Season of Celebrations

The past two weeks were full of celebrations in my pueblo and in my life as I got to see all my fellow Group 18 Peace Corps volunteers for the first time in almost 4 months.  There were many parades, fireworks, street vendors and church events in celebration of both the fiestas patronales and Mexico’s Independence Day.  I finally saw what device makes the loud “booms” that shakes the house whenever it’s time to celebrate a saint (which we celebrate A LOT here) and ate pozole for the first time (which was delicious!).

Independence Day colors on display. 

  Celebratory colors in the square. 

View on my street. 

I wish I could tell you more about the cultural significance of the fiestas patronales but here’s what I do know: every day there was a different group of people walking behind a religious image carrying gifts to the church.  I saw the owners of the fruit stand on the corner carrying a large basket of food to donate and there was always a huge group of people to watch the procession.  There were also many mariachi bands playing music in the square, day and night, and lots and lots of people on horses.

 The start of every procession. 

Flowers for the procession. 

Mariachi bands. 

I was traveling on a bus during the highpoint of parades and celebrations for Independence Day but saw the remnants of a party with tons of confetti in the street upon arriving in Guanajuato.  Guanajuato is nestled in the mountains a few hours from Queretaro and houses a lovely collection of brightly colored homes on hillsides.  I met up with four other volunteers and explored the city, including the Museo Casa Diego Rivera, the modern art museum, the Monumento al Pipila and the Museo de Las Mumias.  The art was all amazing but the mummies were kind of creepy for two reasons: 1) there were babies and 2) word is that if someone’s family couldn’t pay their “perpetual” burial taxes they were exhumed and put on display.

Mural outside the mummy museum.

Panorama view from Pipila. 

That's the monument for Pipila on the left. 

Rail car travel to the top of the mountain. 

So many beautiful views! 

Mountains in the background. 

Local art.  

Guanajuato is really beautiful and teeming with visitors from all over the world.  We got to see the underground tunnel system that zips cars through town and serves as an overflow route for flood waters.  We stayed at an Airbnb with our gracious host Scott who – with his friend Fernando – gallantly carried our suitcases up all 200 plus steps to his house.  When you have to climb up 200 plus steps to get to your lodging, you tend to leave in the morning and not return again until it’s time to sleep. Airbnbs are always an adventure and although the stairs were not mentioned in the description, and it was physically impossible to fit the advertised “room for 5” in one single bed and one double bed, we had a great time.  My friend Kati had to sleep on the plywood bed placed on two buckets but she only almost flipped over once.  

Scott had to work for the majority of our visit but his friend Fernando spent all day with us which made us talk more in Spanish, which is always a good thing! He didn’t want to smile in the photos but I guarantee you he had a great time with us.  I laughed so much during that trip and have a little site envy as another volunteer in my group actually lives there. 

A blurry shot of our host Scott.  

Spending quality time with Fernando. 

One of several beautiful churches on our daily walk. 

University of Guanajuato.  

The kissing alley - where I sadly did not get kissed.  

Kati's "bed".  

Shopping in the local mercado - also home to delicious breakfast tamales. 

The local theater - and site of many street performers.  

This shop had great art.  

A magic little find.  

On Sunday I headed to Querètaro to join the rest of my Peace Corps group for a week of training back in our home city.  It was good to be back in the Peace Corps office and to start working on project frameworks and monitoring and evaluation plans.  It was even better to catch up with all my fellow-volunteers.  We enjoyed lots of adventurous bus and uber rides, pizza and pool parties, lots of non-Mexican food and opportunities to buy all that stuff we can’t find in our small towns (like fabric for my future wall art project).  I also spent an evening with my old host family and Lilia made me chilaquiles for dinner. It was so good to see the fam and I look forward to seeing them every time I'm back in town! 

With Natalie, sharing one of many laughs during a laugh-filled week.   

Fountain in Guanajuato. 

So many colorful homes.  

Don Quixote statue. 

It took 10 hours on two buses, plus transfer time before and during my trip, but I safely returned home and was pleasantly surprised to find only one dead cockroach in the house.  My brother wasn’t sure how that was a success, but I think it’s a good sign that I’m slowly driving them out.  I spent today shopping for food which required a trip to the following places: the tianguis for veggies, a local tienda for seafood, another tienda for fruit and more veggies, another tienda for eggs, and a final mercado for bacon.  I now have a big batch of chicken, veggie and lentil soup ready to go for the week.  Needless to say I am exhausted and more thankful than ever that I now have internet in my house. Last week my landlord came to my office and said “I found a Telmex guy on the street and they can install your internet right now but you need to come home.” So off I went and after 5 weeks of waiting for internet, it was installed. Patience, flexibility and internet – these are the keys to life.

View on the bus ride home.