Janet Lowe

Mexican candies

My Spanish teacher, Samantha who has finished her third year of university training to be a psychologist but needs to pass the Level 4 English exam to begin her final year, has me reading a children’s book about Mexican candies who talk to each other at night. I wondered what these treats actually tasted like. Our friends Matt and Allan were invited to their housekeeper’s daughter’s birthday party last week and received a bag of sweets which they passed on to me. My favorite is the “Bald Head, Some Hair” of Tamarindo (spicy chili) flavored jell that squeezes out the top when the blue plunger is pushed down.

Samantha’s favorite is a small plastic packet called Pico Rey. Inside is granulated sugar, salt and chili pepper. Last night while we cooked dinner, she licked every morsel from the package.

Peanut Pet Shelter Clean Up Day, Saturday, January 24

The Clean Up, which Cathy Todhunter organized, had been scheduled a week earlier, but recent rain storms flooded the Shelter. This day was perfect, warm but not hot and low humidity.  Jim went over about noon; my daughter, Dorsche, who was visiting from Philadelphia, and I arrived at 1:30 after her farewell massage.  What I had seen a month before was an area 30 by 60 feet of weeds, stumps and rocks around which the cinder block kennels had been built. I found about 30 dog lovers pulling weeds, cutting roots and tree limbs with machetes, prying and digging out rocks, and raking the ground to create a reletively flat surface for the dogs to run. The change was amazing. As we left another fenced in area half as large was being tackled.  Andy and Jen plan to cover both their front yard and the dog run with white gravel that will discourage flea and tick colonies.

Obama Inaugural Ball in Playa del Carmen

This is where we spent Tuesday night with my daughter, Dorsche, who was visiting from Philadelphia.She brought with her matching Obama tee shirts made by MoveOn.org and so attired we ventured to the Ball. Tony and Cheri had a larger than life size image of Barack above the bar and were serving Apple Pie rum drinks followed by a squirt of whipped cream to open mouths, shots of tequila to shirt wearing patriots, and very strong Margueritas (as usual). We stayed until 11:00, when they closed the bar so their hotel clients could have peace and quiet, and then began a bar crawl until 2:00 in the morning. What a celebration of HOPE it was. There were smiling faces of Americans who have not been proud of their country.

Dorsche and I befriended two young women from Oregon who are working their way to Argentina by helping on organic farms in exchange for room and board. I became the Obama Mama as the night went on, gathering these three very optimistic American Beauties into my arms.

Dorsche, Dancing Joe and me.

Posada in our neighborhood

Friday morning I noticed a sign posted on a pole in the neighborhood announcing a Posada for the neighbors Saturday evening. We had been invited to our neighbor’s home for coffee and cake, and to meet their parents who are visiting from Guadalajara at the same time, but this event was more important. Together with Isabelle and her young son, Miguel, (her husband had lost his parents in the Cancun Mall and was late arriving) we walked to where we could hear music begin to blast. There were stacks of white plastic chairs and people arriving.

First drinks were served by three lovely teenage girls: sodas, a warm fruit punch, and a bottle of tequila for the men. Eventually the Procession began. Two young children dressed as Mary and Joseph led the large group of neighbors. We walked first to our next door neighbor’s home and sang a request for entrance, but were denied. We turned and, singing Christmas songs, followed the children down the street. Two houses later the children were admitted to much rejoicing.  

We returned to our circle of plastic chairs, ate hamburgers cooked on an open grill, and two fathers tied the first piñata to the rope and pulley stretched across the intersection. Starting with the smallest child, each was given a turn at beating the piñata, hoping to break open the store of candies within. The first was beaten ragged but still would yield no candies, so it was cut open and the sweets were tossed to the ground. Then another, smaller, piñata arrived and was successfully beaten open. And finally a huge piñata was hoisted above the crowd. Older children took a serious whack at this monster and finally adults were blind-folded and let loose on it. Our neighbors, Miguel and Isabelle, were the final heros who broke it open.

Then a plastic cup full of tiny papers was brought out and each person drew “his gift” and read the paper aloud into a microphone. Jim’s was the gift of feet to follow the path of truth, and mine was the gift of the mule in the stable to warm my fervor. A teenage girl drew the gift of protecting the baby Jesus until next year and took the figure from the nativity scene. Every adult, child, and grandparent drew “a gift”. It was quite wonderful.   The dancing began shortly and Jim entered right in. His first song was “Macho Man” and the ladies all circled around him. Line dances, which have always baffled me, started and I took my place on the sidelines. But a very good time was had by all.

A couple new paintings inspired by our trip to Merida.

I spent much time photographing the colonial doorways of middle class neighborhoods while we were in Merida. The weather was cool and walking was wonderful. Around every corner was another treasure. These are the first results, oil on canvas.

Benefit for Peanut Pet Shelter

Friday, December 12, was the Peanut Pet Shelter Benefit Raffle here in Playa. Chris Bolister played guitar all night long to everyone’s delight, it is good to have him back in town. Tickets were each 50 pesos and prize winners for each treasure were drawn from a box holding all the corresponding stubs. It was cold that night and I was lucky to win a blue sweatshirt that I promptly claimed and wore for the rest of the evening. There were also bar tabs at various local haunts, weekend stays at a couple hotels, dive sessions, and all sorts of wonderful donations from merchants in the area. The event was held at the newly renamed P G Sandbox on Calle 26 and Ave. 1. A good time was had and the Shelter gained significant aid. 

The next day was also cold, so rather than washing at the regular Dog Wash we picked ticks from about 70 dogs and puppies and applied medicines.  A good group of workers arrived, so there was time to spend cooing over and cuddling some of these adorable dogs. See them at: www.playadelcarmenpets.com.

The Virgin of Guadalupe

Thursday, after lunch on the beach, I decided to visit the celebrations underway of the Virgin. First I visited a shop on Ave 30 and Calle 6 dedicated solely to her cause. There were statues of every size, color and material, candles of at least 16 colors and others in cans, cups and vases, paper flowers, ribbons, etc. From there I climbed on a public bus, called a colectivo, and rode north into the Colosio, the working class part of town beyond the tourists. At Calle 60 I saw more shops and the church dedicated to the Virgin. People walk, crawl, ride bikes or motor scooters, get there however they can to celebrate at midnight Thursday, as Friday is the official cumpleaños. I saw boys behind decorated vans with music blaring, a bike procession, a group of motor cycles with banners flying, and many children being decked out in traditional garb near the church.  The next morning as I sat quietly in yoga class, fireworks continued to explode.

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Last Friday was the national day for celebrating the Virgin of Guadalupe, the saint of Mexico. Children dressed in traditional worker costumes (and a few others) walked the pedestrian roadway in Playa del Carmen carrying balloons decorated with the Virgin and singing Christmas songs. 

We were on our way to the Tequila Barrel where we joined Santa celebrating the coming season of generosity by asking for donations to Angel Notion, a clinic for low income people in the northern part of town. (www.angelnotion.com)  They have accompanied and financed children on trips to the US and Mexico City for surgeries, run the only pre-natal clinic in Playa, operate a Diabetes testing and education session every Friday, and offer both traditional and modern medical care for the community at very reasonable rates.

Valladolid, on the return to Playa del Carmen

I spent time Monday morning meditating and doing yoga on our front deck in the sun and walked the neighborhood photographing more “doorways of Merida.” We called the property management company about 10 am to say we were ready to leave and they arrived quickly with our $100 deposit in hand. Our first stop, after passing the entrance to the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá and Balancanchén Caves (another trip, perhaps in January when my daughter visits), was Valladolid, a 120 km drive. I had met a woman at the craft show who has a gallery there, so I ran to see it. Called Yalat, it is located on the NE corner of the Plaza Central. It was very nice and I purchased an embroidered light cotton blouse and a bag of chocolates from the state of Tabasco. We lunched in the Plaza beside one of seven churches in the town, I chatted with the Mayan ladies selling crafts in the park, and bought a hand crocheted purse for 100 pesos.  Then we were on the road again, back into the state of Quintana Roo, a couple stops at a ceramic sales shop and a stone and clay artist’s studio, on to Tulum and then up highway 307 to Playa.  I liked Valladolid very much. There is a cultural museum and there are murals in the government building, famous cenotes are nearby, and hotel rooms are quite reasonable.

La Feria Yucatán in Xmatkuil

Sunday, Nov. 30, was the last day of the month long State Fair a little south of Merida. A public bus on Calle 50 would get us there, but we decided to use Matt and Allan’s car. We got lost a little trying to avoid the closed streets of city center every Sunday but eventually found the fair ground and parked. We had been warned that we would be joined by up to 150,000 people that day, and I believe the figure. Colectivo buses arrived continually and the crowd bought their 10 peso (85 cents US) tickets and entered the fray. There were surprisingly few animals present, but Allan found the goats and crawled into their pen so three week old kids could climb his frame. Color and food were everywhere, as were games of chance and carnival rides. There was a huge tented market place where piles of bedding, dishes, pots and pans, and clothing were sold very reasonably. We tried the food, shopped the market, and rode the rides. Interesting that we never lost track of each other. Allan’s 6′ 2” frame stood out dramatically above the sea of much smaller native bodies.