Chilies, and Beans, and Oraciónes

One-stop shopping at a market stall in Marquelia, Guerrero. Here you can buy chilies, wild honey, fresh ginger, an assortment of dried beans, and a wide selection of oraciónes, or ritual prayers. Specifically, an "oración" is an attempt to communicate with God or a saint, and, in most cases, it involves asking for something. Several great oraciones are on the rack shown above. There is, for example, the oracion "de la santa muerte", or the angel of death, and, my favorite, the "milagrosa oracion del sueño negro", or the miraculous prayer of the black dream. [NOTE: After carefully reading the package, it seems that what is being prayed for here is a good night's sleep].

Nuestra Madre de Guadalupe

Another lovely picture of the Virgen de Guadalupe from Mexico (see Virgen de Guadalupe). The image on this postcard, however, is very special (see below), and I've had it with me for over 25 years. Keeps me safe (thx, Elysa).

Virgen de Guadalupe

This photo expresses so much of what I love about Mexico: the old work truck, the bundles of carefully wrapped produce heading to market, the homemade wooden enclosure and green tarp, the man in back watching over everything (or, at least, getting a ride), the t-shirt with the image of the Virgen de Guadalupe. Taken on the road near Acatzingo, Puebla. [NOTE: I remember taking this photo, but I could never find it. Turns out I took it with Silvia Purata's camera on one of our trips back from Oaxaca (see Alebrijes). She dug it out for me yesterday (thx, Silvia)].

Mayan Backstreets

Narrow tunnel running through one of the main pyramids at Becan in the state of Campeche, Mexico. As I squeezed into this space, I reflected on who might have been doing the same thing in the middle Pre-Classic Period (550 BCE). And whether the tunnel was built for access - or avoidance. [NOTE: You come out the other end in a large courtyard].

Pre-Columbian Statue

Have spent the last several days glueing together the beautiful pre-Columbian statue shown above. It broke into about 40 pieces during shipping from my mom's house in Louisiana to New York. UPS most have really been throwing the boxes around.  I've had the statue for over 30 years (thx, Guillermo), but I don't really know much about this mysterious lady with the dog on her lap and the snake coiled around her head. The overall style suggests Nayarit or Colima, Mexico. The eyes, however, are decidedly oriental. I'm just glad it's back together. [NOTE: There were a few small piece left over (in the baking pan to the left). Couldn't figure out where these went.]

Kitchen Wall

This is the wall of the kitchen where we had breakfast every morning in Chimalacatlán, Morelos. I was in Chimalacatlán with Silvia Purata (see Alebrijes) looking at the extraction and processing of resin from several species of Bursera trees. Rode burros up and down the mountains behind the village through tropical dry forest, explored some caves, climbed up pyramids - and had delicious breakfasts. Great trip. [thx, Silvia].

Dion edule (from the Archive)

A large cycad, Dion edule, growing near Jalcomulco in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. I conducted a series of long-term ecological studies on this species in the mid-1980's with Andrew Vovides from the Instituto de Ecologia in Jalapa. We monitored the growth and reproduction of marked individuals for several years and discovered some fascinating facts about this primitive plant.

We found out, for example, that some of the individuals on our study site were more than 2,500 years old, and that Dion edule is the oldest living plant in Mexico. Given their great age and small stature, we also estimated that these are some of the slowest growing plants in the world. A more detailed description of the Dion edule study can be found here. [NOTE: Soon after we published our findings, Dion edule was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the slowest growing plant in the world. I couldn't find a link to the Guinness book, but the species is listed in several other places (e.g. here; scroll down to Slowest Growing Tree) with this distinction.

Papel amate

The image above shows freshly made sheets of papel amate, or bark paper, laid out to dry in the Otomi village of San Pablito in northern Puebla, Mexico.  Couple of things of interest here.  First, "amate" in Spanish refers to Ficus trees, and, traditionally, bark from from these trees was used to make papel amate.  With increasing demand for this handicraft and overly intensive bark harvesting (which kills the tree), the papermakers in San Pablito have been forced to use Trema micrantha (Ulmaceae) or "jonote", a fast growing tree of disturbed environments, to make bark paper.  In essence, there is no longer any amate in papel amate.  

Second, much of the jonote bark used to make paper in San Pablito is brought in by middlemen from the state of Veracruz.  The blank sheets of bark paper are then sent to the state of Guerrero where they are painted with colorful scenes of Mexican daily life.  That little square of bark paper that you bought on your trip to Mexico for 50 cents has been through many hands before reaching yours.  The bark was stripped from Trema trees in Veracruz, the paper was made by Otomi communities in Puebla, and the final painting was done in Guerrero.  Things haven gotten pretty complicated since the days of Moctezuma when bark paper was sent in tribute to Tenochtitlán. [NOTE: A more detailed analysis  of the effects of commercialization on Otomi bark paper production can be found here]

Cascada de Texolo

One of my favorite things to do during my time in the Xalapa region of Veracruz, Mexico was to hike down to the base of the waterfall at Texolo. The surrounding vegetation is full of tree ferns and epiphytes and Gunnera, all verdant and visibly happy in the constant mist.  That's Elysa in the foreground with the yellow t-shirt. [NOTE: Several scenes in the 1984 adventure film, Romancing the Stone, were filmed here]. 

Dion edule

A large cycad, Dion edule, growing near Jalcomulco in the state of Veracruz, Mexico.  I conducted a series of long-term ecological studies on this species in the mid-1980's with Andrew Vovides from the Instituto de Ecologia in Jalapa. We monitored the growth and reproduction of marked individuals for several years and discovered some fascinating facts about this primitive plant.

We found out, for example, that some of the individuals on our study site were more than 2,500 years old, and that Dion edule is the oldest living plant in Mexico. Given their great age and small stature, we also estimated that these are some of the slowest growing plants in the world. A more detailed description of the Dion edule study can be found here. [NOTE: Soon after we published our findings, Dion edule was listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the slowest growing plant in the world. I couldn't find a link to the Guinness book, but the species is listed in several other places (e.g. here) with this distinction.