Spanish 101
I am really excited to say that I have enrolled and started Spanish classes at Instituto Cultural Mexicano Norteamericano de Jalisico here in Guadalajara. Have now had my third day and am very surprised at how much I do know but never put to use. On the other hand there is some anxiety at how much we are being taught each day but the class is small with only one other student; a young lady from Germany. The conversation group which meets before class is a really fun mix of people with one person each from Moscow, Seattle, Tehran, The Philippines and Turkey. I guess I figured it would all be people like me. They all have a very good understanding of English and a jump on Spanish which does make me feel a bit out of sorts but it is going to be fun learning about their lives. I did spend a good amount of time investigating schools for Spanish and found most to have an inflated cost with no clear explanation of their curriculum. This school operates as a non-profit and is the original English Language School in the city
Santa – Is That You ???
So last week after registering for school I walked over to the park at Juarez to wait for my ride. I am sitting on a bench enjoying the sun and just watching people go about their business. Guadalajara is an extremely diverse city and you are able to witness folks from all walks of life at any given point. One rather dapper looking gentleman is sitting on a bench catty corner to me combing his thick white mane and beard. Picture in your mind what Santa Claus would look like if he was homeless, sitting on a park bench surrounded by garbage bags containing all his worldly belongings. After grooming his beard and parting his hair for a good half hour Santa starts to change from what I have to assume were his sleeping cloths, sweat pants and slippers to short pants and sandals. He goes about this business as any of us would in the privacy of our own homes, putting down a bath mat so his feet don’t touch the pavement when he changes his shoes and pants, neatly folding his sweat pants and placing them in a bag then using a separate bag for his slippers, everything has its place.
Now before I go any further let me tell you that this park is busy, it is the entrance for the main subway station in Guadalajara and there are people everywhere. Not twenty feet from Santa there is a large group of teenagers messing about. Every park bench is full of people and fifty feet away is where the city has a station set up to rent bikes. This is actually an ugly, inner city park but it is getting cleaned up and besides all the commuters there is a multitude of people working, laying sod, putting in plants, trimming trees and watering.
Santa now has his sleeping cloths put away and walks to a tree directly behind my bench, drops his shorts, squats with his back to the tree and takes a dump. In front of God and everyone.
All I can do is laugh out loud – who would’ve thought. There is a car with a young couple parked in front of me watching all this go on and the girl is just screaming with laughter. That’s when it hits; the smell is so horrific that I make a run for the corner.
But Santa, he just goes about his business then heads back to change his cloths once again, polo shirt, jeans and loafers. He looked like anybody else in the park.
This experience made me wonder about whom the park really belonged to. Santa was certainly homeless but he sure felt at home and oblivious to the hundreds of people around him.
La Cantina Fuente
Speaking of the diversity of Guadalajara my absolute favorite place to stop for a drink either before or after an event in Guadalajara Centro is La Cantina Fuente otherwise known as La Biciclete. It is located off the main plaza behind the Cathedral in a building that was a convent a few hundred years back. It is a cavernous place with forty foot ceilings, fluorescent lighting, and has been in operation since the 20’s. The staff is not the friendliest but the atmosphere is incredible and it was a frequent hangout for Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. You see folks from all walks of life at La Fuente, on the few visits I have been there you start to recognize the regulars, the man we call the poet with his black hat, black vest and red shirt, the elderly man who walked up to me complaining about the place and the fact that he has been frequenting the establishment for 18 years, and the business man who sings absolutely every song. When the piano player starts to play up on his raised platform in the middle of the room everyone sings. You just have to experience this place where on any given night hundreds of folks, young, old, male, female, rich, poor, gay and straight join in song together. My experience has taught me that there are songs that are embedded in the Mexican psyche and when they are played you sing. La Fuente is called La Biciclete for the old bicycle that hangs above the bar covered with the dust, dirt and grime of the ages.
Tequila
In a previous posting I had stated that the city of Arandas was the Tequila Capital of the world. After a recent business trip to the town of Tequila, yes it was for business and yes there is a town named Tequila, it became quite obvious that Tequila is the true home of tequila and not Arandas. From the enormous Jose Cuervo and Sauza factories to the museums and just the culture that you feel there, this is the home of Tequila. It is a beautiful town surrounded by mountains and reached by a curving, very scenic highway from Guadalajara.
Photos from Mezquitan
We spent Sunday afternoon at the Mezquitan Cemetary and a few of the over 200 shots are posted here today. The cemetery takes up an enormous amount of land and is visually overwhelming when you walk through. You find yourself continually saying “look at that” “look at that” until you get separated from your group who can be just a few feet away but not know your whereabouts. Even with all decay and caution tape strung up around collapsing tombs Mezquitan is a beautiful, fascinating and peaceful place to spend the afternoon. They also do late night tours - scary !!!
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