Piñatas! November 18, 2009

In Mexico we have a nice tradition. When we have a party, we eat cake, eat candies, eat some traditional Mexican food, but we also do a thing that is an ancient tradition here in Mexico: we break a “piñata” in almost all the birthdays and in some holidays.

There are a lot of different types of piñatas but the traditional piñata has a meaning. The meaning is that the traditional piñata that has 7 peaks, and these peaks represent the 7 cardinal sins, and when you break the piñata it is said that you have destroyed the devil.

When you’re breaking the piñata you need to put a handkerchief over your eyes so you can’t see where the piñata is and you need to try to hit it without seeing. Also when you’re trying to hit the piñata the people sing you a song.

In a birthday party people give only candies and little gifts, but when it is time for “Posadas” (Christmas Holidays) people put some candies and fruits, like orange, peanuts, jicama, and sugar canes inside the piñata.

It’s easy to make a piñata, you may need:

• Tissue paper
• Newspaper
• Wheatpaste
• Scissors
• Balloons
• Candies or fruits
• Imagination

 

But if you don’t have time to do it, you can go to a candy shop or to a market (“mercadito”) and buy a piñata, and then you fill your piñata with candies or fruits.

When children break a piñata, they are happy because inside the piñata are candies and it looks like a candy rain.

Experience:

When I was a little child my parents gave me a beautiful piñata. The piñata was so beautiful that I didn’t want to break it. A lot of children were waiting for the candies that the piñata had, so my parents talked with me and they convinced me to break the piñata. Then I felt sad, because my piñata was destroyed, but then I felt good because I had a lot of candies.

By: Ulises :]

Mexican Food

In Mexico our food is vary famous and delicious because 0f its variety of flavors, colorful decoration, variety of ingredients and its spicy qualities!

The principal’s ingredients in Mexico are:
1.-Cereals, the most important is the corn they use to make tortillas.
2.-Vegetables like the quintoniles, verdolagas, aguacate etc.
3.-Legumbres like beans that are the principal food in this country.
4.-Chocolate and cheese are very important too.

I think that everybody knows what is a taco right? Well if you don’t know let me explain to you.  It is a tortilla with meat and some type of salsa. Other foods with tortillas are: enchiladas and quesadillas.
Mexico is divided into six regions because of their cuisine. The first is known as its natural sweetness instead of spiciness. In contrast Oaxaca is known for tamales and a great variety of moles, (a type of spicy chocolate sauce) while in the Jalisco the typical food is the birria.

The center of Mexico the pozole, carnitas, barbacoa and menudo are typical. The  Southeast is known for its spicy and chicken-based dishes and the seafood is very common in the states of Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

In a few traditions of the country the food is simlar or mixed. For example on the “Day of the Dead” there is a traditional bread called “Pan de Muerto” and also on “El día de Reyes” people eat eat a “Rosca de Reyes”  with some hot chocolate.

The most famous dishes in Mexico are: pozole, tamales, corundas, menudo, tacos, enchiladas, chiles en nogada, romeritos, nachos, carnitas  and guacamole.

Mexican Traditions November 17, 2009

Mexican Traditions

 Day of Magic Kings

 This is a tradition that has been celebrated for many years in Mexico and is celebrated across the country. Children of Mexico write the kings a letter asking for toys. The letter is left inside a shoe the night of January 5^th.

That night the Mexican families are accustomed to eating a delicious bagel and hot chocolate.

That day in some cities of the country like Irapuato the people organize a ride with music and lights where children are thrilled waiting for magic kings!

 Day of La Candelaria

It is celebrated on February 2^nd.

It is a religious tradition where people are accustomed to wake up the child Jesus, after Christmas.  This day the people eat tamales made of chili and sugar and atole.

Easter

 This week represents when Jesus died for us. It begins on Palm Sunday. After that, a service is held on Holy Thursday. Later a service is held on Holy Friday and the church is open all day.

And it ends on Resurrection Sunday and is the biggest festival of the church.

Independence Day

On September 15  the Independence Day of Mexico is celebrated.

 The president of each city in Mexico goes out to the balcony to give the cry of independence to remind us that we are a free and sovereign country.

Day of the Dead

 This day is celebrated on November 2 to commemorate the dead. People put an altar with objects and food that the deceased like.

Also people eat bread of dead and ‘’alfeñiques’,’ which are sugar figures in the form of food, skulls, etc.

Christmas Day.

Is celebrated on December 24^th.

This day marks the day that Jesus was born. People would celebrate by making a delicious dinner such as turkey.

And in some families they do gift exchanges. Besides that it is customary to put a Christmas tree in the house.

By Maureen

Posadas: A Holiday Tradition November 16, 2009

“Las Posadas” are traditional parties that we to do here in Mexico. These celebrations are done from the 16th to the 24th of December. They are to commemorate when Maria and Jose were looking for a place to sleep, so they could wait until the birth of Jesus. On the other hand, it is also to commemorate the 9 months that Maria was pregnant.

In Mexico a group of people organized themselves and did posadas in nine different houses. The people that are most interested in these celebrations are dressed like Maria or Jose, and sometimes they get a donkey. But this is not necessary.

To start everything the people have candles or sparklers and they sing Christmas Carol. The people that are outside sing the first part and the people that are inside the house answer with other part. This is a fragment of the song.

Outside:

En nombre del cielo

Os pido posada

Pues no puede andar

Mi esposa amada

Inside:

Aquí no es mesón

Sigan adelante

Yo no puedo abrir

No sea algún tunante

Outside:

No seas inhumano

Tennos caridad

Que el Rey de los cielos

Te lo premiará

Inside:

Ya se pueden ir

Y no molestar

porque si me enfado

Os voy a apalear

Outside:

Venimos rendidos

Desde Nazaret

Yo soy carpintero

 

De nombre José

Inside:

No me importa el nombre

Déjenme dormir

Porque ya les digo

Que no hemos de abrir

And when finally everyone is inside of the hoUse, they pray the Rosary. Then they eat atole, tamales and punch. Later they break the Piñata that is made of 7 peaks, because of the 7 cardinal sins and they have fruits, like oranges, tejocote, nuts, candies of colacion, etc. But actually some people don’t make piñatas. Instead they just give candies to the kids.

And to finish they give “Aguinaldo”, that could be money or a bag with candies and fruit.

Salsa and Chile in Mexico

Salsa is indispensable for any Mexican food, from enchiladas to chilaquiles and of course tacos too!
The best salsa is made in a “Molcajete”. This salsa very distinguished but many remember its unique flavor but only few people prepared nowadays. Before all salsas were made in this form but now the people prefer to use a blender because it is quicker than using a molcajete.

The molcajete is used to crush and grind spices to prepare sauces, and guacamole. The surface is rough, because it is made of stone. Thanks to the porous texture it is “imposible” to fully clean, but this is what made the molcajete sauce different. Because they carry flavors from one salsa, they are spread to another. Salsas  and guacamole prepared in molcajetes are known to have a distinctive texture, and some also have a difference in flavor from those prepared in blenders. Molcajetes can also be used as a cooking tool, where it is heated to a high temperature, and then used to heat its food contents. Molcajetes are also used as serving dishes in restaurants and homes.

There are a few restaurants that still makes salsa in a molcajete. Now the people see that as a ritual to prepare a simple salsa. In these restaurants the chef goes to the customer with a molcajete and a variety of chiles, herbs, spices and condiments, where customers choose what they want in their salsa.

After this the chef begins to add and grind the ingredients, one by one, so the molcajete will gradually filling with an exquisite salsa!

GUELAGUETZA: A Traditional Pre-Hispanic Festival in Southern Mexico

A peculiar colorful celebration in the America takes place in the core of the southern of Mexico. The guelaguetza is one of the most important celebrations in the country it consist in dance typical music of the zone of Oaxaca Mexico. This event year to year is celebrated in a hill, and names ‘Lunes del Cerro’.

The 2009 celebrations were in July 20 and 27. There is in an auditorium like the antique Greek theater and is in the Fortin Hill, this event also is realized in other towns like Central Valleys, Zaachila, Cuilapan de Guerrero, San Antonino Castillo Velasco, Tlacochahuaya, Reyes and Villa de Etla etc.

 Guelaguetza is a festival that has a base the religion of the indigenes of theregion and it is appropriate to the party of Saint Carmen that is two Mondays after July 16; however the event is a mix  of religions because also the festival is dedicated to indigenous gods particularly Miztec the god of Corn, Centeotl and the Zapotec. In the celebrations a woman is chosen to represent the god of corn, she participate the Sunday before the event.  

The word Guelaguetza has many means but the more recognized are that comes from the Zapotec language and means ‘reciprocal exchanges of gifts and services’ confirm by the historians. The people want to represent the exchange of food and everything that they can give, this tradition was of their ancestors Zapotecas.

 For that Guelaguetza derives of the Zapotec term guendalezaa that means present and offer basically nevertheless this term was distort by the Spanish colonization but the essential mean of first give and then receive has been maintained until our times

The presents or gifts in Guelaguetza is different depend the region, the work of the people are voluntary but exist a tradition names tequio where the work is obligatory and is a social function.

The dances represent the culture and the expressions of each zone of Oaxaca. The 7 regions that represent the guelaguetza are these:

• Los Valles Centrales
• La Sierra Juárez
• La Cañada
• Tuxtepec
• La Mixteca
• La Costa
• El Istmo de Tehuantepec

When the dance of the region is finished, the represents of the zone present to the public many peculiar things like vegetables, fruits and part of their costumes. So the public catch the presents and somepeople return the gifts in form of appreciation.

 The Guelaguetza is not only the dances of the two days on the hill; also consist in folk and gastronomic presentations that were the last two weeks of July. The most important events that were occurred wile guelaguetza are the exhibition of Donaji and the legend of Bani Stui Gul. The Saturday before the dances in the hill is celebrated a parade with the delegations of Guelaguetza, they have a guide of figures of Mache paper that name calendars.   

Article by Saul

The Mexican flag, it´s history and meaning

The Mexican flag obviously has had changes along its history until now. There have been a lot of changes, but I´m going to mention the most historically important and representative of them.                                                      

For more obvious reasons the first Mexican flag that was considered a representative icon for this country was the one used in the Mexican Independence from Spain. This flag was actually a banner which the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla took from the atrium of the Atotonilco Parish. This banner had an image of the Guadalupe virgin and is currently exhibited in the National Mexican History Museum, in Monterrey.

The next important change of the flag was when José Maria Morelos y Pavón started to use a different flag in the second period of the Independence. This flag had a crowned eagle over a cactus and three letters “V.V.M”, which means in Spanish “Viva la Virgen María”.

The most important change of the flag was when the Trigarante army started to use a flag with the current colors; green, white and red. This army was the one which consumed the Mexican Independence winning the war with Spain. This was first national and official flag of the country considered the image of Mexico by the first Mexican emperor; Agustín de Iturbide. It was made in Iguala, in 1821. This flag is the one considered the predecessor of the current flag because it was the first to use the same colors of the current flag.

Another important fact about the flag is its colors and the figure in the middle of it. The meaning of the colors is really simple. The green means independence, this is obviously the independence from Spain, the red means union; between the European and the American people, and finally the white means religion; and refers to the devote religion for the Catholic Church. This were the first meanings of the colors and actually nowadays the meanings are still the same, but in the Benito Juarez presidency time the meanings changed for a while because of the reformist and lay ideas. In those years the meaning of the white was unity, the red was the national hero’s blood and the green was hope.

Lastly the symbol in the middle of the flag, which is an eagle eating a snake while it’s standing over a nopal was taken from an Aztec code and a legend. The Aztec legend said that the ideal place for the Aztec people to build their city would be revealed by their god; Huitzilopochtli. This place was revealed when they saw an eagle eating a snake over a nopal in the middle of a lake. The Aztecs built their city there. The flag´s symbol was taken from that legend.

As my favorite personal experience with the flag, I would say, it was when I was in the school honor guard and I was the one who to carry it. I would empathize that for a ten year old boy, the flag is too heavy. During a ceremony in the school, I was carrying the flag. In the school ceremonies, the honor guard had to walk around the school path, so when we were turning around, I lost the balance of the flag and pushed the person who was next to me. In that way, I formed a chain and lastly the entire honor guard fell down because of me. Everybody in that ceremony laughed and I was removed from the honor guard.

Mexican Culture: Tequila

Tequila is not only a national drink, but also a symbol of Mexico whose meaning is not only as an alcoholic drink. It refers to the symbol of some novels, poems and other activities. In general, tequila is a part of the Mexican heritage.

The governments confirm that the production of tequila in Mexico is one of the things that describes a small part of the Mexican culture. The responsibility of the workers is to make tequila with the best quality and security.

Penjamo is the main area where tequila is cultivated and produced. This municipality is located in the south west of the state of Guanajuato and it means “Place of ahuehuete trees”. In Penjamo you can go to Corralejo.

Corralejo

This beautiful place was built in 1775 by Pedro Sánchez de Tagle. It’s considered very important because Miguel Hidalgo, also known as our father or as the leader of the Mexican War of Independence, was born here. The city considers itself as cradle of Independence. In 2010, we’re celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Mexican Independence and 100 years of the Mexican Revolution.

Tequila is aged for four months in rigid barrels of three different types of wood so the taste of the tequila is unique. All fine tequilas undergo a double distillation to keep the original taste. The natural source of the tequila is the maguey since Mexico was colonized by the Spanish people, and this plant is very similar to the cactus.

Inside this place, there is a museum: “The Museum of Wine and Bottle,” which by their variety of alcoholic beverages is the largest in Mexico. It includes about 3000 bottles and 99% retains its original drink.

The colossal monument is located in an esplanade, as well as the Baroque church that is still known for its immense towers and the astounding view to the Penjamo Mountains. There are fast food restaurants in the area.

There is another great monument at the entrance road to Corralejo, where Miguel Hidalgo is holding the flag of the Virgin of Guadalupe and it represents the beginning of the Independence. Next to this tourist attraction a company is located which produced the famous known tequila bottles and also this is a souvenir shop.

A personal experience was that when I was a child my dad took me to Corralejo. When I saw the place I really liked it, especially the collection of diverse bottles and old stuff. In 2000 my first communion was celebrated there. All my friends and family had a great time and the landscape was unique. It’s a peaceful place where you can watch how they make the tequila and you can take a walk around the museum.

Indeed, the Mexican culture has a lot of different topics to talk about, but the production of Tequila is important to the commerce because it is now consumed around the world. There are many tequila events and fairs in Mexico, not always in the tequila producing regions. Tequila is intertwined with many aspects of Mexican culture, from the oldest traditions of mezcal production, to be part of some novels and songs.

By Brenda

 

Questions:

1.-Where is Penjamo located?

2.-Why is tequila a unique symbol in Mexico?

3.- How is tequila produced?

4.-What’s Corralejo?

5.-What other attractions are in that area and why are they important to Mexican culture?

Mariachis November 6, 2009

The word “mariachi” comes from the French word marriage.  Mariachis are used  in some parties but mainly they are used in marriages and weddings.

Mariachis are descendants of some Mexican tribes; they belonged to the Cocula zone in the Jalisco state. This tribe arrived to Cocula in the century XVI. The “coca” people were people with music skills.

Mariachis or bands, in the beginning only had stringed instruments.

Mariachis groups are a musical set typical of Mexico. The mariachis groups are a symbol of the Mexican culture; because they are known in the entire World.

There are a lot of famous song authors that had written many songs for the mariachis groups, like Ruben Fuentes, Jose Alfredo Jimenez, Tomas Mendez and Manuel Esperón.

A mariachi group is made up of 7 or 12 musicians; it doesn’t have a limit of the people who can play in the group. The instruments that they used to play are the guitar, guitarron, violin, vihuela, trumpet, flute and sometimes a harp. Some mariachis bands that are in the United States also use an accordion.

The mariachis bands not only play original music from Jalisco, now they also play different styles of music like ballad, “rancheras”, corridos, Mexican waltz, they can play a lot of traditional music of Mexico.

The first sets of mariachis were dressed with Mexican costumes of the states of Colima, Nayarit and Jalisco.  The costume was made with a cotton blanket and with a hat made of straw. But in the beginning of the century XX, the mariachis bands started to use new costumes in their presentations. The new costume is what we know now as a “charro suit” or “traje de charro”. This costume is black or sometimes it can be also white and it has ornaments of different colours. They still use a hat and the color of the hat depends of the suit that they use.

The mariachis used to appear in the Mexican movies, which help them to be more famous in the entire world.  The first mariachis women appeared in the middle of the century XX in Mexico City.

In the capital of the country, there is a famous place in the downtown called “ Plaza Garibaldi”, in that place you can find a lot of groups of mariachis playing there.

So if you want to visit Mexico you need to go to that places like plaza Garibaldi, because you can see the real traditions that we have here in Mexico.

Plaza Garibaldi.

LNBP National League of Professional Basketball November 5, 2009

Sport in Mexico is being increasingly supported strongly by companies dedicated to improving and exposure of different sporting disciplines.

 On March 11, 2000 was established in the city of Durango, a company focused on the support and professionalism of basketball in our country. The National League of Professional Basketball, a partnership with the goal of bringing the country through the best of the sport faster, and produce real professional basketball.

 The National League of Professional Basketball was integrated into their home for 11 sites, listed below:

 Algodoneros de la Laguna Torreón, Coahuila 

Correcaminos Victoria de la UAT Cd. Victoria, Tamaulipas 

Correcaminos Reynosa de la UAT Reynosa, Tamaulipas

Correcaminos Tampico de la UAT Tampico, Tamaulipas 

Correcaminos Matamoros de la UAT H. Matamoros, Tamaulipas 

Dorados  Chihuahua, Chihuahua 

Indios de la UACJ Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua 

Garzas de Plata de la UAEH Pachuca, Hidalgo 

Ola Roja México, D.F. 

Osos Saltillo Coahuila 

Vaqueros Agua Prieta Sonora 

 To achieve true professionalism, the professional National Basketball League has the best sports facilities in each city of the participating teams, sports facilities that have been listed as the best in sports infrastructure throughout Latin America. In addition, each team has auditoriums and gymnasiums that have a capacity of between 2,000 and 6,000 attendees, an effort that has been achieved in order to demonstrate to the public the completion of this sport.

 The league tournament lasts four months, it beginning in August and ending in November also it has a spectacular event in mid-season, the All-Star of the National League of Professional Basketball, where they face National best players against foreigners.

 In the same way, the National League of Professional Basketball, also known as LNBP, imports players and coaches internationally, from places like Spain, Puerto Rico, Portugal and the United States and has to place national players and foreigners in the ranks of American League National Basketball Association (NBA), or differently, to bring veteran players of NBA and young talent from leading educational institutions. The LNBP has the support of the FMB, the COPABA, and FIBA.

 article by Saul