Falling in love with Mexico!VIVA MEXICO!Estados Unidos Mexicanos
The distance between my birthplace Mlawa, Poland and Cholula, Mexico, where we live now is 13 750 km
or8 544 miles as the crow flies.
The Mexican flag in the background of the Angel of the Independence column in
Mexico City.
There are two possibilities that allow one to fall in love with Mexico: either you have to be very tolerant or you are forced to live there because
you have no other choice.Joanna Kozinska Frybes, Polish Ambassador to Mexico 1997
Charros
Stereotypes Mexico to many
foreigners and tourists means big sombreros, Indians riding donkeys, mariachi music and human sacrifices on top of pyramids practiced centuries ago.
The Great Pyramid of Cholula
The biggest in the world
Morenos Today those
stereotypes also include the notion that Mexicans are drug traffickers and criminals. People of brown skin – Morenos are portrayed as lazy, drinking tequila and sleeping under a cactus.
A joke from an American school:“How did you come to Texas, on a donkey?”
Tequila is en vogue in the world and expensive
Human sacrifices among the Aztecs in Tenochtitlan
20 000 people were sacrificed by the Aztecs annually.
Motives: blood and a heart considered centers of courage; to annihilate prisoners of war, spread fear among the enemies and vassals.
The Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan (25 miles from Mexico City) – the Totonaca state, and then Aztec occupied from 200 BC
to 800 AD. 260 steps lead to the top of the temple for human sacrifices. The interior is made of solid stone blocks. It is the third greatest pyramid in the world after the Great Pyramid of Cholula,
Puebla, Mexico and the Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt.
Teotihuacan – the City of Gods
Wealth of landscapes
In Mexico you can find volcanoes, deserts, virgin beaches, indigenous villages, but also colonial towns in the shade of pyramids. Hernan Cortes, 1519, asked to describe the newly conquered land simply crumbled a sheet of blank paper and put it on a table.
Colonial Taxco The silver capital of Mexico
The interior patio in a house in Queretaro
Inspiration for artists Mexican pueblo
Exotic, Mysterious, Unknown
The expression “I’m a Mexican” not always has the same meaning. If you try to look for a “true Mexico”, you’ll never find it.
A girlfriend and a boyfriend - Novios
The Mexican United States• 31 states + the Federal
District• Area: 1,958,200 sq km or
756,065 sq miles• Population 106 million• Capital city Mexico,
population 20 million – the biggest city in the world
• 90% catholic• Patron Saint Our Lady of
Guadalupe since 1531
• St. Prisca Cathedral in Taxco
Virgin of Guadalupe Patron Saint of both Americas
Reyna de Mexico – the Queen of Mexico
La Morenita• Appeared to Indian
Juan Diego on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico City in 1531.
• John Paul II, the Polish Pope elevated Juan Diego to sainthood during his last trip to Mexico in 2002.
• Juan Diego is the first Indian saint on the American continent.
Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, the old one and the new one as seen from
the hill of Tepeyac.
The old basilica 1561 The new basilica 1987
The state of Puebla
It’s said that there are 365 churches in Cholula (population 150 thousand). Some sources list 300 or 165.
Tonantzintla Acatepec
The church of Tonantzintla in the Mexican baroque style
The Iglesia de Nuestra Senora de los Remedios (Church of Our Lady of the Remedies) from 1594 on top of the Great Pyramid of Cholula dedicated to the deity
Quetzalcoatl
The Franciscan Convent of St. Gabriel – a church and a fortress from 1529 built on the ruins of the Quetzalcoatl
shrine in Cholula.
St. Gabriel Convent, a view from the top of the Great Pyramid.
La Capilla Real (The Royal Chapel) from 1549 adjacent to the convent, built to celebrate mass for the Indians.
Altars in farmers’ homes
Saint Mary and next to Her witches’ memorabilia: herbs, seeds, amulets and pictures.
At the Great Pyramid of Cholula, waiting in line to see a bruja – a witch doctor who cures body and soul on the day of the Spring equinox – witchcraft and the catholic
beliefs coexist side by side.
Catemaco in the state of Veracruz is a capital of shamans and witches.
Expressing pride in the Indian traditionsat the Great Pyramid of Cholula
The ritual for Quetzalcoatl and the Aztec King
Mexican historians struggle with the interpretation of the origins of their country and national identity. Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conquistador 1519 and his Indian interpreter and lover Malinche are symbolically recognized as the mother and father of all Mexicans, but the attitude to them is ambiguous.Jose H. Helguera Clemente Orozco
Population today
• 60% Mestizos• 30% Indians belonging to over 50 tribes, each with a
separate language, culture and traditions• 10% white, often the most privileged, richer and holding
positions of power
Felipe Calderonelected President of Mexico in 2006 for a
six year term
Children from San Agustin CalvarioMari Cruz, Lalo and Miriam
Boys from the primary school in San Luis Tehuiloyocan, San Andres Cholula
Graduation ceremony at a primary school in San Luis Tehuiloyocan
Indigenous children from Chiapas
Wanda and Garret, Padrinos (Godparents) of Lupita and Veronica
Cholula means churches and volcanoes
We live 28 miles from the active volcano Popocatepetl.
Watching the sunset
Popocatepetl Iztacchihuatl• Popocatepetl in
Nahuatl, the Smoking Mountain. One of the most dangerous in the world.
• 17,887 ft high, linked to Iztacchihuatl, the Sleeping Woman.
• Its crater has a diameter of 1,968 ft.
• It has became more active since 1994.
Garret on his way to Popo
Popo eruption on December 18, 2000
Iztacchihuatl, the Sleeping Woman. Climbers follow a route leading to the highest point, “her
breast” at 17,342 ft above the sea level.
Jose H. Helguera
Popo and Izta
From our house, we can see four volcanoes: Popo 17, 887 ft active; Izta 17,342 ft dormant; Malinche 14,635 ft extinguished; and the highest Orizaba 18,408 ft above
the sea level active.
We are surrounded by fertile, volcanic ash fields.
El Mercado
Cactus nopal is used to make salad
Cactus trees
Cholula and Quetzalcoatl• Cholula – population
150 thousand, continuously existing as a city for 3000 years, the oldest in the Americas.
• La Gran Piramide de Cholula is the biggest structure in volume ever built by man in the world.
• It’s twice as big as the Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt.
• Seven pyramids one on top of the other.
Quetzalcoatl in the Indian dialect Nahuatl means the Feathered Serpent, one of the most important deities personifying Venus, the god of wind,
sunrise, the patron of science and knowledge. And also Cortes.
La Gran Piramide de Cholulawith the Church of Our Lady of the
Remedies on top
Aztec ritual dances on March 20th, the Spring equinox. The apogee of the Aztec Empire was
in the 13th century AD.
Voladores – the Totonac ritual asking the gods for rain and food abundance
Natural disasters: volcano eruptions and earthquakes. The 6.7 degree earthquake in Puebla on June 15, 1999
Puebla de los Angeles
• 2 million inhabitants• Founded in 1531 by
the Spaniards• Sister City of Lodz,
Poland since 1997• Famous for
talavera, mole poblano (sauce made of chicken soup, chile and chocolate) and sweets Santa Clara
Talavera is a type of majolica earthenware introduced by the Spaniards in 1653.
A living room in a house in Cuernavaca
Travelling across Oaxaca
Puerto Escondido - a paradise on the Pacific coast
Puerto Escondido – a hidden port; population 20 thousand. Until 1950 the only access
possible was from the ocean.
At a wild beach in Puerto EscondidoAbbie and Juliana Garret and Katie
Katie at La Punta – The Point
Garret and Juliana snorkeling in the open Pacific Ocean waters 12 miles from the shore.
Rocks at la Punta at the end of Playa Zicatela
The waves at Zicatela are known throughout the world as the Mexican Pipeline. At least two international
surfing competitions are held there each year.
The sunrise and sunset watched from the same balcony
Dolphins, turtles and whales are frequent visitors at Puerto Escondido.
The National Mexican Turtle Center in Mazunte, about 37 miles south of Puerto Escondido
Our Canadian friend Nathan helping to release 14-day old turtles into the ocean waters
The morning storm came from the ocean.
Colors copied from nature
Huipiles – gaily colored, fancifully embroidered women’s ponchos
Spring and fall in CholulaJacaranda Bugambilia
In our garden we grow orange, lemon and pomegranate trees.
Ripe pomegranates St. Luis Church is full of live flowers
Afterglow over Puebla
Sunsets in Cholula
A quiet evening at Puerto Escondido
Huejotzingo Carnival – one of the spectacles commemorating the battle of Cinco de Mayo, 1862 in Puebla with the Mexicans winning against the French
and Moorish armies.
Shooting, fireworks, smoke and noise
Palm Sunday in San Agustin Calvario Cholula
Semana Santa – Holy Week the most elaborate religious festivities staged as
street theater with people’s participation
Good Friday in San Rafael Cholula
Holy Week in Taxco
• The procession of hooded, self-flagellating penitents, chained at the ankles and carrying huge wooden crosses and bundles of penetrating thorny branches weighing 100 lb.
Women sinners
Taxco The Silver Capital of Mexico
• One of Mexico’s most picturesque towns. Silverwork has long been a vital part of Taxco’s economy, thanks in large part to the American silversmith William Spratling.
Taxco clinging to the mountain
Day of the Dead
We all know her face. In Mexico she’s called Catrina – Lady; la Flaca – the Skinny One; la Huesuda – the Bony
One; La Pelona – the Baldy One. DEATH
Stores are full of Day of the Dead souvenirs.
Fields in October
• Fields are orange from marigolds which are used to decorate graves and altars for the dead;
• Marigold – cempazuchitl in Nahuatl• The Flower of Death – la Flor de Muerte
Catholic and Indian pagan traditions combined
In San Francisco Cuapa with the family of Fermin
Tochimani
Day of the Dead is one of the most important celebrations, hard to understand by foreigners.
Cemeteries are full of people, flowers, food and music waiting for the arrival of the souls.
The cemetery in Cuapa Cholula
The Ofrenda is a decorated area that displays offerings to deceased souls. This one in Cuapa is more elaborate because it is dedicated to the
recently departed head of the household.
Altars on All Saints Day in Puebla
November 1st – Vigil of the Little Angels, a day devoted to the memory of deceased children.
Christmas - celebrating Posada
• From December 16 - 24, Mexicans celebrate Posada, which means an inn.• St. Mary and Joseph wander from one house to another looking for shelter
before Christ is born.• The hosts welcome them with parties, children play with pinatas symbolizing
Satan.
PINATAS
Christmas or Navidad
A manger in the courtyard in Cuernavaca. Mexicans don’t have a custom of sharing wafers on Christmas
Eve as they do in Poland, but they also set up mangers and sing carols.
Poles in Mexico• The Mexican Polonia
is small – about 1500 – 2000 people, mostly with higher education, who came in the seventies.
• They also include refugees from World War II who settled in Santa Rosa, Guanajuato in 1942, and their descendants.
• Polish musicians from Xalapa
Polish Mexican Krakowiak dancers from Guanajuato
Slawomir Mrozeka Polish writer lived at Rancho Epiphany near Puebla in the years
1990 - 1996
Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo1886 – 1957 1907 - 1954
Diego
Frida
Frida contracted polio at age six; had a congenital disease spina bifida; in 1925 suffered serious injuries in the bus accident after which she underwent 35
operations. She was in constant pain. Painted mostly self-portraits.
Salma Hayek as Frida
The Monarch Butterfly Mariposa MonarcaThe Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve located mostly in the state of Michoacan, created to protect the butterflies’ wintering habitat. The butterlies spend the summer in Canada and
the United States and in late August begin flying back to Mexico over 2500 miles.
The Aztec Calendar, or the Stone of the Sun, excavated in the Zocalo, Mexico City, on December 17, 1790. It measures 12 ft in diameter, 4 ft in thickness and weighs
24 tons, on display at Museo de Antropologia in Mexico City.
Universidad de las Americas – Puebla is located at ex- Hacienda Sta Catarina Martir in Cholula.
!Muchas gracias! Thank you very much!