June 28th, 2009
On the way to Cacaxtla and Xochitecatl, we stopped at the family’s grandfather’s house. Today was a political meeting day for this woman running for a Congress position. I had seen a video of someone giving a political speech in a rural town but the actual meeting was better.
First of all, there was live music. When we arrived at the house, there were about 50 people and the three musicians were intermittently playing music. Then, the politician and other locally famous people arrived. She shook hands with all the attendees before she took her seat and the music was still playing.
From then on, it was like one of those late night shows. Whenever someone was introduced or said something good, this music that sounded almost Indian serpent followed the comments. People also chanted her name and applauded whenever they got excited.
Anyways, after the meeting, everyone was fed with sweet and savory tamales and coffee and tea. Unfortunately, the savory tamale had hidden meat but otherwise, it was tasty. The politician also gave buckets to all the female attendees and T-shirts to men.
After the meeting, we went to see the pyramids. They were all very cool but these old sites, whether in Mexico or elsewhere in the world, tend to have bloody stories attached to it. I didn’t take a picture but there were very large things that looked like mortar and pestle on one of the pyramids in Xochitecatl. I was told that the most beautiful woman in town was sacrificed there. I don’t know how she was sacrificed but I just imagined gruesome scenes. I feel bad for these women.
Tlaxcala was very hillie. My legs were a little sour this morning and I fell asleep right away on the bus. I need protein and iron and all things nutritious.
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June 28th, 2009
I woke up and even though the windows were covered by the curtains, I knew that I was in a very different place. No sound of cars. Lots of animal noises, from hens to dogs to other things that I couldn’t identify.
I went downstairs and the family we stayed with was making breakfast. I could finally watch someone cook Mexican food! I got a recipe for green salsa, which I had with gordita and cheese. So good. I need to learn how to make tortilla too.
We walked to a small highway, where we caught a combi. It’s a van that picks up and drops people anywhere along the route. 4 of us paid 50 pesos for a 20 minute ride. I have been told not to take combi in DF but, at least here, it seemed safe and very convenient.
Tlaxcala was an old and pretty town. It was much cleaner than DF and the people seemed more relaxed. We walked down the famous steps, from which you could see the whole town.
We then went to a church with a bull fight stadium attached to it. There are lots of catholic churches in Mexico. I’ve noticed that many of the churches have miracle rooms. My co-workers in DF are not so religious but here, most people were pious.
We went to a small market where I got a couple wooden spoons to use for tea leaves at home. This market was more touristie than the other mercados. There was a young teenager who asked me to buy candies in Japanese. I didn’t buy them.
Before taking the tour bus, we went to a governmental building that has murals telling a story of Spanish invasion and ate some cheese ice cream. The tour bus was 20 pesos and showed us all the major sites in town in about 40 minutes. There are street venders that sell freshly fried potato chips with salsa and they are very very good. After the tour, we went to a very large indoor market, which reminded me of Vietnam. There are many things that remind of Vietnam, like the market and the traffic.
There was a birthday party for my friend’s cousin, so we went to their house in the evening. The food was good but after the shot of tequila, I had a baaad stomachache throughout the night. My stomach has been sensitive this week but I was especially uncomfortable tonight. Oh well.
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