This past weekend I took a trip with
the other fellows to the small city of Alamos to experience part of
their two week long cultural festival. This is where Elena, the
lovely woman who works on the Indigenous Partnership Program, lives
with her family. The city was built in the Spanish Colonial style and
the architecture is stunning with arches on almost every building.
Most of the mansions have beautiful courtyards in the center of their
grounds with large trees and gardens (you can sneak a peek through
the gates). I would love to live in such a house where you could have
the culture of the city, but also the tranquility of nature right in
your house. The population in Alamos is about 8,000 during the peak
season, but drops off in the summer when temperatures rise (and the
rich North Americans and Europeans go back to their other houses).
After a grueling 11 hour travel period
of multiple busses and stops, we made it to Alamos at about 5 pm on
Saturday. We had planned to stay at Elena’s house, but she also had
other family visiting and we were worried it would be a lot for her.
As we were walking by, one of her neighbors noticed us, and offered
up his empty apartment for us to stay in. I can’t imagine anyone in
the U.S. just offering up a free place to stay for seven strangers!
Not only that, but he cleaned it (Mexico is very dusty) before we
came over and even gave us his cell phone number to call if we needed
anything during the night (he had a small aborrotes, or corner
store). The generosity of some people astounds me.
Over the next day and a half we walked
around the city, saw dances, listened to music, and went to artisanal
fairs (Albeit there was a lot of standing around for me as someone
who likes to stick to a schedule!). There were at least 4 different
stages were various acts were scheduled throughout the day and
evening. Almost everything was free to the public. We decided to pay
60 pesos (roughly $4.50) to see an Opera in the evening, because when
else could I pay that little to see opera performed? My favorite part
was really how amazing the people were. Despite there being lots of
people and crowds, everyone was very tranquilo (calm) and
polite. Unlike some other places that I have travelled where people
push you over the smallest things, no one here was aggressive. For
example, a Mexican group was performing songs in the street at night.
They would stop to sing and then move onto another location. Everyone
just followed them almost like a parade while singing along. Even
when there were some men giving out free wine, no one pushed! It was
a really pretty city, and I hope to get the chance to spend more time
there in the future.
 |
| the girls: Laura, Yutsul, Alumine, Marlu |
 |
| Yutsul & I overlooking Alamos |
 |
| Local crafts |
 |
| Central Plaza |
 |
| Opera house |
 |
| Birds eye view of the houses with courtyards inside |
