Mexico
Its been many years since I last visited Mexico. I remember visiting my father's family in Guadalajara, Jalisco and in Guerrero my mother's family. Guadalajara I remember was all music I noticed that every family was large all of them interacted. It was an eye opener to see how much family I had that lived within the same fifteen blocks. Everyone talking to eachother even to strangers and all of them sining in unison. Religion is a huge role in the culture my grandfather lived across the church and it was amazing to see how within five minutes all the benches were filled. No matter what the religion that the individual has it is valued by everyone, the church across the street was beautiful the inside paintings small statues and the glass stained windows all fit how the people at Guadalajar would be expected to be.From when I went to Guerrero it was not a city like ambiance like in Guadalajara the land was somewhat like it is in Tahoe. The mountains all filled with green and the dirt had a rich earthy aroma. I could see was how in her small hometown everyone was connected with the land; walking, working on it, the songs heard were of the land and family. Their homes were slowly progressing, some homes were just one large room (more of a patio) some had no roofs and most had no real plumming. The newer homes still had the bright colors reds browns vines and plants growing along showing that they still wanted to keep this part of their land.
Lastly what makes me think of Mexico is the clothing not just the bright clothes with flower patterns but also thoes of the indians all these colors show the lively spirit the people have. These dresses that I saw with the flower patterns were valued by the sellers and buyers. For one the flocorico dresses are more from Jalisco while in Guererro the dresses werent as bright rather gave a more humble hardworking look had a few flowers the color of the dresses were eggshell.
It is a rich culture that values family, its land, religion, and especially their country's past. To think about it from other friends that come from other countries like El Salvador, Nicaragua all talk about similar values. I really would love to visit La Piramide del Sol (Pyrimid of the sun) in Teotihuacan and La Piramide de la Luna (moon).
Hi Bianca, It is amazing that you got to visit your homeland and that experience opened your eyes to different culture. I am from Bulgaria and religion also plays a big role in people's lives. I wish I get the chance to visit Mexico one day. :)
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience the second time I visited Mexico. My friend has a house in a tight nit little community similar to what you described. Many generations of family lived in small houses and were very friendly. This small community had a church and one general store and in the center was a little playground. The playground had some monkey bars and things to play on and a concrete soccer pitch. Everything else was all family run. We would go to someone's house who made fresh tortillas everyday and different people in the community had different responsibilities. It seems so much different than how things are in America. Even in a relatively small town like Tahoe there isn't the sense of family, community, and responsibility that I witnessed in Mexico
ReplyDeleteI think its great that you were able to visit Guadalajara and that your family is so based regarding their proximity. My family is all quite distant in regards to how far we live from one another, so I'm quite jealous that yours live within the same 15 blocks! Also I enjoyed reading how music is so integrated into the culture, as is the land. My favorite part was when you described the warm colors of the housing. I realize not all the housing is up to standard however I wish people would implement the same warm colors they paint homes with in Central America to the US!
ReplyDelete