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Published: July 12th 2007
Hello avid readers!
Sorry for such a delay between entries. I feel as if I have writer´s block. Maybe it´s because I hear Spanish all morning and then I have to switch into English. My mind just doesn´t seem very clear at the moment, so we´ll see what comes out!
Ok, rewind. Last weekend I went to the historical city of Queretaro. It was about an hour´s bus ride from San Miguel. First, we stopped to see an enormous aqueduct. The legend behind it´s creation is very romantic! Supposedly, a man fell in love with a nun and asked her what she would ask for if she could have anything in the world. She asked for fresh water. Smart lady! Her convent was up on a hill and far away from any rivers. So he built this aqueduct for her. I can´t remember if it was in the 1500´s or 1600´s, but either way it was very old. Where her convent used to be there is now a plaza that honors all of Queretaro´s most famous men and women. There are statues of them and maybe their ashes are buried there (?). Not positive about that part.
Moving on. We went to two interesting museums. One of them was supposed to hold "modern" art, but some of the art dated back as far as the 1700´s. The older art was painting upon painting of religious figures and scenes, which is to be expected. My friend Megan and I tried to analyze it for a woman in our group and her 9 year old son. We talked about the lighting, following the gazes of the subjects, the composition (the overall shape of the figures) etc. It was fun to use the skills I learned in high school and college. I felt well-educated to the point of being sophisticated. Ha ha ha. I especially enjoyed a modern artist named Javier Cruz. Each of his paintings had a theme like frogs, sharks, birds etc. He painted with bright colors which he mixed with volcanic sand to create a unique texture and almost glow. I read about his techniques and the meaning behind his work in Spanish. I wish I could remember it all! Supposedly his work is very original. Plus, there´s often a lot going on..almost like "Where´s Waldo?" One of his paitings was called "Escaleras and Serpientes" or stairs and snakes. It reminded me of the boardgame Shoots and Ladders. It was very intricate and full of tiny drawings of boats and people (sometimes inside of the snakes bellies!) His work almost has a youthful, fantastical quality about it. There is your art lesson for the day. You should Google or Wikiapedia him. That´s your homework for the week.
We also went to a cultural museum that had a lot of pottery and other artifacts from around Mexico. The museum must have been pretty new. Since I worked in Special Collections and Archives, I tend to analyze the way museums display their artifacts. They did a good job displaying and labeling things. They put objects on pedastals of different heights in order to make them each stand out. There were some neat little dolls made out of clay. They were only a few inches tall. Lastly we went to a park that had a HUGE concrete statue of Benito Juarez, a president of Mexico. This guy named Max in my class said it looked like Lenin. It was interesting to say the least. I mainly used his (the statue) shadow for shade. At the park was also the site where Maximilian was executed by a firing squad. I want to say it was in the mid 1800´s. My skills as a historian have obviously weakened over time.
Ok, here comes the fun part for all of you who have stuck with me this far. So there are some things I really LOVE about Mexico. For example, walking by a panaderia and smelling fresh bread baking. It is soooo enticing! I love the fact that I get fresh orange juice every morning (not to mention fresh fruit like papaya, mango, banana, watermelon, figs and pineapple). Almost every morning Adella fixes eggs. Gotta have that protein for all the walking up and down hills over cobblestoned streets. This morning we had "hotcakes" as she calls them. It was nice to have pancakes for a change! In general the food is very hardy. At night we have "tortas" or sandwiches, and I DO love a good sandwich. For lunch today we had chilis rellenos. That's also what we're making in my cooking class tomorrow. I'll tell you more about them later. So basically, the food is a definite bonus on this trip. However, I DO miss foods that are familiar to me.
Which brings me to what I hate about Mexico. I hate the city smells like sewage and car exhuast. I also hate the fact that when you go to the bathroom you can´t flush the TP. You have to put it in a waste bin next to the toilet. I´m not the biggest fan of not having A.C. My room is on the third floor and we all know that heat rises. If you open the door for ventilation then flies come inside. Also, things take longer to dry indoors because there´s no dry air circulating. I usually hang my towel outside and hope i remember to bring it in before the lightning and thunder show begins. (oddly enough, it hasn´t rained the past 3 or 4 night) I also don´t like how many Americans there are in San Miguel. There are some characters, let me tell you! It is a town full of artists, after all. I actually met an artist in the park yesterday. He was an older man, and he spoke English to me. Turns out he's Mexican. He wants me to go see his work in one of the gallery´s and he marked it on my map. He was a friendly guy, maybe a little lonely, and yearning to practice his English. His name was Fernando Fuentes. Perhaps he´ll be famous one day.
Well, I thought I should be as realistic as possible so I included both the good and the bad. I don´t want all of you to be pining away about traveling to exotic lands without remembering that we always must live in reality (even on vacation). However, I don't blame you if you're a little jealous. I know that I'm lucky to have this experience! On Sat I'm going with some friends to Guanajuato. I hope you'll tune in next week for a recap of those adventures...
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Christi
non-member comment
hey!
Howdy!! I love your descriptive accounts of museum visits and meeting people in the park. You're very good at painting the picture. I'm definitely thinking about getting out of the country in the near future...we'll talk when you get back.. :)