Editor’s note: After a brief battle with cancer, Jenny McGill passed away peacefully in the early hours of December 31, 2009. I first heard of her when I was editor in chief of About Magazines and she was named U.S. Consular Agent in Puerto Vallarta, where we published a monthly edition. She was, I heard, a tough, […]
Continue ReadingThey are called romerías or peregrinaciones, and the people who make them are usually called peregrinos. They are pilgrims coming to pay homage to Our Lady of the Rosary of Talpa, and they come by the thousands at this time of the year. March 19th is celebrated as St. Joseph’s Day, and as you may know, all these religious holidays are […]
Continue ReadingIt is incredible what one can do with Google! I’m barely computer literate, but take the word cempasuchitl (sometimes written zempasuchitl), for instance. It is growing all over the countryside now. Its yellow orange flowers and pungent aroma are familiar to us, but I never knew it was associated with the Virgin Mary, nor did I know that, […]
Continue ReadingMay is a dry month in Mexico. In fact, some folks may call it the drought month before the rainy season begins. This is the time of year when farmers begin to prepare their fields for planting. The actual planting is done after a couple of good soaking rains. This preparation of the fields is […]
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Autumn is a very special time in the mountains of Jalisco. The summer rains have washed clean the faces of every leaf and blade of grass in the countryside. Imagine yourself taking a walk along a country road, portable easel, paints and brushes in hand. You might have a water bottle slung over one shoulder […]
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There was an Indian mound near my home when I was growing up. We knew we were not supposed to play near the mound, and we knew it was an ancient burial spot, but we didn’t know it might have been a “power place.” My older brothers had shoeboxes full of flint arrowheads collected from […]
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MexConnect readers know by now that March is the month when everybody who can walk, walks to Talpa. It has become a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation. The new short-cut through the mountains connecting Mascota to Puerto Vallarta has brought even more frequent visitors to Talpa de Allende. Walkers come […]
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On January 10, 1906 María del Rosario Ramos Váldez was born in Talpa de Allende. Last year on her 102nd birthday, we celebrated with her at the nearby ranch of Lic. Ernesto Váldez, a long-time family friend. Those of you who have read my contributions to Mexconnect may remember me introducing her to you in […]
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Victoria Cibrian Leon, born March 23, 1916, was the oldest girl in a family of eight children. She only had two brothers; Eziquiel and Primitivo. Toyita, as she was fondly called, never got beyond the first grade of school. When she was six years old, while playing rough and tumbling with neighborhood kids, she fell […]
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October 7 is considered the birthday of Nuestra Señora del Rosario (the Virgin of Talpa). We don’t ask who chose that date, but it’s time for celebrating in Talpa, as is almost any day. I’ll bet half the people in this town are named Rosario, especially if they were born anytime near the Virgin’s natal […]
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