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DIA DE LOS MUERTOS. The Día de Muertos, the Day of the Dead, is not a Mexican version of Halloween. Although the two holidays are related and around the same time, they are very different in their traditions and atmosphere. Halloween is usually considered a dark night filled with horror, while the Día de los Muertos extends over three days in an exposition of color and life-affirming joy. Of course, the theme is death, but the whole purpose is to show ones love and respect for deceased family members.

The Día de Muertos came up several thousand years ago in the cultures of the Aztecs, Toltecs and other peoples who found the mourning of their dead disrespectful. For these pre-Hispanic cultures, death was a natural phase in the long continuum of life (Universia, 2015). The dead were still considered members of the community and were kept alive in spirit and memory.  Today, the Día de los Muertos celebrations seem to be a mixture of pre-Hispanic and Christian celebrations.

The rituals are full of symbolism such as the Heart of the Celebration, the Altar or Ofrenda, which is set up either at home or in a cemetery. But these altars are not for worship, they are to welcome the spirits of the dead into the realm of the living. Therefore, they are richly endowed with gifts; water to quench the thirst of the long journey, food, family photos and a candle for each dead relative.

One of the most important features is the marigold, which are the most popular flowers to decorate the altar (La Jolla Mom, 2018). The flowers that are scattered from the altar to the tomb are meant to guide the wandering souls back to their resting place. Also, I was told by people at the cemetery, the smoke from the smoke candles, which are made of tree resin, are supposed to transmit praise and prayer and clean the area around the altar.

The Día de Muertos is a very hospitable event, which also involves parades on the streets. Dressing up and painting the face as a skeleton is traditionally seen as part of the fun.  

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References

La Jolla Mom. (2018, October 14). The Role Marigolds Play in Dia de los Muertos | Cempasúchitl. Retrieved from https://lajollamom.com/the-role-marigolds-play-in-dia-de-los-muertos/)

Universia. (2015, October 30). Día de los muertos: Su historia y simbolismo. Retrieved from http://noticias.universia.net.mx/portada/noticia/2015/10/30/1133057/dia-muertos-historia-simbolismo.html

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AGUA. Only recently the water was completely cut in Mexico City due to maintenance of the capital's main water system (Mexiconewsdaily, 2018). The suspensions to the system have started on the night of October 31 and were supposed to go until November 4, affecting 13 of Mexico City's 16 boroughs. Four of those faced total cuts during the five-day period. However, the whole cut was prolonged due to a mishap and many had no access to water for more than a week.

The subject of water is a serious one in Mexico City. Because even without the water cuts, millions of people in Mexico City are still without water. Especially in the poor districts, little or no water has been flowing out of the taps for years. In this metropolis, inefficient water management is a chronic problem. It often happens that the water pipes have to be drained because of a leak and the angry residents then have to argue about the supply tanks offered in the neighbourhood.

Due to the bad infrastructure in Mexico City, the water supply regularly breaks down. I was also told if you are looking for an apartment in the capital, you should ask for the water tank of the building. The older the residential building, the better the chances are that this tank will be large and that there will be less risk of supply problems. The outdated pipe system, which transports water to the capital, is leaking in several places. This leads to an enormous waste (NAP, 1995). It is estimated that between thirty and forty percent of the water is lost. No wonder there is a constant shortage of water. Many inhabitants of the capital say that corrupt officials are primarily to blame for the inefficient management.

I saw how important the issue of water is when I saw signs hung up in the house where I live, saying 'cuida el agua', in other words, ‘be economical with water’. In my neighbourhood even an Ecoduct was set up, which in the traffic- and car-loaded city tries to give the city waters like rivers a possibility to develop and at the same time to give the population a place for recreation with the hint that water means life.

However, the availability of clean water is increasingly becoming an issue all over the planet where for example the South African metropolis Cape Town even threatens to run out of water completely (Baker, n.d.).

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Reference

Mexiconewsdaily. (2018, October 04). Stock up on water to prepare for shutdown, Mexico City residents told. Retrieved from https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/stock-up-on-water-to-prepare-for-shutdown/

Baker, A. (n.d.). Cape Town: What It's Like to Live Through Water Crisis. Retrieved from http://time.com/cape-town-south-africa-water-crisis/

NAP. (1995). Mexico City's Water Supply: Improving the Outlook for Sustainability. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/4937/chapter/5

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LA PAZ, BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR. In our classes of the subject ‘Biocultural Diversity in Mexico’, we have discovered the two-sidedness of this topic. On the one hand nature is something beautiful and worth preserving, on the other hand it and the environment in general are hardly cared for until it is about to break down (see climate change) or until people need a 'break' from everyday life and nature comes in handy. I was able to experience the latter myself when I flew with two friends to La Paz for a few days. La Paz, located in Baja California Sur, about 2 hours flight from Mexico City, which has a steppe climate, enjoys very little rainfall and can get quite hot especially in summer. This, paired with the beautiful beaches, offers of course the perfect reason for many people, especially from the USA, to escape from everyday life and fly to La Paz for a long weekend to relax. Of course, this does not remain without consequences for nature. In many places the influence of the human hand can be seen and not always in a positive sense. Beautiful deserted islands are provided with big ugly hotel blocks, beaches which were once white and sandy find themselves dirty because there are containers set up selling various things to the tourists and also the environment is affected as people drive with their cars to numerous untouched places and park their vehicles anywhere. During my stay, my thoughts were divided in two parts: On the one hand, I was happy to experience and see this nature, and on the other hand, I was very sorry to see what people are doing to the environment.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed my time in La Paz, especially because of the new impressions I gained from Mexico. On the island Espíritu Santo for example, which is close to the city and where you can only get with the locally offered boats including drivers, we were snorkelling with fish and sea lions and could see the island from close. Also, the trips to the surrounding beaches were an experience in itself, as the landscape is extremely impressive and contains a lot of cacti. La Paz is known for its cacti and even has a Cactus Sanctuary, with 50 different varieties to view (BCS,2017).

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References

BCS, N. (2017, March 25). El único Santuario de los Cactus en México está en La Paz; hay más de 50 especies. Retrieved from http://www.bcsnoticias.mx/el-unico-santuario-de-los-cactus-en-mexico-esta-en-la-paz-hay-mas-de-50-especies/

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CHARREADA. On September 16th the "Dia de la Independencia", the day of independence, was celebrated here, probably the most important national holiday of Mexico! For this day many decided to take part in the processions and festivities in Mexico City. But I had another idea. With some roomies from my house we decided to celebrate the Independence Day traditionally and went to Jalisco over the weekend to the town of Unión de San Antonio to see one of the traditional Mexican equestrian sports. Charreada or also Charrería is one of the Mexican national sports and also comes traditionally from the federal states Jalisco and Hidalgo. The term Charrería comes from the word Charro, the Mexican traditional mounted cattle herder. In other Latin American countries the 'Charros' also exist, but they are called differently (Vaillard, 2011). From a historical point of view, the Charro figure is reminiscent of colonial times. After the Spanish conquest, the first horses arrived in America (Guadalajara, n.d.). However, it was basically forbidden for the natives to ride horses, except for the workers in cattle breeding. Since the workers were not allowed to use military saddles, they had to dress themselves with leather equipment, which resulted in a certain traditional costume, which is still traditionally used in the races today.

Charrería originated at the beginning of the 20th century from the activities of the Charros, which they carried out in their spare time and as a secondary income. The traditional tight-fitting clothing consists of a top with a short vest, embroidered cowboy pants, boots and a sombrero (Vaillard, 2011). The tight clothing is both traditional and practical so as not to be caught by the bull's horns during the games.

The sport consists of nine different point disciplines, similar to rodeo or Mexican bullfighting.

However, the winners do not usually receive a prize in the form of money, but a trophy, since Charreada is considered an amateur sport and not a professional one. According to Mexican law, it is apparently also forbidden to receive money for participating in a Charrería. In contrast to the American rodeo, the evaluation or scoring is not based on the criterion of time but on skill and grace. Charrería enjoys great prestige in Mexico, especially on important national holidays and in rural areas.

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References

Guadalajara, T. (n.d.). What is Charreria in Guadalajara? Retrieved from https://www.gdltours.com/charreria.html

Vaillard, L. (2011, February 19). Charreadas, rodeos con acento mexicano. Retrieved from http://www.vidasurrealista.com/2011/02/19/charreadas-rodeos-mexicanos/

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PRESA DEL LLANO, VILLA DEL CARBÓN. A night without reception, Internet and only the sound of nature. What for many sounds like a nightmare was the reason why I took the road to spend a weekend with some friends in Villa del Carbon. Next to this small town, which with its peaceful atmosphere is already a blessing for the soul, lies the ecological park Presa del Llano where you wont have any reception nor internet access. Situated by the water and next to a forest it is the perfect place to relax and recover from the everyday life in a big city. In addition to boat rentals and guided hikes, the park also offers accommodation in cabañas, small cabins in the middle of the forest or on a small kind of island on the water. Unfortunately, the cabañas were all already fully booked, so that we had to stay overnight in the hotel in the city, for which I was nevertheless glad in the end, since it got really cold at night and the cabañas are very simply equipped. However, for the coming years when I come back to Mexico City, I have definitely planned a summer excursion to Villa del Carbón again.

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TACOS. Another possibility to eat from street stalls in Mexico and probably the most Mexican of all Mexican dishes: the taco. The most famous food from Mexico and also one of the most multifaceted. The dish is loved even in the U.S. where around 4.5 billion tacos are consumed per year (FDL, 2013). Whether in a corn or flour tortilla, whether with meat, shrimps or cheese with nopal – there are no limits to your imagination when you sit down to order at a taco restaurant. Salsas and other side dishes like cut tomatoes with onion are often already on the table in small metal containers. You can eat very unconventionally with your hands and I have been told there is a very special technique how one should eat tacos: You only use two or three fingers to hold it from the sides. If you’re like me however, who usually overpacks the tacos, you will be needing your whole hand. At the mobile taquerias people are mostly standing and eating their tacos around it, helping themselves with the offered salsas while eating.

Unfortunately, nobody knows exactly who invented the taco. It is however known that the first tacos appeared sometime in the 18th century (macayo, 2015). Nowadays the probably most popular taco is the Taco al pastor (shepherd's taco) made from marinated pork which is prepared on a rotary grill and served with small tortillas and a piece of pineapple on top. There are even Taquerias that specialize exclusively in Tacos al Pastor. Another also quite special taco is the Taco de barbacoa where the lamb used has been prepared in a very specific way. I was told by an older taco vendor, that many years ago it was known that food that is cooked slowly and not directly over the fire will have a good texture and much more flavour. So they used roasted agave leaves to wrap and cook the lamb in a hole in the earth for many hours, which is still applied by some taco vendors nowadays.

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References

Mexican Street Tacos: A Brief and Delicious History. (2015, November 24). Retrieved from http://www.macayo.com/tacos-a-brief-and-delicious-history/

FDL (2013, June 15). The History of Taco. Retrieved from https://www.finedininglovers.com/blog/food-drinks/the-history-of-taco-food-infographic/

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CHILAQUILES. In the first month of my stay in Mexico City the first discovery I made was that the Mexican cuisine is unparalleled. The smells, tastes and the enormous amount of salsas and chilli powders are so tempting, that at the beginning of the semester some of the exchange students got food poisoning from eating from the wrong street vendors. Luckily I was spared and so was able to explore the local meals without any side effects. One of the first dishes I noticed around here were the Chilaquiles. They are served in restaurants, street stalls, hotels and at home by local people. Baked tortillas, basically flat cornflakes, are cut into small pieces, deep-fried and then cooked in salsa verde or roja and soaked until they reach a strangely pleasant consistency. If its done well Chilaquiles can represent the whole richness of the tastes of Mexicans cuisine – spicy, sour, fatty and cheesy and rounded off with either fried eggs, sour cream, coriander, raw onion or chicken. The fact that it includes a variety of nutrients also makes it the perfect ‘hangover-food’. The name itself comes from the ancient Aztec language Nahuatl and basically signifies chilis and greens (Sloley, 2018). The dish is served a little differently in every part of Mexico. So for example in the North you will be more likely to find ranchera sauce on your Chilaquiles, a portion of arrachera, which is a prepared special mexican beef and a tortilla to accompany it. In Oaxaca people like to eat it by having cut and fried tlayudas as a base, which is a type of corn tortilla that’s not hard enough to really be able to be toasted. They are accompanied by tasajo which is very thinly sliced beef and of course Oaxaca cheese (lachilaquila, 2018).

My personal favourite way of eating them is like in the first picture above: Salsa roja, cream, one scrambled egg, one not too much fried fried egg and frijoles on the side.

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References

Sloley, E. (2018, October 15). Try Chilaquiles, the Traditional Mexican Breakfast Dish. Retrieved from https://www.tripsavvy.com/discover-mexican-chilaquiles-1588791

Lachilaquila (2018, February 28). Dime cómo te gustan los chilaquiles y te diré de dónde eres. Retrieved from http://lachilaquila.com.mx/dime-como-te-gustan-los-chilaquiles-y-te-dire-de-donde-eres/