Keeping Tradition Alive...The Grande Finale of my Mexican Life

Our best laid plans all came true.  With our Mexican loving amigos, Mike and Dee who live in Zihuatanejo 8 months of the year,  Gene prepared our faithful "steed", our highly dependable but well-aged Ford Explorer with the Thule rack on the roof for added storage space and off we went to the "largest craft fair in Latin America".  This is my fifth time at the "Domingo de Ramos" fair and it has become for me, a tradition to mark the end of my Mexican life for another year.  

 

The drive itself is a welcome relief from the warm, humid air on the Southern Mexico coast.  Only 3 hours away, but several thousand feet above sea level, the pine trees and avocado plantations in the volcanic mountain-ringed town of Uruapan are just one indicator of the cultural variety that is in store for visitors to Michoacan.  Jacaranda trees in full bloom lined the bustling agricultural periphery, but as always we headed to our favorite lunch stop adjacent to Rio Cupatitzio's beautiful park,  the  Restaurant La Trucha. Their signature dish, trout with macadamia nuts put a smile on Mike's face and for me, the wonderful Guacayama drink that blends the regional Hass avocado with local citrus juices was perfect.  Delicious!

 

After checking in to our favorite Hotel Mi Solar in El Centro we began familiarizing ourselves with the layout of the fair...luckily tradition trumps novelty and familiar vendors of things small and large were in their usual locations.  It's a feast for the senses.

 

The next morning begins with a parade of artisans, so we threaded our way through the building crowds to find the perfect place to watch.   

 After the parade, the crowds line up outside the Casa de Cultura for entry into the juried competition.  The crème de la crème of art, grouped by gendre and bought up by the savvy shop owners, travellers who have come to Uruapan for this special opportunity. 

 

 A new addition to the fair this year was the music stage with a Mexican philharmonic orchestra playing at sunset while we dined at Hotel Plaza overlooking the lively street scene. 

 The full moon rising over the lights of the cathedral looked so beautiful.

 For many of the indigenous people, Palm Sunday is the focus.  Highly decorative weavings of palms and some with more of a "glitz" factor are lined up around the streets outside the churches. 

 And the ever popular demonstration and food court featuring locally prepared traditional foods was a crowd success...so successful that we decided to avoid the crowds this year and return next year with our Mexican friend Monica who will accompany us on our next tour focusing on the women's art and tradition of preparing foods over wood fired stoves.  Note the new effective blue and white corn being rolled on the metate for fresh woodfire grilled tortillas...hmmm...next year!

 Uruapan has just the right climate to grow plants that thrive in the cool, fresh air and daytime heat.  And just like the plants that abound...we too found the fresh air and beauty of the fair just the treat we needed to energize us to begin the pack up that ends my Mexican Life for this season.   

Back in Zihua, the sad reality is we have to say goodbye to friends and neighbours whom we love.  10 days from today we will once again bring Cori back to his adopted home of Canada.  I'm ready to begin becoming Canadian yet again....

Seeking first time experiences in our winter home during the "calm before the storm"

 

 

 

Two weeks to "D" day...departure from our winter home.  My mood alters between excitement to return to our beautiful Victoria home and family and friends; to realizations that what we experience here on a daily basis can't be replicated in Canada.  

 

Life here is full of sensory experiences; I wake to birds, feel the lovely warm breezes on bare skin, eat amazing foods, walk miles of unobstructed beaches, and find the simplicity and time to reflect.  The opportunity to observe family life in a community that despite pervasive negative experiences vibrates with life and happiness is missing in our summer homes; where we live in luxury homes and the streets are empty. 

 

On my morning walk today I observe a young father playing in the early morning light on our beach, Playa Madera where every night someone works their magic on yet another outstanding sand sculpture.

 



One of my yearly goals is walking Playa Blanca from Barra de Potosi to Playa Larga.   Gene can't do this walk, Cori is not as young as he once was, and guess what...neither am I!  So we do it in stages, breaking up the 10 miles of white sand with 4-6 mile stretches between favorite spots along "our beach".   On one of our recent beach forays to Barra de Potosi, our walk to the "pick up spot" I had one of my "first time experiences"  --- cowboys herding a reluctant bunch of Brahma cattle along the beach. 

 

 

Which brings me to the reason for this post, a fabulous day trip to Playa Viva.  I had first visited Playa Viva 4 years ago when the new eco-tourist resort opened along a remote stretch of beach 40 kms. south of Zihuatanejo.  We were reconnected when at the weekly Eco-Tianguis Sanka market, I began purchasing fresh kale and arugula from their farm.   I noticed that they promoted day excursions, so with Lynn and Barry, our ever ready Mexican loving friends along for the day, we headed south to check out the spot.   

 

Beginning with one of the most wonderful lunches prepared with locally grown and sourced food by Abraham, the friendly chef extraodinaire, it was a special day.   David Leventhal, the San Francisco owner of this special place has hired a wonderful staff who have created a near perfect spa-resort experience in a remote stretch of Guerrero.  I applaud his vision and only wish that my pocket book could afford a stay there on a regular basis. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So we wait for the "storm to begin".  Semana Santa and Semana Pascua, the 2 week period of Easter festivities for Mexicans begins this weekend.  Our little town has had a chance to breathe.... The beaches are quiet, the restaurants empty early, some have already closed for the season.  Yoga classes are winding down.  Shopkeepers are refilling their shelves.  The "extranjero's", winter visitors from Canada and USA are mostly gone except for the full and part time residents who have no desire to head back to the rat race north of here.    And the biggest tell tale sign is that Commercial Mexicana is again building mountains of stock for the expected onslaught.   We are taking advantage of the early days of the period to head inland to Uruapan to once again feel the magic of Michoacán artesanias at their best.  I've polled my friends and family for requests as I have almost no room left at the "inn" for new purchases,....so off we go on our final Mexican adventure weekend of the year.  

Que nos vaya bien!