Today's Forecast for The City of Hope: Smoke

Tuesday morning I woke up early to pack my bags and accompany my Tia to Mexico City, a 6 hour bus ride from Veracruz. I'll admit I wasn't thrilled by the prospect of boarding yet another bus, let alone one bound for Mexico City, but the last few days have been mellow and enjoyable.

Wednesday morning we went to mass in honor of my Tio Tito, a sweet and honorable man who passed away in 2001, just a couple of months before my grandfather did. Since then it's been a blur of restaurants and telenovelas...

While I don't normally watch TV in the states, I find myself enjoying Mexican TV. I specifically enjoy the "Bandamax" station, which is like VH1 for Banda music. All the videos feature mustached men in matching cowboy outfits and sombreros, singing about love and loss and accompanied by a desert backdrop. Apparently one Banda singer from Sinaloa, known as "El Gallo de Oro" (a.k.a. Valentin Elizalde) was killed in November for singing about nacos. Although I've inquired a few times, I haven't been able to discern more details.

Today we went to La Basilica de Guadalupe where I got to see the world-renowned painting of La Virgen. La Virgen is the subject of many unexplained mysteries, for instance, the colors used to paint her cannot be identified as coming from any earthly source. Another mystery is the fact that reflected in the virgin's eyes are the reversed images of several people, painted so tiny that it is supposed impossible than any human could have actually painted them. It is said that the people reflected in her pupils were those who witnessed the miracle of her appearance.

The Basilica was constructed in the 1500's and therefore is quite dilapidated. In the 70's a newer, much larger Basilica was constructed to accomodate the hoards, and I mean hoards of people who come to pray, often crawling in on their knees. While I have yet to fully absorb the significance of the many rituals and traditions of Catholicism, my (extremely devout) cousin has made sure that I know how to properly sign the cross and recite the Lord's Prayer. Although, I must admit that I still think of communion as snack time...

Even though traffic is a nightmare and copious amounts of smog are a constant source of nausia, I find myself contemplating an extended stay. Though I can't quite say why, I'm drawn to this city. Unfortunately, my visit here in Mexico feels much too short. Sunday and Monday will see more travel, all the way to Tuxtepec, Oaxaca. Until then, que les vayan bien,


LMA

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