Huge crowds filled the town square here in San Miguel de Allende, as hundreds of children marched through the streets welcoming Spring. Delighted parents and tourists lined the central Jarin, snapping photos and getting showered with confetti, as costumed classes of elementary school age butterflies, rabbits, lions, jaguars, princesses, soldiers and turtles paraded by under the hot sun. I thought of our annual Pacific Grove (CA) "Butterfly Parade" and the years Nic and Cella joined their classes as '49er miners, pioneer girls, sea otters, jellyfish, Plains Indians. And the kindergardeners were always butterflies, as we welcomed the migrating monarchs back each year to the PG pines.
The first day of spring, when night and day are finally on equal footing again, is a big deal here in Mexico. Thousands of people gathered at dawn down south near Mexico City, climbing the towering Pyramid of the Sun at ancient site of Teotihuacan, dressed in white to receive the "special energy" transmited on that day. Others travel to Chichen Itza, the Mayan ruins on the Yucatan, to watch a giant serpent-shaped shadow slither down the Temple of Kukulkan at daybreak.
It also happened to be the 200th anniversary of Mexican reformist president Benito Juarez, the only full-blooded Indian to ever rule Mexico. His presidency is viewed with much controversy at this point, since his dismantling of the traditional system of communal lands (supposidly to help incorporate the Indians into modern Mexico life) actually made them more vulnerable to exploitation. One Mexican historian has written that "of the whites who determined the history of the country, Juarez was the whitest of them all." Nevertheless, San Miguel was crammed with families from all over the region on Monday, celebrating a noisy 3-day weekend in his honor. We read the news of the upcoming summer presidential election with interest, and wonder who will be next to lead this complex nation....
-ASG
No comments:
Post a Comment