The Huichol Indians of Mexico

(In my view)

Bead work

Just about a week ago, I went to the Huichol enclave of these renowned Mexican Indians, the place is the town of Santiago Ixcuintla roughly 45 miles North- East of San Blas in the State of Nayarit (Mexico). In this town, of about 5000 thousand people, are one exhibit after another of their artistic talent, they have tile and glass murals through the town that are magnificent expressions of their art, depicting the struggles of their life and their culture.

City of Santiago Ixcuintla Murals

They have mastered some ways of creating extraordinary sculptures covered with colored beads and thread. Trying to explain them to you will be a very challenging task for me, I will, instead, show you a few of their masterpieces that I photographed and only a few because…. I was not supposed to be taking any pictures of them or their pieces on display (so I sneak some of them, sorry!)

The Huichol Indians of Mexico call themselves "the healers." Secluded high in the Sierra Madre Mountains of northwestern Mexico, these indigenous people have preserved the purest pre-Columbian culture in our hemisphere. For centuries they have conducted ceremonial rituals they believe heal the Earth and keep nature balanced. But now the Earth is sick and dying. The lands of the Huicholes are dying. The forests are shrinking, water is becoming scarce, and the animals are disappearing, I can testify to this because were they live now in the town of Santiago Ixcluintla and the surrounding lands are almost a complete desert. Illness and poverty are all over the place. The Huichol Wise Man, the Grand Shaman, knows why…. Maybe! I personally hope so because these people are really very talented artists.
The Huicholes embroider their clothing with the symbols of nature which offer them strength and life: the flower, a prayer for rain; the deer, a request for love and bounty of their nature-deities; the scorpion, to ask their protection.

HUITCHOL AT WORK
LADIE HUICHOL

The genesis of the Huicholes are debated. Some believe they were nomadic wanderers recently arrived to the Sierra. Others embrace the theory that they are a branch of the same family as the Aztecs, both having migrated from their original island homeland near the Pacific coast. The Huicholes themselves say they migrated north from the Valley of Mexico and were forced to take refuge in the Sierra hundreds of years ago by warring Indian tribes

To learn more about the Huicholes and their world, please visit: http://www.spring.net/~wmmeyers/huichp01.html.

These are very, very talented people and little by little are getting extinct, I guess one of the reasons is the shrinking of their environment and the assimilation of their young into the more modern Mexican society, I wish that people as talented as they never have to disappear of the face of this heart of ours….now…. so you know.…all this is.... in my view only…!

"El Quelite"

The enchanting “El Quelite”


About 30 miles northeast of Mazatlan lay the picturesque colonial pueblito of El Quelite. The lovely streets of this village are invitingly strollable and litter-free, mostly cobbled and lined with subtropical trees, shrubs, and colorful flowers spilling onto the sidewalks. Most of the houses boast beautiful plants adorning their front yards.

Plaza Gazebo

Old house with cactus on tile roof

Side street house with large Australian ferns

Colorful street

Framed by the Pacific Ocean, the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains and the El Quelite River, the town has the qualities of a living museum of historic architecture and a lifestyle not so far removed from its Spanish colonial past. Lots of revolutionary history was created in this unique little town it’s really like a walk through history. Some of the houses display information plaques that tell you of the past history.

Front yard flowers

Awash in color, the houses are painted bright hues of yellow, green, red, the complete rainbow, and because I talk to the people (I’m not to shy and speak the language) and I was told by them that even before the town become a touristic attraction, the (very proud) people of the town spruced up their houses like you can see them now, really colorful and beautiful.
Colorful house

This town is so lovely that it inspired Francisco Terriquez (famous Mexican song writer) to write the famous Mexican folk song,” Que Bonito es El Quelite” (How Beautiful is El Quelite), which is well known throughout Latin America, and can be heard playing regularly throughout the town, a demonstration of how proud the 2,000 people who call this pueblito home are of their village. In this trip to El Quelite we had breakfast in a very charming restaurant, The Meson of the Laureanos, The owner of the place is Dr. Ozuna, he was born en El Quelite and come back after his schooling to spend the rest of his life with his family in this charming pueblito. Dr. Ozuna, in a conversation relate to me, that he feels like having an umbilical cord attachment to the township so he does everything possible for the town and the area in general to flourish and be recognizable as a “Pueblo Magico”. This distinct restaurant is housed in the birth place of the first combatant and leader of the Mexican Revolution from the Sinaloa area.

"Lola" the restaurant parrot

The place is very nicely designed, from the superb murals that adorn a number of the indoor walls depicting the struggles of the town people in their fight for the independence of Mexico, to the open court yard effect with a vast variety of tropical plants and its very own “Lola” the large talking Parrot. Restaurant court yard

Fighting cock

The tables are dressed up in colorful table cloths and the serving ware is of ceramic specially made for them in the town by local artists, the attendants at this restaurant are the friendliest especially Erick , a very nice young man. Everything they serve in this (and everything they serve is mouth-watering) special place, the ingredients are made or cultivated in the town or its vicinity.

El Quelite is known all over in Mexico as the biggest and greatest producers of “Gallos de Rina” fighting cocks. In Mexico is a very common and partially legal sport, special places are build to do the fighting and some of them are very sophisticated to the point to engaged very famous artists, singers, bands, etc to perform before and during the event, these places are called Palenques and in them lots of money changes hands.
El Quelite has the largest fighting cocks farm in Mexico, they have approximately 3000 animals at all times, to day, I had the pleasure of seeing this very place where splendid birds with a wonderful display of plumage colors, from brilliant red to snow white and everything in the middle, such a spectacular display of colors is extremely difficult for this writer to describe, so, I will insert some pictures so you can appreciate for yourselves these striking animals.

Side street house porch (note the beautiful fern)

One of the oldest houses in town

The majority of the town houses are very, very old, most of them build in the middle 18 century, their colorful red ceramic tile roof are amazing to see, mostly because some are so old that cactus plants are growing on top of them, and not one or two but many of them.

All of the town houses have been decorated in vibrant colors creating a enjoyable landscape, that, and the friendliness of the people, plus an old time bakery with a real mud oven that bakes delightful pastries and bread, make up this charming little place so alluring to me, I guess, I do not have to tell you, El Quelite, is one of my very dearly loved colonial towns in Mexico. But remember I’m kind of biased to it and…. It is only in my view…………

Mazatlan's Famous Plaza Machado

Mazatlan’s Plaza Machado
(in my view)

One of the more fascinating parts of the resort city of Mazatlan is the historical center, in which the enchanting Plaza Machado is a significant part of it. Set between the Teatro Angela Peralta and the Casa de los Portales, the square is charming and full of life and my favorite place to spend a relaxing evening having a real excellent dinner and enjoying the delightful music that abounds all around coming from the jazz-rock bands to typical Mexican mariachi music to all kind of Latin melodic song expressions.

The atmosphere is vivacious and effervescent, and makes people watching, seventh heaven, it seems to be the gathering place for the population of the district, is actually pleasant to observe, from the families strolling around the plaza to the vendors with all the wares for sale, to the attractive senoritas looking for that special handsome gentleman and vice versa, for sure is the place to be, and take pleasure in.
There are lots of eateries surrounding the perimeter of the plaza. They all serve great food from great tacos at El Tunel to wonderful Hamburgers at the Beach-Burger and dinner and conversation at Pedro y Lola. Las Brasas restaurant has a large variety of dishes to enjoy.

Most of the restaurants retain a muic band that performs from about 9 o’clock in the evening to about 12 o’clock, some of them are decent but the majority is very, very good.


My favorite is a Jazz-Rock band that performs at the Beach-Burger restaurant, plays the 70s and 80s music with mucho passion. The electric guitar player is a remainder of the great Jimmy Hendricks and the drummer sounds like the memorable Jimmy Kruppa, they are exceptionally good at it, and they make listening to them a real pleasure. The other band that is to me fabulous, is a Cuban ensemble, they play all the Latin favorites and exceptionally good if I said so, and there is a fabulous guitar player (Rafael Rodriguez) who plays every Sunday night at the corner of Las Brasas restaurant and, of course, there are an abundance of solo guitar players that roam around the plaza offering their musical renditions for a propina (tip). Some of them are very artistic and some of them, well… let’s say, not so gifted
This delightful Plaza is one of Mazatlan’s hidden treasures, is tucked away in the heart of downtown historical center. The Plaza Machado (or the Plazuela like the Mazaltecos call it) is home to the Teatro Angela Peralta. This Theater was restored in the 1990’s to it’s 19th Century splendor where it houses a concert hall, galleries, an art school and a highly regarded conservatory of music and dance. Artists such as classical musician Enrique Patron de Rueda and the famous Machado Orchestra perform on a regular basis. The Sinaloa Symphony, local productions and a diverse program with visiting artists keep the theater full of activity all year long.
We spend a lot of our time in these pleasurable surroundings of the Mazatlan old district and in particular in the Plaza Machado, and to us, it is like taking an leisurely walk back in time, away from the hassle and bustles of the big cities and reminisce the good old days…………..

The People of Mexico

The People of Mexico

(In my view)



In the Spanish-speaking world, Mexico is the most populous country. Has approximately 150 million people and contrary to popular belief, almost three-quarters of the population lives in urban areas. For most of the people of Mexico, Spanish is the official language, but the indigenous Indian languages that far predate the conquistadors are still spoken by a third of the population. The Nahuatl of the Aztec or the tongue of the Mayans, as well as others such as Mixtec, Otomi, Trascan and Zapotec remain an echo of Mexico's rich past.
Mexican Spanish is atypical in significant ways from the Castilian Spanish of the mother country, I can myself testify to that because I was born in Buenos Aires (Argentina) and attended school and lived there until I was 25 years old before migrating to Los Angeles (Calif. USA), and one my majors in college was Castilian Spanish. You will recognize many frequently used words either through their resemblance to English or because the words themselves, such as rodeo, canyon and corral, have been absorbed into the American spoken language. Most of the five million Mexican Indians retain their own ancient tongue while still speaking Spanish.
If your command of Spanish is limited, don't worry! In the tourists areas, English is very common, and even a small "tourist" Spanish vocabulary will help you greatly, and in Mexico they have established a tremendous school system, one of the new requariments is to take English as a second language and is learned from the first grade so the end result is that most of the younger generation speak reasonably good English. If you venture into the country, off the beaten path, a tour guide or translator is advisable, but if do not have one of them, there is no need for you to be concerned about it, because you will realize that everybody, (and I mean everybody) will be most eager to help you and to translate for you. There are at least 50 different dialects spoken in Mexico, and some of them vary widely from the average American Spanish education. In spite of the urbanization of the populace, small-town life as it existed for centuries is still easy to find. In many villages, like El Quelite (one of my favorites), El Fuerte, Copala, La Noria, etc, etc, you will find a central square, surrounded by a few stores and government buildings and, of course, an open-air marketplace. Nearly 75 percent of all Mexicans now live in cities or towns. In Mexico, there are now eight cities with population over 500,000. Mexico City presently boasts over 20 million people.
Education is currently mandatory for ages 5 through 15, and that age will lower to 3 by 2010. As of 2005, Mexican children had almost an 80% enrollment rate. There are roughly 19 million primary and 6 million secondary school students in the Mexican system, and higher education boasts 2.4 million students as of 2005.
Mexico’s peoples way of life includes many old traditions from their Indian past and the Spanish colonial period. Mexico changed quite rapidly during the 1900’s. Life in the cities became quite similar to that of the U.S., however many Mexican villagers still follow the older ways of life. Today, many households consist of an average of five or six people. In many homes, several generations of the same family still live together. This country still hold the family concept, you can perceive it every day, virtually everywhere, Markets, Plazas, Malecones, you will see whole families strolling together as one, that, I’m very sorry to say, system of life, most of the so called big countries of the world regrettably have lost, please remember this is (in my view) . Women now have jobs outside the home and the girls living on farms will work the fields as will the boys, whereas the city boys will have part-time jobs while in school.
The people of Mexico, maybe more so than any other Latin American culture countries, are very sensitive to people from the Unites States calling themselves “Americans”. Mexicans consider themselves Americans, “Estados Unidos Mexicanos de Norte America” therefore, is important that Americans refer to themselves as Americans from the United States or “Estados Unidos Americanos”. A fact that has to be remembered is that Mexico, like USA and Canada are part of North America, and the Mexicans are vey proud of it, as they should be. I have a saying about these beautiful people. ‘They are very proud people (as they should be) and they do the best they can with what they have, and unfortunately, most of them do not have much’’. They are exceptionally artistic people as you can see by the stunning architecture buildings, plazas and monuments, extraordinary expressions of art abound every where in Mexico, they are very passionate about it their artistic expressions, from their Monuments and statues that are plentiful throughout the country, to the murals that you can find all over the place, most of them are exquisite works of art and manifestation of pride of their heritage, depicting, (most of them), the violent past history of this swollen with pride nation.
I can not draw to a close without saying, that we have been traveling Mexico for the past 30 years, and we never stumble upon any “bandidos” the Police and the Army are nothing else but ready to provide a hand and well-mannered, and the people as a whole are the nicest, most helpful and friendly people anywhere in this beautiful world of ours. Like the campground’s night watchman (Sr. Vicente), that insisted in going with me in the middle of the day (remember he is NIGHT WATCHMAN) to find a mechanic friend of his, that he could recommend to fix something on my Jeep and insisted in doing so disregarding that was his time to go to sleep, after being up all night, or the waiter of our favorite restaurant (Sr Pilar) that on his day off, knowing that we were looking for a house to buy, took us all over Mazatlan to find something for us as an act of good deed (no compensation). Or the real state agent, (Angelica Gonzalez) that has turned into our very best friend here, and she has officially became our adopted daughter now, or the man that chopped out a very, very old tree in his front yard, so we could have room for our motor home under it, and refused and got affronted when I offered a compensation for it. These are very few samples of courteousness, friendliness and integrity of these peoples’ hearts that we have encountered traveling in Mexico. Now remember, all these things are…… in my view only…., what can I tell you I’m partial to this beautiful country and it people!

El Malecon

“EL MALECON”


El Malecon the la ciudad de Mazatlan is a boardwalk that expands for about 10 miles long, in parts goes up to about 50 feet wide, the Mazatlenians call it “the place to blade”.
El Malecon borders the Pacific Ocean ,stretching from the Centro Historico to the Golden Zone Mazatlán's waterfront avenue, connects the old city to the new. this walkway bustles with joggers, blade runners, cyclists and sight seers.
When in Mazatlan, most peoples will head for the Malecon. Why not? This is the area with all the great restaurants, hotels, beaches, and shopping. The beach seems to run forever along the Malecon. Placed every so often is a beautiful statue or monument , as if the ocean itself was not beautiful enough. The best shopping is done in this area as well, with jewelry, silver, and mexican articles for sale on every block in the nearby Golden Zone (Zona Dorada). This are some of the beautiful Monuments along The Malecon

"El Venadito" This monument symbolizes Mazatlán and the city's Indian heritage. The name "Mazatlán" derives from the Nahuatl Indian word "Mazatl," which means "deer." Therefore, "Mazatlán" is the "Land of the Deer."


The Immaculate Conception
At the foot of the harbor in the south end of town, between the cruise ships and the ferries to La Paz, a golden, serene-looking madonna figure stands out in the skyline. This monument, often referred to as "The Virgin of the Point," is always surrounded by fresh flowers. An inscription at her feet identifies her: "Mother of the church and queen of the sea and universe."


Pacifico Monument

Homage to the Pacifico Beer Factory. This monument was unveiled on March 14, 2000, the hundredth anniversary of the day the brewery first began producing Pacifico beer. The Pacifico brewery was founded by three German immigrants, Germán Evers, Emilio Philippi and Jorge Claussen. The brewery was acquired by the Modelo group in 1954. The monument was is a huge copper cooking vat capable of holding (6336 gallons) of beer.


López Sáenz Monument
Created as a millenium gift to the city from the artist, this monument is a stylized Sinaloan family looking towards the future.


The Shield of Sinaloa and Mazatlán
Even further south along the malecón, the colorful "Escudo de Sinaloa y Mazatlán" has been on display since December of 1959. One side of the monument shows the Sinaloan crest, while the other side shows the Mazatlecan crest, both which date back to 1831. The Sinaloan crest, or shield, depicts four important historical cities of the state: Culican, El Fuerte, Mazatlán and El Rosario. The Mazatlán shield depicts an anchor to symbolize the port, a crab because Mazatlán is on the Tropic of Cancer, islands called the "Two Brothers," a sun representing Mazatlán's climate and two mermaids. One mermaid holds a mask to symbolize Carnaval Mazatlán and the other holds flowers, representing the Flower Games.


The Siren
Not much seems to be known about this mermaid ("La Sirena") who sits on the rocks overlooking the ocean. The cupid next to her seems to be ready to strike the lover she is searching or waiting for.


Fisherman's Monument
Perhaps the best known monument in the city, the "Monumento al Pescador" is a symbol of Mazatlán which began as a fishing town. The man in the monument represents the strength of the fishermen.. The woman represents both the beautiful women of Mazatlán and the beauty of the city itself. In the middle of the monument is a lighthouse And the ribbon that entwines the monument symbolizes the Tropic of Cancer, which Mazatlán almost sits right on. This monument is Mazatlán's oldest.

Further down the malecón, south of the Fisherman's Monument, is Mazatlán's largest monument, "La Continuidad de la Vida." The monument-- a naked couple on a huge seashell overlooking a school of dolphins-- is meant to represent life's continuity in harmony with nature. The man, who points to an infinite horizon, offers the future to the woman, a future where they will search for happiness together and protect living things. The snail shell on which the couple stand is particularly important because the snail traditionally represents continuity and eternity of life in the universe. This monument is particularly impressive at night, when it is all lit up.

"La Mazalteca"

This monument is dedicated to all the beautiful women of Mazatlan. And please trust me, they are mucho many.....

Mazatlan Magic Saturday Nigth

Saturday Night in Mazatlan

Saturday nigth sunset

This is the magical day of the week in this picturesque city of Mazatlan, everyone gets ready for it, is sort of amazing to see the transformation, it can be felt all over the place … it is FASCINATING …
Everybody, I’m sure, will be dressed in the most excellent attires in their closets, one and all will be extremely fastidious of their appearance, Saturday Night, it is the Magical Night in this alluring town, and it is here at this time … and so we are ready for it…lets set off and go paint the town and have one good and enjoyable evening ….vamonos….
As we drove on our way to have dinner in the place of our choice, the Historic part of town, yes…. you guess it....Plaza Machado....we witness the Saturday night fever going on in the city.
Traffic was getting leaden with cars, taxis, buses and Pulmonias, (little old Volkswagen beetles transformed into taxi cabs) they called “ Pulmonias” because pulmonia (pneumonia) is what you will catch when you drive in them because they are open all the way around except for the windshield.
Driving along on our way to the Plaza, the Malecon (walking strip between the street and the beach, 8 miles long and 50 feet wide) was getting heavy with lots of people in-line skating and just walking around and having a good time, and about 8.30 in the evening we checked out some of the most trendy night clubs on our way, like “La Botana”, “Valentinos”, “Caliente” and others that even as early as(8.30 pm it is very early here) they were getting populated already, and the sounds that were coming from them was thunderous signaling that the enjoyment was already well on the way.

"Caliente"

"La Botana"

The Plaza at the time of our arrival was hopping along full of people, we guess (that early in the night) was because the famous Angela Peralta Theater next to the plaza had a Spanish Andalucian Flamenco (very, very sorry we missed it) dancing show that just finished.
Plaza Machado's Restaurants

The Plaza was fully dressed up with all the lights and signs and vendors of all kinds mostly showing ladies accessories, and the waiters of the restaurants hailing their menus trying to lure costumers into their eateries. It was exciting just to be there, the bands were already playing their best repertoire
Some playing Latin music, some jazz, some “who knows” but all of them very passionate and strident. The band that plays in our favorite restaurant is a Jazz and Rock Band and it is Very, Very good, the electric guitar player is to me a remainder of Jimmy Hendricks and the drummer a recompilation of Jimmy Kruppa, they play most of the songs of the 70s and 80s and the singer of the group is in his own right very good and sounds very much like Simon of Simon and Garfunkle old duet.
Jazz-Rock Band

As we stroll to our reserved table, like always, Pilar came to greet us with his usual,” como estan mis amigos”, and brought us the proverbial Totopes (tortilla chips) and salsa to stat the night with, and after listening for a wile to the good jazz music from the band, we order for our meals, California salads with roasted chicken and a very good California wine to wash it down with, and after leisurely enjoying our first-rate meal we sat there until geared up to go home. As the enjoyable evening drew to a close the atmosphere of the surroundings and the magic of the Saturday Night in Mazatlan will live on us for a long, long time. I wish you could have been there with us….
Till next time to all mis amigos

Mazatlan Historic Center

MAZATLAN HISTORICAL CENTER

Mazatlan is a beautiful city full of life of its own making, (in my view) of course it’s full of tourists from all over the world but it has not lost the real Mexican flavor. The old center of town it is a enchantment of old buildings, plazas, market places, as well as public vendors selling palletas (ice cream on a stick), raspados de fruta,(shredded fruit juice), elote (barbeque corn) and anything else that you can think of.
The center of attraction from the Historical Centro is the famous Plaza Machado (or Plazuela for the locals), this is a gathering place for any body in quest of good surroundings, first-rate music, excellent food and a pleasant atmosphere. The Plaza has very excellent displays of tropical plants and Palms trees and of course the infallible gazebo in the center of it so people can go walking around most of them displaying the best attires and accessories.
In the evening time (about 7 to 8 o’clock) you will see a lot of families walking around, also (of course) the Pretty Senoritas all nicely fully clad up, with their tight designer (expensive) jeans and high heel shoes, I guess looking for that fine looking young fellow that will change their life everlastingly (for good we hope).
Around the Plaza are streets encircling it, but on Thursdays to Sundays at about 6 o’clock in the evening all these streets are closed to traffic so the restaurants that surround the Plaza can set up their fancy linen cover tables on the streets, so the whole boundary of the Plaza becomes a gigantic restaurant like, separated only by the distinctive types of chairs, and linen colors
Of course there are a lot of them and all of them with excellent food variety and magnificent flavors from Mexican cuisine (hot and hotter) to dishes from all-around the world. One restaurant in particular is my preference, it is called the Beach-Burger, and where I indulged my self on a thick juice hamburger with French Fries (American style) topped with guacamole and some delectable Chihuahua cheese, shredded lettuce, tomatoes and champignons. Other times (We were there almost every day) we had salads and all kinds of diverse dishes, all very well prepared and bountiful, so much so that most the times we could not finish the meals.
Of course excellent Margaritas (we are in Mexico aren’t we) and virtually any kind of beer that you can imagine. The help was outstanding and amiable to excess some times, and our favored excellent head waiter is Pilar and a very nice chap on top of it. We spent this year New Years Eve there it was an very pleasant occasion with superior food and drinks it was a memorable experience.

Pilar, the head waiter and head honcho

At the gazebo the fantastic talented Cuban band was performing that made the evening very delightful indeed. Of course not the whole thing was perfect (on my view of course) in concert with the two very smashed guys near our table that at midnight lit up the Cuban cigars (telephone poles on fire) that stink like exotic caca de baca and they were accompanied by this fastidious elderly lady that danced sitting on her chair bouncing vigorously up and down and from side to side at the beat of the Latin music from the gazebo like she was viciously blast by scorching electrical dance Gods from hell.
On Fridays to Sunday evenings, the people get serenaded by all kinds of very good music from four or five different bands that come to play at the plaza for some delightful entertaining for all the people strolling around the Plaza Machado or dining al fresco in all the good restaurants surrounding this quaint, historical Plaza.

Very impresing band..!!!


One of my favorites is a very talented guitar performer and singer, (Rafael Rodriguez) that plays on Sunday evenings, this gentleman sings in four or five different languages and with a vast repertoire or songs very melodically performed making it very pleasing to watch and listening while having a mouth-watering enchilada dinner or savoring a scrumptious Margarita.