Mexico 2022 - A Weekend in Ajijic

 It is a small town, it's official population around 11,000, although a resident told me it is probably closer to 16,000, nestled between the shore of Lake Chapala and a verdant mountain range. Brightly painted buildings and muraled walls line narrow cobblestone streets. White and gray doves fly between the trees that fill the town square and congregate on the eaves of the bandshell in it's center. Small shops sell colorful crafts. On one square similar wares are vended from tables. Two venerable churches are located near the town center. One sits directly on the square, the main one is a couple of blocks away. It's bell tower looms over the town. What is not a century old is built to appear as if it was. Most of the sizable expat community is retired. There is little to do there. That seems to be the point, a life of quiet tranquility. 

From my room with it's commodious balcony facing the lake I watch white pelicans glide by. Tiny finches with bright yellow breasts perch on the balcony railing. Men in cowboy hats and jeans ride horses down the road I can see from the balcony, their hoofs clattering on the stone street. At night lights from other small villages and towns on the other side of the lake twinkle. 

There is a single gay bar, walking distance from my hotel. I go there late Sunday afternoon. The men and women all seem to know one another, as is the norm in smaller towns. 

I rest, relax, shop, read, write and walk the narrow streets. When I mention the quiet to locals they point out that if you want noise Guadalajara is only 45 minutes away.

Mexico 2022 - Vacations Moments of Magic

 For my final evening in Guadalajara I decided I would have dinner in the square in front of the cathedral. I walked past the venerable University of Guadalajara building, the fountain in it's plaza lit a beautiful shade of pale blue. The fountain in Cathedral Square was illuminated in the same hue, while the lights highlighting the trees in the plaza changed colors as did the lights in the arcade of the centuries old building across the square. A duo, a man with a guitar and  woman with a beautiful lower register, performed off to one side of the restaurant as I dined on a delectable breaded shrimp and sipped red wine. The cathedral bells rang out the hour, a sound I had become accustomed to as the church across from my hotel did the same each hour of the day....and night. Cities have a soundscape, some of it frenetic and earjarring but other parts soothing and soul filling. I strolled at a leisurely pace back to my hotel, at one point maneuvering around a tiny boy kicking a soccer ball about with reckless abandon, lost in the delightful innocence of youth, savoring the feel of the city before ordering one last drink from the hotel bar, taking it up to my room and retiring, looking forward to what lay ahead.

Mexico 2022 - The Ball Courts

 Like Mayan societies centuries later the was a ritual of a "game" played in ball courts tied to the movement of the sun across the sky. In the Teuchitlan culture a ball, heavy, perhaps a bit smaller than a modern soccer ball, was moved across the court using only the hips. Were any other part of the body to touch the ball a point would be awarded to the other team. Other points were scored by being able to move the ball into the opposing teams side of the court.

 The remains of two courts are located at the site. The first is what the tour guide described as a practice court. Presumably a place where the skills needed would be taught. It is delineated by an outline of stones on the ground. One could imagine an older generation instructing the younger on the various aspects and moves of the game. 

Then there is the larger main court. There are stepped walls along each side for spectators. This event was used to settle disputes among the members of the society. One could "pick a fight: with another and challenge them to the ritual game. It was believed the winner would be ordained by the gods. 

It was a dangerous ritual. Apparently death, either by dehydration or injury, would occur. The challenge would be to perform from sunup to sundown, Archeologists believe that no rest, water or nourishment was allowed. In modern times one would think it would be difficult to recruit members to your team when the possibility of death could be a result. However, death on the court would be death in a holy place so one's accession to "heaven" would be assured. There is a mound on one end of the court where the partial remains of people were found. It appears that the entire body was not sacrificed but pieces of the body were, for example, the deceased's finger.

Aside from the pyramids and ball courts there is also a marketplace for trade and several high stone mounds, adjacent to one of the ceremonial pyramids, presumably homes of nobles. There was an ingenious agricultural system composed of floating gardens, the nearby lake being 5 times larger than it's current size. From the ruins high above a distinct rise can be seen as one looks down at the small town below indicating the lake's level in ancient times.

I did ask about drug or liquor use among the culture. The guide said that they just don't know. I did find an article stating no evidence about drug use has been discovered but it is known that peyote, for example, was used by other people of the time. It is possible that marihuana or plants containing psycho active properties could have been available and used by the ancient people but that information has been lost to history.

Mexico 2022 - The Round Pyramids

 The Teuchitlan culture worshiped 4 main gods represented by the elements of earth, water, sun and wind, wind being the most revered. The round shape of the pyramids represented wind. 

Our first stop was a small museum where we were treated to a video which gave us an overview of the culture and prepared us for what we would visit. There were an estimated 25,000 to 45,000 inhabitants in the area in ancient times. This was, for the period, an enormous amount of humanity. A young goth kid working at the museum reminded me, once again, of the cultural homogenization of our present world. The ancient culture constructed shaft graves with different levels. The priests, the highest order of the society, were interred at the lowest level so that their journey to the underworld and after life would be easiest. Middle classes were interred at the midpoint, the poor highest up. One could also gain the high burial status of the priests by reaching the age of 52.Obsidian from the dormant volcano nearby provided the people with a trade good, evidenced by shells and other objects, discovered during excavation, only available from distant areas.

Early morning clouds had given way to bright sunshine and hot temperatures as we began our walk up the steep rock road towards the site. Unlike some other sites I have visited on my travels this one is rather rough, it requires a moderate level of fitness to fully appreciate it. Paths are little more than tramped down areas of grass and the heat, at least at this time of year, can be brutal. 

The video we saw before we began our trek was essential to me in helping visualize the site as it was 2000 years ago. The most well preserved of the pyramids is an imposing structure. It was not only a place for religious rituals but also a lunar based calendar, each of it's steps representing a cycle of the moon. Stone platforms surrounding it once held the houses of the priests. Middle class homes stood a little farther off with  the poor relegated to the farthest distance away. 

In 1969 UNESCO came to the area and declared it a world heritage site. Part of the designation required that restoration was only allowed if the structure was at least 70% intact. As the area had been looted of some of it's stones over the centuries by local residents this meant that some original structures could not be reconstructed. Hence, some of the platforms are missing and one of the larger pyramids stands as a grassy hill covered by the local flora. Still, the idea that I was standing on ground where religious rituals and dances took place over 2000 years ago was a deeply humbling experience. 

Mexico 2022 - The Round Pyramids of Teuchitlan - The Trip There

 Researching things to do in Jalisco that I hadn't done before I came across an article on the ancient round pyramids of the Teuchitlan culture which flourished from 300 B.C. to 300 A.D. I was picked up at 9 by my driver and tour guide and we were off to pick up the others I would be sharing the trip with that day. 

We drove deeper into the Colonia Americana district with it's grand homes lining both sides of the avenues. In one intersection, during rush hour, a man was performing hula hoop stunts in the middle of the street. One of the homes had been transformed into a shop specializing, as did several shops in the city, in evening dresses with extraordinarily wide tulle skirts. Resembling bells, I wondered how a woman might use the restroom while wearing one of these fantastic creations. They also seemed as if they might double as effective birth control as no one would be able to get close enough to reproduce. Even an innocent peck on the cheek would prove challenging. We drove past soaring monuments in the middle of traffic circles that seem ubiquitous in the city.

As we moved further away from the metropolis of Guadalajara we passed hillsides of the distinctly blue green of blue agave waiting to mature and be turned into tequila as well as sugar cane fields. Eventually we reached the town of Teuchitlan, population approximately 1000, founded in the 16th century. The town's name in the indigenous language translates to "place of all gods". Its sign depicts one of the pyramids we would be visiting. 

The tour guide quipped that the town was too small for a man to have both a wife and a girlfriend on the side. Apparently the women of the town gather together to do laundry and are not adverse to engaging in gossip.

Mexico 2022 - Orozco

 One thing this trip gave me was a fuller understanding and appreciation for the Mexican artist Orozco. I had some familiarity with him. I had seen his mesmerizing mural work in the Hospicio Cabanas on a previous visit and had discovered a small work of his in the collection of Chicago's Art Institute.

I was somewhat disappointed that the galleries surrounding the courtyards of the Cabanas I had spent time exploring on my previous visit were closed, perhaps because Tuesday is a free day at the museum. As I was leaving I spotted a doorway to an open gallery and entered. What I discovered was a sizable exhibition of Orozco's sketches and studies for his murals, including several studies for the murals at the Cabanas. It is always interesting to me to see a single artist's work grouped together. It gives me a deeper and clearer understanding of their overall vision and creative process. 

He was an excellent draftsman, many of his mural studies were sketched over grids and perspective lines. He experimented with how best to locate and create his frescos, a time consuming and laborious process. In his work he was able to suggest raw emotion and muscular power with a great economy of strokes.

For the first time I was able to see his mural at the University Art Museum. 2 young, quite adorable college kids greeted me at the entrance desk. One, small, cute, the 3 top buttons of his shirt undone to display 5 of what were probably a total of 15 chest hairs, addressed me in Spanish. I guess he saw something in my face because he said "oh" and switched to English, explaining to me I would have to remove my, ubiquitous on this trip to save the skin on my balding head, baseball cap and check my messenger bag. I dutifully handed them over to his companion behind the desk, a muscular student in skin tight white pants and an equally tight tee shirt which emphasized his impressive chest and biceps. Both of them were obviously keenly aware of the image they were presenting. 

The mural was overwhelming and left me stunned. It is an explosion of anger, difficult to look at yet impossible to turn away from. Were I to see a speaker in the lecture hall where it is located I would probably have no recollection of what they said because the image is so consuming and powerful.

I went through the other galleries in the small museum. One contained works and objects dating back to the 15th century. Others held works by contemporary artists. 

I returned to the mural one last time before I left. The cute student at the reception desk spoke with me of how powerful the work was as the second seemed to consciously make his muscles ripple inside his tight clothing as he retrieved my bag.

As I was walking down an avenue back to my hotel I passed two structures on either side of the boulevard. One had been a convent, partially demolished in the late 1800/s  to lengthen the street. On the other side, in a lovely parklike setting with a fountain in it's center, was a church some regard as the most beautiful in the city, in a city full of beautiful churches. As I briefly stepped inside a single bird was fluttering around it's dome.

Mexico 2022 - Hotel Morales

 I had tried, on my first visit to Guadalajara, to stay at the historic Hotel Morales, but, as it was a trip planned at the last minute, wasn't able to get a reservation I opted for another venerable hotel a block away. 

Hotel Morales, first built in the late 1800's as a private hacienda, was changed to a hotel due to it's proximity to the train station and bullring once located in the area. It was later expanded and 2 floors added. Today it is a lovely and graceful oasis of old world elegance and charm. Small wrought iron balconies grace some of the rooms, including mine. It is a place of lush courtyards, well appointed public spaces and beautiful stonework. Yet it contains modern amenities such as a rooftop pool, small fitness room and a second rooftop terrace that over looks the city. 

I was spoiled by the excellent restaurant with its expansive breakfast buffet. The concierge that went to the arena box office to get my tickets for the Tuesday night Mexican wrestling show, which sucked by the way, but such is life, to keep me from having to pay Ticketmaster's outrageous fees. He also arranged for a masseuse to come to the hotel resulting in a stress relieving hour of bliss. I returned to the room early on a couple of occasions to find the house keeping staff doing her daily mopping of the floor, the room sparkling. I enjoyed bringing a cocktail to my room from the bar each night to end my day.

It is an easy walk to the cathedral and the historic treats nearby. If I return to Guadalajara it will be my first choice place to stay, Provided, of course, that I can get a reservation.