Morelia

The capital of Michoacán is Morelia,  a beautiful colonial city of about 600,000 inhabitants. 

In one central plaza there is the fountain and statue "Las Tarascas," which is a landmark of the city.  Las Tarascas are three Purépecha princesses that offer fruit to the gods. I don't really remember the whole story, but there they are. The Purépecha people have an interesting history. Compared to other indigenous groups, many more people still speak the language as their native tongue.  The people survived the conquest because when the Spaniards arrived, the Purépechas told them, "Oh, yeah, there's gold, but not here, you have to keep going." So, the Spaniards left the city of "Valladolid" and continued on to ravage other people.  

Another landmark of Morelia is el "Aqueducto," which was originally built to bring water to the city. It doesn't function any longer, but is the oldest aqueduct in Mexico that stands in its entirety. 

To me, Morelia is about the perfectly sized city because it's fairly big, but not huge, and it has a quaint, small feel while also having the options and opportunities of a city. I guess to me, when I think big city, I think skyscrapers, so Morelia feels small. However, when I think small town, I think of a town with, you know, a stop light or two, where "every store clerk says, 'no credit cards, friend, but there's an ATM at the Ben Franklin' " (Aaron Espe, "Small Town"). I've lived near skyscrapers and a Ben Franklin, and haven't felt completely happy with either. Small city is a good fit, especially one as beautiful and friendly as Morelia. 

La Ciudad de México, DF (Parte 3)

Our third and final day in Mexico City, we went to Chapultapec Park, where we visited the Museum of Anthropology and Maximilian's Castle. At the museum, we saw the Ballet Folklórico, which consists of dances from different states in Mexico.  We also saw many artifacts from the ancient indigenous people. My favorite artifact is the quetzal feather headdress. The quetzal is a little bird with a really long tail of pretty feathers. It's very rare and hardly anyone sees them anymore.  The giant Aztec calendar is pretty famous and also cool. 

After Chapultapec, we left the city, stopped for lunch, and headed back to Morelia. It was good to go back. I like Morelia a lot better than Mexico City.  Morelia is smaller and prettier, and all around nicer. 

Change of plans

You have probably heard this already, but due to the conflicts of the developing drug war in Mexico, North Park has decided that they cannot guarantee our safety in Mexico and has terminated the program in Morelia for the rest of the semester.  Cherie, our professor, told us on Thursday after we had finished our mid-term exams that we would be going home.  Because the second half of the semester in Morelia is optional, it really only affected five of us as the other three were already going back this weekend.  So, that night we changed our plane tickets and at Saturday at 2am our flight left Mexico. Now I am home in Iron River for a week during "Spring break" and will then go back to North Park for the second half of the semester and take Spanish classes there.  

I am very disappointed that we had to return two months too soon.  There were a lot of things I didn't get to do and it was a hasty goodbye, but I enjoyed the time that I was there and am glad I could at least have that experience. 

I'm not really looking forward to being back at North Park already, but I'm hoping to make it fun so I don't regret so much.

Now, I still have some anecdotes forming in my mind, so read on as I continue to tell you about my adventures. 

Conflictos mundiales

I've been taking a university class here on global conflicts. I have to write a paper on whether or not the State is a dynamic presence or a disappearing structure. Yes, this class is all in Spanish. Now, I bet you're thinking that sounds hard. Well, it is, but here's the real issue: we have to include citations of the readings and class notes, the professor's name is José Luís de Jesús García Ruiz...

how do you cite that one?

La Ciudad de México, DF (Parte 2)

Long, long ago, (well, post-conquest, but still long ago), an indigenous man named Juan Diego went to the priest of Guadalupe because his uncle was dying. On his way, the Virgen Mary appeared to him and told him to tell the priest to build a church. Juan Diego followed her instructions, but the priest did not believe him. Juan Diego went to the priest again, and again the Virgin Mary appeared to him. She told him to fill his cloak with roses and bring them to the priest. When Juan Diego arrived and opened his cloak, the roses fell out and there was an image of the dark-skinned Virgin on his cloak. Because of this miracle, the priest built a church, and because Mary appeared to Juan Diego, many indigenous people converted to catholicism. 

Juan Diego's cloak with the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe still survives. Her image is an emblem of Mexican culture because she appeared to an indigenous man and reached an entire people. She combines the catholic religion with the culture and faith of the indigenous people. 

Now the old church is sinking. See the tilt of the ground? There is a new church (the round one) that displays the cloak. 

There's also a Pope Mobile. 

ha.