+++++++ Dia De Los Muertos 2024 - Lakeside - Chapala, Jalisco Mexico +++++++++

Vivir la vida al máximo es la mejor ofrenda que le podemos dar a los muertos.

 

Living life to the fullest is the best offering we can give to the dead.

Some images from the goings-on about town this year.

Ajijic Plaza preparing the main altar in the kiosko

Pescador Catrin

Many of the entrants in this year's Catrina contest were

made of recycled materials.

Catrina Angel

Newspaper Catrina

Catrina de Maiz

Catrina Monarca

Reused Plastic Bottle Catrina

Tonight the Noche de Muerte wall will be illuminated

by candlelight.  Each skull relief will hold a lit votive

in honor of the dearly departed.

The wall is the brainchild of our own local art hero

Efren Gonzalez....Gracias Maestro!

Dancing with Death

Jim Houle's altar this year

It is said that the hummingbird was Huitzilin, who took the form of a bird to visit his beloved Xóchitl. As long as the cempasúchil flower exists and there are hummingbirds in the fields, the love of Huitzilin and Xóchitl will last forever, and cempasúchil will illuminate the journey for the spirits of the deceased.

Cempasúchil, which comes from the Nahuatl words cemposalli, meaning “twenty,” and xochitl, or “flower,” making marigolds the “flower of twenty petals,” were miraculously gifted to the Nahua by Tonatiuh, their sun god, so that they might honor their dead.

Altar Nueva Posada

Altar Ajijic Plaza

Today many shops were closed.  Families rush to gather materials

for their Noche de Muerte celebrations.  The cemetery is lined with

vendors as you enter, selling Cempasuchil flowers, wreaths for the gravesites,

candles.  Food is being prepared to take to the gatherings to celebrate

the beings who have passed.  And many memories and stories will

be told and retold.  In this way the memories of our dearly departed live on.

Mariposario in Jocotepec Field Trip - Saturday August 31st, 2024

Our Growers Group decided to take a field trip to the Mariposario (butterfly nursery) in Jocotepec.  The Mariposario is the large black netted structure in the the background in the photo below.  The Mariposario is an independently funded project supported by BioTu.  The mission of BioTU is to facilitate the transition to a sustainable Mexico, where the current consumption of resources does not compromise the needs of future generations. Our vision is to assist citizens to become informed about the environmental challenges being confronted in order to collaborate in creating solutions in sustainability and renewable energy for their communities.

Our primary guide that day was Eva Asher (in the cool rain boots, center).  Eva is bilingual and she and her team are based lakeside and tend to and work at the Mariposario location.  The Mariposario is housed on the grounds of the local, public high school, CETAC - Centro de Estudios Tecnológicos en Aguas Continentales.

BioTu's Logo

BioTu's Sponsors

BioTu's Van

Bamboo Igloo (exterior)

The Mariposario consists of the butterfly nursery, natural materials/construction kitchen, a dry compost toilet, organic food gardens, a natural biofiltration pool, aquaponics farms and a bamboo igloo used for meetings and gatherings.

Bamboo Igloo (interior)

Bamboo Stool

Rocket Stove

The natural materials constructed kitchen is in use everyday.  It has a rocket stove, a solar dehydrator, a solar oven and natural filtration water system.

Eva shows us the solar dehydrator

and the Solar Oven

Inside the Mariposario

Inside the Mariposario, which is a walk through structure, you see the many plants that attract the various butterflies that arrive in Jocotepec.

Some of the butterflies and the foods that attract them.

The Biofiltration Pool

The Dry Compost Toilet

Eva in the lush organic gardens

All in all it was a wonderful visit and we plan on returning to see the continual development of the project.

The Growers Group Members and the Mariposario Team

A special Gracias to all the Mariposario crew:

Eva Asher, Marcos Llamas, Neftali Valdivia, Jocelyn Villa Gomez, Laura Chavez and Ignacio.

To visit the Mariposario, contact Suzette Amado, coordinator at suzette@biotu.org and schedule a visit.

Or catch them on Facebook at BioTu.

(photo courtesy of Lezlie Green)

Enjoy!

 

Poco A Poco Community Center Inauguration - Wed. May 8th, 2024

On my way to our meeting point for our carpooling trip to San Pedro Itzican, I strolled through La Floresta and saw this magnificent Tabachin tree.  It was a precursor of more wonderful things to come.

After a warm and adventurous hour of driving we arrived at the Poco A Poco Community Center in San Pedro Itzican.  Everyone had done a stellar job of preparation, and our own Miriam was at the

site, with flowers in hand, ready for the festivities.

Everyone waited excitedly for the big opening.

Kari Higgins, founding member of Poco A Poco, did the honors.

The ribbon was cut and the Community Center was officially open for business.

Our brand new kitchen stood at the ready.  Soon this space would be transformed

into a working service area, serving the children and community of San Pedro Itzican.

The children were settled and waiting patiently for their daily meal.

Food was brought out and served quickly from the kitchen.

Our volunteers waited on the children, making sure everyone had a full plate.

While the food was eaten, we found other activities at the Center.  Vicente and Dr. Salvador had set up

shop in our adjacent bodega.  Dr. Salvador, our ophthalmologist, attended to patients, giving

eye exams and prescriptions for eyeglasses.  All this at no cost to the people of San Pedro Itzican.

I noticed Dr. Salvador's attention to detail, his patience with the children and with the whirlwind

of activities around him.  He was amazing!

Thoroughness was key in his examinations.

Vincente purchased the eyeglass frames at very low cost in the United States

then brought them to San Pedro Itzican.

There was also a glaucoma machine for further testing.

We were honored to have with us, on this inaugural day, 2 of the architectural

design team from Tec de Monterrey University.  The class, led my

Maestro "Nacho" Ignacio German Osuna Eskenazi was responsible

for creating the winning design selection for the Community Center.

As the afternoon rolled on, we found time to catch up with old friends.

And finally, after the meal was done, Anita Torres Guerrero

made sure all the children cleaned up after themselves.

It was a perfect inauguration.

Thank you to the people of the town of San Pedro Itzican, to our volunteers, 

to our supporters and our guest, who made the trek out to San Pedro Itzican.

We could not have done any of this without your help.

www.pocoapocosanpedro.com