El Dorado Legend -- National Geographic

El Dorado Legend -- National Geographic

Some Pictures

We had a posada at our favorite carnitas restaurant. Here is the piñata!

All of the kinder ladies at the Colegio Inglés posada in December. Miss Charo is dressed up because she was hosting the event. I couldn't ask for a cooler coordinator! 

Stephanie and me at the Santos game supporting the best team in Mexico!!! 

The kids put on a pastorela for Christmas. Interesting fact - the devil is part of every nativity in Mexico to remind us that he is always there, trying to distract us from God. In the play, he tried to distract the shepherds from getting to Bethlehem. 

Pidiendo posada! The Kids knocked on the classroom doors singing verses to ask for a place for Mary to stay and give birth to the baby Jesus. Eventually, someone says yes and invites everyone inside for the party.

January

     It is officially, I am no good at keeping a blog. I honestly intended to write more here, but somehow I always find an excuse not too. The last month has been absolutely crazy. Going back to school was rough after a two week break, but we made it through. The kids were surprisingly well behaved, but everyone was tired. The second week back to school was crazy. On wednesday, the temperature hit 1 degree celcius, which is about 30 degrees farenheit. To all you Minnesotans reading this, that doesn't seem all that cold, but it is! Thursday and Friday were even colder. The buildings here are not heated; in fact they are designed to stay cool since most of the time it is so incredibly hot outside. I ignored all of the warnings that my friends and coworkers had given me about just how cold it gets here, and when Wednesday hit, I was shocked at how cold I was. If the temperature hits 0 here, the public schools close. Many of them closed Wednesday-Friday because of the cold, but not our school. I had a grand total of six kids on Wednesday and Thursday, and ten on Friday. We had a lot of fun and got to play some of the new games I brought back from the states, but it was so unbearably cold in the classrooms!
     In January, I also had my first professional soccer game experience. I went to the Santos game one weekend and had a great time. I love soccer, but I don't follow it much so I was surprised at how much fun I had. The atmosphere was great. It was so nice to be able to walk around and talk with people in a safe place. The stadium is supposedly the safest place in the city. The tickets were very cheap. We payed 170 pesos, which is less than 15 dollars per person, and the seats were great. We are planning on going again this weekend.
     Other than that, nothing much is new around here. It was great to go home for Christmas and see my family, and also stock up on everything I can't buy around here. I think I gained about ten pounds while I was home due to all of the amazing food my mom and dad cooked for me. I did miss Mexican food a little bit, but nothing here can compare to a home cooked meal with the family.

La Virgen de Guadalupe

     The Virgin of Guadalupe is the patron saint of Mexico. Her story and the celebrations that surround her are worth telling, whether or not they be true. She forms a very important part in the culture of Mexico, especially within the catholic church. While most people here are catholic, even those who are not still recognize the celebrations around el Día de la Virgen de Guadalupe.
     The story begins in 1531 in a village in Mexico called Tolpetlac. Juan Diego was walking to the neighboring town to attend mass, just as he had faithfully attended each Saturday and Sunday since he had been converted to catholicism by the spaniards. He walked alone, passing by the old pyramids of the Aztecs who were now only memories for him. Suddenly, he heard beautiful music, like songbirds singing. Looking around confused, he caught a glimpse of a bright light on top of Tepeyac hill. He followed it, and realized that the light was a bright white cloud and a beautiful rainbow. He heard a voice calling to him, "Juanito, Juan Diegito." She spoke to him in his native Nahuatl language - a language that had more deep meaning to him than the Spanish that he had been forced to learn. He climbed to the top of the hill to see who was calling his name. He called her, "a most beautiful lady." She told him that she wanted a church raised in that spot, and in return she would show her compassion for the natives. It would be a place where she could console all of her suffering children. Juan Diego set off to go tell the Bishop what he had seen, but he was not believed. He returned to the hill and told the Virgin that the Bishop did not believe him. She sent with the Indian a bouquet of flowers which he carried in his cloak. Left on his cloak was a full length colored portrait of herself, just as Juan Diego had seen her. The cloak was proof of the Virgin's appearance to Juan Diego. It can still be seen today in Mexico City.

    The Celebration for the Virgin of Guadalupe is held on the 12th of December. Between the 1st and 12th of December, peregrinaciones are held in her honor. Groups from all around town, either churches, neighborhoods, or companies prepare a peregrinacion and walk together on the peregrinacion route. The peregrinacion begins with a large picture of the Virgin, either carried or displayed on top of a car. Next, there are the dancers. The dances originated from the Aztec traditions. After the spaniards had come to Mexico, the natives were stripped of their identities. Their belief systems, traditions, and language had all been taken away from them. Juan Diego presented them with a new sort of hope from the Virgin of Guadalupe, who would be like their mother figure in their new lives. And they thought, "What can we offer to her?" They had nothing left, but they had their dances. They offered them to her as a thank you for her compassion. Today, there are two types of dances. The first is the danza azteca. The dancers wear bright costumes with huge head pieces. There is a drummer that wheels the drums on a cart behind the dancers to keep the beat. The second is the danza are called the danzas matlachines. The costumes for these are either red, green, or blue. The drum is carried in the back and the dance is made of up complicated steps. The dancers also carry a maraca and a bow, which at the end is pointed in the four cardinal directions. Finally, at the end of the peregrinacion is a group of people walking, carrying candles and sometimes praying the rosary. 

These two pictures are pictures of the Azteca danzas during processions through downtown Torreón.

These are some of the Matlachine dancers during the processions downtown. The youngest dancers was no older than six!

During the peregrinacion for Colegio Inglés, one girl student is selected to represent the Virgin de Guadalupe, and one boy student is selected to represent Juan Diego. They ride on the back of a truck through the entire procession, and stand in front of the church during the mass that follows.

These are the dancers from the school that danced Matlachine during our peregrinacion. Girls from preprimaria through secundaria danced, and some of their mothers came too. During mass, the dancers sat up front and lined the isles. After the sermon, they danced around the entire church. They were the last to enter the church and the first to proceed out. It was quite impressive. 

This is the poster of the Virgin that our class made together for the peregrinacion!

We walked behind the dancers through the procession. The procession ended at a church where we had a special mass for the Virgin of Guadalupe. The procession had to be held inside a closed neighborhood for the safety of the kids. 

The flag of Mexico is carried by a selected group of girls. They practice for months and compete in flag salute competitions. 

The flag is held during the entire mass. Throughout mass, the girls switch places in a specific way that they practice. They must be standing perfectly still the entire time. 

Update

     The last month has been absolutely crazy here. I can't believe it is already almost December! My classroom has started the shift from Thanksgiving to Christmas. As the turkeys and pilgrims come down, the snowflakes and Christmas trees go up. Thanksgiving was great here. All of the American teachers worked together to host a big Thanksgiving dinner for our closest Mexican friends. We all cooked traditional foods in insane quantities, and they all brought extra dishes and drinks to share. It was a great way to spend the evening, even though we had to get up early for work the next day. All of my friends at home were so surprised that I had to go to work on Thanksgiving - I think they forgot that it is an american holiday... and Mexico is not the United States.
     It is crazy that I have been down here for over three months. The time has gone by very fast. I am coming home in less than a month for Christmas! Thankfully, I will get a taste of the holidays here before I leave. I have been invited to a few posadas and we will be hosting a gringa posada at our house. Looking back on the last three months, I am very satisfied with my experience here. I have some good friends, my Spanish has improved, and I love my class. It is amazing how fast 5 year olds can learn a language. I am so jealous of them! Most of what they have learned is just from listening to me speak. I refuse to speak to them in Spanish. They think I don't know how to speak Spanish at all. One of my little boys told his mom that he wanted to come with her to parent-teacher conferences. He said, "But Mom, you won't understand her. She doesn't speak Spanish. I will go and translate for you!" Every now and then they hear me speaking Spanish with the Mexican teachers. I have convinced them that I'm not really speaking Spanish - it is a special teacher language. They are just so adorable, and they have learned so much! Even my kids who are new to the school and had never spoken English before already understand everything I say and can respond in very good spanglish. Some of my kids can have entire conversations in English with no problems. I am very happy working with them every day.
     The violence here doesn't make me nervous anymore. I (sadly) have become used to the militares and federales standing guard with their guns. I have gotten used to hearing gunshots outside. It is hard to say if things are getting better or worse, but there are still a lot of issues in the city. On Saturday, the new president will be taking office. A lot of people think he is a complete idiot. They were very unhappy when he got elected. No one is really sure how is presidency will change things, but hopefully it is for the better.
     There are a lot of fun things going on in December, so I will try and post some pictures and keep things updated!

Día de los Muertos

     I had been looking forward to spending Día de los muertos in México since the day I took the job here. When I heard that there are no celebrations in Torreón for Día de los muertos, I was extremely disappointed. However, I ended up having a great time over the weekend and seeing a lot of what Day of the Dead is all about.

     The school acknowledged the day on Thursday, the 1st of November. The 2nd of November was a day off for teachers. On Thursday, every teacher in secundaria had their students make an altar in the gymnasium, and prizes were given out for the best altars. They were very elaborate with flowers, papel picado, candles, pictures, sand, food, and other little trinkets to remember the person to whom the altar was dedicated. In kinder, we also made an altar. Each class was in charge of contributing something different. My kids made papel picado and brought pan de muerto. The kids from maternal sang a song about the day, and the teacher talked about the celebration with the kids. Our altar was for Walt Disney. After the presentation, all of the kids ate pan de muerto and orange juice.

     Other than the altars at the schools, there was very little mention of día de los muertos around the town. A few places built altars, but there were no parties, parades, or festivals of any sort and no one went to the cemeteries because it is way too dangerous. On the other hand, Halloween was a huge event. Kids were screaming at the door all night long, "Queremos Halloween! Queremos Halloween!" There was a Halloween party at the mall and several of the kids at school had parties at their homes as well. It was much more celebrated than Day of the Dead.

     On Friday (the actual celebration of Día de los muertos) I went to Zacatecas with two of my friends. Zacatecas is a much older city and it is located father south of Torreón. As soon as we got off the bus, it was obvious what day it was. There were people walking around the streets with their faces painted like skeletons, papel picado covered the streets, and their were altars everywhere around town. After we checked into our hotel, which was located right downtown, we went shopping. We found lots of beautiful calaveras and Catrina figurines. While we were walking, kids were going into shops chanting something about día de los muertos asking for candy - similar to Halloween. That night, there was a huge parade. The floats were beautiful, each dedicated to something different. It was fascinating! After the parade, their was street entertainment and contests for calaveras, altars, and costumes. Late into the night there were people in the streets partying and celebrating. The newspaper in the morning showed pictures of music and celebrations in the cemetery that were going on all day long. There was also a special bullfight for the day.

One of the floats in the parade - death!

Another one of the floats - she was followed by a group of girls in black singing about her death

This was one of the simpler floats with beautiful papel picado

They were dressed up for the celebration and let us take a picture with them - so cool!

     The rest of our trip in Zacatecas was a lot of fun. We were all out tourists and went sight seeing, shopping for souvenirs and Christmas gifts, visited a mine, and took a ride up the teleférico to see the city from a high hillside. At night, we went to a discoteca deep in the mine, which was a great experience. Overall, it was the most fun weekend I have had since I've been here. Even though I spent my entire paycheck, it was worth every peso.

Halloween and Día de los Muertos

     One of the most exciting and interesting holidays in Mexico is Día de los Muertos - Day of the Dead. Ever since I began studying Spanish, I have been fascinated with Día de los Muertos. For those of you who do not know what it is, it is a holiday in which people remember their loved ones who have died. They make elaborate altars in their homes, decorated with papel picado, candles, photos, skeleton figurines, calaveras, food, marigolds, and anything else that the deceased was interested in. In some places, the cemeteries are decorated with skeletons, flowers, and candles and people spend the night there celebrating with their families. The people believe that on this day, the souls of their loved ones come back to visit them. Interesting, right? I was so excited to be in Mexico during Día de los Muertos, but here in Torreón, it is not celebrated like in other places in Mexico. Some people will put altars in their homes, and some schools will have a presentation for the kids. The cemeteries are far to dangerous to visit. Essentially, there is nothing in the city that celebrates the holiday.
     Halloween, on the other hand, is NOT a holiday that is celebrated in Mexico. However, here in northern Mexico, it is a bigger celebration than Día de los Muertos. There are Halloween parties for children at the malls, several Halloween stores open throughout the city, and costume parties at peoples' houses. The kids even go trick-or-treating, saying "Queremos Halloween! Queremos Halloween!" My students are far more excited about Halloween than Día de los Muertos.
     During Día de los Muertos, I am headed for Zacatecas, which is further South than Torreón. I hope I will get to see some of the traditions that I have been learning about for so long!