Late September 2006
Some views of Michoacán between Morelia and
Pátzcuaro.
The corn is tall and fields of wild cosmos are starting to
appear
along the roadside.
La Peregrinacion
As we were returning from Pátzcuaro, we heard
fireworks and
went to investigate: it turned out to be a large
"peregrinacion"
or pilgramage along back roads to the town of Las Tablas.
They
were shooting off fireworks from the front of the line of pilgrims as
they walked. We followed along-- first in the car and then on
foot when it became clear that they were travelling faster than the
line of cars. The houses and yards were decorated with
balloons
and crepe paper along the route (even some of the corn plants were
decorated). One tiny church was decorated with lovely flowers
on
the pillars in front. At the end, they had a large tent
where where there was an icon of the Baby Jesus,
the priest spoke to the assembled crowd and there
were vendors selling food and snacks.
(All the umbrellas were for shade, not rain).
It was "interesting" to be part of this scene: we were very
obviously the only gringos. Less obvious was that we aren't
Catholic. So people stared but no one made us feel out of
place.
We had no idea where this pilgrimage was going to end, we
only
knew that the front was far ahead of where we were walking.
When
the crowd reached a meadow (in a lovely spot, surrounded by forest and
pasture), they gathered around a stage at one end, where the baby Jesus
statue was placed and a priest was talking. Feeling even more
out of place at this point, we ate tacos and pieces of watermelon at
the edge of the crowd. We left soon thereafter (we have no
idea
how long the crowd stayed before they began their 5 mile walk back to
where they started).
Tupátaro and Cuanajo
Between Morelia and Pátzcuaro, a short distance off the
highway,
are the small towns of Tupátaro and Cuanajo. We
had been
told to see the paintings in the church in Tupátaro so we
stopped on our way home. It is a 17th century church with
elaborate paintings of the life of Christ on wood panels that line the
entire ceiling.
Cuanajo was a little farther up the road. It is a town that
specializes in rustic carved pine furniture. Everywhere you
looked there were shops selling furniture. This church was
also
beautiful, but in a very different way from the previous.
Rather
than featuring 17th centure art, this one had brightly
colored
fabric draped down the aisles, giving the old building a fairly modern
look inside.
(The last three pictures of Cuanajo were actually taken at the
end of October)
Tzuramutaro
We made this expedition to attend the final sale of books at
an
English bookstore in this tiny town. Even with a detailed
map, it
took us awhile to find the bookstore - it was on a tiny, narrow, muddy
street. Our first clue that we were in the right place was
seeing
a car with Vermont license plates! The owner, born and bred
in
Vermont, was selling his bookstore to return to the States.
The
book "store" was his living room and it was lined with books in
English. Lo and behold, we found a copy of "The End of
Nature" by
our friend, Bill McKibben. We wonder if he knows the types of
places his books end up!
Malls!- another
view of Morelia!
Sometimes we feel like we are only showing the romantic side
of
Michoacán. But Morelia also has its share of U.S.
imports.
like Sam's Club, Wallmart, Sears, Costco, Home Depot etc.
etc.
