Virgins, Loud Music and Calesas (Craig)

We´re here in Izamal for another wonderful day in ¨La Mexique Profonde¨as the French would say, ´Deepest Mexico´. Today was the last day of the big Feria de la Virgen de Izamal.

A word about virgins here. In Mexico, the Virgin of Guadalupe is big. I mean, really big. Bigger then Jesus, bigger then God, bigger then them both put together. I really don´t understand the whole thing, but it´s the way it is. In the local church here there are statues and paintings of the Virgin of Izamal all over the place and I could see only one statue of Christ on the cross off in a corner.

The wonderful thing about being in these small Mayan towns is that you get to see life of the regular Mexicans. To show how big the Virgin of Guadalupe is here, just walk down one of these back streets. Invariably, on a warm evening, the doors to the house will be wide open, the family will be inside, some laying on hammocks, some sitting on chairs, some sitting outside. The TV will be blaring, or maybe the radio turned up full blast, and in the corner will be a statue of the Virgin of Guadalupe, any size from a small one about 2 feet high, to a big one almost life size. There may be a bed of flowers in front, or candles, or sometimes even colorful Christmas lights, flashing on and off, around her. And outside the house, at least this time of year, will be another alter to the Virgin, often with a Mexican flag behind her. And on the other side of the door will be a Christmas set up, maybe a creiche or a lighted statue of Santa Claus. We actually bought one of these hideous Guadalupes with the flashing lights around her and plan to put it outside the house just to freak out the neighbors. It´s made in China, of course.

As are many other things here. Here at the Feria, are many booths where people sell clothes, pots and pans, jewelry, toys, religious stuff, belts, etc. I´ll bet 80% of this stuff is from China, as opposed to 20 years ago when it would all have been made in Mexico. Watch out world, the Chinese are taking over!

We took a long walk in the back streets and visited a couple of artisans. A wood carver, named Gabriel, is a local guy who started wood carving just 15 years ago. He has won several prizes at competitions. He this amazing chess set and all of the pieces were Day of the Dead characters. I really wanted to get it, but the 6800 peso price tag was a little much. There are also hammock makers here, along with silver and jewelry makers.

Today was a lot of fun and showed the two sides to this feria. The big happening of the day was the Procession of the Virgin. This isn´t the Virgin of Guadalupe, but the Virgin of Izamal, whose statue is taken out of her small room once a year, shown in the church for a few days, then paraded around town followed by the faithful. There is a big mass in the atrium of the church, where we got some great photos of the young and old here, dressed in their finest. Women in their huipiles, little boys dressed up like Juan Diego (the Azted kid in the Guadalupe story). The fair, right below the church, was quiet while this was going on, but after the Virgin was paraded around the atrium, followed by a marching band, the party started up below again. Loud music, dancing, lots and lots of beer (and drunks), and carnival rides, including a very cool bumper car ride that Amy and I partook of (good for getting your aggressions out, let me tell you).

Here in Izamal, the best way to get around town, besides walking, is in a Calesa. This is a horse drawn carriage and you hear the clippity-clop of horse feet all around town. We took a nice little 20 minute ride today (80 pesos) and it was very nice, right at sunset.

Another amazing thing about Izamal is the number of ruins, right in town. It was really built on an ancient Mayan city, as there are about 8 pyramids right in town, most of which are right on the street and you just walk up them. Most aren´t very big, but one of them is on of the biggest in all of Mexico.

Our hotel, the Machan Che, is very nice. Located about four long blocks from the square, it is a little piece of paradise. We have our own little cabin and in the back of the property is a small pool, made to look like a cenote, and a couple of hammocks to lounge in. Just right on a hot afternoon after walking all around town.

Tomorrow we´re off to Vallodolid, a medium size colonial town. We´ll spend a couple of days here and then maybe go to Chichen Itza before we head back to Merida on Friday.