Cohetes and things

Cohetes that are church procession related are an all year thing depending on your local communities religious celebrations. They are sky rockets larger and louder than those normally sold to the public. The big time for public sales that the kids wait for comes the month before Christmas and New Year. We found these for sale in the Tianguis Wednesday and in a few weeks we'll see roadside stands. I'm sure each explosive type has a name but cohetes are cohetes and those little white/pink things are "cebollitas" (little onions).  Don't know the name for fire crackers or sparklers. We'll fire off a few a couple times a week up until New Year.

Tamale breakfast

Yesterday sunrise at 7 AM

A reason for bottles on the Re-Bar I'm sure of

Not everybody is walking on their roof on a regular basis but I have a washroom and clothes line on mine. Ideas are lightning protectors (glass), keeps them dry and extra sign your house is not finished so you don't pay taxes. All may be a little true.

Neighbors have been washing and drying clothes at my place more often lately because I have a lot more water and two fully automatic washers.  When ever Lorena is here washing, Nahima is here helping.  For those that haven't been following, Nahima is a super energy 4+ year old that has been known to run and fall down ... or just run into things. Her two upper teeth are missing prematurely to verify that.

For those two sets of re-bar that are lesss then a meter high, our sensible solution is like bumpers in a pinball machine. Also makes them more visible for anyone.

Wanna try Correos de Mexico?

One of my neighbors works as a taxi driver on Sundays and was given a US $100 bill that he's unable to cash. I'm assuming the worn condition of the bill is why nobody wanted it .... but it also could be counterfeit? Trying to cash worn or marked up US bills in Mexico will most likely fail.

If I could get the bill to family up north they could try to deposit in my bank account .... or be told it's not real. I got no response from anyone that could mail a letter in the US so decided to try the Mexican Postal System. The only mailing options are regular and registered and registered lets you track. Problem is that little local Post Offices can't enter the tracking info so I was told it has to reach Mexico City before tracking begins.

Postal cost is $11.5 pesos for regular ... and $39 pesos registered

So in the mail it goes November 11th and on the 14th it shows up in Guadalajara. That's 3 days for what I could drive in 5 hours. Next notice was today saying they sent it somewhere. That's 5 days sitting in Guadalajara. Next question is does it still need to go to Mexico City or can it fly north from GDL.

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Shipment Tracking
Date Hour Office Event
19/11/2014 10:03:00 Oficina Operativa Registrados Nacionales, Guadalajara, Jal. - Enviado a destino
14/11/2014 13:37:00 Centro de Distribución Guadalajara, Jal. - Recibido en destino

Total records: 2
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I should have taken a picture of the bill for 'ol time sake if nothing else. I imagine updates will be quicker if it can fly north out of GDL but we'll see.  Just go to Correos de Mexico, click English and you'll find Track and Trace

Too cold for the pool but right for Xmas

We haven't used the pool in almost 3 weeks because of temperature. Get's pretty warm at mid day but nights are very cool and not enough sun to warm the pool. So I drained the pool yesterday and we took it apart today for cleaning and storage.

A little early for Christmas decorations but I wanted to see if both ropes of lights worked so I put them up on the posts like last year. Kinda like the lights and they use very little electricity. 

Drained pool with two hoses

Pool after washing and Xmas lights on poles

Mom, if I disappear, where will I go?

Mom, if I disappear, where will I go?

I don't know, son.
I only know that if you disappear, I would look for you everywhere on earth and below the earth.
I would knock on every door of every house.
Asking every single person who I find along my way.
I would insist, every single day, at every moment, that I was obligated to look for you until I found you.
And I would want you not to be afraid, because I am looking for you.
And if they didn't listen to me, my son,
My voice would grow stronger and I would shout your name in the streets.
I would break glass and tear down doors to search for you.
I would burn buildings so everyone would know how much I love you and how much I want you back.
I would paint walls with your name and I wouldn't let anyone forget you.
I would look for others who are also searching for their children, so that together we could find you and them.
And my son, I would want you not to be afraid, because we would be looking for you.
If you didn't disappear, my son--oh, I want that you not!--I would shout the names of those who have disappeared.
I would write their names on walls.
I would hug, even from a distance, all of the mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers who are searching for their disappeared.
I would walk arm in arm with them in the streets.
I would not allow their names to be forgotten.
I would want, my son, for none of them to be afraid--because we would be looking for them.
--Marcela Ibarra Mateos (ixca cienfuegos)

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Mamá, si desaparezco, ¿adónde voy?

No lo sé, hijo.
Solo sé que si desaparecieras te buscaría entre la tierra y debajo de ella.
Tocaría en cada puerta de cada casa.
Preguntaría a todas y a cada una de las personas que encontrara en mi camino.
Exigiría, todos y cada uno de los días, a cada instancia obligada a buscarte que lo hiciera hasta encontrarte.
Y querría, hijo, que no tuvieras miedo, porque te estoy buscando.
Y si no me escucharan, hijo;
la voz se me haría fuerte y gritaría tu nombre por las calles.
Rompería vidrios y tiraría puertas para buscarte.
Incendiaría edificios para que todos supieran cuánto te quiero y cuánto quiero que regreses.
Pintaría muros con tu nombre y no querría que nadie te olvidara.
Buscaría a otros y a otras que también buscan a sus hijos para que juntos te encontráramos a ti y a ellos.
Y querría, hijo, que no tuvieras miedo, porque muchos te buscamos.
Si no desaparecieras, hijo, como así deseo y quiero.
Gritaría los nombres de todos aquellos que sí han desaparecido.
Escribiría sus nombres en los muros.
Abrazaría en la distancia y en la cercanía a todos aquellos padres y madres; hermanas y hermanos que buscan a sus desaparecidos.
Caminaría del brazo de ellos por las calles.
Y no permitiría que sus nombres fueran olvidados.
Y querría, hijo, que todos ellos no tuvieran miedo, porque todos los buscamos.

Marcela Ibarra Mateos (ixca cienfuegos)

It rained so much last night

It rained so much I have fish in my pool and a bridge washed out just south of Emiliano Zapata north of Tenacatita. There is an alternative route from near Punta Perula up to the Villa Purificacion area and back down Highway 80 but it will double the distance lost on Highway 200. Primera Plus said they will be using that alternative.

We also did our shopping in Cihuatlan today to avoid Buen Fin .... the Mexican equivalent of Black Friday shopping in the US. Cihuatlan had more sand in the streets from last night than I've ever seen except when the river flooded. Heavy rain last night.

Fish in pool

Getting too cold for a pool anyway

Washed out bridge

And on to the Nahima tooth adventure ...

Sad to say she has a mouth full of bad teeth and the first of them became infected a few weeks ago. She wasn't able to sleep nights the last few days. I got a message about a woman dentist in La Manzanilla that would work on kids but she was on her way to a 2 week vacation. We had to try Dentista Woo Junior or drive to Manzanillo.  Woo Senior does not want to work on very little kids.

So Woo Junior agreed but she had to be on antibiotics for 5 days before he could pull the tooth. Yesterday at 1:30 was our appointment and we knew it would be traumatic but how traumatic ??  The whole procedure required mom holding her feet and me holding her hands above her head against the chair top.

First the topical numbing stuff and then 3 separate injections .... crying and fighting all the way.   That took by far the most time with waiting in between. The extraction is actually very fast and was no worse than the rest of it for her. Yogurt, ice cream or just about anything soft and not greasy for the next few days. Sadly she is going to suffer more of these over the next year or two but at least none are permanent teeth.

Tired out after dentist ordeal

a Raton Perez to put her too in

We Are Seeds

I certainly hope so

Somos Semillas

The young people were 'normalistas', that is they attended a so-called Escuela Normal, schools which were set up to train young people from small farming families to become teachers and to help to emancipate their communities from oppression and poverty. They have a long tradition of fighting for democratic education and of training new young teachers to work with their communities. More recently they have been in the forefront of the struggle against the kind of reforms which see education as a purely economic process, to produce 'human capital' for corporations.

For this reason many normal schools have been closed, those that remain have been starved of cash and students have been subject to oppression by local and national state forces. It was to collect money to keep their school viable that the young people had gone to the town of Iguala on that fateful September day.

'They tried to bury us: they didn't know we were seeds'

A trip to the Panteon

Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) observance at the Panteon was last Sunday and it was decided there would be too many people on a non-working day. We went Monday on the way to school so the kids could visit and Euriel left a small shrine he made. Lorena makes her own wreaths (oferta) rather than buy the expensive ready made. I've done this a number of times but it's always interesting.  Lots of dedication and money some people have put into the grave sites .... while others extremely basic and seemingly forgotten.

There was lots of evidence of a party the night before and two groups were still at it. Passing time with old friends or family!!

Panteon entrance

Lorena's oferta for abuela

Interesting new roof

Nice clean ones

Size of a house for husband and wife

How basic can you get

No visitors this year

A new way of dancing

At least I haven't seen this before. Maybe because the houses that host the dancers for the day have not been in my neighborhood. This time three were hosts all within two blocks of me.

The first day they start at the plaza and dance to the first hosts house with the hosts leading the way carrying a small shrine of the Virgin.  When they get there they are treated to a large pot of pozole.  The second night they dance from the first house to the next house hosting. Third night they dance between the next two houses. The number of nights might be limited by the number of willing hosts .... or it's always three? This could be indirectly connected to Dia de los Muertos. I'll have to ask.

Pinal Villa does have a "professional" dance group with fancier uniforms, kids more uniform in age and of both sexes.  I assume these kids/girls are only for our community.

Host couple carrying the Virgin

Very little kids in this group