Mexican Wholesale

Introduction

In 2010 Mexico will celebrate its 200 years of Independence with national and local public events. The Bicentennial or Bicentenario actually takes in two celebrations: the first being the Bicentennial of two hundred years since Independence (1810) and the second the no less important Centennial of 100 years since Mexican Revolution of 1910.

Mexican Independence Day celebrates the events and people that eventually resulted in independence from Spain, the country that had control over the territory of New Spain, as it was also known then. Fueled by three centuries of oppresion and sparked by a call to revolt by the respected Catholic priest Hidalgo, the first call to arms was made in the village of Dolores, in the state of Guanajuato. The uprising pitted the poor indigenous indians and mixed mestizo groups against the priviledged classes of Spanish descent, and pushed them into a violent and bloody battle for freedom from Spain.

Setting The Stage

Shortly before dawn on September 16, 1810, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla made a monumentous decision that revolutionized the course of Mexican history. Within hours, Hidalgo, a Catholic priest in the village of Dolores, ordered the arrest of Dolores’ native Spaniards. Then Hidalgo rang the church bell as he customarily did to call the indians to mass. The message that Hidalgo gave to the indians and mestizos called them to retaliate against the hated Gachupines, or native Spaniards, who had exploited and oppressed Mexicans for ten generations.

Although a movement toward Mexican independence had already been in progress since Napoleon’s conquest of Spain, Hidalgo’s passionate declaration was a swift, unpremeditated decision on his part. “Mexicanos, Viva Mexico!”, (Mexicans, long live Mexico!) Hidalgo told the Mexicans who were the members of New Spain’s lowest caste. He urged the exploited and embittered Mexicans to recover the lands that was stolen from their forefathers. That he was calling these people to revolution was a radical change from the original revolution plot devised by the Criollos, or Mexican-born Spaniards.

Groups of Criollos across Mexico had been plotting to overthrow the authority of Gachupines who, because of their Spanish birth, had legal and social priority over the Mexican born Criollos. When Joseph Bonaparte replaced King Ferdinand as the leader of Spain, the Criollos recognized a prime opportunity for Mexican sovereignity. The nucleus of this movement was a group of intellectuals in Queretaro led by the Corregidor of Queretaro (state official), his wife and a group of army officers distinguished by the adventurous Ignacio Allende.

The Criollos plan for revolution did not originally focus on the manpower of the Mexicans. Instead, the Criollos sought to avoid military confrontation by convincing Criollo army officers to sever their allegiance to the Gachupines. By claiming loyalty to the defeated King Ferdinand, the Criollos aimed to establish Mexico as an independent nation within King Ferdinand’s Spanish empire. The Gachupines who claimed authority under Bonaparte’s rule would be driven out of Mexico.

Hidalgo had close ties with this group. Approaching sixty years of age, Hidalgo was beloved and greatly respected by Mexicans. Once the dean of the College of San Nicolas at Valladolid in Michoacan (now Morelia), Hidalgo was a well-educated, courageous humanitarian. He was sympathetic to the Indians, which was unusual amongst Mexican clergymen. Against Gachupin law, Hidalgo taught Indians to plant olives, mulberries and grapevines and to manufacture pottery and leather. His actions irritated the Spanish viceroy who, as a punitive measure, cut down Hidalgo’s trees and vines.

A Decision Is Made

Gachupines were alerted to the Criollos independence movement by Criollo officers who had refused to join the revolutionary movement, and by a priest who had learned of the plot through a confessional. Hidalgo was among the central figures targeted for arrest on September 13, 1810. The Queretaro Corregidor’s wife informed the Criollos of the Gachupines plan. Allende immediately departed from Quertaro to inform Hidalgo.

Allende arrived in Dolores in the early morning hours of September 16. His message forced Hidalgo to make the most signficant decision of his life, a decision which marked the first struggle for Mexican independence and that would distinguish Hidalgo as the national hero of the revolution. The Criollos had not gained enough military alliance to forfeit the Gachupines rule, as the plot had leaked three months before the Criollos target date of December 8.

Hidalgo had three possible options. He could await arrest, flee Dolores or call on the Indian and Mestizo forces. His decision to call the exploited groups to revolution completely changed the character of the revolution, and the movement became a bloody class struggle instead of a shrewd political maneuver.

The Revolution Erupts

When Hidalgo called the Indians to action, he tapped into powerful forces that had been simmering for over three hundred years. With clubs, slings, axes, knives, machetes and intense hatred, the Indians took on the challenge of the Spanish artillery.

When the indian and mestizo forces, led by Hidalgo and Allende, reached the next village en route to Mexico city, they acquired a picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe, the patron saint whose image was of a woman of color. The Virgin of Guadalupe, who was indigenous to Mexico, became the banner of the revolutionary forces as Hidalgo and Allende led the path toward Mexico City and the expulsion of the Gachupines.

Hidalgo later regretted the bloodbath he had incited with his fateful “Cry of Dolores.” When he made his hasty decision in the pre-dawn hours of September 16, he had not foreseen the mass slaughter of Spaniards. Before the revolutionary troops descended upon Mexico City, Hidalgo retreated with only a few associates to Dolores, where he would be executed by the Gachupines only a year later. Despite his ambiguity toward the violent class struggle that was the Mexican revolution, Hidalgo is still revered as the father of Mexican independence.

Eleven years of war, decades of despotic Mexican rulers and political unrest proceeded Hidalgo’s cry of Dolores. Yet throughout the years of turmoil, El Grito de Dolores, “Mexicanos, viva Mexico,” has persevered. Every year at midnight on September 15, Mexicans led by the president of Mexico shout the Grito, honoring the crucial and impulsive action that was the catalyst for the country’s bloody struggle for independence from Spain. [Text updated April, 2007]

Mexico is so rich in history ad culture. This history of Mexican Independence is just one of many parts of Mexico’s history that I hope you have enjoyed.

Resources: Mexonline.com

I used to advise people to stay out of Mexico City´s famous Pink Zone (Zona Rosa). I still don´t think it´s a great place to go at night–too many sleazy types aggressively handing out push cards for table dances and “streepers.” And a woman friend had her laptop snatched out of her arms at seven o´clock in the evening on one of the busier streets in the Zone. Even the legitimate guide books tell you to beware a whole host of creepy scams that are endemic to the district.

	Cubanerías Restaurant and Bar

Still, now that I am living near the Zone and have had many opportunities to explore it in the daylight, I have to admit, I love the place. I love the trees and the flowers and the public sculptures (although some of them are not completely appropriate for viewing by young children) and the shady, narrow streets lined with world-class shops. I love the smell of fabulous food being prepared in hundreds of first-rate restaurants.

I love the tinkling of ice cubes in generous glasses full of, oh, let´s say, cuba libre (made with Havana Club´s delectable añejo rum, of course) as I walk by sidewalk watering holes. I mainly love the Zone because I love a great scene.

Genova is the street that is more or less the main drag of the Zone, and happily it is a walking street. No cars. Just broad sidewalks full of lots and lots of snappily dressed people, beautiful people, people who are in the know. How do I know they are in the know? It´s the look, the wary smile, the pretend-not-to-see glance.

And what are all these smart folks doing in the Zone? Hanging out, mostly, sipping cappuccinos in front of Mixup-the best collection of recorded music for sale in the City-or enjoying a tête-à-tête at Blah-Blah Café or having mouthwatering blackberry mousse and kaffee served at the table Danish style in copper pots at Konditori. Some people may be on their way to do a little antique shopping (the antiques may be little, but the prices aren´t) or to try on souvenir T-shirts and buy Mexican tchotchkes for granny back home in Conroe.

	Hamburgo & Genova “the best corner” in the Zona Rosa

It´s for sure that at lunch time, if they´re Chilangos, they are either heading to Café Ventura or are already seated and happily anticipating their Baguette Europea (spinach, cream cheese, salami, and tomato on a foot-long baguette with a perfect crust) or their Ensalada Buenaventura (lettuce, spinach, tomato, hardboiled egg, salami, ham, chicken, Manchego cheese, and country-style cheese) or maybe for their Arrachera Americana con papas curly y guacamole. They are also likely to be indulging in some of the best people watching available anywhere in the world there at the corner of Genova and Hamburgo, “the best corner in the Zona Rosa.” No, the restaurateur hasn´t offered me so much as a Negra Modelo to plug the place so shamelessly. I always get excited about really great food for poco dinero, a rare happenstance in the Zone. And, really, that corner…

Shopping in the Zone is no bargain, with one notable exception, Mercado Insurgentes at Londres 154, a died-and-gone-to-heaven sort of place for fanciers of all things Mexican.

Inside this huge market are hundreds, really, of storelets and stalls that specialize in zarapes, ponchos, talavera pottery from Dolores Hidalgo and Puebla, those beautiful frilly Mexican dresses, painted amate paper, “pre-Columbian artifacts,” and enough silver jewelry to sink the QE2. Bargaining is de rigueur, and everyone seems eager to sell.

They invite you into their shops as though they were inviting you in to tea. If you get lost in that cavernous place, just head to a wall and follow it to an exit. Not a good place for claustrophobes or people who tend to the bull-in-a-china-shop style of shopping.

In keeping with the cultural glitz of the Zone, there are a pair of “museums” that will not fail to please the youngsters and anyone who loves the truly odd. The Ripley Museum and the House of Wax are side-by-side just east of the Zona Rosa proper (there are signs on all the main streets). You pay one time to visit both.

Now, the Ripley concept was simple: the world is a novelty shop, and Ripley liked to collect trinkets. The trinket might be a model of an ornate cathedral fashioned from match sticks, a shrunken head from New Guinea, a landscape painted on a potato chip, a statue made from a million dollars of shredded money, the preserved body of a two-headed goat, a set of Ubangi lip plates, or tiny figurines made from dried roach parts. Not exactly the National Museum of Anthropology, but amusing in its way.

In the wax museum there are meticulously decorated rooms for royalty, sports figures, Mexican movie stars, Hollywood stars, Mexican TV personalities, and an unusual assortment of other figures: Pope John Paul II, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci with La Gioconda posing for the Mona Lisa, Gandhi, Agustín Lara, and Cervantes with his imaginary characters from Don Quixote. There is even a small theater with a wax Placido Domingo that sings; i.e., a film of his face singing is projected onto the face of the immobile statue. It is a rather creepy illusion.

In the museum´s (remember I am using this term very loosely) basement it is a different story–an animated and undiscriminating horror show: There are depictions of the real horrors of the Inquisition, with naked wax people tied to a rotating drum and roasting over a fire. There are the Hollywood monsters of Frankenstein, Dracula, and the spinning head of Linda Blair from the Exorcist. A fiendish B-movie Hollywood doll called Chucky is exhibited next to a true social monster, Jeffrey Dahmer, kneeling before an open fridge half filled with human viscera. No plastic bags! No Tupperware! Just raw viscera on open shelves. And Dahmer is gnawing on a jejunum.

	Mixup cd and tape store on Genova

If you´re like me, you´d rather be chipping away at a Napoleon and sipping a cup of Oolong at Salón de Té Duca d´Este or chomping a fajita de camarón at Taco Inn.

Believe it or not, Mexico City´s Zona Rosa used to be a quiet neighborhood of up-market homes in the sort-of-French style popular during the late 19th century. The tree-lined streets are still there, and people do live in some of the elegant high-rise apartments and hotels that dot the area, but the quiet neighborhood is history. If you go for the noise, the “culture,” and, like I said, the never-ending stream of eminently watchable denizens, you won´t be disappointed. But, really, go in the daytime.

Most importantly, enjoy your time in Mexico City’s Zona Rosa or Pink Zone.

Story & Photos by Charles Dews Published or republished by Aetna J H

In the 70’s I had the good fortune to attend Linda Schele’s first class at the University of Texas at Austin. She had wonderful ideas about reading the Maya Epigraphy glyphs. These included spelling the glyphs out, she also included “sense readings of the pictorial elements within those glyphs. [But other views took a toll and soon the "phallus" glyphs reigned supreme, even though none of the Maya codices emphasized such glyphs.]

When Bishop Landa asked a Maya glyph artist to “spell” out a sentence using the glyphs, he did. The Maya scribe apparently was already accustomed to writing out what he may not have understood as a language. His “writing” skills included sounds. In his land alone there were many visitors from foreign areas with different speech patterns. It was necessary that the scribe be familiar with sound, just as a modern stenographer. Seeing that “spelled out” words are possible, now the glyphs emphasizing those “spelling” attributes are used and although referred to sometimes, the visual aspects of the glyphs are ignored. On “spelling” out the glyphs, the big push now, is to create a “proto-language” base, instead of identifying the language that is the source of the “spelled out” or the visually inferred concepts.A case in point is the Initial Series Glyph at the top of the first two columns (or more) of most monument texts. Even in the beginning, it has always been taught only as: “the Initial Series Glyph that identifies the dating sequence of the text.” It has been merely a form of decoration, nothing more. See the ISG inThe Temple of the Sun. It is apparent, that its iconography is very different from other monuments. So when compared with other ISG’s, each monument appears to contain information about the texts found below that Initial Series Glyph.

Hola everyone. Since we are starting summertime I decided to do a little something to help us get in the mood for the season. There are many styles of Mexico’s awesome music and this one is dedicated to you.

I really hope that you’ve enjoyed this small portion of  Mexico’s  awsome music. If so, drop me a line and let me know and I will continue sharing Mexican music with you.

Map of Baja

Catavina is one of those special places in Mexico’s Baja California that photographers just love to shoot a few rolls on. Located just off the main peninsular Highway 1, it’s south of the village of El Rosario at about Km 175, and roughly in the middle of the two coasts.

Its beauty is a combination of the large granite boulders and different cactus that are indigenous to this area of the desert- the cardon, barrel cactus, the strange cirio (boojum), elephant tree and other varieties all call this part of Baja home. Add the proper lighting effects, such as those found at dusk, and you have the perfect opportunity for saving the memories of this amazing place.

Just visible from the main road is a memorial to the Virgin of Guadalupe, Mexico’s patron saint. Candles are often burning when you arrive, setting the mood for your visit…

Standing like a giant and prickly upside-down carrot, the strange boojum tree stretches skyward, overlooking the painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe painted on one of the big granite boulders that are strewn about the landscape…

The different plants and trees each try to make a stand in the desert, carving out an existence in an area that is beautiful but harsh. The hearty and often ancient cardon cactus sends roots deep into the ground and stores water when it can, the boojum uses its shape and hard skin to protect itself from the hot, moisture robbing air.

The granite boulders have been exposed by the same erosion that now wears them down year after year. Their large shapes cast long shadows over the landscape as the sun sets and the full moon rises to take its place. It’s perfectly quiet, except for the rustle of the wind and the sound of your own footsteps on the desert floor.

Unaware of the odds against it, a few cardon cactus sprout out from a crack in the hard granite boulders, demonstrating just how tough and persevering the desert vegetation can be. Nothing is easy here … The highway, and the comfort of the car, are only a hundred yards away, but in this part of the desert everyone feels a bit small next to the natural giants all around.

Learn more about Baja California here

This informatin on Mexico’s Catavina is quite resourcefull. If you decide to travel into Mexico this would certainly be an ideal place. Enjoy!

Resources: Mexonline.com

Wreckage of a 21-story steel-constructed building

With Its Own Tradgedy of 1985 In Mind, Mexico Contributes Earthquake Aid To Stricken Haiti.

Mexico is among the many countries contributing earthquake relief aid to Haiti, after that country was hit on January 13th by a devastating 7.0 earthquake. Haiti has a population of between 9 to 10 million people and it is feared that the death toll could run into the thousands.

Mexican television has given extensive coverage to Haiti’s recent quake. And for good reason: many Mexicans still remember the Mexico City earthquake of 1985 which registered an 8.1 on the Richter scale. The result was an incredible toll of death and destruction in one of the world’s largest cities. Haiti’s recent quake brought back memories of Mexico’s own 1985 natural disaster.

The vulnerability of Mexico City to earthquakes
On September 19, 1985, Mexico City was struck by a magnitude 8.1 (Richter) earthquake. Official tallies put the number of deaths at approximately 4,000, but some say that the number was closer to 10,000. Hundreds of buildings collapsed and thousands were damaged. Because most of Mexico City is build over an ancient lake bed, the instability of the subsoil contributed greatly to the damage.

Colonial Mexico City build on an ancient lake bed
When in 1519 Hernan Cortes arrived in the Valley of Mexico, what he and his fellow Spaniards encountered was Tenochtitlan , a city built by the Aztecs on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. After defeating the Aztecs, the conquistadors founded Mexico City on the ruins of   Tenochtitlan. Lake Texcoco with its two connecting lakes was slowly drained over the coming centuries. Today, the only remaining portion of that former immense body of water is Xochimilco with its famous canals and floating gardens.

What was learned from the quake of I985
It was on the seemingly dry lake bed that that Mexico City was built, growing in time to the present day metropolis of 20 million inhabitants.

Though the surface lake disappeared long ago the subsoil, as part of an historic water basin, continues to be water saturated. This has been known since colonial times, but it wasn’t until the 1985 quake that a truly strict earthquake building code went into effect. Present day construction now takes into consideration the fact that the underlying ancient lake bed sediments amplify the seismic shaking in the event of an earthquake.

Actually, I had forgotten about this 1985 earthquake in Mexico. This should never be forgotten.

Source: Mex online.com

Who were the Aztecs from Mexico.

This is the story of a wandering tribe from Northern Mexico who through bravery, trickery, cruelty, genius became a great civilization.

There are stories to read, explanations to understand, pictures to think about, ancient writings to decode, pictures of artefacts and temples … even a giant sunstone.

By 1376, the city was growing quickly … they built larger and larger temples … people came from miles around to live in their city … Tenochtitlan. They chose a man called  Acamapichtli as their first emperor. He ruled until 1395.

The city and the Aztecs were all powerful… an EMPIRE.

By 1519 there were about 60,000 people in the city every day.

The Aztecs brought their many gods and goddesses with them.

As a farming people, the Aztec knew the forces of nature and worshiped them as gods. Most important was their sun god, Huitzilopochtli. The Aztecs also used him as their god of war.

They believed that their ‘good’ gods should be kept strong to keep away the ‘bad’ gods. They kept them strong by making human sacrifices.

They had many stories about their gods.   Read some of them.

Aztec Gods

Aztec god

Before the Sun that now shines brightly over Mexico came into being, there had been other suns; four in all.

Each sun died away in turn before our present Sun appeared.

The fourth Sun, Chalchuitlicu, had been a water goddess, copper-coloured and dressed in emerald green.

For hundreds of years she provided light and warmth; and in that time the first men and women appeared on Earth.

But other gods grew jealous of the Sun God; some reproached her for giving fire to humans — for they did not always use it wisely.

Tezcatlipoca upsets Chalchuitlicu and causes a flood.

One night, the black God of Darkness, Tezcatlipoca, began to torment the gentle copper Sun while she was resting in the gloom. He said she’d grown too vain and selfish.

In her hurt at these false words, Chalchuitlicu burst into tears. The tears put out her light and then the sky rained down upon the Earth in torrents.

The land vanished into darkness beneath a mighty flood which drowned all  human life: every man and woman turned into fish; all, that is, save one lone family which survived to start the human race again.

The gods make dry land appear …

When the sky thus fell on Earth, the gods opened up four roads beneath the land, where they created four giants and some sturdy trees. And then, together — the gods, the trees, the giants — all tried to lift the Earth from under the vales of tears.

They heaved and pushed until the land rose upwards and the waters fell away. At last they managed to fasten the land securely to the sky.

Now there was only darkness …

But the Earth was still plunged into utter gloom; it had no dawn, no dusk, no sunlit days. The vales of tears were salty; there was thus no fresh water, for no Sun appeared to draw the tears back up to heaven and change them into rain.

Aztec god

Tlaloc was the Aztec rain god

His name means He Who Makes Things Sprout.

Tlaloc was the eighth ruler of the days and the ninth lord of the nights.

Tlaloc was pictured as a man wearing a net of clouds, a crown of heron feathers, foam sandals and carrying rattles to make thunder.

Tlaloc lived in a place the Aztecs called Tlalocan. He lived there with  his companion, Chalchiuhtlicue (She Who Wears a Jade Skirt), also called Matlalcueye (She Who Wears a Green Skirt), the goddess of freshwater lakes and streams. Tlalocan was also the place where all people who had drowned ‘lived’.

Part of The Teocalli (Great Temple) at Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, was dedicated to Tlaloc, and was painted in white and blue.

Tlaloc was  greatly feared.

He could send out the rain or provoke drought and hunger.

Aztec god

He hurled lightning upon the earth and unleashed the devastating hurricanes.

It was believed that he could send down to the earth different kinds of rain which would help crops grow or destroy them.

Certain illnesses, such as dropsy, leprosy, and rheumatism, were said to be caused by Tlaloc.

Quetzalcoatl

(from quetzalli, “precious feather,” and coatl, “snake”), the Feathered Serpent, was one of the major gods of the Aztecs.

Quetzalcoatl was the god of morning and the evening star.

Aztec god

As the morning and evening star, Quetzalcoatl was the symbol of death and resurrection.

With his friend, Xolotl, a dog-headed god, he was said to have descended to the underground hell of Mictlan to gather the bones of the ancient dead. Those bones he smeared with his own blood, giving birth to the men who inhabit the present universe.

Quetzalcoatl was often shown as a man with a beard named Ehecatl, the wind god. Sometimes he was shown wearing a mask with two protruding tubes (through which the wind blew) and a conical hat.

The temple Quetzalcoatl at Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, was a round building, a shape that fitte

d Ehecatl. Circular temples were believed to please Ehecatl because they offered no sharp obstacles to the wind.

TEZCATLIPOCA -

The god of the Great Bear constellation and of the night sky.

Tezcatlipoca’s animal disguise, was the jaguar, the spotted skin of which was compared to the starry sky.

Tezcatlipoca was usually drawn with a stripe of black paint across his face and an obsidian (black glass ) mirror in place of one of his feet (his name means Smoking Mirror).

Sometimes drawings show  Tezcatlipoca with his mirror on his chest.

In it he saw everything, he knew all the deeds and thoughts of men.
He was said to appear at crossroads at night to challenge warriors.

He presided over the telpochcalli (“young men’s houses”), district schools in which the sons of the common people received an education and military training.

He was the protector of slaves, he severely punished masters who ill-treated “Tezcatlipoca’s beloved children.” He rewarded goodness by giving riches and fame, and he punished wrongdoers by sending them sickness (e.g. leprosy) or by giving them poverty and slavery.

Every year, during the fifth month, the priest selected a young and handsome war prisoner. For one year he lived in princely luxury, pretending to be the god. Four beautiful girls dressed as goddesses were chosen as his companions. On the appointed feast day he climbed the steps of a small temple while breaking flutes that he had played. At the top he was sacrificed by the removal of his heart! What a price to pay!

I hope you have enjoyed learning this part of the Aztecs and Mexican history.

Hola. This post is a request. It  goes out to everyone and specially to my Canadian friends who  requested it.

Map Of Mexico

This directory provides a listing of maps and map services available from MexOnline.com, providing a general overview of roads and major geographical landmarks in Mexico.

The U.S. State Department has issued in the last several years new requirements for travel into and back from Mexico. Note that the following update pertains to rules set by U.S. law, as entry into Mexico is governed by their own rules, please see below.

In summary, beginning January 23, 2007, passports were required for all AIRLINE travel to and from Mexico.

Beginning June 1st 2009, if you are crossing back into the U.S. by land or sea, from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, you need either a passport or the new high-tech travel card. Please check the official State Department memo for up to date verification, at www.travel.state.gov

At the present time we are on red alert and travel into Mexico or to US/Mexico Border Cities is not recommended. That being said, I personally do not recommend travel to Mexico or US/Mexico Border Cities at the present time.

Resources: Mex online.co

The artist José Guadalupe Posada was born in 1852 in Aguacalientes, Mexico. Many consider Posada the founder of modern Mexican art. As well, Posada is credited with educating the general populace concerning the political injustices of the day which ultimately culminated in the Mexican Revolution of 1910. His beginnings were humble, being born the seventh son to working-class parents of Indian descent.

Posada is most remembered for his engraved illustrations of calaveras (skeletons) set in political satire. His work remains vital today, oftentimes utilized to commemorate the Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) holiday, celebrated throughout Mexico each year on November 1st and 2nd..

Posada In Front of His Taller

Posada’s talent was recognized at an early age. He became an apprentice to the printer and publisher Jose Trinidad Pedroza at the age of 16. It was under his mentor’s tutelage that he learned the art of printmaking which focused on lithography as well as engraving on wood and metal. The shop where he worked, El Esfuerzo, located in the city of Aguascalientes also served as a meeting place where members of the community would discuss political and social issues of the day. This environment that Posada found himself in undoubtedly helped shape his political opinions and ultimately, his art.

Posada’s work drew controversy almost immediately. Pedroza assigned the young artist to engrave a satirical cartoon of a local politician and needless to say, the response from the authorities was not favorable. His caricature was so compelling and created such an uproar that both teacher and student had to flee town to escape the wrath of those offended. Posada’s career had begun.

Soon established in his new city of Leon, Posada’s work began to appear in magazines. Some of these early works were political in nature but not all. Posada’s other avenues of output included making artwork for purely commercial purposes, such as providing illustrations for matchbox covers, designing logos or engraving book cover designs. Posada married and began teaching lithography at a local school. Busy and fulfilled, his life went on uninterrupted until the year 1888, when a traumatic flood occurred in the city and Posada was again forced to relocate.

Calaveras Bailando

Mexico City became Posada’s new place of residence. He set up his own shop and worked for a variety of publishers on a free-lance basis. The artist forged an important liaison with Antonio Vanegas Arroyo, the leading publisher in the city. Together they created “hojas volantes”(flying leaves) which were one-page papers or broadsheets, distributed on the city streets for a penny a piece. These printed one-page documents covered a whole host of topics, ranging from moral stories to high-society gossip to songs that were illustrated (corridos).

Increasingly, Posada turned to the symbolism of the calavera (skeleton) to depict his illustrations that were filled with political satire. The dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz was in full swing at this time and social injustices were rampant. The decision to utilize skeletons in his illustrations had a two-fold effect. Graphically speaking, these images jump off the page, so to speak and cannot be ignored. As well, the people responded to the symbolism of the calavera as it was a deeply ingrained in their culture and subconscious. After all, the blood of their ancestors still ran in their veins, blood that was indigenous and not European. Many pre-Columbian civilizations decorated temples with skulls and had a deep fascination with death. While perhaps macabre on its surface, the symbolism of the calavera, which is in essence death, was a reminder that physical life is temporal while the spirit is eternal. Additionally, Posada’s intent was to show that in death everyone is equal, despite one’s economic status or position in life, death is the great equalizer that spares no one.

Hernan Cortes -His First Adventures

Another illustrator that worked in Arroyo’s shop, Manuel Manilla, also utilized the symbolism of the calavera in his engravings. Together with Posada’s prodigious contributions, the amount of calaveras (skeleton illustrations) this group produced was enormous and became very popular with the masses. Although many people were illiterate, they could still “read” what the illustrations were saying, a tribute to their effectiveness. As the often quoted saying goes “…a picture says a thousand words….”.

Posada was extremely prolific with the amount of work he produced in his life. Although the true number of engravings he made cannot be ascertained, some place the number as high as 20,000 works. Of these, it has been reported that an estimated 2,000 engravings have survived.

Undoubtedly, a technique that Posada invented helped him enormously both in production as well as expression. Well acquainted with the traditional printmaking technique of lithography, Posada also worked on wood blocks as well as zinc plates. Interested, however, in increasing his output, his experimentations led him to a new technique. Using acid-resistant ink, he would draw directly onto the metal plate and then place the plate in an acid-solution that quickly embedded the drawing. This plate, in turn, could be placed on the printing press at the same time as the type was placed, thereby saving an enormous amount of time and increasing production.

The Revolution

Posada’s new technique developed just prior to the Mexican Revolution of 1910. The output dramatically increased at Arroyo’s shop and the one-cent papers were being widely distributed on the streets of Mexico City. Posada’s illustrations have been credited with raising awareness enormously concerning the political injustices and abuses of the day. While he diligently worked from dawn to dusk, Posada was contributing greatly to the work of the revolutionaries who sought justice from the evils of Porfirio Diaz’s dictatorship.

As well, Posada played a pivotal role in the development of Diego Rivera’s work. Rivera was inspired by Posada’s attention to working-class concerns as well as his expressive artistic technique. While attending the San Carlos Academy of Art in Mexico City, Rivera would often stop by to visit Posada and watch him work. Years later, Rivera credited Posada as having been a great influence on his own artwork and direction. One of Rivera’s famous paintings, “Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in Alameda Park” pays a visual homage to Posada. Rivera included the famous skeleton image of the “Catrina” that Posada so often employed, a symbolic representation of a typical society-woman from turn-of-the- century Mexico.

Diego Rivera, Dream of a Sunday Afternoon

In addition to Rivera, Posada proved an inspiration to Jose Clemente Orozco, who as a boy would visit Posada in his workshop. In his autobiography, Orozco writes, “This was my awakening to the existence of the art of painting. I became one of the most faithful customers in Vanegas Arroyo’s retail shop . . . .” Posada’s influence was so great and he influenced so many that somehow it doesn’t seem right that the artist died in obscurity and poverty. He died quietly in the year 1913, alone and penniless and was buried in a common grave.

Some years later, a French artist by the name of Jean Charlot was collaborating on a mural with Diego Rivera in Mexico City. Charlot, walking the streets of the city, came upon Posada’s work which was still being used to illustrate the daily one-cent papers. Deeply intrigued and interested, Charlot began to feverishly collect Posada’s work. As well, he published an article about Posada that was widely read and admired. Charlot proved instrumental in bringing international awareness to the importance of Posada’s work and his place in history.

Today, Posada’s work is housed in various collections throughout the world. A museum dedicated to the artist is located in Posada’s hometown of Aguascalientes, Mexico. The Museo Jose Guadalupe Posada features prints along with the original metal plates that were used to create them. Although Posada the man is deceased, his work lives on, perhaps the greatest triumph over death there is.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this as much as I have. There is so much interesting Mexican history and culture, that I sometime have difficulty deciding what to post. Is there something in particular that you would enjoy reading about? Just drop a message or comment and I’ll be more than happy to oblige. Enjoy!

Resources: Mexonline .com

Cholula Pyramid

THE GREAT PYRAMID OF CHOLULA, Cholula, Puebla

Located on the central plateau of Mexico, hidden to the naked eye, sits the world’s largest ancient pyramid. The town where this wonder is located is Cholula, a small village just outside Puebla. Upon first glance, one sees only the charming colonial church of La Iglesia de los Remedios, built in the 16th century. Amazingly, however, this church sits atop the Great Pyramid of Tepanapa, oftentimes referred to as the Cholula Pyramid. Hidden by vegetation, the hill upon which the church was built, actually houses the great pyramid.

The history of the pyramid, coupled with the momentous events which followed, is full of drama and mystery. Approximately one hundred years before Christ, the pyramid’s construction begun. Cholula, by this time, was already one of Mexico’s largest cities, having been settled circa 1700 B.C. The pyramid’s construction along with affiliated temples, was carried out by various groups over hundreds of years. Its early period coincided with the great city of Teotihuacan’s development and power.

Inside Cholula Pyramid

An important ceremonial and political center of the pre-Columbian world, Cholula mirrored Teotihuacan’s glory days of power. As well, its first subsequent demise coincided with that of Teotihuacan. But unlike the great city to the northwest, whose people mysteriously disappeared, some residual peoples remained in Cholula, not abandoning the city entirely. Expansion of the pyramid continued with the arrival of the Olmec-Xicallancas, who further added to the pyramid’s scale.

The Toltec-Chichimecas occupied Cholula next, circa 1100 A.D. By that time the great pyramid was already largely submerged underneath tree and dirt. The Toltecs chose to focus their activity on building new temples which would surround the area of the great pyramid. The Toltecs also brought with them their intense devotion of Quetzalcoatl. Cholula subsequently became a mecca for pilgrims from all over Mexico, who flocked to the city to pay homage to the feathered serpent God.

Quetzalcoatl, already a long established deity of the Mesoamerican world, undoubtedly helped to inspire the pyramid’s initial construction. However, with the arrival of the Toltecs, the cult of Quetzalcoatl truly flourished. Additionally, under the rule of the Toltecs, Cholula became a major center for trade and commerce. Having established strong ties with all other cities in the region, Cholula maintained its independence for a time from the ever expanding Aztec Empire.

However, the Aztecs eventually took control of Cholula. When Cortes arrived in 1519, the pyramid, stood silent, hidden under grass and stone. The city’s population at this time equaled 100,000 inhabitants. Legend advises an ambush was planned by the Cholulans against the Spanish invaders under the direction of Montezuma. No longer swayed by Cortes whom he initially believed to be the reincarnation of Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec ruler made one last attempt to save his empire. Unfortunately, Cortes learned of the plan and what followed next was horrific: the slaughter of 6,000 Cholulan residents took place under the brutal command of Cortes.

Restored Stairway Cholula Pyramid

Temples were torn down and the ancient city of Cholula was destroyed. Cortes proclaimed that he would build a church in the area for each day of the year to match the number of temples destroyed. Drunk with power and with gold on his mind, Cortes failed to see the great pyramid.

Centuries elapsed before the pyramid was again discovered. In 1910, construction began on an insane asylum located at the base of the pyramid. Archaeologists once aware of the site began to survey and excavate. In the 1930’s, tunnels were made in order to better study the pyramid. These tunnels, which amount to an amazing five miles worth of passageways, zigzag in subterranean fashion, creating a labyrinth, not for the timid. These tunnels afford the visitor the opportunity of observing first-hand the various levels of construction. Delineated layers of shell and stone are visible. A total of four stages of construction occurred, over hundreds of years. Although lit with lamps, the atmosphere is definitely haunting and you most assuredly want to exit before nightfall.

In addition to the tunnels, outside there are altars, stairways and platforms to explore. One can also see a portion of the pyramid which was reconstructed by archaeologists. Not only does the pyramid of Cholula represent the largest single structure in Mexico, it also bears the distinction of having the largest base of any pyramid in the world, exceeding the bases of the great pyramids in Egypt. The total acreage the pyramid occupies is 25 acres with a height reaching an impressive 181 feet. Each side of the structure’s base is over 1300 feet in length.

When visiting the great pyramid of Cholula one is also afforded a magnificent view of the majestic snow-capped El Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl volcanoes. The pyramid of Cholula is truly a wondrous pre-Columbian gem. The site holds the potential of even greater discoveries and with only a small portion yet excavated, who knows what marvelous secrets the great pyramid has yet to reveal.