Category: Travel

Día y Noche de Muertos en Michoacán :: Day and Night of the Dead in Michoacán

Unfortunately, COVID-19, in addition to causing unprecedented worldwide death, has also separated us from publicly receiving the spirits of our departed loved one during the 2020 Day and Night of the Dead commemorations in most of Mexico. Cemeteries are closed, public spaces continue to be off-limits to the usual throngs of visitors to small town and large cities during this sacred time, and many usually highly tourisited areas in Michoacán, Oaxaca, and other areas of Mexico continue be closed to living visitors. The dead will come, expecting to be received, but our deceased friends and relatives will be welcomed in manners different from any other year in anyone's memory.

Because of inability to travel to the places I'd like to show you this year, Mexico Cooks! is simply reprinting this very popular Día y Noche de Muertos en Michoacán article from earlier times. Let's hope that in 2021 we will be able to once again enjoy the company of visitors from afar–including, first and foremost, our visitors from the más allá–the great beyond.

Remember me as you pass by,
As you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you will be,
Prepare for death and follow me.
…from a tombstone

What is death? We know its first symptoms: the heart stops pumping, breath and brain activity stop. We know death's look and feel: a still, cold body from which the spirit has fled. The orphan and widow know death's sorrow, the priest knows the liturgy of the departed and the prayers to assuage the pain of those left to mourn. But in most English-speaking countries, death and the living are not friends. We the living look away from our mortality, we talk of the terminally ill in terms of 'if anything happens', not 'when she dies'. We hang the crepe, we cover the mirrors, we say the beads, and some of us fling ourselves sobbing upon the carefully disguised casket as it is lowered into the Astroturf-lined grave.

Octavio Paz, Mexico City's Nobel Laureate poet and essayist who died in 1998, is famously quoted as saying, "In New York, Paris, and London, the word death is never mentioned, because it burns the lips."

Tzintzuntzan, Michoacán panteón (cemetery), Mexico Cooks! photo. These fellows sing to la Descarnada (the fleshless woman) on November 2, 2009.

In Mexico, on the contrary, every day is a dance with death. Death is a woman who has numerous affectionate and humorous nicknames: la Huesuda (the bony woman), la Seria (the serious woman), la Novia Fiel (the faithful bride), la Igualadora (the equalizer), la Dientona (the toothy woman), la Pelona (the bald woman), la Patrona (the boss lady), and a hundred more. She's always here, just around the next corner or maybe right over there, behind that pillar. She waits with patience, until later today or until twelve o'clock next Thursday, or until sometime next year–but when it's your time to go, she's right there, ready to dance away with you at her side.

November 2013 altar to La Santa Muerte (Holy Death), Sta. Ana Chapirito (near Pátzcuaro), Michoacán. Devotees of this deathly apparition say that her cult has existed since before the Spanish arrived in Mexico.

In Mexico, death is also in the midst of life. We see our dead, alive as you and me, each November, when we wait at our cemeteries for those who have gone before to come home, if only for a night. That, in a nutshell, is Noche de Muertos: the Night of the Dead.

In the lower center portion of this photograph, you can see the Quiroga, Michoacán, panteón municipal (town cemetery). Late in the afternoon of November 1, 2013, most townspeople had not yet gone to the cemetery with candles and flowers for their loved ones' graves. Click on any photograph for a larger view.

Over the course of the last nearly 40 years, Mexico Cooks! has been to countless Noche de Muertos events, but none as mystical, as spiritual, or as profoundly magical as that of 2013. Invited to accompany a very small group on a private tour in Michoacán, I looked forward to spending three days enjoying the company of old and new friends. I did all that, plus I came away with an extraordinarily privileged view of life and death.

A magnificent Purépecha ofrenda (in this case, an altar in the home of beloved friends) in the village of Santa Fe de la Laguna, Michoacán. This detailed and lovely ofrenda was created to the memory of the family's maiden aunt, who died at 74. Because she had never married, even at her advanced age she was considered to be an angelito (little angel)–like an innocent child–and her spirit was called back home to the family on November 1, the day of the angelitos. In Santa Fe de la Laguna, relatives, friends, and neighbors who arrive at the house to pay homage to a deceased person bring fresh fruit to place at the foot of the altar. This altar filled an entire room of my friends' home. Be sure to click on the photo to see the details of the altar. Fruits, breads, incense, salt, flowers, colors, and candles have particular symbolism and are necessary parts of the ofrenda.

Detail of the ofrenda casera (home altar) shown above. The altar included her favorite rebozo (shawl), placed just above her photograph. Several local people told Mexico Cooks! that the fruit piled on the altar tasted different from fruit from the same source that had not been used for the ofrenda. "Compramos por ejemplo plátanos y pusimos unos en el altar y otros en la cocina para comer. Ya para el día siguiente, los del altar pierden su sabor, no saben a nada," they said. 'We bought bananas, for example, and we put some on the ofrenda, and we put the rest in the kitchen to eat. The next day, the ones in the kitchen were perfectly normal, but the ones from the altar had no taste at all.'

Preparing a family member's ofrenda (altar) in the camposanto in a tiny village in Michoacán. The camposanto–literally, holy ground–is a cemetery contained within the walls of a churchyard. The candles used in this area of Michoacán are hand made in Ihuatzio and Santa Fe de la Laguna.

Come with me along the unlit road that skirts the Lago de Pátzcuaro: Lake Pátzcuaro. It's chilly, the puddles splash up as we drive, and the roadside weeds are damp with earlier rain, but for the moment the sky has cleared and filled with stars. Up the hill on the right and down the slope leading left toward the lake are tiny villages, dark but for the glow of tall candles lit one by one in the cemeteries. Tonight is November 1, the night silent souls wend their way home from Mictlán, the land beyond life.

At the grave: candlelight to illuminate the soul's way, cempazúchitl (deeply orange marigolds) for their distinctive fragrance required to open the path back home, smoldering copal (frankincense) to cleanse the earth and air of any remnants of evil, covered baskets of the deceased's favorite foods. And a low painted chair, where the living can rest through the night.

Watching through the night. This tumba (grave) refused to be photographed head-on. From an oblique angle, the tumba allowed its likeness to be made.

"Oh grave, where is thy victory? Oh death, where is thy sting?"

Noche de Muertos is not a costume party, although you may see it portrayed as such in the press. It is not a drunken brawl, although certain towns appear to welcome that sort of blast-of-banda-music reventón (big blow-out). It is not a tourist event, though strangers are certainly welcomed to these cemeteries. Noche de Muertos is a celebration of the spirit's life over the body's death, a festival of remembrance, a solemn passover. Years ago, in an interview published in the New York Times, Mexico Cooks! said, "Noche de Muertos is about mutual nostalgia. The living remember the dead, and the dead remember the taste of home."

One by one, grave by grave, golden cempazúchitles give shape to rock-bound tombs and long candles give light to what was a dark and lonely place, transforming the cemetery into a glowing garden. How could a soul resist this setting in its honor?

"Our hearts remember…" we promise the dead. Church bells toll slowly throughout the night, calling souls home with their distinctive clamor (death knell). Come…come home. Come…come home.

Waiting. Memories. Prayers. No te olvido, mi viejo amado. (I haven't forgotten you, my beloved old man.)

Next year, come with me.

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here to see new information: Tours

31 de October de 2020
Autumn in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán :: Wildflower Season and Sights at the Market

The area around Lake Pátzcuaro, in the state of Michoacán, bursts into wildflower bloom in late September, just as the rainy season is ending here. The flowers are naturalized wild cosmos, known here as mirasoles ("look-at-the-sun"). Entire fields fill with swaths of these delicate flowers, turning our green countryside into a temporary sea of pink. Behind the mirasoles is a milpa, a field of native Michoacán corn, beans, and squash.

These beautiful blossoms, selling now at the municipal market in Pátzcuaro, are called estrellas del campo (stars of the field). From the tops of the flowers to the bottom of their thin, tender stems, they measure about two and a half feet long. Each multi-petaled bloom measure about 1.5" in diameter. I've lived in Michoacán for a long time, but this is the first year I've seen these for sale. We took three large bunches as a gift to a friend–at 15 pesos the bunch. The total for a big armful of beauty was the Mexican peso equivalent of about $2.25 USD.

Available throughout the year, the native Mexican nanche fruit is in full-blown season right now, piled high on stands around the perimeter of the Pátzcuaro municipal market and on numerous street corners all over the town. Sold in clear plastic cups (as seen in the photo, courtesy of Healthline) or by the plastic bagful, the vendor will slather these 3/4" inch diameter fruits with jugo de limón (fresh-squeezed Key lime juice), a big sprinkle of salt, and as much highly spicy bottled salsa as your mouth can handle. The biological name of the nanche is Byrsonima crassifolia.  The fruit is slightly sweet and mildly musty-flavored, a combination that most people love and that I regret to say is not a taste I enjoy at all. Nanches are packed with nourishment, though–a half-cup of them will give you nearly 60% of your daily Vitamin C requirement, 41 calories, and only 9.5 grams of carbohydrates!

These are jocotes (native Mexican plums), also in season now in central Mexico. The fruit measures about two to three inches long; the flesh is bright orange and the flavor is marvelous. Unfortunately the stone of this plum is almost as big as the entire fruit, and although you could eat it out of hand, the delicious jocote is most often made into an agua fresca (fresh fruit water) that is only available for the fruit's short season. This little plum is replete with Vitamins A and C, phosphorous, iron, and calcium, and is said to work wonders with gum problems.

Who wants to take a guess at what each of the green herbs (and the vegetable) is? The elotes (tender fresh Pátzcuaro red corn) at the bottom of the photo were part of a small daily harvest brought to sell on the outdoor periphery of Pátzcuaro's market. Just to the left of the corn, at the bottom of the photo, are some mint branches that the same vendor brought for sale. But above the mint? Click on the photo to enlarge it and you'll be able to tell that these are home-grown spiny chayotes. You are probably familiar with the paler green smooth-skinned chayotes (mirliton in Louisiana, pear squash in other English-speaking locations). The chayote has an interesting growing habit: unlike most squash, which grows as a vine along the ground, the chayote is airborne–its vines grow on overhead trellises and remind me of grapevines; the small squash hangs down from the vines. It's an extremely versatile vegetable, taking on the flavors of what you cook it with. Be sure to eat the soft, tender, flat, white seed–it's considered to be the prize part and is as delicious as the chayote itself.

To the right of the chayotes is a big bunch of wild anise, known in Pátzcuaro as anisillo. Used to make the Pátzcuaro regional specialty atole de grano, this herb is tremendously flavorful. In case you find some anisillo where you are, here's a recipe for atole de grano.

Atole de Grano
(Fresh Anise-Flavored Corn Kernel Soup)

Ingredients
2 fresh ears of tender young corn
2 cups fresh corn, cut from the cob
1 bunch wild anisillo
3 liters water
2 whole chiles perón (or substitute chiles poblano)
1/2 pound recently ground corn masa (dough)–ask at the tortillería near you
Salt to taste

Garnishes
1/2 medium white onion, minced
Chile serrano or chile perón, minced
Fresh Key limes, cut in half
Sea salt

Preparation

1. Clean the ears of corn, remove the silk and cut off the ends. Cut each ear into three pieces.

2. Boil the corn on the cob AND the corn kernels in enough water, for an hour and a half or until the corn is tender.

3. Cut the stem away from the chiles, take out the seeds and veins. Cut the chiles into small pieces.

4. In the blender, liquify the chiles, the anisillo, and the masa with two cups of water. Strain and add to the pot where the corn on the cob is cooking.

5. Allow to boil for about 10 to 15 minutes, until the liquid is slightly thickened.

To serve
1. Place sections of the cooked corn ears into each of 2 bowls.

2. Ladle soup and corn kernels into the bowls.

3. Serve with the minced onion, minced chile to taste, sea salt, and Key lime halves to squeeze into the soup.

Serves 2 people as a main dish, 3 as a first course. This soup is both vegetarian and vegan, and gluten-free.

Atole de grano, made in a cazo (large copper kettle).

The vendor at this small booth at the Pátzcuaro market had an interesting variety of things for sale. Bottom right are fresh guavas, just now coming into season. To the left of the guavas are chiles perón (aka chiles manzano), arguably the most-used chile in this part of Michoacán. Above the chiles perón are fresh, green chiles de árbol. To the right are wild mushrooms known as patita de pájaro (little bird foot). These mushrooms, growing wild in Michoacán's woods and foraged during the rainy season, make a wonderful mushroom soup.

These are home-grown loquats, known in Mexico as nísperos (NEE-speh-rohs). Nísperos are local and are plentiful in markets right now.

Gelatin–this large cupful is called "mosaíco"–mosaic, because of its many colored cubes. More gelatin is eaten in Mexico than in any other country of the world! A cupful this size is usually an eat-while-you-walk snack food. This one was made and sold from a tiny cart with no name, just to one side of the Pátzcuaro market. The young woman selling the gelatins said her name was Yesi–I said her cart was now dubbed Gelatinas Yesi, and she laughed.

Just at the corner of the market, we bumped into don Rafael, who was selling–you guessed it–cotton candy. Cotton candy HAS no season, it's always available here. Get the blue, it will turn your lips and tongue blue as a blueberry, but just for a while.

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

24 de October de 2020
Your Flaneur in Mexico City: Markets, Food, and Curiosities–Part 2, Summer 2015

Due to the pandemia shutdown starting in March 2020, Mexico Cooks! has not been able to travel around in Mexico (or anywhere else) as usual this year. I'd like to give you a "taste" of Mexico City in the summer of 2015, when life was different and moving about the country was simple. My fond hope for all of us is that many of you will return to visit Mexico in 2021: lovely and delicious things await you here. Be sure to email me about food tours: I take small groups to many places in Mexico City, Oaxaca, and Michoacán–a little-known, fascinating, and delicious state.

This white pozole from Mexico's state of Guerrero ranks close to the top of Mexico Cooks!' list of best pozoles in Mexico. The pozolería (pozole place) is right here in Mexico City–come with us next time, we go as often as we can.

A selection of beautiful crystallized fruits at Mercado Medellín, one of the several Mexico City markets where Mexico Cooks! takes tours. In the photo from nine o'clock: sweet potato, pineapple, whole orange, more sweet potato, squash, and at six o'clock, chilacayote squash and another orange. The inner group consists of squash, a limón, and a fig.

Sangre de cora, a drink prepared with tequila, sweet agua de jamaica, and frothy egg white. It's adorned with jamaica blossoms. Jamaica is a cousin of Mexico's hibiscus; in English, it's called roselle. The drink takes its name from the Cora indigenous group, which is native to western Jalisco and the coastal state of Nayarit.

They look like gears, don't they? Actually, these are molinillos (chocolate frothers), stacked up for sale at a Oaxaca market. There's nothing else like this market in all of Mexico– Mexico Cooks! would be delighted to take you along for a tour!

Oaxaca is filled with culinary delicacies not seen elsewhere in Mexico. Here, a platter of Oaxaca quesillo (think string cheese, but a million times better) stuffed with tiny chapulines (grasshoppers) and rolled jelly-roll fashion in anise-flavored hoja santa (holy leaf). This is one of the most delicious things Mexico Cooks! has eaten in 2015. Thank you, Restaurante Las 15 Letras!

Carmelite nuns buying carnations by the armload at Mexico City's wholesale flower market. An entire bundle of these flowers, the size of the paper-wrapped flowers standing on the floor, will set you back about 70 pesos–less than $4.50 USD.

And now for something completely different–gai lan (Chinese broccoli), stir-fried with garlic, as served at our favorite Chinese restaurant: Jing Teng.

These exotic fruits from South America are curuba–banana passionfruit. Each fruit is approximately 3" long and an inch in diameter. The sweet pulpy seeds are reminiscent of normal passionfruit, but less acidic. The skin isn't eaten. We recently saw these at one of our favorite downtown markets.

Look at the color of the flesh of these ruby red grapefruits! Mexico Cooks! was particularly taken with the extraordinary cut made by the vendor to display (and give tastes of) the fruit.

Mexico's own tuna–aka the prickly pear cactus fruit. The market vendor who offered these for sale had brought along the entire cactus paddle to show clients how the fruit grows.

The tuna has a zipper-skin that's so simple to peel. Just cut off each end of the tuna, make a lengthwise slit in the skin, and peel the skin away from the flesh. Easy-peasy! The tuna's texture is similar to that of watermelon, the flesh is sweet and refreshing, and the seeds are swallowed. Served chilled, they're even more thirst-quenching.

From a small restaurant in the state of Jalisco, this flan napolitano con queso (flan made with cheese) is one of the best I've eaten. My comida (main meal of the day) companion assured me that he isn't a flan fan, but one taste of this one and he said, "We should have ordered two." More the texture of cheesecake than custard, one slice of this rich, creamy dessert was plenty for the two of us.

And finally–Frida! This portrait of Mexico's iconic painter Frida Kahlo is actually a tattoo on the inner forearm of a young woman I saw on the sidewalk outside a market. Claudia very graciously allowed me to photograph just her arm. Here's yet another reason to spend some time with Mexico Cooks!: you never, never know what you'll see next in this enormous and enormously diversified city!

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

17 de October de 2020
Your Flaneur in Mexico City: Markets, Food, and Curiosities–Part 1, Summer 2015

Due to the pandemia shutdown starting in March 2020, Mexico Cooks! has not been able to travel around in Mexico (or anywhere else) as usual this year. I'd like to give you a "taste" of Mexico City in the summer of 2015, when life was different and moving about the country was simple. My fond hope for all of us is that many of you will return to visit Mexico in 2021: lovely and delicious things await you here.

Midsummer always gives us an abundance of flor de calabaza (squash flowers) to be used in the kitchen. Prepared as sopa de guias (squash vine soup), quesadillas, or stuffed with cheese, these flowers are delicious and are readily available in many Mexican markets. Did you know that only the male flowers are harvested? The female flowers are left to develop squash.

You might like to try this Mexico Cooks! recipe in your own kitchen.

Flor de Calabaza Estilo Cristina
Squash Flowers, Cristina's Style

Ingredients

2 large bunches flor de calabaza, washed and patted dry
1 medium white onion
4 chiles poblano
1 chile serrano
2 large russet or other large white potatoes
Flour
Sea salt to taste
Vegetable oil, freshly rendered pork lard, or half vegetable oil, half bacon grease for frying.

Procedure

Peel and dice potatoes into 1/2" cubes. Boil until just fork-tender. Drain, allow to dry, and reserve.

Roast chiles according to your preferred method until the skin is blistered and they are well-blackened. Sweat for 10 minutes in a closed plastic bag. Remove skin. Slice each chile lengthwise to remove seeds. Dice peppers in 1/2” squares.

Rough-chop flor de calabaza into 1 1/2" pieces.

Dice onion into 1/2" squares.

Mince chile serrano.

In a large sauté pan, heat the vegetable oil until it shimmers. While the oil is heating, shake the reserved potatoes in flour and salt in a plastic bag.

Sauté onions and chile serrano in oil or oil/bacon grease mixture. Add the floured potatoes and sauté until crisp and pale golden, adding more fat if needed. Add the diced chiles poblano and continue to sauté for about 1 minute.

Add the flor de calabaza and sauté just until tender.

Add sea salt to taste.

Serves 2-3 as a side dish.

Late in the spring, we were invited to attend the opening of El Rebozo: Made in Mexico at Mexico City's extraordinary Museo Franz Mayer. The exhibition, which was originally mounted in London, featured both old and new rebozos (long rectangular shawls) as well as some other typical Mexican garments. One of the many rebozos in the exhibit was an exquisitely embroidered shawl from Oaxaca. This is a detail of that rebozo.

This photograph of Evita Perón, wife of Argentina's Juan Domingo Perón during his first term as president of that country, was part of an exhibit at Mexico City's Museum of Modern Art (MAM) during the spring and summer. The photograph formed part of an exhibition of the works of Giselle Freund, a self-taught photographer who worked in Argentina and Mexico in the 1940s and 1950s.

This tiny ironwood mortar and pestle (the mortar is only about 2" high) comes from the state of Sonora, in northern Mexico. It is made specifically for use at the table, for an individual diner to grind one or two chiles chiltepín, which are highly spicy and famously used to season certain dishes from the cuisine of that state. The grinder is passed from person to person at the table, along with a dish of whole chile chiltepín.

Chile chiltepín from Sonora. Each chile is tiny but extremely picante. Photo courtesy Hunter Angler Gardener Cook.

Beautiful ceremonial tortillas from the state of Guanajuato. The tortillas are made in the usual way and are then stamped prior to baking with a wooden stamp dipped in vegetable dye. Mexico Cooks! was privileged to see these twice this summer, first at an event at the Escuela de Gastronomía Mexicana in Mexico City and again at the Primer Encuentro Nacional de Cocineras Tradicionales (First National Meeting of Traditional Cooks) in Morelia, Michoacán.

This is the tamarillo or tomate del árbol (tree tomato), a native of the South American Andes. Each fruit is approximately 2.5" long. The flesh is fairly firm and deeply flavorful, both sweet and earthy. You never know what you'll see when you take a Mexico Cooks! tour–our group found these delicious fruits at a downtown Mexico City market.

Come back next week for more summertime wanderings with Mexico Cooks!. Our summer was far too interesting for just one article!

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

10 de October de 2020
Rajas de Chile Poblano con Crema, Cebolla, y Elote :: Chile Poblano Strips with Onion, Corn Kernels, and Cream, A Classic of the Mexican Kitchen

Mexico Cooks! published an article about rajas de chile poblano about 6 months ago. This is an updated and revised version of the previous publication, with all-new photos and some new tips. Enjoy!

The chile poblano is one of the most commonly used fresh chiles in Mexico's kitchen. A very large, fleshy chile, it can measure as much as seven or eight inches long. The stem end is much wider than the point, and the color ranges from dark green to almost black-green. Shopping tip: if you buy chiles poblano that are flat on all sides, they will roast more quickly than if they are deeply creased in spots. The flat sides will evenly touch the roasting surface.

The chile poblano is commonly used for preparing main dishes such as chiles rellenos, including the seasonal and festive chiles en nogada. It is also used for making rajas de chile poblano con crema (strips of chile poblano with cream), a marvelously flavorful vegetable side dish. All photos by Mexico Cooks! unless otherwise noted.

Chiles poblano roasted with skin removed, showing the interior of the opened chile (left) and the exterior (right). These are two of the four chiles I used to prepare this dish. To prepare chiles poblano for use in any recipe, wash and roast them. Don't try to use them with the peel on; the peels will be as tough as trying to chew through plastic. Mexico Cooks! uses a cast iron comal (griddle) placed over a high flame to roast as many as four to six chiles at a time. Other cooks prefer to roast these chiles one at a time over an open flame, or on a broiler pan in a slightly open oven. No matter which roasting method you use, the roasted chiles should look like the ones in the above photo.

Once the chiles are roasted, put them in a plastic bag, twist it shut, and allow the chiles to 'sweat' for 10 to 15 minutes. You'll easily be able to remove the blackened peels. It's best not to rinse them–or rinse them only a little–as rinsing removes a good bit of the delicious chile poblano flavor.

The slit-open chiles with the seeds still inside. At the foreground of the photo, you can see that I removed the stem with the bulk of the seeds. Simply cut around the stem and pull it and the seeds out of the chile.

Two of the chiles still on the cutting board, with one of my 50+-year-old Sabatier carbon steel knives.

All four chiles, seeded and cut into rajas (strips about 3" long and less than 1/2" wide).

Half of a large white onion, thinly sliced and ready to sauté. The ingredients include half a white onion, sliced very thin, and about half a cup of fresh (or canned) yellow corn kernels.

Sauté the onions first, until they are soft and translucent. Then add the rajas and continue to sauté until they are soft, but still have a bit of crispness.

Add the corn and continue to sauté briefly.

Add Mexican crema de mesa (table cream, not sour cream) if you can find it. Crema Aguascalientes is the one I prefer to use. If Mexican table cream isn't available, use sour cream instead.

Salt to taste and let the cream and vegetables simmer briefly. The cream will become a thick sauce for the vegetables. The chile poblano is generally quite mild and flavorful, but once in a while you will come across one that is surprisingly spicy. There's no way to tell by looking at them whether they are mild or hot, and either way they're delicious and not overly 'hot'.

The recipe as you see it written here, using four large chiles, will serve 3 to 4 people as a side dish. It's excellent served hot or at room temperature. I've never met anyone who doesn't love rajas de chile poblano served this way!

Provecho! (Good eating!)

Looking for a tailored-to-your-interests specialized tour in Mexico? Click here: Tours.

3 de October de 2020
The World of Clowns in Morelia :: El Mundo de Payasos en Morelia
Mexico Cooks! is repeating this article (originally published in January 2010) because yesterday while I was coming home from shopping at a downtown food market, a terrific clown (his 'wig' was foot-tall green grass!) stepped off the curb at a stoplight and did some juggling in front of the windshield. With that, I was taken back to the Mexican world of clowns. World Clown Day, often celebrated in Morelia, is such a lot of fun! These Mexican clowns are just for play–there's nothing to scare you here! Enjoy this week's publication, not the least bit food related!

Morelia's well-known Mario Galván is Beto Botones (Bert Buttons). Don't be frightened–these Mexican clowns are completely harmless!

One sunny Saturday not too long ago, Mexico Cooks! hopped into the car and headed for downtown Morelia: it was the annual Día Mundial del Payaso (World Day of the Clown) and we wanted to see the local clown parade as it trouped west on Avenida Madero from Plaza Villalongín to the Cathedral.

Nearly 100 payasos (clowns) form Morelia's clown community. Entire families, in colorful wigs and ear-to-ear painted smiles, pass the joy of laughter and delight from one generation to the next. The patriarch among them is Beto Botones, personified by Mario Galván. His 23 years as a clown and magician make him one of the elder statesmen in the Morelia clown community. Now his sons, 11-year-old Oscar Eduardo (Bombonetto) and 14-year-old Mario Alberto (Beto Bettín) are also part of the group.

This beautifully made-up clown has also drawn his family into the act: his wife and his gorgeous baby daughter have joined the fun. His young wife said, "Most of the women who are clowns are here because of our husbands. They were clowns when we married them, so we got involved, too."

A relative newcomer to Morelia's clown community. Learning to be a true clown is a lifetime occupation. Some boys start clowning as early as age four or five.

There's more to becoming a clown than simply putting on makeup and a red nose. For the professional clown, the work of laughter is serious business. Most attend clown conventions and workshops, where they learn new routines and participate in competitions. It's not cheap to be a clown: the right costume and makeup can cost more than 7000 pesos (approximately $600 USD at the time this article was first published, in 2010). Many clowns have a profession in addition to clowning: Eduaro Espinaza (Tornillito), one of Morelia's most sought-after clowns, is also an auto mechanic. Beto Botones said, "In other big cities, a clown can charge 1000 pesos or more for working a party. Here in Morelia, most charge 600 to 650."

A young malabarista (juggler) shows off his skill.

In the worldwide clown community, there are a number of types of clowns. Mexico's professional clowns adhere to the same fascinating guidelines.
- CLOWN: he's also known as Carablanca (Whiteface), Pierrot, Enharinado (Flourface) and Listo (Clever). Normally he's made up in whiteface and wears an elegant, shiny costume. When there's a clown confrontation among the various types, he always wins–always! He represents law and order and the adult world.
- AUGUSTO: He's also known as Tonto (the Fool). He's more naive than all the rest and he's always on the receiving end of any joke.
Purple wig, green eye shadow, glittery nose, and orange suit–brilliant!
- SEGUNDO AUGUSTO: He's also known as "Contraugusto" or "Trombo". He's the third figure in a trio of clowns and is often also a musician.
- EXCENTRICO: This clown has evolved from the role of 'Augusto'. He is normally mute and sometimes uses musical instruments or other objects like juggling pins or balls.
Buck teeth, spiky hair, and starry glasses!
- VAGABUNDO (or TRAMP): His character is sad, oppressed, and abandoned.
- PAYASO DE SOIRÉE: This clown is normally an 'augusto'. He acts out his specialty in the entrance to events.
- MIMO-CLOWN: This guy is a variation on the first clown category. He's usually mute, but he has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. He can juggle, he's sometimes an acrobat, and he can often play a musical instrument or two.
Another juggler, in full regalia.
- MESIÉ LOYAL: He's the ringmaster and the director of the show–the ultimate authority.
- CLOWN DE PERSONAJE: We can identify this clown by his character or profession. He might be a fireman, a sailor, a doctor, or a cowboy. Or, he might take on the role of a policeman, a child, or someone from a familiar story.
This clown's face makeup is superb. Mexico Cooks! particularly loved his eyelashes and golden tears.

In addition to this time-honored hierarchy of clowns, Mexico is home to many informal and little-trained stoplight clowns who work our cities' street corners. You saw some of them in the January 16, 2009, Mexico Cooks! article Lo Que Se Ve En El Crucero. Beto Botones said, "These street clowns wear jeans, they don't follow the norms of real clowns, they think it's too costly to train and work professionally. But it's important to follow clown traditions. It's not right that they don't know our history, our theories, and that they don't want to act like professionals."

The wig! The tongue! The gloves, the shirt, the vest! Who could resist him?

The trained clown always has a red nose, a bright plastic sign that this is a real clown. His wig can be any color he wants, as long as it goes with his personality. Today, his makeup is usually airbrushed onto his face in the style that suits him best. Usually he wears gloves; the "Augusto" generally uses a dandy's white gloves.

These payasitos–baby clowns–are totally adorable. The little guy on the right sports a wonderful hat.

The shoes: a clown, especially an "Augusto", is notable for his gigantic, bulbous, and colorful footwear that serves to call attention to his character. A clown's suit is almost always copious, with big hidden pockets filled with balls, juggling pins, hats, and handkerchiefs: the stuff of magic, jokes, and laughter.

At last, the desfile de payasos (clown parade) turned the corner onto Avenida Madero! Even with the difficult economic situation in today's Mexico, Morelia's payasos haven't lost their sense of humor, their smiles, or their optimism.

Morelia's professional payasos are available to work all kinds parties and other special events. Nothing enlivens a child's birthday party like a clown; nothing but a clown takes a suddenly too-serious event to another level of fun. How wonderful to know that Mexico's traditional clowns live on for future generations' laughter.

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26 de September de 2020
Food, Flowers, and the Best Signs in Any Market :: Mercado de Jamaica, Mexico City

One view of the exterior of Mexico City's Mercado de Jamaica. As is true in most Mexican markets, you'll find everything from fresh figs to duct tape, from a haircut to a great midday meal: in other words, exactly what you're looking for. However, this particular market specializes in wholesale flowers. In addition to its hodgepodge of everything under the sun, the vendors here sell literally millions and millions of flowers every single day. Photo courtesy John Woods.

Nuns buying flowers for their convent. Approximately 80% of the flowers at the market are grown in the State of Mexico, which is separate from but almost completely surrounds Mexico City. In the State of Mexico, flower growing generates a yearly economic bounty of $2,700,000,000 pesos: two billion seven hundred million, folks. It's not a typo.

A few of the literally millions of beautiful blooms available at either wholesale or retail prices at the market.

Freesias, one of my favorite flowers–the scent is irresistible.

Many of Mexico City's markets use this sort of printed sign to advertise the price of what's for sale–in this case, vine-ripened Roma tomatoes–and every sign has a bit of advice to offer about your potential purchase. I've loved these signs since long before moving to Mexico's capital. On this market jaunt, the lightbulb went on: all of you would love these typical and sometimes funny signs, too. This one urges, "Don't think about it too much…take home a little kilo!".

For already-cut-up calabaza de castilla (a hard-shell Mexican squash): 'money well spent'.

For limón criollo (Mexican limes): I'll be right with you!

Limas–and there really is no translation for this uniquely Mexican fruit. They are neither limes nor lemons, nor are they oranges. But as the sign says: it's scrumptious!

Pink-fleshed guavas–the sign reads, "Take the best!" And the orange sign to the left says, "Give Trump a trumpada…" with a papaya! Loosely translated, it means bop him one with a papaya. You can also see plastic cups filled with pomegranate arils, whole pomegranates, bananas, clementines, and cantaloupes.

Chile jalapeño: pretty and cheap, at four pesos the quarter kilo (approximately two cents for a half-pound).

Mexico's papa Alfa–white potatoes for 10 pesos the kilo: smile.

Beautiful fresh, crisp cucumbers: ask for more.

In Mexico, if something is super-wonderful, people say often say, "…no tiene madre…" (it has no mother). It's common but very rude language. In this case, the merchant's sign for the apples says, "…de poca mad…", or "…it has only a little bit of mother…", but just barely skirts accepted language boundaries by cutting the …"re…", off the madre, leaving you to think of the word by yourself.

Tomate verde (tomatillo, in English) at six pesos the kilo: 'Don't look any further!'

This merchant is offering his chiles jalapeños at 14 pesos the kilo by poking fun at popular advertising: 'Like you saw on TV'."

Tunas are cactus fruits, and extremely refreshing and delicious. Their texture is like watermelon. In this case, the sign reads, "Tunas Chingonas"–the best translation I can think up is badass cactus fruit!

Here's a peeled tuna. The fruit is easier to peel than a tangerine; cut off each end, slit the thick skin, and peel it off the fruit. I buy them often during their season (right now!) and love to make agua fresca de tuna (fresh water made from tunas).

This sign is my current favorite. "Ni hablar mujer" means 'Lady, don't even talk about it!'. The phrase is also part of a Pedro Infante song.

Next year, plan to come along with us to this marvelous market. Ahorita la atiendo!

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19 de September de 2020
Independence Day in Mexico :: History, Parades, and an All-Night Party

Street vendors hawk la bandera nacional (the Mexican flag) in dozens of forms for several weeks during August and right up to September 16, Mexico's Independence Day. It's always fun to see what's the latest item for sale in patriotic tchotchkes. In this photo, you see a vendor near the zócalo (Plaza de la Constitución) in Mexico City. Photo courtesy Starmedia.

Although the entire month of September is dedicated to Mexican independence from Spain, Mexico's official struggle for freedom from Spanish colonization began sometime between midnight and dawn on September 16, 1810, when Father Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla gave the Grito de Dolores (Cry of Dolores) from the parish bell tower in the town known today as Dolores Hidalgo, Guanajuato. Mexico celebrates its day of Fiestas Patrias (Patriotic Holidays) on September 16 with parades of school children and military battalions, politicians proclaiming speeches, and general festivity.

Another flag vendor, this time in Morelia, Michoacán. This man was already out selling flags and other Independence-related items just before the end of August 2019. All photos copyright Mexico Cooks! unless otherwise noted.

Hundreds of books have been written about Mexico's break from Spain, millions of words have been dedicated to exploring the lives of the daring men and women who knew, more than 200 years ago, that the time had come for freedom. You can read some of the history on the Internet. Another excellent source for Mexican history is The Life and Times of Mexico, by Earl Shorris. You'll find that book available to order through Amazon.com, on the left-hand side of this page.

Jalisco town kiosko (bandstand) decorated for the Fiestas Patrias.

For years I've attended the September 15 celebrations in a variety of towns and cities. In Mexico City, the country's president leads hundreds of thousands of citizens in late-night celebrations in the zócalo, the enormous square surrounded by government buildings and the Metropolitan Cathedral. Every Mexican town big enough to have a mayor holds a reenactment of the Grito de Dolores, Hidalgo's cry for independence. The town square is decorated with flags, bunting, and ribbons. Cohetes (sky rockets) flare and bang. Sometime around eleven o'clock at night, the folks, assembled in the town plaza since nine or so, are restless for the celebration to begin. The mayor's secretary peeks out from the doorway of the government offices, the folkloric dancers file off the stage in the plaza, the band tunes up for the Himno Nacional (the national anthem), the crowd waves its flags and hushes its jostling. The president or the mayor steps out onto the balcony of the government building or onto the stage built just outside the building's front door to lead the singing of the Himno's emotional verses.

The bandera monumental (gigantic national flag) and celebratory fireworks in front of Mexico's Palacio Nacional, on the zócalo, Mexico City, September 15, 2015. Photo courtesy press.

Dressed in his finest and backed up by a military or police guard, the mayor clears his throat and loudly begins an Independence Day proclamation. He pulls a heavy rope to ring the Independence bell, then he waves a huge Mexican flag. Back and forth, back and forth! In every Mexican town, the proclamation ends with Hidalgo's 209-year-old exhortations: "Long live religion! Long live Our Lady of Guadalupe! Long live the Americas and death to the corrupt government! Long live the heroes of our Independence! Viva México! Qué viva!"

Father Hidalgo's 1810 banner, with an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and the words, "Viva la Santísma de Guadalupe!". He carried this banner as his standard as a leader in the fight for Mexico's independence from Spain. Photo courtesy Pinterest.

The mayor and the crowd shout as one voice: "Viva México! Qué viva! Qué viva!" The mayor grins and waves as the fireworks begin, bursting huge green, white, and red chrysanthemums over the heads of the attendees.

Later there will be dancing and more music, and food, including traditional pozole, tostadas, mezcal, tequila and beer, and, in larger towns and cities, all-night revelry in the plaza, in private homes, and in hotels, restaurants, and events halls.

The best-kept secret in Mexico is the Independence Day party. No, the biggest deal is not on September 16th. Held every year on the night of September 15, the Gran Noche Mexicana (the Great Mexican Night), the real celebration of the revolutionary events in 1810, is a combination of New Year's Eve, your birthday, and your country's independence festivities.

Wouldn't you really rather hear about the party? I knew you would!

A number of years ago my friend, música ranchera singer Lupita Jiménez from Guadalajara, invited me to a Gran Noche Mexicana where she was performing. The event was scheduled to start at 9:30, but Mexican custom normally dictates late arrival. By ten o'clock I was on my way to the party. At the salón de eventos (events hall), the parking lot was already full, but a man was parking cars on the street just a block away. As I left my car, he said, "Could you pay me now for watching your car? It's 20 pesos. I'll be leaving a little early, probably before the event is over."

"How long will you be here?" I asked, a bit anxious about leaving the car unattended on this night of prodigious revelry.

Lupita Jiménez in performance at a Gran Noche Mexicana in Guadalajara.

"Till six o'clock." My jaw dropped and I handed him the 20 pesos. Six in the morning! Surely we wouldn't party quite so long as that!

The sad truth is that I didn't. I couldn't. My stamina flagged at about 3:00 AM, after dinner had been served at 10:30, a city politician had proclaimed the Grito, the Himno Nacional (national anthem) had been sung, and big noisy fireworks had been set off on the indoor stage (I swear to you, indoors) of the salón de eventos. Then the show started, a brief recapitulation in song and dance of Mexican history, starting with concheros (loincloth-and-feather-clad Aztec dancers) whirling around a fire-belching volcano, and ending with the glorious jarabe tapatía, the regional dance of Guadalajara that most English-speakers call the Mexican hat dance.

Danzante conchero (concha dancer). The dancers are called concheros because the lead dancer blows a conch (a large mollusk shell) to call spirits to the dance. Photo courtesy Dreamstime.com.

After innumerable trios, duets, and solo singers, the show paused for intermission at close to two in the morning. Several of my table-mates slipped away, but I thought I could make it to the end. The first half of the Gran Noche Mexicana had been invigorating and exciting and I loved it. During intermission, a wonderful Mexican comedian poked fun at politics, functionaries, and Mexican life in general. We were all roaring with laughter. When the comic left the stage, I realized that I was exhausted and needed to go home to bed. Just as the performers stepped onto the stage to begin the next round of song, I sneaked away.

When I called Lupita the next afternoon to congratulate her on the success of the event, she asked if I'd stayed for the last few costume changes. "Mija, I had to go home early. I lasted till three, but then I just couldn't stay awake. I'm so sorry I missed the end."

Lupita laughed. "I'm glad you lasted that long, but next time you have to stay for the whole night! You missed the best part!"

The Palacio Nacional (national office building complex, including the president's offices) on the Zócalo (Plaza de la Constitución) in Mexico City, all dressed up for the Fiestas Patrias.

Viva México! Qué viva!

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12 de September de 2020
Popocatépetl :: The History of a Living Volcano :: La Historia de un Volcán Que Vive

This article was originally published in 2013. Popocatépetl continues its periodic episodes of high activity. One of these days, we'll be able to go once again to see what the volcano is doing!

The active volcano Popocatépetl is the second-highest mountain in Mexico at 5,452 meters (17,887 feet) above sea level. Some sources say that Popocatépetl is slightly higher than those quoted figures. Only the Pico de Orizaba (5,610 meters or 18,406 feet) is higher. All photos by Mexico Cooks! unless otherwise noted.

During the last week or so, Mexico City's newspapers have been full of information about Popocatépetl, the Náhuatl word for 'smoking mountain'. This volcano, which sits in the very back yard of the city, has once again been growling and grumbling and belching gases, steam, smoke, and red-hot ash. Its last major eruption was in December of 2000 and everyone in this vicinity hopes the mountain won't explode again.

Popocatépetl, 1953. Taken as a young man by my good friend Roger Hagan, this magnificent photograph lets us see how both the shape of the mountain and its cap of snow have changed during the last 60 years. The photograph appears in Roger Hagan's remarkable book, Mexico 1953. Photo courtesy Roger Hagan.

In mid-April of 2012, curiousity and excitement about Popocatépetl's current activities led us to make a Sunday afternoon trip to Amecameca in the State of Mexico, the town closest to the volcano from our Mexico City neighborhood. The town is southeast of Mexico City and we were there in a bit over an hour. Had we not stopped along the way to take photographs, we could have arrived sooner.

The alert system for possible eruptions ranges from green (no danger) to red (extreme eruption). Currently, Popocatépetl has been at Alert Phase 3 Yellow (magma flow and growing explosions) for about three weeks. Phase 3 Yellow is the alert just before red. In spite of the high alert level, no evacuations from towns around the volcano have been ordered. Click the link for updates to the 'semáforo de alertas' (alert system stoplight): ALERTAS

Iztaccíhautl, the sleeping woman, lies northeast of Popocatépetl and east of the town of Amecameca in the State of Mexico. Mexico Cooks! took this photo from the atrium of the Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (Church of Our Lady of the Assumption) in Amecameca; you can see one of the church arches in the foreground. The photo shows Iztaccíhuatl's head (far left) and chest.

Full view of volcano Iztaccíhuatl. Her head is at the far left in the photo. The clouds are in fact due to the accumulation of steam and ash emitted by Popocatépetl, just out of camera range to the right. The northwestern sky (behind me as I took the picture) was clear blue and brilliantly sunny.

Of course there is a romantic legend about Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhautl. At the beginning of history, when the Aztecs arrived in the Valley of Anáhuac and before the mountains had reached their permanent form, a beautiful princess named Mixtli was born in the city of Tenochtitlán–today's Mexico City. She was the daughter of Tizoc, the Tlatoani Emperor of the Mexicas (to be known later as the Aztecs). Mixtli was sought after by numerous noblemen, among them Axooxco, a cruel and bloodthirsty man, who demanded the hand of Mixtli in marriage. However, Mixtli's heart belonged instead to a humble peasant named Popoca. Popoca went into battle, to conquer the title of Caballero Aguila (Eagle Knight). If he claimed this title of nobility, Popoca would then be able to fight Axooxco for the hand of Mixtli.

Popoca carries his beloved Mixtli to the snowy mountains.

Mixtli knew the danger Popoca faced in this trial. Finally a messenger brought the news that he had been killed in battle. But the messenger was wrong: Popoca was returning victorious. Not realizing this, Mixtli killed herself, rather than live without Popoca.

When Popoca returned to find Mixtli dead, he picked her up and carried her body into the mountains. Hoping that the cold snow would wake her from sleep to reunite them, Popoca crouched at her feet until he froze there while he prayed for her to awaken.

They have remained there ever since. The body of Mixtli became the volcano Iztaccíhuatl (the Sleeping Woman), the ever-watchful Popoca became the volcano Popocatépetl (the Smoking Mountain). The evil Axooxco became the Cerro Ajusco (the highest point of the Distrito Federal). These volcanoes tower above Mexico City and the romantic legend of this couple has been passed on since the pre-Columbian era as a symbol of enduring and faithful love.

Popocatépetl exhales a huge cloud of steam, gases, and ash on April 18, 2012. Photo courtesy Notimex.

The volcano is generally known by a local nickname: don Goyo. Don is an honorific used to address or refer to any respected well-known man; Goyo is a nickname for Gregorio, in this instance specifically referring to San Gregorio (St. Gregory). Legend says that the volcano once erupted on San Gregorio's March 12 feast day and subsequently received the nickname, but the volcano's feast day (yes, he has one!) is celebrated annually on May 2. On that date, some local residents carry gifts to the volcano: blankets and una copita (a shot of liquor) to keep him warm, and they pay him their continuing respects. As the white-haired toll booth attendant said when we told him we were on our way to pay a visit to don Goyo, "Be careful up there! He's making all this racket while he's sober–imagine if he had already had his tequila!"

The volcano on the night of April 24, 2012. Streams of molten lava flow down the sides of the crater while fire, steam, smoke, and sparks rise high into the evening sky. The volcano is so loud that some residents find it hard to get a good night's sleep. Photo courtesy MSNBC.

During volcanic activity of this kind, the world keeps turning. Residents in the several towns nearest the volcano go about their normal daily lives while keeping one eye on the top of the mountain and one ear out for the latest alerts. In Amecameca, a delightful gentleman stopped his bicycle to chat with us on the street while we were letting a local woman take a close look at the volcano through the camera's telephoto lens. "You know," he ruminated, "we still have to shop, cook, eat, and sleep even though we also have to be prepared for…" he laughed and threw his arms high into the air. "In case it blows!"

Life goes on: the sign reads in English, Meat Market 'The Golden Rose'. Inside the municipal market in Amecameca, people shop for food, gossip with their neighbors, and laugh at the latest jokes. Click on any photo to enlarge it for a better view.

Our new guide continued, "You should go outside town for a better view. It's easy to get there…" He proceeded to give excellent directions for heading to the east into the foothills at the base of the volcano. We shook his hand and followed his directions as far as we could, but the rutted, stone-filled path we were driving outside Amecameca was too difficult for our vehicle. We turned onto another, even smaller road that took us to the crest of a hill. From there, we had an unobstructed view of the two lovers, Iztaccíhautl and Popocatépetl. While the wind blew from behind us, we watched as don Goyo sighed several times, sending heavy plumes of steam and ash into the heavens and away from Amecameca.

As the volcano steams and roars, commerce continues as it has for thousands of years. Amecameca has a huge Sunday market in the church atrium outside Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Asunciòn. The peaches, bright-green oval chilacayotes, and round calabacitas (zucchini-type squash) are offered for sale piled up in pyramids, the traditional vendors' display method.

Will the volcano blast off into a major eruption? Will it calm down and wait till another time? No one really knows for sure, not even the scientists who monitor its activity. On April 25, the winds shifted and small amounts of ash began to rain down on Amecameca and some of the other nearby towns. We're watching, along with the rest of the populace. And meantime, our lives go on as usual.

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5 de September de 2020
The Sanctuary of Jesus the Nazarene :: El Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno in Atotonilco, Guanajuato

The facade of the mid-18th Century Jesuit church in Atotonilco is simple. The interior of the church is astonishing. Built between 1740 and 1776, the Santuario is still visited and revered by religious pilgrims.

Several years ago, while Mexico Cooks! visited San Miguel de Allende, we took advantage of some free time to go to Atotonilco to visit the Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno (Sanctuary of Jesus the Nazarene), one of the best-kept secrets of central Mexico. In 1996, the church was added to the World Monuments Fund, and in July of 2008, UNESCO named the Santuario to its list of World Heritage sites.

The main altar in the Calvary Chapel, the largest in the church. Sculptural figures important to Christ's Passion give visual impact to the meditations of the faithful. A reliquary rests on the red cloth.

The Santuario is a mixture of European Baroque and New World Mexican decoration. It consists of a large church, and several smaller chapels, all decorated with oil paintings by Rodríguez Juárez and mural paintings by Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre. Inspired by the doctrine of San Ignacio de Loyola, the founder of the Companía de Jesús (the Company of Jesus, otherwise known as the Jesuits), the glowing paintings and murals in the church served in the evangelization of Nueva España, where the indigenous spoke their own languages but could neither read nor write, and where the Spanish conquistadores knew little if any of the languages they heard in the new land.

St. John the Baptist pours baptismal waters over Jesus as a dove, symbol of the Holy Spirt, hovers above them. In the 18th Century, the Santuario also served as a retreat house for the Jesuits. Pilgrims still make week-long retreats at this church, praying in a chapel reserved just for their needs.

Judas Iscariot betrays Jesus with a kiss. Note the demon monkey on Judas's back. Every inch of the Santuario walls is covered with paintings of the many details, Biblical and apocryphal, of Jesus's life. Nearly all (or perhaps all–stories vary) of the murals were painted by Miguel Antonio Martínez de Pocasangre, a native of the area. He worked for thirty years painting the murals.

St. Cristopher carries the infant Jesus on his shoulder. Captain Ignacio Allende, for whom San Miguel de Allende is named, married María de la Luz Agustina y Fuentes in this church. It was here, on September 16, 1810, that Father Miguel Hidalgo took up the standard of Our Lady of Guadalupe and bore it into battle at the beginning of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain.

This side chapel, one of several at Atotonilco, is dedicated to Nuestra Señora del Rosario (Our Lady of the Rosary). The mirrors that surround the figure of Our Lady are painted with oils, probably by Rodríguez Juárez.

Detail of the chapel window.

Detail of the Marian litany in the Lady Chapel.

The Santuario has been in the process of restoration since 1997. Scaffolding still fills the church but detracts very little from the amazing paintings.

Off the beaten tourist track, the Santuario de Jesús el Nazareno will fill your eyes and heart with wonder. Let's plan a visit to see it together.

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29 de August de 2020