In the news...

...albeit on the Swindon Does Arts website
See link: http://www.swindondoesarts.co.uk/2010/9/2/swindon-sambas-1st-birthday

Nov 2 – Day of the dead

Phoned mum via Skype at the wi-fi café, then met with Eva to go to visit Cholula (again). We only went to the church last time, but there’s an archeological site too. Sadly, the electricity was out so we couldn’t go into the tunnels inside the Mayan pyramid (which the church is built on top of), but had a look around the small museum and the site. The view of the church on top of what’s been excavated of the ancient pyramid is quite impressive! At one point, if you clap your hands the echo sounds like chickens. Ate enchiladas in the zocalo and went for a wander round streets and markets. Came across a big courtyard in front of a church where loads of people were sitting under trees, eating inside a marqee and a (poor) brass band was playing. There are always lots of people everywhere doing stuff. It had been really hot most of the day, but by the time we got back to Peubla the streets near the bus station were flooded. Saw on the news last night that Mexico City and other places have been REALLY flooded, torrents of water flooding the streets – just hope the airport hasn’t been affected.

I don’t fly home until 9pm on Wednesday night and I have nothing to do inbetween. I think better liason between Juconi and ICYE could have sorted this out. Yesterday was a bank holiday so I didn’t have my Monday art session – but no-one seemed to communicate than to anybody before I came. I fly just over a week after I finished work – of course, it’s been interesting being here for day of the dead BUT a week is a long time.

much better thank you

Pictures: little boy sits next to his 'dead' friends in the Zocalo. Ofrenda (alter) to a wrestler. Selling flowers in the market. An orange, marigold type flower is linked with the day of the dead (but not funerals in general).

Feel much better today and can venture further than 10 metres from the loo. Went to the Italian Coffee Company to use their free internet and later went with Eva to the Mercado Hidalgo (the market near Centro Juconi) to see what was there. There is lots! Even a chapel with a service going on (it’s Sunday). Loads of flowers being sold for day of the dead, and food of all kinds and clothes and, and…

Got off the bus in town and mooched – lots of people in the Zocalo and lots of ofrenda (alters for the dead). One for dead pop stars, one for children who died of flu, one for the 48 kids who died in a fire in a children’s home in Sonora (bit of a cover up by the state, apparently), one for wrestler, various politicians etc etc.

At 8 we went to the Panteon Municipal (cemetery) where there was a gang-show type show in the middle of the cemetery, with a werewolf and other ‘dead’ or scary type characters. Went back into town to see the end of a concert and loads of kids in Hallowe’en costumes (some quite scary), but there wasn’t the party atmosphere I’d expected. There was a guided walk going on, and a few angels too, and some floats (and 2 armed tanks!) but no partying, or really any bars to be found – whether this is because it was Sunday or just that drinking isn’t part of it all here I don’t know. Probably best given the delicate state of my stomach. There’s an odd and contradictory mix between day of the dead (celebrating the dead) and Hallowe’en (making death scary). Apparently Hallowe-en started in the UK when people used to think that the dead came back on All Souls Day, and would dress up to trick the dead into not recognising them (hence trick or treat). Eva thinks Oaxaca (state) is the place to go party-party. She’s from the north where life is more western (it’s nearer the USA) and is as interested/confused by it all as me. She
has a 10 year visa to go to the States, which she does quite regularly for shopping etc. Mexican’s have to prove they have a permanent job and enough money in the bank in order to get such a visa which costs around £200 for 10 years. If the States don’t want Mexican immigrants they’ll have their money anyway!

Tomorrow is actually day of the dead. It’s an unofficial bank holiday.

it had to happen

Have not been able to move beyond a 10 m radius of the toilet today. Haven’t eaten much over the last couple of days, but something did me wrong. Feel tired, weak and sad.

Lucia – bless her – has come to my rescue with food and provisions (nothing in the house, and I’m afeared of going to the supermarket (because the loo will then be more than 10m away).

Started watching some Reneé Zellweger film (I assume from the parts she gets she’s considered a looker, but she has the face of a scrunched up paper hamster)…which switched to Russian half way through (dodgy DVD).

Friday

The finished mural (except for the pin-up board which will be in the middle)
Hung around this morning waiting for the launderette to open at 10 to pick up Emily and my laundry. Stupid, ridiculous woman wasn’t there, and when I went again she put up the price by 5 pesos (even though the calculator said 3), and proudly presented me the the top of mine she’d lost the first time (even though it was actually a different T-shirt that I’d taken in this time). She would not be getting my business again if I stayed.

Everything seemed OK at the casa – you wouldn’t think anything much had happened. I saw 2 people with bandaged fingers, and Miguel had washed all the gunk out of his hair, so he looked fluffy – other than that all was as usual. I saw the women deal, quietly with 2 different boys (one upset, the other angry…not at the same time). Miguel helped me until lunch (around 3pm) and a lot of other boys did too. Had a quick game of basquetbol with Jorge (who came back last weekend) – I won. At lunch they all noisily celebrated something (a birthday?) but I had already declined to eat with them having taken in a sandwich). A few of the boys came to ask me to eat. We signed the mural with everybody’s names who had helped. I wouldn’t have understood or been able to join in the sing-song anyway. Spanish really felt lousy today, I had it (fleetingly) but I’ve lost it again! I just left. Feel Like a should have gone to say goodbye, especially to Miguel, but awkwardness of language put me off.

Really humid today and I felt a bit woozy. This evening it has chucked it down – lightening and everything. I had had vague thoughts about going into town – they’ve set up a stage in the zocalo for ‘cultural activites’ to tie in with day of the dead, but have stayed in. Discovered all the DVDs in the house are in my mother tongue so have watched Jarhead (pretty good) and will watch more later.

last art session

Pictures explained: the front and back of Cornejo's T-shirt and the rest of the boys pose in front of the day of the deal ofrenda. Leo later put his T-shirt on the ofrenda as an offering to the dead. I think this is a good thing!

Today was my last art session at the casa. All the boys got their T-shirts, and were really pleased. We finsihed off the picasso-style portraits, more or less, we were racing to finish so we could eat cake and take photos. It all fizzled out a bit, but Gelos called us all together to say thank you and ask the boys to say something nice. Miguel E seemed to speak from the heart – his eyes changed, he looked older somehow. Quite moving. I gave each of them a ‘certificate’ on which I wrote a little personal note to each of them. Quite glad it fizzled a bit, it made it less of a big deal. Feel a bit sad, and know that when I come back it won’t quite be the same – especially because neither Emily or Eva will be here and also… I will have had to have improved my Spanish!

Though work is over it’s still a week before I get back to Blighty. I have a meeting on Tuesday as a kind of summing up, and fly late on Wednesday to return Thursday evening. It’ll go quicker than it now feels it will. Tomorrow I go to the house to finish off the mural, but thereafter I have nothing I have to do. I walked into town along Heroes de cinco de mayo, bought a few postcards, had something to eat and some hot chocolate and walked slowly back again. I’m not bored but will have to find things to do. I’ve got perfect internet connection tonight but can’t watch on-line telly outside of the UK, so I’m now listening to radio 5.Which feels a bit weird.

more again

Everyting was busy today. Including me. The roads were gridlocked – some demonstration, I think by General Motors workers, messed up the traffic, and the Hidalgo market was full of dia del meurte stuff, and music and incense. The first session with the little kids at the centro went really well. They all said gracias and how much they’d enjoyed the project and that I was very nice. Bless. They are extremely cute.

The second, less cute, group were a bit of a pain in the jacksy. Their maestra, Vanessa, was elsewhere at a meeting and the lady in charge gave us no back up whatsoever. Eva, who was with me all day, and I were absolutely knackered by the time we had to lug 6 bags full of apint and other srty stuff home. Don’t know why everything has to be taken to and from the centres. OK for Gelos in her car, but merely annoying lugging it all on a bus and on the walk home.

Have just spent time sorting everything out, buying cakes for my goodbye thing tomorrow and ironing on transfers onto the casa kids shirts. The T-shirts look really good. Dinner tonight is beer and fags. 3 people – Laura, Martin and Pedro have just turned up to stay here, but have gone out for food, thankfully as, despite their being lovely, I’m not in the mood.

Emily’s departure was announced at the casa today and she’s emotionally drained – she’s worked there for well over a year and will be missed. With dia del muerte coming up a lot of the boys, whose parents have died, are emotional.

I'm going to retire early with Jane Austen. or is it Emily Bronte? One or the other.