Wednesday, Aurora and I arrived here in Xalapa (pronounced ha-la-pa -- like the ha-la-pain-ya pepper) which is the capital city of the state of Vera Cruz. Aurora invited me to come here with her to a conference of women from all over Mexico - and one from Costa Rica, her friend Fresia - who produce radio programs promoting freedom from violence toward women. I will be taking photos of each woman (there will be about 30, I believe) and photos of their activities, etc. Each woman will privately write a sentence or two about the moment she remembers having claimed her own power. Then Aurora and Fresia will compile a collection of photos matched with the corresponding quotes for each woman to take home.... along with the recordings they have made. Sounds like a really nice project and a great opportunity for me to have lots of practice with making good portraits.
When I rejoined the women who had been working hard all morning, we drove to a village outside of the city called Xico. (All of these "x" words have their roots in the indigenous Nahuatl language.) Our destination was a restaurant called El Campanario. We ordered about 5 different platos and shared everything: Enchiladas en Pepian, Pollo en Mole con Tamales, Trucha con Huitlacoche, Langoustinos en Mojo de Ajo, and Arroz con Platinos. Each dish was very different and very delicious. We agreed that Mexican cuisine is truly one of the great cuisines of the world -- very complex flavors using many different kinds of ingredients combined in amazing ways. I think it was one of the best meals I've had in Mexico. For dessert I had crepas with cajeta y nuez.
Today, while Aurora and others worked to plan the conference, I went to the Museo de Antropologia which is the second largest in Mexico -- the largest being, of course, the one in Mexico City. This one is indeed smaller, but had really impressive exhibits -- the most impressive being the gigantic Olmec heads. Vera Cruz was the place where the Olmec civilization flourished way before the Mayans and Aztecs, but many things that we think of as having been Mayan or Aztec actually have their roots in the Olmec culture. It is truly amazing the see the things that have been recovered and preserved.
When I rejoined the women who had been working hard all morning, we drove to a village outside of the city called Xico. (All of these "x" words have their roots in the indigenous Nahuatl language.) Our destination was a restaurant called El Campanario. We ordered about 5 different platos and shared everything: Enchiladas en Pepian, Pollo en Mole con Tamales, Trucha con Huitlacoche, Langoustinos en Mojo de Ajo, and Arroz con Platinos. Each dish was very different and very delicious. We agreed that Mexican cuisine is truly one of the great cuisines of the world -- very complex flavors using many different kinds of ingredients combined in amazing ways. I think it was one of the best meals I've had in Mexico. For dessert I had crepas with cajeta y nuez.
Needless to say, I could hardly move after this meal and carried some huitlacoche back on my blouse...... but it was muy vale la pena!!
Amiga mia,
ReplyDeleteComo siempre es un placer leerte.
Que año tan lleno de experiencias, tan rico en aventuras, gente, comidas, pueblos, situaciones.
Nancy, eres muy afortunada. Sigue disfrutando y te esperamos en Vermont con los brazos abiertos, para escuchar de viva voz tus anécdotas.
Un beso,
mm