San Pancho Vida

Semana Santa Hoppin' Like the Easter Bunny

In the States, we have Easter bunnies and Easter baskets, Easter bonnets and Easter lilies and Easter mass...or services, depending. We have Easter brunch and Easter dinner and Easter eggs.

In Mexico, we have Semana Santa.

Holy Week, the week before Easter (Pascua), is a big holiday in this country. Workers have time off, students are on vacation from school, and people flock to the beach. Buses and taxi vans maneuver between parked cars, backing full blocks when necessary. New vendors are in town. New booths and mini-restaurants and hot dog stands are popping up like bunnies from their holes. This is the final week to make any real tourist money, and Mexico's entrepreneurial spirit makes gringos look like lazy slouches.

Nicole and I took a walk yesterday, Good Friday/Santo Viernes. The town is full of energy and visitors. Approaching the beach, Avenida Tercer Mundo (closed to auto traffic for a block near the Malecon and supposedly one-way for the duration of the weekend, ha!) felt like the entrance to a circus.

Which it actually kind of was.

You can get anything you want during Semana Santa.

And, oh, the beach!

Remember the sign in the background of this next shot? The one that says "Prohibido Acampar" -- No Camping?

Last night around nine, Carol and I walked down to the beach to see the nighttime action. Earlier in the day, I'd taken this photo of La Perla, one of our beach restaurants, all ready for its customers.

Doesn't it look pretty?

Well...after the day's onslaught, not so much.

I'm sure by this morning everything was back to spic 'n' span: the waiters there have been known before to work all night or come back at daybreak to repair storm damage, to which this seems rather analogous to me. Poor guys...I'm glad I didn't have to clean it up.

All the restaurants in town, old and new, were hopping too. In the karaoke bar at the Malecon, young people were singing their hearts out.

And back on the street, vendors were still selling their wares.

I'm going to go ahead and post this now, on Saturday afternoon. But I plan to spend much of the day at the beach tomorrow and you know I won't be able to put the camera down.

Happy Easter to all!

Parade of Visitors

I have had a houseful of guests lately.

You know Allen and Travis and Rafi were here for their spring fling at the beach. Unfortunately, we all (except Rafi) took turns being under the weather while they were here. In between, though, we had our usual excellent visit.

Rafi knows how to make himself at home at Aunt Candice's.

He loved seeing my sister, his Aunt Denise, who timed her visit perfectly to overlap with her own dog's brother's visit. Oh, and she wanted to see Allen and Travis, too. Rafi fell in love with Denise and followed her all over the house. I hear he broke out in a rash when they got back to Ajijic: our diagnosis is stress. He obviously prefers the beach and his Aunties.

And he misses the new friends he made on his walks.

As I write this, it is Thursday, March 21st, Primavera Day in Mexico. The first day of spring. I caught the afternoon parade of the children who attend San Pancho's preschool/daycare.

They came in strollers and little vehicles of every description and in pickup trucks decorated as floats.

I saw Lidia following the parade with her new baby Valentina.

Here's her two-year-old, Santi, being a lion with a lollipop.

And her niece Carla, being a bunny.

There were lots of different critters represented today.

I'm not sure, but I think this was Snow Whites and the Seven Dwarves, who tossed candy to the spectators.

This next visitor didn't actually come to my house, which is probably a good thing.

He or she is smaller than the one I photographed last fall. I haven't seen the big one since the estuary broke through. It may have moved on. But this one's a constant presence now, hanging beside the estuary just down from the beach restaurants.

This visitor did come to my house. Allen spotted it one morning as he and Rafi descended the outside stairs.

It's a dead-leaf mantis, according to our research. It couldn't possibly look more like a dead leaf, although it's considerably more active and actually flew rapidly away when I freed it after taking these photos! I felt like Johnny Carson: "You didn't tell me it could fly!"

I don't keep all my visitors under jars...although I admit it's crossed my mind lately.

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Thanks to all of you who voted so faithfully throughout the recent Best Mexico Blog contest. We made a respectable showing, and of course the greatest honor was being nominated by my readers and making it into the top five. Wow! Gracias to all! I'm keepin' that badge up there. I like it.

Happy Spring!

xo

C

Tracy Guadalupe, Episode 6: Escape from Ajijic

They were packing the limo. Tracy had seen this happen before. It usually meant that her housemates and jailers, Trubridge and Alfonse (or something like that) were leaving her to rot in the downstairs bedroom while they took their stupid dog to a dog show in Colima or possibly Ipanema. She was so not going to let this happen again.

While Alfonse was busy gathering the interminable paraphenalia that animal required, Tracy wiggled off the dresser and hid in a box of Cheerios and brown sugar that had been put there so the dog didn't eat it before it got put in the car. Frantically trying to depart before noon, Trubridge and Alfonse didn't even notice.

Ha! Time to blow this popsicle stand! Tracy thought. I am so going to find a new situation with more excitement and Possibilities for a Perfect Pink Princess like myself.

They drove for hours. When finally Tracy saw daylight again, she was being carried into a house.

Her heart sank: she knew this house! It belonged to Curly, that woman who was always making her take time-outs. And it was in San Podunk, that dull little town that prided itself on having a bunch of sand at the end of it.

What a bore!! Maybe she could catch a bus out of here or hitch a ride with a good-looking truck driver into civilization.

The second night there, she overheard a conversation that made her perk up: it was about charros! She loved charros. They were cowboys. They wore spangly jackets and tight pants and rode stallions. She was sure she could get one of them to rescue her from certain death by boredom. She did some pink primping and decided to bide her time.

Apparently these people had to cook something first. That's all they ever did, eat and take naps. Gawd, she needed a fling in the worst way.

What were they so excited about?

It turned to be a bunch of fried dough.

Barf and who cares? Eat it already and take me to my charro, Tracy thought. I need an opportunity for a quick getaway on the lap of a muscular bronco-buster.

Instead, they all trooped into the TV room and sat down to watch a movie which was not Pretty in Pink. And where were the charros?? Tracy would've screamed if she'd had a voicebox.

The next night, though, Curly came down the stairs in what appeared to be...dancing shoes! They had flowers on the toes and were kind of cute, really, although Tracy couldn't imagine why a woman her age thought she could still dance. Whatever. Maybe they were going out! That was the important thing. She needed to charm Alfonse into taking her along.

A few minutes later, they were seated at a big table at Maria's Restaurant, which was no nightclub but at least it had music and drinks.

Tracy sat on the sugar bowl and chatted with Alfonse, more or less, while gazing about for a more compelling companion.

Then the guitar player noticed her. She batted her eyelashes and showed him a little knee. Tracy loves musicians, especially handsome Latin ones. They have good hands.

She visited a bit with his musical partner, just to be civil and let her know who was really controlling the room.

Tracy condescended to dance a bit with Curly, who introduced her to Al and Zoe and told her that they play at Maria's every Friday night. Tracy never minds a bit of salsa dancing in ruffled hotpants, that's for sure.

Then, oh joy! All these people started paying attention to Tracy!

This was more like it. Kisses! Admiration! Appreciation!

It's about time, Tracy thought. Maybe she should hang in San Podunk for a while and see what developed. There were musicians, after all...and polo players...and cute young surfers...and that one plumber with the nice toolbox who nobody had introduced her to yet. How could any of them resist the charms of a pink vixen with lace hotpants and a lip stud? 

Not a bad idea, now that she thought about it.

Note from Candice: Tracy is going to stick around San Pancho, as it turns out. She may still be planning an escape to pinker pastures, but she'll be into who-knows-what over the next few weeks at least. Stay tuned for Episode 7. And if you have some catching up to do, you'll find links to Tracy's escapades (Episodes 1-5) below.

And below that, the photos I promised you of the art from the entreamigos auction!

The Adventures of Tracy Guadalupe

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

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The Art of Objects: Entreamigos Projects 2013

Our wonderful weeks of work culminated in the big night at entreamigos: Gracias a la Vida, the annual auction benefit. I've told you about the child artists who helped me with my own projects. Now I want to show you what we did...and what I bought.

Here, in a corner of my studio, are the completed pieces.

This is the Friendship Desk, created from a pine table made by volunteers Jack and Rick, painted and decorated by me and Antü Santiago Coss, age 10. The beads I added spell out phrases in English and Spanish: write to me/escribeme, thinking of you/pensando en ti, friends forever/amigos siempre.

Ten days or so before the auction, I received an email from entreamigos director Nicole Swedlow. She told me something had just been donated and it was right up my alley. It was a wonderful chunky cobwebby box, with rusty metal trim in the Mexican tradition. I cleaned it up and made it into a cookbook shelf.

When Antü and I were working one day, I showed him a mirror frame that I wanted us to decorate. "Paint something on it," I said, and went to work finishing the desk. When I turned around, he had painted a range of snow-capped peaks across the top. Antü loves snow, although I'm told he's never actually been in it.

Snow, I thought. Hmmm...now there's a challenge. One thing led to another, and the piece became the Viva México mirror, with scenes and artifacts on top from Mexico's mountainous interior, segueing into beach at the bottom.

I cut the palm tree out of a sheet of tin and Antü painted the lovely curly waves.

My other art partner was 7-year-old Angie. "My life is art" she had told her dad a few weeks before. I already had an art box in mind, but Angie's words brought it all together.

The well-used objects on the top collage are all reclaimed from the entreamigos art bodega.

Angie signed her name and added her unique self-portrait to the inside lid.

She also painted all four sides, including this night sky with crescent moon of which I am inordinately fond.

The art box now has a home at Angie's house. Her good daddy Fred bought it at the auction, and won't it be a wonderful thing to have for her when she's all grown up?

Those are our own pieces. Now I'll show you what I bought at the auction.

I saw this screen being fabricated when it was barely a third complete and fell head over heels for it. It was created by Adriana Coss (perhaps not coincidentally Antü's mama) who heads the glass art fabrica at entreamigos.

When I first saw it, Adriana was twisting wires to hold the glass in place. I loved the whimsy of it.

The rounds are slices of recycled bottles, the squares handmade glass tiles made under her supervision by San Pancho's kindergartners.

(By the way, the blue lamp on the shelf was also made in the entreamigos glass shop from a tall tequila bottle. I'm in the process now of beading the shade.)

Isn't it fabulous?

I was also extremely fortunate to "win" this exquisite piece by Sheri Hunt, a friend and neighbor here in San Pancho. I saw it, too, when it was only partially finished. I promptly had a bad fit of covet. 

This heavy wood box, along with the one I did and five others, was built by a local woodworking shop. It measures sixteen inches square and four inches high. Sheri did most of the work in pencils, although people always touch it to be sure it's not actually carved. It is the new focal point of the inside sala where everyone can admire it when they walk in the door!

The bonus for me is that Saint Francis is the patron saint of our pueblo, whose formal name is San Francisco. I didn't have a St. Francis, and wanted one. I'm really glad I waited for Sheri's! 

And so this year's benefit is over. It was successful thanks to the hard work of a lot of people who worked for months and months to envision it and pull it off. In reality, my part was minimal. It was a privilege to participate, as always...and to see the dedication and inventiveness of the volunteers and employees of entreamigos.

 

Gracias a la Vida: A Celebration

Last Thursday was the first night of the big event for entreamigos, which hosted a reception for the children and adults who had contributed their collaborative artwork for the subasta (auction) to raise funds for the organization. The children's parents and siblings were also invited to celebrate and see the pieces the artists had created around this year's theme: the things I am grateful for in life.

The gallery of children's art opened to rave reviews as the young artists showed their work to their families.

After the parents had taken a thorough tour of the art displayed throughout the building, we all trooped outside to the big center courtyard where rows of chairs were arranged before the stage.

The first ten rows or so were reserved for the children who had participated.

Behind them sat proud parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and brothers and sisters.

One by one, the children were called by name to ascend the steps to the stage and receive their congratulatory certificates. Here is Angie, who turned 7 on February 3rd, and was my partner on the Art is My Life Box.

And here is Antü, age 10, my partner on the blue Friendship Desk and the Viva México mirror.

After each and every one of the one hundred and twenty children had received their personal thanks, the entertainment began.

In Mexico, everybody loves a clown. This pair, in the tradition of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, had the crowd laughing and clapping from the moment they stepped on stage.

Not only the children, either.

Then we all had brownies and horchata, a delicious creamy rice milk with cinnamon. This adult liked that, too. 

On Friday afternoon, the open house and auction preview for the public was followed by the Children's Parade down main street. I snapped some photos of the imps in costume in the entreamigos staging area.

Then I skedaddled down Avenida Tercer Mundo to Maria's Restaurant to have a glass of wine and wait for the parade to arrive.

Which it did, in fine fashion.

Our stiltwalkers (who first learned their skill from Cirque du Soleil trainers for the entreamigos auction event Circo de los Niños two years ago) walked from the community center all the way to the Malecon, which is a mile or so...and some of them walked all the way back on stilts, too.

The whole town turned out, and everyone seemed to enjoy the parade. How could you not?

At the Malecon, the paraders gathered for a celebration and a cheer, surrounded by admiring fans and spectators.

And now, as this post is already altogether too long, I will leave you with this photo of Antü and La Piñata. You'll have to wait until Part Two for news about the Main Event...and for photos of the art we created and the art I bought at the auction. 

See you next week. (And don't forget there are only eleven more days to vote again for San Pancho Vida as your favorite Mexico Blog. Thanks a bazillion to those who've been voting!)