kiosko (bandstand) in Cuernavaca, the Church in Santa Rosalia, Baja California and the American Consulate building in Puebla, Puebla (now VIPS Restaurant.).

Malcolm Lowry, Author of “Under the Volcano” was deported twice from Mexico, both times for barroom brawls…(What an honor).

Dictator Porfirio Diaz gave William Randolph Hearst(Pattys grandad), 2 and a half million acres of land in Mexico so that he would only write positive stories about his Presidency in his newspapers. (talk about the ministry of propaganda, makes you wonder if the sinking of the Maine was real or not).

Revolution Monument

mexico-city-297

Pancho Villa

Pancho Villa

REVOLUTION MONUMENT

REVOLUTION MONUMENT

On our recent “invasion” of Mexico City, (as Stephen calls it), we decided to take a look at the Revolution Museum.
The Building iyself is amazing, it was started by Dictator Porfirio Diaz but got short stopped when the Revolution started. He wanted to build a building that was modeled after the Capital Building in Washington D.C. but only got as far as the dome part, so after the Revolution (1910-1918) it became a monument to the Revolution.
Inside we found mucho memorabilia to Revolutionaries, Emilio Zapata. Pancho Villa, Etc.,
Continue reading

CINEMATOGRAPHY

My grandson Josh is taking a course in CINEMATOGRAPHY in Tlaxcala, so a couple of weeks ago he directed, edited and scripted a short film. The course cost is about $25 dollars a month, classes on Saturdays from 9AM till 1 pm.  I was impressed by the professianalism . A friend loaned them a house to shoot in.There were 14 people in his class, everyone did something…makeup, lighting, cameraman, acting, props, etc.,.  The drama Teacher had the honor of commiting suicide in the film. My wife and I did the catering.  Give us a million bucks and we can come up with a top notch film.

A new Spielberg

A new Spielberg

 

 

 

preparing to shoot

preparing to shoot

 

lights-action-camera

lights-action-camera

 This film ran 4 minutes & took 6 hours to shoot. To see the end result see it on Youtube at this link….

 http://mx.youtube.com/watch?v=5YnFi-V7LFE

Frida & Diego

FRIDAS HOUSE

FRIDAS HOUSE

While in Mexico City last week we visited Frida Kahlos “Blue House”and took a tour of it and Also Diego Rivera’s Studio. Frida died in the blue house after many years of suffering from her tragic accident. Diego lived a few kilometers away after their divorce. He was a devoted fan of prehispanic artifacts and his home was converted into a museum.

 

Entrance fees to both places are modest: $55 pesos for Fridas & $20 pesos to see Diegos pad. There was a wedding going on at Diegos studio, that had to be an expensive rental…the bride & groom looked really chic.. may they have a long & prosperous life.

bride and groom

bride and groom

 

DIEGO RIVERAS STUDIO

DIEGO RIVERAS STUDIO

Tours around Tlaxcala

If you’re considering visiting Tlaxcala, Give me a call or drop me an Email. I give customized tours at reasonable rates.

My email adress is:  dixiefried12@yahoo.com.

Home Phone:  01 241 80 553 .

Cell Phone: 045 241 407 5592

Accredited by the State Tourist Department.

Pulque Hacuenda Tour

Pulque Hacienda Tour

 

We have :

Astronomical tours.

Hacienda Tours

 Historical Tours.

Arts & Crafts Tours.

We also give tours of Puebla, Oaxaca & Mexico City

And many others…. give us a call.

Ask for Bob or Raquel.

 

 

 

 

TRIP TO GUERRERO

bacardimolasses1sugar-cane1cactus1We were invited to a wedding in the State of Guerrero last week, after dropping 3000 feet out of the mountains the weather turned warm and the flora and fauna changed. Started seeing different types of cactus and plants, Palm trees, banana trees, coconuts, mangoes and papayas. Everything became more tropical. Also started seeing sugar cane fields and trucks loaded with cane.

Shortly there after we saw where they were going, there was a bacardi Rum plant beside the road with vats of molasses fermenting away to make that pirates brew of ol’ demon rum.
I wanted to get out and pay my respects but the busdriver didn’t want to stop. Har de HAR HAR as Jolly Roger would say. Have a nice day lass’s and laddies.

MEXICAN GAS STATION

GREASE MONKIES

GREASE MONKIES

FILL IT UP

FILL IT UP

TYPICAL MEXICAN GAS STATION

TYPICAL MEXICAN GAS STATION

TODAY WE RAN AROUND WITH THE BUREAUCRATS TO GET SOME PAPERS FIXED AT SOCIAL SECURITY, THEN ON THE WAY HOME MY COMPADRE STOPPED FOR SOME GAS…. CHECK THE PHOTOS…WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU GOT SERVICE LIKE THIS? mAYBE 1957? WE COULD RETURN TO THIS IN THE U.S. IF PEOPLE WEREN’T SO LAZY.

The Hideout

Yesterday we did a tour of Soltepec Hacienda, better known as\” La Escondida\” because a movie by that name was filmed there starring Mexican Actress, Maria Felix.

Entrance to The Hacienda

Entrance to The Hacienda

At its peak Soltepec was a livestock ranch and produced Pulque. Now it has been converted into a First Class Hotel with a lot of atmosphere.

Located about 3 miles from the town of Huamantla, Tlaxcala, it has everything you need for a pleasant weekend and plenty of tourist sites nearby that you can visit .

Hacienda dining room

Hacienda dining room

It has a restaurant, swimming pool (heated), a gymnasium, squash court,tennis court, billiard room,bar, snack bar, and rooms with jacuzzis, internet and large screen TV\’s. A terrific Panoramic view of the mountains.

They also have a website that you can check at:    http://www.HaciendaSoltepec.com

Also they are getting ready to open a 9 hole golf course.

And of course my services as a touristguide if you want to see historic places around the state.

Little known facts about Mexico

crater site

crater site

meteor impact

meteor impact

silver

silver

Mexico is the Worlds largest producer of silver.
Mexico is the largest consumer per capita of cocacola, they drink on the average 527 (eight ounce size) bottles per person each year( The U.S. consumes 411 bottles a year)

COCACOLA
COCACOLA

Chicluxulub (which means” the devils tail” in Nahuat language) is the ste where a 20 kilometer size meteor impacted the earth causing a 200 kilometer wide crater and killed off the dinosaurs..aren’t you glad? T Rex’s don’t make good pets.

More about Mexico City

MASS TRANSPORT SYSTEM

MASS TRANSPORT SYSTEM

MAIN FOOD MARKET

MAIN FOOD MARKET

LATIN America Tower

LATIN America Tower

Mexico City is only 3 hours away by bus so every once in awhile I go there. It’s either the worlds most populated city are soon will be, I think Tokyo may still have an edge.

Because of it’s place in History, it was the Capital of the Aztec Empire, it still retains it’s Historical, Economical and Political Influence.

Mexico City has a population of 21 million and a “floating population” of about 3 million, that is people coming in and out of the city daily.

At the Central of Abastos Market (Supply Center), 30,000 tons of food arrives each day to feed this monster. There are 40,000 people working there and it covers 36 city blocks. There’s parking for 50,000 vehicles. It even has its own newspaper that posts present & future food prices. Even this isnt enough to feed the city and they have a huge “market on wheels” that goes to different locations around the city every day.

Amongst the many problems of the city is pollution. Someone once remarked that managing Mexico City was like trying to repair an airplane in flight.

Every day 43,000 cubic meters of fuel are burned, half of that is used by vehicles. For every public transport vehicle there are 40 private vehicles, as a result Mexico City has a “day without your car” law. depending on the number of a cars license tag its not allowed on the street one day of the week.

The subway known as the “metro”, was built by the French to accomodate people during the Olympics in 1968, More than 4 million people board the subway train at “Pantitlan” Station than all people who board Amtrack daily in all the U.S. . 3 and a half million people ride the subway each day at a cost of about 30cents a ticket, Sr. Citizens ride free.

Minibuses in Mexico City serve 8 million passengers every day.

One thousand planes a day land at Benito Juarez Airport in Mexico City. Private planes have to land at the Toluca Airport 40 miles away.

More than 2 million interstate buses a year arrive and leave Mexico City, there are 4 terminals of which T.A.P.O is the worlds largest & busiest bus station, the 2nd largest is C.A.P.U. bus staion in Puebla, Mexico , 150 miles South of Mexico City.

Random Thoughts

This is a rhetoricle question. Why do so many Americans think the only place to go in Mexico is San Miguel Allende, Lake Chapala or some resort? I mean those places can only hold so many people, then prices skyrocket and everybody bitches about the cost of living. I know, 1.- misinformation & disinformation. they get touted to these places because they can\’t bear the thought of learning a new language, culture or system, eventually they are living in little America at a high cost, The real Estate agents are in their glory, Unable to assimilate. 2.- they are like rabbits, every little thing scares them and they have to live in a gated community with a guard… OK Sucker! just remember there\’s a price tag on that so don\’t complain afterwards.

Yes I know…CRIME…it\’s everywhere pal, I had my hotel room ransacked in Indianapolis so I know everyone there\’s not a Saint. It can happen anywhere and I\’ve seen some nasty things in the States, Drugs everywhere and it\’s going to get worse. When the North stops buying the Cartels will fade into non existence.

OK. Have you ever had your pocket picked?? What?? Your a virgen?? It happened to me twice in Mexico, The cops tell me the slickest \”dips\” come up from Central America, so the Mexicans get hit also. the two times I got snagged, they were so smooth I never felt a thing, luckily they only got an expired drivers license and about ten bucks, but it made me more cautious, usually they work in pairs, one guy dips and transferrs it to an accomplice, even if you know who the dip was and get a cop, he won\’t have any evidence on him. To avoid this use a pouch around your neck, Samsonite makes them. Fanny packs can be snatched, be careful.
Here\’s a design for a \”hidden pocket\” that is excellent for your passport & money. Click mouse on photo to enlarge it. If you lose your passport you will have to go through U.S. Bureaucracy at the embassy to get a new one…you\’ll lose at least a day and it\’ll cost a hundred or more. If you have a hotel with a safe leave it there, dont carry it around, nobodys going to ask you for it unless your changing travelers checks. A hot passport is worth a hundred dollars on the black market. keep copies of it in a seperate place, you\’ll need them to get a new one or at least it will speed things up. Get an accredited guide if you don\’t know the language..Yes I\’m one…look me up. It\’s worthwhile to know which section of town you shouldn\’t wander into while gawking at skyscrapers like a rube from Punkin Crick, Iowa. \”My Garsh, we don\’t have nothing like this in our home town\”.

Advice from the sages, Don\’t wear rings, or jewelry.. get a cheap watch, (do you want to know the time or do you want to impress someone) neither here nor in Big U.S. cities, I heard some gang punks in New York remark about a tourist passing by who had a flashy ring on..\”that\’s worth 10 or 12 rocks (crack). Stay off the subway during peak hours. Last week I noticed that the subway in Mexico City now has cameras & police at each of the stations or at least the major ones downtown. That\’s an improvement.
Act sensible, be alert, don\’t flash…… don\’t embarass me… I may start telling people I\’m Canadian.
Get a phrase book and learn some elemental Spanish.
Some things I\’ve learned over the years..this is the Guru speaking…. \”nothing, absolutely nothing lasts forever.\”…. Also You never know when you\’ve reached your peak (in anything) until you\’re well past it. And when you\’re young you think you\’ll always keep advancing.
Things might be foolproof but they\’re not \”damn fool proof\”.
Have a nice day….

Japanese Scotch

Went to Mexico City a couple of weeks ago… some U.S. movie company was filming downtown. Don’t know who was starring in it but the name of the flic will be, “Persons Unknown”.

 

On the way out of town I noticed a factory on the right hand side of the highway, about ten miles south on the Road to Puebla, its sign said, “Suntory Scotch. de Mexico, S.A..

 

Suntory is a Japanese Company thats been here since 1923, I don’t know what their scotch tastes like but I’ve heard it was pretty good. I’m a Glen Livett man myself and I think the scotch have a better knowledge of brewing… What’s next? Mitsubishi Tequila??
Suntory Whiskey

Suntory Whiskey

Unsung Heros of the Road

green angels logo

green angels logo

GREEN ANGELS TRUCK

GREEN ANGELS TRUCK

So you’re zipping along through the Mexican mountains and suddenly your car conks out. What do you do??

Well, I suggest that you sit there, open your hood & wait. if it’s during the daytime help should arrive in a few hours at the most, in the shape of a green and white utility truck marked “Green Angels”.

Staffed by bilingual mechanics, they patrol the major highways from 8AM till 9PM. They can help you fix a flat, give you gas or a tow to a filling station, if its not a major problem they will fix it for free , just pay for the parts. I had a tire blowout near Saltillo and they came by and changed my spare & escorted me to a filling station at no charge. Very Courteous and efficient. I can think of a few times in the U.S. that I could’ve used help like that.

Easter Dinner in Puebla

Easter Sunday we were invited to Dinner at the “Sombrero Restaurant”A nice place located on 21 Poniente and corner of Atlixco Boulevard.

 A lot of typical Pueblan food and a few items that I call Aztec Food , as they were things I’m sure were around during Old King Moctezuma’s days. For instance: Escamoles (Ant Eggs), Gusanos de Magueyes, (Agave Worms), Not exactly what you will see being served at Macdonalds. So I tried them, Not bad really… I can’t describe the ant eggs, strange taste. The Agave worms were fried & seasoned with lime juice and chili sauce. Check the photos: I look like I’ve been on a 3 day drunk but I swear I wasn’t drinking…at least not much.

Finally I ordered a Tampico Steak to get the taste of ant eggs out of my mouth.  And a dish of Vanilla ice cream with a little chocolate sauce. Hope everyone else had a nice Easter. Before we left an estudiantina Trio came in & sang for us, very nice touch to finish the day. Cheers!!!

Ant Eggs

Ant EggsFried Agave WormsAgave worm canapesant eggs with guacamoleCoronaTampico SteakLive Music

Easter Dinner Photos

Singing Trio

Singing Trio

Tampico Steak
Tampico Steak
Corona Beer
Corona Beer
ant eggs & guacamole
ant eggs & guacamole
Gusanos de Maguey
Gusanos de Maguey
Agave Grub worms

Agave Grub wormsAnt EggsCorona MicheladaTampico Steak

U.S. Dental Caravan

Makeshift dental chair

Makeshift dental chair

Just got back from a trip to Tochimizolco , Puebla, (that means “Place of the reeds and rabbits” in Nahuatl language). Wher we assisted a Caravan of American Dentists and Doctors doing free medical & dental work to the local villagers. This is probably one of the best good will ambassador moves that Americans can do. Many kids left with Colgate Smiles. Steve Sardeson & myself helped give out more than 350 pairs of Reading glasses and helped translate and do many chores for more than 30 dentists and Doctors.

 

Smiles a plenty

Smiles a plenty

reading glasses
reading glassesDental checkupMakeshift dental chair

Crashing Gates,etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Palafox Library

Palafox Library

Chicken with Pipian Verde
Chicken with Pipian Verde

 

 

 If you keep your eyes & ears open, read the news & listen to the radio you just might stumble across new adventures. This is what happened to us the other day. The paper said there was a conference on Baroque Architecture & a Citizens Counsel on tourism & saving historic zones. Well that\’s right up my alley pal…So my wife & I went to Puebla & talked our way into the Conference, Very interesting, We got cut in on a tour of the Palafox Library, the oldest library on this side of the world. They have manuscripts that date back to 1473. A Nuremburg Bible from the 16th Century, original first copy books on Astronomy by Kepler, Copernicus & Newton. Besides that the Architecture is fabulous, makes you feel like your at \”Hogwarts\” (By the way I\’m a drop out from Hogwarts). I kept expecting Harry Potter to walk in.Then we were treated to a nice dinner at \”La Mexicana\” Restaurant…I had Chicken With Pipian Green Sauce made from pumpkin seeds. Back at the conference with many intellectual people, the Director of the National Train Museu

Cathedral in Puebla

Cathedral in Puebla

m gave a lecture, the Tourist Director from Cholula showed up and the Mayor of Puebla came for the finish.

 

The Mayor of Puebla

The Mayor of Puebla

 

 

 

 

 

THE FIRE DOWN BELOW #1

There are many volcanoes in Mexico, some active, some extinct.But the main ones are in a belt that runs throughCentral Mexico from the Pacific Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

I’ll just mention a few of the more interesting ones:

Mount Popocatepetl (“the Smoking Mountain” in Nahautl language) as it has been known for centuries, had a moderate eruption in 1994. every once in awhile it spews out ash & steam. 20% of the Mexican population lives around this volcano. Popocatepetl (also called Don Gregorio by local natives) was born about 700,000 years ago.

If you visit nearby villages like Xalizintla or Amecameca you can find pumice stones everywhere. Great for scouring pots or sanding down callouses.

 

Mount Popocatepetl

Mount Popocatepetl

El Chichon in Chiapas erupted in 1982 causing one of Mexicos worse disasters, killing more than 2,000 people

el chichon

el chichon

 Here in Tlaxcala “La Malinche” erupted 7500 years ago & continued till about 3000 years ago and has been extinct ever since.

On the positive side, volcanic ash makes the soil very fertile.

 

La Malinche (Tlaxcala)

La Malinche (Tlaxcala)

 

The Pico of Orizaba, also known as Citlatlapetl or Star Hill, is Mexicos highest Mountain (5,610 meters), it has been quiet since the 1800′s. right next to it on Cerro Negro is the Worlds largest Radio telescope.

Pico de Orizaba

Pico de Orizaba

The Fire Down Below #2

In the Michoacan Area in 1943 a farmer by the name of Dionisio Pulida was plowing his field when it suddenly opened up and started spewing ash and fire. Within a week a mountain had engulfed his farm.a few months later the town of San Juan Parangaricutin disappeared beneath a layer of lava.The towers of the church in the main square can still be seen emerging from now hardened lava.

 

Paricutin Volcano

Paricutin Volcano

 

Although no one was killed by lava or the eplosion, 3 people died from lightning strikes, a common occurence during volcanic eruptions.

The Church at Paricutin

The Church at Paricutin

 Another highly active Volcano is Nevada de Colimawith more than 29 eruptions since 1560 to the present.

 

 

Colima volcano

Colima volcano

 

 

Thermal Waters

Steve & Bob

Steve & Bob

 This is our last excursion (Mexico Mystic & the Genuine Tourist), we took a trip into the Oriental Sierra Madre Mountains to a Thermal Water Spa tucked away in a canyon in the north part of the State of Puebla.

Thermal Spa

Thermal SpaBob & Steve

 

 A great hideaway place to go and lose all your built up modern stress.

Hot Pools (outside)

Hot Pools (outside)

Inner Pools

Inner Pools

Bridge

Bridge

 

 

Afterwards we discovered an open air pulque bar

Pulque bar

Pulque bar

 A quenching mug of Cactus juice to slake our thirst and we were off to check out the wines made in the nearby town of Zacatlan, also known for their grandfather clocks.

A mug of pulque

A mug of pulque

Wines of Zacatlan

Wines of Zacatlan

check their website:  www.termaleschignahuapan.com.mx

Thermal Scans

 Lots of new things happening, Since the swine flu panic started, the Gov’t. put up a thermal scanner at the Bus Station here in Tlaxcala to see if anybodies trying to sneak in with the boogie-woogie fever.

thermal scan

thermal scan

 

check out my scan with the camera…a cool 37 degrees, neither myself or the camera had a fever.

Bobs scan

Bobs scan

If my image had been red or yellow I would have been detained and dowsed with ice water or forced to drink a pitcher of frozen margaritas (I would hope).

 So the hot item these days are face masks, I use a Generic Blue myself as does my daughter & granddaughter, but I see they are starting to sell them in all shades & colors. I want one with a pirate skull & crossbones on it.

Generic Blue

Generic Blue

 Despite all this flu nonsense, ( I don’t know a single person with the flu), the municipal Government has started a new tourist trolley excursion of the City, a more expanded version than the tourist departments.

New Tourist Trolley

New Tourist Trolley

 Also there’s free internet service in the park for anyone with wireless internet. I see people with laptops quite often at the Zocalo now, mostly students doing homework or chatting.

Free Internet

Free Internet

 The ATAH Bus Companies Direct to the Airport Bus seems to be doing well. They have an Office at the Chalet Hotel on Revolution Boulevard.

Tlaxcala-Mexico City Airport Bus Office

Tlaxcala-Mexico City Airport Bus Office

Airport Bus

Airport Bus

 Well, hope I get to see you soon, although I doubt it…it takes a brave person to come to Mexico. Adios Amigos!!

Termal Springs in Northern Puebla

Good Morning Mexico Mystic and “those listening from sea,” Word Press claims we can now post to our blogs using an email. So I though I would try it. I have attached a few photos of Mexico Mystic, AKA, Robert Cox, and Genuine Tourist, AKA, Stephen Sardeson, aka, Silversard, to test the photo gallery feature. Robert and his spouse Raquel are both registered and formally trained guides who can really get you to some nice places in Puebla and Tlaxcala. They also can meet you in other parts of Mexico and help you out too.Update — the photos I attached were removed from the email when it posted to the blog, so I will have to check on that feature.   I decided to insert three of them directly into the blog which you can see below.

Mexico Mystic and Genuine Tourist

Mexico Mystic and Genuine Tourist

Spouses With Us

Spouses With Us

Mexico Mystic and Genuine Tourist and catus juice

Mexico Mystic and Genuine Tourist and catus juice

 

Currently posting at — http://www.Genuine-Tourist.com A Blog For Those Interested In Photos of Mexico Yahoo Group — http://tinyurl.com/ywzvea Videos of Mexico at — http://tinyurl.com/6hwcqo

Cacaxtla Archeological Murals

One of the Archeological Gems of Tlaxcala are the murals discovered on its pyramid that was discovered in 1975. They are amongst the clearest and realistc pre hispanic paintings ever found. Only about 10 percent of the area has been uncovered so hopefully more paintings will come to light.

Cacaxtla Archeological Zone

Cacaxtla Archeological Zone

The Red Room

The Red Room

corn stalk

corn stalk

stairway

stairway

Venus Room

Venus Room

Eagle Man

Eagle Man

Jaguar Man

Jaguar Man

Back to School

my new diploma

my new diploma

Graduation

Graduation

Recently I wanted to take a special course on

archeological ruins. The School said OK but we need your School Diplomas. So I wrote, and wrote and called and got someone with a Pakistani accent who´s english was almost impossible to understand. After going through this song and dance routine for a couple of months my wife said… even if you finally get it the school will want a translation, why dont you go to school and get a diploma here in Spanish.  OK, she talked me into it.

I had forgotten how painful algebra was…that gave me more trouble than anything..I got a private tutor to reshuffle my burnt neurons enough that I could remember what I had purposely forgotten 51 years ago..yes I´ve been playing hooky that long.  So after about 3 months I took a test and  ZOUNDS!!

I passed. Sometimes I even amaze myself.

Congratulations from the Secretary of Public Education

Congratulations from the Secretary of Public Education

Life after 911

big bro

big bro

Its a rainy day and I´m sitting around meditating as to how things have changed since 911, Why is the world such a mess.

Well for one thing we live in a  plutocracy, the rich make the rules and bad rules at that. 911 forced me to reevaluate things and make changes .

before 911 I was living in Mexico sometimes as an illegal, nobody really cared, I´d run out of money and my visa expired…so what?? Nobody checked except at the border and there were ways to get around that or as an American you could lie your way out of situations, Nobody believed an American was crazy enough to live here at such low wages.

The passenger trains were running and nobody checked papers, you could hop off at Laredo and walk across the bridge, if you were stopped you could say you just came over to buy some tequila.

Those days are gone, After 911 the Immigration Dept started stopping buses and asking for documents, I talked my way out of that a couple of times but I knew it was just a matter of time before the law of averages caught up with me, so I became legal, it cost me a little more but I dont have to look over my shoulder.

 Ah yes, those Saudi Arabians are laughing like hell, they point at the U.S. and say look at what we did.. Americans almost have to strip naked to catch an airplane, their so called freedoms are taken away…ha ha ha…a bunch of Sheep…ha ha ha.   Friends we´re living on borrowed time…either a revolution will brew or slavery will ensue.  And it will be worse in the states than here in Mexico. I´m just hoping when the shootings are over and the smoke clears the Correct side will emerge.

Why is it when a new law comes into effect the law abiding folks are the ones who get hurt by it. example: I use to travel all over the U.S., in order to phone my wife I´d find a phone booth and dump a roll of quarters in it…if I didnt have change I´d tell her to call me back at the phone booth (this was before cell phones became popular), then one day the Telephone company wouldnt allow this..WHY? Because, they said… Drug pushers use the public phone booths as offices so you can only call out not receive. Of course the pushers had the money to afford expensive cell phones so they didnt give a crap.  If they pass enough LAWS finally everyone will be a criminal and you can be arrested at any time.

OK OK , I´m getting off this soapbox and going low profile again… good luck hope you all survive.

Medical Visit

Thanks to the fact that my wife worked as an English teacher for a Federal High School I was able to sneak into the Medical system. (if your spouse is over 55 he or she qualifies). So I get everything free, something I can´t get in the U.S. . Medication, Doctors consultations, analysis, hospitalization, etc. I don´t need much anyway, I have high blood pressure and get meds for that, my wife has high blood sugar.

So the other day we were running low and paid a visit to the Social Security Clinic, we always see the same Dr., They seem amazed that a Gringo shows up. Great service, the only problem is sometimes there´s a long wait to see the Doc, but what the heck, its free.

Registration

Registration

Checking for Sugar

Checking for Sugar

Dr. Lezuma and Assistant

Dr. Lezuma and Assistant

If you want to know the truth….

modern trash pickup

modern trash pickup

There´s an old blues song  that says.¨If you want to know the truth, ask your garbage man¨… your neighbors might be claiming they drink champagne but there´s  Old Milwaukee beer cans in the garbage.

 Today is garbage day … a culture shock for the newcomers, you don´t just put the garbage in front of your house and they pick it up… you wait till you hear a loud clanging noise that is reminiscent of a Chinese battalion charging across the 38th  parrallel while clashing cymbals. Then you take the garbage out and lift it up to the guy on the truck.  I had an American lady who lived next door to me in Puebla and one afternoon as we were loading our garbage I told her..¨we´ve got to stop meeting like this!!

 There´s a tin soup can hanging off the side of the truck for tips, I always put a peso or 2 in it, these guys have a miserable life and if they decide to go on strike ..you´ll have a miserable life

garbage truck

garbage truck

  Some of the larger cities now allow the garbage to be set out on the curb, some villages have no collection service and they have to burn or bury trash. You never see card board boxes behind grocery stores or at least its rare, There are trash scavengers called ¨pepinadors¨who go around looking for recyclable materials. At the major Garbage dumps there are pepinadors who pay a fee to scavenge. I met a preacher once who told me he was invited to go on a ¨3rd World Tour¨a part of which was a visit to the city dump in Mexico City…he said there were 300 to 400 people scavenging there and the smell almost caused him to faint, several families had made caves in the dump in which they were living.  NO Thats not one of my tours.

 At least many things get recycled.. in America Society throws away everything.

Self Defense

 The City recently opened a new Soccer field in front of my house along with a community center. Already they´ve had a few soccer games.

With Astroturf…wow!! And a  12 foot fence to keep the balls from being kicked in the street. Also a covered grandstand with about a 200 person occupancy, although I havent seen more than about 50 people at any game so far but maybe it will  grow.

new soccer field

new soccer field

 I´ve got a ringside seat from my bedroom window.

soccer teams

soccer teams

 Today they had something different the Police Department was giving classes in Self Defense.

what to do when bullied

what to do when bullied

 So they´re going to have these classes every tuesday morning, free of charge.

protect yourself

protect yourself

  There were quite a few girls taking the class also, some store owners and kids. The Police were very courteous and even asked if I could email them photos for their album.

Self Defense Class

Self Defense Class

 Even the police dogs got to watch, they belonged to some of the Police Instructors.

Police Dogs

Police Dogs

MAX the police dog

MAX the police dog

Grandma`s Delights

So today was a special Day, our Goddaughter had a birthday and we got invited out to eat breakfast at Las Delicias de Abuelita…roughly translated thats Grandma`s Delights. A place we`ve ate  at several times and I strongly reccomend it if your in the area. A fantastic breakfast buffet for 80 pesos.

And today the owner was there , my compadre tells me he was a well known player on the Necaxca Soccer team at one time. We had a great time and the food was great . A trio came to sing  las mañanitas…(Happy Birthday) to our goddaughter…nice atmosphere.

Bob & Milo the owner

Bob & Milo the owner

mariachis

mariachis

grandmas delights

grandmas delights

Speaking of food its Chile en Nogada time, this is a special stuffed chile that you can only find at this time of year as all the fruits come into season.

Chile en Nogada

Chile en Nogada

Gas & Water

Can you drink the water in Mexico?? Well, yes and No. Depends on where you`re at…out in the sticks…be careful, big cities…maybe… 5 star hotels …probably safe.   I traveled all over the U.S. and someplaces have nasty water… Sulfur water in some parts of Florida. New York City, I was at a Hotel in N.Y. near Madison Square Gardens  and the water looked like skimmed milk. many towns have flouride in the water which has a metallic tang to it. I tested the water for chlorine in it at my house & it seems to have enough, but I`ve never fully trusted the water here I always buy 5 gallon jugs of purified water. Is it safe…check it out …it runs through a chlorine tank, then a filter then activated charcoal, the health dept. checks them out every two or 3 months. And they´ll deliver it right to your door.

Purified water

Purified water

5 gallon bottles for 10 pesos

5 gallon bottles for 10 pesos

 Need gas? theres trucks going by all the time, a 30 kilo tank costs about 25 dollars , that usually lasts me about 6 weeks.  You can call them on  the phone or catch them in the street.ºº In Tlaxcala they play the X files theme, Another company plays the Good, the Bad and the ugly theme song.

GAS TRUCK

GAS TRUCK

 

George the water man

George the water man

Illegal Immigration–2 stories

While I don’t usually get into “political” issues as a “Genuine Tourist,” I was “moved” to write this article because of a “internet forward” I received about “illegal immigrants” from a dear friend. It seemed to me that a different perspective was in order in view of what appeared to me to be inaccurate reporting. Here is the link to my news column which contains the article –http://sardeson.newsvine.com/_news/2009/07/14/3026236-illegal-or-not-the-story-of-two

Please feel free to offer another perspective but try to do so from your own personal experience.

Stephen, http://www.Genuine-Tourist.com reporting


Interesting Trivia

In August there will be a running of the Bulls in Huamantla , just like in Pamplona, Spain. The Bulls will have a chance at goring drunken tourists before some matador sticks a sword in them. Interesting to watch from a distance, Dangerous to watch if you’re running in front of the bulls.

Huamantla is famous for other things also…know as the “Heroic Town of Huamantla” for repulsing the American Invasion in 1847. A young lady living in the town wheeled a cannon out of her house and fired it at the Invaders killing the leader of the Group, Captain Samuel Walker. Why she had the cannon in her house I don’t know. Maybe the Mexican troops went over for tacos and forgot it.  Anyway, Captain Walkers pistol and several other guns or on view in the local museum. Walker invented a revolver, guess he didnt get to enjoy any profits from it .

Also in August along with the fair is the Night when no one sleeps, local arts and crafts workers make over ten miles of carpets from flowers and colored sawdust through the city streets of which they are destryed the next day by the running of the bulls, theres a museum of bull fighters and a puppet museum in town also.

Another feature of the museum is parts of a telescope that was used to make one of the first photos of the moon in 1885.

Moon photo 1885

Moon photo 1885

House from where canon was fired

House from where canon was fired

Capt. Walkers pistol

Capt. Walkers pistol

Another revolver

Another revolver

National Puppet Museum

National Puppet Museum

Telescope parts from 1885

Telescope parts from 1885

Mexican Street Fair

San Diego Church

San Diego Church

Whenever a Church has a celebration for the Saint it’s named after, they have a street Fair with dancing, Music , a Mass & a carnival.

Here’s one we caught at San Diego Xocoyucan, Tlaxcala.

Fiesta Breads

Fiesta Breads

 

Pirate DVD's

Pirate DVD's

Cotton Candy

Cotton Candy

Tomorrow the Sarape Fair will start in Santa Ana Chiautempan, Tlaxcala. This is where all those colorful Mexican Blankets originally started… Many bargains during the Fair which runs from July 23rd till August 6th.

Santa Ana Blankets

Santa Ana Blankets

Mexican McDonalds

Mexican McDonalds

More Blankets

More Blankets

Open Air Markets

Mexican Markets fascinate me. They always have new and different things. The Spanish tried to stop them but the custom was too deeply ingrained. Even the threat (during the colonial period) of 6 years of penal servitude in the Phillipines couldnt stop them.

Fried pork skins

Fried pork skins

Tropical fruit

Tropical fruit

Theres many fruits here you never see in the States, I guess some are hard to transport.

Noni fruit

Noni fruit

Then we have cactus or prickly pears.

cactus fruit

cactus fruit

Beets, Huazontles and fish

Beets, Huazontles and fish

heres an interesting combination….stove parts and fruit.

all kinds of things

all kinds of things

Magic Mushrooms

The Drug (and Sex) Revolution is over and we”re left in the trenches staring out at the No Man’s Land of Crack & Aids. So this is in memory of my companions who just couldn’t say NO. Ronald Reagan warned them but they just wouldn’t listen. Which makes me wonder…Did Chesterfields bring on Reagans Alzheimer??

Reagan

Reagan

 

 


 

Pipe used in Aztec ceremonies

Pipe used in Aztec ceremonies

 



Some people rationalize and say they aren’t addicts because a Doctor prescribe the meds to them…yeh, …Dr. Feelgood. Thats what Michael J. said…he learned it from his father in law…El said the same thing. Well that might make it Legal but they’re still dead!!

During the 60′s halucinogenics were the fad, now it’s just chemicals, (say goodbye to your brain).

I was in downtown Puebla one day and I spot this kid, staring at the Cathedral, he was about 20, had long hair, a handwoven Mexican vest, and a back pack…stood out like a sore gringo thumb. So i edged over beside him and said, as I pointed Southward…”Oaxaca is that way.” He just about jumped out of his skin… He stared at me and said, “How did you know I was going to Oaxaca?”

 

psylocibe mushrooms

psylocibe mushrooms

 

I told him, “Well, you look like Head, and all heads go to Oaxaca to look for Magic Mushrooms”

He laughed and told me he had been to Oaxaca the year before to do just that. He had went out to the pyramids of Monte Alban and found ‘shrooms growing on cow patties early in the morning before the sun came up. After eating a few he got all spaced out, he said a group of elementary school kids came by with their teacher and they all started pointing at him and laughing. He must have been totally wasted.

When I was in Oaxaca a few years ago I noticed a sign in one of the restaurants at the Zocalo that said: NO HIPPIS ALLOWED!!. I asked the waiter what did they have against the hippys? He said, “They eat those mushrooms, then they come and sit at a table with one cup of coffee for twelve hours. Oh Yeh, Space Cadets!!

Psilocybin is the active ingredient in these mushrooms, known to Prehispanic natives as “Teonanacatl” or The Flesh of the Gods. Its use was strictly regulated by the High Priests and it was used in ritualistic ceremonies in which people “communicated” with the Gods, in order to see the future.

 

'Shroom visions

'Shroom visions

 

In the 60′s the Hippie Movement with the idea of expanded consciousness used these halucinogens in a recreational psychedelic form .

Legend has it that John Lennon came to Oaxaca and tried ‘shrooms with the mushroom priestess Maria Sabina and during a trance like state she predicted his assasination (unconfirmed).

 

Maria Sabina

Maria Sabina

 

Unfortunately drugs have fell into the hands of organized crime and created Mafias and problems worldwide. Probably the best thing to do would be to legalize them to at least take the profits away from the underworld gangs.





HALUCINOGENS OF MEXICO

magic mushrooms

magic mushrooms

The five major halucinogenic plants that were used in Aztec times were mushrooms, peyote, morning glory seeds, Toloache (Datura) and tobacco.

Yes tobacco was used as a hallucinogenic, the Aztecs had tobacco, Christopher Columbus took it back to Europe with him, but the Indians didn’t go around smoking Marlboros. It was used aas a ritualistic drug. Will it produce a hallucination? If you’ve never smoked before and light up tobacco in its pure form, (not this chemically enhanced stuff you get at the smoke shop, then probably it will. I recall my first cigarrette, I was 8 or 9 and my cousin & I sneaked some Bull Durham and some cigarrette papers into his tree house. I was so dizzy I damn near fell out of the tree. I havent smoked in 40 years now so it would probably have the same effect on me.

Using psychotropic meds will help you overcome depression , over 10% of the U.S. use them. Unfortunately many people feel that if a little bit helps then a whole lot will help more. No wonder the States are so screwed up. Pharmaceutical companies have synthesized tmany products from these plants which just puts the psyche in limbo.But the Aztecs were using them in a search for the “soul”. They believed that a person had two forces in them known as “Tonalli” & “Yalyotl”An idea that came from the Toltec Indians who also brought the worship of “Quetzalcoatl” the plumed serpent. They believed these forces entered a person at birth and had to be cared for to keep from losing them. Loss of tonalli was associated with sickness and death. They believed that these inner elements could be seen and manipulated . To regulate these forces they used these sacred plants, administered by shamans or magic medicine men. Chewing or smoking tobacco would induce a trance, drinking a tea of datura seeds or morning glory seeds would give them a clearer vision of this force, peyote and mushrooms would open the force.

Spaniards translated the word tonalli as meaning “soul”, so were the Aztecs looking for their souls? Maybe.

peyote cactus

peyote cactus

Peyote, causes auditory halucinations amongst other things. I knew this guy, his name was Gypsy Red, he got busted for walking down mainstreet in Fargo at midnight, naked with nothing on but a book bag full of peyote. He did a year for possession , I saw him a year later when he got out , I told him, “Red, the Lakota Indians have a religion in wwhich they use peyote as a part of the religious ceremony, you should’ve told the cops you were in that religion”. He said, “Well that might explain the peyote but do they also walk naked down main street at midnight?? I guess not Red.

Like Ronald Reagan said or as Red called him “Ronald Raygun”., …Just say NO.

toloache or datura

toloache or datura

heavenly blue will do

heavenly blue will do

tobacco

tobacco

Use moderation in all things my friends….have a good day !

A Gringo’s Guide to Taco Stands

tony's taco stand

tony's taco stand

pork taco with chipotle sauce

pork taco with chipotle sauce

taco stand

taco stand

This is an article I wrote for my chat group a couple of years ago, but I figure a good story is worth telling again.

If you´re going to blend in and assimilate with the natives you need to know the proper proceedure for selecting a street taco stand.

First of all in general, the more people at the taco stand the better the salsa is. There should be at least one or two dogs prowling around waiting for a hand out.

And there should be a few famous “Mexican Biological H2O Fly Repellers” hanging from the roof, (these are clear plastic bags filled with water, I don´t understand the scientific principle involved here but Mexicans assure me that it will exorcise flies).

The Salsa, chopped onion and cilantro bowls should be well stocked and there should be plenty of sliced limes to douse your tacos with.Also there should be plenty of cold “chescos”, (soft drinks or soda pops, depending on where you´re from), and cold beer.

THE TAQUERO OR TACO MAKER

The taquero should be an adult preferably with a moustache to show that he´s a macho mexicano, skillful with a butcher knife at least enough so to chop the meat on the chopping block while with his left hand he turns the tortillas warming on the griddle.

He should have a good memory as to who ordered what while hurling out tacos to his forever hungry clientel. And sufficient administrative capabilities to give orders to his trainees, (at least one).

When making tacos al pastor (sheperds tacos), he should be skillful enough to slice a piece of pineapple from the top of the barbecue spit (this is similar to gyros in the U.S.),

and have it land on the meat taco in his hand as f it fell from heaven. Theres a taco stand on Avenida Juarez in Puebla where this act takes place every night.a real work of artistic merit. And the Taquero has to have a white apron (absolutely mandatory)

HELPERS OR TRAINEES

Trainees also have to wear a white apron but a moustache is optional, after all they´re only helpers.

Their only natural talent is to identify and scan pretty “mamacitas”. they should have nicknames like, “skinny”, or “chubby” or “brother in law”. Their basic reading in literature is comic books like “Archie”.

The main function of a trainee is to chop onions and cilantro and quarter limes. Also to open cokes or beer after being asked two or three times.

They know the menu by heart and their classic answer around closing time is “we´re out of beef tacos”.

Taco patrons

Any gringo can be a serious consumer of tacos. Remember the taco is a vice that has no respect for sex, age or social status.

Before anything you should ask,” Whatcha got boss?” , Review the food and make your choice.

Make strategic moves by getting as close to the salsa bowls as possible at least arms length but not so far as to spill it on other patrons. A taco patron does not ask for forgiveness…he asks for more tacos…and only two at a time so they won´t grow cold

bon apetit…….

MEXICAN WEDDING

In my eternal quest to survive in MEXICO I sometimes do photo jobs WHEN i’m not guiding tourists. LAST WEEK i shot a wedding in PUEBLA and it was doubly enjoyable as the groom was Italian and the bride was Mexican , two of the most fun loving ethnic groups on earth, in my opinion.

The Antoinelli/Palma Wedding

The Antoinelli/Palma Wedding

The church of the CHURCH of El Cielo or the Heavens on san Juan Hill.with a backdrop of angels.

A bevy of beautiful bridesmaids

A bevy of beautiful bridesmaids

the reception

the reception

The party lasted till about 2 pm..around 200 people showed up.

TEQUILA

TEQUILA

There was plenty of tequila and beer…the party got happier as the night progressed.

salsa verde

salsa verde

Green sauce and garnish along with carnitas and rice.

turkey dance

turkey dance

Heres a custom that was added that you usually only see performed in the provinces, dancing  with a turkey. This lady seems worried as to what the turkey might do.

Walter dances with the turkey

Walter dances with the turkey

But the grooms father didnt seem to mind.

taking off the garter

taking off the garter

Another classic tradition is taking off the garter and throwing it into the crowd of guests.

throwing the garter

throwing the garter

And the happy couple cut the cake…. may their marriage be a successful one.

cutting the cake

cutting the cake

Josh films a new flic

Last month we spent a whole day scouting out locations that looked desolate for Josh’s new film, a sci fi epic of 12 minutes anout nano bots destroying mankind. Sort of reminds me of ” the Blob”…instead of Steve McQueen we had Josh’s brother Paul playing the lead. Rain caused delays, price overruns, prima donnas, etc., just like in real life, good experience to know what directors have to put up with in the big leagues. Of course there are perks also, you get to be well known and you get to date the leading ladies.

 Afterwards my wife and I had the crew over (15 people) to eat dinner at our house, (a kind of hollywood catering service).

The Director & friend

The Director & friend

The leading man and friend

The leading man and friend

Director and script writer

Director and script writer

Steve is told of his impending death

Steve is told of his impending death

running overtime

running overtime

 If there are any Hollywood film companies that would like to help the career of an aspiring film producer..director…actor in his quest for a brilliant career please write or send a donation.

 Mike shoots Steve

Mike shoots Steve

 

AT LAST....FOOD!

AT LAST....FOOD!

THE CREW

THE CREW

Don’t get too serious

 getting serious will cause stress, run your blood pressure up and kill you. ease up and read this.

here is an excerpt from a children’s book written by Dave Pilkey….titled…”Captain Underpants and the Perilous Plot of Professor Poopypants”.  The Professor forces everyone to assume a new name

Let’s see what your name will be. 

(1)…. use the third letter of your first name to determine your new first name:

a)= poopsie                   n)= zippy

b)= lumpy                     o)= goober

c)= buttercup                p)= doofus

d)= gidget                      q)= slimy

e)= crusty                      r)= loopy

f)= greasy                      s)= snotty

g)= fluffy                       t)= tulefel

h)= cheeseball                  u)= dorkey

i)= chim-chim                    v)= squeezit

j)= stinky                         w)= oprah

k)= flunky                        x)= skipper

l)= boobie                         y)= dinky

m)= pinky                          z)= zsa-zsa

……………………………………………………………………..

Now, use the second letter of your last name to determine the first half of your new last name:

a)= apple                       n)= rhino

b)= toilet                      o)= bubble

c)= giggle                      p)= hamster

d)= burger                     q)= toad

e)= girdle                       r)= gizzard

f)= barf                         s)= pizza

g)= lizard                       t)= gerbil

h)= waffle                      u)= chicken

i)= cootie                        v)= pickle

j)= monkey                       w)= radish

k)= potty                         x)= tofu

l)=liver                            y)= gorilla

m)= banana                       z)= stinker

………………………………………………………………………

Use the fourth letter of your last name to determine the second half of your new last name:

a)= head                     n)= chunks

b)= mouth                   o)= hiney

C)= face                     p)= biscuits

d)= nose                     q)= toes

e)= tush                      r)= buns

f)= breath                   s)= fanny

g)= pants                      t)= sniffer

h)= shorts                     u)= sprinkles

i)= lips                          v)= pickle

j)= honker                      w)=squirt

k)= butt                         x)= humperdink

l)= brain                         y)= brains

m)= tushie                       z)= juice

——————————————–

George Bush’s new name is:

Goober Chickenshorts….. what’s yours??

have a good day… Sincerely your moderater…

Lumpy Bubblehumperdink

the captain

the captain

cactus juice tour

It looks like I’m back on line so I’ll briefly mention a tour we gave last week to a Pulque Plantation where we saw how cactus juice was extracted from Agave Plants

my new mode of transport

my new mode of transport

 

after cutting into the plant and extracting the “honey water” we took it to the brewing vats.

tour group

tour group

the tlachicuero or extracter

the tlachicuero or extracter

 

the brewing vats

the brewing vats

Everyone got to sample the brew

Everyone got to sample the brew

a large nopal cactus plant

a large nopal cactus plant

 

 

Afterwards we went on a hayride around the bullfight ranch.

hayride

hayride

 Then back to the hotel in Tlaxcala…..

Jerocs Hotel

Jerocs Hotel

5 star hotel

5 star hotel

Jerocs..nice decor

Jerocs..nice decor

Jerocs garden

Jerocs garden

The Weeping Woman Legend

Since Halloween is almost upon us ,this ghost legend should be apropo. The Legend of the weeping woman goes back as far as prehispanic times. Mexican mothers use it to scare their children by telling them if they stay out at night the weeping woman will kidnap them.

 According to Prehispanic Codices (Aztec pictographic books), ten years before the arrival of the Conquistadors, many strange occurences took place around Tenochitlan  (now Mexico City), A sudden fire burned the temple of Huixtlipochtli the god of war, siamese twins were born, a comet passed over in great brilliance (Haley’s to be exact), a crane was caught on Lake Texcoco that had a mirror like rock imbedded in its head and when King Moctezuma looked at it he saw strange white men with red beards riding on deer (horses were unkown in Mexico before 1519), with strange weapons.

All very ominous signs and another worrisome thing was every night the King could hear a woman crying on the lake outside his palace saying, “My children, my children, where are my children?” He sent servants to investigate but they couldn’t find anyone.

After the Conquest and many deaths from the war and plagues, ther were many mothers mourning the fate of their children and the country.

The Conquest

The Conquest

The second legend, about the time of the early years of Spanish Colonialism says that an Indian girl fell madly in love with a Spanish soldier who fathered her children and then abandoned her. The bereft girl drowned her children and commited suicide and now her ghost, veiled and in a white dress wanders the streets of the city looking for wayward children to kidnap.

the weeping woman in the right hand corner

the weeping woman in the right hand corner

the weeping woman legend

the weeping woman legend

If you happen to be in Mexico City between now and November  22nd, Go to the Xochimilco Floating Gardens and catch a flatboat to see the Theatrical production of “La LLorona”, it takes place on an island in the lake after dark. Go on Halloween for an extra spooky time.

"La LLorona" theatrical play

"La LLorona" theatrical play

Talavera Tiles of Puebla

After the Conquest the Spanish started teaching natives how to make Talavera ceramic plates, tiles and ceramicware. These arts have been passed down from generation to generation and Puebla is without a doubt amongst the greatest craftsmen in this field.

 One of the most reknown  Talavera Ceramic factories is the Uriarte Shop located at 4 Poniente. Tiles ablaze with color. Here are a few examples of their work.

 

Uriarte  ceramic factory

Uriarte ceramic factory

 

Ceramic shop in Puebla

Ceramic shop in Puebla

 

The Patio

The Patio

 

Peacocks

Peacocks

THE LAST SUPPER

THE LAST SUPPERtalavera lamp

talavera tiles

talavera tiles

 TO SEE ALL THE PHOtOS GO TO THIS LINK……

check the factories website at:

Gastronomical Event

Americas contribution to Mexican Culture

Americas contribution to Mexican Culture

Last Friday, October 23rd, was the culmination of Immigrants Week and the Immigration Department had a gastronomical event in which immigrants living in Tlaxcala all brought a representative dish of their countries.

 I brought Barbecued ribs with potato salad. There were many countries represented and everyone had a great time with a lot of camaraderie.  Mara Magadi, an American lady who lived many years in Kenya gave an exposition of her photographic work, the municipal band played musical accompaniment and many people came to sample the food.

The consumer protection agency of Mexico also attended and gave out free magazines of Consumers Guide.

To see all my photos go to this link:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30875826&l=b4081a5165&id=1162394476

Hope y’all can come down sometimes and pull up a chair and sit a spell…and have a healthy heapin’ of hospitality.  WAY DOWN SOUTH.

Architectural Gems of Puebla, Mexico

 A walk around the center of Puebla is a sight sensation of fantastic buildings, some dating back to the early Colonial period and others from the French Intervention and then the golden age of Porfirian architecture.

 Some houses with hidden legends and others just a joy to look at and admire.

THIS ONE DATES BACK TO THE MID 1500′S.

xochuca, buildings, etc. 106

THE HOUSE OF DOLLS

xochuca, buildings, etc. 183

tHE "ALMOND ICING" HOUSE

puebla centro 093

tHE HOUSE OF THE qUEEN

 NUMBER #11 REFORMA STREET… now used as Administrative offices of the University of Puebla.

puebla centro 087

The Thomas Alva Edison University

 Click on this link to see all the photos of Architectural buildings in Puebla.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2042468&id=1162394476&l=01cae2b759

Halloween and the Day of the Dead

october 005

the great great grandson of Boris Karloff?

 One of the most colorful times of the year has just occurred…a blend of two cultures and 2 holidays. The Day of the Dead and Halloween. Halloween is more of an American custom but it has slowly integrated with the Day of the Dead and I know…they’re both paganistic in origin but the kids love a costume party.

 The more Mexican Holiday features offerings for the Dead..I{ve yet to see the dead come and partake of any offerings but it sure is colorful.

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incense burner

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pleeeeeeaze !!!

 There’s a saying… it’s better to say,” I’m sorry, forgive me”…than to say, “May I”.

 To see all my photos go to this link….

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2043468&id=1162394476&l=7a70d4be3a

The Dolores Olmedo Museum

 Went to Mexico City last Saturday to the Dolores Olmedo Museum. Mrs. Olmedo was a friend of Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo. She had the largest collection of Frida Kahlo paintings in the world. Unfortunately I wasnt allowed to photograph them but there was many other things to see and photograph. The estate itself is magnificent, there are 11 salons and many temporary exhibits and events going on. Mrs. Olmedo was also fond of Xoloitzcuintla dogs, a prehispanic breed of dog that is almost extinct. I had only seen 4 in 40 years in Mexico but Saturday I saw at least a dozen.

The museum is located near Xochimilco and if you visit Mexico City I reccomend that you see this museum. Entrance fee was $55 pesos. You should go catch a flatboat ride around Xochimilco while your there also.

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entrance to museum

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peacocks

pre hispanic dog

the xoilotzcuintle dog

for more photos go to this link…………………….

http://travel.webshots.com/album/575393781vAcHCU?vhost=travel

Tlaxcala State Fair

 The State Fair is in full swing and its always a good idea to check Fairs out to see what’s new and innovative. My wife and I went to check it out and it really got crowded. But it was worth going to see the new things, colorful sites, the smells of food cooking on the midway, the animal and art exhibits.

 Something different was ostrich meat hamburgers and tacos… it wasn’t exactly my favorite cuisine but it wasnt bad,,presumably its healthier than pork or beef. After eating them I had a strange urge to go hide my head in the sand.

We stopped to see the art exhibit in the Convention Center located on the Fairgrounds, very colorful and interesting.

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Artist Carlos Adrian Fernandez

tlax state fair 003

Ostrich meat tacos

tlax state fair 007

Brahma Bull Ride

To see all the photos related to this article go to the following link…..

http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/575456158hxjtYT?vhost=entertainment

The Floating Gardens of Mexico (Xochimilco)

 While in Mexico City you don’t want to miss the Floating Gardens, over a hundred kilometers of interlaced canals dating back to pre hispanic times. Started by Aztec agriculturists who would lay out wood covered with woven mats then covered with dirt on which they would plant gardens. Over the centuries the roots of trees and plants embedded themselves in the lake bottom and formed islands, Today there are still families who have handed down this tradition from one family member to another.

Now you can take a trip down the canals on a flower covered flat bottom boat and see the flower gardens while being serenaded by mariachis in canoes, and being offered everything imaginable from vendors such as trinkets, snacks, complete meals and alcoholic drinks…prices vary depending on size of the boat, length of trip, etc. Prices are posted and are negociable, we got a small boat last time with a capacity for 4 to 6 people, voyage took 2 hours and cost $200 pesos (about $16 Dollars).

flatbottom boats--Trajineras.

purchasing flowers

Where's the floating cantina??

go to this link to see more photos,,,,

http://travel.webshots.com/album/575386043cxUUcq?vhost=travel

Working in Mexico

 I keep seeing other blogs where people say things like, “I’m a Registered Nurse or Lawyer or what have you and I want to do my profession in Mexico, What does it pay? etc.,”

 I mean are you crazy? It doesnt work like that. Either you’re with an established company that can’t find a Mexican National to do it correctly or you’re an entrepreneur that has figured out a way to make a living. And even then it will be less than if you did the same thing in the States.

Anyway, they ask, “How can I supplement my pension, I want to retire in Mexico but I want to work…What can I do???”

Here’s a few suggestions:

 
 

Fire eater

Fire eating on the corner, working a lineup of cars. Remember to blow the flames upward and not at potential clients, it’s best if you don’t have a moustache.

street juggler

 Work the lineup of cars at the red light….ask for tips before it turns green.

Pick pocket

Take a cue from Fagan and David Copperfield and become a “dip”. This is more lucrative on the subway. check and see what the bribe is if you get caught.

the metro dip

windshield cleaner

Cleaning windshields on the corner during  rush hour traffic can be a fun and exhilirating experience, be quick and don’t use dirty rags…be professional.

car park director,,,franelero

help people in & out of parking spaces….must be able to whistle, red flannel cloth for signaling approaching vehicles. A pair of brass knuckles will come in handy when other franeleros decide to beat you up for invading there territory.  All jobs are fraught with danger, so take care.

pan handler

crack dealer

palm reader

adult diaper changer

 You can charge by the hour or the piece. See how many opportunities are available?

Urban Legends of Mexico El Chupacabra

 Mexicans are very superstitious, they have firm and deepseated beliefs in flying saucers, ghosts and the Chupacabra (Goatsucking monster who drains the blood from animals).

They believe it so much that even a “B” Movie was made about it.

The Chupacabra

 Supposedly from “eye witness” accounts this is what it looks like…

Goat sucker

 Also here and in many parts of the world there are cow mutilations…. mostly T bone and Sirloin steaks are missing which give rise to the rumor that its a crime commited by a deranged butcher, Jack the Rippers reincarnation or the Chupacabra.

WHEN mount Popocatepetl erupted a few years ago, the government sent the Army up to the village closest to the crater (Xalizintla, Puebla)to conduct rehearsed evacuations as a safety matter. after the first trial evacuation many of the villagers refused to leave. I asked a few of them Why? and they said after they had been taken away in trucks to a town a hundred miles away and they went back…their goats disappeared. Was it goat rustlers, the army personell left behind or the Chupacabra?? No one seems to know.

 Anyway if you should see a Chupacabra …don’t say baaaa ! You’re courting disaster.

On the other hand, if you see a ghost…(an elderly wizened lady of 90 told me this… You should ask the ghost…”Where is the gold hidden?”

spooks

Culture…other than yogurt..

The last couple of weekends has been very entertaining …we went to see the nutcracker suite in Puebla and got to see it again in Tlaxcala by the same ballet company as our granddaughter is in the play. It was presented by the Danilova Ballet School and very professionally done,great costumes and scenery.

The Nutcracker Suite

bon bon's

 also musical accompaniment was provided by the Puebla Music Conservatory’s Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.

The nutcracker suite

ballet dancer

Go to this link to see all of “The Nutcracker Suite Photos”….

http://entertainment.webshots.com/album/576045441NRlaqT?vhost=entertainment

New Years Day in Mexico City

 I wanted to go to Ixtapa to lay on the Beach but all the Airlines were loaded, all the Beach Hotels had reached capacity…so I thought..Hell…everybody left Mexico City, thats the place to go.

And I was right…plenty of hotels and lots of places to visit.

the little horse

graffiti in Mexico City

attacked by "Predator"

templo mayor archeological zone

 We went to the Templo Mayor in downtown Mexico City…it was great.

Then we saw the worlds largest Christmas tree…it got into the Guiness world book of records, 99 meters tall, over a million lights.

Hope everyone has a good new year….check the links for more photos…

http://travel.webshots.com/album/576175460iaWGbO?vhost=travel 

http://travel.webshots.com/video/3029121520105797444AlnewM?vhost=travel

Also got to see some huge meteorites in the mining museum…

meteorites..found in chihuahan desert

E.T. Phone Home

worlds largest milimetric telescope

 The University of Massachussets and the National Astrophysics Institute of Puebla are carrying out a joint venture with the Worlds largest Radio Telescope located on  Top of Sierra Negra Mountain at an altitude of 4,850 meters above sea level near Ciudad Serdan , Puebla,

large millimeter telescope

 They will be studying primitive stars, comets , organic molecules and satellite atmospheres.

extra terrestials on the brink of discovery??

mt. sierra negra and the pico of orizaba

work on the telescope started in 2006 and was just recently finished, Tests are being run every day by scientists and astronomers from different parts of the world.

 The Telescope cost close to 350 million dollars to build, the reflective disc is about 150 feet in diameter, a highly sensitive instrument to chart the universe.

for more info check this link…

http://www.springerlink.com/content/u104408415587l00/

The Snows of Mexico

  This has been an unusual week, all the surrounding volcanoes have snow on them and a lot of snow. And I hear the South has been blanketed also. Southerners are completely lost when it snows and Mexicans even moreso. However todays a nice day, the suns shining and its about 62 degrees, theres still snow on the mountains.  I had to work in it a few times in the states, it’s pretty on a mountain top but I was in Grand Rapids one year and Chicago another…when it turns to black slush it ceases being pretty. Being from the South I’m lost in it…thats why I’m in Mexico.   See you folks after the Spring Thaw…..!!!!

Popocatepetl blowing off steam

Alans first snowball fight

Mike cools it in the forest around Popocatepetl

to see more photos of the snow on the volcanoes go to this link…

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2053951&id=1162394476&l=6464c57fe3

Going to a movie

 The genuine tourist & his wife were in town so we decide to take in a movie. Here you can see what a horrible theatre we went to… They kept bugging us before the show started asking if we wanted a Margarita or a Martini (extra dry).   Life is Hard South of the Border.

At the Movies...I'll have a Tequila Sunrise !!

Steve relaxing after a hard day browsing through the Mall

V.I.P. Movie Theatre at ·Angelopolis" in Puebla, Mexico

 I don’t know if I can stand much more of this primitive living.

The movie was “Desde mi Cielo” (“Lovely Bones”).

Pirate Play

Just got back from the Sierra Mountains where we did a Skit about Pirates to entertain the Dr.’s and nurses at the mission….here it be mates.

 We are now in the process of getting ready for another medical/dental mission in April.

 

Mountain Medical Mission

Heres more photos on our Mission trip to the Sierra Mountains. The weather was cold but the people were warmhearted. About 30 Dr.s & nurses showed up and half of them went further up in the Mountains to a Village called Ixtepec while we stayed in the village of Tatoxcac and saw about 500 people . check the photos.

Bob & Dr. Boyce

 

our first patient was a 2 day old baby girl who was in good shape but needed a checkup.

 

Dr. Boyce sees another patient

 go to this link to see more photos.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2057834&id=1162394476&l=db4f8ba6a7

Dental Caravan in Mexico

 As a finishing touch on their Excursions in Mexico, the Genuine Tourists (Steve & Pat) went on a dental mission to a small village in the State of Puebla, along with many dentists, nurses, Doctors intrepreters and myself.

We saw many villagers who were in need of medical & dental assistance. It was very rustic but left us with a feeling of joy to be able to help them. Pat & Steve are back in the States now but hopefully we will be able to do something similar next year.

Steam coming from Mount Popocatepetl

to see more photos of the dental mission go to :

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2061426&id=1162394476&l=f88e02d120

Thanks to all my readers

viva la revolution

Many thanks to my readers, I hit 50,000 hits as of yesterday. Think I’ll drink to that. Keep coming back, theres more to come.  ♥

Doroteo Arango aka Pancho Villa

APIZACO TOUR

 Last Friday I had the honor of giving a tour of the Town I live in to the Director (Lic. Fernando Juarez)   of INTEC (A school of Computation), some Teachers & Students. It’s not often that anyone wants to tour Apizaco as it is more of an industrial city than a tourist area, but there are a few interesting things to see.

 Apizaco in Nahuatl language means place of thin water or literally “little creek”, it was started by railroad workers in 1866 who were building the first railroad line from Veracruz to Mexico City. At that time is was little more than a camp for the workers. So most of Apizacos history is based around the railroad. They built workshops and a roundhouse and little did they realize back then that it would become a thriving city.

mini train at mayors office

        When the first trains started running in Mexico Benito Juarez came down on it to inaugarate the station in Puebla, it did an astounding maximum speed of 32 kilometers per hour. He stopped in Apizaco where he was given a 21 canon salute. And with the modernizing of the transport system it caused a boom in business, suddenly ranchers could get there cattle to market more efficiently, pulque (cactus juice) sales soared , the sport of bullfighting reached new heights, all kinds of new businesses bloomed.

 Crime also modernized, on February 20th of 1870, a group of armed horsemen robbed the train of 2700 pesos (pesos were gold back then) and watches, rings, etc., by a bandit leader named  Sotero Lozano. As he was departing he gave the Conductor a signed receipt for the amount robbed.  Why he did that I have no idea…..maybe he thought if he was caught he would tell the judge he intended paying it back ??

 Just 3 weeks later the train was robbed again by a group of bandits lead by Paulino Noriega… this time no receipt. The railroad learned its lessen and the next trains carried a contingent of armed soldiers, thus ending the robberies.

 On the tour we visited the Basilica of the Virgen of Mercy, the monument of Railroad Hero, Jesus Garcia who jumped aboard a train of gunpowder and roared out of town (the town of Nacozari, Sonora) and died in a tremendous explosion but saved the town., also we visited the train museum, a miniature train exhibit and the railroad union offices where we were greeted by the Secretary General in charge of the Railway Workers Union, (Mr. Pedro Stevenson) and his brother Marco Antonio Stevenson who explained the murals in the building and train history.

 Retired Railway Worker  Don Ruben Leon told us many interesting anecdotes & stories about his work with  the railroad in Apizaco.

the basilica of the virgen of mercy

Hanging out of the caboose

 To see more of our tour of Apizaco, go to this link…… http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2062578&id=1162394476&l=1ddc961fb5  

FREE ENTERPRISE

 Free enterprise… seems like Mexico has more of it than the U.S., try to start a shoestring operation in the U.S. and you will immediately be strangled by red tape, regulations & power mad bureaucrats.

 In Mexico I see people start businesses with practically nothing, pure entrepreneurs, for example Ive seen people hang a sign outside their house that reads… comida corrida (homecooked meals)… or they wait till evening and open up a street corner taco stand to supplement a meager income.

Can’t do that in the U.S., I know, I know, the “authorities” are protecting YOU.

I think I’m smart enough to protect myself and save money while I’m doing it. last night the baked banana man came down the street selling his goods…isn’t this better than having him ask for welfare? Or crawling through the desert to be an illegal alien? check hm out.

baked bananas

a baked plantain, (Macho Banana)

check the video..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9z-h1fILfTU

MILITARY MUSEUM

Emiliano Zapata

Zapatas sword

 The military museum in Puebla has expanded their exhibits in celebration of cinco de mayo. Very interesting pistols on display. A Sgt. Gerardo gave us a tour of the facility and everything was spit & shine correct.

They’re closed on mondays but operate the other 6 days.

tuesday to friday…from 10:00 AM to 10 PM.

Saturday from 10 AM till 1:00 PM.

Sunday… from  10 AM till 4:00 PM.

Entrance is free.

located at 4 Poniente no. 516,  Historic District

Puebla, Mexico

THE MILITARY MUSEUM

They have 6 exhibition rooms featuring;

*childhood of General Zaragoza

*Armament

*History of the Reform War

*Ministry of War

*The Battle of Cinco de Mayo

*The Evolution of the Mexican Flag

They also have a Library, an audio visual salon & a videoteca.

To see more go to this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2063956&id=1162394476&l=3a33e9a342

MEXICO MYSTIC AND Claudia

A Guest Editorial by Genuine Tourist, Stephen Sardeson . . . . published without solicitation

Although Bob Cox, AKA, Mexico Mystic, would not “put his family out there,” I would like to share with readers how Mexico has been enriched by Bob, a one time, long time, illegal alien, South of the Border gringo, who has finally decided to “go straight.”

While young but not too foolish, Bob married a young lady from Puebla who new “better English” than the girl he first dated in Mexico. I guess it was the right call because the young lady, named Raquel, went on to be an accomplished English teacher in the Mexico federal school system for over 30 yrs.

In between “leaping over tall buildings with a single bound,” she also “pushed out” for him two children, named Michael and Claudia. Of course, Michael and Claudia both become fluent in Spanish and English, like their parents, and went on to give Bob and Raquel a total of 4 grandchildren who currently all live in Puebla.

You can see photos of both Bob and Raquel at –

http://mexicomystic.wordpress.com/about/
Continue reading

CINCO DE MAYO–ALL PEUBLA

Puebla celebrated the 148th Anniversary of the defeat of French Invaders at the Battle of Cinco de Mayo  with a two hour Parade. Many bands, floats and Military personell marched in it.

Cinco de Mayo parade...Puebla, Mexico

To see more of the parade go to this link….

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2064578&id=1162394476&l=4cabb3c4e8

ON TOUR–With Mexico Mystic

Last year, we asked Mexico Mystice and his equally knowledge spouse, Rachel, to “show us the town,” and they served up Mexico City (DF) on a platter to us.  Here are some photos from the first two days “of a three day tour.”

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Silversard, AKA, Genuine Tourist Reporting in from Baraboo, WI, USA

 

North Sierra Madre Eco Tour

 What is it about waterfalls and gurgling mountain streams that relaxes a person ? Sort of like white sound when the TV goes off and its just a hiss that lulls you into lala land.

We went into the mountains & checked out waterfalls and had a picnic the other day…it sure was relaxing to get away from traffic street noise, that kind of stuff will stress you out.

The Tuliman Falls Ecological Area

It was  very peaceful and even as guides we also enjoyed it…communing with nature… I didn’t hug any trees but I still dug it !!

Some of the Falls

 Check this  video out…..

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmgqo3fJozw

Check out all the photos at this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2065530&id=1162394476&l=e223692970

Tarzan in Mexico

 Yes Tarzan lived in Mexico… in Acapulco to be exact.  Johnny Weismuller loved Mexico enough that he bought a house overlooking Acapulco Bay and continued living there until he died at the age of 84.  Mr. Weismuller won many gold medals in the olympics. He was married to Mexican spitfire actress Lupe Velez who was also a lover of Diego Rivera, they were  married from 1933 till 1939. Hollywood moguls thought it would be better if Johnny was single as he was a very masculine star, so they offered Lupe ten grand if she would accept a divorce.   Johnny was married five times.  He bought the Flamingo Hotel and was in partnership with John Wayne. It was a hot spot to visit for movie stars and was frequented by Red Skelton, Richard Widmark, Liz Taylor, Gary Cooper, Errol Flynn and Lana Turner.

Johnny also made a number of movies in which he played “Jungle Jim”.

JUNGLE JIM

Tarzan downs a brew

 As you can see here, Tarzan wasnt such a prude that he didnt mind downing a beer.

 Johnny died at the age of 84 in Acapulco  on January 21st of 1984.  A recording of his Tarzan yell was played at the graveside. He was buried at Panteon Valle de Luz in Acapulco. The American Ambassador John Gavin attended the funeral.

the Tarzan yell

 

 Legend has it that once while  Johnny was   playing golf in Cuba, some of Fidels rebels came down out of the mountains intending to kidnap him  and when he saw them he let out with his famous Tarzan yell. The rebels were in awe of him & instead of kidnapping him they escorted him back safely to his hotel.

Dream of a Sunday afternoon in Alameda Park

Diego Rivera Mural

 If you visit Mexico City you don’t want to miss this mural by Diego Rivera that he painted in 1947. It measures 64.4 sq. meters, 4.17 meters high by 15.6 meters long, Originally it was in the vestibule of the Hotel Del Prado across the street from where the painting is now located. After the earthquake of 1985 the Hotel suffered irreparable damage and the painting was moved to its new location.

 It depicts the History of the Park as Diego recalled it in his childhood and mentions many historic references to it. We see Diego’s self portrait as a child strolling through the park holding the hand of a “Catrina” (Death) while dreaming of a perfect love, (Frida Kalo standing behind him.

a portion of the mural

 Also in the painting is Jose Marti, Father of Cuban Independence (tipping his hat), Jose Marti lived in Mexico for about a year, he was well known in the literary society as a poet. He wrote the words to the song, “Guantanamera”. He died in combat in Cuba in 1895. The “Catrina” (Death Figure) immortalized by the Painter Jose Posadas, standing to the right, wears a Boa of feathers shaped like a snake, prehispanic symbol of the plumed serpent, “Quetzalcoatl”. Standing behind Posadas is Ricardo Magon, Liberal Writer who was against the Dictator Porfirio Diaz. He was forced out of the Country but kept writing against the Tyranny of Diaz and was persecuted even in the U.S., he died in Prison in the States.

Gen. Winfield Scott

 General Scott, (known as “old fuss’n’ feathers”) during the Mexican American war, camped his troops in Alameda Park for almost two years.

Liberal Thinker, Ignacio Ramirez

One of the many figures in the mural, Diego added Ignacio Ramirez, who during a Conference at his Academy in 1836 had said “God does not Exist”, Diego painted this phrase into the mural, enraging the Catholic populace, a priest went to the hotel Del Prado and scratched the phrase out, Rivera came and repainted it in but later removed it because of the controversy.
There are more than a hundred historical figures in the mural, Diego loved color and many of his murals can be found in the National Palace, the Secretary of Public Education Offices & Bellas Artes.
One of my favorites is in Bellas Artes called, “Man in Charge of His Destiny”, The Murals there are a recreation of a mural he was commisioned to do in the Rockefeller Center in New York but were deemed too “left leaning” and destroyed.
check them out here:

Destiny mural

 

The CIA, John Foster Dulles, The United Fruit Company

  Exploitation of the fruit pickers in Central America, Rockefeller had the Mural destroyed, since he paid for it I guess he could do as he wished but Rivera recreated it in Mexico City.

Here’s the dream on a sunday afternoon in all its glory…..

A DREAM... PART 1

A DREAM...PART 2

A DREAM... PART 3

A DREAM...PART 4

Oaxaca… pronounced “Wa..Ha..Kah”

THE TULE TREE

Oaxaca has its big celebration in July, called the “Guelaguetza”, lots of folklore dancing, colorful costumes and food. Theres many things that attract tourists to Oaxaca, its History, Benito Juarez was born there. He spoke no Spanish just the Zapoteca Indian language but was a brilliant kid and learned the language, went to law school and eventually became the President.

Other things that are attractive are the Archeological zones of Monte Alban & Mitla. Monte Alban was a great Zapotec ceremonial center that was established around 500B.C. , At its peak about a thousand years later it had a population of around 25000 people.

Monte Alban

Just a few miles away is theTule tree a mexican cypress tree that is over 2000 years old, it has a girth of  161 feet, stands 164 feet high, a veritable tree huggers delight.Besides that there are many crafts, natives dressed in native costumes and CHOCOLATE…nectar of the Gods.

CHOCOLATE

…Oh yes, let us not forget …MEZCAL… with or without the worm… Mexicans tell me it can cure any ailment. 

Go to this link to see more photos of Oaxaca…

  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2069243&id=1162394476&l=5b7d60194f

HUMOR…THAT’S NOT FUNNY!!

I told my wife a joke about Mexicans… Why do Mexicans always eat refried beans?  Because they can’t cook them right the first time.

” That’s not funny,” she said.    Well maybe not, its kind of corny. But I’ve got to a point where I can tell a joke in Spanish and they laugh. Or maybe they’re laughing at my accent??

 Humor is in the eye of the beholder… They say things that I don’t consider funny also. But sometimes they can be very funny.

I like British dry humor also. My wife doesnt connect at all with that, she doesnt like Mr. Bean. I use to be in Show Biz & there were always a bunch of Show girls from all parts of the world, I recall talking to some English girls one day & mentioned British Humor & one of them asked, “What British comedians did I watch”. I told her “Benny Hill”.” Bullshit”, she said, “You just like to watch the girls run around in their knickers”.  Well.. maybe so, I kind of enjoyed that also.

Benny Hill & entourage

 Poor Benny, he got canned over a sexual harrassment suit.

Our boy Benny

 Sometimes in Mexico you see things that aren’t suppose to be funny but are… for instance theres a couple of Magazines that are like the Super market scandal sheets you see in the States, but a lot more grafic, called ALARMA & ORALE!!! Orale roughly means “How About That”. One day I see an article on the front page of ALARMA that said, “Man has sex with chicken”…claims it was the best he’d ever had in his life!! with a picture of a guy that looked like he just came off the Jerry Springer Show.

And sometimes in the course of normal conversation people say funny things. One day I heard two news photographers arguing, one said you are such a low life proletarian. The other said, ” You are so common, you’re more common than animal crackers at Christmas time.”

If you’ve lived long enough in Mexico and watch kids break pinatas at christmas time you will understand that.

Some of my favorite Mexican comedians are:  Hector Suarez…

HECTOR SUAREZ AS TOMAS EL NEGRITO

This may be more inflamatory than Memin Pinguin…

Hector as, "No Hay...No Hay"

 Another very innovative comedian is Andres Bustamante, better known as Guiri-Guiri ..

Guiri-Guiri

And two other funny stand up comics are JO JO JORGE FALCON and  POLO POLO.  More for adult audiences.

JO JO JORGE FALCON

POLO POLO

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

So here is one of my first joke attempts……. in Spanish….

quien fue los tres peores PRESIDENTES en el mundo ??

“NIXON….. PERON…… Y ESTE CABRON…!!!

……………………………………………………………………….

TRANSLATION: WHO WERE THE 3 WORSE PRESIDENTS IN THE WORLD…

 NIXON…PERON…. AND THIS S.O.B.  !!

(My wife said.. Thats not  funny either !!!!)

A visit to Xalapa & Santa Anas Hacienda

 Last march the  Sardesons (genuine tourist) and I took a trip to Xalapa to check out expats hiding out in the jungle. Along the way we visited Xico & Coatepec and had a great time meeting people who havent been scared off by the negative press propaganda north of the border.

Xico waterfalls

 

Mr. & Mrs. Calypso

We had the honor of meeting fellow blogger Juan Calypso and his wife and several other expats around the area. Afterwards we took a tour of  “El Lencero” Hacienda Museum that had been the home of General Santa Ana…yes the infamous Santa Ana of the Alamo.  It is a fantastic hacienda that is now a state run museum that has been beautifully restored

Santa Anas Hacienda

To see more photos go to this link…..

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2071488&id=1162394476&l=22850f25c8  

 

Margaritaville

This is one of those not much happening days. So make a Margarita & relax.

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The Revolution (part 1)

The Mexican Revolution’s Centenial is right around the corner, November the 18th to be exact and if you’re in Mexico you can expect plenty of fireworks and parties.

Many Americans confuse “Independence Day” (Sept. 16th) Of which the Bicentenial occurs this year with the revolution and the French Invasion, (cinco de Mayo). Anyway these are all seperate events. The Revolution  is easier to check up on….more parties, confetti throwing, fireworks & hangovers will hardly end before Revolution Day comes along . There were more reporters, newspapers , telegraphs, telephones & the film industry were in their infancy, so its easier to find facts.

 And the American Government meddled in the conflict also, several Americans joined up to fight in the Revolution also and were threatened with loss of American citizenship for doing so.

Here are some of the players in this program:

James Creelman...American Reporter

 James Creelman, an American Reporter inadvertantly created a spark to ignite the revolution. During an interview with Dictator Porfirio Diaz he asked, ” Do you plan on continuing in the Presidency?”  Diaz had been President for 30 years. “I’m getting old, ” he said, ” And I would welcome new parties”  This was just PR to calm talk in the USA. But influential Mexican intellectuals believed it to be true & formed “anti reelectionist parties which Diaz ruthlessly tried to eliminate.

The powder keg blew when the police attacked the home of Aquiles Serdan and killed several people  on November 18th, 1910. The next day fighting broke out all over the country.

Aquiles Serdan

 The home of the Serdan family , now a museum still has bullet holes in its facade. located in the Historic District of Puebla, Mexico.

the Serdan House (Revolution Museum)

SERDAN MUSEUM

 Pacho Villa was leading Revolutionaries in the North & Emiliano Zapata was in the South.

Pancho Villa

Zapata

At one point they teamed up and occupied Mexico City.

Villa & Zapata in Mexico City.

 To get an even more in depth insight as to what was happening, go to the following link and read Historian Jim Tucks account of the Revolution in “Mex Connect”.

http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/296

Stay tuned for part 2….

The Revolution (Part #2)

 Once the initial volley was over Porfirio Diaz saw he no longer had control & took a steamer to Europe. There were many factions fighting for control, Pancho Villa in the North, Zapata in the South , Carranza & Obregon wound up controlling most of Mexico.

Madero was assassinated by Huerta, Obregon turned against Carranza, Huerta became interim President while conspiring with U.S. Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson. Wilson & Huerta were both alcoholics, bottle brothers fraternity.  The Carranza Government crashed & He & his cohorts grabbed all the gold they could & hightailed it towards Veracruz. To no avail, Carranza was assassinated in Tlaxcalantongo, Puebla.

 Obregon became President and a restless peace followed.

Fransisco Madero

An interesting sidenote: Madero was the first head of state to fly in an airplane.  November 30th, 1911.It was a French plane called a Deperdussin.

Gen. Huerta

General Obregon

General Obregon lost his right arm in the Revolution. One of the great minds, he started educational reform , hired Vasconcelos as Secretary of Education, Mexican Muralism saw its greatest thrust during the 20′s. Obregon was assassinated in 1928 by a fanatical catholic who didnt like the way Catholics were treated. (Seperation of Church & State).

An interesting note: The worlds first aerial bombardment took place off the coast of Sinaloa when a warship of Obregons was being attacked by 2 warships of Huerta. A Mexican pilot in a biplane drove them off by bombing them.

Pancho Villa...easy rider

Here’s Pancho on an “Indian” motorcycle.

Pancho was assassinated

 Machine gunned in an ambush… Pancho was driving a Dodge.. No Japanese riceburners for him. His last words were… Dont let me go this way…tell them I said something…

To see more go to this link to read Historian Jim Tucks account of the Revolution..

http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/294-the-mexican-revolution-a-nation-in-flux-part-2

Culture House Revolution Photos

 The Casa Cultura in Tlaxcala has a photo exhibit featiring Revolution & post Revolution photos. Its nice to take a peek at the past once in awhile.

Gen. Obregon, Panch Villa & Black Jack Pershing

 For instance here’s Obregon, Villa & Pershing, all on a friendly basis at the time…later on Pershing would chase Villa all over Mexico and never catch him. Sort of like chasing Osama Bin Laden these days.

Military Intelligence is sort of a contradictory term.

To see the Photo exhibit go to this link.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2072463&id=1162394476&l=098af9e656

TIZATLAN…. A VILLAGE OF SURPRISES

Xicohtencatl the younger

 Just a couple of kilometers from Tlaxcala is the village of Tizatlan. 1n the  late 1400′s to early 1500′s this was the Military Headquarters of the Tlaxcalan Army. They had a military training School there (sort of a PreColombian West Point). It was also the location of Senator Xicohtencatls Castle. Archeologists began excavating the ruins in 1927.

St. Stevens Church

 A visit to the Village will thrill you with an Archeological zone, an early Colonial Church & Open Chapel with 500 year old murals, the Church was built with stones taken from the old prehispanic castle. And around the area you will now find many woodcarving craftsmen, they carve many things but their specialty is walking canes.

open chapel murals

check out more photos here….

Free Concert

Argentine pianist Raul Di Blasio gave a performance at the Convention Center in Tlaxcala  on August 10th,It was a free Concert sponsored by Social Security in honor of their 50th Anniversary in Mexico. About 1800 people showed up and everyone seemed to enjoy it. There was a lot of Audience participation and Mr. Di Blasio gave a brilliant performance.

Raul Di Blasio

Douglas from New York on keyboards

 To see more pictures and a video go here…

and here…..

AN OLD HACIENDA

 While out wandering around the countryside, we went to a town known for its dairy farms looking for cream and cheese. The owner of the dairy store told us there was an old hacienda about a mile away that had been recently renovated so we went to check it out. And he was right, it has been restored to its former glory and is now used for parties, wedding receptions and occasionaly they rent out rooms for overnight visitors. Its really a beautiful place and reminiscent of times that make you think of Zorro.

The dairy store also had flavored wines and canned flavored

pulque (cactus juice).

Hacienda Garden

canned pulquecream of capuchino licor

To see more of the Hacienda go to this link….

La Laguna Hacienda

 We’re planning an excursion to an old hacienda that raises fighting bulls next October. It was in it’s prime in the late 1800′s with the advent of the railroad. Now it has been restored and it’s one of the best renovated haciendas in the state of Tlaxcala.

old hacienda

Mr. Rojas...Hacienda owner

 Here are some photos of our last visit with a group……

A great place to have a wedding or a special party…. they treated us all like family.

going to the MO

Back last Spring Steve (my blog partner), his wife Pat and myself went to visit some American expats and fellow bloggers in Xico, Veracruz. Steve by the way is quite ill and if you know him drop him a line.

Anyway,  as it turned out there were no hotel rooms available in Xico so we went towards Coatepec and our friend John told us he knew someone who owned a Motel not too far away and we could probably find rooms there.

Now if you know Mexico you’ll know that the word Motel  has sinister connotations, the majority of them arent meant for overnight stays but are basically used for romantic rendevous or unfaithful “trysts”.

motel

But any port in a storm right? So we went and they had rooms available… during the night I felt as if someone were staring at me so I cut on the light and behold!!! It was me…there was a mirror over the bed.

Even more unusual there was a HUGE Istitution size roll of toilet paper in a dispenser right beside the bed….hmmmm! Should I take a crap in the bed????

I discussed this with Steve the next day….  Amazing, he said, “Theres no Toilet Paper in the bathrooms in Mexico but there’s paper besides the beds”.

And to top it off, when we left the next morning to go find a place to eat breakfast, a guy selling tortillas passed by and stared at us… I could just see what was going through his mind…”What are these three Senior Citizens doing coming out of this motel together??? Perverts!!!!

Just another adventure in Mejico Majico….!!!!

mammograms in the park

 So I woke up this morning and heard a big hullabaloo in the park and went over to investigate. The City had set up bioscan truck and were giving free mammograms.

free mammograms

sign

 There was quite a large crowd and seeing as how the Doctors were having a hard time I offered my services with my own mammogram machine… but they didnt appreciate it and even threatened to call the gendarmes….

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freebie

Some people are just sooooooo unappreciative…

hmmmm…. maybe I’ll use this at the Halloween costume party.

Charros… Mexican Cowboys

Mama don’t let your sons grow up to be cowboys…. Thats what Willie Nelson sings.  But if you go to a Charreada, a Mexican Style Rodeo you will get to see some fine horsemanship.

Charros...Mexican Cowboys

Herna Cortez  entered Mexico in 1519 with 400 soldiers and 16 horses. When the Aztecs saw them they thought they were one being, like Centaurs, half man half horse. A fearsome sight for someone who had  never seen a horse before. At first only Tlaxcalans were allowed to ride horses, because of their alliance with the Spaniards. But very soon the Indigenous people of Mexico were riding , training and handling horses with great skill.

The Charras, Mexican Cowgirls also put on a very colorful performance…

Mexican Cowgirls

And while riding sidesaddle at that.

Charra..Mexican cowgirl

Working the cattle ranches in Mexico during the XVIth Century they developed the techniques that were shared with American Cowboys over a hundred years later. 

rope twirling

Charreadas are the true Mexican Sport, The Tlaxcalan Fair opened last week and will have several days of Charreadas to see more photos of this event go to the following link….

The Christmas Eve Plant

 

Raquel with Poinsettas

 Christmas is a short time away so we took a trip to Atlixco, Puebla and visited several greenhouses…there are more than 300 in the area.

 Noche Buena flowers are in full bloom now, better known in the States as “Poinsettas”. American Ambassador  Joel Poinsett of South Carolina carried them back to the States with him and Named them after himself…Vain lad… he was declared personna non grata in Mexico,  not for renaming the flower but for meddling in Mexican politics. He offered ten million dollars for Texas but was turned down…Mexico wound up loosing it anyway…they should’ve took the ten Million.

So we went to several greenhouses and  were amazed at the variety of flowers on hand. Atlixco is at a lower altitude than Tlaxcala where we live, so the temperature is always about ten degrees warmer there.

Bob with "Noche Buena" plant..cost $2 dollars.

I’m not good at identifying flowers…maybe you can name them…

Some plants have price tags… the price is in Pesos…A peso is worth 12 cents…figure it out…

Check out this link to see more of the flowers of Atlixco……

2010 in review

The stats helper monkeys at WordPress.com mulled over how this blog did in 2010, and here’s a high level summary of its overall blog health:

Healthy blog!

The Blog-Health-o-Meter™ reads Wow.

Crunchy numbers

Featured image

About 3 million people visit the Taj Mahal every year. This blog was viewed about 59,000 times in 2010. If it were the Taj Mahal, it would take about 7 days for that many people to see it.

In 2010, there were 33 new posts, growing the total archive of this blog to 87 posts. There were 198 pictures uploaded, taking up a total of 73mb. That’s about 4 pictures per week.

The busiest day of the year was March 5th with 541 views. The most popular post that day was crater1.

Where did they come from?

The top referring sites in 2010 were vivaveracruz.com, mail.yahoo.com, rockypointtalk.net, mexicobob.blogspot.com, and stumbleupon.com.

Some visitors came searching, mostly for la llorona, pico de orizaba, imagenes de la llorona, llorona, and yucatan crater.

Attractions in 2010

These are the posts and pages that got the most views in 2010.

1

HUMOR…THAT’S NOT FUNNY!! June 2010
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Immigration Day in Mexico

 

 I know… I disappeared for awhile. Ï ve been cutting through red tape… getting

The American Table

my immigration papers in order. The Mexican Immigration Dept, threw a party as they do every year for migrants and 22 nations participated. My wife and I along with 4 other Americans, Stuart and Gretchen, Brandon and April had the American representation. Each Nation brought something typical from their countries. We had Muffins and umpkin Pie and Gretchen brought Deviled eggs.

Hopefully this will be my last year as a Migrant and I will become a Citizen by the end of this year.

Check out the party photos…..

THE JIMMY BUFFET SYNDROME

Wasting away in Margaritaville…. lots of people get this idea in their head that they can just take off and  go to Mexico and sit it out on the beach  as long as they like… after about three weeks brutal reality shows up and the money runs out. then it’s back to the same old monotonous grind back home.

 

it was my own damned fault....It takes a special breed of cat to just up and change cultures, customs and habits... its romantic to say I'll go to some Carribean beach and stay there forever or till I get over a broken heart. Aaaah !! to saddle up your bronco and ride across the Rio Grande with a posse hot on your trail. Like Jimmy Hendrix said... "I'm goin way down South ...Way down south to Mexico way...where I can be free." party time

But if you use your head and play your cards right…you may end up someplace where the parties never cease.

 Rember this…
“Workers never hustle…. and Hustlers never work”

South of the Border

 
 
See you in Margaritaville pal….!!!! 

mexican beauty

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Silver Jewelry, Cheese and Cocktails

Manso Maguey (Agave Plant)

 We recently visited the town of Tlaxco, Tlaxcala… a very quiet and pleasant town in the pine forest area of Tlaxcala,  Where we visited the Mayors Office, the Silver workshops of Eva Martinez , a cheese making factory and then had dinner and a tour at a pulque hacienda.

buying cheese at factory store

  We met the new Tourist Director at the Mayors office and he surprised us by making a cocktail that he invented called a “Rabbit”made from Tequila, Eggnog and Pepsi.  Then he told us of a few legends of the town.

 Afterward we went to the silver workshop of Eva Martinez where she makes reproductions of Colonial jewelry using the “Lost wax process”, several of the ladies in the tour group bought earrings.

Colonial Jewelry reproductions

 After dinner in the Hacienda  we took a tour of the Agave plantation to see how cactus juice is extracted and fermented.  Everyone had a great time. Wish you could’ve been there. !!!

more photos of the tour….

ERIN GO BRAGH….. wear some green lads

ERIN GO BRAGH

March 17th is right around the corner and yes we’ll be celebrating in Mexico…. What?  You think there’s no Irishmen here… well not many but there will be a commemoration in Mexico City and Puebla as there are monuments there honoring the “Saint Patricks Battallion”.

MONUMENT IN PUEBLA

MONUMENT IN MEXICO CITY

 

Who were they??

About 200 Irishmen who had immigrated to the U.S. in hopes of finding the    “American Dream” were recruited into the American Army and sent to Mexico to fight against the Mexicans in the Mexican American War. After getting to Mexico they realized they were fighting against people who were more like themselves and changed sides. At the end of the campaign as Chapultepec Castle fell they were hanged as traitors.

check out this ballad….

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s4BGrNrkbMU 

Have a Happy Saint Patricks Day…….   Kiss me I’m Irish !!!

An Irish Toast

 

Irish Proverb

An Irish Curse

Mexican Muralists

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Getting a Criminal Background Check

I know…I haven’t been here for awhile. I’ve been in a tsunami of red tape. Amazingly enough the wonderful, technologically advanced USA has given me the most grief… You can have all the computers you want but if they’re ran by the Planet of the Apes you are going to have problems. And that’s what happened. I needed a Birth Certificate from my Home State of Georgia, so I checked the net and saw their website, followed instructions and sent off details of my mom’s maiden name, etc. & $25 bucks. So not wanting to befuddle their weak redneck brains by saying I live in Mexico I told them to mail it to my cousins house in San Antonio… It showed up a week later… this was in January, My Cuz FedXed it to me.. (another $25 bucks).. It got here I presented it to Mexican Authorities and they said…”But it has to have an Apostille”… “Whats that”.. Ïts a special seal that the Stae Department puts on Documents to show they’re genuine.”  Note: ( This is more Government Bullshit to bleed money from  its beleagured citizens) . So I call a friend in Atlanta… Can you take this down and ask for an Apostille?  “Yes”… I send it… A week later he calls… they say they cant accept it because the Signature on the Birth Certificate is rubber stamped not signed in ink.    So he goes to Vital Statistics to get one in ink.   They tell him No we cant do that… he talks to 3 different people and gets 3 different answers.  I call twice … now a month has passed .. finally someone at the main office says mail it to us.  I tell my friend.. just drop in an an envelope with a return envelope to your house.  “I hope they don’t throw it in the trash “he says.

Well its not worth a crap anyway so we have nothing to lose.

Ten Days later it shows up in TEXAS at my cousins…. but it’s now signed in ink … So I tell my cuz, “ send it to the Apostille office with 3 bucks and a return envelope and let us pray that something happens and God will intervene. “

Ten days later it shows up with the Apostille seal  so my cuz FedX’s it to me and it shows up in Mexico 4 days later….   Total time wasted by Dummies in Georgia .. 3 months… cost just over $100 bucks.   Burrocrats!!! lots of burros.

 

burro- crats .

 

So now I have to get a Federal Mexican Criminal backgroud check…. got to go to Mexico City to get it so I get up at 6:30 along with my wife and we catch a bus to the BIG TAMALE… get there at  9AM , catch a cab to the location and they tell me No we dont do those here you have to go to a different location about 20 blocks away. 

 

metro bus mexico city

 

 Finally after two bus rides we find the place and there are 250 people already in line waiting for the same thing. OK. so after about an hour someone  comes down the line checking papers and we go into the main building. Another line… 250 people in front of me 200 behind me. They wouldnt let my wife come in with me. after ten minutes two Federal Police with machine guns come down and said,” Is Robert Cox here?

The long arm of the law

  ”  Yeah thats me, I’m wondering whats going on. They said “come with us”. we start outside and they said, “Wait here”. At the front of the line, My wife was stading at the front door, She said , “I told them it wasnt right to make a person of your age to wait so long, so they’re putting you at the front.”  The Fuzz, said “OK., You can go in, twenty at a time… we went in, in 5 minutes they gave me my Background check paper and said, we’ll check you out later and if we find something wrong we’ll arrest you in a day or two.”    OK, Thanks boys and may God protect you from Drug Cartels supported by American Drug Addicts”

yahoo !!

Josh makes a new flic

filming the plague victims

So my grandson Joshua  has made a new film in his Cinematography class… it’s in spanish but you can probably follow the storyline… basically its sci fi and scientists meddling with nanobot technology have unleashed a plague on the world by accident, almost everyone’s dead with a few exceptions.

checking the script

 Here we see the Cinematography Professor, my son Mike in camo and Josh discussing the script. Josh and myself scouted out locations the week before looking for isolated places to film.

Later Josh received a Diploma of Special Recognition for his film from the Tlaxcala Cultural Institute.

Josh receives award.

to see the film go to this link…