My Huichol Indian Friend

On the night of December 12th, after the processions for Guadalupe had finished, some teacher friends introduced Lety and me to Guillermo, an Huichol Indian, from Mesa del Tirador, a tiny town in the northern part of the state of Jalisco.

Guillermo teaches English in the high school in his village, which has about 300 people, all Huichol Indians. He is fluent in English (his third language), Spanish (his second language), and his native language of Huichol! The children learn the Huichol language from birth, but when they go to school, they are taught in Spanish since, living in Mexico, they should know Spanish also.

Guillermo was in PV to attend a conference on teaching English. This was his first visit to Puerto Vallarta and he said he liked the city very much. I asked him how far his village is from PV. His reply: I take a 3 hour bus ride to the city of Tepic, where I change buses and continue on the bus for 9 more hours to the town of Tuxpan de Bolaños. Then I have a 2 hour walk to my village because there are no roads where the bus can go."

He and I had a lively dialogue about teaching English and he was very eager to discuss teaching strategies. Even though it was after 11:00pm, we continued our visit at a local restaurant with Lety and 3 of the other teachers from PV.

He invited me to visit his village. I told him I couldn't walk for 2 hours (duh!!!) and that we could email each other. He said he doesn't have a computer---his village does not have electricity! "I have seen computers but I don't know how they work."!!! A classic case of young/old age and previous/present times!

He also explained to us about some of the ceremonies that the Huichol Indians still participate in and showed us pictures which he had brought. He gave me a photograph of one of the ceremonies.

We had such a pleasant evening and I think his students are very lucky to have a teacher who is fluent in English and so enthusiastic about his subject.

Hasta luego.

Día de Reyes / Three Kings Day

The Atlanta History Center had a celebration of the Three Kings Day this afternoon. I went to see the festivities so I can show my Mexican friends, as well as you faithful "blog readers", how the tradition is explained to families here in Georgia.

In the Spanish speaking countries, as well as many European countries, Three Kings Day is the time that the children receive their "Christmas presents". Each country has a little different way they celebrate the last day of the Christmas season.

In certain areas of Mexico, the children receive gifts from the Three Kings who arrive during the night of January 5th. They write a letter to the Kings and on the evening of January 5th, they set out their shoes for their gifts. Sometimes they leave a little food and water for the Kings, and even a few morsels of food for the animals on which the Kings ride.

Here are the Three Kings waving to the crowd!

The children, wearing gold crowns, listen as the story of the Wise Men is told to them.

After the story, each child received a gift from the Three Kings. This little boy holds a puzzle as Melchior (the oldest king!) beckons to the next child who will receive the teddy bear he is holding.

Earlier in the afternoon, there was a piñata workshop and the children made a small piñata, and played some games. In the picture below, the children are playing Mexican Bingo (La Lottería).

They also served tamales and atole to everyone! Atole is a delicious, warm drink made of corn, which comes in many flavors.

The tamale line was long but the food was warm and very good, and well worth the wait! This was a surprise that I didn't expect: tamales and atole---yum!

There was also entertainment! Some members of a church (I don't remember which church it was) are learning Mexican folkloric dances and performed two dances for us.

This dance was from Chiapas, a state in the south of Mexico.

The state of Veracruz, on the Gulf of Mexico, was represented by this dance.

The two girls on the right carry statues of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus, riding on the burro, and Joseph walking beside her. They placed this in the front on the dance floor. On the left, the young man, carrying a branch, leads the procession of people with candles.

During the dance, Mary, holding the baby Jesus, Joseph and the angel, watch the dancers.

The people bow their heads before beginning the dance.

No Three Kings Day is complete until the "Rosca de Reyes" is cut!

The "Rosca de Reyes" is a round cake and hidden inside is a small porcelain doll. The person who gets the doll must host a tamale party on Candlemas Day (February 2nd). The fun never ends!!

The ladies are serving the Rosca de Reyes. The pink liquid in the cup next to the napkins is atole and a slice of the cake is on the plate next to the manger. Do you see the star over the manger?

This is the Nacimiento (Manager) with the star which was on the table.

The narrator for the day was bilingual so everyone could understand what was being said. It was a nice afternoon and I was pleased to see so many people attending the celebration.

Hasta luego.

Sweet Sixteen

HAPPY 16TH BIRTHDAY!

Granddaughter Z celebrated her big day at our house on New Year's Day. We feasted on a big Mexican dinner: Lety's shrimp cerviche and Emma's enchiladas and had birthday cake and presents. Mom, CA, smiles her approval from the background and Z was very happy.

Her dad and brother wait for their cake!

Afterwards watching the football game on the big TV proved to be a disappointment for these Illini fans but the birthday girl was happy!

Hasta luego.