Jessi’s Blog: Real de Catorce

Real de Catorce

In the southwestern United States, ghost towns are fairly common in states like Arizona, Colorado, and California. The

Real de Catorce entrance

towns were once huge mining communities, and once the materials were gone, the towns were deserted too.In Mexico, just north of San Luis Potosi, and south of Monterrey, lies Real Catorce. A once-great silver mining town that is now a tourist town and… a ghost town.

Tesoros de Mexico: “Mexican Cognac”

Mezcal

I have recently become a convert. Yes, from tequila to mezcal. Actually all tequila is mezcal but not all mezcal is tequila. Tequila must be made from

Jessi’s Blog: The Royal Lady

Melipona beecheii

While the bees we know around the US are thought to have been brought here from Europe, the Maya had their own bees – Melipona beecheii, they extend from Mexico to Costa Rica. The name translates to

Featured Art: “Erotica III” -Jill Logan

Erotica III

The first thing that caught my eye was the color.

Jessi’s Blog: The Shadow of the Serpent

Chichen Itza

Around the world, the spring equinox has a long history of symbolic and cosmological meaning. From England to Turkey, paganism to Christianity, the first day of spring is a time for renewal and festivities. In Mexico, the spring equinox is a celebration that dates back to the pre-Hispanic days of the Maya and the Aztec.

La Cultura: Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, historia de un amor

Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl

We all know the great love stories, Romeo and Juliet, Lancelot and Guinevere, Tristan and Isolde, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl… wait a minute, WHO?

Jessi’s Blog: Dia de Amor y Amistad

Valentine’s Day in Mexico is similar to Valentine’s Day in The U.S. – a day to dote upon your significant other by giving or receiving chocolates, flowers and the like. But unlike Valentine’s Day in The US,

Tesoros de Mexico: La Cueva del Chango

La Cueva del Chango

Avenida Quinta

I had been planning a trip to the Yucatan region of Mexico, so I was all ears when I was watching the Rick Bayless series “Mexico one Plate at a Time“, as it was from Playa del Carmen. It was an episode with Chef Jacques Pepin. Mr Bayless was having lunch at this really great looking restaurant with the most interesting name of La Cueva del Chango (Monkey Cave). I decided to investigate this really cool looking eatery on my upcoming trip…

Jessi’s Blog: Tres Reyes Magos

Rosca de Reyes

In parts of Europe and America, children eagerly await December 25th, when Santa Claus brings presents to children. In Latin America and Spain, children look forward to January 6th, Three Kings Day. The date that commemorates the three wise men who traveled to Bethlehem to give gifts to the baby Jesus; it is also the day that gifts are exchanged.

Featured Artist: Ernesto “El Chango” García Cabral

“Siesta”

Ernesto “El Chango” García Cabral, Mexican draftsman, painter, tango dancer, Greco-Roman wrestler, silent film and early television pioneer, cartoonist, illustrator and muralist was born in Huatusco, Veracruz, Mexico in 1890 and died on Aug. 8th 1968 in Toluca, Mexico. He is often called “The Greatest Cartoonist You’ve Never Heard Of”

Jessi’s Blog: Celebración de la Noche de Año Nuevo

Fireworks in Mexico at New Year’s Celebration

 

The streets of the main plaza, the Zocalo, are blocked off for pedestrians only. Stages are constructed for bands and DJs help ring in the New Year. This is New Year’s Eve in Mexico City. The bands begin playing at 4 p.m. on the 31st. At midnight, there is a big fireworks show and then the party commences with dancing and celebrating usually lasting into the early morning hours of New Years Day. 

La Cultura de Mexico: Las Posadas

las posadas

Now that Dia de la Virgen de Guadalupe is over, the festivities continue onwards! Las Posadas is a nine day festival, from December 16th to the 24th. “Posada” means “the inn” or “shelter”, it represents the nine day journey to reach Bethlehem prior to Mary giving birth to Jesus.  The holiday dates back to the 16th century when St. Ignatius used an Aztec festival for the sun god to teach them about the birth of Christ.

Jessi’s Blog: Dia de La Virgen de Guadalupe

Virgen de Guadalupe

In Mexico, Christmas is steeped in religious traditions, festivities, and of course, food!  The holiday is over a month-long celebration of the arrival of Jesus, where decorations stay up and presents arrive in early January to align with the arrival of the three kings. This month’s festivities begin in early December with the celebration of the Virgen de Guadalupe. The mother of God was seen on December 12, 1531 at Tepeyac Hill by Juan Diego. Tepeyac was the site where the Aztec earth goddess Tonantzin was honored. She came to him, told him to ask the bishop to build a church in her honor. The bishop wanted a sign, Juan came back with the image of the Virgen in his coat. 

Jesi’s Blog: What Killed The Maya Empire?

Ruins in the Jungle

This is a question asked by scholars all over the world. The Maya were a great civilization that vanished off of the Earth. The arc of the Mayan rise and fall is well known: The civilization started around 1,800 BC, in Central America. The Maya high point was from 250 A.D to 900 A.D. where we see much of the artifacts that have captured people’s attention. However, they eventually collapsed around 1100 A.D. The reasons for their disappearance has lead to much speculation. 

La Llorona by Jessica Shakarian

La Llorona

Halloween is all about the spooky – the stories and creatures that make your skin crawl. Every culture has has scary stories, one of Mexico’s most famous is the story of La Llorona – The Weeping Woman. The ghost of La Llorona is also well-known throughout central America and Puerto Rico. It’s not clear where the story comes from, or if it’s based on a true story, though the tale has a universal element that can be seen throughout different cultures. 

Featured Art: Masterpieces of Bonampak

Bonampak mural. Room 1. Musicians and dancers

There are many Mayan ruins that have given archaeologists and tourists a taste of the imprint that the civilization has left on modern society.  In Yaxchilan, Chiapas, Mexico, deep within the lush rain forest is a temple that is covered by greenery. The temple is called Bonampak, which means “painted walls”. As you might deduce, inside is a small temple with three rooms that have paintings that cover from floor to ceiling. 

Jessi’s Blog: Celebrating Mexican Independence Day

Mexican Dancer

In the United States, Cinco De Mayo, which is the celebration of a battle with France, is sometimes confused with Mexican Independence Day. Independence day is celebrated on September 16th. On this day in 1810 priest Miguel Hidalgo rang a church bell to call for people to rise against the Spanish Crown. Independence wasn’t actually won until 1821. Thus it is not the actual independence, but the potential for a new autonomous society.

Tesoros de Mexico: Hotel Playa Azul (Golf-Scuba-Spa)

Hotel Playa Azul (Golf-Scuba-Spa)

public beach club

When I first visited the Island of Cozumel I stayed at a little hotel that was very nice but it did not satisfy my need of a walk-in beach. There are beaches on Cozumel but they are not as plentiful as on the mainland. Many hotels build a sandy beach area for you to lay out but the water entrance is already deep. Great for divers and snorkelers!

I began looking for a walk-in beach and was told there was a public beach up the road… off I went.

Featured Art: In Search of Reason -Sergio Bustamante

In Search of Reason

Bustamante likes to put a heady dose of playfulness—and magic—into his work. His monumental bronze sculpture, “In Search of Reason,” along the malecon (the boardwalk) beach at Puerto Vallarta stands sixty feet high and has a ladder that visitors can climb. 

Jessi’s Blog: Jeanine Kitchel – Maya 2012 Revealed: Demystifying the Prophecy

Palenque

The “End of Days” prophecy in the Mayan calendar is a topic of much discussion. While we know the basics of how their society functions, their civilization was wiped out mysteriously.  They created advanced forms of mathematics, astronomy, and pyramids, they are perceived as spiritually aware. Thus, it is believed that their calendar has the potential to tell us something that only they know, by ending the “Long Calendar” at 5,126 year period.