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Kirby's Fremont
Kirby's FremontHappy Holidays From Mexico
By Kirby Lindsay
Nov 30, 2000 -- For Thanksgiving, Francy Rubin was given coconuts. She thought they'd add an exotic touch to the traditional meal she was having with friends and family. When she didn't have anything to open them with, she went to her neighbor and friend, Rosa Topete Alegre, to borrow a machete.In Francy's temporary home in Colima, Mexico, neighbors do have things like machetes as regular kitchen utensils--although they don't have cranberries.
Friends visiting from Oregon bring the cranberries for a Thanksgiving feast. It isn't that anyone has a craving for cranberries, "but you always put a little on your plate," Francy observed.
She, her husband, Tom Brown, and their son Troy are volunteering in Mexico for two years, and are among the friends I have made here. They have learned, as I am learning, that holidays here are very different from those at home. In Fremont, that overfed, over-indulged feeling has passed and the frenetic search for the perfect whatever for Aunt Ethel has just begun. In Mexico we are deep into a fiesta, the fourth I've seen here in a month.
I spent Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead, in the small town of Cofradia, at the base of an active volcano. In the morning we walked to the cemetery and families laid Coronos, wreaths of flowers or ribbons, on the graves of generations of family members. Tradition says that November 1 and 2 are when the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest. A Catholic Mass was said, and people spent the day going from home to home, visiting. This was a rare day free of work, and a treasured opportunity to reconnect with friends and family. Pilgrimages to the cemetery go on all day. In the afternoon, over the countryside of rolling hills, few trees and fewer buildings, music came loud and joyous from the graves where people continued honoring the lives of their loved ones.
A week later I was able to participate in another way of honoring a loved one. It was a serenata, or a surprise serenade, to a friend the night before her birthday, usually held at night after 10. Professional musicians sing a standard set of 10 songs. The first is the Mexican happy birthday and the last is a song of farewell. Some family and friends may join the singing. All join in the eating, drinking and talking long after the musicians have packed up and gone on to their next job.
Monday, November 20 was one of several annual celebrations of Mexico's independence, this one celebrating freedom from the clutches of dictator Porfirio Diaz. It was a day off from school, and the children gathered in the central jardin, or plaza, to perform in a desfile. These parades are disorganized by American standards, but everyone can and does participate and no one notices if the timing is off, the musicians out of tune, or the sun too brilliant. The focus is the celebration of life.
Celebrations held between December 1 and 12 make this parade look like a dress rehearsal. Now come the solemn fiestas in honor of the Sainted Virgin of Guadalupe. It is, at its base, a Catholic celebration of the sighting of Mary in Mexico. Everyone makes a pilgrimage to the cathedral in the center of Colima, the capital of the state, so there are parades--often two or more--every day. Posters are handed out listing official parades, and requesting that performers limit themselves to three songs. To say that this celebration goes on day and night is not hyperbole; it is fact.
Mexicans take their holidays, all of them, seriously. On Thanksgiving, Francy didn't only get a machete from her friend. When Rosa noted she was dressed up, she insisted on doing her hair. Francy attended her Thankgiving celebration with a 1960s bouffant covered in half an inch of hairspray lacquer and gel (pronounced "Hell" in Spanish ... seriously!).
The American gringo volunteers bring their own traditions with them. Besides observing Thanksgiving, which in Mexico is just another Thursday, Francy brought her family's Christmas stockings down. Christmas is celebrated in Colima, but here it is quiet time for families to gather together. Some gringos gather to observe Hanukah, serving matzo ball soup and explaining the traditions to friends and neighbors. The gringos are an assorted group from all over the U.S., some long-term volunteers and others just passing through. At Thanksgiving dinner, everyone brought their own traditions and variations to the table, from mashed onions to ambrosia salad. There are many ways to celebrate.
The same is true for Mexican holidays. When I asked about seeing a "traditional" Day of the Dead celebration, I was told I must go to another town, six hours' drive away--that's where Mexicans go when they want to see one. These days, even in Mexico, holidays have changed to reflect the times. Fortunately, the one thing the Mexican people have yet to change is their profound belief in celebration--of everything.
Kirby Lindsay is on a writing sabbatical in Mexico. If you have questions for her, you may write c/o The Seattle Press or e-mail to fremont@oz.net.
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