Revelry!

Carnaval: You can get anything from jewelry to drunk.

God bless the person who decided to put 30 oz of beer into a giant cup with lime and salt and chile and dowse the rim with a delicious dripping chile sauce. I started off well.

After crowded streets of foodstuffs and puppets, we made our way to the games, the rides, and into a clearing with hoardes of people and trombones. I didn't exactly know what was going on, but people were jumping and dancing to the very distinct brass sounds. So that's what I did! It got very crowded and we slowly made our way dancing around.

Closer to the center I saw these men:

It seemed that these costumed men were wearing masks that mocked the European Conquistadors, but had a gown with detailed embroidery of their indigenous history.

I had no Idea what this all meant, carnaval didn't come with a guide book. So I asked a friend and he told me that they were called the "Chinelos" and that it's a costume passed down through the family and the kids learn the story and the dance at the carnaval each year. If you want to learn more, check out Carnaval Tepoztlan

We danced and drank and ate until our hearts were content, and just like any good Mexican trip it ended with us piling into the back of a truck.

¡Que Chido!

- how cool-

Dia de Amor y Amistad

There is an interesting relationship I have with Mexico City. I know it's a fabulous city, with plenty to do and wonderful things to see, however, since this is where my friends and family are, and I am a single gal, it's much harder to traipse around on my own. Needless to say, I have yet to completely warm up to the city, and get out as much as I can.

Last week I spent about 4 days in a community in the southernmost, and biggest I think, delegation of Mexico City. It took about 2 hrs by bus to climb up to this beautiful little mountain village where there are views of volcanoes and the stretch of the whole city. It's called Milpa Alta, and the people there are as wonderful as the views. I had a very relaxing couple days with a friend enjoying the tranquility and drinking a fermented beverage called "pulque". Pulque is made form the agave, like tequila, but pulque is the fermented sap of the agave. It is milky, and has a particular odor that can be unsettling (it's cultures!) but it is supremely relaxing, and grows on you.

Ceck out some cute kids and a street in Milpa Alta with the snow capped volcano in the background!

Where did those kids come from?

Yesterday I was at a pool party for a friend of a friend. We all swam, ate, drank, and played all day. To add to the things that Mexico does well, besides food, and markets: the children! Let me tell you, Mexican kids are so precious. We all played in the pool and ran around the large yard all day. The friends of my friend, are these wonderful gals who run a women's clinic here in Cuernavaca (remember the land of eternal spring?). I spent a long time talking to a midwife about health, herbs, and strength. It's interesting the social structures here. The gender roles and identity are much much different, and although I anticipated it, it's very different to feel it, almost taste the role of "female" that I don't particularly identify with. But I reckon the "female" blog will come at a different point. Right now it's just refreshing to be in touch with women who are helping and empowering other women.

I must pause my adventure narrative to send saludos to some of my women back in the states.

The lady that started it all for me, Mamí, the strongest and most caring woman I know, it wasn't until I came to her country that I truly appreciated her independence and resilience, she's a superhero! Kim burns brighter, than stars, from near and far, she's got magic from her soul down to her toes, tap away honey. Kbird, my very dear mountain princess beginning her nest, felicidades! Ivanita la mas bonita, the whirlwind of energy who's in love with the world, also starting her family-besos! Anna, grace and beauty, she floats on air, parties like a rockstar, and cooks up magically delicious things! Sheri and Kristin, a complete pair, a wonderful example of loving partners, independence, strength and style! Angela, our teenage years were filled with adventures and music rock on! Michele Leonard, my first friend in Santa Cruz, her eyes smile and her heart is bigger than "the cement ship". Lovely Rita, helped me navigate retail, and provided strength, wisdom, and guidance. Larissa, light and beauty, we've only kicked a few times, but you stole a piece of my heart. Bebe Grill, sister, kicks ass, she's got the whole package and not afraid to use it. Which leads me to her wonderful mother, a lady of immense beauty, grace, style, Judith Jensen a woman full of love and strength that provided me with so much love and support. Teresa! although she will not read this, mother bear, a woman with the stars in her eyes and strength like an oak tree. To my teachers, my friends, my family, the people that give me smiles, hugs, and inspiration. Debra Bei, Dr. Omosupe, Katherine McBride, all the women who are inspirations to us all. It is the strength of these women that motivate and inspire us to take on the world. Thank you.

Now it's Valentines day, or as they say here "The day of Friendship and Love", and it's also carnaval in a nearby village by the name of Tepotzlan. Let's see how rowdy we can all get before Lent!

What is Culture?

"Culture is a collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another." (http://www.tamu.edu/classes/cosc/choudhury/culture.html)

It's food.

It's art.

It's religion.

It's language.

It's...technology?

Where does science fit into culture, does culture affect science? Or does science affect culture?

And furthermore, how does global involvement influence cultural diversity. I have been thinking lately about diversity. When I was traveling up from Puerto Escondido with my new anthropolgist friend, we discussed at length the indigenous cultures of Mexico, and how the markets represented their culture and was one of the remnants of their pre-columbian traditions. He said he always made it a point to stop in and check on the native markets that were en route to his destinations. We stopped in a small village which he said had a superb market. Upon arriving, my friend looked confused. We stopped and asked people where the market had gone and to his surprise it was gone. They had built a giant where-house on the out-skirt of town and built a giant concrete "square" in the center of town, where the traditional market had been for years. After hearing about this, my friend became sad and said that the traditional market had been beautiful and full of culture and history, now it was gone. He simply said "the times change". This sparked a conversation about change, globalization, and corporatization leading to loss of cultural diversity. I told him that I thought that diversity was the natural harmony of the earth, which leads to progress and that for a future, we need a history. He laughed at me. He said he had been doing this for over 40 years and that it is human nature to shift cultural paradigms. Shift?

This left a bad taste in my mouth. It makes me feel entirely too naíve. To better understand how diversity is affected by global markets, I feel I need to understand better what culture is, and what diversity means. And how does technology fit into the globalization? Without technological progress in industry, communication, agriculture, we would have less of a global impact on diversity in general, right?

Once again, I have loaded my plate up with a lot to chew, and a very feeble digestive tract.

So I flipped the coin, and I remembered the other side to it: progress.

Once again, how does technology affect culture. I have decided to explore communication, furthermore: the internet. Since more and more people are getting connected to the internet across the globe, more and more people have access to a network of ideas and people that are not limited to a geographical region. This relatively open source for exchanging ideas has, and will continue, to shape the way cultures are created and proliferated. It seems that culture is no longer as geographically bound as it once was, and furthermore is rapidly changing the way people are culturally identified. These ideas excite and fascinate me, because I feel that we are on the cusp of a giant cultural shift, or have begun a giant cultural shift. Going back to my idea of diversity and growth, history and future, the internet is allowing for an explosion of diversity.

So goodbye indigenous markets, and hello internet profiles and updates. Now, what happens if the giant overloaded network crashes?

Just like a tough steak, or a big torta, this I'm going to need to chew on for some time. Meanwhile, I'm going to hit the "mercado" and load up on some tortillas, roasted grasshoppers, and handmade clothes.