Where There's a Will. . .There's a Way! April 2012

Cihuatlán, Jalisco library - on the hoof.

Compliments the Cihuatlán, Jalisco FB website.

¡Feliz Pascua! - Happy Easter! April 2012

Every year at this time,

the Lake Chapala area hosts

thousands of visitors

for the two week Easter blowout celebration

known as Semana Santa.

The Passion Plays of Ajijic

and San Antonio Tlayacapan

are one of our biggest attractions and

go on for days with elaborate costumes

and sets.  
They take place in the church and the

streets of the villages.  
The "crucifixion" of Christ 

used to take place up on the mountain
and everyone hiked it the blazing sun
while Jesus dragged a giant cross
made of wooden 4X4s.
They had to relocate the scene due to
one year Jesus fainting 4 times on the way up.

The carrying of His body down in an

elaborate procession accompanied by the

the droning slow beat of a lone mournful drum

is VERY emotional.

The acting is wonderful.

This year I walked the Palm Sunday Procession

in my little village of San Antonio Tlayacapan.

Here are a few pictures.

The posters were up; excitement was in the air.

Sunday morning we found the players assembling in

front of the church and under the Jacaranda trees.

Townspeople made handicrafts commemorating

Palm Sunday and sold them for 15 pesos/about 1.15US.

Palm branches were handed out to everyone.

The faithful trickled in and we assembled

waiting for Jesus and the the Padre to arrive.

The kids are ALWAYS the cutest.

Jesus arrives.

The Padre, the guitarist, the sound system, and the

altar boys arrive.

Showtime!

We pause for blessings.

Villagers join the procession as we pass

along the narrow cobbled streets.

Live scenes are scattered along the route.

The procession has swelled!

Awaiting Jesus's arrival at the church.

Jesus arrives and Mass begins.

HAPPY EASTER!

Post Script:

This year, and for the last several years, Jesus was

portrayed by a young man from the village who,

in his real life, is an insurance agent. . .

which lead my friend Barb to comment. . .

You may have God as your copilot,

but I have Jesus as my insurance agent!

I win.

Presenting - THE ONE - THE ONLY - Mexican Sled Dog Team - in the World! Mar 2012

I had the great and good fortune to

be invited to join this team on one of their

training excursions down here on Lake Chapala.

You can imagine what fun I had!

Meet Cris and Cintia. . .

Since 1993 Captain Cristobal de Obeso Aguilar, 47,

has been breeding, training, and racing a team of

16 Siberian Husky sled dogs —

out of Guadalajara, Mexico!

His team is the first Mexican team to be a member of the

prestigious International Sled Dog Racing Association

and they have raced in Colorado, Michigan, Wisconsin,

and even on an Indian reservation in Arizona.

How about those credits, pretty impressive, huh?

In his real life, Cris is a corporate private jet pilot

who looks forward to

doing much more sled dog racing in the near future.

After spending a few hours with Cris and Cintia and the team,

it is very apparent that for Cris it really is ALL about the dogs.

The dogs are trained 3 times a week in Guadalajara

pulling a cart on a track, and here at Lake Chapala

swimming behind a boat for 60 minutes.

Let's meet the dogs!

Today, there were 13.

One by one they were loaded into the boat

and attached to the gang-line that had

already been rigged.

Meet Francisco, the unofficial Chapala Harbor Master

and the man to know regarding all-things boat

and all-things Lake Chapala.

Francisco manned the boat and helped tend the dogs, 

keeping them safely away from the propeller at all times. 

No easy feat!

Ready?

Off we go.

One by one they were tossed overboard.

We slowly motored off - and they followed.

Well, all except for Canelo.

Just not much of a follower, this guy.

Canelo thought Scorpion Island looked

like a better place to swim for.

See that little dot?

There were a couple of 'arguments' in the water as one

perceived some grave injustice had been committed but Cris was 

able to break them up just by yelling at them.

Of the 13 dogs, only 2 were female.

And of the 13 dogs, 2 had to stay in the boat for most of

the time as they were inclined to only swim back to shore

rather than join the pack and follow the boat.

 They could only be released on the way back.

In the 6 years that Cris has been doing this,

they have only suffered one fatality, a drowning.

Cris, Cintia, and Francisco never took their eyes off the dogs

or off the clock.

After an hour, it was time to bring the dogs in.

One by one they were hauled back in the boat.

Thirteen wet dogs means lots of water in the boat.

Heading back.

One by one they're loaded back in the truck.

That's all folks!

Cris can be reached at:

cristobal_de_obeso@hotmail.com

Violence in Guadalajara March 2012

You may have noticed I don't write about this stuff.

It's here.  It happens.
I don't want to write about it.

But Friday it was a little too close to home.

Everyday Life in San Antonio Tlayacapan

A few snaps of day to day life in my pueblo -

San Antonio Tlayacapan.

My tortillaria.

The BEST tortillas ever!

My neighbor Maria is my gardening hero.

Not only can she grow luscious papayas,

she can grow them in a 5 gallon paint bucket on the street!

Road work on my street.

Refilling baches (potholes) consists of first

removing the cobblestones surrounding the

pothole, filling the space in with sand,

then busting up rocks until they fit

and filling them into the space.

By hand, rock by rock, and in the hot sun!

Home Invasion?

I awoke at 12:38 this morning to the sound of

someone trying to kick in my front door.

No. 

I must have been dreaming.

I fluffed the pillow and settled back down.

BAM!  CRASH!

My front door sounded like the steel and glass

were getting ready to cave.

MAGS!  GETUM!

I screamed at the dog.

She barked back — 

from the living room!

OMG, there IS someone out there, I whimpered to myself,

she's already in the living room.

A side note:  there HAVE been some very brutal

and deadly home invasions in this area of late

so this scenario is not completely unexpected.

I snuck out of bed, made sure no interior light was

available, crept out to the kitchen, and

peeked through the curtains out to the street.

Nada.

From there I made my way through the dark dining room, crouched

behind the couch, and peered over it into the living room.

Nothing.

Quiet.

Except for the dog that was now leaping and running circles around me

then racing to the front door barking and barking.

Clearly trying to warn me of something.

Still quiet and nothing to see in the street.

Damn.

What do I do now?

This is Mexico, calling the cops is not my first thought or line

of defense — more like my last.

I waited and listened.

Dog was getting more and more agitated but still

nothing showing. 

I waited some more.

Finally, with still no sign of anyone or anything amiss

I decided to let the dog out and see what happens.

Sacrificial dog.

I silently opened the front door and the dog flew out

into the garden!

Where she immediately deposited about a liter

of diarrhea.

GOOD DOGGIE!