Día de los Muertos and Peña de Bernal
San Miguel de Allende - Bernal (Mexico)
01.11.2009 - 31.12.2009
The Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is one of the most important Mexican holidays and is celebrated annually on the first and second of November.
According to ancient Indian belief, the souls of the dead visit their families on this day.
In Mexico, this holiday is celebrated as a family celebration - not mourning. It is eaten, drank, played music and danced.
Thus, whole extended families meet at the grave of the deceased and bring food, drink and even the guitar.
Who can even play an instrument, musical entertainment to engage one of the numerous mariachis.
At a formal reception of the returning souls of the graves are decorated with colorful flowers and candles.
With orange and yellow flowers adorned altars decorate the homes and public places.
A picture of the deceased, his favorite food and favorite beverages, sugar skulls and skeletons are cast lovingly arranged on the altars.
Interracial colored corn and beans are also used for decoration.
In public places especially the hungry pigeons looking forward to the decorative lining.
In the Parish on the occasion of the Día de los Muertos are the floor tiles removed from the altar, making the steep stone stairs to the crypt below is released and we can descend to the ancient tombs in a mysterious world.
The air is slightly moldy, we see graves in the walls, stone sarcophagi and the soil consists of inscribed grave slabs.
One goes on graves!
The atmosphere is strange, mysterious, awe and peaceful.
The visitors are mostly Mexicans present, some of which also left flowers at the graves of their ancestors.
A day tour takes us through Querétaro in the colonial town about two hours away Bernal.
After Mount Augustus in Australia and the Sugar Loaf in Rio de Janeiro, the Peña de Bernal is the third tallest monolith in the world.
Of the special energy of this place we feel because of the grueling ascent very little.
But with every meter the view over the beautiful valley and the village is spectacular.
Along the path, hawkers sell their cold drinks and food from highly invigorating towed coolers.
And discover the mighty wall of the monolith we single climbers who climb to the distant peaks.
On the way back we met a North American who has traveled several times by Germany, and even speaks some German.
It's always amazing how many people you meet who speak at least a few words of German.
Reaching consequences encounters usually occur unexpectedly.
MEGA supermarket! Long queue for bread - very long queue!
Baerbel is already at times, while Joachim various baked goods from the shelves of the bakery
Pliers on our aluminum tray balanced.
Baerbel is now behind a bearded gringo - we are here simply called Michel - the end of the line.
A southern German snapped communication shreds him to the question: Parlez-vous français? We agree on English!
Michel and Ginette are from Quebec and are on our way to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego.
The two remain about six weeks in San Miguel to here to take Spanish classes.
The Spanish teacher - a young Mexicans - they have met in another store.
We rave about the benefits of our suburban parking space and Michel is clearly interested, because the two are a bit further out on the Siesta RV Park.
We promise him an e-mail with a link to the website of our parking space and a historical overview. But how do we write down the e-mail address?
Complement our pen and the back of his shopping list is perfect!
The next morning, Michel and Ginette visited our RV park and for the next six weeks, our neighbors.
We discovered many common interests between us and four developed in the course of six weeks, a friendship that goes beyond the usual scope of a traveling acquaintance.
We are all surprised that the communication has a foreign language at the variety of topics such works without problems.
And if it sometimes stuck with English, is avoided in Spanish (which is similar to the French) or we can understand the French word or two of the German word.
Every year across Mexico celebrates on the 12th December, the Día de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe Day).
The Virgen de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe) is Mexico's patron saint and is worshiped as the patron saint of the whole country.
The church bells of San Antonio Church (in the immediate vicinity) are ringing from early morning until late at night, playing music and firecrackers explode.
In the afternoon, about 100 riders and their horses at the church, our road is closed and many of the faithful lined up in a long queue in front of the church.
Maria, head of the family of Weber (RV Park), sold the farm gate in a self-made, good tasting food at the numerous passers-by and churchgoers.
At the conclusion of the celebrations there in the evening at the San Antonio church, one of those typical Mexican fireworks.
The charity So Others May Eat looking for a great charity event at 24.12. more volunteers. We will call our help.
On Christmas Eve to needy people - many impoverished or homeless - are supplied with free food and drinks.
The organizers expect about 800 to entertain guests.
Promptly at 10:00 clock we pass the described gate through a 30-m-long tunnel and reach a large courtyard on the grounds of the Parish.
Shortly after we meet one another helper from Canada, where Elsa from Toronto even has German roots.
Her grandmother spoke German.
We begin with the construction of the many chairs for the guests and the few tables for eating. For the guest tables are not provided.
Numerous gifts are taken from a room, partially completed and built on one of the tables near the stage.
The gifts will be raffled off later in a raffle among the guests.
At about 11:00 are still some other helpers arrived, we stretch a canopy over the chairs and then begin the preparation of food.
Lack of parent organization, we declare ourselves responsible for the production of sandwiches and organize together with a teacher from New York, a small "production line" cut to the approximately 10 people perform the individual operations (Brush, ingredients (cheese, tomato, lettuce) Prepare evidence, wrapped in napkins, stack).
Shall be made in the next two hours, a few hundred sandwiches and forwarded as needed to the next department.
Shortly before the official start to appear around 13:00 more "helper", often hanging in the best clothes and some with large SLR at the well-fed belly gringo.
First, we consider this man-
accruing from pale-faces for a tour.
But no, these are "helper" with official badges - be seen and seen here seems to be the motto.
The free food for the volunteers should not remain unmentioned in this connection.
In fact, only about 300 people came and still there is plenty of food.
This is distributed as a farewell to the departing guests, which they gladly accept (video below).
From a German perspective, the lack of coherent guidelines for the operations and the rudimentary hygiene (washing your hands into two "common" dishes) to find fault with the organization of the event.
Ultimately, however, justify the good end justifies the means and the goal was to Mexican way indeed achieved the best!
After about five hours, we say goodbye, because we expected a different party - a potluck.
A potluck dinner is a celebration where everyone brings something to eat and drink. In our RV park has scheduled such a potluck.
Some campers have brought friends and one of our neighbors has invited all the same the other campers to camp.
It is fully in accordance with, and many strange faces abound on the otherwise very straightforward place. There we talked a lot, ate drank and laughed.
Mary brings the evening campfire still a terrific homemade punch, which she has prepared with various fresh fruits from the region.
The non-alcoholic punch is from a large bottle of Mexican "agave" refined individually according to personal taste "."
Around midnight the Latter delete the campfire and a fulfilling day is drawing to an end!
Now we count the days, because Ginette Michel and travel on 27 on. There's so much to tell and it is correspondingly late the following evening.
Isabelle & André from France also go after two weeks on 27 on. The two Frenchmen also want to Ushuaia and then to Australia.
Around noon, followed by the severe departure from Michel and Ginette.
One last group photo, a friendly hug and the two will become familiar with our best wishes on the way south.
On New Year's Eve we take along with Glenna and Rod attended a Native American full moon ceremony at the Botanic Garden (video below).
Today there is a Blue Moon, which is the second full moon in a month.
On New Year's Eve this very rare phenomenon can be found along about every 19 years.
The Indian ceremony to lead to inner balance with nature and earth. Rattles, drums, flutes, vocals, fire and incense to create a mystical atmosphere high above San Miguel.
We wish all readers a happy 2010!
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The Journey So Others May Eat videos and full moon ceremony originated in San Miguel de Allende.
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"It is better, in fact,
on the journey through life to have friends
as grateful addicts. "
(Oliver Goldsmith, 1728-1774)