Semana Santa Escape!

    This time a year almost every beach around the country gets flooded with Spring Breakers, college students and national tourism from all over Mexico. It is no time for peace and quiet that's for sure!!

   When all the crowds are headed for the beach this is a good time to plan a trip inland and explore some different landscapes besides the beach.

   Here is a list of five getaways  for this Semana Santa and Semana de Pascua to escape all the madness!

Nogueras, Colima

   This is a quick drive up from the town of Comala, past the coffee plantations and old cobblestone roads you can find an old hacienda turned in to a museum, a souvenir shop and gallery of famous painter Rangel Hidalgo as well as a botanical garden and various art cafes with good music. 

"ex hacienda Nogueras"

Ajijic, Chapala Jalisco

   This has been a favorite location for all kinds of artist since 1940's and probably before that, it's ideal weather, the beautiful lake and mountains, there is no denying this pueblos charm and inspiring air. 

Enjoy a meal by the lake shore at Restaurante La Tasca and delight yourself 

with their live performances  and musical collaborations... 

Autlan de Navarro, Jalisco

   This is a special town in its own way, it has a great market with lots of fresh produce and local wild fruit sold in baskets, it is surrounded by one of the largest protected natural areas called Reserva de la Biosfera Manantlan. This is area is great for hiking and exploring the surroundings and is very peaceful and serene. 

downtown Jardin de Autlan 

Guadalajara, Jalisco

   Normally you would avoid the big city if you are trying to escape the crowds but the amount of families who actually leave for the beach is so big that the city looks practically deserted and it's quite nice to go strolling down town amongst the colonial buildings and old theaters, not to mention no traffic!

Be sure to visit the Hospicio Cabanas, an old orphanage turned military bunker 

during the Independence and later turned canvas for famous 

Mexican muralist Jose Clemente Orozco; his masterpiece 

"El hombre en llamas" (the man on fire) won him an 

UNESCO world heritage site tittle. 

Tequila, Jalisco

   If it's the country side you would like to see keep driving to Tequila, no need to describe here it's just that: the land of Tequila. It's also a beautiful town with lots of local museums and historical sites. Stock up on your Tequila time! 

typical Tequila landscape 

Disfruta las vacaciones :) 

Comida de Cuaresma - Vegetarians Enjoy!

   Everyone who has traveled around Mexico and happens to be a Vegetarian knows how hard it can be sometimes to find a meatless dish besides a Quesadilla! During La Cuaresma or the 40 days known as Lent, 90% of the Mexican population who happen to be Catholic, give up eating red meat on Fridays and they sometimes practice abstinence from other things dear to them like smoking or drinking, all this to correspond the time that Jesus Christ spent stranded in the wilderness.

   This is the time when businesses have to change up their menus if they want to keep selling food on Fridays and a good opportunity to enjoy some delicious and typical Mexican vegetarian cuisine!  

   List of some traditional Cuaresma dishes you might find added as a special in your favorite spots:

• Tacos de pescado  
• Tacos de camaron
• Tacos de rajas y champinones
• Empanadas de Vigilia (flour pastry's stuffed with veggies or seafood) 
• Tortitas de camaron seco, de coliflor, papa y atun (tortitas or croquettes made with dry shrimp are the best)
• Chiles rellenos de queso y camaron
• Pozole de Camaron 
• Capirotada (typical bread pudding dessert) 

Capirotada - Mexican Bread Pudding

Friday Night Specials @ Capulina's Tacos 

Viernes Social at Capu's Tacos

people out to greet El Obispo who came to town

Special Thanks to Lin Magali Loza for her  great pictures! 

Feliz Dia de San Patricio!!!

   For this particular celebration everybody seems to have some Irish in them somewhere!!! If you happen to be in La Manzanilla and want to know how St. Patrick's Day is celebrated here are a few ideas on where to spend your March 17th...

  - Lora Loka's Green Celtic Night by the beach March 17th-

   Serving delicious green Echiladas, green beer and Margaritas! The cost is $100 pesos per person and you will also get to enjoy the music of Triskele Celtic Duo playing at 7:00 p.m. 

"La Jefa"

Go green! 

San Patrcio - Melaque Fiestas 2012

   After you have enjoyed some local fun you can then head South to join the real "fiesta" in the town of San Patricio - Melaque, on this date they celebrate their patron saint of their church who happens to be St. Patrick, this saint was chosen to honor the Irish St. Patrick's Battalion, conformed by 175 Irish immigrants, they joined forces with the Mexican Army in 1846-48 and fought against the USA during the Mexican - American War.  In San Patricio the "fiestas" are specially fun because they happen at the same time as the rodeo and "la Feria" comes to town. All of this put together and you have an evening of live music, midnight rodeo, fireworks and "Castillo", mechanical games and typical Mexican candy stands! Oh and lots and lots of people...

"La Banda tocando en el Kiosko..." 

"San Patricio" 

Irish Blessing: 

“Que la tierra se vaya haciendo camino ante tus pasos,
que el viento sople siempre a tus espaldas,
que el sol brille cálido sobre tu cara,
que la lluvia caiga suavemente sobre tus campos y,
hasta tanto volvamos a encontrarnos,
que Dios te lleve en la palma de su mano.”

Special Thanks to Lin Magali Loza and Dona Laura! 

Preparing for the "lluvias" continues - Boca de Tormenta

   For all of those who are wondering what is going on down town with the torn up street, preparation for the rainy season continues in behalf of the authorities.

   They are building in a "Boca de Tormenta" which will help collect the water from the rain and lead it to the small "lagunita" that connects with the ocean across from the Jardin.

   This work is being done between the streets of Chamela and Playa Blanca, with this project the authorities wish to end the flooding that happens every year around the town Plaza.

Replacing the "adoquin".

Street temporally blocked. 

Also the Delegacion would like to inform the foreign community 

that there is a Mother's Day event being organized and if you wish to 

participate with a donation or just get involved please come by 

the Delegacion during office hours for more info. 

Special Thanks to Delegacion La Mazanilla! 

Founding Women of La Manzanilla - Dia Internacional de La Mujer 2012

   This March 8th is International Women's Day according to the UN, this year the delegates in Mexico have decided to focus on the empowerment of rural and indigenous women of our country.
 
Rural women represent a very important part in the economy of both developing and first world countries, they contribute in the agricultural process, they ensure food safety and help reduce the levels of poverty in their communities.
 
 Lin Magali Loza who majored in Psychology decided to interview some of those rural strong women in our small society of La Manzanilla, these four women help shape our town in to what it has become today.

Maria de Jesus Gomez Gutierrez 

   Maria arrived to La Manzanilla around the 50's, she recalls all the houses made of sticks, she worked in the field handling dry coconut like most men, women and children who lived here at the time, they would break it and shipped it to Cihuatlan were it was turned in to soap. Marian and her friend Margarita worked together to sell the coconuts. 

   She says they mainly ate fish, beans, nopales, quelite, jocoque, coco de aceite, wild spinach, eggs and in special occasions chicken or meat. They made coffee from the Mojote trees as well as patties. She washed her clothes with the rest of the women at the river using fig leaves and a type of grass "zacate avellana" that would bubble up as they soaked their clothes. She also recalls going to "la noria" to fetch water, this is a shallow well that people in town got together to build across from the elementary school.

Adela Parra Lomeli

   Adela was born in 1932 in La Manzanilla, she proudly remembers working for all the Centros de Salud in town, she helped vaccinate everyone from children to dogs! She was part of the anti dengue campaigns, she also remembers working as a child in the coconut trade, breaking coco de aceite for the people in Cihuatlan; another place Adela worked at was "el saladero" were they filleted sharks and cured and dried the meat in salt.   

   In the afternoons Adela would join the other women at the beach were they cached chocolopas in the sandy shore for dinner. She says some of the dishes she prepared quite often were jocoque de coco de aceite, mojote patties, fried fish, soups, soy, caldillos, beans and turtle eggs. Everything was cooked with firewood and no electricity, they used gasoline operating devices for light.

   Adela was crowned beauty queen for the third age pageant division in the Municipio of La Huerta!

Victoria Pineda 

   Living her childhood with her grandparents Victoria was born in L. Manz. in 1932, she describes the town back then as hills covered in Manzanilla trees and palm trees. She never worked in the coconut trade, she was left behind to full fill domestic labors like cooking, cleaning, washing clothes and carrying water to drink from the "noria".
   When Victoria got married her mother handed her down their store, around that same time the road to P.V. was built and more and more people started showing up in town, since before you could only go by horse to Melaque or Cihuatlan. Victoria ran the first bus station in town.
   She recalls the first woman to sell fried fish was Elena Lepe and her partner; these people had to leave town after committing a murder of one of Dona Linda Garcia's sons! As she recalls the name Garcia she remembers Maria Garcia and her husband Poli who came from Tequestitlan, Maria Garcia was a teacher and she was the first one to organize the kids in town and put up a small school! The children who attended only got to learn how to wright their names because she soon moved away.

Sofia Rodriguez Estrada "Dona Chofi"

   Last but not least Sofia; she does not remember much since she is 90 years old, she says she worked washing peoples laundry since around the 50's and she also says she ate a lot of beans and remembers that everyone worked in the coconut business.

"El feminismo es la noción radical de que las mujeres sean personas..."

Special Thanks to: Lin Magali Loza and the four Mujeres 

who were interviewed.

Feliz Dia Internacional de La Mujer! 

La Primera Primavera!

   The month of March is here and any given day now you may be turning a corner of a street or driving down the carretera when you will suddenly catch a glimpse of the most vibrant yellows nature has to offer, that is the color of a Primavera tree in bloom. 

   This tree is a natural indicator that winter is almost over and spring is right around the corner, most tropical trees in the deciduous forest will loose all their foliage like the Primavera does, they do this because of the lack of water in the dry spring season, they can only afford to maintain one or the other, leaves or flowers. 

   If you stay around La Manzanilla for the dry season you will notice most of the forest going bare and brown except for the colorful patches that stand out here and there of blooming tropical trees, all just as beautiful as the Primavera.  

Tabebuia donnell-smithii - Primavera in bloom. 

   This tree has a lot of value to us not only for its beauty but because people use it in construction and carpentry, it's a very hard wood, light and resilient to water and most pests, very good for outdoor structures, besides some species are very resistant to fires. 

   It's very important we value and replant Primaveras because all tough they are recognized and enlisted as an endagered specie in the NOM 059 SEMARNAT 2001 (Mexican proteccion law and listing of endagered species) it is still used freely and a lot! In La Manzanilla for construccion and other purposes. If you are going to build a home or furniture using Primavera wood remember that they are very durable and will grow easily when transplanted so  please try to reforest some more Primaveras at least around your property :)  

   Remember to keep you eye out for the first blooming Primavera against the bright blue Mexican sky you may encounter in 2012 and just enjoy the sight!!! 

For all of you tripping on the weather remember: 

"Febrero loco y Marzo otro poco!" 

Special Thanks to: Ma. Elena Lizaola Cervantes ,
 Hector Castillo Aceves y Esteban A. Magana!