We have just celebrated Semana Santa, the holy (Easter in the US) week. Schools here have a two week vacation and some businesses have been open half days or closed on Good Friday and Santa Semana day.
For many Alamos Mexicanos the scene is at the beach and they leave town for Huatabampito, which is about an hour away. But, Alamos then becomes the destination for hundreds of Mexicano tourists. So, town has certainly been very crowded. But even with many tourists, it has been somewhat quiet. This is a religious holiday and it is taken very seriously. Fiestas are low key and done mostly with family.
The Mexican tourist is easily spotted. The men may be walking around in shorts with a tecate, girls or women may be wearing short shorts and exposing their midriffs, women may be openly smoking in public, there is alot of cell phone, video and camera use.
With the exception of the Tecate, these things don't typically happen on a regular day in Alamos. This is a very, very conservative town. Women rarely wear shorts, even men do not wear shorts and women do not smoke.
Yesterday Senor and I sat at the Plaza and ate fruit and watched the tourists. There were many children dressed for communion and a local friend said it is quite popular to drive to Alamos and have your child take communion at the church here. On this morning, there were no shorts or tecates............... everyone was dressed in their very best conservative churchwear, young girls were wearing hats with ribbons and bows, young boys were in white and gold.
We were busy here at the casa during the Semana Santa week.
Senor and Umberto made placas. These placas will become the portal roof. They will lay diagonally over the vigas. Senor says we need about eighty. Looks to me more like eight hundred, but he says I am wrong and my math is not good.
I was very surprised I did not get asked to make them. But that is okay with me. I have my own projects right now.
Trying to make glass tiles for the sconces that will go in the bathroom has been my project. I have been making a few in the small hot box kiln, but have yet to get a good technique down.
Tonight I am going on my own adventure.
I will be taking a 9pm bus from Alamos to Nogales, Mexico, where I hope to arrive at the Nogales bus station around 7am. I will take a taxi from the Nogales bus station to the downtown Nogales border crossing. I will then proceed to walk through customs and across the border and find the shuttle that will transport me to the Tucson airport. I will next take an afternoon flight to the Dallas Fort Worth airport where I will be picked up by my sister. We will then drive north for an hour, where I will spend a week visiting with my father and mother and sister. I feel like I am on The Amazing Race.
This is the way many Alamenses travel to the US and is recommended because if one takes the bus straight up to Tucson, there is often a very long delay at the border crossing due to the folks on the bus who do not have their papers in order or do not even have papers and will be told they cannot even cross the border, but find that it is worth it to pay money to go to the border and be told exactly that by US customs...............
So, this will be an amazing adventure for me, I am sure.
I suggested to Senor.............when I return maybe the casa be done.............
3 comments:
What a great post...energetic as heck. You're life in Mexico is fascinating to me...we would love to be doing the same one day. Good luck on the amazing race.....
Can't wait to see you MANANA!!!!!!! Be careful & I will be looking for you at the airport for your last leg of your amazing race!!
How great for local knowledge. Have a great adventure and a wonderful time with your family.
House finished? Maybe a little ambitipus.
Post a Comment