A (Pseudo) Spanish Village

Alejandro saw a video about a residential and commercial development that has become something of a local tourist attraction because it is built to resemble a medieval Spanish village.  It is called Val'Quirico, and it is located about two hours away in the state of Tlaxcala.  On Saturday we decided to take an excursion to see the place.  

It was another sunny, relatively smog-clear day.  We had nice views of the volcanoes, Popocatépetl and Iztaccíhuatl, as we drove along the highway leading eastward out of the city.  (Surprisingly, the air quality seemed to be better on the Mexico City side of the mountains.) We crossed the mountains into the state of Puebla, and got off the highway.  Just after passing the border into the state of Tlaxcala, we had arrived at Val'Quirico.  

The real estate development is built around the ruins of a 19th century hacienda.

The project was begun a couple years ago. Only a few houses have been built,  but the commercial center is largely completed.  It is constructed as an idealized version of an old Spanish town.  It is picturesque in a cutesy, "stage set" sort of way.

There are boutique shops, galleries and a variety of restaurants which all seem to be quite pricey.  We chose not to eat there, but we did stop in a shop for some ice cream.  One scoop cost 40 pesos (around $2 US), rather outrageous by Mexican standards.  In spite of the prices, the restaurants were full of Mexican families on a weekend outing.

Although the commercial development seems to be doing quite well, I wonder how the residential development will fare.  Will the homes be mainly weekend retreats?  I really cannot imagine anyone living full time here, far from supermarkets and schools, and having to commute into Puebla to work. 

We spent perhaps a little over an hour here, and then headed back to Mexico City.

   

The smoldering volcano "Popo" as seen from Val'Quirico.

A Hidden Spot for Lunch

One of the great things about Mexico City is that, no matter how many times I go there, I always find something new.

On Thursday, after viewing the art exhibit at San Ildefonso, I wandered a bit in the historic center of the city.  On the pedestrianized street right behind San Ildefonso I noticed a colonial house that now belongs to the government of the state of Tlaxcala.  (Tlaxcala is Mexico's smallest state, and is located about two hours to the east of Mexico City.)  

Part of the building was a shop of handicrafts from the state, and another part was a restaurant specializing in the cuisine of Tlaxcala.  The restaurant was tucked away in a rear courtyard.  I was surprised to see that this obscure, little place was fairly busy.  So I decided to give it a try.

 I started with a bowl of "sopa tlaxcalteca", a tasty bean soup with thin strips of tortillas, and served with a plate of garnishes... cheese, avocado, dried chile peppers and "chicharrones" (fried pork rind).

I then had a plate of "tlacoyos", little fried cakes of corn "masa" (dough), filled with frijoles and covered with sauce and cheese.

It was a very good meal, and if I were in the vicinity again at lunchtime, I would return and try one of their main courses.

A historical sidenote:   There is a plaque which says that José Martí once lived in this house.  Martí was a 19th century Cuban poet and freedom fighter w ho spent a number of years in exile in Mexico.  He is considered one of the great Latin American poets, and is revered as one of Cuba's national heroes.  You are probably familiar with his poetry without even knowing it.  The lyrics of the popular song "Guantanamera" are taken from his verses.

My Dad's Trip to Mexico (Part Two)

 

(A continuation of my previous post in which I describe the trip my dad and I took in 1975)

 

 

After several days in Mexico City, we headed east in a rental car.  Back in those days there were very few four-lane highways in Mexico.  Most of our journeys were on two lane roads.

 

We went to Cholula, two hours from the capital.  Here I had attended the University of the Americas a couple years before.

 

 

 

Me at the campus of my old school

 

 

 

Dad in front of the Pyramid of Cholula

 

 

We went to the nearby town of Tlaxcala and spent a couple days with a family that I had met during my student days.

 

 

The beautiful Basilica of Ocotlán in Tlaxcala

 

We then continued eastward to the city of Jalapa, the capital of the state of Veracruz.  The wife of one of my Spanish professors in Ohio was originally from Jalapa, and we visited her family there.

 

 

 

Dad looking at the dahlias in the garden of a former coffee plantation outside of Jalapa.

 

 

Dad really enjoyed visiting these places that were off the typical tourist route, and he was really impressed with the warm hospitality that my friends showed us.  He didn't speak any Spanish, so I was kept busy acting as interpreter.

 

From Jalapa we made a long journey on twisting roads westward until we reached Taxco, an old, colonial, silver-mining town.  We wandered the cobblestone streets on foot, and visited some of the many silver shops.  Dad bought a silver ring with his birthstone, a ring which I still have and frequently wear.

 

 

 

Dad on the terrace of our cliff-side hotel in Taxco

 

 

He was impressed with the colonial architecture of Taxco, especially the ornate Church of Santa Prisca, built in the 1700s by a wealthy silver mine owner.

 

 

From Taxco we headed south to the resort city of Acapulco.  This was long before the modern four-lane highway that now runs to Acapulco. 

 

 

 

We stopped along the way to take pictures of the enormous cacti by the road.

 

 

Back in those days, places like Cancun and Ixtapa did not yet exist.  Acapulco was the most famous beach resort in the country.

 

 



 

We stayed at this high-rise hotel, Hotel Caleta, which back then was a very nice place.

 

 

 

Dad went parasailing while we were in Acapulco.  For him, it was no big deal, since he was a paratrooper in World War II.  He tried to convince me to go parasailing, but I was chicken.  I told him that I would just stay on the beach and take pictures of him.

 

We flew home from Acapulco.  It was a great experience for both of us, and I had a chance to show my father the Mexico that I had grown to love. 

 













"Where in Mexico?" Quiz

One of the blogs which I regularly read is "The Mexile" (you will find the link on my "bloglist" to the side).  It is written by Gary Denness, a fellow from England who lived in Mexico for a number of years.  On his latest entry, he posted a photo of a mural painting in Mexico, and asked his readers if anyone could identify it.  We quickly were able to name the artist, but, as of yet, no one has been able to identify the location of the painting.

I have enjoyed trying to figure it out, so I thought I would be a blatant copycat, and post my own little quiz. 

I went through an old photo album, and pulled out a picture that I took back in 1973 when I was a college student studying at the University of the Americas in Cholula, Mexico.  (Back in those days I was using a little "Kodak Instamatic" camera.)

So here is the photo...

 

 

I'm not going to ask you to name the artist, since.he was not internationally famous. (But kudos to you if you can... and even more kudos if you can spell his Nahuatl name correctly!)

 

 

Can any of my well-traveled readers tell me where this colorful mural painting is located?  I will tell you that it is not in Mexico City, but it is within a couple hours drive from the capital.

 

¡Buena suerte!

 

UPDATE: I had one incorrect guess on the location of the mural, so I will give you a clue...

                   It's location is to the east of Mexico City.

 

UPDATE: Another reader incorrectly guessed Puebla.  Here's another clue...

                 Unlike Puebla, which was founded by the Spanish, this city has Pre-Hispanic

                 roots.

 

UPDATE: We have a winner!  A reader by the name of Joan correctly answered Tlaxcala. 

 

The city of Tlaxcala is the capital of the state of Tlaxcala, the smallest state in Mexico.  It is located about two hours to the east of Mexico City.  In Pre-Hispanic Mexico the Tlaxcaltecas were one of the few tribes of central Mexico not to be subjugated by the Aztecs.  When the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés arrived on the scene, the Tlaxcaltecas allied themselves with the Spanish against their enemies, the Aztecs.  Without their help, Cortés might not have succeeded in conquering Mexico.

 

The photo above is of small section of a series of murals in the government palace of Tlaxcala.  They were painted by a local artist by the name of Desiderio Hernández Xochitiotzin (1922-2007).  The paintings depict the history of Tlaxcala. (The portion above shows the chieftains of the tribe.)  Xochitiotzin began the murals in 1967, and upon his death he still was not finished.  The paintings are considered the last large scale work of the Mexican muralist movement.

 

Congratulations to Joan for answering correctly!!