Fiestas patrias

I love 'merica, I really do. But "patriotic" is one of the last words I would ever use to describe myself. I can't remember the last time I actively observed the 4th of July. (Actually, that's a lie. It was the 2012 Blacknall mission trip to Philadelphia, and I was mostly invested in the free Joe Jonas concert). So, yeah, I feel a little guilty that I've been so gung-ho for all of the Mexican Independence Day festivities. But can you really blame me?! Let me tell you, they go ALL OUT for this holiday.

Cabalgata

It all began on Wednesday night, when everyone flocked to the zócalo to watch the procession of horses and family-made parade floats. Let's just say I now grasp the significance of the saying "don't rain on my parade," because it was seriously pouring and the celebration was both literally and figuratively dampened. Also all of my attempts at pictures turned out like this:

If you squint you can maybe make out a guy riding a horse.

El Grito

On what I like to refer to as "Independence Day Eve" (the 15th), people gather in the center of their respective cities to relive the famous moment when Miguel Hidalgo cried out to his countrymen and urged them to revolt against Spanish rule. And what better way to honor this historical occasion than by eating street food, yelling ¡Viva México!, and watching a fireworks show?  

Eating esquite preparado-- corn off the cob mixed with mayo, salsa, cheese, and some mystery (to me) ingredients.

You kinda had to be there?

16 de septiembre

I skipped the post-El Grito dance party to get to bed and rest up for the next day's activities, which included marching in the desfile with a local primary school. I showed up early decked out in my traditional playera-- picked out specially for me by a very flattering father-son sales team in the artisan's market the day before. While waiting for my tutor to arrive, I started feeling very sick (was it the corn? surely not the churro?!). So I watched the first ten minutes of the parade then peaced out to spend the rest of the day in bed. 

My "I woke up early and got dressed up for this I need photographic evidence" solo shot

El Tepozteco

I'm usually eager to use any form of sickness as an excuse to abstain from all physical activity, but for some strange reason I decided to go through with my plans to visit Tepoztlán and hike the (in)famous cerro on Saturday. Hikers' blogs and TripAdvisor reviews had warned us that trek was "moderate to difficult," but I was not prepared for the grueling/slippery/altogether exhausting experience that was the journey up and down the mountain. I'm not sure if it made me feel better or worse about myself to see children, elderly people, and mothers carrying infants all along the route, but I do know the struggle was well worth it when we arrived at the pyramid ruins and were surrounded by incredible views.

My kind of road trip: fresh tamales for the drive

Do you see the gorilla face?

Halfway to the top

We made it!!

Way up I feel blessed

#views

Thought these creepy coatís were only at Iguazú but nope

Post-hike noms

Chiles en nogada

This local delicacy is only available this time of year, and its red, green, and white color scheme corresponds to the patriotic season. I was dreading unsure about trying the dish-- a poblano chile stuffed with meat and dried fruits, topped with egg, a creamy walnut sauce, and pomegranate seeds-- but I was pleasantly surprised by the deliciousness of the odd combination. I documented my progress because yolo:

Fun fact: At this point the restaurant's pet squirrel was terrorizing me

Not bad, gordita, not bad

As you can probably tell by the frequent posts, I have a bit too much free time on my hands... It's been raining most evenings and I can't bring myself to brave the elements to wander aimlessly just for the sake of getting out and about. Here's to hoping that this next week brings positive developments for my housing and hobbies searches!