Dia de la Virgen Guadalupe 2009

So I'm a little slow in posting, but better late than never. This year for December 12 I was in Puebla to celebrate day of the Virgin Guadalupe and actually went to midnight mass on the night of the 11th to sing happy birthday to her. People brought balloons and flowers as gifts and many of the balloons ended up at the top of the chapel. The church in Puebla was packed (as were most of the churches across the country). Outside the church there were typical Mexican fair food stalls. Kids were taking their pictures in different scenes with the virgin and some were elaborate enough to have live animals like ponies, goats, donkeys, and lambs.

Dia de la Virgin Guadalupe

The Virgin Guadalupe may be the most popular religious image in Mexico. Her feast day is celebrate on the 12 of December and commemorates her appearance on a hill outside of Mexico City in 1531. Her church, the Basilica of Our Virgin Guadalupe is the 2nd most visited Roman Catholic Shrine. Thousands of pilrims make the treck to the basilica in the weeks surrounding her day. Borrowed from Wikipedia..... The Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes once said that "...one may no longer consider himself a Christian, but you cannot truly be considered a Mexican unless you believe in the Virgin of Guadalupe."

So I was in Queretaro for the 2nd year on this day and all the festivites take place directly around the Church of the Virgin Guadalupe. There are food stands, music, and eventually a large firework display with one of the firework towers that actually displays a flaming image of the virgin.

December in Queretaro

Lots to report since the last update. I’ve been super busy trying to finish everything up before the end of training, but as of the 19th I am officially a volunteer and as of the 20th I’m officially on vacation until I have to report to Puebla on the 4th of January. So here’s the summary of the last couple weeks…. We visited two different children’s homes (orphanages more or less) and brought Christmas things and piñatas (piñatas are traditionally used in Mexico during Christmas).
December 12 is the day of the Virgin Guadalupe (this is the patron saint of Mexico) and the day is capped off by masses, fireworks, and other festivities. The church is the picture below is the church of the Virgin Guadalupe in Queretaro and the metal structure is the firework tower for later in the night. There was also day of the payasos (clowns) in December. Also, around Christmas time, many posadas are held. These are basically a type of Christmas party and have a piñata. Unfortunately for me my attempts at actually hitting the piñata were fairly unsuccessful, although as can be seen in the picture, the piñata was a little high.

I also spent a day and a night in a small town in the state of Guanajuato called Apaseo el Alto. Not a whole lot going on in this town, but it was nice to spend some time outside of Queretaro, in a small town, and without any other gringos or tourists to be seen. There was supposed to be a huge old convent somewhere on the outskirts of town (as seen on the towns website), yet someone not a single person in town had heard of it or knew where it was…..

Then finally, on the 19th, we had our official swearing ceremony. Our host families, some of the heads of the SEMARNAT offices (unfortunately no one from Puebla could make it), our Spanish teachers, and officials from the embassy were in attendance. After the ceremony, there were tacos and a mariachi band. Still awaiting the official pictures, but the one below is me with my host mom.

That is about it for now. I’m headed out of vacation for ~10 days to visit Zacatecas, Morelia, and Pazcuaro. Happy Holidays!