I woke at 8 to catch a ride to a tour bus. We were a group of six, visitiors to Mexico City, all. There were the four Chinese (two mothers, two children daughters)- they were consistently late to meeting points, an Austrailian couple who made me glad (or equally, quelled the want for companionship which I was projecting onto lustful late night hours) to be having my own trip, rather than one full of consistent compromise, and three Mexicans from other states, visiting the big city. We drove an hour outside of town and got out at a temple-house, adorned with gorgeous murals, depicting reincarnation and the children as playful mariposas among a landscape dominated by the elements, anthropomorphosized as gods (you know). We go tback onto the bus and drove to a highway robbery (espression) spot where we were shown traditional means of making obsidian doo-dads and silver trinkets, and cactus beer, and blankets. And, you guessed it, we could buy it! I bought Tequilla.
From the gift shop, we went to Teotihuacan, the second largest civilization in Central America at one point. I climbed both of the large temples and took photos of myself at the top of one. I felt joyful the whole time. I felt an understanding walking through the town, the history alive in my heart and imagination. Back onto the bus after some time- we went to lunch at an overpriced silly buffet where characters in traditional garb played instruments and danced for tips. Whenever I see this in central America I think "fuck man, just stop. Youre probably half Spanish and what happened here is fucked up. Even more so that you are trying to capitalize on it. Let the culture of yesteryear lie in peace and dont give me an overrehearsed, half-ass rain dance while I try to stomach this overpriced shitty bean dish." Something like that. To ask for money for someting like that, its tacky. And boring.
So back onto the bus, we went to a Basillica, where the great apparation of lady Guadalupe occoured. Story goes, Diego was walking on a great hill where appeared to him a virgin. "Build a church here, a Catholic one." she siad. "And convert all of the mouthbreathers.".. something like that. Diego built a church which immediately began sinking into the bog which is Mexico City (built upon a lake, drained by the spaniards. Originally, the Aztecs built their civilization here on an island in the lake, wherefrom they founded the great nation of Mexico which roughly translates to "in the belly of the moon". The history is really fascinating. The Aztecs were a wargoing people. They set out to build a great nation and met some neighbors. The neighbors were likely intimidated, and the chief gave the Aztecs his virgin daughter as a peace offering. Well, the Aztecs made quick work of skinning her alive in front of the chief. A priest wore her skin. The neighbors declared war , and the Aztecs made their way to a better place, the lake island, where they in a Brigham Young-like fashion set down their things and said "yup, thisll do." On that island, there were many rattlesnakes. The Aztecs ate those until there were no more, and the island seemed more and more hospitable. At some time during the rattesnake-eating days, was seen an eagle, perched atop a cactus, with a rattlesnake in its talons- thus the symbol of Mexico was born.) So the Spaniards came and took this island by using the Aztecs bad reputation to recruit armies from all of the offended neighbors to fight. Of course, (as a man told me the other night while I was curbside painting an old building) the spaniards are rats, and they ended up, you know, doing their conquesting and whatnot, draing the lake among other things, to build the vast and boggy Mexico city. So Diegos church is warped and crooked. Upon its completion he converted many savages and as supernatural validation, an image of the virgin Guadalupe (guade- wolf, lupe- river.. roughly) appeared onto his robe. No paint, no embriodery, a proper supernatural apparation. This is wherefrom you get Guadelupanos, the followers of guadelupe. 85% of Mexican now are Catholics, and 65% of those are Guadelupanos. Diegos church no longer houses the sacred image of the divine lady, she now resides in a capacity 10000 shrine next-door, which was built via vatican coffers forby John Paul II. A big statue in his likeness is just outside in the courtyard. The shrine looked like many contemporary chiristian chapels I have seen- wood ceilings jutting up and forward so the eye follows upward, then down a great vertical drop to the stage wherefrom the annointed address the commoners. Somewhere along this back vertical axis hangs the robe itself, framed, so that it looks like a pianting. Under the frame, pinned up twenty feet flanking either side was a huge drooping (or buisness-casual) Mexican flag. Church and state, check. The day that we arrived was during the great annual pligramage, in which six million Guadalupanos congregate there as a sign of their devotion, for the virgins apparation birthday, on the 12th of December. Driving up to the basillica, we saw trucks adorned with guadalupe likenesses, candles, flowers, and holy shiny objects. Devotees sat in the trucks, shoulder to shoulder. They would camp in the large courtyard outside of the basillica until the date of the great.. thingness. I bought a keychain for my friend Sarah.
