Blogs from Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico, North America - page 2

Pátzcuaro ... read more

So we hop back on a second class bus to view the ruins at Tzintzuntzan, "the home of the hummingbirds", and major political and religious center for Michoacan in long ago days. These people couldn't be conquered by the Aztecs, in part due to their vantage point high above the lake. And yes, smallpox later did conquer them. But back to the story...we took off to go to the ruins and I'm all excited that this could be some existential, or universe-touching-me-through-it's-sheer-awesomeness moment. I have this build-up because at our hostel in Patzcuaro, this British girl Julie had told us the night before how she spent the day up there meditating, and that she was STILL tingling and that it was "really weird and powerful". She also met some dude there, who told her he had ... read more

Culiacàn, Sinaloa, a 5 de diciembre del 2009. Saludos a todos. Entre corajes y tristezas por haber perdido la mitad de las fotografìas por un maldito virus, ahì les van fotos (se salvaron de ser borradas) de Pàtzcuaro, Michoacàn, uno de los 3 "pueblos màgicos" de Michoacàn nombrados por la SECTUR, y que se encuentra a la orilla del lago del mismo nombre. Asì como Izamal, Yucatàn, se distinguìa por tener la totalidad de los edificios de su centro històrico pintados de amarillo, aquì manda la combinaciòn bicolor blanco-rojo (o rojo tiràndole a guinda), con techos de teja. La ciudad es famosa porque fue la sede episcopal del famoso obispo defensor y maestro de los indìgenas Vasco de Quiroga, conocido como Tata Vasco. Y vaya que les fue de mucha ayuda, porque aquì es territorio purèpecha, ... read more

On January 2nd Elba´s family took us on a day trip to Pátzcuaro, a small town near Morelia (a 45min drive). It has three plazas that were packed with people, and like many small towns around here, specializes in certain types of crafts. We had ice cream, ate various miscellaneous things, and looked at some beautiful jewelery and gold-plated... plates. In the first plaza, we saw a traditional dance by sandal-wearing young men on stamping on boards, accompanied by stand-up bass, violin and guitar. The men are wearing old-men masks and wigs, and are bent double, carrying canes. This dance was originally performed by indigenous people in the area, when the spanish first showed up. The dancers were making fun of how the spaniards´hair turns grey earlier than that of the pre-mexicans'. It is quite funny! ... read more