ZacaTECas!!!

To escape from exams this past weekend, I took a road trip with a few friends to Zacatecas. About 6 hours away, due southwest of Monterrey, Zacatecas is one of the most colonial cities in México. The Spanish architecture dominates everywhere and has been preserved immaculately. The climate there was perfect. The cool, crisp breeze with the warm sun was a refreshing escape from the smoggy humidity of Monterrey. Immediately, I felt the effects of the altitude. Zacatecas is 3500 meters above sea-level (11,482 ft.) I had a pounding headache and difficulty breathing walking up the steps. By dinnertime and a few aspirins later, I felt fine. The Hostel we found was amazing! I’ve never stayed at a hostel before but other students who had stayed in some told me it was the nicest they had ever been to. For 90 pesos a night ($8.39!) we got a 2 room loft apartment with bathroom, kitchen and 2 balconies! Its amazing seeing the people who go through there. The common denominator of most of these backpackers from Colombia, Switzerland, Australia, Germany that I talked to all seemed to be very aware of current events and global issues. Thank god I read the economist before getting there!

Just our luck, we were in town for the biggest weekend of the year Zacatecas. The annual fair celebrating its founding. More than 20,000 people were present at the celebration. Everything from food, bullfights, concerts and shopping was there. The big deal for me was the musica banda. Imagine guys in snazzy outfits with cowboy hats playing tuba, clarinet, trombone, trumpet, and drummers on Bass, snare and crash symbols. The majority of them have no classical music education, and I doubt they read music. But the Banda Sinaloence (from the state of Sinaloa) is a collaboration of raw energy and blasting upbeat melodies. It is so much fun to dance! This was just the first night! Day two, we got started and I met up with my Chilean, Aussie, and Swedish friends to take the teleferico (gondola) across the city to the cerro de la buffa peak. On our way up after crossing there were so many Huichol Indians who came from Jalisco and sold the most beautiful beadwork. We made it to the summit where there was a beautiful church and scaled the rocks to the peak on the west side of the mountain. The view I won’t even attempt to describe as other than breathtaking. The updraft of the mountain cool air, the gentle sun and the serenity of silence, so distant from the hum of a bustling city like Monterrey was probably one of the best moments I’ve ever had.

We Proceeded that night to the fair again and went to a really nice club. Clubs in México are amazing because they play everything from banda to reggaeton. There is so much variety and we danced our socks off. After calling it a night at 5 am, I got up to head to the ruins of “La Quemada” at 8:30! I grabbed some some pan dulce and water to re-hydrate from the night before. And took the trip organized by the hostel to the pyramids with some Germans, a Guatemalan and my friend Shannon. The ruins were incredible and indicative of how rich Mexico’s history is. The republic has only existed independently since 1810; however, there were centuries before of Mesoamerican tribes and culture and Spaniard-French colonialism. All I can say is, “enjoy!”

Randomness around Tec and the City

Mil disculpas (my apologies) for having not updated y’all in a while. We’ve had parciales which are sort of like midterms, but happen 3 times a semester. Yeah more stress! Now that I’ve weathered the storm, lets have a recap. Celestine and I went to the Barrio Antigua tiangis, which is an open market where artists, old ladies, indigenous people, and anybody wants to sell something come out to sell their goods on the streets. We ate…a lot! I saw the Nauhuatl Indian who ripped me off about a month before at his table and of course he calls us over. I told him I was Tecpatzin and had already been inducted into brotherhood. He then offered to tell Celestine her name free of charge! She has that charm I guess. Well he rubbed me a lot better this time because he wasn’t trying to swindle us out of our money so Celestine invited him to come out to lunch with us! So picture this- 2 sharp-looking American students walking into this restaurant with a Nauhuatl in his traditional clothing! We spent like two hours there talking and I learned more from that man in two hours about indigenous culture than years of textbooks have. From our conversation, I have come to the following conclusions. The native Mexicans were and always will have been the first inhabitants of this land. The injustice they have been exposed to is a product of imperialism and an avoidable consequence of globalization. Additionally, the indigenous way of life cannot be forced to adopt our western political party system, and should be given some form of autonomy. The indigenous people are extremely passionate about everything that they do. Whether harvesting their corn or weaving their clothing. They cannot be included into the party system because they will destroy each other because once they side with a party; they are wholly devoted to it and will fight to stand in their beliefs. It is for this reason that I am a sympathizer of the Zapatista movement. If you don’t know what it is, get with the times. The Nauhuatl, “Pancho” (his Spanish name) brought up many good points. A bottle of water costs more to the Mexican than a liter of milk. Why is that? Milk requires cows, a lot of equipment, and constant transportation because it is a perishable good. Water (by Coca Cola) obviously comes from a natural source and is purified; however, Coca Cola has the advantage of supply-side economics and a lower cost base. But it isn’t only bottled water. It’s all water in México. For that reason, the campensinos can’t irrigate their farms. The bank system forms a choking leash with its loan terms. For that reason, the campesino can’t acquire capital equipment to farm and only grows for himself and his family. The Nauhuatl who I spoke to was extremely eloquent and a good man; completely opposite of my first impression. He explained to me the banking system because he used to be a loan officer at the agricultural bank and had studied for many years. He was a vagrant by choice and was “free” in his opinion. He had plans to go to Austria next month to continue selling art. Maybe some of you other people abroad will see him around in Vienna (You can’t miss him).

During the week, Tec celebrated its 62^nd anniversary. Sorry AU, but Tec sure knows how to celebrate its inception: mariachis and 50kg of chilaquiles being mixed in a saucepan 3 meters in diameters!