Trafficking in Gold

This is about what my "nugget" looked like.

The economy must really be in the tank. I have been brought to trafficking in gold. First I must explain that I have an international mouth. Not because of languages. It is because over decades I surrendered to some rudimentary dentistry in out-of-the-way places. At some point I distinctly recall the use of a jackhammer.

The circumstances that brought me to trafficking started on a driving trip. We were in Bustamante, Coahuila, for the night of El Grito, on the eve of September 16 Independence Day celebrations. I was eating a tasty taco and bit down on a rock. It turned out to be a gold crown that I had gotten somewhere that came off. (Fortunately, this glitzy diente hid as a back molar all these years.) There was no dentist available in time or place until we traveled though the lunar landscape of the Altiplano Potosino and hit Morelia. I had a jagged stump lacerating my tongue for two days, until a sainted dentist worked me in for an appointment on the first business day after the holiday. At the end of my appointment, to my surprise, he deposited the beat-up gold crown in the palm of my hand. A nostalgic memento of some far-away place.

After arriving back in Patzcuaro, I noticed a sign that said Se compra oro near the Biblioteca. So I popped in, feeling totally ridiculous, and asked if they would buy a gold tooth. I can't believe I did this--or admit to it. The young man who attended me did not even blink. He tested my "nugget" to see if it was really gold (it was) and then he weighed it. I received 350 pesos, about $26 dollars at the current rate. Hey, I took a friend to a great lunch and have plenty left over.

Never underestimate the possibilities of commerce in Patzcuaro.

Sequel.

Come to Patzcuaro.

My Happy Birthday

I woke up to a lovely card and today Glen took la güera to eat at La Güera for her birthday. Good company with my man, and good food. An unprepossessing exterior. One of Patzcuaro's good secrets.

These shrimp brochettes were as good as they look.
A taste and texture treat.

I also appreciate the phone calls. And this morning early I received the traditional Las Mañanitas wish via email from my dear friend, Edna.

See a video of Las Mañanitas below.

Masks of Mexico

As part of the celebrations in Pátzcuaro for 16 de septiembre and the ten days of events commemorating the pueblo's 475th anniversary, we visited an exhibit of masks, one of several exhibits at the Ex-Colegio Jesuita. Entry is free of charge.

This exhibit currently on display is the best collection of Mexican Masks that I have seen. It is far more extensive than the collection that we went to see in Colima. To see a slideshow of just some of the masks included in this extensive display, visit flickr.

There may be an large collection at the Museo Nacional de Antropológia in Mexico DF, but I have not been there in a long time and the times that I did go, there was so much history on display that I could not take it all in.

Come to Patzcuaro.

Happy 475th Birthday - III

Click arrow to play video.

Another excerpt from a folk dance performed by students of the Secundaria Técnica of Pátzcuaro, one of many free events scheduled from September 18th through September 29th, 2009, for the pueblo's 457th Anniversary.

Happy 475th Birthday - II

Click arrow to play video.

For Patzcuaro's 475th Anniversary, a number of dance presentations were scheduled at the Teatro Imperador on Plaza Gertrudis Bocanegra aka Plaza Chica. Students from the local Secundaria Técnica performed these showy folk dances.

Happy 475th Birthday - I

This evening of folk dances was one of many dance and other
events scheduled at the Teatro Imperador.

Pátzcuaro offers an abundance of cultural events, plums for the taking. We are spoiled. For the 475 Aniversario of this Pueblo Mágico events are scheduled from the 18th through the 29th of September, 2009. All events are free, with the exception of a few food tastings.

El Grito de Independencia

On the eve of September 16th, all over Mexico, the Cry of Independence is re-enacted. People dress up in their national colors of red-white-and green and stream into the streets.

These pretty girls head to the plaza for the evening celebrations on September 15th. On September 16th, Independence Day, they participated in the lavish local parade.