An Argentine Sean Connery on the Bandoneon in Patzcuaro

An Argentine Sean Connery graced the stage of the Teatro Caltzontzin in Patzcuaro tonight, wrapped in the persona of bandoneon player Rodolfo Mederos. With guitar and contrabass players, the trio first bathed us in arrangements of a mellow tango jazz sound. They then shot out the dramatic staccato notes of traditional tango, straightening backs and sharpening gestures into geometrical angles in the audience. The simpatico Mederos charmed spectators with stories of growing up steeped in the sounds of tango.

This performance in Patzcuaro was an extension of the 35th Festival Internacional Cervantino in Morelia, offered free to a full house, which included at least three Argentines who reside in this colonial pueblo. Last week, Patzcuaro had a week of free cinema, as an extension of Morelia’s film festival. These are some of the pleasures of living in Patzcuaro.

The Waterfalls of Tzararacua, Michoacan, Mexico

We brunched at the Restaurante Mansion del Cupatitzio and drove south of Uruapan ten kms for our first visit to the waterfalls of Tzararacua.

The vegetation was beautiful as we descended on hewn stone steps from the parking lot about one km down to the waterfalls and the Rio Cupatitzio.

At the falls we found a tirolesa, so I just had to scream--figuratively, not literally--across the river on the zip line (a harness suspended from a cable).

Tzararacua is beautiful. We will go back again and take a picnic…

Restaurant La Mansion del Cupatitzio, Uruapan, Mexico

Sunday Morning

We were hungry for the bountiful Mexican buffet brunch at Restaurant La Mansion del Cupatitzio in Uruapan. So on a cool misty morning in the highlands of Michoacan, we left Patzcuaro to descend some 3,000 ft. to Uruapan, at the beginning of the hot country. Uruapan is at altitude of some 4200 ft. Half-way through the one hour drive we were in bright sunshine, admiring mountains and avocado orchards.

We brunched at an outside table in the flowered gardens of La Mansion del Cupatitzio, watching butterflies and listening to the plaintive, descending serenade of a jilguero, longing to fly from its cage.

In addition to the offerings of the buffet, one can select omelettes and taquitos made to order. I had fresh, steaming taquitos of huitlacoche--Mexican corn truffles.

After strolling through the grounds, we left for the waterfalls of Tzararacua, ten kms south of Uruapan.

Virile Apache Meat?

I saw a Patzcuaro food vendor today with a sign on his cart touting: Carne Apache Viril. So what is Apache Meat, I wondered.





Does virile meat come from a bull as opposed to a steer?





In fact, the vendor sells tacos made with lime-marinated raw chopped beef.



To build virile, macho men, no doubt. All you bold ones, step up to the plate of raw meat from a street cart.

In the Garden at La Jacaranda, Patzcuaro

Arriving at night, we are greeted by magnificent floripondios (datura) that flourish just outside our bedroom. Their scent wafts in through the window at night. This perfume is said to make one sleep more deeply...a Patzcuaro soporific.




The flowering maple is covered with hundreds of small flowers that hang like bells. The humming birds favor these blossoms over all others in our garden.






After the summer rains, wildflowers blanket the countryside. The faces of these mirasoles (cosmos) in adoration follow the sun.

Summer in Patzcuaro

It is summer in the highlands of Michoacan in central Mexico. It is the rainy season. Patzcuaro and the surrounding countryside are lush and green. We get a year-round crop of avocados in our garden at La Jacaranda, as well as a multitude of flowers. The temperature will get into the low 70s Fahrenheit this afternoon, wonderful for walking around this colonial pueblo at 7200 feet of altitude. Tonight the temperature will drop to about 58 Fahrenheit, good for cozy sleeping with a light blanket. Most days bring us rain showers, but most days also grace us with sunshine. Life is good.

The Violin Makers of Paracho

My cousin JL in Dordogne, France, makes violons--for his own pleasure, not commercially. He has to order the wood from elsewhere in Europe. This made me think of Paracho, located about 60 kms northwest of Patzcuaro in Michoacan, Mexico.

Paracho is known for the manufacture of stringed instruments, primarily but not solely guitars. Every year Paracho holds a festival of string music, usually during the first half of the month of August. People come from Mexico and other countries and one can attend excellent concerts free of charge.

http://www.xiranhua.com.mx/afotos/Feria.htm

http://www.emexico.gob.mx/work/EMM_1/Michoacan/Mpios/16065a.htm

Glen and I drove to Paracho on a search for violin makers. We met a very nice woman who, with her husband, makes and sells guitars. She also had a few violins for sale. La Señora told us that violins are made in a pueblo called Ahuiran just three kilometers away, but that only Purhepecha is spoken there. The violin makers of Ahuiran bring their violins to the stores in Paracho to sell. She also said that there is only one violin maker in Paracho and he went away to study his craft. She told us to go the Guitar Monument, turn left on Calle Amado Nervo and go 1 1/2 blocks. On Amado Nervo we spoke to a store owner who pointed out the house (we thought we were going to his shop) of Pedro Zalapa, also called "Pelochas." Sr. Zalapa received us with great Mexican courtesy although we arrived unannounced on a Sunday afternoon.

Sr. Zalapa makes and repairs violins. His customers come directly to him and, no, he does not have an internet site. He said that there is the same problem of obtaining quality wood in Mexico, and if he imports it then the instruments are generally too expensive for the Mexican market. He showed us a violin he had just made. The body is of encino and the top of oyamel. It sells for ca. US $ 750--Pesos 8,000. There is a need for more inexpensive violins for beginning students.

The woods Sr. Zalapa uses primarily are:

1) Oyamel (Abies religiosa). Sacred fir: A fir native to the mountains of central and southern Mexico; this is the tree where the monarch butterflies hibernate in Michoacan.

2)Cedro rojo (Cedrela odorata). Spanish cedar.

3) Cipres (Cupressus sempervirens). Italian Cypress

4) Encino (genus: Quercus). Some type of oak.

We drove through Ahuiran on leaving Paracho, but we did not see the violin workshops which I would expect to be located behind peoples' homes and not open on Sunday afternoon, in any event.

Adobe Bricks

Driving from Patzcuaro to Erongaricuaro to have a delicious trucha al mojo de ajo (trout sauted in garlic) at the Restaurante Campestre Aleman we spied a good crop of adobe bricks curing in the sun. Adobe has good thermal qualities and lasts well if properly topped off with tiles to keep it from getting saturated by rain. Adobe is mud made from a clay soil with straw added. Don't try this at home during the rainy season--you will end up with what looks like wet cow pies.

Choose your Chair

Each pueblo in the Patzcuaro area specializes in a craft. Opopeo, just a few minutes away by car, specializes in making--yes--chairs. The town even has an annual Chair Fair. But you just get the chair. First, you order the chairs. Then you pick up the chairs. Next you take the chairs to be painted. And finally you cart the chairs home to enjoy. To finish our chairs, we used a young man and young woman in Patzcuaro who paint remarkable free-hand decorations. This pretty chair would brighten up any breakfast!

Theatre in the Colonial Pueblo of Patzcuaro

Theatre in Patzcuaro -Teatro en Patzcuaro
Te juro Juana que tengo ganas
(I swear, Juana, that I have an itch for you)

Play by Emilio Carballido

Patzcuaro is full of surprises, you just have to figure out by the tortuous chayote-vine where and when to find them. The Grupo Echeri Teatro (echeri means our land in Purhepecha) is performing Emilio Carballido’s comedy in April and May 2007, under the auspices of CEDRAM (Centro Dramatico de Michoacan). We saw the play. It was entertaining--and funny! A good parody.

The small, simple theatre adjacent to CREFAL on Avenida Lazaro Cardenas is a cozy venue. The grounds are lovely, and I enjoy these gatherings of Patzcuarense audience and actors.

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilio_Carballido

Patzcuaro: Construction Tools for Tomas, Diego and Ari

If you are headed for Patzcuaro's Plaza Chica to one of the hardware stores, one of these may be what you are seeking.

Construction Tools - English-Spanish

Bolt - Tornillo

--Head = cabeza

--Nut = tuerca

--Threaded rod = rosca

C-clamp - Prensa en C

Crescent wrench - Perico

--Thumbscrew = tornillo

--Handle = mango

Drill bit, auger - Broca salomónica

Drill bit, twist -Broca

Drill, electric - Taladro eléctrico

--Pistol grip handle = mango

--Auxiliary handle = mango auxiliar

--Switch = interruptor

--Switch lock = seguro del interruptor

Framing square - Escuadra

Hammer, carpenter’s - Martillo de carpintero

Hammer, claw - Martillo de uña

--Claw = uña--Handle = mango

Handsaw - Serrucho

--Blade = segueta

--Handle = asa

Ladder, extension - Escalera de extensión

--Locking device = broche

--Hoisting rope = cuerda de elevación

--Rung = travesaño

--Anti-slip shoes = zapata antideslizante

Ladder, platform - Escalera de plataforma

Ladder, step - Escalera de tijera

Level - Nivel

Mallet - Mazo

Nail - Clavo

Paint roller - Rodillo de pintor

Paint scraper - Raspador

Paint tray - Bandeja

Pliers, channel-lock - Alicates de extensión

--Adjustable channel = canal de ajuste

Pliers, needle-nose - Pinzas de punta

Pliers, vice-grips (locking pliers) - Alicates de presión

--Adjusting screw = tornillo de ajuste

--Release lever = liberador del seguro

Pliers, slip joint - Pinzas de pivote móvil

--Plier handles = mango

Saw, circular - Sierra circular

--Circular saw blade = disco de sierra circular

--Blade = disco

--Trigger switch = interruptor de gatillo

--Blade tilting mechanism = escala de inlinación

Screw - Tornillo

Screwdriver - Destornillador

Tape measure - Cinta de medir

See also http://www.novinger.com/patz-homes.htm

Oops. It must be the language barrier.

Señora V. speaks some English. She commented that she understands written English more easily than spoken English. It holds still. During a conversation, an americana asked her if there are many Muslims in the Patzcuaro region. “Sí,” Señora V. said she replied in careful English. “We have them domesticated and wild. We eat many. They are very tasty.” When she listened attentively to what must have seemed a torrent of foreign sound, the phonemes of Muslims and mushrooms apparently merged for Señora V.