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Friday, January 6th, 2012
While beach-loving tourists plan “end of the world” trips to the Mayan Riviera in 2012, savvy urban travelers — particularly history buffs and foodies — are heading for the city of Puebla. Why now?
The state capital, officially known as Heróica Puebla de Zaragoza, has been steadily racking up travel-related accolades over the past nine months. First, the San Francisco Chronicle called out Puebla as one of the five safest places in Mexico for travelers. Then the Matador Network, an independent journalism site that celebrates travel culture, highlighted Mexico’s fourth-largest metropolis as one of nine safe and awesome places to travel in Mexico. Next, National Geographic Traveler chose Puebla and nearby Huaquechula as one it’s best fall trips (for Day of the Dead). Then the readers of the Lonely Planet travel guides gave the city a Best in Travel 2012 nod, voting it one of this year’s ten hottest destinations worldwide. And now The New York Times has picked Puebla as one of its 45 places to go in 2012.
The widespread recognition of Puebla as a list-worthy travel destination is long overdue.
Of course, Puebla has been “safe” for a long time, and Day of the Dead happens every year. But 2012 also marks the 150th anniversary of Cinco de Mayo, which in Mexico is a state holiday that commemorates the David and Goliath-esque Battle of Puebla in 1862. In the somewhat miraculous military manuever, local forces managed to fend off French troops for several days, despite the fact that they were grossly outnumbered and outgunned. As news of their victory spread, via telegraph and Spanish-language newspapers, its impact on Mexican emigrants in California was profound, historians say. This helps to explain why Cinco de Mayo matters today in the United States.
For this year’s milestone May 5, Puebla officials are planning numerous public events, to which they’re inviting residents, visitors, and dignitaries from all over the world (including U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton). The activities will include a massive Cinco de Mayo parade and the first international mole festival. The parade, marshaled by President Felipe Calderón, is destined to top the 2011 affair, which featured 26,000 students and schoolteachers, 5,000 military and public safety personnel, and more than 50 decorative floats from communities statewide. The route traditionally follows 5 de Mayo Boulevard from Plaza Dorada/Juarez Park to the Loreto and Guadalupe forts where the historic hilltop battle took place. However, this year officials may alter the course in order to showcase one of various newly completed public works projects: a series of bridges (two of which are elevated) dedicated to General Ignacio Zaragoza.
The mole festival, slated for May 2 and 3, will celebrate Puebla’s influence on world cuisines through its most iconic dish, mole poblano. Poblano, by the way, means “from Puebla.” Chefs from third-generation moleras to U.S. celebrities will offer two days of mole-related talks, cooking demonstrations, and tastings. Artisans will sell handcrafted kitchen wares, such as embroidered aprons, wooden utensils, and talavera ceramics. (Full disclosure: I’ve been working with the state office of international affairs and CANIRAC Puebla, the festival’s key organizers.) As additional Cinco de Mayo events and details are announced in the coming weeks, I’ll strive to update this post accordingly. I hope to see you in Puebla in 2012!
—Rebecca Smith Hurd
Is Puebla on your 2012 bucket list? Check out our hotel and transportation pages for helpful trip-planning information. If you’re interested in hiring a local, English-speaking tour guide, contact us.
Tags: Cinco de Mayo, Huaquechula, mole, mole poblano, Puebla
Posted in Do, Eat, Featured, History | 1 Comment »
Murals Triumph Over Time at Casa del Deán
Friday, November 25th, 2011
Although many of Mexico’s best-known muralists — Diego Rivera, David Alfaro Siqueiros, José Clemente Orozco, Juan O’Gorman — made their marks in the first half of the 20th century, muralism in Mexico began more than a millennium ago. Long before the Spaniards arrived, pre-Hispanic civilizations painted pictures on walls to express their beliefs and rituals: For example, the 180-foot-long mural Bebedores de Pulque inside the Great Pyramid of Cholula depicts masked figures drinking pulque, the fermented nectar of the maguey plant, during a feast or ceremony. During and after the Conquest, murals were used to evangelize Christianity to the natives. Today these paintings provide fine, lasting examples of Colonial art.
Some of the most important murals left behind can be found inside the Casa del Deán in Puebla. Aside from their artistic value, the 400-year-old frescoes are the oldest non-religious murals registered in Mexico.
The Casa del Deán originally belonged to Don Tomás de la Plaza Goes, who was dean of Puebla from 1553 to 1589. As such, Goes was second in command to the bishop — and held the keys to the Cathedral. Having to live close to the church, he built his home right around the corner. The house, which historian Enrique Cordero y Torres classified as the city’s oldest still standing, remained intact until the 1950s, when it was sold and largely converted into a movie theater. During the renovations, however, elaborate murals were uncovered in two outlying rooms and, after much lobbying from artists and intellectuals nationwide, the space was preserved and turned into a museum.
The building, designed by architect Francisco Becerra, features a Renaissance-style façade with a coat of arms above wrought-iron balcony. Inside, a grand stone staircase leads to two rooms decorated with murals. The murals were created by artists called Tlacuilos (a Nahuatl word), whose names are unknown. Their work has been restored twice, most recently in 2009. Before entering the first room, visitors can view a set of photographs that show the murals as they were found and the restoration process, providing a fair before-and-after comparison.
The first room, called La Sala de las Sibilas, contains a wrap-around mural of a parade of sibyls — female prophets from Greek mythology — who narrate the passion of Christ. Each sibyl wears 16th-century clothing and carries a banner depicting a different moment of the final hours of Jesus’ life. “The central scene on each of the four walls is flanked by borders demarcated by a cord, a method that was used to frame the content of murals in Franciscan convents, evoking the habit of St. Francis of Assisi and underscoring the strong influence of the Order and natives in the region,” an INAH sign tells visitors. “Note that the definition of the formal design with a black line is a style that has its origins in pre-Hispanic mural painting techniques.”
Despite its Christian imagery, the mural is considered to be nonreligious because it features heretic themes (i.e., Greek Mythology) and non-Biblical metaphors, even though it was ordered by a Catholic dean. The mural also mixes European symbols with indigenous ones, such as the regional animals, insects, flowers, birds, and fruits that adorn its friezes.
The second room, called La Sala de los Triunfos, could be considered downright blasphemous, given that it narrates “The Triumphs,” a poem written by Italian humanist Petrarch in 1352 and banned by the Church in 1575. The murals depict the nature of human life, proving its weakness in matters of love, chastity, time, death, and fame (or divinity). This room is believed to have been Don Tomás’s bedroom, and the murals were supposedly constant reminders of his mortality. —Vica Amuchastegui
The Casa del Deán is located a short walk from the zócalo at 16 de Septiembre #505. Hours: Tuesdays to Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is 31 pesos.
Tags: Casa del Deán, muralism, murals, Petrarch, Puebla
Posted in Arts + Culture, Featured, Museums | 2 Comments »
Top 5 Museums for a Rainy Day in Puebla
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011
You know it’s summer in Puebla when scattered showers and thunderstorms are forecast every day for what seems like an eternity. The good news is that wet weather doesn’t have to rain on anyone’s holiday parade, because the capital city offers plenty of indoor activities for avoiding the storms outside.
For starters, why not explore one of Puebla’s vast array of wonderful museums? We’ve picked five that we think you’ll enjoy even if you don’t read Spanish. These sites won’t break your budget, either, because they’re all are open to the public free of charge at least one day a week. Most also give breaks to students and visitors older than 60 (you may be asked to show a university credential or an INAPAM card). The first two on the list, Museo Amparo and Museo Regional de la Revolución Mexicana, are participating in the city’s “Museum Nights” program, which means they’re open free during special hours (5 to 10 p.m.) through Aug. 12.
Museo Amparo
One of the finest museums in Mexico, Museo Amparo boasts an impressive collection of Olmec, Aztec, and other pre-Hispanic artifacts, as well as religious works from the Colonial period and contemporary art. Its temporary exhibitions vary wildly in content and scope, from the recent show of tattoos by Oaxaca artist Dr Lakra to the current display of Mayan funerary masks. Much of the museum’s explanatory signage is in English and Spanish. The Amparo is in the midst of a $17 million renovation project, scheduled to be completed by May 2012, that will open up existing areas, expand the on-site library, update the auditorium, and add new rooms for children’s workshops and more.
2 Sur #708, Centro Histórico. Open 10am-6pm; closed Tuesdays. Admission is 35 pesos (free on Mondays).
Museo Regional de la Revolución Mexicana
Puebla is often recognized as the site of the Battle of Cinco de Mayo against the French, but fewer people know the capital city as the place where the Mexican Revolution began. Members of the Serdán family, who lived on Sixth Street, were vocal opponents of President Porfirio Díaz—and stockpiled weapons to support their cause. On November 18, 1910, two days before the official revolt was scheduled to begin, police surrounded the Serdán home in an attempt to seize everything, and a face-off ensued. The building (still riddled with bullet holes) now serves as a memorial of their loss—and the Revolution that their cohorts ultimately won.
6 Oriente #206, Centro Histórico. Open 10am-5pm; closed Mondays. Admission is 30 pesos (free on Tuesdays).
San Pedro Museo de Arte
This former hospital, built in the 16th century, is now a top-notch exhibition space. In addition to a small permanent collection that charts the building’s medical history — including a curious re-creation of its one-time pharmacy — the site accommodates all sorts of temporary shows, from traditional women’s textiles to ultramodern photography. The museum also occasionally hosts symphony concerts by the state orchestra.
4 Norte #203, Centro Histórico. Open 10am-5pm; closed Mondays. Admission is 30 pesos (free on Tuesdays).
Centro Cultural (Ex-Convento de) Santa Rosa
Foodies won’t want to miss a trip to the former convent of Santa Rosa de Lima, where sometime during the Colonial period mole poblano was likely invented. (See our previous post, “Holy Mole Poblano!”) Visitors can go inside its stunning traditional kitchen adorned with talavera tile from ceiling to floor and imagine stoking the fire underneath a big ceramic pot filled with thick, bubbling sauce. The rest of the building, which was restored last year, has an interesting history, too, having served not only as a cloister, but also as an insane asylum and tenement housing before evolving into a cultural center in 1973. Today the site showcases diverse arts and crafts, from folk dancing to woodwork, from the seven economic regions around the state.
3 Norte #1203, Centro Histórico. Open 10am-5pm; closed Mondays. Admission is 30 pesos (free on Tuesdays).
Museo Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Mexicanos
Situated on land occupied in different eras by two lines, Ferrocarril Mexicano and Mexicano del Sur, the National Museum of Mexican Railways studies, rescues, and preserves Mexico’s freight and passenger railroad heritage (since 1850) through cultural, recreational, and educational activities. Its current exhibit, “Yo Soy Rielero: Retrato Ferrocarrilero,” features more than two dozen historical photos of railway workers, their tools, and their locomotives — inside a train car, the Express NdeM 12178. The show runs through Sept. 25.
11 Norte #1005, Centro Histórico. Open 9am-5pm; closed Mondays. Admission is 11 pesos (free on Sundays).
Tags: art, Museo Amparo, museum, Puebla, Revolution, trains
Posted in Arts + Culture, Do, Featured, History, Museums | No Comments »
The Palafox Library: A Bishop’s Legacy in Puebla
Monday, May 30th, 2011
It’s been a long road to beatification for Juan de Palafox y Mendoza. The Catholic priest, who served as bishop of Puebla from 1640 to 1655, became a candidate for the church’s official blessing shortly after his death some 350 years ago. But due to one roadblock after another — mostly opposition from Jesuits who argued that honoring Palafox would discredit them (because he’d policed misconduct in their ranks) — confirmation stalled for centuries. It will finally happen this Sunday, June 5, at a ceremony in Osma, Spain, the last place that he ministered to the faithful.
Palafox is known for being a prolific writer, a political thinker, a defender of the Mexico’s indigenous people during Colonial times, and a fair yet deeply religious man. “Historians highlight Palafox’s intelligence, integrity, activity, intellectual preparation and will, defining him as ‘one of the most brilliant men of his generation,’” says Jorge Fernández Díaz, third vice president of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of Spain’s legislature.
“[Palafox is] probably the most interesting and maybe the most important figure in the whole history of 17th century Mexico.”
In Puebla, Palafox made his mark in both church and state affairs. He established the Dominican convent of St. Agnes, the colleges of St. Peter and St. Paul, and the girls school Immaculate Conception. He pushed for administrative reform within the diocese and for the completion of the city’s Cathedral, which was dedicated 1649. He also held several political offices, including that of the viceroy of New Spain in 1642.
“He was a superior man for his century, a classic in our language [Spanish] whose numerous texts were written with an elegant and eloquent style and have resulted in twelve thick volumes,” notes University of Salamanca researcher Águeda Rodríguez Cruz in a 2010 bulletin for the International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean. Quoting her colleague, professor Antonio Heredia, she adds: “[Palafox] was robust in his work, although of a sensitive condition; a spender, but mean with it; legalistic, while with an ascetic of sensitive piety; an expert and executor in law and politics, while at a mystic at the same time; a man of war and noise, while pacific and fond of silence; active, while contemplative; indebted, while punctual with his duties … a man of great contrasts, like life itself.”
His greatest legacy is a secular one: the Palafox Library in Puebla. Founded in 1646, the Biblioteca Palafoxiana was the first public library established in the Americas. Located inside what was once the seminary of St. John’s College — now home to Puebla’s cultural center — the library preserves 45,058 volumes dating from just before until just after the Colonial era. Many of its works are of global importance. These include original copies of Hartmann Schedel’s Nuremberg Chronicle (1493), which charts human history according to the Bible in words and more than 2,000 illustrations; Andreas Vesalius’s On the Fabric of the Human Body (1555), a seven-volume tome that revolutionized the study of anatomy with detailed diagrams based on actual observation and dissection; and books printed in Mexico before 1600, including Alonso Molina’s Vocabulary in Castilian and Mexican, essentially the earliest New World dictionary.
The library is also noteworthy for its sheer beauty. The bookshelves, commissioned by Bishop Francisco Fabián y Fuero in 1773 (and expanded to include a third level in the 1800s), consist of finely carved cedar, wild sunflower, and ayacahuite, a native white pine. A three-story gold altar at the far end of the room features an oil painting of Virgen of Trapani, which is believed to be modeled after the 14th-century sculpture attributed to Italian sculptor Nino Pisano.
In 1981, the Mexican government declared the library a historic monument. In 2005, UNESCO added the Biblioteca Palafoxiana to the Memory of the World list, formally recognizing its international significance. In 2010, after five years of work by 30 specialists, the first digital catalog of the library’s complete contents was released; some 3,000 copies of the interactive disk were distributed to other libraries, universities, and research institutions. At the time, Elvia Carrillo Velázquez, a director for ADABI, the national book-preservation group that helped to create the archive, told El Universal newspaper that the interactive disc “provides access to culture and, above all, makes public knowledge part of the history of the printed word.”
This seems to be exactly what Palafox intended. A sign at the library’s entrance bears his words from 1646: “He who finds himself benefiting without books finds himself in solitude without comfort, on a mountaintop without company, on a path without a walking stick, in the darkness without a guide. This gave me the desire to leave the library of books I’ve collected since I served his majesty the King, which is one of the best I’ve seen in Spain, ancillary to those of the church and in part and in public form, so that it may be used by all professions and people.”
The Biblioteca Palafoxiana is located on the second floor of the Casa de la Cultura, 5 Oriente #5, in the city’s historic center. Hours: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Image credits: Bicentenario México/Wikipedia Commons (portrait) and Agencia Enfoque (library interior)
Tags: books, library, museum
Posted in Arts + Culture, Do, Featured, Museums, Politics + Religion | 3 Comments »
Celebrate Carnival With a Bang in Huejotzingo
Thursday, March 3rd, 2011
Carnival only comes once a year, and every season since 1893, the town of Huejotzingo in Puebla has celebrated it with gusto. Thousands of locals don elaborate costumes with masks and rifles — all of which they typically make themselves, sometimes at great expense — and put on a huge parade. This year, more than 20,000 people are expected to join the party, which starts this Saturday (March 5) and continues through Fat Tuesday (March 8).
The roughly two-hour daily desfile commemorates three major events in local history: the first marriage of a person of Spanish descent to an indigenous Mexican; the kidnapping and rescue of the mayor’s daughter by a bandit named Agustín Lorenzo; and the famous Battle of Puebla against the French. You’re probably familiar with the latter, especially if you’ve ever celebrated Cinco de Mayo; it was the Mexicans’ brief victory here that led to the state and US holiday. To re-enact it all, various battalions—whose members represent Indians, sappers, Turks, Zacapoaxtlas, and Zouaves—parade through downtown, firing muskets loaded with gunpowder and moving to the beat of marching bands as they dance down the street. The smoke, noise, and inevitable injuries add realism to the scene. It gets so loud, many spectators wear earplugs.
“The costumes that characterize the different battalions are very luxurious and almost everyone wears a mask made of leather, with a beard and mustache of ruffled horse mane.” —Mexico Desconocido
Although Carnival is a major regional festival, last year I was among only a handful of apparent foreigners in the crowd. I went on Fat Tuesday with eight students from the Spanish Institute of Puebla, where I studied for four months in 2007. We arrived around noon and opted to pay 15 pesos (about US$1.25) each to sit in the stands running along the main square. Aside from having to look around shade umbrellas and assorted vendors, who were selling everything from tepache (a drink made from fermented pineapple peel) to noisemakers (as if the rifles, music, and cheering weren’t sufficient), our seats were well worth the price. I even managed to dodge the assorted candy and snack cakes being thrown into the crowd during the wedding scene.
Afterward, we had dinner in a restaurant between the main square and the former monastery. Our guide, Gabriela, treated us to a bottle of the locally made hard cider, and I shared a paella with a French Canadian student named Luc. We also took a peek at the ex-Convento de San Francisco de Huejotzingo, which is perhaps the oldest in the region (built in 1525). The building is absolutely gorgeous outside, but the inside was closed to visitors during Carnaval, probably to keep gun-toting pranksters out. I’m hopeful that because Huejotzingo is close by — it’s where the Puebla airport is, about a 30-minute drive from Cholula — I’ll have a chance to go back again soon.
Sources en español: Mexico Desconocido, Periodico Digital
Tags: Carnival, history, Huejotzingo, parade, Puebla
Posted in Do, Explore, Featured, History | 4 Comments »
The Monday Night Fights: Las Luchas in Puebla
Monday, January 17th, 2011
It’s 10 o’clock on a Monday night, and we’re sitting on concrete bleachers inside the Puebla Arena. Through a chain-link barrier that prevents spectators from hurling objects into the ring, we watch in awe as a muscly, shirtless wrestler leaps over the ropes and rushes up an aisle to our left, cursing at someone in the stands. The obscenities, complete with hand gestures, are flying. ¡Chinga tu madre! ¡La tuya en vinagre! ¡Puto! Several rounds of insults later, I stand up to see who’s causing all the commotion. Turns out, the foul-mouthed fan is a petite indigenous woman who looks old enough to be my grandmother.
This scene is typical of what transpires at the weekly matches held in Puebla by the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL). Based in Mexico City, the organization — perhaps the oldest professional wrestling outfit in existence — holds events in Puebla every Monday featuring virtually the same cadre of athlete-performers. Teams of two to three wrestlers square off in a series of bouts that start around 9 p.m. with lesser-known acts and culminate with superstars like Místico, Máscara Dorada, and Mephisto. The fights typically pit rudos (rule-breaking rude boys) against técnicos (the technically proficient good guys). Many wear masks, a practice that dates to the 1930s and pays homage to Mexican history as old as the Aztecs: Each colorful design evokes an animal, god, or ancient hero that the wrestler assumes during his performance. For more details about the sport in English, including rules and weight classes, click here.
The matches sometimes feature women athletes, too, but that’s about the only politically correct aspect of las luchas. (One difference between Puebla and Mexico City is the absence of bikini-clad female escorts here, although you may see dwarfs dressed as furry animals…) Expect moments of utter pandemonium and, if you sit in the front rows, be prepared to become part of the show. Also of note is the somewhat bewildering array of treats and potential projectiles available from vendors — beer and soda, cotton candy, boiled shrimp, slinky toys, Blow-Pops, cemitas, devil horns that light up — which helps explain the chain-link barrier. Outside the arena, vendors sell even more wares, including full-size souvenir masks that run about 300 pesos each ($25).
The Puebla Arena is located in the city’s historic center at 13 Oriente #402. Tickets generally cost 50 to 120 pesos each and are available at Mega supermarkets, Gandhi bookstores, Ticketmaster outlets, and the arena box office. The lineup is often posted on the CMLL Puebla page the Thursday prior to the match, but lately the webmaster seems to be a bit behind. Ticketmaster says that in tonight’s headline fight Máscara Dorada, La Máscara, and La Sombra face off against Mephisto, Volador Jr., and Averno.
Tags: CMLL, luchador, luchas, Puebla Arena, wrestling
Posted in Do, Featured, Sports + Recreation | 5 Comments »
Dance Troupe Preserves, Promotes Puebla’s Culture
Monday, January 10th, 2011
Dance has been an important part of Mexican culture for centuries, from rituals performed by early indigenous peoples to the ballroom dancing brought to fiestas by Europeans in more modern times. Like other folkloric troupes around the world, Puebla’s regional dance company strives to preserve these traditional forms of artistic expression in its performances. For the past decade, the group has performed a free show most Saturday nights — called Las Noches Poblanas — at the cultural center downtown. The next round of performances gets under way Jan. 15 at 7 p.m. and is scheduled to continue through February.
The free show is highly recommended for poblanos and people who visit Puebla.
The 90-minute presentation celebrates pre-Hispanic, revolutionary, and other important periods in Puebla’s history through dance, theater, and music. The dancers perform on the central patio of the Casa de la Cultura (5 Oriente #5), surrounded by the audience seated on folding chairs. If you arrive early, it’s usually fairly easy to find a spot, and those in the front row should be prepared for anything, from being asked to dance or getting splashed with rainwater should it cover the floor (as it did the night we attended). A local favorite is this lively rendition of “Que Chula es Puebla” in which the women are dressed china poblana-style.
Sergio Alamilla of Veracruz, who saw the show with his parents, recalls: “Suddenly, a man came out onstage, with background music and monologue representing the customs and idiosyncrasies of the inhabitants of the valley of Puebla at the time. …In the next act, a group of dancers dressed in elaborate costumes surprised everyone, not only for their ability, but for their exquisite sense of artistry.”
“I have to confess that I’ve never really liked folklore,” Alamilla added, “but … these people knew what they were doing, and they did it magnificently.”
Director Jorge Armando Castañeda founded the regional dance company 25 years ago, bringing together 150 dancers to showcase the artistic qualities of Puebla. The Noches Poblanas program, which is sponsored by the state government, has enjoyed a 10-year run. To date, the troupe has performed many other shows in Mexico and traveled internationally to share Puebla’s culture throughout the Americas and in parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
The building’s history dates back much further, to 1595, when it began as the College of St. John. Students were taught subjects such as philosophy and morality. When the Catholic bishop Juan de Palafox arrived in Puebla in the mid-1600s, he integrated St. John’s with two other schools to form the Tridentine Seminary and opened the first public library in the New World. Since 1974, the site has housed the cultural center and its diverse events, from folkloric dances and art exhibits to films, workshops, and conferences.
Sources: FIP.gob.mx, Turismopuebla.gob.mx, SergioAlamilla.blogspot.com, TodoPuebla.com
Tags: Casa de la Cultura, cultural center, folkloric dance, La Compañía de Danza Regional de Puebla, Puebla
Posted in Arts + Culture, Do, Featured | No Comments »
Celebrating Día de los Muertos in Puebla
Monday, October 25th, 2010
A popular holiday in Mexico, Day of the Dead provides an occasion to honor lost loved ones and pray for their souls. The celebrations, which merge Catholic and indigenous beliefs, typically unfold over the course of a few days, culminating on Nov. 1 (All Saints Day, devoted to children) and Nov. 2 (All Souls Day, dedicated to adults). Traditions vary from region to region, but the sacred tributes almost always involve an altar that’s carefully adorned with gifts for the deceased, such as favorite foods and beverages, personal items related to past passions or hobbies, votive candles and other religious symbols or artifacts, and salt and water to “purify the soul.” These ofrendas vary wildly in style, ranging from humble to extravagant, playful to serious, and historical to innovative. Anyone can be honored, whether it’s a close relative or a beloved celebrity. Most of the altars are located inside private homes and businesses, but people tend to show them off with pride, often welcoming strangers to admire their handiwork.
Puebla isn’t as well-known for its Day of the Dead celebrations as a few other Mexican locales, but visitors who are interested in taking part in — and learning more about — the holiday will find plenty to see and do. Here are a few suggestions.
Downtown Puebla
For a spectacular public Day of the Dead display, head for the Casa de la Cultura (5 Oriente #5, on the other side of the cathedral from the city’s main square). For 40 years now, the cultural center has hosted an annual altar-building contest that offers visitors a chance to see a large, diverse array of ofrendas in one place and even ask their creators questions about them. “The goal is to promote and maintain our traditions of Mexico,” director Margarita Melo Díaz told the local newspaper Sintesis. “Recall that, in 2003, Day of the Dead was recognized as a cultural heritage event by UNESCO, and it is our job as Mexicans to preserve it.” This year, the work of contenders in two categories, traditional and free expression, will be on display from Oct. 29 to Nov. 2, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Previous exhibitions have featured indigenous altars (adorned with beans, grains, seeds, etc.) and modern tributes to the planet Earth, Frida Kahlo, the wrestler Santo, actor Pedro Infante, and even Pope John Paul II. The exhibit is also a fine place to purchase souvenirs, from sugar skulls to handcrafted figurines. Admission is free.
The Institute of Municipal Art and Culture is also sponsoring an altar-building contest, as well as sculpture and calaverita competitions, all around the theme “Death Is a Dream.” Calaveritas are short, playful poems (epitaphs in rhyming verses) that poke fun at living people as if they were dead. The top entries in all three events will be on display in the zócalo from Oct. 31 to Nov. 2, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. If you happen to be in the main square, peek inside the Palacio Municipal (Portal Hidalgo #14), where the local government usually sets up a grand ofrenda in the foyer on the ground floor.
San Andrés Cholula
The Francisco Peláez R. Ethnobotanical Garden (2 Sur #1700) on Oct. 29 and 30 will host Ofrenda entre flores y rituales, a celebration that seeks to re-create Day of the Dead traditions through the arts and people’s sensory contact with nature. Activities include music, folkloric dance, storytelling, and dinner, plus the creation of a collective altar, for which guests are invited to bring bread, candy, candles, flowers — whatever they’d like to contribute. “The event suggests a connection with the history and traditions without making them dogmas or folklore,” the organizers said. The festivities start at 7 p.m.; admission is MX$80 in advance, MX$100 on the days of the event.
Huaquechula
This small town in Puebla state, about 45 minutes west of the capital city, celebrates Day of the Dead in a big way. The ofrendas, which sometimes cost tens of thousands of pesos to assemble, are impressive structures that measure up to 10 feet high. The altars themselves are often made of cardboard and covered with white or pastel-colored satin; the shiny fabric gives the multilevel tributes a distinctively Huaquechulan look. The first level represents the underworld and bears a photo of the decreased with incense, flowers, and food, explains EscapeAtlixco.com, which promotes the Atlixco area. “The second level represents the union of heaven and earth or the human and the divine. The third level represents the sky, or the highest divinity, and this is always represented with a cross.”
From Oct. 28 to Nov. 1 every year, many townspeople open their doors to visitors who’d like to pay their respects to the dead. It is customary to leave a candle or a few coins at the altar and to accept food and drink — such as bread and hot chocolate or a tamale and tequila or hibiscus water — from the host family. Tourist tip: Start your tour mid-afternoon at the cultural center on the town square, which provides a map to homes with ofrendas. Look for the trails of marigold petals leading to altars from the street.
Tags: Cholula, Day of the Dead, Huaquechula, Puebla
Posted in Arts + Culture, Do, Featured, Politics + Religion | 2 Comments »
A Few Notable Women in Puebla’s History
Sunday, October 10th, 2010
With the bicentennial of Mexico’s independence and the centennial of its revolution both happening this fall, the country has been proudly honoring its national heroes, the most prominent of whom happen to be men. This prompted me to wonder about the women who helped shape Mexico throughout the course of history, especially those with particular significance in Puebla. A little research unearthed several heroines (and perhaps one anti-heroine), who made their marks long before Blanca Alcalá became the city’s first female mayor in 2007. In fact, it is here in Puebla that a revolutionary’s bold sister, a stylish slave girl, and a tastemaking group of nuns not only introduced new ways of thinking, but also started trends that ultimately became internationally recognized symbols of Mexico.
Carmen Serdán
It’s nearly impossible to visit Puebla without encountering one of the many landmarks — the airport, the baseball stadium, schools, a major thoroughfare, etc. — named after the hermanos Serdán. The four siblings were native poblanos and early, vocal proponents of the Mexican Revolution. Although each played a role in the uprising, Aquiles and Carmen Serdán get the most credit.
Aquiles worked closely with Francisco Madero and Emiliano Zapata to plot the overthrow of Porfirio Díaz’s government, which closely resembled a dictatorship. Carmen, who went by the male pseudonym Marcos Serrato while engaging in conspiratorial activities, supported the cause by distributing anti-reelectionist propaganda, delivering money to Texas, and helping stockpile weapons in the family’s home in Puebla. When the house was raided by police on November 18, 1910, just two days before the revolution was scheduled to begin, the Serdáns refused to surrender — even though they were outnumbered 500 to six.
As the bullets flew, Carmen stepped out onto a balcony to harangue the crowds of onlookers.
Carmen was wounded, but unlike Aquiles and their other brother, Máximo, she survived the onslaught and was arrested. After Díaz was ousted, she was released from prison, and her activism continued. “Then came General Huerta’s counterrevolutionary putsch and the overthrow and murder of Madero,” notes Jim Tuck of MexConnect. “In the Villa-Carranza-Obregón campaign against Huerta, Carmen served in field hospitals as a nurse.”
Carmen later returned to Puebla to raise the children of her slain brothers. She also served as a nurse in different blood banks during the Constitutionalist struggle. She died in 1948. In 1960, the Serdán home was opened to the public as the regional Museum of the Mexican Revolution (6 Oriente #206). Bullet holes from the standoff still scar the building’s facade, and a room inside is devoted to women of the revolution.
La China Poblana
The china poblana is one of the most iconic figures in Mexico. Her unique style started a fashion craze that was adopted (and adapted) by women all over the region. A staple of folkloric dance troupes, the china poblana getup is widely regarded as the traditional attire of women throughout the republic.
Who was she? As legend has it, the china poblana (which means “the Asian woman from Puebla”) was a Mexican immigrant named Mirrha. The young girl, mostly likely from India or the Philippines, was captured by South Seas pirates in the early 17th century and brought to New Spain as a slave. Mirrha had been abducted at the request of a Spanish viceroy, but she was ultimately sold to a local merchant in Puebla. Her new owner baptized her with a Christian name, Catarina de San Juan.
Mirrha was highly regarded for her beauty and generosity, which suggests why her style was widely copied.
Mirrha refused to dress like the local women, preferring a sari-like outfit, which evolved into the china poblana ensemble. The typical pieces include: a short-sleeved white blouse with vibrant silk embroidery; a “castor” skirt decorated with sequins and beads; a white slip with lace trim that dropped below the skirt’s hemline; and a shawl woven from blue and white thread.
“For people all over Mexico and audiences throughout the world, the tradition of La China Poblana is seen on the brightly embroidered ballet folklorico dress style from Puebla, thought to be Chinese in its influence,” writes Mark Lacy of the Houston Institute of Culture’s Traditions of Mexico project.
After her owner passed away, Mirrha either married the Chinese servant of a local priest, or became a nun, or both. She apparently spent her final days in a convent, where she is said to have had visions of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus. Mirrha died in 1688. She was briefly honored as a saint, until the Inquisition barred devotion to her. Visitors to Puebla today can visit her tomb inside the sacristy of the Templo de la Compañía de Jesús (Av. Palafox y Mendoza at 4 Sur), an 18th-century Jesuit church located in the city’s historic center.
If you’re driving around town, don’t miss the gorgeous statute dedicated to her at the intersection of Heroes de 5 de Mayo and Defensores de la Republica. The 10-foot likeness, which provides the centerpiece of 200-ton fountain, was created in 1971 by poblano sculptor Jesús Corro Ferrer. Ferrer restored the talavera tiles and stonework in 2007.
Sisters of Santa Rosa
Although few people know them by name, anyone who loves Mexican food is familiar with their work. The sisters of the Santa Rosa convent in Puebla are credited with inventing mole poblano, which today rivals the taco as the national dish of Mexico. According to local legend, the nuns, eager to please a visiting archbishop, threw together some two dozen ingredients — chile peppers, fruits, chocolate, and more — to create the delicious sweet and savory sauce. They then probably served it over pieces of turkey (an indigenous bird in Mexico), much to the monsignor’s delight.
It’s said that the sisters got their recipe from an angel, but they may have borrowed from Aztec chefs.
A dish similar to mole may have been prepared for Hernán Cortés, at Montezuma’s request. “This story probably gained credibility because the word ‘mole’ comes from the Nahuatl word ‘milli,’ which means sauce or ‘concoction,’” says a writer for MexOnline. “Another connection could be that chocolate was widely used in pre-Columbian Mexico, so people jumped to that conclusion.”
No matter where their inspiration came from, the sisters of Santa Rosa undoubtedly contributed to mole poblano’s popularity in modern-day Mexican cooking. Visitors to Puebla can check out the colorful talavera kitchen where it all came together when the convent-turned-museum, currently being restored, reopens next year. The ex-Convent of Santa Rosa is located at 14 Poniente #305 (at 3 Norte).
La Malinche
She was smart, courageous, and — in the eyes of many people nowadays — a traitor of historic proportions. La Malinche is essentially the Mexican equivalent of Benedict Arnold. The Nahua woman, also known as La Malintzin and Doña Marina, was a multilingual translator from the Gulf Coast who helped Cortés communicate with indigenous peoples of Mexico. She is credited with many feats, including giving birth to Cortés’ son Martín, one of the first mestizos.
Her name is now used in Mexico to describe someone who betrays his own people: malinchista.
Although historians disagree, La Malinche’s translating may have contributed to the Cholula massacre in 1519. According to some accounts, a local woman told La Malinche that the Cholulans planned to murder the Spaniards in their sleep — and advised her to escape to save herself. Instead, La Malinche told Cortés, who ordered a merciless counter-attack. With help from the neighboring Tlaxcalans, thousands of Cholulans were slaughtered, and the town was set on fire. “The Spaniards turned the tables on the Cholulans and massacred about ten percent of the city’s population,” notes M.E.X.A. at California State University, Los Angeles.
Today, La Malinche most commonly refers to the inactive volcano that rises 14,600 feet above sea level on the Puebla-Tlaxcala state line. The government established a national park there in 1938; it has since become a popular weekend destination for hikers, climbers, and campers. Some 40 cabins and a camping area (with a diner, soccer fields, basketball courts, and more) are available for recreational use by the Centro Vacacional Malintzi. On lower ground, locals often look to the mountain to predict the weather: When the view of La Malinche is obscured by dark clouds, a downpour is imminent in Cholula and the Puebla capital.
Tags: Carmen Serdán, china poblana, La Malinche, mole, Puebla, Santa Rosa
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¡Viva Puebla! Celebrating the 2010 Bicentennial
Tuesday, September 14th, 2010
Mexico commemorates the 200th anniversary of its fight for independence from Spain tomorrow and Thursday, giving everyone cause to remember and reflect upon important moments in the nation’s history. The defining moment — or at least the most celebrated one today — seems to be when Father Miguel Hidalgo, a Catholic priest, rang the church bells in Dolores, Guanajuato, just before midnight on September 15, 1810, and asked the people who gathered around whether they were ready and willing to revolt. Their answer, we now know, was affirmative.
These days, Hidalgo’s legendary cry for independence, called el grito, is re-enacted every year by the president and other top officials in town squares all over Mexico. For the bicentennial, President Felipe Calderón is scheduled to do so twice, first in the zócalo of Mexico City on Wednesday night and again in the town square of Dolores Hidalgo at 7am on Thursday, Milenio newspaper reported.
City-Sponsored Events
In Puebla, el grito is usually delivered by the governor, with the mayor present, from the balcony of the Palacio Municipal. According to TodoPuebla.com, this year’s bicentennial celebration begins in the zócalo at 3:30pm Wednesday and features all sorts of entertainment, including performances by the city’s symphonic band, mariachis, folkloric dancers, and the Puebla Legendaria theater troupe. El grito happens sometime after 10pm and is followed by a rendition of the national anthem and a spectacular fireworks display in the sky above the Cathedral. Admission is free. Expect a crowd armed with silly string and eggs. Bring rain gear.
In Cholula, the 2010 festivities get under way at 6pm in the zócalo of San Pedro. The program includes music and folkloric dancers, as well as the crowning of the city’s bicentennial princess and queen. At 10:45pm, the Declaration of Independence will be read. Mayor David Cuautli Jiménez will give el grito at 11:50pm. Admission is free. Parking could be tricky, given that the city’s annual festival is still going on downtown. Bring rain gear.
Noches Mexicanas
For revelers who’d prefer to mark the occasion indoors, many restaurants, hotels, and other establishments are hosting noches mexicanas. For a fixed price, they offer music, food, door prizes, and more. Most require reservations in advance. A few options:
La Galería Arte & Vino (Alta Vista Plaza, Calzada Zavaleta #130) features entertainment by the Folkloric Ballet of Puebla, a three-course meal, a beverage, and a raffle ticket for MX$250. 9pm.
Marriott Real de Puebla (Av. Hermanos Serdán #807) offers a welcome margarita, mariachi music, appetizers, and a buffet of typical Mexican fare for MX$575 ($230 for kids). They also promise to broadcast el grito live on large-screen TVs. 8pm.
Mi Viejo Pueblito (2 Sur #112, Los Portales) downtown will serve up a three-course meal (appetizer, soup, and entrée), accompanied by live music and a lottery. Babysitting services provided for adults who prefer to dine without little ones. MX$180-330.
Tags: Cholula, el grito, Independence Day, Puebla
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