Las Posadas

Christmas festivities begin with Las Posadas, nine consecutive days of candelight processions and lively parties starting December 16.

In villages and urban neighborhoods throughout Mexico youngsters gather each afternoon to reenact the holy family’s quest for lodging in Bethlehem. The procession is headed by a diminutive Virgen María, often perched on a live burro, led by a equally tiny San José. They are followed by other children protraying angels, the Santos Reyes (Three Kings), and a host of pastores y pastoras (shepherds and shepherdesses), all usually decked out in colorful handmade costumes and carrying brightly decorated báculos (walking staffs) or faroles (paper lanterns).

The parade of Santos Peregrinos (Holy Pilgrims) stops at a designated house to sing a traditional litany (Link to words & music) by which the Holy Family requests shelter for the night and those waiting behind the closed door turn them away. They proceed to a second home where the scene is repeated. At the third stop the pilgrims are told that while there is no room in the posada (inn), they are welcome to take refuge in the stable. The doors are flung open and all are invited to enter.

This is an active way of teaching children the story of the Nativity, but the chief attraction is the merrymaking that follows, above all the chance to engage in the ruthless smashing of piñatas and a mad scramble for the shower of fruits, sugar cane, peanuts and candies released from within.

Las Pastorelas

Pastorelas (Shepherds Plays) are staged throughout the holiday season by both amateur and professional groups. These traditional, often improvised, theatrical presentations date back to Mexico’s Colonial period when Roman Catholic missionaries wooed converts and taught doctrine through dramatizations of Biblical stories.

The light, humor-filled Pastorelas tell of the shepherds’ adoration of the Christ Child. First they are visited in the fields by an angel who announces the holy birth. As the shepherds attempt to follow the great star leading them to Bethlehem they are plagued by a series of evils and misadventures provoked by the Devil. But in the proverbial all’s-well-that-ends-well finale, good triumphs over evil and the shepherd’s reach their intended destination.

Nativity scenes, or El Nacimiento

In most Mexican homes the principal holiday adornment is el Nacimiento (Nativity scene). The focal point, naturally, is a stable where clay or plaster figurines of the Holy Family are sheltered. The scene may be further populated by an angel, Los Reyes Magos (the Magi), the ox and the ass, shepherds and their flocks, and assorted other people and livestock. It is not unusual to also find the forces of evil represented by a serpent and a grotesque Lucifer lurking in the shadows. The figures may be simply positioned in a bed of heno (Spanish moss), or scattered throughout an elaborate landscape.

A major masterpiece may occupy an entire room, often near the front of the house for convenient viewing by neighbors and passersby. The creation of the basic landscape begins with papel roca (paper painted in earth tones) draped over tables, taped onto boxes, crushed and shaped to form a multi-leveled, natural looking terrain that frequently includes a series of hills and dales, a cellophane waterfall, a mirror pond, artificial trees, cacti, palm trees, and little houses set to form an entire village scene. Colored sawdust and a variety of natural mosses may be spread out as ground cover before the addition of strings of Christmas lights and the assorted human and animal figures. The scene will not be completed until Christmas Eve when the newborn Baby Jesus is finally laid in the manger bed.

Nowadays a decorated Christmas tree may be incorporated in the Nacimiento or set up elsewhere in the home. As purchase of a natural pine represents a luxury commodity to most Mexican families, the typical arbolito (little tree) is often an artificial one, a bare branch cut from a copal tree (Bursera microphylla) or some type of shrub collected from the countryside.

Christmas Eve — Noche Buena

Holiday festivities culminate on Noche Buena (Christmas Eve) with the celebration of a late-night Misa de Gallo (Rooster’s Mass). Afterwards families head home for a traditional Christmas supper which may feature a simple fare of homemade tamales and atole (corn gruel) or other regional dishes. A more exotic feast might include bacalao a la vizcaína (Biscayan cod) and revoltijo de romeritos (wild greens in mole sauce). Roast turkey, ham or suckling pig are other popular menu items for those who can afford it. Ponche (a hot fruit punch), sidra (sparkling cider) or other spirits are served for the holiday brindis (toast). The evening is rounded out with the opening of gifts and, for the children, piñatas and luces de Belen (sparklers). As these happy family gatherings generally last into the wee hours, December 25th is set aside as a day to rest and enjoy that universal holiday bonus — el recalentado (leftovers).

Incidentally, Santa Claus and the clatter of reindeer hooves on the roof do not generally figure in the scheme of Navidad. A Mexican youngster’s holiday wishlist is directed instead to el Niño Dios (the Holy Child) for Christmas Eve and the Reyes Magos (Magi) for Three Kings Day.

Poinsettias: La Flor de Noche Buena

Its Latin name is Euphorbia Pulcherrima. Its Mexican monikers include the ancient Nahuatl term Cuitlaxochitl (star flower), along with Catarina (Catherine), Flor de Pastor (Shepherd’s Flower) and, most commonly, Flor de Noche Buena (Christmas Eve Flower).

In the English-speaking world this illustrious holiday bloom is called the Poinsettia, named after Dr. Joel R. Poinsett, a U.S. diplomat who served as Minister to Mexico in the 1820′s. Like many newcomers to Mexico, he was no doubt enthralled by the sight of the gargantuan shrubs covered in mid-winter with brilliant vermillion blossoms. After experimenting with various methods of propagation, he returned home to Charleston, South Carolina with enough cuttings to begin the cultivation of these stunning plants in northern climes.

The bright petals of the poinsettia are not really flowers, but bracts or leaves that surround the true blossom, a rather inconspicuous cluster of yellow florets. The bracts may be solid creamy white, salmon pink or scarlet, variegated or double blooms.

Among pre-Hispanic tribes of ancient Mexico, the Cuitlaxochitl was more than just a pretty face. The blood-red bracts were often placed on the chests of those suffering afflictions of the heart to help stimulate circulation. They were sometimes crushed to a pulp to be used as a poultice for the treatment of skin infections.

A note of good cheer to those more inclined to be couch potatoes than gardeners: Modern-day Mexicans enjoy still another form of Noche Buena– a rich, dark, bock-like beer distributed only during the holiday season.

Los Santos Inocentes

December 28, Day of the Holy Innocents, is a religious commemoration of King Herod’s ordering the slaughter of all male infants in his kingdom, intended to include the Christ Child. In Mexico it is celebrated as day akin to April Fool’s, an occasion for jokes and pranks. The usual tactic is to approach a friend and ask to borrow cash or some object of value. If fooled by the ploy, the victim may be given a candy or silly gift in return, along with much joking and name calling. So beware or you may find yourself titled Fool Saint for a day!

The Three Kings: Los Reyes Magos

The Christmas season continues unabated in Mexico through Epiphany, which is called Día de los Reyes (Three Kings Day). Echoing the arrival in Bethlehem of Wise Men bearing gifts for the baby Jesus, children throughout Mexico anxiously await waking up January 6 to find toys and gifts left by the Reyes Magos (Magi). In some regions it is customary to leave out shoes where treasures may be deposited by the visiting Wise Men.

A special treat served one this day is the Rosca de Reyes — a crown-shaped sweet bread decorated with jewel-like candied fruits. Tiny figures of babies are hidden in the dough before baking. There is much excitement as each partaker cuts his or her own slice, for whoever gets a piece containing a baby is obliged to host another party on or before Candlemas, February 2, when Mexico’s holiday season finally comes to an end.

In Mexico, the Christmas season is a month-long fiesta, starting with the feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe on December 12th, and continuing through the posadas, Noche Buena and Navidad, right up to the Three Kings Day on January 6th.

During this celebratory month, preparing seasonal dishes is an important part of the festivities, with each occasion having its own specialties. These can be easily adapted to holiday menus everywhere, and a Mexican culinary theme is fun, festive, and versatile. Feature a menu for a particular occasion, such as a posada, or combine elements from each of the menus presented here. In any case, a buffet is more relaxed and informal than a sit-down dinner, especially when entertaining a crowd. Whether you prefer to have guests at brunch or supper, try some of the following ideas and recipes.

Posadas — those reenactments of Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter in Bethlehem — are especially suited for children. Once the posada procession, with two children dressed as Mary and Joseph, finally arrives at the home that will give them “shelter,” the focal point is the piñata, filled with candy, fruit and nuts. (Posadas can be fun for adults, too, and my Mexican sister-in-law in Texas has posada parties filled with small gifts for all ages. Once in Oaxaca, a group of us had a piñata of George Bush custom made, and people had great fun whacking at it.)

Even in places where there are no religious processions, a posada theme is great for a children’s holiday party. The piñata can be set up outdoors or in a room in which the furniture has been pushed to the sides. Fill it with miniature candies, nuts, and small gifts, and after the piñata has been broken and the contents gathered up, kids can enjoy refreshments from a table on which sweet tamales, cookies, hot chocolate atole and punch have been set up. The following are some suggestions for a children’s posada party table.

Chocolate Atole: Champurrado
Holiday punch: Ponche navideño
Mexican Christmas cookies: Galletas de navidad
Candied walnuts: Nueces garapiñados
Sweet tamales: Tamales dulces

Holiday meals are usually eaten on the eve of the big day, and Christmas is no exception. Most Mexicans have their Christmas dinner on Christmas Eve, or Noche Buena. The religious go to the misa del gallo, or Midnight Mass, with the big meal following. Others start the meal a bit earlier in the evening, but usually not before nine or ten, and continue the feast into the wee hours of the morning.

While the Noche Buena meal is typically a sit-down dinner, the elements of the meal can make a beautiful buffet presentation for any party during the holiday season. And if a large group of family and/or friends is expected, this is a great way to serve the food, especially if not everyone arrives at once. It is less formal than a sit-down dinner and just as enjoyable.

Bacalao, a Spanish style codfish dish which is de rigeur for Noche Buena, is perfect for a buffet, as is the Noche Buena salad. The recipe for stuffed, roasted turkey has been adapted for a buffet, but filled with a traditional Mexican Christmas stuffing. By all means serve the punch from the posada menu, spiked if desired for those who prefer a little Christmas cheer. Sidra, or bubbly apple cider, is also traditional, but any bubbly would probably be much appreciated by guests. Feel free to add any of the nut and cookie recipes from the posada menu. They go especially well with rompope, or “Mexican eggnog.”

Stuffed roasted turkey roulade: Rollo de pavo relleno
Codfish with tomatoes, olives and chiles: Bacalao a la vizcaina
Christmas Eve salad: Ensalada de Noche Buena
Puebla style eggnog: Rompope

After the late Christmas Eve supper comes to an end, it seems nobody is up very early on Christmas morning. A late brunch is a good option for a get together no matter where you live. Mexican almuerzo — or brunch — food is great for entertaining. The jicama and mandarin orange salad incorporates two of the most important seasonal contributions to the Mexican holiday menu, and can be made the night before and refrigerated until serving. This chilaquiles recipe, unlike most, is one that can be assembled ahead and baked, along with the rice dish, while waiting for guests to arrive. This makes for a hassle free menu, hearty enough to be called a true Mexican brunch, and easy enough so that the hosts can get everything done before enjoying a pomegranate champagne cocktail. A selection of sweet rolls from the bakery is good with the cinnamon coffee.

Pomegranate champagne cocktail: Coctel de champaña y granada
Jicama and mandarin orange salad: Ensalada xec
Baked chilaquiles: Chilaquiles al horno
Green rice casserole with poblanos and cheese: Arroz verde con queso y rajas
Sweet cinnamon coffee: Café de olla

Ingredients

2 cups walnut halves1 ½ cups sugar½ cup water¼ teaspoon cinnamonbutter

Combine all ingredients in a large heavy skillet, set over medium heat. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until the sugar has melted and turned a brown color. It should coat the nuts evenly.

Drop the nuts onto a lightly oiled cookie sheet and allow them to cool completely and harden. When hardened, remove them with the aid of a metal spatula, breaking up nuts that have stuck together. This is the traditional method for making candied nuts in Mexico. Alternatively, the syrup-coated nuts can be spread out on a lightly oiled cookie sheet as soon as the sugar has melted, and baked at 375º F until brown. Serves 8 as a snack.

Link to source articles
Mexican Christmas menu ideas: Posadas, Noche Buena, Navidad
Mexican holiday sweets: Cookies, candy and more

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds jicama, peeled and cut into julienne strips1 lime¼ cup naranja agria (sour orange) juice or substitute 2 parts lime juice, and 1 part each grapefruit and sweet orange juice1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded and coarsely diced5 mandarin oranges, peeled and sectioned, seeds removed3 small, dried chiles, finely chopped3 tablespoons cilantro, choppedsalt to taste

Step 1: Peel jicama. The skin of this root vegetable will peel right off after you insert a knife between the skin and the flesh. Remove any traces of brown or remaining skin with a vegetable peeler. To keep the vegetable from discoloring as you work, rub it liberally with lime juice. Cut jicama into julienne strips. Toss in a large bowl with orange juice.

Step 2: Peel cucumber, seed and dice. Meanwhile, peel oranges and separate into sections, removing any seeds. Toss oranges and cucumber with jicama.

Step 3: Add chile and cilantro. Toss and check for seasonings. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Link to source articles
Mexican Christmas menu ideas: Posadas, Noche Buena, Navidad
Cooking in the Yucatan: Bright flavors and unique ingredients 

1, 1857 Conservative general Tomás Mejía assaults the British consulate in San Luis Potosí and steals $240,000. The British government subsequently demands that this sum be included in the external debt owed them by President Juárez.

1, 1873 The birth in Lagos de Moreno, Jalisco, of the Mexican novelist, Mariano Azuela, who won the national literature prize in 1949. Azuela’s single most famous work, still widely read, is “Los de Abajo” (The Underdogs). Azuela dies March 1, 1952, in Mexico City.

1, 1873 The opening of the railroad linking Mexico City to the Gulf coast port of Veracruz.

2, 1838 The people of “Upper California”, especially those in Los Angeles, persist in disobeying Mexican laws, and claim independence from Mexico. They don’t achieve it until 1847.

2, 1863 Lucía Zárate is born in San Carlos, and weighs in at 1.1 kilos. A glandular problem causes him to grow very slowly and he becomes the world’s lightest ever adult, weighing only 2.1 kilos at age 17 and 5.9 kilos at age 20. He dies in 1889, aged 26.

5, 1543 The Spanish priest, Bartolomé de las Casas, arrives in Campeche. During the early colonial period, De las Casas is known as one of the greatest defenders and recorders of Indian traditions and lifestyles.

5, 1864 French troops, under the command of Castagny, capture the city of Guadalajara.

6, 1536 The College of Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco is founded, to provide higher education for the “natives of these lands”. Sixty students begin classes.

6, 1862 The English fleet joins the French fleet in the port of Veracruz. Supported by Spain, the two countries launch a joint intervention as a result of President Juárez’s decision to suspend payments on Mexico’s foreign debt.

7, 1907 The strike of Río Blanco, in the state of Veracruz. Textile workers strike after President Díaz rejects their petition for better salaries, shorter hours and improved working conditions. The strike is crushed by brutal force; many men, women and children are massacred.

7, 1986 The death in Mexico City of Juan Nepomuceno Carlos Pérez Rulfo Vizcaíno, better known as Juan Rulfo, one of Mexico’s foremost novelists. His two best known works are Pedro Páramo and Llano en Llamas (The Burning Plain).

8, 1824 Francisco González Bocanegra is born in San Luis Potosí. He becomes a distinguished literary figure and the author of the words of the National Anthem. He dies in Mexico City April 11, 1861.

8, 1910 Alberto Braniff pilots the first flight in Mexico. His plane, the “Voisin”, built by Gabriel Voisin in Paris, takes off from the Balbuena plains near Mexico City and flies for 1.5 kilometers, reaching a velocity of 56 kilometers an hour and the dizzy height of 25 meters.

9, 1521 The last Aztec Emperor, Cuauhtémoc, begins his reign. There is no ceremony since the Aztecs are busy trying to fend off the Spanish conquistadors.

11, 1847 The Cahuenga Treaty which gives control of Alta California to the U.S., is signed by Spanish General Andrés Pico, governor of Alta California, and General John C. Fremont. Pico later becomes an American citizen and a California state senator.

11, 1861 Finally victorious in the bloody Three Years (or Reform) War, Benito Juárez enters Mexico City as president, re-establishing federal powers.

11, 1962 The country’s record low temperatures are recorded, in the state of Chihuahua in northern Mexico. At Ciudad Juárez, the mercury drops to -23 degrees C; Ahumada records minus 29 degrees C.

12, 1571 On this black day, King Phillip II of Spain establishes the Inquisition in New Spain, to investigate and punish those with “incorrect” beliefs and customs.

13, 1916 The death in El Paso, Texas, of Victoriano Huerta, who had been responsible for the assassination of Francisco Ignacio Madero and José María Pino Suárez, respectively the national President and Vice-president.

13, 1920 Dr. Eduardo Liceaga dies in Mexico City. Liceaga had fought for the installation of potable water and drainage systems in Mexico City. In 1904, he led the successful campaign to stamp out an outbreak of bubonic plague in Mazatlán. Liceaga also brought the first anti- rabies vaccine into Mexico, after meeting Dr. Louis Pasteur.

14, 1811 The China Boat (also known as the Manila Galleon) arrives in the Pacific coast port of San Blas after its last voyage from Asia to New Spain, now in the throws of the War of Independence.

14, 1831 José Antonio Facio, War Minister in President Bustamante’s government, conspires with Francisco Picaluga to assassinate General Vicente Guerrero. For 50,000 pesos in gold, Picaluga invites Guerrero to a meal aboard his boat, “Colombo”, anchored off Acapulco. Guerrero is taken prisoner and the boat sails for Huatulco, Oaxaca, where Guerrero is handed over for summary trial and (February 14) execution.

14, 1866 The National Music Conservatory is founded.

14, 1916 Venustiano Carranza declares that Francisco Villa, Rafael Castro and Pablo López are outlaws as a consequence of Castro and López raiding a train in Santa Isabel, Chihuahua on January 10, killing 15 people including U.S. miners on their way to Casihuariachic.

14, 1931 A strong earthquake (6 degrees on the Mercalli intensity scale) rocks much of Mexico for four minutes, with damage reported in numerous states, from Tabasco to Guerrero and from Chiapas to Guanajuato.

16, 1902 A strong earth tremor destroys much of Chilpancingo, the capital city of the state of Guerrero, with heavy loss of life and considerable property damage.

17, 1811 Insurgent forces, led by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, lose the decisive battle of Calderón to Royalist troops. Thousands are killed; Hidalgo and other insurgent leaders take flight for northern Mexico but are subsequently captured and executed.

17, 1821 The government of New Spain gives permission to the U.S. citizen Moses Austin, to colonize, with 300 friends and relatives, the territory of Texas. The only requirement is that the families must be of Catholic faith and citizens of a European country.

18, 1911 The U.S. Navy has to abandon its Magdalena Bay base in Baja California Sur, when the base’s permit, originally conceded by President Diáz, expires.

18, 1915 More than 600 people are killed in a train crash near Guadalajara, Jalisco.

18, 1955 Luis Enrique Erro, a renowned novelist, journalist, politician and astronomer, dies in Mexico City, where he had been born January 7, 1897. Erro was the founder, in 1941, of the National Observatory of Tonanzintla, in Puebla.

20, 1523 The city of Colima (now the capital of the state of the same name) is founded.

21, 1656 The city of Querétaro (the capital of the state of the same name) is founded.

21, 1779 Ignacio Allende y Unzaga is born in San Miguel el Grande (today known as San Miguel de Allende) in the state of Guanajuato. Allende becomes one of the leaders of the Independence movement, but is captured and executed in Chihuahua on August 1, 1811.

21, 1876 Rubén M. Campos, a poet, novelist, and composer of folkloric music, is born in Ciudad Manuel Doblado, Guanajuato.

21 1881 Manuel Orozco y Berra (born June 8, 1816) dies in Mexico City. Orozco y Berra was an agricultural engineer, geologist and archaeologist who was president for many years of the Mexican Society of Geography and Statistics.

22, 1889 Rafael Alducin is born in San Andrés Chalchicomula, (now known as Ciudad Serdán) in the state of Puebla. In 1917 (March 18), Alducin founds the national daily “Excelsior”. He uses the paper later to promote the idea of “Mother’s Day” (“Día de la Madre”), which is celebrated for the first time in 1922. Alducin dies in Mexico City on March 29, 1924.

23, 1905 Antonio Bribiesca Castellanos is born in Mexico City. A celebrated guitarist, he is considered the true creator of the Mexican six-chord guitar sound.

23, 1907 President Porfirio Díaz inaugurates the port of Salina Cruz, Oaxaca, and the railroad line across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, between Salina Cruz and the port of Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz.

23, 1929 The medic, historian, museographer and writer Nicolás León (born December 6, 1859, in Quiroga, Michoacán) dies in Mexico City. León wrote widely on anthropology and history. He authored 344 published works and 75 unpublished works, as well as 9 translations into Spanish.

24, 1774 The expedition led by Junípero Serra sets sail from the port of San Blas towards the Californias.

25, 1553 The Royal University of Mexico (Real Universidad de México) begins to offer courses, in line with a royal decree issued by King Carlos V.

25, 1614 Rokuemon Hasekura becomes the first Japanese ambassador to the New World and Europe, arriving in Acapulco with 180 countrymen to discuss commercial relations with New Spain and Spain. Parts of Hasekura’s expedition are incorporated into Shusaku Endo’s historical novel “Samurai”.

25, 1868 Juventino Rosas is born in Santa Cruz de Galeana, Guanajuato. Rosas becomes a violin virtuoso and a prolific composer. His single best-known work is the waltz, “Sobre las Olas”. Rosas dies in poverty, at a tragically young age, in Batabanó, Cuba, on July 13, 1894.

26, 1938 The first female doctor in Mexico, Matilde Montoya (born in Mexico City May 14, 1859), dies in her native city. She became a surgeon in 1887 and spent most of her working life in Cuernavaca and Puebla.

28, 1875 Julián Carrillo Trujillo is born in Ahualulco, San Luis Potosí. He becomes an innovative musician, responsible for one of Mexico’s major contributions to the musical world: “sonido 13″.

28, 1934 Gregorio Torres Quintero, educator, writer and historian, born in Colima, dies in Mexico City. Torres Quintero developed the “onomatopoeic method” for teaching, which led to considerable educational progress and remained in use for decades.

31, 1917 After 66 regular working sessions, and one extraordinary session lasting three days, the new federal constitution is finally approved by the 184 representatives in Querétaro. The new constitution is promulgated on February 5, which is still celebrated annually by the “Constitution Day” national holiday.

History of Mexico Time-line

The main source for this series is:
Efemérides Mexicanas by Noé Solchaga Zamudio and Luisa A. Solchaga Peña,
published in two volumes by Editorial Avante, Mexico City, 1983.

Tropical Depression Number 24 is growing and it is already 60 miles wide and could move in any direction. It will deliver more rain to Kingston, Jamaica. Nicaragua and Honduras will also get rain. When Tropical Depression 24, makes Tropical Storm Status, she will be named Wilma and if she moves North, becomes a Hurricane she might wipe out your offshore bank accounts in the Grand Cayman Islands. If Wilma goes West or North West she will further flood already flooded regions of Central America and that could spell even more problems to the area, just barely done burying the dead from the remnants and flooding from Hurricane Stan. This Hurricane season has hit Central America hard and has killed about the same number of people there that Hurricane Katrina did in the United States

Tropical Depression Number 24 looks as if she will become Wilma and although it is too early to tell, Welma could grow up to a full-fledged Hurricane and if she gets into the warm Gulf Waters, God help us all. Think on this.

It seems that one can never take anything for granted in the academic world, at least because there is always someone somewhere waiting to contradict everything that has been said previously. This is especially true of revisionist history.

Of course new evidence and different ways of interpreting the “facts” of history may justify revising standard historical accounts. However, one hopes that at least some thread of consistency may be found in a particular historical interpretation; that some justifiable confidence can be placed in a given historical record; and that the inherent bias of the historian or researcher will not completely obscure the “truth,” however one defines that elusive term.

However, when it comes to the hapless Aztecs of ancient Mexico, it is open season. The fate of the Aztec empire at the hands of the Spanish Conquistadores is so well-known, even among non-specialists, that almost anyone can be an expert with a new theory or re-interpretation of Aztec society and culture.

Much controversy has recently arisen over several collections of poems in Nahuatl, in particular the Cantares Mexicanos, a manuscript in the National Library of Mexico.

These poems are of particular importance because they appear to support a much different picture of the ancient Aztecs than we get from the tzompantli (skull rack) in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán or the horrendous accounts of Aztec human sacrifice left to us by the early Spanish soldiers and missionaries.

In place of the savage barbarian ever posed ready with obsidian knife in hand ready to plunge into the breast of yet another unfortunate sacrificial victim, we have, according to the orthodox interpretation, philosopher-kings and poets meeting in order to discuss the real meaning of “Flower and Song” (in Xochitl in Cuicatl), i.e. Poetry, and seek the “truth” here on earth. This interpretation advanced by two prominent Mexican scholars, A. Garibay and his student M. Leon-Portilla, is based primarily on the Nahuatl poems in the Cantares Mexicanos and the Pomar Manuscript of 1582.

This interpretation has been seriously challenged. In 2004 G. Payas delivered a scathing indictment of the orthodox interpretation of Aztec literature (“Translation in Historiography: The Garibay/Leon-Portilla Complex and the Making of a Pre-Hispanic Past, Meta: journal des traducteurs/Meta: Translators” Journal, vol. 49: no.3, 2004,p. 544-561).

In brief, Payas accused Garibay and Leon-Portilla of purposely creating a literature for the Aztecs by their slanted politically-motivated translations of the Nahuatl texts. Others have joined the ranks, including the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, which states unequivocally that the Aztecs did not have any concept of “art for art’s sake,” and therefore it is potentially misleading to translate and interpret the recurring phrase “In Xochitl in Cuicatl” as “poetry;” rather, it is said, the phrase refers to artistic activity in general, such as composing and performing song-poems.

Since the Cantares Mexicanos comprises precisely poems that were obviously meant to be performed in a musical style, the philosophical subtlety of this fine distinction escapes me. A recent translator of the Cantares, J. Bierhorst, thinks the phrase In Xochitl in Cuicatl refers not to poetry but to songs intended to summon the spirits of dead Aztec warriors to return to earth to help their beleaguered descendants under Spanish rule. Some of these commentators seem unwilling to credit the Aztecs with any spark of originality or speculative ability.

Rather than reiterate all the charges and countercharges in this literary war of words I propose a different approach by way of analogy. It is undeniably true that distortions of various magnitudes have crept into our written sources from the time of the Conquest in the 16th century up until the present. However, if the orthodox interpretation is so wrong and the correct interpretation of classical Aztec society and culture is still hidden so deeply in the mass of historical works by Spanish missionaries and others, native codices, and official colonial documents, then perhaps we should look for parallel examples that might at least help to explain how (allegedly) pre-Hispanic texts such as the Cantares Mexicanos managed to get into writing. This might help a little in settling the matter of the authenticity of the poems.

Among the charges brought against the orthodox interpretation of Aztec literature is that Garibay was a “Christian Humanist” who saw Nahuatl literature in the wider context of Greek, Hebraic, and Hindu traditions (as if this were a grievous fault). According to Payas, Garibay saw an analogy between Classical Greek literature and Nahuatl and used it to justify his own methods and interpretations. In short, Garibay forced the Nahuatl texts into a contrived classical format and his pupil Leon-Portilla then interpreted the texts to correspond with his preconceived notion of the Aztec mode of thought.

Academic controversy is nothing new and this one reminds me of the old Homeric controversy between the Analysts and the Unitarians. Are the Homeric epics, the Iliad and Odyssey, the work of a single poet or a committee of hack composers, each throwing in their own little contribution? One Homeric question at least seems relevant to the Cantares Mexicanos — namely, the problem of the transmission of oral compositions into a written form. Were these Nahuatl poems composed before the Conquest and somehow preserved more or less in their original form? Or were they composed after the Conquest and so reflect Christian values? Or were they simply a reaction against Spanish domination, as J. Bierhorst thinks? In following articles in this series we shall attempt to find some answers.

As previously noted, it all got started with A. Garibay’s translations and interpretations of the Cantares Mexicanos and other poems in Nahuatl. In Epica Nahuatl (Mexico, 1945), Garibay classified what he regarded as Aztec epic poems, or at least epic traditions, into cycles reminiscent of the Greek epic cycles. These he named Poemas Sagradas, Ciclo Tenochca, Ciclo Tezcocano, and Ciclo Tlaxcalteca. He based his classification on a wide variety of sources, including references in non-Nahuatl sources and, in his Historia de la Literatura Nahuatl (Mexico, 1971, 275-329), he devoted a whole chapter to epic poetry in which he outlined in some detail the actual texts on which he based his comparative study of what he referred to as Epica Nahuatl (Nahuatl Epic).

The Homeric epics, Iliad and Odyssey, are the most widely known but they were not the only Greek epic poems known from antiquity. Many early Greek epic poets are known only from testimonials given by later commentators; some are known only from a few fragments or titles of lost works.

The cyclic poets dealt with two main themes, the Trojan Cycle, which completed the heroic story from the beginning of the world to the end of the traditional heroic period, and the Theban Cycle, which told the story of Oedipus’ double curse on his two sons with dire consequences for the royal house of Thebes. The Epic Canon included the most important epic poets, Homer, Hesiod, Peisander, Panyasis, and Antimachus. Details cannot be given here, but I simply wish to show where Garibay probably got his ideas about Nahuatl epic cycles.

With regard to native chronicles about the Conquest of Mexico in 1521 Leon-Portilla wrote: “It is no exaggeration to say that the dramatic force in some of these accounts is comparable only to that of the great classical epics. Whereas Homer in the Iliad recalled so vividly many tragic scenes during the fall of Troy, the native writers, who witnessed the struggle and the humiliation, also knew how to bring out the most dramatic moments of the Conquest and the events which followed it (Miguel Leon-Portilla, Pre-Columbian Literatures of Mexico, Norman, Oklahoma, 1969, p.150).

The main purpose of this present comparative study is to ascertain the extent to which Garibay (and later Leon-Portilla) were justified in setting Nahuatl literature beside classical Greek models, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey. It would be overly optimistic to expect that the comparative approach to the problem of the authenticity of texts in Nahuatl and Mayan can solve all the problems and establish with certainty their pre-Hispanic origin. The aim here is more modest.

Arguments from analogy can only suggest plausible ways in which the Iliad and Odyssey,and the Cantares Mexicanos may have been preserved and passed down from the oral to the written tradition. However, with the accumulation of sound evidence, we may be a little more certain that we are indeed hearing authentic voices from ancient Mexico unadulterated by Spanish or Christian influence.

Due to Ometepe’s tourist infrastructure is rudimentary, you will find the roads here are potholed, bumpy, dusty and rough. So if you wish to get around on your own, you will need a 4WD or a motorcycle. A mountain bike or motorcycle are a good way to see the sites and rentals are available through your hotel. The hotel or inn also can arrange most tours and activities for you as well. The hotel can also arrange for a car and driver to show you around. If you choose, the island does have a bus system, which is inexpensive, but said to be quite slow.

For the adventurer, if you are planning to hike up the volcanoes, especially Concepcion, it would be highly recommended that you hire a guide. To hike up Concepcion is very strenuous and the trails very steep and approximately several hours long. But along the way, you will scenic views, banana and coffee farms and a tropical forest. The hike up Maderas, make certain that you bring along a good pair of hiking boots. Although this hike is not as long as the one for Concepcion, this hike will take you through forested terrain, which leads you to the volcano’s crater lake. After giving in to your adventurous side, some have been know to spend a few days on the beautiful black sand beach at Playa San Domingo, the most resorty place on the island.

For those who have a taste for the wildlife that inhabits this island, the forest of this island is the home of the mantled howler monkeys and the white Capuchin monkeys, the yellow neck parrot, the Mexican anteater and the Northern naked tailed armadillo.

So if you enjoy a challenge and don’t mind getting a little dirty or sweaty, this is the island for you. Come take a break on the Sweetwater Island of Nicaragua.

-Henry David Thoreau

In swinging hammocks with grande sized beers in hand, my childhood friend Erik and I looked up at the soaring peak of Volcan Ometepe. Rising sharply out of the placid calmness of Lago de Nicaragua, the volcano looked impeccable, unconquerable- dare I say, Godly. “You can go up there if you want,” Erik told me, “but I am going to sit right down here drinking my beer watching your monkey ass climb that mountain.” I took this as a challenge, and Erik’s comfortable solace would soon come to a fallow end.

We drank a few more beers that night than our heads could steadily carry, and, in this state of folly, I coerced Erik in a pact to climb Volcan Ometepe with me the following morning. Upon waking at the crack dawn, I roused Erik from his rosy dreams with the unwelcomed details of our pact of the night before. Like the righteous man that he his, Erik peeled himself out of his hammock and sleepily stuffed his feet into his hiking boots. I smiled. He groaned.

“But I’m hung over,” Erik whined as he blearily assembled his gear, “lets climb the mountain tomorrow.”

“Nice try, kid,” I spoke in my best back woodsman voice, “but as soon as we get up into those heights not even your hangover will want to come down again.”

Erik just groaned, again.

Soon our bags were packed and we made quick way on the trail up the volcano. I was smiling and singing little mountain songs to myself, Erik grumbled out the lines of a hangover chorus, and the rain began singing its own little tune down upon our heads. It was a beautiful day for mountain climbing in the tropics, and I reached out my arms to embrace the gently falling rain. Erik soon began trailing behind a little, pulling up each leg as if he were an elephant in a forced march over the Pyrenees.

“Can we take a break?” he called out from behind, as the gentle sprinkle of rain was growing ever more robust.

We took shelter at a little switchback that had an amazing view over the surrounding countryside. Erik, who has been my best friend since the fifth grade and my compadre on previous climbing trips in the Andes, basked in the beauty of our position on the volcano.

“I don’t know if I am going to be able to make it this time,” he stated with a disappointed look on his face. Years of driving a delivery truck in the USA and a few too many beers the night before did not exactly leave him in prime condition for scaling volcanic peaks. “Lets just stay here for today and climb this mountain tomorrow when it is not raining,” he pleaded.

I was not receptive to such talk and looked up at the quickly blackening sky in defiance. The horizon was covered with a wall of ominous, dark storm clouds, which, as if my defiant sacrilege had provoked it, suddenly bursted forth with the fury of a tropical storm.

“Lets go ” I yelled over the deafening roar of the pouring rain, and we began running up the mountain at full speed.

Erik plunged in for one last go and we braved the torrents of water that quickly began pouring down the mountain. Our deeply worn path soon transformed itself into the perfect drainage channel for the river of rain that was raging down to meet us. This torrential rapid was soon up to our knees and threatened to knock us off our feet at every step. We grappled for any vines, plants, and tree roots that we could hold on to, as we pulled ourselves up against the rapids that threatened to debunk us back down the mountain.

“This is crazy ” Erik yelled, “I’m going back We can’t make it up there through this We are going to be killed This is stupid “

It was stupid. But I was in the thorough of an all-encompassing bout of summit fever, and could not even think of turning back. Erik, utilizing his large supply of common sense, yielded on the side of discretion, and bided me a quick farewell. He took what then seemed to be the route of safety, and returned to his comfortable hammock and grande beer back at camp.

I on the other hand kept going up through the river of rain, and even the monkeys began yelling at me to turn back. They ran through the branches overhead, throwing mangoes and screaming at me the whole while. The timely words of Richard Halliburton then jumped into my consciousness:

“Yes, Blake was right: Discretion was nothing but a “rich, ugly, old maid wooed by incapacity.” How much more entertaining it was to woo Folly.”

With this reassurance, I continued on my upward surge and, after a couple hours of hard climbing, came upon the summit. The rain had by now let up and the storm clouds gave way to wondrous tropical sunshine. The beauty from the top of the volcano made the trials of the journey completely worth while, and the hardships endured through the climb conversely made the summit all the more beautiful and gratifying. But I could not fully enjoy it; my thoughts were of Erik. I wished only that he could have been up there with me, looking out over the entire span of Isle Ometepe and on to Nicaragua and the sparkling sea beyond.

I took in this beauty and soon made my way back to Erik down below, who I imagined to be safe and snug in his hammock, joking about how I tried to make him climb up a volcano in the middle of a tropical storm. When I got back to camp, I saw Erik all curled up in his hammock, looking as smug as I had imagined he would be. I ran up to him and excitedly began telling him of the splendors of the rest of the climb and how he should have stuck it out. But then I realized that he did not really seem alright and I asked him of he was OK.
He looked up at me with a big droopy set of eyes and a crack of a guilty smile on his lips, as he slowly revealed his elbow to me. It was beaten and battered, swollen up to three times its normal size, and had an enormous stitched-up gash that ran all the way over it. To add insult to injury, the cut perfectly bisected his tattoo of a heart that covered his elbow, making it look as if were broken in two.

“Oh no ” I exclaimed. “What happened ? ” I immediately thought that he had fallen on his way down the mountain, and I was suddenly overwhelmed with grief because I did not descend with him.

He chuckled slightly and then sheepishly said, “I slipped and fell as I was getting out of the shower.”

“A man sits as many risks as he runs . . .”

Now fellow wanderers, think of Erik the Broken Hearted the next time you are struggling to decide between discretion and folly. As sometimes, “wooing folly” can actually leave you in better shape than taking a simple shower.

This salad is open to individual interpretation, with the only constants being the beets and the lettuce. Pineapple and bananas are frequently added in tropical climates, apples and jicama in cooler regions. The ingredients should be artfully arranged on a large platter and tossed after it has reached the table.

Here is a basic version from Central Mexico; feel free to create your own version.

Ingredients

1 head lettuce1 pound small beets, cooked, peeled and thinly sliced1 jicama, cut into matchsticks4 oranges, peeled and sliced into rounds4 apples, sliced into thin wedges3 limes, 1 juiced and 2 cut into wedges½ cup olive oil¼ cup white wine vinegar (pear infused white balsamic is good here)1 cup chopped dry roasted peanuts

Line a large platter with the lettuce, either torn or separated into leaves, as desired. Arrange the beets, jicama, oranges and apples on the lettuce. Sprinkle with the lime juice.

Bring the platter to the table, dress with a mixture of the olive oil and vinegar and toss lightly. Serve on salad dishes, topping each serving with a sprinkling of peanuts. Serves 8.

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