When the Spaniards arrived in the region in west central Mexico that would become Aguascalientes, Caxcán farmers and nomadic Zacatecos Indians and other early indigenous people were already crafting wine by foraging and fermenting the grapes that grew wild in these high desert plains. But the Spaniards had brought with them cuttings of Vitis vinifera, […]
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When I first saw guava fruit I mistook it for lemon. It happened on my first trip to Aguascalientes during the summer rainy season when a tree — its branches loaded with tiny round yellow fruit in the backyard of a house — caught my eye. I soon learned the popular exotic fruit known as […]
Continue ReadingGolf is the magic carpet that lifted Violeta Retamoza from Cerco del Laurel in Aguascalientes and sent her out to see the world. So far, it has earned her a scholarship at the University of Tennessee and freshman honors in the Southeastern Conference. Most likely it will some day earn her pay. Violeta was introduced […]
Continue ReadingMary and I went to Aguascalientes on the last day of September to look for a house to rent. Harry and Alejandro had left the previous day, traveling by bus. We offered them a ride in the White Bullet (we finally got the WB back it still had a noise in the engine, but […]
Continue ReadingHarry and company are moving to Aguascalientes. They are fed up with Guadalajara, with the high rents, the traffic congestion, and the noise (car horns, stereos, drunks, parties, dogs, and church bells). Mary and I bided our time as they explored several towns, looking for a better place to live. They finally settled on Aguascalientes, […]
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Preparations are in full swing in Aguascalientes for the traditional Feria Nacional de San Marcos, a three-week spring fiesta the city of natural hot springs is best known for. About seven million revelers are expected to descend upon this central colonial city between April 17 and May 9, for the festival that promises to entertain […]
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Map of Aguascalientes SCT, 1999.
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As October draws to an end, a period of profound mysticism dawns in the heart of Mexico, a time to remember the departed but not without joy. In the hometown of José Guadalupe Posada, the celebrated creator of the hollow-eyed, grinning skull known as Catrina, festivities are already well underway days before the November 2 Day […]
Continue ReadingThe San Marcos Fair, held from the second week in April to the first week of May each year, attracts thousands of visitors from all over Mexico and the United States. It dates back to 1604 when a small indigenous Indian settlement, San Marcos, was founded within walking distance of the growing Spanish city of […]
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The walk from the Hotel Mesón de Jobito where I’m staying to the Convento de San Francisco is only 15 minutes away but it’s a distance that spans centuries. The route takes me from the hotel built in the 1700s as a residence and then later used as an inn with donkeys, mules, and horses […]
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