Sites and Surprises

Back in May I found myself in and out of work due to a bunch of holidays. 

We had: 

·         Primero de Mayo (similar to Labor Day in the US/Canada)
·         Dia de la Santa Cruz (Holy Cross Day)
·         Cinco de Mayo (honoring the victory over the French army in at the Battle of Puebla in 1862)
·         Dia de Madre (Mother’s Day)

While I really missed working in the bakery, learning new dance moves, and practicing English with my enthusiastic chamaquitos at GADI, I had an incredible adventure with friends Katherine, Peter, and Sara in the city of Puebla for Cinco de Mayo celebrations.   

Cinco de Mayo isn’t actually as big of a deal as it seems to be north of the border. Yes, it honors the victory against the French in the Battle of Puebla in 1862 (only later to be lost to the French) but in truth it’s just another national holiday where school are closed and people take the day off. Puebla seems to be the only Mexican city that hosts a parade or any sort of celebration worth mentioning.   

Off to went to take in everything that this colonial mountain city has to offer!

Katherine, me and Sara in front of the main cathedral. 

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The food certainly lived up to its reputation. Mmm, mole poblano, a thick sauce made of different kinds of spices, chiles and chocolate.  

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It just happened that we were in town for the last few days of a major music and cultural festival called Barroquisimo, which meant we got to see a number of free concerts all around the city.

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AND, to my surprise, the festival ended with a concert by Baaba Maal - a Senegalese pop/world music artist who I’ve listened to since growing up in West Africa!

After the concert: Katherine, me and Baaba. 

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Then on Cinco de Mayo, May 5th, we made our way through swarms of people with giant umbrellas in order to watch the parade. 

We had a hard time finding a good spot to see all the action and eventually climbed partway up a giant statue to get a better view. 

The parade itself was kind of underwhelming since it was basically hours of soldiers and military tanks rolling down the street and only a few floats and high school marching bands to speak of. 

Besides the parade being a bust, the trip was fantastic. Probably the most memorable was our visit to the Pyramid of Cholula - famous for its system of underground tunnels and also considered the world’s widest pyramid. Only what made our trip out there so interesting wasn’t necessarily for the pyramid itself. We started out with a pretty laidback morning walking around the ruins and looking inside the church built on the top of the hill; then as we started walking down the stairs from the church I noticed a familiar face sitting alongside the path.

Next to spread of candies, bracelets and other crafts was Celia, a young woman from the village where I previously worked. I don’t think either of us knew what to do at first but all in an instant Celia and I were hugging and catching up on what’s happened since we last saw each other. It turns out that she’s been away from home for a while in order to help her brother sell baskets, bracelets, and whatever else they can at tourist and pilgrim sites like Cholula. It caught me completely by surprise to connect with Celia here, especially since we never had the chance to say goodbyes before leaving the community.

It’s still hard to put words to this experience except to say that this was such a meaningful encounter. I didn’t even know how to express that to Celia except to tell her that I hope this hug hope wouldn’t be our last.

It’s definitely that memory that will stick with me from our mini-vacation to Puebla. I shared a lot about this with my host mom and coworkers but after a few weeks now that I’m back into my normal routine at work and home, I can’t shake the feeling that more goodbyes are about to happen in this next month and a half. It’s sooner than I would have hoped but I guess now I’m on the homestretch.

Already, some of the teachers at my work have already asked about when I leave Mexico, what I’ll be doing when I get home and if I’ll ever come back and visit. It's hard to think about leaving. These are uncomfortable conversations but it's understandable that they need to happen. We all need to start somehow and in some way thinking about leaving well. 

The major churches, pyramids, cities and quaint small towns may eventually fade into the back of my mind – but again, the ones who have made Mexico so fully part of who I am – people like Celia - simply won’t. 

Maybe I’ll save some of those thoughts for a future post but in the meantime I’m reminded that it’s really those who have grown so close to me this year that make life in Mexico feel like “home”.

From my slice of Mexican “home” to yours,
Katie