Tuesday, December 05, 2006
It is comfortable during the days here, but it is definitely cold this evening. Shopkeepers are huddled in corners of their stores, and people are walking around with scarves over their noses and mouths. Mexicans are convinced that cold air by itself causes illness. Still, there are an amazing number of street performances and activities happening in here Queretaro, building up to Christmas. Yesterday evening I was walking to a concert (free) and stopped to watch yet another procession - a group of young kids dancing and carrying religious banners, followed by a small band, then a truck or two carrying images of the Virgin of Guadelupe, Mexico's patron saint, then a group of adults singing and clapping.
Zenia Garden, the big public square with the bandshell designed by the Frenchman of Eiffel Tower fame, is a hive of activity. The greenery areas have been converted to Christmas scenes. But the inevitable krech occupies only about a fifth of the total. Other scenes include the Garden of Eden, representations of Queretaro itself, and a huge area given over to devils, fiends and beasties, accompanied by huge spiders, burning torches and pots of fire, sound effects and a smoke generater. All surrounded by borders of poinsettias and other pretty flowers. There are concerts and school choruses performing in the Garden every night this month.
The school choruses tend to rely on English carols, and it is a gas to hear familiar carols sung with Spanish accents. Often it is pretty obvious that they have no idea what they are singing about (Oh the weather outside is frightful but the fire is so delightful, or Jingle bells). Makes me think of all the choruses I've sung in Latin or French without really bothering to translate the words.
The mix of local lore and Mexican figures with the classic Christmas scenes we take for granted is delightful. The scroll in front of the devils and fiends captures the spirit. It explains, roughly, that when Lucifer saw the shepards heading off toward Bethlehem, he sent his legions to Queretaro (!) to intercept these simple Christians (?) and attract them to hell instead. But even supported by their friends the spiders, rats, and cockroaches, the shepards turned them down. (What a surprise! ) A few were almost subverted by wine and women, but the trusty crew finally persevered and continued on toward Bethlehem. Halleluia!
I now have a January 4 starting date for my project with the Crisis Corps in Guatemala. That gives a focus for Myrna and me to explore together whether we spend Christmas in Guatemala or Mexico.
Politically, it has been fascinating to watch Mexico struggle to inaugurate its new President in the face of continuing opposition from the loser of the election. Calderon kind of snuck into the crowded Chamber of Deputies, got draped with the Presidential Sash, delivered the required oath, and was outtathere in less than 4 minutes! He's a little guy. An opposition paper printed a picture of him wearing the sash, dwarfed by the now-ex-President Fox. Made him look about as absurd as Dukaukis with his head sticking out of a tank. He's got a tough job ahead.
Zenia Garden, the big public square with the bandshell designed by the Frenchman of Eiffel Tower fame, is a hive of activity. The greenery areas have been converted to Christmas scenes. But the inevitable krech occupies only about a fifth of the total. Other scenes include the Garden of Eden, representations of Queretaro itself, and a huge area given over to devils, fiends and beasties, accompanied by huge spiders, burning torches and pots of fire, sound effects and a smoke generater. All surrounded by borders of poinsettias and other pretty flowers. There are concerts and school choruses performing in the Garden every night this month.
The school choruses tend to rely on English carols, and it is a gas to hear familiar carols sung with Spanish accents. Often it is pretty obvious that they have no idea what they are singing about (Oh the weather outside is frightful but the fire is so delightful, or Jingle bells). Makes me think of all the choruses I've sung in Latin or French without really bothering to translate the words.
The mix of local lore and Mexican figures with the classic Christmas scenes we take for granted is delightful. The scroll in front of the devils and fiends captures the spirit. It explains, roughly, that when Lucifer saw the shepards heading off toward Bethlehem, he sent his legions to Queretaro (!) to intercept these simple Christians (?) and attract them to hell instead. But even supported by their friends the spiders, rats, and cockroaches, the shepards turned them down. (What a surprise! ) A few were almost subverted by wine and women, but the trusty crew finally persevered and continued on toward Bethlehem. Halleluia!
I now have a January 4 starting date for my project with the Crisis Corps in Guatemala. That gives a focus for Myrna and me to explore together whether we spend Christmas in Guatemala or Mexico.
Politically, it has been fascinating to watch Mexico struggle to inaugurate its new President in the face of continuing opposition from the loser of the election. Calderon kind of snuck into the crowded Chamber of Deputies, got draped with the Presidential Sash, delivered the required oath, and was outtathere in less than 4 minutes! He's a little guy. An opposition paper printed a picture of him wearing the sash, dwarfed by the now-ex-President Fox. Made him look about as absurd as Dukaukis with his head sticking out of a tank. He's got a tough job ahead.
