Two Romes on the Mirror: Twin Cities

A couple of years ago I got permission to use my scholarship in a study abroad program in Rome, Italy.

I was excited about the opportunity of visiting my relative's land for the first time, about having the opportunity to come in direct contact with this distant culture that was also my culture, about meeting my far relatives, about traveling, about growing, about everything...

At the same time, I new that since I was only going to be in Rome for a semester, I wanted to internalize and absorb everything as fast as I could: I wanted to learn about the culture, compare “Italian” food in Italy with the one I eat in the new continent, see how Italians lived, how they studied, what it was like to work in Rome…

For that reason, I was eager to find a job in Rome through the Internet. After sending many e-mails, CVs and applications, I got an e-mail from a History Museum that was looking for a communications intern in Rome. It seemed like the perfect opportunity: I was going to be able to practice Italian (very basic at that time), I was going to learn a lot of history about the country, and I was going to gain experience in my field.

A month before flying to Rome, I wrote to the Museum’s managers asking them if they could help me find accommodations in Italy. They cordially responded something like: Unfortunately, we cannot help you find a place in Italy because we are located in Rome, Georgia, United States.

Those few words were enough to kill my perfect plan of having a full immersion into Italian culture. However, they were not enough to attenuate my excitement f traveling to the old continent.

From now on, whenever you are searching for a city in Internet, you should double check to make sure it concerns the desire city, otherwise you might be looking at the unreal reflection of a name that counts twice.


Places on a Mirror (includes cities and states):

• Ennis, Irelanda vs. Ennis, Texas, USA
• San Francisco, California, USA vs. San Francisco, Cordoba, Argentina
• Valparaiso, Zacatecas, Mexico vs. Valparaiso, Chile
• Oran, Salta, Argentina vs. Oran, Algeria
• Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico vs. Guadalajara, Castilla - La Macha, Spain
• Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia vs. Medellin, Veracruz, Mexico
• Valencia, Spain vs. Valencia, Venezuela
• Bolívar, Venezuela vs. Bolívar, Colombia
• Ayacucho, Perú vs. Ayacucho, Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Armenia, Quindio, Colombia vs. Armenia (country)
• Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, Mexico vs. Monterrey, California, USA
• San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina vs. San Rafael, California, USA
• Aguas Calientes, Mexico vs. Aguas Calientes, Peru
• Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina vs. Santa Rosa, California, USA
• San Jose, Costa Rica vs. San Jose, California, USA
• Santa Barbara, California, EEUU vs. Santa Barbara, Antioquia, Colombia
• Krakow, Poland vs. Krakow, Wisconsin, USA

Trios:

• Cordoba, Spain vs. Cordoba, Argentina vs. Cordoba, Mexico
• Merida, Spain vs. Merida, Venezuela vs. Merida, Mexico
• Paris, France vs. Paris, Texas, USA vs. Paris, Tennessee
• Trujillo, Venezuela vs. Trujillo, Spain vs. Trujillo, Peru
• Sucre, Perú vs. Sucre, Venezuela vs. Sucre, Bolivia
• Athens, Greece vs. Athens, Ohio, EEUU vs. Athens, Texas, USA

Multiple:

• Humboldt, Germany vs. Humboldt, Santa Fe, Argentina vs. Humboldt, California, USA vs. Humboldt, Nevada, USA
• Providence, Rhode Island, USA vs. Providence, Colombia vs. Providence, Chile vs. Providence, Santa Fe, Argentina
• Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina vs. Rosario, Sinaloa, México vs. Rosario, Chihuahua, Mexico vs. Rosario, Filipinas vs. Rosario, Uruguay

Flying Men at Cumple el Tajin, Mexico

By María Luisa Villegas

The Cumbre Tajín is a cultural event that takes place in Veracruz, Papantla, Mexico. During the celebration a group of men climb to the top of the 30-meter-high “flying stick” for the dance of Los Voladores de Papantla to honor the sun invoking the four cardinal spots: North, South, East and West.

Dance of the San Miguelitos, where good and evil meet for a battle where they try to delimit their kingdoms.

Dance of the Flying Men.



Weaving typical Totonacas’ outfits.



Mud Sculpturing workshop at the Cumbre El Tajín.




Sculptures made with vanilla flower; an old legend says that the flower first emerged from the blood of one of Tonacas’s princesses. Vanilla means “Caxixanath” hidden flower.

Maria Luisa Villegas’ Personal Experience with the Virgen

Mexican journalist María Luisa Villegas, narrates her personal experience with the Virgen of Guadalupe from Mexico:

From a personal point of view I can say that, taking into consideration that I am not very religious, let’s say: I don’t go to mass son Sunday, I don’t even celebrate the traditional religious holidays. A couple years ago I went to Guadalupe’s Basilica, as a tourist, and as I walked in front of the religious image, and took a close look at her, I experienced a sentiment that I had never felt before, and I doubt I will ever feel again.

I know you probably won’t believe me, and I might even sound like an exaggeration or a resemblance to a cheap soap-opera script from Televisa, but it is true: when you see it, a feeling of peace runs through you, and you feel so small! As she told Juan Diego, “the smallest one of my children.”

It is possible that mixture of feelings in connected to faith, that blind devotion that all Mexicans show the Virgin for a day, when they forget about their differences and they come together to celebrated the day of our “madrecita”, the one that fulfills all of their petitions and takes care of them throughout the year, the one they offer sacrifices to, profess their love for, and thank for their blessings.

Mexicans Celebrate Dia de los Muertos with Joy

We know death is unavoidable. “It is the inescapable destiny of human life,” expressed Mexican writer Laura de la Vega a couple of years ago.

For that reason, Mexicans prefer to celebrate de Day of the Dead with joy instead of crying for them; they organize this celebration to familiarize the younger ones with the idea of death, to help them accept it as the last step in our lives.

Aztecs believed the spirit of the deceased lived in Mictlán, a serene and nice place away from earth until November 2, when it returned to meet its old friends and family members.

For this celebration, Mexicans prepare altars in their houses to honor loved ones who are no longer with them and visit cemeteries to decorate the tombs of friends and family members who have passed away; they also place offerings on the tombs.

María Luisa Villegas from Veracruz, México, shares her pictures and her experience during the festivities:

Something strange happened to me before I staring writing this commentary. I was at home, on October 31, getting ready for the celebration that takes place November 1 and 2 according to the Catholic calendar, when a group of kids knocked on my door saying Happy Halloween.

I could not help but feel surprised by such event; I was seeing the strong influence that our uncomfortable northern neighbor exerts on my people.

However, I strongly believe that this was just an isolated incident if we compare it to everything that goes on around the celebration of Dia de los Muertos, one of the most important festivities for Mexicans.

Although I do not follow all of my country’s traditions, I can comment that the “Halloween” that in Mexico translates to Dia de los Muertos, it is filled with unnumbered details and curious facts. People start with preparations for the event before November 1, All Saints Day, or the day of the “small dead people”, how some people refer to it, where people commemorate the death of young ones in the family. On that day, family members place toys as well as the other elements that are usually places on altars.

Mexicans celebrate “big dead people” day November 2, the death of older people and the loved ones; this is the most important day of the celebration.

On this date, family members decorate the tomb of the deceased, clean up the tomb, and prepare an altar next to it with objects designed to guide their in their journey after death; the decoration of the tombs and the preparation of the altar in the most important ritual of the celebration.

The easier way to design altars is to prepare it using colored papers at home so you can place picture of the dead person and that person’s favorite food underneath it.

According to tradition, the altar must have seven steps, each one with its own significance. The picture of the person who has died should be placed in the topmost and most important step.


The following elements should be placed in the altar:

• Confetti paper that serves as decorations




• A cross made out of lime




• A white piece of cloth




• Yellow and purple cempasuchil flowers




• Candles




• Fruits: normally, oranges, tangerine, jicama, sugar cane and tejicotes




• Sugar skulls




• Typical “pan de muerto” that is sold in Mexican bakeries




• Death person’s favorite dishes




• Photograph of the deceased

After everything is set and ready, people wait for the return of their loved ones’ soul to come and enjoy the gift that the family prepared with so much love.

Carnival at Veracruz

Contributing journalist - Maria Luisa Villegas (Veracruz, México)

Veracruz’s Carnival lasts four days. The dancing groups and the 107 floats transit through the 7 kilometers long boulevard throughout 6 parades in four days. Incredible!!!

Mexico: Euphoria of Flavors

The chemist Wilbur Scoville from Park David Pharmaceutical Company, has run several investigations that demonstrate chilies contain capsaicin, a chemical component that stimulates the secretion of endorphins, which generates a sentiment of euphoria in the person who eats it.

As we all know, chilies (with its capsaicin component) are central in Mexican food, which can help to explain the success of Mexican food around the world.

Saturday night, María Luisa, one of my classmates from my masters program invited us to experiment this distinct flavor of authentic Mexican food at her home in the center of Iturrama, in Pamplona, Spain.

Everything was there. She had prepared tacos, quesadillas, green salsa, chips, meat with peppers… even tequila!.

The night started rather slow, but as we began to eat, the group started to cheer up and we ended up singing and dancing in the center of the living room.

I am not sure if it was the chemical effect of the chilies, a tequila effect, or the sensation of eating great food in good company. But there is not doubt that it had been a while since I had such a great time.

The Gods in Mexican Food

The art of cooking is fascinating because it was able to transform a routinary and vital activity like eating, into an essential component of every culture and every society.

In each country, there are different eating rituals, and diverse ways of preparing food. Even though many times we use the same ingredients, the experience and the taste of the food is not the same.

Dating back to the Aztec Empire, Mexicans gave special importance to their food. They even venerated Chicomecoatl, the corn Goddess, to ensure that they would never do without this ingredient, since it was their main source of vitamins.

Originally, Aztecs used native ingredients to prepare their foods like cacao, peanuts, vanilla, a variety of grains, chili, beans, avocado, coconut, potato, different flowers, shrimp, turtle, crab, and other types of fish.

Around 1519, the Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés, revolutionized Mexican Cuisine, by introducing pork, lamb, citric fruits, garlic, cheese, milk and vinegar from Europe.

Since that moment on, Mexicans have incorporated these new elements to their traditional dishes, acquiring greater variety of dishes, maintaining the essence of the Aztec influence and conserving the characteristic flavor of Mexican food.

Mexican Culinary Tricks

Culinary Trap: Aztecs used to mix chilies with cacao based drinks to taint their mouths red to terrorize and frighten their enemies.

Culinary Salvation: Aztecs also tied chilies to the front of their canoes believing it served to project them from evil spirits that hid in the dark waters.