Waters of Cupatitzio

A short drive from Patzcuaro, we can enjoy the springs and pristine water of  Rio Cupatitzio in the Parque Nacional Barranca del Cupatitzio, Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico.

Be at home in Patzcuaro.

You might also like to see the waterfalls of Tzararacua.

Foods of Michoacan

Patricia Jinch wrote a good article entitled "Foods of Michoacán are Forever" on npr.org. See also her recipes at Pati's Mexican Table. (Thank you, mi amiga, Elvira.)

Live in Patzcuaro, Michoacan.

Painter Lalo Garcia

Biblioteca Publica Federal Gertrudis Bocanegra is currently featuring an exhibit by painter Lalo Garcia. I like the simple forms, the composition and earthy colors of his abstract style. He also showed a few paintings in a more figurative style. Visit Lalo Garcia's online gallery.

Patzcuaro Market

The Patzcuaro market offers a profusion of fresh produce, throngs of people and heterogeneous wares every day of the week. Visit this market to feast your eyes and senses or to buy for an edible feast.

The market in images.

Houses in Patzcuaro.

Visitors to Patzcuaro

Dr. Klaus Willeke and Dr. Audrone Willeke have visited Patzcuaro a number of times and always happily return. This year they planned to be here for the Noche de Muertos celebrations. The following is a look at Patzcuaro through their eyes, from an email with their permission:

Dear friends,
     About 1 ½ weeks ago, we arrived in Patzcuaro, in the Mexican state of Michoacan. We rented a comfortable house for a month in the historical heart of this small colonial city that is surrounded by Purepecha (Tarascan) indigenous villages, mostly on Lake Patzcuaro. We would like to share a few vignettes of our time here.
     Patzcuaro, in the Purepecha language, means “portal to the world of darkness.” It was founded by the Spanish in the 1530s, on a site sacred to the Purepecha. The mix of pre-Columbian and Christian beliefs is most evident in the celebration of the “Dias de los Muertos” on November 1 and 2. Before the celebrations started, we spent a day each in several pueblos, observing the preparations and talking to the villagers about it. In the Purepecha belief, the spirits return during the night vigil and commune with the family. The purpose of many of the rituals is to help the spirits find their way back. We spent time on Isla Janitzio in Lake Patzcuaro, in Tzintzuntzan with its impressive pre-Columbian pyramids, and in Erongaricuaro. The latter has a pleasant patio café called Red Star Café, run by a leftist commune. At the entry was an altar for Trotzky who was assassinated in Mexico City. We enjoyed talking to Charles, an American member of the commune, who wore a t-shirt with a picture of Rosa Luxembourg. The food was good, not revolutionary.
     On the morning of November 1, we took a collectivo (a small van that runs a route and picks up anybody who flags it down) to the village of Ihuatzio and went to the local cemetery. The graves were decorated with flowers, candles, and pre-Columbian symbols, also baskets of food for the deceased. Since that morning was the vigil for deceased small children (angelitos), the offerings included toys and sweets that the deceased would have enjoyed. The brothers and sisters sat around the tombs with their mothers for hours. We were the only outsiders but felt welcome. Families shared bread in the form of a small child, and also fruits, with their neighbors and with us. In talking to them at length, we were touched by their stories.

Daytime vigil for angelitos (little angels), the souls of departed children, Ihuatzio. Audra accepts food that is offered. (Willeke photo)

     That night, we went to several village cemeteries on or near Lake Patzcuaro. The most memorable was the hill village of Arocutin that we reached about 2 a.m., wearing many layers against the cold night air at an altitude above 7000 feet. A full moon illuminated the cemetery, hazy from many candles and small bonfires. The families were huddled around the bonfires, next to the graves of their loved ones. Most of the people sit there all night, wrapped in rebozos (shawls) against the cold. It is beautiful, eerie, and mystical: hundreds of candles faintly light the graves, the offerings, the marigold flowers, and above all, the faces.

Noche de Muertos (night of November 1st to 2nd) vigil at Arocutin cemetery. (Willeke photo)

     In the meantime, back in Patzcuaro, thousands of young people from Mexico City and elsewhere congregated in the plazas and streets, celebrating in their own, noisier way. All week long, the city offered a program of cultural events, free to all, under the unique title “La Muerte Tambien Se Divierte" (Death Has Fun, Too). We attended a concert of classical music in an old church decked out with flowers. In a former monastery from the 1600s we heard Gregorian Chant sung by a group dressed as monks. At the opening of an art exhibit, we took special note of a painting with Superman displayed with his cape, but all bones underneath, entitled Super Muerto. Another showed Marilyn Monroe kicking up her skirt to show the skeleton underneath. We did not buy either of the two paintings.
     We are back among the living and hope that you are enjoying life as well.

Klaus and Audra Willeke

Patzcuaro living.

Brisk Business in Patzcuaro

On 1 November 2009, Noche de Muertos, this food cart was set up on its usual corner of the Plaza Vasco de Quiroga, Patzcuaro, Mexico. Hungry customers thronged around it three and four deep, eager for their turn. Trying to serve all, the chef-owner of mobile Hamburguesas y Hotdogs Mayo really moves--and does it with a smile. Great personality! He deserves the business.

A burger with everything = meat, butter, ham, cheese, hot chile salsa, mustard, catsup, mayo, lettuce and bun.

A place for you.

Noche de Muertos: The Cemeteries

Visit in images cemeteries of the pueblos around Lake Patzcuaro. On the night of November 1 to dawn of November 2, families gather in the flickering light of hundreds of candles,  amidst a profusion of offerings, remembrances and pungently scented flowers, to commune with loved ones who have died. Trails of marigold petals help the returning spirits find their way. Over centuries these observances have blended Catholicism and Purhepecha cultural traditions.

Live in magical Patzcuaro.

Noche de Muertos: The Flowers

During the week before Noche de Muertos, people buy armfuls of zempasúchitl, a species of marigold. The golden blossoms are used to set up altars and decorations in homes and businesses. Many elaborate arches and decorations are made to take to the cemeteries, where tombs are also decorated. A profusion of flowers perfume the street with their pungent fragrance on Calle Serrato beside the Basílica. People cart away loads of flowers.

Visit this street of flowers.

Your place in Patzcuaro.

Patterns and Textures of Michoacan

Click for slideshow: Images of Michoacan.

The order of patterns is visually pleasing to the eye, and the eye can also evoke palpable texture.

Live in Patzcuaro.

Artisan Teofila Servin - Tzintzuntzan

This gifted artisan embroiders complex scenes of celebrations and life around Lake Patzcuaro, and many incorporate Purhepecha tradition and legend as well. Friday evening, 24 October 2009, her exhibit at the Antiguo Colegio Jesuita opened. Included were some unique embroidered vignettes, approximately 5"x5", that to me evoke pre-hispanic motifs. They are exquisite.

See more images.

For Patzcuaro living.

Purhepecha String Quintet

Most Friday nights at the ex-Colegio Jesuita bring performances of some sort and/or an art or folk art exhibit. Entry is free--we are spoiled.
Last night we enjoyed seeing Grupo Erandi perform.  The group's full name is El Quinteto de Cuerdas Erandi de Paracho, Michoacan, Mexico (The String Quintet Erandi of Paracho, Michoacan, Mexico). The quintet of four brothers and a son describes its music as a fusion of  traditional Purhepecha with chamber music. Javier Bautista directs the group. Here are some excerpts.





Live in Patzcuaro.

Guillermo Cordero Enriquez, Artist

A walk to the Centro Histórico always yields gratification. I like these paintings I discovered today, hanging in La Surtidora on Plaza Vasco de Quiroga. I will watch for work by this artist, Guillermo Cordero Enriquez. La Surtidora regularly displays art inside.