Tlacotalpan the torturing of the bulls

We rose early and walked over to the town square for a nice breakfast before the crowds gathered. But to our surprise thousandths of people all dressed in red T-shirts were milling around, with some liter size beers, waiting for the running of the bulls. The t-shirt vendors had a real good day with their sales. The music coming out of many establishment also got an early start.

With the sun warming up the day, and the crowd growing rowdy with beer consumption. A wave of humanity moved slowly towards the shores of the river Papaloapan because for some sadistic enjoyment by the organizers of this event they bring the bulls from the other side of the river, some 300 yard of water torture inflicted on the bulls. When they reach the shore they are exhausted! Note the head of the bull is under water above. But the torturing and cruelty to these farm animal by the collective humanity gathered here in Tlacotalpan is shameful and just getting started.This is no running of the bulls like in Pamplona, Spain. This is the chasing of frightened farm animals, the inflicting of pain and suffering ranging from pulling their tails, kicking them, jumping on them when they are so exhausted that they just drop to the ground foaming at the mouth and letting out shrills of pain.




Would you think this is a fighting bull? of course not, it is a frightened one, quivering and frozen in place, note the bruises on its' legs from kicks it received from the courageous drunks because he would not move.










This is one of those brave drunk bull runners who felt "macho" and jump on top of an exhausted animal. It couldn't stand because they ran him down all over the village till he dropped.
This is a polluted gathering of of drunks whose only purpose, with government approval, is to buy beer and unleash random acts of cruelty on these animals. The towns' government is guilty of malicious indifference and complicity in condoning the sick behavior and atrocities committed in their " heritage to humanity town?" Give me a break!







This bull top and right is not dead he is "dead tired". They ran him all over the town, hoards of people chased him and them others on horse back chased him some more until it dropped. The fools standing around it were disappointed because he couldn't get up, so the would kick him, note the blood on the floor. Its' mouth was foaming as it let out a frightening squeal, bellowing as if it was crying out for help.

This bull was tied down to a post, I asked one of the persons, "por que lo amarras? Why do you tie him down? he replied "porque no quiere correr mas" he doen't want to run anymore. I asked him"crees que esto es un gran deporte para Tlacotalpan, mira como esta sangrado," Do you think this is a great sporting event for Tlacotalpan? look how he is bleeding" he replied, " si no tegusta pues no vengas" If you don't like it don't come back.
Well, he had a good point, I don't like this type of cruelty to farm animals used to plow their lands. I don't like the abuse tolerated by the local government, the mayor of the town was speaking that same evening on what a great event they hosted annually and she said that not one hair of any bull was hurt. Here is the proof, she lied. And I for one, will never be back to spend my tourist dollars in the sick cruel town of Tlacotalpan. I repeat, this town is not worthy of being a world heritage site.

Stay tuned... for a real world heritage site El tajin

Encuetro de Jaraneros at Tlacotalpan

We are arriving in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz. We are crossing the mighty river Papaloapan from the south.

We arrived in Tlacotalpan. As the readers may know this town was selected by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, to the list of of World Heritage sites. After witnessing the savage cruelty bestowed upon helpless farm animals by visitors and local alike with the approval of the local government. I would strongly suggest that UNESCO reconsider the inclusion of this town as a "world heritage site".
As I understand the reason why it is included on this coveted list, is the colonial architecture, Give me a break! a better example of this architecture can be found in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Personally I fail to see any overwhelming, distinguishing architectural differences from any other historical towns in Mexico Lindo.



Here is a sample of the kiosk in the central plaza, with it's Moorish influence and a typical home, are these really classic examples of Caribbean architecture???



We arrived on a Friday afternoon the festival would open next morning Saturday, therefore we were able to see the preparations or as a local small businessman called "le estan poniendo maquillage", they're just putting make-up on the town. We saw dozen of people painting the front of their homes with lively colors . Three churches around the plaza area, the two adjacent to the central park were being haphazardly painted by young man hanging from ropes slapping cheap paint on the walls. Scaffolding's are not known here. Preparing the walls; scrapping old paint, cleaning mildew, filling crack is an unknown practice, on the other hand, slapping paint over dirt and mildew is fine. Don't worry about the dripping gobs of paint on the floor, I asked one of the painters "why don't you put a drop cloth or newspaper at the edge of the wall to keep from dripping paint on the floor" he replied "oh... pos hay se va" oh... just let it go, it's ok.

A closer look around the main part of Tlaco failed to convince Javier or me that this town is worthy of being included in the UNESCO list, which includes places such as El Tajin, Puebla, Queretaro Mexico; The Great wall of China; Cathedral of St. James, Croatia; Old Havana, Cuba; Historic Cairo, Egypt.   The Acropolis, Athens Greece; Old City Walls of Jerusalem; The Vatican, Rome to name a few. To be honest with the reader, I didn't see any magnificent building. Yes there a some nice picturesque fronts of homes brightly painted but I don't think they are worthy of being a heritage to humanity.

On our second day in Tlaco the multitudes started to arrive for the Fiesta de la Calendaria, the Patron Saint of the area. As usual my compadre had all his photographic equipment ready so we trotted down to the towns square, The statue of the patron saint was dressed in a new outfit inside a glass display case; ready to be carried throughout the town with a multitude of true believers following the procession. Javier gathered some courage and asked one of the ladies preparing the virgin, "Por que esta guera la estatua de la vigen?" Why is the statue of the virgin blond? "pues haci era; blanquita y muy bonita con ojitos azulitos" (recall the diminutive form of speech in Spanish?) well that the way she was beautiful, white, with blue eyes" I could sense that Javier was not happy with the answer, what he really wanted to ask why are all this mestizos paying homage to a white, blond, virgen. I could tell that he was remembering his chicano studies classes of his youth at east LA college.

As the story goes during the 1600s this area which which is surrounded by water was in danger of being destroyed by heavy rains, the river Papaloapan, was overflowing its' banks, it would destroy the town . The church bells rang summoning all of the citizens of the town and surrounding villages to the church to pray a few "novenas", "rosaries" and "padres nuestros" to the "Virgen de la Calendaria", after long hours of communal prayer, the rains subsided and the waters retreated there by saving Tlacotalpan. From then on they give thanks annually to the Virgin with a week long celebration.

To our surprise there are some local residents who don't think much about this festival, they feel that the their town is invaded by outsider and a multitude of vendors, most of them selling cheap Chinese made imitations of Mexican goods. A whole army of modern day hippies appear selling cheap shirts, cheap jewelery, incense and drug paraphernalia, "se hechan en el suelo y dejan su porqueria en el la calle", they sleep on the street and leave their filth behind. Some native Indians come to town also the sell flowers fruits, vegetables from their farms and others bring hand made dresses an hats. The place has the appearance of a week-end swap meet in the Los Angeles area with a serious shortage of portable toilets. I counted 12 for a few thousand people. But don't worry you can knock on any home that has a sign: escusado (toilet) $ 5.00 pesos,baños (shower)$ 10.00 pesos.
I guess the comment; they are just putting on make-up on the homes, churches and government buildings is correct. By the time the festival started they were still painting.












My compadre and I came here only to see the "Encuentro de Janareros" A gathering of some of the best jaranero musicians in all of Mexico, unfortunately this Divine and vibrant music which some say was born in this area, a mix of Spanish, Mestizo and African rhythms and instruments gets second billing from the organizer of the festival, they were relegated off to a small stage on a side street, while the large venue was reserved for raucous, stertorous, music the kind you can find in any common bar of Mexico.


The reader may recall from previous posts my compadre Javier, pictured here is an amateur musicologist of Mexican music he is presently researching indigenous music and the mixture of various ethnic cultures that are weaved throughout the "folklor Mexicano" one of his favorites is Jaraneros. He gave me a few lessons on the origins of the musical instruments which are direct descendants from the baroque guitar in colonial Mexico, now part of a living developing tradition. Jaranas come in various sizes; the smallest is called mosquito, with a shrill voice. Jarana primera has a high sharp voice; jarana segunda a tenor voice; jarana tercera or leona a deep sonorous voice. The best and most expensive jaranas are made from a solid piece of fine wood. Some groups will also include a tambourine and a jaw of a donkey others also have a sonaja and/or a wooden box use as a drum. All of these instrument keep in step with the dancers on the tarima.  Javier loves the tarima. Bobby and I have witnessed Javier climb the tarima he can really "tear it up". We saw him last year in Veracruz during Carnival and we've saw him here in Tlaco. The tarima is a large acoustic box where dancers climb up and dance to the rhythms of the jaranero; much like getting into a trance in the baptist church when the sinners get up to testify. Javier can really keep up with the Afro-Caribbean beat his feet feet go one way, his body and mind go another and after a few sips of "toritos", a sweet peanut butter and milk spiked with alcohol from the sugar cane, he really "gets down" on the tarima.


This is a sample of the tarima it's a wooden raised platform with holes on the sides, the dancers wear dancing shoes with strong heels and keep rhythm to the fandango being played by Jaraneros, musicians












On the poster below displays the events of the festival,  music, dancing, a horse parade, the parade of the Virgen de la Candelaria. One event which you don't see in the poster  is the brutality bestowed upon the bulls.
















Stay tuned...

Yanga part 2.

We moved freely in Yanga visiting various places. The cultural center was very small but it was closed for lunch. So we strolled down to the "mercado" the market, it was very busy with vendors calling out the freshness of their goods and the best prices in town. They all seemed to be doing a good job selling a wonderful variety of goods. In mostly all Mexican towns, people shop for their groceries every day. It is fresh, no additives or chemicals to prolong shelf life. They sell a wide variety of fruits including; papayas, guanabanas, bananas, tunas, tamarindo, guayabas etc. The vegetables and grains we saw included verdolagas, romeritos, nopalitos, frijol, abas, lentejas as well as live poultry, chivos, rabbits (Javier complained about all the flies around the meat vendors). Many housewives were purchasing items for that night's dinner.
After the open air market, we went looking for the park and statue erected in honor of Yanga.
It is an imposing monument for a town this small(about 22,000) but it does open up a chapter of Mexican history long forgotten. We asked a few citizens about the town's history but the young ones had no knowledge, they said it always been there. I spoke to the caretaker Don Ursulo, who was watering the lawn and sweeping the area. His physical features are strongly Indian and his skin is very dark. He informed me that the statue was for the slaves who worked the immense sugar cane plantations that existed during his youth. He moaned that this industry is quickly dying because young people "no saben como trabajar la tierra" they don't know how to tend the earth. They all prefer to go to "el norte" where the work isn't back breaking. " "Pero yo todavia cuido mi terrenito de caña" I still care for my cane field. I would say the gentleman was about 80 years old.
















Javier continued taking pictures. These are just a small sample of his great collection. I bid a warm goodbye to Don Ursulo the and I couldn't help notice that the poverty of the Mexican men who work the land comes with a certain amount of dignity: the dignity of their work, and their honesty. There is no free lunch here.

We were no more than two hrs. from Tlacotalpan. Javier was like a little boy on Christmas eve; he couldn't wait to get there and start filming his favorite Jaranra musical groups. I must say that I never met a men who likes music so much and who can't read a single musical note. He doesn't know the difference between middle C and G flat and worse yet, he is tone deaf... in spite of all these handicaps, Javier has a deep love for his music and a profound respect for musicians. So... were off to Tlaco.

Yanga-first free town in the Americas

My faithful co-pilot consulted his maps and charts and set the directions to Yanga after driving about an hr., through beautiful lush green, vibrant country side we were arriving at another town rich in history, all but forgotten in Mexican history. Homes were simple, their people full of pride. In the distance you could see old buildings, no doubt, old Spanish haciendas which have fallen in disrepair, forgotten by time as well as their owners. During the early day of the "Nueva España," there were thousands of African slaves working the cane fields, the slaves outnumbered the Spaniards 30 to 1. They lived in constant fear of uprisings from Indians and African slaves. The Chichimeca Indians who lived here, before the arrival of the Spaniards, were in no better condition than the Africans. During the late 1500s, there were a number of uprisings but the most successful one was led by Gaspar Yanga, an African slave who was brought to Veracruz. It is said that he was from royal family in Gabon. He became the leader of an uprising with about 500 other slaves and settled in the high mountain of Veracruz. In order to survive, he and his followers constantly raided the Spanish haciendas and the supply caravans making their way to the port of Veracruz to export the Mexican riches to Spain. Well... it seems that Yanga and his followers were more than the local garrison could handle, so the Viceroy of Spain sent the Royal army from Puebla with orders to quell the insurgents and crush Yanga. They quickly found out that this was easier said than done. Time after time, Yanga would attack the royal army and flee to the mountains where the Spaniards were outmaneuvered by guerrilla tactics and fierce fighting. After several defeats of the royal army, the Viceroy called for a treaty. In exchange for their freedom and that of all their descendants, Yanga would stop raiding the caravans. This is how the town of "San Lorenzo de Los Negros" was born with Yanga as their mayor. Later the name of the town was changed to Yanga.
Below is the sign that welcome the traveler to the town of Yanga. You can see that they are proud to have been the first town in the Americas to have freed the slaves.


































You may recall from previous entries on this blog, the location of the central plaza and the location of the building are determined. On top left is the where the civic orchestra or bands play on week ends. To the right above and below is the most important church of the town and
below left is the government building. Cont. Yanga part 2

Trip Oaxaca to Veracruz

Reluctantly we made our way out of Oaxaca, we needed to get to Tlacotalpan, Veracruz on time for the opening of the annual festival, "encuentro de jaraneros'. We would be traveling through the land of the Mechicas, also known as the cloud people in their native language. This road will eventually take us along the majestic river "Papaluapan" On a clear day you can see for ever, the green rolling hills and valleys make way for the Orizaba mountain. We stopped in the town of Cordoba just in time for an evening music festival at el zocalo. The local philharmonic and university band were having a serenade under the stars for all of its' citizens. We found this to be a very friendly town we searched for a nice hotel to stay. After settling in Javier wanted to look for his favorite tacos al pastor, unfortunately he couldn't find what he wanted. He did, however, find "tacos arabes", but he could not bring himself to try them in Mexico, a big disappointment for him, he felt that eating tacos arabes in Mexico would be a slap to his herigae, an act of betrayel
We began exploring the center of the city situated in the center of state of Veracruz but of more significant importance is the role it played in the war of Independence from Spain. It was among the first and most ardent supporter of Independence, its' citizens fought courageously because of the tremendous role, support and commitment it was names the"Most Heroic City" and as a tribute and recognition of its' importance it was chosen as the site to sign the treaty of Independence, "El Tratado de Cordova" and "El Tratado de Iguala" The signature's were Agustin Iturbide for Mexico and the last Viceroy from Spain Juan O'Donoju.
As was was reading some of this information in "el palacio municipal", Javier wondered of again. I climbed up a few stair to have a higher view in order to locate him which was not easy at first because he was in his element and with his physical characteristics he fits in; a spectacle Mexican, pudgy, grayish hair and balding head, wearing a kid's blue cap. But once I focus on a professorial looking individual talking to various citizens I knew where he was and headed straight to him, he spotted me and with excitement in his voice he exclaimed "" know where we are going next". Where? I asked "Yanga!" he repeated, " because of your studies on the ills of slavery in America you are going to like this place. "Yanga" I repeated, where is that? "you' ll find out". We continues our explorations until we were walked out we stopped in an "estanquillo" a small mom and pop store which sell small items at high prices we bought some junks food and drink, returned to the Hotel, I looked forward to my visit to "Yanga".

Stay Tuned for Yanga...

Journey Mexico City to Oaxaca

As we drove out of D.F. we could honestly say, we felt a sense of relief it seems that my blood pressure was back to normal by the change of environment, the mad rush by everyone to everywhere at the same time, toget there first was left behind! at least for a while. Javier studied the map and charted the course down carretera Mex.190, which stretches out in homage to the empty blue sky. We drove into the next Pemex station and its' sidekick, Oxxo store for what has become a morning ritual, fill up with gas and our morning cafecito. About 120 kilometers down Mex.190 we came upon the city of Puebla more precisely known as the Heroic City of "Puebla de Zaragoza". Because of its industry, historical and cultural treasures it one of the most important cities in Mexico, therefore we felt that it would be better to plan an extended trip exclusively to Puebla in a future date.
We continued on to Oaxaca. After a few hrs. of polemic conversation with Javier on various topics we arrived in Oaxaca, and followed the "Monte Alban" roadway, this state has the distinction of having the largest concentration of archaeological sites. The most famous is Monte Alban (a name given to it by the Spaniards in the 17th. century) This was the center of the Zapotec nation which maintained its' political, ideological, economical and religious control over all the other communities. The early settlers were the Mixtec and Zapotec cultures they paved the way for present day Oaxacan culture. In your visit to Mote Alban you will find an array of buildings each with its' unique purpose; religious temples, scientific study, astronomical observations, royalty quarters, ball courts and a museum. Also a museums' store with a plethora of souvenirs, pictures and books of this unforgettable place.











After an instructive morning and a bit of exercises at Monte Alban we drove straight to the town square or "el zocalo" of Oaxaca. We have mentioned before that we always head straight for the zocalo, perhaps a little clarification of what a zocalo is would be helpful. You may remember in your high school classes that the Spaniards conquered Mexico with the "sword and the cross" this concept is illustrated with how the government and the church would work together in building the zocalos, in every Mexican town . The Zocalo or center of a city/town would be established by taking into account the cardinal points and symbology. The cathedral or church would be established usually over Indian religious or burial sites. (i.e spiritual power). On the other side/cardinal point, of the of the church, the municipal buildings (the base of civil power). The square would irradiate throughout the city with the balance between the terrestrial and the sacred; Church & Government Power. The rest of the square is surrounded by coffee houses, restaurants, hotels ice cream parlors, the life in the center of town.
Of all the zocalos I have visited, I consider Oaxacas' zocalo to be the most beautiful. I asked Javier for his opinion, after trying to make his case for the zocalo of his birth city of Zacatecas he reluctantly agreed with me. We found a table to our liking, in front of a colonial style restaurant, shaded by the canopy of enormous Laurel trees and the sounds of water coming from a gigantic water fountain in the center of the park. The waitress approached and said "buenas tardes gustan tomar algo?" Javier responded quickly "si dos negras modelo por favor", remember the best beer in Mexico? He was mesmerized by the natural beauty of the park and began taking pictures. As we looked around all of the people seemed to be doing the same thing we were doing; passing the time, observing the young ladies go by, listening to strolling musicians, saying no to flower vendors or artisans, people enjoying cafecito de la olla or chocolatito caliente or tequilita. For some reason in Spanish some words seem to get the diminutive form (ito or ita) added to them when they are being warmly enjoyed or received.
After a nice lunch we visited "el palcio municipal" and the cathedral, walked around the town looking inside the beautiful colonial buildings and streets.
Javier, being a strong and faithful
member of the Catholic church went into the cathedral for along time. I
think he had a great deal to confess.
so I left him with his thoughts, while I enjoyed another "cervecita" in "el zocalo". Here to the right is Javier coming out of the cathedral. We usually visit all the cathedrals or churches we see in the zocalos. Their historical, religious and artistic value gives us an insight of the struggles in the building of a Nation. We also see the great pain and suffering in the faces people who enter hoping to find solutions to some very personal and difficult problems that can only be solved by a higher power. Some pin a small gift on the cloth or light a candle as a sign of their gratitude to their special saint.










Javier practiced his Spanish and continued his quest of learning continuously the best way to find the roads out of town. He asked at least eight persons "Cual es la mejor carretera para "Tlacotalpan, Veracruz?" Which is the best road out of town to Tlacotalpan, Veracruz. He charted the way and off we went.

Stay tuned...

Journey to Mexico City cont.

On the way to Angels' home, we stopped at "el super" Where he purchased a number of delicacies for dinner, this is also a good place to change your dollars, major banks have branches here. They also have parking attendants they also help customer with their groceries. On the way out Angel said, he needed to make one more important stop, "la carboneria" charcoal store. Javier and I wondered why he just didn't buy a bag of briquettes at "el super", when we got to the "carboneria" we found out why.

Javier and I didn't want to get to closer to that black entrance full of silt. The charcoal sold here is as large as bricks or larger it is sold by the kilo, that sacks in front of the establishment are full of "carbon" apparently it burns hotter and has an aroma of hickory, which gives the meat a wonderful flavor.
After we arrived at home, the chef got in high gear getting the grill ready. The rest of the family his wife Yami and his son Alex aka "Jando" joined in the preparation.
While the grill reached the preferred temperature, Angel quietly was preparing the meat with aromatic spices and ingredients, after some persistence on my part he agreed to share with us what he was preparing. He began grilling "chiles poblanos" after they were done they were peeled, the seeds were removed, then stuffed with generous amounts of cheese, and back on the grill until the cheese was melted. There were also fresh, green, "nopales" know as Indian pear tree" put on the grill. They were turned frequently to insure they were evenly cooked afterwards they were wrapped around fresh cheese, the other entree was "longaniza" "A tasty Mexican sausage also placed in a taco along with cheese and the main course, sirloin stake tacos. After awhile, I noticed who the real chef was, Angel was sitting down having a "traguito" drink while Jando was doing all the grilling. Who's the real chef?

Here you see Yami, our wonderful hostess, enjoying one of Angels savory steak tacos. Javier suggested that he should set up a taco business, he even suggested a name Angels' Heavenly Tacos.
Needless to say, we had wonderful meal. Javier shared with us some DVDs of his Mariachi students and "folklorico" dancers which, by the way, are outstanding students in every respect. This was like a preview for the music that awaited for us in "Tlaco". After good conversation and a few brandy drinks we retired to a restful evening.

Day six began with the aroma of "cafecito de la olla", bacon and eggs that was our call to face Mexico city. We decides that because we have seen most of the places of interest on previous visits, we would go to the museum of Frida Khalo, a trip that would normally take an hr. by car from Angel home It took us twice as much today because of the engrossing number of street closures, in preparation and repairs for extravaganza of 2010 when Mexico will celebrate their 200 years of independence. Therefore be prepared when driving in D.F., by the way there are no visible signs, that we could see, warning motorists of street closures, nor alternate routes to take. Here "you are on your own" detour signs is not a concept familiar to this country. Finally after battling the free for all driving, we arrived safely to the museum Londres #247, Colonia Del Carmen, Coyoacan one of the oldest and nicest neighborhoods.

The museum was Fridas' home, situated in a corner of the street,
it has been converted into a museum. The entrance fee is "$55 pesos" about four dollars. Students & teachers $20 pesos, seniors free with ID. As you walk in you immediately sense the intimacy of this museum. You will not find Fridas' most famous painting here. But instead a more personal work which captures her struggles as well as her physical and emotional pain. Her work on display challenge the viewer with symbolic meaning. Her life is also visible through the furnishings such as the bed with the mirror on top among others. This is a typical home like many other in this neighborhood. The first inclination that you get that it's a museum is the guard outside and the sign on top of the front door. Most of the works on display are in the first two main halls some of them made by the artist herself, some by other artists, there are pictures of her father and family, as well as personal items relating to her injuries. As you go around the building you pass the kitchen embellished with typical Mexican clay pots and pans and colorful chairs painted with intricate designs. Exiting the kitchen you end up on the patio, plants make a beautiful contrast with the blue building. There's a cafe and museum store, as you sit and relax with your "cafecito", you realize that the soothing sound of a water fountain, a perfect setting to page through the Freida book you just purchased.










After relaxing in the patio for a while Angel said "let go to the place that sells the best ice cream in the world", Javier answered "you mean the best ice cream in Mexico", so off we went again into the chaos of Mexico City traffic. The ice cream was indeed delicious but according to Javier there are many ice cream stores in L.A which rank higher. We stopped in few other points of interest before returning to Angels' home. After dinner and more conversation we headed to bed because we would have to wake up very early, why? because of our cars' licence plate number ends on one that could not be in the roads tomorrow. This is one way the government is trying to reduce smog. Therefore we had to be out of the D.F. before 6:00am. We were on the toll road before the first ray of sunlight peeked through the clouds. Oaxaca here we come.

Stay tuned.