Thursday, November 19, 2009

Cañadas de Islas

Our last stop on the church tour was Cañadas de Islas, a large ranch community that belongs to Mexticacan, Jalisco.  The church itself is located high atop a hill that offers a spectacular view of the Mexican countryside.  Cañadas de Islas is a 20 minute drive from Yahualica, but there is an extra 10 minute ride to reach the church. 

At first sight, this church captivates you because it is so different from the more traditional churches around Mexico.  Have you ever seen a circular church?



Believe it or not, this church was built from start to finish, in 2 years.


The inside of the church is simply breathtaking.  My lil' camera doesn't do it justice.



The stained glass windows are made with the images of the Mexican Martyrs, hence the name El Templo de Los Martires.  Underneath their names is an image of the weapon used to kill them. (Click on the pictures for a closer look.)



Amongst the Mexican Martyrs are San Roman Adame, who was killed in Yahualica.  And San Toribio Romo, who baptized my hubby's grandmother.  (She discovered this fact a few years ago.)



If you're ever in Yahualica, be sure to visit El Templo de Los Martires.  Just remember to wear long pants, because "NO SHORTS ALLOWED".



Even the entrance/exit sign catches your eye.



I truly enjoyed our day trip.  It's hard to believe that of all the places we visited, we were never more than 45 minutes away from Yahualica.

With Love,
Leslie Limon

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

El Molino and San Felipe

Next stop on our church tour was El Molino, another ranch community that also belongs to Nochistlan, Zacatecas.  It was a 10 to 15 minutes drive from where we ate lunch.   



The first thing that caught my eye (and the kids') were the wheel-shaped objects in el jardin (plaza).  My brother-in-law explained that years ago, El Molino was famous for making molinos (millstones). 



The church in El Molino is El Templo de la Virgen del Rosario.  (The Temple of the Virgin of the Rosary.)



 Inside the church.  I liked that there were giant rosaries on the wall in honor of La Virgen del Rosario.


Our visit to El Molino was short and sweet.  And since there is another rancho (ranch community) nearby, we decided our next stop would be San Felipe, which belongs to Mexticacan, Jalisco.



Our visit to San Felipe was even shorter.  The church was closed, as was el jardin.  Surprised us all.



Check back tomorrow for the last stop of our church tour.  You don't want to miss it!

With Love,
Leslie Limon
Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Las Huertas

The first stop on yesterday's day trip was Las Huertas, a small ranch community that belongs to Nochistlan, Zacatecas.  Many, many years ago,  Las Huertas was full of orchards of every fruit and nut tree imaginable.  But due to many of the men, and ultimately entire families, migrating to the United States, the orchards disappeared.  There are still many houses and families that reside in Las Huertas.

Las Huertas is a 25 minute drive from Yahualica. 




This is a picture of the wall around the church and the entrance gate.  Upon arrival, we were greeted by a kind gentleman, Secundino Quezada, who acted as our tour guide. Our pleasant experience wouldn't have been the same without him.



The church's name is El Templo del Señor de la Misericordia.  It was one of the first churches built by the Franciscanos over 450 years ago.



I loved the inside of this church.  It wasn't overly ornate and felt so warm and inviting.  Many of the churches that I have seen in Mexico have marble floors, but this floor was made entirely of wood. (Click on all of the pictures for a closer look.)



This shrine/altar to La Virgen de Guadalupe is located outside in the church's courtyard.



The church's courtyard has about 12 orange trees.  The scent of oranges made me feel as if I was still in my hometown of Redlands, California.  A truly wonderful feeling that I can't describe.  (Sigh!)

 


All of the trees were full of sweet oranges.  So of course my hubby and brother-in-law wanted to pick some oranges.  We were informed that the oranges are sold for a peso each to benefit the church.  Hubby picked 2 large bags and paid 50 pesos.  The kiddies enjoyed catching the oranges and got a kick out of seeing grown men playing in the trees. 



Don Secundino informed us that we could find an ojo de agua a very short distance from the church.  An ojo de agua is like a natural spring of water.  I expected to find a large well of sorts, but all we found was a medium sized hole in the ground full of crystal clear water.  And next to the ojo de agua was what my hubby and brother-in-law called El Periodico (The Newspaper).  This is where all of the women used to gather to do laundry (by hand) and catch up on the lastest gossip news.  Next time we visit, I'm bringing my laundry.  There are enough lavaderos (wash sinks) for everyone to pitch in.



We were all having a good time joking about the lavaderos when we noticed that the entire area was surrounded by these little reddish green plants.  My father-in-law yelled that it was "Caquiste!"   We already had a run in with poison ivy a few years ago so we made our exit post-haste.



Be sure to tune in tomorrow for more on our day trip.

With Love,
Leslie Limon


Monday, November 16, 2009

One Fine Day



This weekend was a 3-day weekend.  This Friday, November 20th is the Anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.  But the Mexican government decided to go the American route and celebrate or "observe" the holiday the previous Monday.  Government offices, banks and schools were closed today.

We had no plans for this puente (3-day weekend).  Hubby worked on Saturday and we spent Sunday with my in-laws.  Our only plan for today was to spend a lazy day at home, maybe watch a movie or two. 

Then my brother-in-law and his family stopped by to see if we wanted to join them on a picnic.  The plan was to do some sightseeing at a nearby town, then find someplace to enjoy our picnic.  (More about that town tomorrow!)  

Which we did.  We crossed a few bridges.


Saw some cows. (I heart Cows!)



And a horse riding down the road.



We finally stopped at a little resevoir called La Presa del Molino.



Beautiful!  Not an easy place to get to, but what a view.  We sat under a few huisaches (thorny trees), feasted on Pollo Rostisado (Rotisserie Chicken) and enjoyed the scenery, while the kiddies played.  We sat mesmerized watching the campesinos gather what looked to be hay.  (Click on the photo for a closer look.)

While we talked about the 450 year old church we had just visited, we began talking about the other towns and churches that were nearby.  A new plan was hatched!  We ended up visiting another 3 towns and their churches.  (More about all of them this week.)

What we thought was going to be a lazy day, turned into one magnificent day trip.  (We even crossed the State line.)  Don't you just love last-minute plans?  I do!

With Love,
Leslie Limon


Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Kitchen Sink Confessions


I have a confession to make, but you have to promise not to tell my husband or children. 

Promise?  Okay.

love to wash dishes!

I cook three meals a day, plus lunches for the kiddies to take to school, afternoon snacks and dessert.  All of this for 6 people.  The dirty dishes just pile up.  And not just dishes,  There's pots and pans, silverware, glasses and cups.  But, I don't mind.

Some might suggest that I make everyone wash their own dishes to lighten my load.  But why would I want to do a crazy thing like that? 

Let me let you in on another secret.  All moms need a break every now and then. 

The reason I take such joy in washing dishes is simple.  It is one of the only times of day that I have all to myself.

On the surface, I appear to be washing dishes.  But I like to take that time to clear my head.  Gather my thoughts.  Reflect on what has happened throughout the day.  Vent a few frustrations.  Pray.  Contemplate world events.  Plan the rest of my day.  Daydream.  Draft future blog posts.  I swear, I have my best ideas while standing at the kitchen sink. 

After a few minutes of washing dishes, I am refreshed.  Its the best therapy and meditation session all rolled into one.  Only it didn't cost me a dime.  Well, maybe I do spend a few pesos on liquid dish soap and hand moisturizer.  But its money and time well spent. 

Now remember...this is between you and me!

With Love,
Leslie Limon

Friday, October 30, 2009

This Old (Haunted?) House



 Bienvenidos a Casa Limon.  Yes, this old, not so attractive house is our home.  Don't let the shabby exterior fool you, it is much nicer on the inside. (Hey, that's a great idea for a future post!)

Many of the older houses in Mexico aren't only rich in history, but also very rich in folklore. (By that, I mean ghost stories!)  And my house isn't the exception.

The owner's family has lived in this house since before my in-law's moved into the neighborhood almost 40 years ago.  The parents, Don Fausto and Doña Chayo made the best menudo in town.  They also ran a small general store, where my hubby's upholstery shop is located.

Sadly, Don Fausto and Doña Chayo passed on.  The house sat unattended for years, until we rented it.

When we moved in, we placed what little furniture we had in our cozy living room.  We had a loveseat and an ottoman that my hubby crafted himself.  And of course, my favorite piece, a rocking chair.  Not an old rocking chair, but a new, squeeky, wooden rocker that my mother-in-law bargained the price down to two rockers for 500 pesos. We gave her the other rocker. I digress.

My brothers-in-law enjoy telling ghost stories almost as much as they enjoy scaring me.  They both loved to tell me tall tales of the ghost of Doña Chayo lurking around in the kitchen and back patio. 

Ghost stories don't scare me.  (Mice, rats, insects and loud fireworks lit outside my door scare me!)

My grandmother always told me stories about a haunted house she lived in when my mom and uncles were teenagers.  According to Gramm, ghosts are mischievous little spirits that love wreaking havoc, but ultimately behave when spoken to in a firm voice.

One night, while laying in bed, my hubby and I heard a squeeking noise.  It sounded as if someone was sitting in our rocking chair.  But that was impossible, because the kids were asleep and we were in the bedroom. 

Hubby got out of bed to investigate.  It didn't take him long to get to the living room, its only 6 or 7 paces away.  When Hubby got to the living room, the rocking chair was as still as a mountain.  He checked on the kiddies to see if they weren't playing around, but they were sound asleep.

When Hubby returned to bed, we joked that it was probably Doña Chayo's ghost watching T.V.

The midnight squeeking persisted, and Hubby and I continued to jokingly blame it on Doña Chayo.

Then one day, the squeeking stopped.  We had just purchased a three piece furniture set for the living room.  There was no longer any room for the rocker, so we moved it to our bedroom, where it never squeeked again.

We had almost forgotten about the squeeking, when one of Doña Chayo's daughters came for a visit.  She asked if we had experienced any paranormal activity.  She told us the tale of "something" pushing the grandkids down the stairs in the back, unused part of the house.  They all figured it was Doña Chayo's ghost trying to get her grandkids to behave. 

We then told her the story of the squeeky rocking chair and how we joked that it was probably Doña Chayo.  She let out a long sigh and agreed with us.  She explained that Doña Chayo liked to sit in her rocking chair late at night, after a hard day's work to watch television. 

Well, now that I know I have a ghost lurking around, I am extra careful walking down those stairs.  And I gave away the rocking chair! 

With Love,
Leslie Limon

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Halloween Rebellion in Mexico




I love Halloween!  I always have and probably always will. 

Halloween is NOT a Mexican celebration.  Here, we celebrate El Dia de Muertos on November 2nd.  (More about that on a later post.) Slowly, Halloween is starting to invade Mexico and it is quite the controversy.

Mexicans are very proud of their traditions and frown upon any Americanization of their traditions.  Such is the case with Halloween. 

More and more Mexicans are embracing Halloween.  Whether they have been to the U.S. or not, kids and adults alike are dressing up in costumes, decorating the house and even going trick-or-treating.  There are even Halloween parties and dances at some of the bars in town.

I have witnessed over the years, the increase in Halloween merchandise being sold at the shops in town.

I for one am happy that one of my American holidays is being celebrated in Mexico.  But not all people feel the same way.

Some see it as an affront to Mexican culture and tradition.  Some Mexican traditions are being lost. (I don't know why, but it is happening.)  And these people feel that embracing Halloween is encouraging that loss.

The teachers at the schools forbid the students to celebrate Halloween.  My children have had teachers threaten to lower their grades if the teacher sees them dressed up for Halloween.

This is what upsets me.  If people want to get mad because Mexicans are embracing Halloween, fine.  What I don't appreciate is that they threaten my children.  I'm an American.  My kids are Mexican-Americans.  My hubby and I are raising our children to embrace (and be proud) of both cultures.  I feel, that as Americans we have the right to celebrate an American holiday, even if we are in Mexico.  We also celebrate Day of the Dead.

There are other reasons that people don't like or want to celebrate Halloween.  One of which is that some people believe Halloween to be Satan's birthday.  (I kid you not!) 

Last year, Hope decided that she wanted to be a devil for Halloween.  Wouldn't you know it?  I was accused of being a devil worshiper for celebrating Halloween and letting my daughter dress up as The Devil.  Ay, ay, ay!

I was worried that my kiddies wouldn't want to celebrate Halloween this year, but the liitle rebels have been thinking of nothing else since September! 

With Love,
Leslie Limon