At the "Kermés"

 Do you have any idea what a "kermés" is?  I didn't until recently.  A "kermés" in Mexico is an outdoor fair that is usually organized by a school, club or church to raise money.  I guess that the best translation to English would be a charity bazaar.  On Sunday morning, Alejandro, his sister Sandra, his nephew Ezra and I went to a "kermés" at a convent in the Mexico City borough of Tlalpan.

Alejandro's mother used to volunteer her time to work with a congregation of nuns belonging to the order of the "Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary", and the family still knows some of the sisters at the convent. 

  The "kermés" was held in the courtyard of the convent.

We had left the house without eating breakfast, so the first order of business when we arrived at the convent was to order something to eat.  There was a choice of "pozole" (a thick soup with meat and hominy), grilled chicken, or chicken with "mole".

Sandra had "pozole" which looked very good.

The rest of us had the "mole", which was also very good.  It was served with rice, refried beans and tortillas.

Later Alejandro and I had tamales, and Sandra bought a big bag of "buñuelos" (a type of fritter that is traditional at Christmastime) which she shared with us.

The chapel of the convent

There was a flea market of things that had been donated for the "kermés", but beyond that, there was not much going on.  Alejandro said that usually there are raffles and games and activities for the children.  Perhaps the sisters are getting too old (there are only three young novices in the congregation) to organize many activities.  However, the food was excellent and worth the journey across town to the convent.