CAMINO DE SANTIAGO VICENTE Y HORTENSIA MAYO 2011

Recuerdo

Monarch Butterflies

          

Every year Monarch Butterflies unfurl their wings and flutter about in search of a sanctuary...

Monarch butterflies start their enigmatic annual migration during the months of September and October, as the temperature in U.S. and Canada begins to drop.

Millions of butterflies fly into México from the U.S. and Canada to congregate in different localities high in the pine and fir forests of the beautiful state of Michoacán. 

After their arrival, they spend the winter in a semi-dormancy state in these forests that have become their sanctuary.

During the months of February and March, as the early spring sunlight penetrates the fir tree forests, the monarch butterflies unfurl their wings and fly on a search of food, water, and a mate.

On late March or early April, they begin to leave the reserves. The females lay hundreds of eggs a few days later in the north of México and the south of U.S. Soon, a new generation of butterflies emerges to fly further north. 

Scientists are still amazed and can’t explain this enigmatic annual migration. No one knows for sure how newer generations of these butterflies can return to the exact same fir forests which their ancestors left in April of four or five years past.

Monarch butterflies are native to North América, but they have found their way around the world and you can see them in Hawaii, Samoa, Australia, Tonga, and New Zealand.

The exact sites where these butterflies overwinter were found around 1970, after a search that lasted almost forty years. Some of the reserves in Michoacán are in El Rosario, Ocampo, near the town of Angangeo, and the Sierra Chincua sanctuary which opened to the public in 1997 and is also a short distance from Angangeo.

The best time to visit the sanctuaries is in February when Ocampo and Zitácuaro celebrate the Festival de la Mariposa Monarca with traditional dances, music, food and a handicrafts market.

Note:Photograph # 1 is the work of drumguy8800 - obtained at Wikipedia.
         Photo # 2 is the work of Diego Serebriski, also taken from Wikipedia.
         Photo # 3 I do not have the name of the photographer.

Images from Monterrey´s important places...

La Arena Monterrey, a beautiful new arena where people can see their favorite shows, meet their favorite celebrities and enjoy their favorite concerts. Many of the Forum events were held at this building.

Monterrey has become a great cultural center and The Glass Museum is part of it...

Located in the grounds of Vidriera Monterrey, the Glass Museum is a great asset to the people of Monterrey and to anyone interested in developing their skills to mastering the art of glass making.

Vidriera Monterrey has been part of the most important industrial group in the north of México since 1909.

he fundamental mission of the Museum is to preserve, conserve, and share with the world the national patrimony of glass. To achieve this goal they offer diverse activities oriented to recapture the glass history in México. The museum has a group of volunteers who participate avtively in different activities. They provide guided visits upon previous appointment, they also participate in different workshops as a training to increase their knowledge about the museum services, exhibits, history, etc. Some of these workshops like flame-working at three different levels, blown-glass, stained glass, etc., are also available to the public in general at different dates during the year. The Glass Museum has an extense calendar of exhibits throughout the year, bringing some of the best glass artists from all over the world.

More items of A. Herrera... Beautiful work

These fantastic pieces of popular art are hand carved from a piece of pine wood.
The first one is like a serving tray (called batea) and the other two are like niches (nichos) and they hang on the wall. They make great decorative items on a mexican or rustic style home.

Frida Kahlo´s reproductions...

Adrián Herrera, a talented artisan from Michoacán, likes to reproduce Frida's self-portraits like this set of armoire and chair. Here Frida is wearing a Tehuana costume. Herrera works with pine wood and uses acrylics to give life to these beautiful items.

Frida Kahlo...

Born in Mexico in 1907, Frida Kahlo was one of five daughters of a Hungarian-Jewish father and a Mexican mother. At the age of six she was afflicted with polio, which left her with a withered leg.

At age eighteen she had an accident when the bus she was riding in coolided with a trolley. Her body was pierced by the trolley's metal handrail. Although she survived, her injuries made it impossible for her to have children. Frida Kahlo's short and painful life is reflected in the many self-portraits she created throughout her career. She had many lovers and was married twice to the famous Mexican muralist Diego Rivera. First they got married in 1929. In 1940, after a few years of separation, they married again. Her love for Diego was obsessive. Their stormy relationship inspired many of her paintings.

Frida liked dressing in native Mexican costume and paid great attention to her hair and make-up. The numerous self-portraits she created express different moods, some are violent, others heart-rending, and others express serenity. This is how her life was, changing at all times. Frida Kahlo was a famous personality in her time, and lived a life full of drama and passion right to the end. When her first major exhibition finally opened in Mexico City's Gallery of Contemporary Art in 1953, she was not expected to attend due to the bad condition of her health. To the surprise and delight of her patrons and fans, however, she arrived on a hospital stretcher and was enthroned in her canopy bed. Less than a year later, she died from an overdose of tranquilizers.

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Nowadays, Frida is still loved by many and is considered an Icon in the world of Mexican Art. A great number of painters, artists, and artisans have been and continue to be inspired by her extraordinary and intriguing work, and many have reproduced her paintings and self-portraits in a vairety of techniques.

In 2007 México celebrated 100 years of Frida Kahlo.

Glorias... a taste of glory

Made of goat milk, pecans, and sugar, this candy is representative of our traditions in Monterrey and the sorrounding towns. Glorias started many years ago as a family recipe, handed down from Mother to Daughter and so on, until it became so popular that they began to produce them to sell them in stores and restaurants.

Our milk candy is well known by locals and visitors. There are different presentations of this delicious Mexican candy, Glorias, Natillas, Bolitas de Leche, Obleas, Besos Indios, and many others which are made with the same main ingredients.

This like homemade candy is manufactured in the nearby town of Linares, Nuevo León. Their excellent quality and great taste have made this candy famous and it is actually exported to other countries. All the different presentations of these products are wrapped individually and packed in their bag.

Dulce de Leche (milk candy) can be made at home by boiling the goat milk for a long period of time and adding the sugar very slowly as the milk thickens and starts getting a brownish color. The secret to this homemade candy is to not let it stick to the pan as the milk boils. You have to be stirring the milk with a wood spoon all the time it is boiling, and believe me, your arm can get really tired of stirring. It can take several hours to be ready depending on the amount of milk you pour in your pan.

Have you tried Cabrito?...

Don´t miss out on this delicious typical food! Cabrito is "The Typical Dish" by excellence in our great city Monterrey.

Regional dishes are very popular and tourists that visit Monterrey cannot leave the city without having tasted these two great typical dishes, Cabrito (baby goat) and Machaca (dehydrated beef).

There are several very good restaurants that serve cabrito, some of them offer it as their speciality, and others have it in their menu among other very good Mexican dishes which I will write about as I continue with my blog.

For example, El gran San Carlos located on Av. Morones Prieto 2803, Col. Loma Larga, Phone # (81)8344-4114. El Rey del Cabrito at Av. Constitución 817 Ote., Phone # (81)8345-3232. Los Cabritos Restaurant, at Aramberri 1010 Pte., Phone # (81)8342-7057. El Gran Pastor at Ave. Miguel Alemán 6064, Col. Torres Linda Vista, Phone # (81)1344-1572. These fine Mexican restaurants are among the best ones and are the most famous.

Machaca... a great typical dish from the north.

Machaca, or carne seca (dried beef) is another one of our best sellers regarding typical dishes in Monterrey.

This delicious dried meat can be prepared in many different ways, for example: with scrambled eggs and mexican salsa for breakfast, in tacos wrapped in corn or flour tortillas; in a special type of broth made with tomatoes, peppers, onions and a little bit of garlic, served in a bowl as soup, this dish is called "Caldillo", or just grilled with a side dish of "guacamole" (smashed avocado with diced tomatoes, peppers and onions)
mmmmmmmm!!!!

Monterrey... my hometown

This is Monterrey and our beautiful mountain "Cerro de la Silla" (Horse saddle mountain) which is our city symbol. I invite you to visit Monterrey, a great city that has it all. Delicious food, top of the line museums, art galleries, handcrafts markets, modern shopping malls, luxurious hotels, first level universities, and a privileged geographical location from which the name "The City of Mountains" was born.

Founded more than four centuries ago, it represents an interesting cultural mosaic with great educative institutions, very interesting museums, historical places, cultural spaces, sports facilities, and most of all, with great hardworking people with a big, big heart.

All these factors have made it possible for Monterrey to be recognized internationally. In 2007 Monterrey hosted the main event "Fórum Universal de las Culturas 2007" which placed our city in the eyes of the world.

When you visit Monterrey, you will enjoy beautiful sightseeings, Mexican and international restaurants with mouthwatering food, fantastic night life, excellent amusement parks, beautiful mountains where you can walk, ride a bicycle, hike, practice some extreme sports.

Dare to taste our most famous traditional dish "Cabrito" (baby goat), and our very own, original machaca (dried beef) You also will be delighted with our regional milk candy in a wide variety of presentations. It´s like homemade and I will tell you all about it as I keep writing my blog.

About Me...

México is a great country. One-of-a-kind. As time passes by I have come to appreciate in a great manner what we have. Beautiful mountains, great landscapes, amazing beaches, rivers, waterfalls, important archaeological sites, you name it, we have it.

I like to travel in and around México and get in contact with "the people" of our beautiful towns. I love handcrafts, folk and popular art, our culture and traditions. Wherever I go in México and anywhere else, I always look for the special and unique handcrafted items. The ones that are made by hand, one by one, with no modern technology, with no other tools than the Artisan's hands, raw materials and a great imagination, and that you only find when you walk down the little villages' streets, talk to the people, visit their homes, and many times share with them a little something they always have to offer their guests.

This is México and I love it... Come visit us, I promise you, you will have the time of your life. You will enjoy delicious food, you will admire fantastic art and handcrafts, you will learn about our most popular traditions, and you will meet great, wonderful people.