Holy Mexico!

I’m happy to report that my appetite for Mexican food has healthfully returned. My distaste for Mexican food was most definitely a byproduct of being sick a couple of weeks ago. But late, late last night after a girls' night out with friends from school, I couldn’t help but order a taco al pastor when we made a stop at a taqueria on the way home.

That brings up a great point -- I don’t think we’ve written about the heavenly tacos al pastor that go for about $.45 here. Tacos al pastor would be perfect after-hours food in a college town, or, actually anywhere.

Last Sunday we finally visited La Villa de Guadalupe, or the area on the outskirts of the city that is revered by Catholics (and others) from all over the world. This is the site where the apparition of Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe (the Virgin Mary) is said to have appeared before an indigenous Mexican peasant named Juan Diego. While I have always been intrigued by the story of Juan Diego and his visions and message from La Virgen, I realize you might not share the same interest. To read more about the story and how the image of La Virgen permanently became to exist on the tilma (cloak) or Juan Diego, click here.

Anyhow, visiting La Villa been something that I've wanted to experience for years. Several years ago I visited a Basilica in San Antonio, TX with my dear grandmother to catch a tiny glimpse of a small piece of Juan Diego’s tilma that was miraculously imprinted with the image of La Virgen – it was a relic the size of my pinky fingernail enclosed in glass – and we were among hundreds of others who waited for hours to see and pray before the small piece of fabric. So, for me, to view the entire tilma with the image of La Virgen was an experience I will cherish forever.

Thousands of other visitors were also visiting La Villa, which includes a Basilica built in the 1700s and a newer Basilica that was built in 1976 after the older one began to sink (how many of you remember from history class that the Aztects built Mexico City on top of drained lake??). We walked the entire grounds, including the gardens, chapels and up to the hill of Tepeyac where the La Virgen is said to have appeared before Juan Diego. It was incredibly humbling and moving to witness the few visitors who made the pilgrimage to La Valle and up the hill slowly crawling on their knees.

At the Basilica, masses are held every hour and the atmosphere was filled with song, prayer and art. We even took a peek at the “Pope Mobile” that Pope John Paul II paraded through Mexico City in. Even though the validity of the apparition is controversial, there is no denying that Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe and her famous imagage are iconic and unifying sybols of Mexico.




On Wednesday we enjoyed our first holiday with the celebration of Mexico’s Independence Day. Talk about patriotic – these people know how to celebrate their cultura and history! We had a blast downtown and toasted the occasion at a cantina where a friend played DJ for the night.

Celebrating Mexican Independence Day

Josh is pleased with his tutoring schedule and has enjoyed working with students, most of whom are at an elementary or middle school age. Spanish is slowly progressing for me and I'll likely start exchanging English services for Spanish tutoring in the next weeks. So far, I'm making decent progress.

We’re working for the weekend this week as we count down the days to a trip to Pie de la Cuesta, a relaxing beach town on the Pacific not far from Acapulco!

We hope each of you are doing well at home - we miss you and love hearing from you!

Hasta Luego,
Olivia