Of course, it is always difficult to leave new “family” and friends behind, but, nevertheless, we had to say our “good byes” to our friends in Tlaxcala this past winter after spending over three months with many of them. So, I decided to do a “video wrap up” which featured our last activities, including two wonderful farewell dinners If you haven’t experienced a “Mexican bus ride,” stay tuned for the last half of the embedded video and ”brace yourself” for the ride down the mountains into Mexico city. We do hope to see all of our “amigos” again next winter around the end of January 2010. Wow, another decade ending . . . . . . oh, here it is –
Stephen, a “Genuine Tourist,” reporting from Baraboo, WI
While I don’t usually get into “political” issues as a “Genuine Tourist,” I was “moved” to write this article because of a “internet forward” I received about “illegal immigrants” from a dear friend. It seemed to me that a different perspective was in order in view of what appeared to me to be inaccurate reporting. Here is the link to my news column which contains the article –
One is almost always pleasantly surprised when “haunting” the Zócalo in the pleasant city of Tlaxcala, MX. Here are a collection of videos and still photos primarily taken on weekend while visiting the Zócalo.
Stephen, Genuine Tourist, posting from Baraboo, WI, USA
During our four day medical/dental/vision trip to Tochimizolco, Puebla, this past April, we were able to observe some aspects of the community itself. At least one wedding and one baptism took place, for example, and they become community “events” as participants paraded down the local streets to a designated houses in order to continue to celebrate.
It was our good fortune to be on the streets when the wedding procession took place with of a groom and bride that looked a bit older than one would have expected. Regardless, the procession was accompanied by spirited music and platters of rice to throw at the bride and groom. It has been suggested that rice was thrown in order for guests to have some participation in the ceremony. I also noticed some of the boys and men carrying a single bottle of beer. I don’t know if it was for them to drink at the reception or to be used as a gift to the newly weds.
I caught some of the wedding procession on video, so I thought I would give you a chance to also be in the streets of Tochimizolco and participate via the web. But, first, here is a photo of the ladies cooking on open fires for the hundred or so people attending the wedding banquet.
During our recent trip to Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, I volunteered my spouse, Patricia, to do dental hygiene work at a medical mission in Tochimizolco, Puebla We ”joined up” with the team in Puebla and took a chartered bus to Tochimizolco where we spent about 3 days seeing about 600 patients. Of course, many of the patients came from many miles and had to spend hours waiting in long lines. However, the team assigned numbers to every patient during intake, and the patients worked with the system very well and were able to legitimately jump in and out of various lines based upon their assigned numbers. In the meantime, many children were waiting upon their parents (or were themselves patients). The children were delightful and well mannered. Many of them received photos of themselves from staff who had served them the previous year.
While waiting, the children were able to participate in various activities either arranged by staff or on their own. Some of the activities were formally developed in order to rehearse for a performance for the medical team on the last day. Here is a video of some of the children in some of their activities.
Stephen, a “Genuine-Tourist” reporting from his easy chair in Baraboo, WI, USA
Welcome to the “Genuine Tourist” blog by Silversard. It will be the mission of this blog to serve as a “gateway” to all of the Yahoo Groups and WordPress type blogs that are published by myself about southern Mexico and the tiny state of Tlaxcala (southeast of Mexico City).
You can always get to this blog by using the following URL –
We travel to Mexico at least once a year and stay for about 3 months at a time. Even though we usually stay in large cities, we travel to neighboring communities and up the mountains to distant villages to engage in humanitarian work or to be just “genuine tourists.” We have only minimal knowledge of the language and cultural but hope to learn a lot more of both in the years ahead. Our next trip is scheduled for January 22nd thru April 30th.
We operate Yahoo groups about Oaxaca, Xalapa, and Tlaxcala that are used by expats to communicate with each other. Each Yahoo group has as blog attached to it so that experiences can be journaled with narrative and photos. All of the groups and blogs are “connected like a string of pearls” via links on their home pages so one can move from group to group and/or blog to blog with ease. Also, the groups and blogs are as “open” as possible so that people can use them without formally joining them, if they so desire. On the other hand, the groups and blogs are “closed” as possible to spammers by the use of multiple moderators who moitor and approve postings, especially postings of new users.
Enough of the “mechanics” for now. Pemit me to “try this new blog out” by posting some photos that have not seen “the light of day” on any other forum. I have found the signage of Mexico interesting. So here are some photos of signs that are colorful, well painted, and reminicent of years gone by. I hope Mexicans hang on to this wonderful custom –
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Tweety Bird On Truck Box
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Seafood Restaurant
More photos of signs are just a click away — click here
Although no one is really listening (because the blog is so new), I am going to continue my theme of “signs” in Mexico. Hopefully, people will discover this site in the future and benefit from my “labor of love” as I generate this post. You may want to look at the previous post that launched this blog and introduced some of the signs we have seen in Mexico. We will start today with signs that advertise “pet shops.”
Pet Store Sign With Spiritual Logo
Seems to Specialize in Fish, Etc.
This is my favorite pet store sign to date;-)
Now, a couple of restaurant signs.
More photos of interesting signs are just a click away — click here
In our travels around southern Mexico, we have frequently noticed amorous couples “necking” in public, usually in the very center of cities, in the town “squares.” At first, we ignored the couples, believing we should not intrude on their privacy or cultural practices we did not understand. (However, I must confess that once in Oaxaca in the very shadow of the famous church of Santa Domingo I made a couple “come up for air” long enough to give us directions to the church of Santa Domingo! Well, we were new to the area at the time and didn’t reaize were were standing right next to the church building
It did occur to us that not many young people in Mexico had access to cars (i.e., for “parking”), and they couldn’t “just get a room” with few pesos between them. Then there was the possibility that the public practice of kissing actually regulated their behavior and acted as a kind of govenor to more extensive sexual behavior between them. Of course, the behavior seemed to be everywhere and our ignorance of its roots and our behavior of ignoring it didn’t seem to make it go away! So, we thought we might just as well photograph it !
So . . . , here are a few photos of “kissing couples” and some who probably do kiss but “don’t tell.”
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Under the trees in the centro area of Xalapa, Xalapa
Lovers Oblivious to Tourists Viewing Them From Above
More photos of public kissing are just a click away — click here
As in many countries, statutes, murals, and paintings are also found throughout Mexico. Some statutes are found in rather inaccessible locations and can only be photographed with a telephoto lens. One example of this is the statute of “Lady Justice” on the top of the Justice building in Xalapa, Xalapa. Now the statute is wayyyy up high, and I believe I had a less than clear day . . . but here is the photo –
Quite a Trick to Balance on Just One Foot
But, more often than not, you just walk up on statutes right in the middle of city parks, like this one in downtown Xalapa, Xalapa –
They say that humans are not too good at remembering. It seems we are especially good at forgetting unpleasant events and do so quickly. Perhaps, monuments, then, are of value, especially when they commemorate the lose of many lives or similar tragedies. However, it seems we are especially good at building monuments to acknowledge great people or victories. For example, monuments of great generals are everywhere in Mexico and of great battles.
Perhaps, the most elaborate monument to a battle we have seen so far in Mexico was in Puebla in commemoration of the heroes who defended Puebla and “Liberty” on May 5th, 1862. Of course, today the people of PUEBLA celebrate the day as “Cinco de Mayo” and other states in Mexico have “piggy backed” upon their holiday. Here is a photo of the monument.
Defenders of Puebla and Liberty -- 05-05-1862
If you are interested, you can see a few more photos of the monument, a video of the monument and its numerous fountains, a peek inside the fort, and some modern day “defenders” of the fort.
More photos and video are just a click away — click here
In my past profession of social work, we use to talk of “old me” and “new me” or sometimes “future me” when we were working with serious offenders. I am sure many people with age and some “miles” on them would like to have have back the body of their youth, although perhaps not with the baggage of youthful choices, etc. Well, while in Xalapa, Veracruz, I found my “future me” in the form of a statute at the sports arena. Take a look to the right at my “future me” IF, of course, I could turn back the “hands of time.” Well, since it isn’t going to happen, let us continue our journey of statutes, murals, and paintings in Mexico . . .
We were taking a look at the Governor’s palace in the zocálo of Xalapa and discovered this statute of a conquistador, fully armored – More photos if you– click here
The group is called, “Sones de Veracruz” and the “leader of the band” is David Rubio Galvan. On his business card, he states their music is “Folklore Veracruzano.”
“Stay tuned” for more postings regarding this wonderful group.
A Dancer Featured with the Group
Stephen, Genuine-Tourist, reporting from Baraboo, WI, USA, the first day of snow flurries in southern Wisconsin.
In our previous article we tried to explain the phenomena of “public kissing couples” in Mexico. Of course, it may be the case that Mexico is not unique in this regard, although I don’t recall it being prevalent in Greece or Italy during our brief visit two years ago. In any event, as previously stated, we decided to photograph some of the couples and “let you be the judge.” Here are a few more photos.
Couple in Zocálo of Xalapa
The couple in the above picture was a “working kissing couple” in that they were soliciting people for donations to the Red Cross, but simply “pausing” from time to time to “rejuvenate” their relationship On the girls cheek is the Red Cross sticker one received upon giving a donation.
More photos of public kissing are just a click away — click here
If all went well, a new article was published on the blog “Oaxaca–Genuine Tourist” early this morning. It is about the “sights and sounds” of the Zocálo in Oaxaca when we arrived on 03-18-08 this past winter. It includes a video with some nice music. Here is the man with the saxophone.
A Man and His Sax
And if you click on the following link, you can hear him play –
We often walk through the neighborhoods in Oaxaca, Oaxaca, and see all sorts of things. We decided to find the “Fountain of the Seven Regions” one day (north of the first class bus station) and did. While walking back to our “B&B” we passed by a sidewalk vendor of newspapers. At first his stand seemed no different than the hundreds of other vendors one finds on the sidewalks of Oaxaca until we notice his “portrait” hanging proudly in his stand. He had proudly proclaimed himself as the ”Superman” of paper delivery in Oaxaca.
Super PaperMan of Oaxaca
Stephen, a “Genuine-Tourist,” reporting from Baraboo, WI, USA
We have enjoyed a great deal watching people dance while being “Genuine Tourists” in Mexico. One day we “wandered” down to the zocála in Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, and discovered a dance contest in progress between young people from various states in Mexico.
FIRST place Dancers in Tlaxcala
YOU can watch the above dancers by going to –
You can see additional videos of others dancers we say on the same stage at –
Luis Alfredo Estavillo Chavez swam all “Nine Bays of Huatulco” on November 15th and set a “new standard” of 5 hours and 24 minutes during the “open water swim.” You can see him during an earlier attempt on 05-25-08 in the following video.
The distance covered in such a short time was 14.6 miles or 23.5 km. The swim really had a second mission and you can read all about it by clicking on the following link.
One day our esteemed guide, Robert Cox, told us he was going to take us to Harry Potter’s library IN Mexico in Puebla. We were a bit skeptical but followed him around the main cathedral on the Zócalo to a building immediately behind it. Once inside, we went up a stairway and found ourselves in front of a very ornate doorway. When we looked inside, this is what we saw . . .
Harry Potter Would Have Liked This
Stephen, a Genuine Tourist, reporting from Baraboo, WI, USA
A few years ago a popular weight loss piece of equipment was called, “StairMaster.” In fact, such equipment is still available for prices ranging UP to $5,499 (for a “StepMill SM916). However, if you can get your “buns” to Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, you will find that you have many “stairs” to choose from for free. Here is a photo of one such “stairmaster” that we didn’t even have the heart to try while in Tlaxcala –
StairMaster "101"
Now, you might think that this was a very special stairway and the only one, but we found several all around the edges of the historic center of Tlaxcala. This one looked like the “granddaddy” of them all, however. You are seeing less than HALF of the stairway in the photo. Amazingly, we saw people using it all the time.
The “other” amazing “stairmaster” in Tlaxcala was actually in the form of a monument. One day we spotted it from a long way off and “strong armed” a taxi driver to take us to the top of it. It was so “eye catching” because it included a waterfall and was “organically” connected to a boulevard below it with beautiful trees that were in bloom the whole time we were in the city. Here is a video of the “flowing stairmaster of Tlaxcala” which is a monument to “Heroes of Mexico” –
We look forward to our return to Tlaxaca this January, and we WILL walk up those stairs this time!
Stephen, a “Genuine-Tourist, reporting from Baraboo, WI, USA
The Government Place on the Zócalo of Tlaxcala has some very important murals that are probably missed by many casual tourists, BUT this “Genuine Tourist” found them (thanks to guide Robert Cox), and this is my story . . .
The ancient market of Tlaxcala was NOT in the downtown centro of Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, but rather on the hillside above the present day city. The ancient market was a meeting place for all peoples, kings and subjects. (click on photos to enlarge them)
The Steps Of The Original Market
A Model of The Original Market
Artifacts From The Ancient Market
RELIABLE and ACCURATE “photo” of the four regional Kings in the market (below)
Rulers In The Market Among The People
The second king on the left was “King of Commerce” (the market). The young king on the far right was later killed by Cortez for refusing to kill more Aztecs when the Tlaxcalans were helping Cortez conquer ”Mexico city.”
Dentist Practicing In Market (upper center)
Here are some more ACCURATE “photos” of ancient market people engaged with one another (reproduced from original pictures not destroyed by the invaders).
It is hard to imagine what Tlaxala, Tlaxcala, looked like when the Spanish, i.e, Cortez and his conquistadors, made it their home base in order to conquer the Azetecs in nearby Mexico city. However, we do have some idea what the priests that accompanied him were doing by the architecture they left behind. They built the first open or outdoor chapel, the first church building, and the first bell tower in what is now the downtown centro of Tlaxcala. The approach to the church building and bell tower is just off the main plaza (from the secondary plaza’s corner), and it looks like this. Read the rest of this entry »
We had heard about the “floating gardens” of Mexico City (hence forth called “FD”) and how it was like being in “Venice, Italy,” but we never expected to visit them. It was quite a long bus trip to southern portion of “FD” to the community of Xochimilco. Our guides did their best to get us a good price for a boat trip on the canals, but they didn’t seem real happy with the vendors holding to a $30.00 price for all of us. If we had brought a dozen people with us, however, the price for the boat would have still been the same. No matter, here is a photo of Patricia and me about to board the “gondola” for a “one and one half hour tour.”
It is likely that the USA has a long tradition of unfounded invasions of foreign countries. A perhaps even unnecessary battle between the Mexican army and the USA army (led by General Scott) on 09-13-1847 at the castle of Chapultepec on the edge of Mexico City (FD) is such an example. Interestingly, “Americans” fought on BOTH sides in large numbers during the invasion by northern invaders. If this subplot interests you, rent or buy the movie entitled, “One Man’s Hero,” and learn about a group of Irish artillery men who fought with the Mexicans to defend Mexico in many battles but NOT the castle of Chapultepec. Another more famous subplot pertains to the Mexican teenagers (military cadets) who were the last defenders of the castle after everyone, including Santa Anna, retreated. In Mexico, they will be forever known as the “Niños Héroes” (Children Heroes) who were the sole final defenders of the castle.
A replica of the assault of the castle is portrayed by a model in the following photo. Please pay special attention to the Mexican flag on the top of the model in order to connect with a final remark later in this article.
The above photo is from the buffet serving table(s) of Grandpa’s Delight restaurant on the outskirts of Tlaxcala. Please note the green picture about the center of the table. It contained cactus juice was very delicious. Also, the wait staff was very attentive to the “rhythm” of indulgence and promptly removed our plates each time we consumed a platter of the excellent food . . . all for a price of about $8.00 a person. However, the fine breakfast was only the beginning of our “suffering Sunday.”
We arrived tired in Mexico City as usual being that travel takes its toll on you.We left Chicago at 6:00 am and arrived in Mexico City around 1:00 pm.We had just a little glitch in finding our guides at the airport but it was solved when we found the right door to be standing in front of.All went smoothly as we departed the airport and got to our hotel as well.We stayed very close to Alameda Park in Mexico and that was a terrific sight.We were able to walk or take the Metro to almost every place.
Speaking of the Metro, that is an experience.Our guide Bob Cox with his wife Raquel told us to be ready to push, put your back pack in front of you, and watch people closely.They should have warned me more about the speed of the metro.The people were no problem at all.When we got on, of course there were no seats, so you grab a pole or overhead rail.I chose the pole.I now have a new understanding of “pole dancers”When the train takes off, it REALLY takes off.It is super fast.Now if all you have is a pole, you must grab it and wrapping a leg around it is also a very good idea. You are knocked off balance when it takes off and the momentum seems to keep you feeling off balance so you grab it tighter.Now another problem comes in.At that speed they make very SUDDEN stops.Now the challenge is with your leg wrapped around the pole and hanging on tight you have to do a little dance so as not to slam you face into the pole.It takes technique.The next trips I did my best to sit.
Poles Dancing Anyone
We really saw the sights in 3 days but could see thousands more.I think I was expecting to see it being more declined and more poverty.Truly I think I see more of that in Oaxaca.We left via bus to Tlaxcala and that was a very nice ride and scenery. The bus was very large, clean, and comfortable.
Patricia (AKA, MsSardo), a Genuine Tourist type reporting from Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, Mx
Tlaxcala is a peaceful place and it shows. On Friday (and Saturday and Sunday—every weekend) people from communities all over the state come to Tlaxcala to dance in the zócalo. The bands change from weekend to weekend, but we suspect a lot of the same people show up every weekend. Here is a photo of a recent band.
Dance Band In The Zócalo
And sometimes, they even dance under the full moon.
Valentine´s Day appears to be big in Mexico. We celebrated it a bit early by dropping into Los Portales Restaurant (inside) on the ¨eve¨ of it and enjoyed the musicians shown above. The music was smooth and romantic. They took requests which we participated in. Also, the lead singer sang the song ¨I Did It My Way¨ made famous by Frank Sinatra, but in Spanish, of course. Hear them sing at —
You know . . . the best is not always “on the schedule.” One day we were walking around “Saint Joseph’s” church just off the Zócalo in Tlaxcala and we “happened upon” a performance of dancers. It is likely they had participated in a “short course” on folklore dance and were in the “Plaza of Fountains” to “show off” what they had learned.
All one hears in the news today about Mexico is about violence and unrest. While such may be the case to some degree near the USA/Mexican border, it is certainly not the case in southern Mexico. This ¨Genuine Tourist¨ has been living in Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, about two hours east of Mexico City, for the past two months or so. My spouse and I are probably the only USA couple living in the entire state of Tlaxcala. This is our second winter in Tlaxcala. We have enjoyed very much the kindness and honesty of the people, the mild weather, and the culture of this tiny state.
If you would like to see how we spend PEACEFUL evenings in Tlaxcala, please read on . . . and, oh, we do not have a car, so we walk everywhere day or night. A couple of videos follow.
Carnaval has continued for several weeks because of similar festivals in neighborhoods and outlying communities. Of course, such festivals are not all play. Surely many local people rely upon such festivals for income as they turn even wheelbarrows into mobile stores.
Get Your Candy Before Parade Begins
Such entrepreneurship is actually an everyday occurrence in Mexico. Entire businesses are run out of five gallon plastic buckets, wheel barrows, three wheel bicycles, and mobile carts with propane cooking grills and propane lighting. Every location is a possible business site, from unused doorways to almost any street corner. In addition, specific streets are regularly turned into one day markets for food, clothing, and/or supplies on specific days of every week, encouraged by the local city officials as evidenced by bathroom access, electrical supply, and re-routing of traffic. The young man in the preceding photo had a wide variety of candy to sell to the crowd waiting for the parade to begin. See following photo.
Doing laundry in Mexico is another challenge. Of course many Americans would choose the option of having a maid do it, but for us, with our challenging economy, I decided to do it myself.
In the past, we have taken it to the “lavendaria” but that is a few blocks away here, and it is heavy. We were fortunate to have our neighbors offer us the use of theirs, and then our landlord gave us an apartment size machine to use.
Laundry Machine On Our Tub Platform
A washing machine in Mexico is not the equivalent of a washing machine in the USA. Here the machine agitates the clothes and nothing else. You can choose between heavy soiled clothes and normal. You can chose between washing and emptying the machine and that is about all the options you have on the machine except for a timer. I am sure that there are other machines that do more but most homes don’t have plumbing for machines like we do in the USA. Read the rest of this entry »
We were fortunate and invited by neighbors to visit the community of Texoloc where their family members operated a 5 cow dairy. It was carnaval time in the small closed knit community, and we felt fortunate to be invited. I made a couple of videos for the family members to see themselves, so I thought I would post them on Youtube so you could see them, too.
Before you view them, please note you will see that all types of characters in costume are dancing together. This is NOT typical in other carnavals in Tlaxcala. Also, note that the ¨bear¨ costume is very popular for some reason. Finally, the music is also unique to the area but difficult to discern unless you travel to several other carnavals in the area.
We had a good time and were invited back to the community and the family home a few days later. My wife said all they think about is food, food, and more food, because we were always eating.
In places OTHER than Tlaxcala, Mexico, it seems that Carnavals are fairly short lived, like until ¨Fat Tuesday¨, and then Lent starts. In Tlaxcala, they go on and on right up to Easter in various communities around the state. We have been told by other foreign visitors to Carnaval (and such visitors are very few) that Tlaxcala has one of the best Carnaval experiences in the country of Mexico, and we believe it is true!
Stephen Sardeson, THE ¨Genuine-Tourist,¨ reporting LIVE from Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, MX
We made a couple of trips to Texolco, MX, a small village a short distance from Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala, to share in a families pre-Easter celebrations. They celebrated largely by eating food, food, and more food! They operate a dairy farm with just 5 milk cows which is constructed in the European style of having the animals close to them in an adjacent structure. Of course, they also have a dog or two, and I thought I would take a closer look at the new Dalmatian puppies, BUT, the mother of the puppies had other ideas and guarded them from me.
Don´t Tread On Me says the Mother
Actually, this was my SECOND encounter with the mother of the puppies. On the first visit, I decided to take a closer look and walked toward their ¨safehaven¨ among the straw bales. However, the mother was behind me and saw me move in the direction of HER puppies. So, out of nowhere I felt a bite on my right hand, which didn´t puncture the skin, but did tell me in no uncertain terms to go no closer.
If you are interested in a closer look at our activities ¨down on the farm¨ in Texolco, MX, go to this YouTube video.
Just before we returned to the USA on April 30th, we participated in a medical/dental mission with members of the Methodist churches from the states of Arizona and Kansas, USA. It was the 20th year the clinic was visited by a team of doctors and dentists in Tochimizolco, a small community about two hours south of Puebla. During the four days the team was in the village, they saw about 600 patients. Some doctors were pleased to be able to diagnosis illnesses that would have otherwise gone unnoticed. Dentists and Hygienists were pleasantly surprised to see young people with good dental health because of the years of education and service by dental teams.
My spouse, Patricia, was one of the two hygientists, and I assisted in the distribution of reading glasses to elderly. I hope to have a lot more videos and photos about this fine work on this blog and in the Yahoo Group of “Tlaxcala Tourism,” but for the moment, the following video will have to do –
If you haven’t experienced a “Mexican bus ride,” stay tuned for the last half of the embedded video and ”brace yourself” for the ride down the mountains into Mexico city. We do hope to see all of our “amigos” again next winter around the end of January 2010. Wow, another decade ending . . . . . . oh, here it is –
On the girls cheek is the Red Cross sticker one received upon giving a donation.
