Frida

In my last post, I mentioned my visit to Frida Kahlo´s house. While reading the nytimes today, I noticed this story. The beginning refers to her house, Casa Azul, but the whole piece gives a great insight into what I saw.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/arts/design/29kahl.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

¨Basically, she felt what we all feel, only hugely, terribly... That’s the way Kahlo enters your system, fast, with a jolt, an effect as unnerving, and even repellent, as it is pleasurable.¨

Mexico City

* The link to my photo page is now on the right side of this page. I also added four pictures of my house/family here.*

I should never have waited more than an hour to start writing about my trip to Mexico City, because just two days later, it is slowly evaporating from my memory. But I will try my hardest to recount as much as possible about three of the longest days of my life.

On Friday, we left at 8 am for DF (everyone here calls Mexico City just plain Mexico of DF, as in Distrito Federal) in a small bus that fit all of us incredibly snugly, in a bad way. It was really too tight of a fit for a five hour drive, but we made do and tried to sleep as much as possible. Since I can´t describe everything we did, here are a few highlights:

Friday – We visited the Zocola, the plaza where all of the important government buildings are located in DF. We visited a building that held dozens of Diego Rivera´s murals (I posted numerous pictures on my photo page). In contrast to his experience in New York, Rivera was allowed to paint whatever he desired, so it comes as no surprise that the murals are filled with socialist and communist iconography. The largest mural traces Mexico´s history from pre-conquest to the period in which Rivera was working. I will provide more detail on the murals on my photo page, so check it out.

Speaking of Rivera, we also went on Friday to Rivera´s beautiful house, called Casa Azul. It was filled with Rivera and Frida's art, letters addressed to them, clothing, and even the notorious bed Frida learned to paint in.

Afterwards we went to the Metropolitan Cathedral built in 1573. Because Mexico City was built upon a lake, it is slowly sinking. Within the church, there is a pointed object (no idea what they are called) hanging from the ceiling. It originally pointed to the center of the church, but now, years and years later, the tip has moved substantially because of the change in the level of the church. It was quite amazing and definitely something my dad would have spent more time looking at than the church itself.

On Saturday, we visited several sites, one of which was the plaza where the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre occurred. This event took place 10 days before the summer Olympics, held in Mexico, which students protested as an absurd expenditure of money when there were endless social problems that desperately needed funding instead. As the students protested in the square, military helicopters flew overhead, opening fire on the students. Although the government denied the numbers, it is largely believed hundreds upon hundreds were killed and disappeared. The night of the massacre, the plaza was cleaned and the next day, no evidence was left, except the countless indentations on the ground present to this day, caused by bullets hitting the ground.

Later, we visited the Teotihuacán pyramids. These pyramids were built 2,000 years ago and remain in remarkably good condition today. The Aztecs later incorporated the pyramids into their own civilization, and the now stand as evidence of the advanced culture and technology of the time, as they include irrigation, art, and obviously extraordinary architecture.

We also went to the Basilica de Guadalupe, the church that the Virgin of Guadalupe told Juan Diego to build. Within the church, the canvas (in which she proved her existence) hangs to be seen by all. There are four moving sidewalks below the canvas to allow visitors to pass by. As many of you know, the Virgin is hugely important in Mexico and her image is seen everywhere. There is nothing you can´t buy without her image. I have never seen anything else that even comes close to what she signifies for Mexican identity. On the Day of Guadalupe, five million people visited the church in three days. Her story is fascinating and incredibly important in understanding Mexican culture and identity: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Lady_of_Guadalupe

On the way to all of these places, I was consistently able to see extensive stretches of DF up the mountainsides. Houses are built right on top of each other, and it seems as if there is not an inch between each building. They go impossibly high up the mountains until they are stopped by a wall built to prevent any future construction. Viewing this from the street conjured many images from things I have learned and read in classes about Latin America, particularly the favelas in Brazil -where the conditions of completely condensed space and lack of privacy dominate.

I really am finding myself too exhausted to write, so either I´ll update more later or will just have to tell you all about my trip in person. I have put up a ton of pictures, so check them out, they give a much better description of my travels.

Cervantes, outdoor theaters

After my first genuine low point since I´ve been here two days ago, I decided I had to get out of the house after class yesterday. At 6:30, a bunch of my friends met in this plaza, outside of a church. One of the girl´s host fathers was on a board in teachers and intellectuals who were introducing some recently written book. The panel started late, of course, but it was only until the speakers began did a man bring them bottled water and then cups. My friend joked that she wouldn´t be surprised if a waiter soon brought out a plate of steaming tacos. Maybe it´s a humor that only comes after experiencing Mexican culture, but it was truly hilarious.

After their talk, there was a play of a part of Don Quixote. The play took place in the plaza outside of an incredibly old church, while the audience sat on a set of bleachers. The play must have had at least sixty people, dressed in full costume, including tons of children, horses, and donkeys. The only indication that we were living in 2008 was the audience, but otherwise it truly seemed like another era. It was very dark outside when the play started and torches were lit along with a light that followed the main characters around the plaza. Though sometimes the actors spoke themselves, it was often a narrator talking through a loud speaker that eerily filled the night. Right as the play began, the moon rose above the buildings and I was able to see the lunar eclispe. It was one of the most surreal experiences of my life, and as I sat in the bleachers a shiver went through me.

Afterwards, I finally was able to find an internet cafe where skype worked, which was a big relief and quite exciting. I got to see and hear my parents, which is an indescribable relief after seeing solely new faces for two weeks straight. Speaking of, it´s my two week mark here today. Seems like I have been here forever and not at all. Tomorrow I am going with the other kids on my program to Mexico City for three days, which I think will be great. In much the same way I enjoy learning at NYU and then living in the places where what I learned occurred, learning about Mexican history and then seeing its evidence is thrilling.

In regards to learning, today was a much better day at school. Some days I feel as if I´m being taught as if I were a 10 year old, but at other times it´s much better. I particularly enjoy the history portions of my classes, which take up a fair amount of time because they are so relevant to understanding anything about Mexico. It would be a huge mistake to try and live in Mexico without knowing some of its history. Although I already know a lot of what we´ve been learning, it´s still fascinating and can always be learned in greater detail. I´m trying to refrain from describing all the great things I learned today, but I may get on it later.

I´ve been talking with the guy that works at the internet cafe I´m at, because he was watching the movie "Friday" in English. We talked a lot about music and he just showed me all his English movies. He lent me "Booty Call," which will be hilarous to try and watch without my host parents seeing and asking me what the hell ít is.

Anyway, I´m off, but I will post lots of pictures when I get back from Mexico City.

Dolores Hidalgo and alleyway masses

Yesterday was one of the best days so far. My family and I went for a day trip, around the perimeter of Guanajuato and up into Dolores Hidalgo. Not only did I see a lot of amazing things, but I also felt I made some sort of leap in my connection with my family. Firstly, I found out that my sister isn´t 20 but 24. This explains a lot of the reasons why she doesn´t seem to set on making friends with me and also works non stop. However, we talked a lot more, which was particularly enjoyable because she´s one of the only Mexican youths I have talked to extensively.

Dolores Hidalgo and the surrounding towns have incredible art work, and are filled with streets upon streets of stores selling beautiful crucifixes, ceramics, and plants. Although some things here are not so cheap (I´ve paid $5 for a mixed drink), the art work was incredibly inexpensive. I bought numerous hand painted ceramic boxes, upon other things, that cost in all $7. One of the downsides of traveling with a native family is that they have seen everything a million times and don´t always linger in places as long as I´d like. Luckily, because this is such a relatively small city, I can more or less return to every place I´ve been on my own.

In Dolores Hidalgo, we also visited the church were Miguel Hidalgo preached of uprising and independence, and from where the people marched to Guanajuato to fight the Mexican War of Independence. On a funny note, Dolores Hidalgo is known for these insane snacks of ice. They have them all around the world, including in New York, where the ice is flavored, typically coconut, chocolate, etc. But in Dolores Hidalgo they have ice flavored with tequila, rum, elotes (corn dish), nuts, cheese, avocado, and a million more. I personally tried to cheese and avocade and it was delicious.

On the way to Dolores Hidalgo and back, my mother read a passage from the bible, which I´ve never seen before. Religious practices are so different here than in Argentina. Before I left I was told that Mexicans have tons of their own celebrations and rituals, and it really does appear to be the case. Of the Latin American countries I´ve been to, Mexico has much more religious iconography, and as many of you know seem much more attached to the Virgin of Guadalupe. In a taste of this unique religious fervor, when we returned from our trip there was a mass being held on our callejon. There is no equivalent for the word callejon in English, but the closest it gets is alleyway. There are a million callejons all over Guanajuato, and they are what you take from the main streets to get to your house. They are winding twisting passageways that lead up the sides of the mountains. Sometimes they become very narrow, and other times much wider, to the size of a one way street. My house is at the part of the callejon where it becomes too narrow for cars to pass. So, as we pulled in front of our house yesterday, my mom explained to me that every Sunday there is a mass on the street in which the priest comes along with people from surrounding neighborhoods. Everyone brings their own little stools or just sits on the sidewalk or ground, and so the ceremony begins. The street is lit by a string of lights and everyone is dressed in their everyday clothes, coming and going as they see fit. The priest was very friendly and interacted with everyone, often making jokes and consistently smiling. The mass was a little more than 30 minutes and at the end, a donation basket was passed around as we all gathered around the priest in a circle to say a final prayer.

It was a beautiful experience and I attempted to take a few pictures from my room after we left while the crowd still remained. I will have to upload those as soon as I get the chance. Pictures really will add so much texture to everything I´ve written and continue to write, but unfortunately it is also where I reencounter the problem with the lack of internet...

internet cafes

Right now I am sitting in an internet cafe, the closest one I have been able to find to my house. Despite its relative proximity, I still have to trek back up the monstrous winding hill/alleyway to my house. Unfortunately, my house here doesn't have internet, as many houses don't. Electronics here are very expensive and unlike in the U.S., where many people have computers regardless of economic class, it's not that way here. Although many don't have them, that doesn't mean there isn't a desire for them. So you can imagine how many internet cafes there are. On my way to school, I probably pass 6 or so. Though I would prefer to use my own computer, I don't feel particularly safe hauling it around the city, especially while walking home at night. So I'm gradually getting the hang of the keyboards here, though right now I'm copying and pasting apostrophes from an old email because I have no idea how to make them. Also, I have no idea how to make indents on blogspot, so forgive that too.

Because electronics are so expensive, if people have papers they go to a Circut City type of store right on the border to buy things. There, it's much cheaper than anywhere inside of Mexico. One of my teachers told me that over Christmas time, you see cars driving back from the border filled to the top with things they bought from the U.S. She says that people often take requests from friends or town members, and therefore bring back things for everyone. Sometimes, there are cars carrying ten bikes and more.

On another note, last night we had a group dinner at the director's (Karen) house. I would feel confident in saying it was one of the top five most beautiful houses I have ever seen. Definitely deserved to be in one of those home style magazine. They bought the house with all the furniture included, so there are some hilarious stories of particular objects. For instance, there is a huge crucifix, one deserving of a church. This crucifix is definitely longer than two normal sized cars. She is religious, but felt the crucifix was a little too much, and attempted to get it down several times when they first bought the house, but repeatedly failed and eventually gave up.

For dinner, we sat at long wood tables, very close to the ground. She had hired two people to make the most amazing quesadillas and tacos, with meat cut straight from one of those huge turning pieces of meat. I don't know what they are called, but they're all over New York. It was definitely the best meal I've had here so far and many of us felt sick afterwards from eating so much.

Tonight is the birthday of one of the boys of the program, so some of us will be going out to celebrate. Gradually, every person in the program is growing on me and I am beginning to enjoy them for each of their differences. We all come from across the country and are enormously different, but I think our group has good chemistry and has learned to laugh a lot together, which is great. I have also met a few other students outside of my program, but I would really like to meet more. I'm just trying to give it time and not rush things. I have plenty of time here, and I'm sure things will work themselves out.

I also got a cellphone, but I have no idea how it works and how much it costs to make calls. It's prepaid, so I've already had to refill it twice. Here, it appears to be cheaper to send texts, as I know it is in many places across the world.

I never have any idea how to end these posts, so until next time..

classes

So far, my first week of class has gone really well, and seems to be a perfect fit for my major. I am taking two spanish classes, Intellectual History and Cultural Representation, Mexican Revolution and the Novel, and Mexican History and the Construction of a Nation. Although I have two hours of spanish class five days a week, which is a lot considering that I´m basically in spanish class 24 hours a day, I´m actually really excited for what I will be learning. My teacher, Carolina, seems to be fantastic and understanding, and is great at explaining things. My classes are an advanced level of spanish, so we get to learn and review things other than verb tenses. Today in one of my classes we even went over the origins of Mexican Spanish and a lot of slang, including curse words. Here, curse words actually have a historical context, going back to colonization. I´m sure a lot of you already know the story of la Malinche, but for those of you who don´t: la Malinche was an indigenous Mexican woman who was the mistress and translator of Hernan Cortes. Their son is considered the first Mestizo. Although she is increasingly seen in conflicting lights, she is traditionally considered a traitor, someone who greatly assisted the conquest of ¨New World.¨ In Mexico, and throughout many Spanish speaking places, there are about three million variations of the word la chinga, which means the violated one (as in la Malinche). In a few cases, it can mean something good, but for the majority of the time it is a pejorative term. Something that is really interesting (to think about in a colonial context) that Octavio Paz wrote about was that in Spain, people say ¨hijo de puta,¨ while in Mexico, peope say "hijo de la chingada.¨ Hijo de puta means son of a bitch, or whore, and suggests someone who gave themsleves voluntarily. In contrast, hijo de la chingada means someone who is forced.

"Loss, mourning, the longing for memory, the desire to enter into the world around you and having no idea how to do it, the fear of observing too coldly or too distractedly or too raggedly, the rage of cowardice, the insight that is always arriving late, as defiant hindsight, a sense of the utter uselessness of writing anything and yet the burning desire to write something, are the stopping places along the way. At the end of the voyage, if you are lucky, you catch a glimpse of a lighthouse, and you are grateful. Life, after all, is bountiful."

- Ruth Behar, The Vulnerable Observer

beginnings

I am finally sitting down to write, after four days and three nights in Guanajuato. I don’t have internet in my house, so right now I am writing this on microsoft word and will try to find a internet café that has wireless so I can post this on the blog. It has been four days of endless activity, and in many ways it already feels like home. I’ll run through what’s happened so far:

After a lot of nerves and panic, I arrived with ease at the airport in Leon, a city about thirty minutes from Guanajuato. The airport was tiny and it was very easy to find the man waiting for me and three other students. His name is Eduardo, but everyone calls him Lalo, and he is the husband of the director of the program, Karen. Lalo came to get all thirteen of the students on the program (three boys, ten girls) in different spurts, so when I saw him I was the first of the afternoon pickup. This worked out really nicely because I was able to practice my Spanish with him for about twenty minutes before the others arrived. Once they came, we took a taxi to a hotel in Guanajuato. Some of the other students were already there, so we walked around a little. Later that night we had dinner and met Karen, which was nice but everyone was so exhausted we could barely converse. We all ended up ordering the exact same dish, enchiladas Guanajuato style, which I’m sure amused the waiter. The next day, the group went to Las Palomas, a gorgeous nature preserve high up above the city. We had orientation there and two amazing meals cooked by the men who work there.

Later that day, the group had dinner with our new families. My mom was the only one who came for me, which was very nice because I didn’t get too overwhelmed and our conversation was nice, informative, and intimate. Her name is Veneranda but everyone calls her Gorda. Her husband’s name is Heriberto, but he’s called Heri or Viejo. They have been married around thirty-five years and seem quite happy, working alongside each other in their stores. They own three stores in Guanajuato, two jewelry and watch stores and one with knick knacks (I haven’t been there yet so I’m not positive) and such. They have two daughters, one also named Veneranda and the other, Erica. Veneranda’s nick name is vieja (meaning old woman). Erica has one son and is pregnant with a girl, who she will have while I’m here. Good thing I got lots of practice in with Indie before I left. La Gorda and Heri also had a son, but he was killed in an accident around six or seven years ago. My mother has spoken about his death many times, including shedding a few tears at our first meal together. They have pictures of him all over the house and in the store. It’s difficult because she hasn’t given me many details and I don’t want to pry into a history she isn’t prepared to tell. As expected, it is clear his death has been intensely difficult and painful for their family.

My house here is really nice and big. I have my own room, a small room but as much as I need. I have a beautiful view of the city from a window that covers the entire wall next to my bed. Best of all, there are two bathrooms. They even have TV with more channels then I’ve got at home. Right now I’m watching Dirty Dancing 2 in Spanish.

Yesterday, I went with my group on a seven hour tour/trip around Guanajuato and the areas surrounding it. The tour was absolutely amazing and I couldn’t resist taking tons of photos. I’m going to create a second blog with a link to all my photos, so definitely check them out. The first place we went on the tour was this gorgeous garden type place. It was built alongside a river a long long time ago and various rooms are built in different styles, from English to French. The gardens were so peaceful and the tour guide reminded me that I can come whenever I want and spend the whole day there just sitting in the sun. I’m sure I’ll take him up on the offer. It’s important to remember that during the days, it’s about 70 degrees and perfectly sunny here, so all the greatness is amplified times a million. After that, we went to El Pipila (read about him here). The statue looks out over the entire city of Guanajuato, and is where most of the pictures (including the ones I posted before I left) of the city are taken.

After this, we went to La Valenciana, a town which used to be a huge silver producer. At a certain point, they produced 30% of the world’s silver. The money they made from these mines funded all the construction of the beautiful Guanajuato buildings. And of course, they built a church to thank God for the silver and to remain on his good side. We actually got to go inside a mine, wearing hard hats and all. It was absolutely amazing. When the African slaves worked inside the mine, they would swallow the small rocks of silver that they found, to excrete later. However, once the Spaniards realized this, they forced the slaves to swallow some type of chemical to make them have diarrhea (in front of their masters) once they ended their work, and the Spaniards would collect whatever had been taken. In addition, if one of the slaves got sick, the Spaniards would burn all of the slaves, for fear of the illness catching. On the lighter side, the guide told us a lot about silver itself. First, before silver is cut, it looks black. Secondly, if you rub real silver against a piece of cloth of your hard, it should turn a blackish color. He took my big turquoise ring and demonstrated this in front of all of us, declaring that if it wasn’t silver, we would all find out soon enough. After several hard rubs, he had a visible dark line down his palm.

Next we went to Cristo Rey, a huge huge statue of Christ. The statue is located exactly in the middle of Mexico, and people embarking on their trips north often trek to Cristo Rey to pray for luck and safety in their passing. This was the last leg of our trip, and we finally made it back to the center of town around five. I went out with the group for a beer and then walked a block away to one of my parents’ stores. I’m so glad they own these stores because it provides me with an entirely unique experience. I walked around town and hung out in the store for several hours with my mom, talking about things and meeting new people, including the priest. Guanajuato is truly gorgeous. The streets twist and turn, and it’s never clear exactly where you are going. Everyone says - if you’re lost, just walk down. You will always end up in the center of town, because everything is built upwards on the mountains, surrounding the center. Everything is so colorful, and most houses are painted in at least two bright colors. There are no traffic lights in town and it is never clear if cars can actually make it through the narrow alleyways. There are many places that have marks on the walls where buses have hit the corners of buildings. There are cafés everywhere, people selling food on the street, flowers for sale, many things you see throughout Latin America. But of all the places I’ve been, there is something special about Guanajuato. Everything is so full of life, and yet so old and with such a great history. Because Guanajuato was more or less the starting place of the Mexican Revolution (when the priest Miguel Hidalgo marched to Guanajuato) it is not surprising that people here have tremendous pride and love their history.

Yesterday (Sunday, I am finally at a café) was a more relaxed day with my family. We woke up and had lunch together and hung out around the house a little. Then, we went to the cemetery to bring flowers to the grave of Heri’s mother, grandmother, and the daughter of my parent’s son who died while still in the womb. It was very sad and brought forth a lot of thoughts about all the deaths my group of friends have experienced in the last few years. After that, we went to the house of my older sister and hung out with a lot of people and just ate ate ate. One of the most difficult things so far for me has been the timing of my meals. It seems as though whenever I am hungry there is no food around and whenever I am full, there’s too much. For example, after I got home from the bar the other night, I thought I was going to throw up I was so hungry. The next morning I waited waited waited for my family to eat. Later, we went to the mall and bought some Chinese food. But instead of eating it, we put it in the car and went to my sister’s for the barbeque. I ate a ton there, and right when we left, my mom said, ok now you can eat your Chinese. She was shocked when I told her there was no way I could fit more in my stomach. I think slowly I will get the hang out it and learn that I really have to eat a lot more at meals because there won’t be snacks to get me through the day.

Today was my first day of class, but was really more of an introduction to everything. All of my classes will be in Spanish except for one. So far everything seems great. I have my first class at 9 and get out at 1:45. I am in the liberal arts program, which I think is the more advanced program, based on my Spanish level. Everyday my family eats lunch together at 3:30. So I will have time after class to stay in the center of town and explore or use the internet before making the long trek uphill to my house.

I’m sure there is a lot more to say, but right now I’ve lost all thoughts except the emotion of excitement. It looks as this is going to be an amazing semester and the perfect place for me at this point in my life.

Here's one photo, but for lots more, click here:

guanajuato, mexico

Clara Green
Bajada de Gavilanes #22
Col. El Carrizo 36000
Guanajuato, GTO
36020 MEXICO


Phone #: (from U.S.) 011-(52) (473) and then my house #, 732-1779

From what I know so far, my host mother is Sra. Veneranda Váldes, my father Sr. Heriberto Mata, and my sister Veneranda (in her early 20s).

Our program director sent this description of them:
"Veneranda (who goes by “Gorda” – even though she’s really not!) and Heriberto (Heri) own watch/jewelry stores around the downtown area. Their youngest daughter, who goes by “Vene” lives at home, and Erika, another daughter lives in town and works at one of the family stores. In the house, all three have a great sense of humor and joke around a lot. They are really caring people."

I will be leaving on February 7th and will update the blog as soon as possible. Here are a few pictures of the place I will be: