Quinceañera!
Karen, Elvia’s daughter, turned 15 last week. Her quinceañera was last night.
Karen and her Chambelanes
Everything up through dinner was as expected, but the “dancing” begins with an hour long ritual that includes dance, performance, fireworks (inside) and showers of confetti all of which acknowledge moving out of childhood and becoming a woman.
She receives her last doll, a tiara, her first high heels and acknowledgement from her entire family and extended network of friends. All of this is enacted out in a series of practiced acts where her chambelanes carry her on their shoulders, dance with her one by one while she pushes them away, each for the next. It’s traditional and modern mixed with the essence of a fairy tale, an elaborate, moving and sometimes funny ritual to end childhood.
Video coming soon.
Gelatina, As Art
What can I can say about these beautiful gelatin desserts but WOW! They are made by a local person who has obviously spent years in her kitchen playing around in this medium. They are works of art, almost impossible to imagine how she made each one by hand. When you look at the photo above, each miniature petal and stamen is hand made out of gelatin and arranged in layers around the tiny stamens to form these gorgeous edible flowers.
Diego Rivera’s Anahuacalli Musem
One Reason to love Mexico City:
Diego Rivera’s Anahuacalli Museum in Coyoacan.
Over his lifetime, Diego Rivera collected 50,000 pieces of pre-hispanic art. According to the museum staff he bought from ‘archaeologists’ who robbed temple sites and had a hand in taking pieces himself.
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Trees of Life and Other Clay Work
Arbol de la vida, the tree of life. They come in a variation of themes – Adam and Eve, the nacimiento, Noah’s arc, God overseeing his kingdom as well as scenes from nature, the animal kingdom, traditional Mexican scenes and dia de los muertos trees.
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The Molcajete
Not much I can say that the video doesn’t convey. The Molcajete meal at Ten Ten Pie – the bubbling one pot meal which is as good as it looks! A combination of arrachera, chorizo, fried panela, grilled nopales, green onions, avocado and cilantro in a bubbling tomatillo sauce.
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New Church Announcement
They came by at 6am this morning, rockets and all. The procession wound through town, past all the other churches for a blessing, then returned to our street about 1pm.
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Virgen de Guadalupe
Last night was the 6th Novena for the Guadalupe in our neighborhood. Each day more people come and live music arrived on the fourth Novena.
Don’t let the peacefulness of it fool you or make you nostalgic for simpler times because once it got started, about 30 boys under 12 showed up.
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Dia de los Muertos 2011
A slideshow of altars, celebrations and the cemetery, 2011
You can view our slideshow here on our old blog
The Blessing of San Miguel
Pilgrimage of San Miguel to the Parroquia to be blessed for the upcoming town celebration - The Festival of San Miguel
This Weekend’s Festivities:
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Museo Antropologia
Mexico City, the museum of anthropology.
There’s more than I can write pecking a letter at a time on my iPhone so here’s some photos until I can get to my computer
