Saying goodbye
It was so hard to leave Mexico after this amazing year, but it will always be part of us and we’ll be back!
The hardest things to leave are:
· Amigos!
· Our beautiful house, our neighborhood with its magical parks, the sounds of the street (listen below), amazing food, art, music (check out Peso Pluma, global hit musician popularizing Regional Mexican music)….
Last night was tacos at our favorite place, Orinoco (notice the use of “quotes!”)
Final highlights
We each had a special moment during our last weeks in Mexico.
Si won his soccer tournament, becoming a champion at one of the most famous stadiums in Mexico City where the 1986 World Cup was held. Watch the video of a news segment one of his teammates’ dad produced.
Beacon won his middle school basketball championship, taking the ASF Bears to victory!
Alex got into graduate school to study mental health counseling! He’ll start a new chapter in the fall, joining B and Ela doing assigned reading and writing papers.
Ela had a starring role in her ballet studio’s The Little Mermaid (La Sirenita) this year. Along with being in numerous group dances, as the sirenita humana Ela got to do a solo and a pas de deux like a real professional ballerina.
L performed as a dancer in The Addams Family, a play on by parents for Children’s Day at the kids’ school. She made some of her best friends in Mexico and is ready for the Nutcracker in Charlottesville this winter!
Comida
There is so much incredible food in Mexico. Here are some of our favorites!
Tacos: usually a corn tortilla topped with meat, sauces, and garnishes. There are so many kinds, but our favorite is tacos al pastor, a Mexico City special. Adapted from the Lebanese.
Gringas: flour tortillas with cheese and meat. Favorite is gringas al pastor.
Volcanes: an open tortilla that’s crunched up a bit on the grill and topped with cheese that melts and overflows (hence the name volcano).
Alambres: mixture of meat (usually al pastor) and sautéed onions and peppers held together by gooey cheese, served with tortillas on the side.
Tlacoyos: oval-shaped thick corn tortillas stuffed with cheese, beans, chicharron, and other ingredients and then fried or toasted.
Tlayudas: comes from a combination of the Nahuatl word for “threshed corn” and a Spanish suffix meaning “abundance;” also known as Oaxacan pizza, a A thin, crisp corn tortilla with a range of toppings: refried beans, cheese, avocado, meat, crickets, etc.
Tortas: like a taco in sandwich form on a soft round roll.
Molletes: a sliced and toasted roll with refried beans and melted cheese, topped with pico de gallo, eaten for breakfast.
Chilaquiles: corn chips topped with red or green salsa, shredded chicken or egg, crumbled white cheese and crema (a liquidy sour cream), eaten for breakfast.
Conchas
Espiropapa
Rosca de chamoy
Chapulines
Tacos al pastor
Torta
Marquesita
Mezcalita
Tlacoyo
Molletes
Tlayuda
Chilaquiles verdes
And a few other things
Fruta enchilada/gomitas enchiladas: dried fruit, still chewy, covered in chile powder – deliciously spicy and sweet.
Paletas: popsicles made with fruit juice or cream, sometimes dipped in chocolate and then rolled in fun toppings like cookies or gummy bears.
Conchas: round, puffy sweet breads topped with stripes of floury sugar (Adidas even made a shoe line mimicking these!)
Rosca de chamoy: crunchy chips, corn puffs, and Japanese peanuts covered in a sweet, salty, spicy sauce and molded into a bundt shape, eaten as a snack.
Churros: cylinders of fried dough covered in cinnamon sugar and sometimes dipped in chocolate sauce or cajeta, Mexico’s version of dulce de leche.
Marquesitas: crispy rolled crepes filled with chocolate, Nutella, cajeta, or cheese; eaten as a snack or dessert on the street.
Espiropapas: a single potato sliced in a twist, speared on a stick, fried til crunchy and drizzled with spicy sauce; common at parties.
Chapulines: salty fried grasshoppers, eaten alone or with peanuts as a snack or in dishes like guacamole, tacos, etc.
Cocos (bien) fríos: chilled fresh coconuts served with a straw to sip the sweet coconut water, served on the beach.
Mezcalitas: margaritas made with mezcal, citrusy and salty.
Frida
Frida Kahlo is a Mexican icon. Her image is everywhere from street art to museums to airport gift shops. Thanks to Ela’s school project about Frida in 3rd grade, we knew much of her story and were excited to see her work in person.
Here are some of our favorite images, showing Frida’s house (Casa Azul) in the beautiful neighborhood of Coyoacan, her struggle with chronic pain (she was injured in a serious bus accident at age 18 and suffered throughout her life), and her explorations of identity, post-colonialism, gender, race, and class in Mexico.
Wounded deer
Ela as Frida
Self portrait along the border
Frida’s studio in Casa Azul
The Two Fridas
1. WhatsApp
Hundreds of messages per day
Keep on top of them! This is the only way you find out about things:
You may miss your child’s award’s ceremony
Or pajama day
Or a soccer match
If you do want to attend something, REPLY ALL meets CHAIN LETTER
You have to copy the RSVP list, add your name, reply all – and be ready to receive upwards of 40 of the same
Lo que nos cuesta… AKA the hard things
Despite all the amazing things we’ve seen and done this year, there were also many hard things. This ranged from going to a new school with more than 2,000 kids (bigger than mom’s undergrad college!) and making friends, trying out for sports and ballet, learning our way around the city, and improving our Spanish (Ela won the best student award in her Spanish class!). Here are 4 vignettes:
2. Baches
Potholes
will eat your tire — or your whole car!
ankle-breaking holes in the sidewalk
watch your step!
3. Tramites
Def: “Cada uno de los pasos y diligencias que hay que recorrer en un asunto hasta su conclusión.”
All the steps required to make things happen.
Of which there are always many.
Of which you will likely not understand what’s needed
or have to go to a different office in a city several hours away
or get additional documentation that you have never heard of
and likely the printer is out of order or missing paper at the shop down the street because there is no printer at the office where they are asking for the document.
Sometimes you figure it out.
Or, like many, you get a “fixer” who makes it happen.
Who takes your asunto hasta su conclusión
4. Driving is a videogame
Level 1: Get in our van, Zocalo
Take Atlixco toward tree-lined Avenida Veracruz
Pass Chapultepec park and merge confidently onto busy Constituyentes
But then…
Level 2: Wrong turn
Where am I? Where do I go?
This lane? That lane?
I was just 10 mins away and now it’s 32
Level 3: Still lost
Now 28 mins away
I’m where I was 45 mins ago
Miss the party
Crying, call everyone I know to see who can give my kid a ride home
Level 4: Getting home
Still have to find my own way home
Park in our narrow driveway
(exactly like this excerpt from the movie, Roma)
Pirates and street art: stories from afar
During our time in Mexico, we also had a few adventures a bit further afield. We went as a family to Cartagena, Colombia, a port city on the northern Caribbean coast. A former Spanish colony, Cartagena became a key port for exporting silver to Spain and importing enslaved people from Africa. As the area gained wealth, it became a target for pirates, despite a network of stone walls designed to surround and protect the city. We visited a fort, ducking out of the searing heat to explore the complex maze of tunnels and underground bunkers. Get this: in 2015, a pirate ship that sank in 1708 was found off the coast of Cartagena and it contained $17 billion worth of gold, silver and jewels!
Cartagena is also known for its street art. The Getsemani neighborhood, which was originally set up to be a residential area for enslaved Africans and indigenous peoples, is now home to some of the city’s most vibrant and colorful street art.
The pirate connection will emerge as you read, so be patient as we travel to Jordan on a work trip with L. The streets of Amman offered so many connections with Mexico: purple jacaranda trees in bloom, colorful markets (there with dates, not mangos), jumbled buildings and gardens tucked between them. And street art! It expanded during the Arab Spring and since then has become a way to raise awareness to social issues such as women’s rights and inequality. According to journalist and L’s former student, Hanna Davis, street art “reflect[s] the gaps between tradition and modernity in Arab society; of femininity and gender norms; of a generation of youth challenging traditional norms embedded within a conservative society.”
A highlight of the trip was a visit to Petra, a Wonder of the World. It’s magical how the human-created elements emerge so subtly from the purply stone walls and cliffs. The Nabataeans, the Arab tribe who created Petra (originally called Raqmu), rose to prominence between the 4th and 2nd centuries BC after gaining wealth by trading frankincense, myrrh, and perfumes. Why were these things in such high demand? They were used for medicinal and spiritual purposes, but also people smelled bad back then, so it was helpful to have other scents to cover this up! The Nabataeans, who knew the desert better than anyone, would take caravans of these goods by camel from Damascus to Mecca to the Horn of Africa, stopping at stations with water and supplies that were conveniently spaced the walking distance of a camel apart. One camel-load of goods to trade had an estimated value of $18,000!
Given their expertise in the desert, the Nabataeans preferred (and dominated) land routes, and avoided the Red Sea with its shallow spots and dangerous rock outcroppings. But over time, the Romans came to master sea crossings, allowing them to avoid Nabataean taxes on overland routes. The Nabataeans briefly resorted to piracy (here are the pirates!), but finally fell to the Romans in the 1st century AD. Go to Petra if you can!
Muralism
Mexican Muralism refers to the period right after the Mexican Revolution (1910-20) when the government funded muralists to paint images depicting the country’s past, present, and visionary future. Considered art of the people, these were positioned in public spaces (markets, streets, and throughout the Ministry of Education and other government buildings) so that they would be accessible to all.
The “Big Three” muralists were Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente, Orozco, and David Alfaro Siquieros, but there were also students of Rivera, my favorite of which are the Greenwood sisters.
Marian and Grace Greenwood grew up in Brooklyn in a supportive and liberal family. In 1932, Marian hitched a ride to Mexico City and learned the fresco style of mural painting. Her sister, Grace, soon joined her and they painted several murals separately, finally collaborating, under Rivera’s supervision, on a more than 3,000-square-foot section of Mexico City’s Abelardo L. Rodríguez Market. In a 1936 Washington Post article, Rivera called the Greenwood sisters “the greatest living women mural painters.” They left Mexico and painted a murals for a housing project in Camden, New Jersey. Marion then became a WWII war correspondent and artist and painted murals in China.
Ministry of Education stairway
Abelardo L. Rodríguez Market
Diego Rivera
Siquieros
Greenwood sisters
Oaxaca
Oaxaca (pronounced “wa-ha-ca”) is a beautiful colonial city in the south of Mexico. We appreciated the colorful streets, charming squares, and alebrijes, a traditional Mexican animal sculpture painted in bright colors that is considered good luck. Silas’ favorite part was a parade that came through town with musicians and kids throwing candy to bystanders!
We visited the Zapotec pyramids at Monte Alban. Thirty thousand people lived there – the wealthiest at the top of the hill and the poorest at the bottom. When people died, they were buried with their valuables (things like amber, jade, silver, and gold) in tombs beneath their houses. The tombs were kept closed for 4 years, the time it took for skin to decompose and the person to go to the afterlife. Besides learning a lot of history about the people (including human sacrifice and ball games like the Mayans), we climbed tons of steep stairs to the tops of pyramids and enjoyed views of the mountains.
We also visited a place out of the city called Hierve el Agua, which means “water boils.” There is a huge, crystalized waterfall that looks like water from afar, but is actually made of rock! The spring water that feeds the “waterfall” is over-saturated with minerals and as the water flows over the cliffs, minerals are deposited the same way that they are in stalactites in caves. The result…”cascadas petrificadas” (petrified waterfalls)! At the top there were huge pools we could swim in and a steep (thousands of feet!) drop-off just over the edge.
Across the countryside there are fields of dusty blue agave used to make mezcal, a distilled alcoholic drink. Since pre-Colombian times, agave plants were considered sacred in Mexico and appeared in myths and religious rituals. Legend has it that once a lightning bolt struck an agave plant. This opened and cooked the “piña,” or heart, of the agave, and released a special liquid, which people called the “elixir of the gods.” It is still used not just for drinking, but also for various remedies like breaking fevers and treating pain from arthritis.
Tequila is also made from agave, but only one variety. Mezcal can be made from more than 30 varieties. The most well-known is called espadin for sword because that type of agave is especially pointy. That variety takes 7 years to be ready for harvest, but other varieties can take up to 25 years. We stopped at an open-air palenque, or distillery, to see how mezcal is made. Hundreds of piñas are cooked in a huge fire pit for about 8 days. Then a donkey pulls a stone wheel called a tauna in circles over the cooked agave to help with the fermentation process. After 1-2 weeks of fermentation, the mezcal is distilled and then ready to drink. Each variety has its own flavor – some smoky, some smooth.
Xochimilco
This area, pronounced “So-chi-mil-co,” is known as the “Venice of Mexico.” Colorful gondola-like boats called trajineras weave through a series of canals, passing by floating gardens called chinampas. The scene is festive: mariachi, norteño, and ranchera music spilling out and merchants offering food – elotes (corn-on-the-cob with mayo & chile) and tlacoyos (oval tortillas stuffed with beans and topped with nopales (cactus) and cheese) and drink – specialties like pulque (a traditional alcoholic drink made from the fermented sap of the maguey plant) and micheladas (beer with lime juice and powdered chile). It’s an amazing party scene (even in the morning!).
The weekend we went to Xochimilco, Si was responsible for taking care of his class pet ajolote (stuffed, not real). Ajolotes are a kind of salamander endemic to Mexico and a national symbol. He was thrilled with all the ajolote imagery at Xochimilco – real ones even live there! We were also thrilled to have Claire, Emily, and Leah join us.
Mariposas
Each August, millions—even billions—of monarchs begin an astonishing journey taking them 3,000 miles from the Eastern United States to central Mexico, where they spend the winter. Unlike summer generations of butterflies that generally live for 2-6 weeks, the ones who migrate south can live for up to 9 months! Along the way they stop for nectar and shelter and monthly later they arrive in the forested mountains of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere in Mexico. This reserve was made a World Heritage Site in 2008. It is a magical place!
In February we went to see the monarchs at the Rosario Sanctuary in Michoacan. We stayed in a “Pueblo Mágico,” towns the Mexican government recognizes for their “magical” qualities, whether rich history, extraordinary legends, or unusual beauty. We got up early in the morning, dressed in layers to keep warm, and started a steep hike up the mountain. When we got to the top, the sun was glowing through the trees, which were covered with butterflies like the bright leaves of a New England fall. The sky is alight with dancing orange and black bodies like fairies in the wind. Everyone was quiet and taking in the magic. Many legends recognize this magic: According to one legend, family members who have died return to visit their living relatives in the form of butterflies. Another legend sees butterflies as spirits of the forest and messengers from the gods.
Think of this the next time you see a monarch!
¡Tamales!
The new year starts with a great tradition. January 6th is el Día de los Reyes Magos, a celebration of the three kings who brought gifts to the baby Jesus. In Mexico (and many other places in Latin America), people celebrate with a ring of sweet bread with colorful dried fruits called a rosca de reyes. It is believed that the oval shape represents the infinite circle of God’s love and the sugared fruits symbolize the jewels in the wise men’s crowns. Most importantly, hidden inside each rosca is a muñeco escondido, a hidden plastic or ceramic figure that represents the baby Jesus (look for the tiny feet sticking out in the picture). Each person gets to cut their own slide of the rosca in hopes of finding the muñequito. Whoever finds him is responsible for making tamales for everyone on February 2nd, Día de la Candelaria.
Everyone joined in to make the tamales. We prepared the corn masa and black beans, then formed little corn patties with a dollop of bean and folded them in corn husks (you can also use banana leaves). After steaming we served with tomato (called jitomate in Mexico!), avocado, and crema. Yum!
Aventuras de fin de año
We spent our winter break exploring the Yucatan peninsula.
First stop, Isla Holbox, a stretch of islands with no cars allowed! We drove two hours from Cancun, took a windy ferry ride across the water, and then a golf cart to our beachside bungalow. Each day we explored the beach, seeing a colony of iguanas at Punta Coco and wading out almost a mile on a shiny white sandbar. In the evenings, we watched the sunset and walked the sandy streets, looking at colorful murals and eating marquesitas, traditional crepes from the Yucatan, rolled like a taco, and filled with cajeta (like dulce de leche), Nutella, or soft cheese.
Cenotes
One of the highlights of the whole trip were the cenotes, natural sinkholes filled with (often aquamarine blue) fresh water. Some are deep pools with steep rock walls, some are shallow and connected by caves, others are completely covered and only accessible by divers. There are thousands in the Yucatan peninsula! We did some amazing cliff jumping (even Si - see video below) and learned good technique (point your toes, plug your nose, and scream!).
We also loved spending time with friends and family along beaches at Akumal and Tulum. So lucky to spend a cool, rainy Christmas with the Dulles crew and New Year’s with Pat, T, and the primitos.
Chichén Itzá
Chichén Itzá is one of the most famous Mayan centers in the world. In fact, it’s considered one of the 7 Wonders of the World! (Do you know what the other Wonders of the World are? Guess and then check here.)
The name Chichén Itzá means “at the edge of the well” and refers to the cenotes, or underground pools in the area. The Mayans used to throw the humans they sacrificed into cenotes, as well as gold, jade, and other precious offerings for the rain god, Chaac.
The most fascinating things about Chichén Itzá were:
Acoustics: If you clap your hands in front of the main pyramid, you hear the call of a quetzal bird responding to you! For real!
Ballgame: the Mayans played a ball game with a rubber ball that weighed 6-10 pounds. They could only use their knees, hips, elbows, and shoulders to move the ball down the court and through the vertical stone hoop. The winners! of the game were the ones who were sacrificed (because this was an honor)!
Architecture/astronomy links: The main temple has 91 steps on each side, representing the number of days in each season, + 5 days of a short month = 365 days/year. Exactly on the spring and fall equinoxes the light falls such that you can see the shadow of a serpent on the stairs of the main temple.
Standard of beauty: High class people bound their children’s heads to give them long and flat foreheads. Excavated skulls show this elongated shape!
Girls with bad luck: Girls who were born during the short (5-day) month were thought to be extra special and were sacrificed when they turned 15.
End of year highlights
Ela has been dancing at a wonderful studio in Mexico City and had the chance to perform, including a solo! (She notes that the stage was uneven so she couldn’t do pirouettes and turns as well as usual – but we all thought it was beautiful!) Nana was proud to be there to watch! She also got some quality time with Si, making traditional Christmas stollen, playing, and reading.
B has been playing basketball all season and December brought the chance to train with professionals! The San Antonio Spurs, an NBA team, came to school to practice with his team and that night they got to see the Mexican minor league NBA team, the Capitanes.
Si, too, had some sports highlights… We never know his game schedule until 2 days beforehand (via a WhatsApp message – same goes for B’s games) and this time was no exception. We got the message on Thursday and planned our Saturday morning around his game. Putting the location into Google maps, we drove through the city, commenting on the Christmas decorations, pinatas, and lights for sale on every street corner. Arriving at the site, we were surprised to see a gigantic stadium looming above us and hundreds of kids clad in their jerseys gathering at the entrance. Silas’s team entered with their coaches (who he calls profes) and we headed to the bleachers to cheer with the wildly enthusiastic families – ready with bullhorns, clackers, whistles, drums, and chants. Into this 30,000-person stadium, his team scampered onto the field, blue shirts shining in the bright sunlight. Within minutes, they were down 0-1, but then picked up the pace and dominated the second half. With 5 minutes remaining, they scored to the deafening roar of the crowd and sent the game to penalties. (For 5-year-olds!) In a quick show of skill, they won the game and emerged as campeones! The fans went wild as they hoisted their trophy (almost as big as Si) and received their medals.
This was a great preview for the World Cup final. We watched the Cup devotedly since the beginning, rooting for Mexico and grieving with all the chilangos dressed in green when they lost in the group stage. The kids got to watch many matches at school and they were also shown in every bar and restaurant in the city. After listening to The Last Cup/La Ultima Copa, a great podcast about Messi’s life and his journey to the Argentine national team, Beacon and Lucy were deeply invested in him winning the World Cup. What a nail-biter! With Argentina leading 2-0 into about the 75th minute we thought Messi had finally gotten a win until a handball in the box gave France the chance to score and later they tied it up. Just like Si’s game, it went to penalties. We clutched each other, our hearts pounding in synch and waited as Gonzalo Montiel scored the decisive goal and Messi fell to his knees, finally achieving what he had yearned for since becoming a star.
Thanksgiving
For Thanksgiving we had our first beach adventure, to the wild Pacific coast of Oaxaca at Puerto Escondido. Legend has it that many years ago pirates captured a local indigenous woman. That night, she escaped the kidnappers and hid from them so well they never found her. They called her La Escondida, the hider, and named the bay Bahía de la Escondida.
The Pacific waves make this area one of the best surfing places in the world. We all took surfing lessons, gliding towards shore until we jumped off shy of the rocky edge. Even Si tried it and claimed to love surfing!
Other highlights of the trip were cocos frios on the beach, night swims in our colorfully lighted pool, and dazzling sunsets.
Dia de Muertos
Celebrating the dead is a colorful and joyful tradition in Mexico. In the lead up to Día de Muertos, the city is transformed — boulevards replanted with endless swaths of cempazúchitl (orange marigolds), huge painted calaveras (skulls) and alebrijes (magical creatures) perched along the streets, and playful catrinas (skeletons) greeting you at every storefront. Pan de muerto, a special orange-flavored sweet bread, decorated with dough bones and sugar (either typical white sugar or sugar blackened with ash), is featured in every bakery and grocery store.
One of our favorite things was the ofrendas (altars) that everyone makes for their dead relatives. Each family puts one up in their home, but you also see them in every public establishment from the corner coffee shop and convenience store to the post office and bank! Typically, ofrendas need to have the following elements: cempazúchitl flowers, papel picado (colorful tissue-paper chains), sugar skulls, pan de muerto, and other favorite foods of the dead (often including alcohol), candles, a cup of water, salt, and photos of the dead. We set one up in our house, featuring Pop (Luc’s dad), Mimi/Kathy (Alex’s mom), and Minga (Luc’s old cat from Guatemala). See this video of Ela describing our altar and the practices you need to follow, like making a flower petal path from the door to the altar so the spirits know how to get there. It’s a multi-day affair, with pets coming first, then children, and then adults. And all along, the living sit and eat, tell stories, share memories, and savor in the visits of their beloved dead.
There is also a ton of public celebration with day-long parades of alebrijes and catrinas, and mega-ofrendas throughout the city. In the Zocalo (central city square), there were unique ofrendas representing each state and catrinas as high as the flagpole waving the colossal bandera de México. We also got to be catrinas!
18 de octubre: Otro viaje
Our second trip outside of Mexico City (CDMX) was to Cuernavaca. About 2 hours outside of the capital, Cuernavaca is known as “The City of Eternal Spring” and we enjoyed the warm weather and even swam in a pool! (FYI pools here are called “albergas,” not “piscinas,” which is what we say in other Spanish-speaking countries).
We visited the downtown area and spent lots of time combing the local markets for the Day of the Dead altar we’re preparing to set up in our house (see cuento on this soon!). We also visited the Jardines de Mexico, a huge park full of different types of gardens like sculpture, Japanese, Italian, and cactus! Who knew cactuses could grow as big as trees!?
13 de octubre: Muchos deportes (by Beacon)
I made the Middle School basketball team at my school! The kids are nice and we have a pretty good team. We won our first league game and I’m excited about the rest of the season.
Si joined a soccer team and is learning to shout things like “córrele!" (RUN) “tírale” (SHOOT) and “padrísimo!” (AWESOME). He loves it!
I went to a Lucha Libre match with my friend, Walden, who was visiting from Charlottesville, and my dad. Lucha Libre is a wrestling league where people dress up in shiny underwear and masks and fight each other. My dad got good seats, right next to the ring but we weren’t allowed to sit there because we were not old enough to sit that close to the ring. There is a lot of slamming people on their backs and doing flips. Sometimes the refs wouldn’t do their job very well and let a three-on-one which is very exciting to see. At one point, each team had a little person, and they would try to get into the ring, but the ref wouldn’t let them fight each other. The stadium, Arena Mexico, was built in 1956. The outside looks like an old factory, but on the inside, it is a whole different story. There are huge lights and a stage where the Lucha Libre fighters come out of. There are tons of seats, enough to seat 16,500 people but when we were there, barely half of the stadium was full.
Si (he goes by this instead of Silas because he doesn’t like that people pronouce it See-lahs, nor does he think it makes sense to call himself “yes”-“the”) turned 5! And su mama, Lucia, went all out to plan and host a Mexican-style fiesta de cumpleaños: inflatable, lots of food, alcohol for adults, piñata, huge cake, themed goodie bags, 5 hours of entertainment and socializing… When Si and his friends couldn’t finish off the piñata, Beacon saved the day, prompting deafening cheers of “muchos dulces!”
26 de septiembre: ¡Cumpleaños!
25 de septiembre: Lots of firsts!
We’ve had a lot of firsts in the last few weeks:
First trip outside of Mexico City: We took our first trip out of the city in our tattered mini-van, Zocalo (“Zo”) to a city called Puebla. It’s known for the best mole in Mexico and is the source of the Cinco de Mayo holiday. In 1862, France invaded Mexico, and even though they were totally outnumbered, scrappy Mexican forces defeated the French army in the May 5th Battle of Puebla. It’s funny that the holiday is more celebrated in the US than in Mexico! We also hiked to the top of a pyramid in the town of Cholula — you may be familiar with a famous hot sauce with that name.
First soccer (fútbol) game at a stadium: B and L went to the Estadio Olímpico Universitario, one of the most famous sports landmarks in Mexico City. Built in 1952, it was the main venue for the 1968 Olympics and the 1986 World Cup, and features a famous Diego Rivera mural at the entrance. The fans were crazy! They drank tons of beer and chanted and sang at the top of their lungs. It poured on all of us, but that didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits (ha, ha, ha).
First pointe shoes: Probably THE biggest milestone for a ballerina is getting your first pointe shoes. Ela is starting slowly (just a few minutes of relevés after class each day), but it’s happening!
19 de septiembre: ¡Sismo! ¡Volcán!
Today was a crazy day! It was the anniversary of two huge earthquakes in Mexico. In 1985, an 8.0-magnitude earthquake shook the city early in the morning, causing massive damage and claiming thousands of lives in Mexico City. The very same day in 2017, another large earthquake struck, killing people around the country.
There was a national earthquake simulation today in Mexico to mark those quakes. And then….less than an hour after the simulation….A REAL (7.7 magnitude) EARTHQUAKE happened! Again! On the same day! The kids’ school is well-constructed to withstand both small tremors and large earthquakes, so no one there felt anything. Luc and Silas were in an area with tall building and saw them swaying above! And Alex was at our house and felt the floors shake and chandeliers jangle as he ran outside. Only a few people were hurt this time, but it was still an unsettling experience and a reminder of how vulnerable we are to nature.
The day ended with one more surprise: we received warning of increased volcanic activity in the Popocatepetl Volcano, about 45 mins from our house, and likely ashfall across Mexico City.
Popocatepetl Volcano
1985 earthquake (Photo: Reuters)
16 septiembre: ¡Viva México!
Verde, blanco, rojo - se celebró la independencia de Mexico. The whole city is decorated in (HUGE) flags, lights, flowers, and banners and every restaurant is selling the typical chiles en nogada, a stuffed poblano pepper, bathed in creamy nut sauce and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, representing the colors of the flag.
Si learned the national anthem (and has been listening to it obsessively!). All the kids dressed up in traditional clothes or the colors of the Mexican flag — and we got churros and chocolate as part of the school celebration. We stayed up to join what they call “El Grito” when President AMLO and the 140 thousand spectators in the Zocalo (city square) shouted “Viva Mexico!” and fireworks erupted above.
12 septiembre: ¿Escuela? No. ¿Campamento? Sí.
Hola!
Our fourth week at our Mexican school was…NOT in school! Beacon and I got to go to the mountains with our classes (200+ kids for each of us!) for a whole week. We stayed in cabins, ate (yummy Mexican food like chilaquiles, tinga, enchiladas…) in a huge open dining room, and did tons of cool activities. Beacon’s favorite was making human pyramids (he was on top :)) and mine was crossing a freezing river and doing a high ropes course. The last night there was neon disco party and people stayed up dancing til midnight!
Abrazos,
Ela
7 de septiembre: ¡Tacos!
Hola!
Since Mexico is known for its tacos, we have been trying to learn about and try all different kinds: al pastor, carnitas, guisados, cochinitas, suaderos… Have you heard of these? Have you tried them? One way you can learn about them is by watching a show on Netflix called Taco Chronicles. You should watch it! One of the places they show in the episode about guisados is a few blocks away from our house! They have more than 20 kinds of stews that you can put in your taco: liver and onions (surprisingly yummy!), chile relleno, chorizo con papas, chard, hard boiled egg…
Abrazos,
The Mexi-Bassett-Taurel-icos
(Guest writer, Lucia, while Ela is away at camp with her school for the week. More from her next week!)
28 de agosto: Arte e insectos
The Bassett-Taurels have been living in Mexico for three weeks now. Last week, Beacon and Ela moved up a grade at school! They’ve had to meet all new kids and teachers but are loving their new environment! We have been loving exploring around Mexico and seeing new things!
This weekend, we visited La Museo de Arte Popular and saw beautiful sculptures–carved animals, painted in bright colors and patterns–and skeletons for Day of the Dead! There was also a car entirely covered in tiny colorful beads.
We also went to a market where people were selling vegetables, fruits, meat, tacos, bread, and… INSECTS. We saw candied tarantulas, and scorpion lollipops! Guess what? At the market, Ela tried a chocolate covered ant!
We hope that all of you have enjoyed the summer! Sending so much love.
Abrazos,
The Mexi-Bassett-Taurel-icos
15 de agosto: Llegada a Mexico
We have been living in Mexico for a week now! Our little neighborhood is called Condesa. Condesa is super colorful, and most of the buildings are 1920s, Art Deco style! There are also tons of taquerias where people eat on the street. On our first full day in Mexico, we visited the parks close to our house, Parque España and Parque México, and had the best churros in the world!
Guess what? The bus picks up the kids for school at 6:55 AM every morning and it's super dark out!
Abrazos,
The Mexi-Bassett-Taurel-icos
