“If you want to form an idea of our journey, take a map of Mexico and you will see that Michoacán is one of the most beautiful and fertile regions of the world, crossed by hills and lavish valleys, its prairies watered by several streams and its climate temperate and healthful.” — Marquise Calderón de […]
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La Virgen de Guadalupe – Mother of all Mexico Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe The Virgin Guadalupe “La Reina de México”, “La Virgen Indígena” Fiesta de Guadalupe in Puerto Vallarta Paying tribute to Our Lady of Guadalupe in Oaxaca The Virgen of Guadalupe – Celebration in Oaxaca The Virgin of Guadalupe: Tonantzin or Mary? Our Lady of […]
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Saturdays there always seem to be three brides at the charming little church across the street from the Teatro Degollado in Guadalajara. There is a bride with her groom at the altar, a just married couple outside, accepting congratulations from friends and family, and a bride nervously waiting in the car for her wedding. While […]
Continue ReadingThe Romans coined the phrase Omne vivum ex ovo, “All life comes from an egg.” The egg is a universal symbol of birth and resurrection, employed in burial practices of the ancient Egyptians and Greeks, and eventually adopted by Christians in the second century in conjunction with the celebration of Easter. Though brightly colored eggs […]
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Exploring Mexico’s Artists and Artisans Richard Hay Reagan had three great loves — art, jazz and Jeanora Bartlet. Jeanora is now a sprightly octogenarian and as we chat at her home in Bruton, Somerset, England, she is, initially, not too keen to share memories of her late partner. I had originally sought out Jeanora because […]
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Each year on May 3rd processions of singing pilgrims carrying streamers and flowers wend their way through towns, cities and villages of Mexico to decorate the crosses along roadsides and on mountaintops to honor and remember the Holy Cross. All over the country thousands of crosses in streets, parks, cemeteries and churchyards are visited and […]
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Flowers and flower arranging have played an important role in Mexico from ancient times to the present. The symbolic meaning of flowers is prominent throughout ancient Mesoamerican thought and practice. Flowers could represent anything from beauty and creation to death and destruction. Tlacaelel, a councilor to Moctezuma I (1440-1469), initiated a mystical warrior vision of […]
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Down a quiet village lane in Ajijic, a high blue wall hosts climbing vines sought by songbirds. A wrought iron gate opens to a spacious colonial style mansion. Designed and run by owners Michael and Maria Elena Eager, La Nueva Posada is a modern boutique hotel with the romance of colonial Mexico. A grand staircase carved from quarry […]
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One of the perks of living at Lakeside is the ubiquitous exposure to the religious art of the Huichol people. The artwork, so vibrant in color and rich in symbolism, effortlessly draws the viewer into its compelling world of magic and myth. Chapala Lake, with its small villages sprawled along the banks, is considered a […]
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I’ll break your jaw! (Chalco) In the umbilicus (Xico) Place of the squashed serpent (Coapatongo) [1] Mexico’s place names or toponyms provide a rich and fun source for linguistic analysis. Indigenous peoples spoke languages that had no formal alphabet. They developed complex symbols (hieroglyphs) for place names that used combinations of up to three different […]
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