The Basilica and Pyramids of Teotihuacan

The Basilica of Guadalupe shows the love of the people of Mexico for this saint. We observed a constant pigrimage to this holy place. The old Basilica is shown below and the new one which is in a modern day style. I also included the shrine to Guadalupe.

Chapultepec Castle

This was another great Fulbright activity. Jacques has done us all proud. We had a great guide who made this all come alive, and cemented some random facts together for me. It is all coming together. Enjoy the photos of the private quarters of Maximilian. The stained glass was beautiful as were the gardens.

Enjoy these photos

We also had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Anthropology. I spent the whole time in the room of the Mixtecs and Zapotecs as this is my project. So many interesting artifacts to enhance my project.


Here are a selection for your enjoyment. You will see a variety of masks that were used for burial. The more elaborate ones were for the more affluent Zapotecs. They were also used in ceremonies by priests worshiping the gods. I also include the Bat God icon and the Jaguar God.

The last photo is an example of a codice which is the written translation in pictographs of the history of Zapotecs and Mixtecs.

Whoops here are the photos of the Shelter

The pyramid at Chalupa

Furniture making shop

Goat herd for cheese and soap making

Mexico City Bound

On the way to Mexico City today we attended two lectures at Universidad de las Americas. One was on migration which fit in very well with Sunday's visit to Tiapanal and the other was on education in Mexico.

We then had lunch in Chulapa which featured a pyramid which had been overgrown with grass and trees but was made from adobe with part stone. On top of it was a quaint church and they had no idea they had built it on a pyramid until recently. You can actually walk inside and cross the whole base but today it was closed.

We then visited the IPODerac children shelter which housed young boys who were taken from the streets and taught a trade such as gardening, cheese-making, furniture work or soap making. They also get a good education and some even get scholarships to go to a college. 80% of street children are boys.



We bought some cheese from their shop to eat on the bus and it was delicious.

It is must better to make the boys independent that spoon feed them to depend on hand outs.

This shelter was started by a rich lady who fell on hard times and saw first hand what happened to children living on the streets.

What a great philanthropic venture.

Tiapanala Community

Today we drove out of Puebla for about 1 1/2 hours to a small community where we had an opportunity to speak to locals about migration issues.

Many of the men in this community have chosen to head North to make more money or get better opportunities to work. This leaves the women and children to survive until money is sent to them for survival.

An anthropologist who has been working in the community for the past eight years began working in Tlapanala as part of her thesis She has now decided to stay to support the community and start several programs to help this community. Her first project was a recycling program which allowed older women some independence to colllect materials that could be recycled and get a small amount of money from it. She also works with a local nurse who has created a program that supports people suffering from illnesses like diabetes. The nurse also educates women on how to live a healthy lifestyle. The women get a monthly allowance to help with diet, family planning, and cleanliness but they have to attend classes or the money stops.

Another program was called "Roots" which encouraged the oral traditions of stroy telling to record the history of this community. The intention is to record the stories that would have otherwise been lost due to high migration and mobility. The community published a book of these stories that were told by the adults, written by older children and illustrated by the younger ones.


Another grant was given to the children to start a farm for subsistence which included purchasing a rooster and 12 chickens with fencing and feed. They also got plants and seeds so they could grow their own food. It is hoped that if they can run thier own small farm, they would not migrate away from Mexico. It costs about $800 for each venture. The girls in the village also made cold cuts and sausage from the chickens that were killed for meat. Other chickens were used for egg sales. It was quite the industry and it is hoped that all 55 small farms will forma a coop soon and maybe sell to Walmart.

Puebla, Mexico

On the way to Puebla we passed a smoking volcano and n 18,000 foot tall snow capped mountain. We also dropped in to the site where the Battle of Puebla was won by Mexico against the French. Of course the French came back the following year and claimed the land for France, but they did bring 15,000 more soldiers. This is why we celebrate Cinco De Mayo. We then had a delicious lunch in which I tried Mexican caviar which turned out the be ant larvae! Puebla is famous for its Mole which is sweeter and more chocolate flavor than the one in Oaxaca. We also observed a demonstration against the new president of Mexico in the square. We have encountered several of these on our travels. Tonight there is a wedding in the hotel and they started celebrating at 10:00 pm so there is no chance to sleep tonight, It is 1:00 am and it is still going strong. Did I mention I love Puebla?

Coatepec, Mexico

After having a very interesting discussion about the education system in Mexico we all jumped into our bus and headed for the coffee district of Coatepec. We walked around this cute town and enjoyed the scenes of the "zocalo" which is actually a park in the center of the town. It also has a beautiful church and I added photos for you. The restaurant in which we dined had a garden courtyard which was equisite. Coatepec is also a specialized coffee growing town but we did not visit a plantation as we will do that in Colombia.

It is now raining hard here so we are all having a movie night in and pizza. Some good old USA comfort food. TOmorrow we head for Puebla. You know where the famous battle was held.