Short Saltillo Slide Show

Lake at the Alameda

View of the mountains at sunset at Parque Maravillas

Mom & Clara at the Chapulin Park

More mountains at Maravillas

Word

Just learned my new favorite Spanglish word.

And this time I didn't make it up or learn it from another gringo--it's standard around here! I saw it on a billboard a few days after hearing it.

The other day, I walked past a table where someone was selling cupcakes. They asked me if I wanted a quequito. Of course, my English-driven brain heard "cake-ito".

But no, if you want a cupcake in northern Mexico, a quequito it is.

Yet another joy of living awfully close to the border!

San Jose Day 2012

Last Monday, apart from being a day off of work for most, thanks to the observation of Benito Juarez's birthday, was celebrated down my street for the day is was, San Jose Day! (It's a big deal down this street.)

We actually started celebrating the Sunday before with a parade from the Alameda to the church. It was officially called a pilgrimage. Padre Gordo reminded us to keep the true spirit of pilgrims, by thinking about our pilgrimage through life. Huh . . . glad he mentioned that! (Although it was easy to get distracted with the dancing chickens in the bed of one truck, courtesy of those who organize the children's mass.) Joey and I were all about joining in, and I was impressed that Mario and Clara were agreeable, especially after we arrived at the Alameda. I forgot that two or three matachin groups generally join the procession. They were very noisy, and neither Clara or Mario tolerate noise well. What troopers!

Then, the following Sunday, the church changed their usual 5-10K race into a mere 1.5 Run/Trot/Walk family event. So I signed us up for that, too. (Yep, I'm a joiner.) Mario had a long night the night before and bowed out, so I strapped Joey into the kangaroo (that's what baby carriers are called in Spanish--how awesome is that with a boy named Joey?), tied the three-year-old into the stroller, and we trotted off around the neighborhood with our Josefino family. I had fun running 5 steps then walking 10--it was pretty fun to watch Joey's head bounce around--but when 1.5 kilometers turned into a longer distance than I had imagined, I gave up and just walked.

After the race, they held a raffle, so we stuck around. My neighbor gave us an extra ticket from a friend who wasn't able to be there. Imagine my surprise when they called that very number for the last prize--a tricycle! As I lept up to claim the trike, Clara tripped and burst out sobbing, so it wasn't a pretty scene at all. I don't think she realized until we got home that the trike was hers. Then she was pretty excited and has been ever since.

Then, of course, last Monday was the actual San Jose Day. They closed the street at about noon and various vendors set up shop. It's my one chance a year for street food (rather, street food that isn't nachos), and once again I was impressed that Mario was game for eating on the street. Beyond food, they had games, rides, bingo, people selling clothes, and a plant lady.

I was also surprised that Clara was really into the matachines. When we first heard them in the morning, she insisted on going to see them and would have happily stayed all day, just watching them. For a kid who doesn't like noise, I was more than a bit shocked. She does, however, really like dancing.

After eating, I told her she could go on four rides. They had trampolines, which she had tried when we went to the Cola del Caballo, so she was set on that one. She had been spying one with cars (that just went round and round in a circle) for a day or two before, so she jumped at the chance to try that. After about 5 turns around though, she said that she was done, and I tried to explain that she couldn't get off until the man stopped the ride. She did well with that one.

Then she wanted to go into a bounce house. Despite being the only kid on it, once she got her shoes off, she decided she no longer wanted anything to do with the bounce house. Oh, finicky three-year-olds! The lady was great and gave me my money back. We wandered down the street and she decided that she really did want to go on a train ride. We watched it down around for once whole ride, so she could determine if she really, really wanted to go. She did. I kept reminding her that she couldn't get off until the lady stopped the ride (not just whenever Clara decides the ride should end). She understood. She still really wanted to ride the train. So she got on the train with another little girl and and soon as she was strapped in, she decided she really did NOT want to be on the train.

Too bad. It's time to stick by your decisions, kiddo!

She screamed the entire time. It was pretty close to bedtime. And it was pretty noisy (that's the reason Clara told me afterward). And the entire environment was pretty overwhelming. Poor kid.

Apparently the experience did not traumatize her for life, because this week they set up some fair rides in the grocery store parking lot. Clara was pretty interested.

But I'm not falling for that again!

And, of course, no proper Saint Day celebration in this country is complete without fireworks. Patty and I ran down the street at about 10, after the bells had been chiming for awhile. We missed the good ones.

Word to the wise: get out the door as soon as the bells start ringing. This is still Mexico, and the scheduled time is always relative.

Destination: Cola del Caballo

And a destination this was! Two years ago, we meandered out this way with some friends, but never made it to the actual waterfall. It wasn't in the original plan anyway.

So this time around, when my parents were around and we thought that a drive through the mountains would be lovely, I was determined to get to Cola del Caballo. Of course, I wasn't driving!

Leaving Saltillo, we made our way to Arteaga, the county just east of here. Arteaga is known for their apple orchards, last year's forest fires, and the largest artificial ski slope in Latin America. Huh. They do boast a number of cabins to rent, which I'd really like to do some weekend when the spring/summer heat gets unbearable.

Right around the time we meandered to the Nuevo Leon border, we found ourselves in this impressive canyon, which we explored two years ago. Traffic is very light, so a number of people (ourselves included, clearly) just pulled off to the side of the road and pondered the sheerness and immensity of the cliffs. Incredible. To be honest, this part of the road was more impressive than the waterfall that was our destination.The view from (almost) straight up.Some perspectiveThrowing rocks into the stream.

I thought that the waterfall would be just twenty minutes more down the road. After another hour had passed, I was quite confident that we'd shortly be entering the outskirts of Monterrey and we had somehow missed the waterfall.

I wasn't too far off. However we did find the entrance to the Cola del Caballo just before we cruised into Monterrey. If one would be driving from Monterrey, the entrance would be much more obvious. But if, like us, you prefer the longer, windier road, keep your eyes open!Mom & Dad with the waterfall
Clara & Grandpa

A Head's Up for Coahuilans

This morning we went to the passport office to get the kids' Mexican passports. Immediately, we were slapped in the face with a nasty surprise. Thanks to the ex-governor's impressive levels of deficit spending, all passports issued in the state of Coahuila are slapped with an aditional $1220 fee. That's about 3 times the total cost of the baby's passport. (As an additional comparison, last year the fees that the state applied to passport applications were around 200 pesos . . . yep, we're that far in debt.)

Thanks for that, ex-gob!

Unfortunately for those who came up with this genius pay-off-the-debt measure, they failed to take into account that the two biggest cities in the state, Torreon and Saltillo, are a short drive to neighboring states. Which is why the passport office was eerily silent this morning. Now, instead of the state government collecting 200 pesos from each of the roughly 30 people that would file for a passport daily, they can now rake in 1220 once every two or three days from some poor schmuck who just doesn't have the time to go to Monterrey.

But, the good news is that it's no longer necessary to make an appointment to renew your passport in Saltillo!

Ojo de Agua

My in-laws were here last week. As we've lived in Saltillo for 3 years now, they've seen the sights. But this time they came wanting to visit the Ojo de Agua, or Saltillo, if you will. This is a spring of water on top of a decent-sized hill. Saltillo was founded on that spot and a church stands there now with a small, chapel-like niche housing the spring. I had only breifly visited it myself, and I was also itching to spend a little more time exploring it.Lili inspecting the spring. Mago checks out reminders of all the miracles worked there. The entrance to the spring. In this spot, Captain Francisco de Urdinola, following the process of the law, founded the town of Santiago del Saltillo del Salto de Agua on the 25th of July in 1555, by mandate of the viceroy of Spain, Don Luis de Velasco, the first.
Christ Yesterday, Today, Forever [with unfortunate graffiti below]


The Ojo de Agua is about a block away (a fairly steep block) from the Mirador, or a lookout point. This is also another area I wanted to check out again, having only visited both sites on a sightseeing trolley tour, which only afforded about 5 minutes to check out the view. We went on a beautiful clear day, and enjoyed relaxing in the kiosko on the little plaza for the Ojo de Agua neighborhood, while watching neighborhood boys played a pick up game of soccer.



Clara poses in the kiosk, as I took in the view.





From there, we headed downhill to the grocery store across the street from the Chapulin Park. Our plan all along had been to buy a rotisserie chicken and have a picnic at the park. We dawdled longer than we meant to, so we had a moonlight picnic under the stars. It was a little chilly, but as the park was still open, and we were still hungry, we took advantage and had a memorable meal in the moonlight.

Candelaria Day

Yesterday we celebrated a little-known holiday known as Candelaria Day. The English translation is the equally ambiguous Candlemas Day. The day is to commemorate Baby Jesus's presentation in the temple (Luke 2:21-40). However, the reading clearly states that this took place when Jesus was 8 days old. Why we celebrate this on February 2ed if Jesus was born on December 25th is beyond me. Perhaps just to remind ourselves to not be too literal.

It's a pretty simple holiday all in all. Most people just have tamales for dinner. The more hard-core Candelaria revelers take their Baby Jesus from their nativity scene, dress him up (and many people make or buy him a new set of clothes every year), and take him to church. In the past, I've enjoyed my tamales and watching the little old ladies wander down the street carrying baby dolls tucked under their arms.

However, this year I was invited to a neighbor's levantamiento. This is a whole ceremony for taking the Baby Jesus out of the nativity scene, dressing him up and then sitting him (tying him) to the chair that he'll sit in all year to be displayed on a prominent shelf for the rest of the year.

So at seven o'clock I toted my kids over to Rosario's house. We waited for her family and friends to arrive. Then we prayed a rosary, sang some Christmas carols, and enjoyed the tamales. Simple enough, but I felt blessed to have a friend to invite me over for these cultural insights that I'd miss out on otherwise.

So thanks, Rosario!

And now that Candelaria Day is over, it's now officially time to take down the Christmas decorations!

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Theological side note: in observing people with this holiday, I fear that these Baby Jesus dolls (or those of us who have them) walk a very fine line theologically. Another friend of mine mentioned that if you rock the Baby Jesus doll while "adoring" him (a ritual which drives me beserk) whatever you pray for will be answered. To which my friend Rosario responded [and I translate loosely], "Dude--it's a doll. It's just a symbol. God listens to us wherever we are."

Whew! Too true, Rosario! God does know our hearts [not me, I'm honestly not trying to judge here], and he wants us to worship him, not a plastic doll. The doll does NOT have special powers. Careful y'all!

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Personal note as background to the theological side note:

I really, really, really do NOT want to sound judgmental. So let me explain myself a little better here (after all, I too have one of these baby Jesus dolls and did enjoy myself at Rosario's house for her levantamiento).

If you know me or have been reading awhile, you may know that I grew up Protestant and am now Catholic. However, before I'd apply those labels, I really consider myself Ecumenical. Really, can't we all just get along? To my personal beliefs, that extends not just to all Christian denominations, but I believe that we all have a lot to learn from each other, Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Buddist, Hindu, and whatever other religions are out there, plus those who claim no faith (because those who have made a conscious decision to not believe in a higher power have some very concrete reasons for that decision and I do respect that and believe I have something(s) to learn from that as well).

In the US (at least among Christian denominations (including Catholics) we do seem to get along. However, the rift between Protestants (often referred to simply as Christians (even by Catholics), implying that Catholics are NOT Christian) just breaks my heart. I understand some of the reasons behind it, but man, oh, man, when you get down to the heart of the matter, we all really do believe the same thing.

I've spent time in both Protestant and Catholic communities in Mexico. While my experience here is very limited, from what I've seen, my church (meaning my current parish) does a great job of religious education. However, it seems that that hasn't always been the case with Mexican Catholic churches and perhaps that isn't the case everywhere. Or perhaps it's just individual families that claim to be Catholic but don't bother to send their kids to catechism or read the Bible, or ask questions of their parish priest when in doubt--yes they may still be Catholic (again, thank goodness it isn't my opinion that matters), but education is soooo important.

Which is why I feel we walk a fine line when we parade around our baby Jesuses. Now, keep in mind, I mentioned that I love to see those little, old ladies carefully cradling their baby Jesuses in the street on Candelaria Day. It's a quirk that makes me happy and I'm confident that the vast majority of those ladies carry their Jesuses as a visual reminder of the baby Jesus was, not because they think the doll itself has magical powers.

But every once in awhile, you find a nutter who does believe that. And yes, she's perfectly at liberty to believe that her doll will grant her every wish.

And I'm at equal liberty to believe that she's bat-shit crazy.

But when this woman publicly declares herself to be Catholic, this is where the damage begins. The Protestants, who generally do a much better job of religious education among themselves, see this woman, correctly claim her to be idol worshiping and then chalk it up that all Catholics are idol worshipers. Not true. These statues and pictures are just visual reminders of the heroes of the faith (or Jesus Himself, of course). It's just like displaying family pictures on the walls of one's home.

But for some, admittedly in ignorance, believe that it's more than that. And it's that belief that further widens the gap of Christian unity in this country and does so much damage. That's where my words of caution stem from.