GEM, Gringo in Mexico

Buenas tardes!

We returned home on Tuesday and are settling back in to some gorgeous autumn weather and the golden glow of the afternoon sun as it falls even farther to the south.

For those of you who might recall that we would then be making a second turn around trip from Mazatlan to Alamos and back with our son, Ian, he was not able to make it. This works fine because one round trip here and back was enough. I am not sure we could have done two. We hope to see him in the new year, maybe for FAOT.

We did so many wonderful things with KD and the novio. It was great fun. One of the special events that occurred during the week was meeting GEM, Gringo in Mexico, and attending a callejoneada led by La Estudiantina.

If you are not familiar with GEM, he is a fun loving gringo who travels around Mexico, enjoying himself immensely as he fights bulls, eats grasshoppers and bares his body on nude beaches. He does a terrific job of promoting all the wonderful and exciting things this country has to offer, all the while being filmed by Televista, the Mexico television company. GEM is then seen in over forty countries by satellite.

KD and novio and I were walking near our street and suddenly, there was GEM, whose real name is Robert. We received an introduction from the promotional assistant and a personal invitation to a callejoneada the following night.

A callejoneada is a street procession that winds its way through narrow streets and alleyways while being led by La Estudiantina. A group of students dressed in thirteenth century Spanish costume, La Estuduantina plays a variety of musical instruments and sings traditional songs.
They are very dramatic, mysterious and extremely good musicians and singers. Usually when they arrive, it is from a dark alley and their entrance can be breath taking, their cloaks swaying in the breeze, the serious looks upon their faces.

In the photo below I managed to walk behind them on their entrance from a narrow street near the church. The ribbons signify their order in the troupe.




Below is GEM.



The curator of the museum introduced him and the crowd went wild. In the you tube clip below you can see that evening's event. There are several times where KD and I are in the clip, especially around the three minute mark. I don't know Robert Kalish who made the you tube, but he did a great job of capturing the excitement of the crowd.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vUcMZrCBZA

The burro follows the callejoneada and carries bottles of red wine in the plastic bins.





I think seeing La Estudiantina perform is one of my favorite events in Alamos, and I hope you enjoy seeing the photos and the Kalish you tube. I don't know what satellite network GEM comes on in the states but I am sure if you want to see the episode of his visit to Alamos, you can find it.

Senor is playing bridge and talkzone cut off my twilight zone. They said either pay up for new episodes or you can just listen to ring a ding girl over and over again. I thought, okay, looking for something new to do now on bridge day.....................siesta is my answer.