Viva La Mexico!

Conchero dancers in a fiesta at the new civic plaza in Tepoztlán, Morelos, Mexico

Viva la Mexico! (Long live Mexico) was the chant heard throughout Mexico on September 15 at 11 PM. It is called El Grito (the shout). One week before that was Tepoztlán's annual celebration. This year, the new Civic Plaza in Tepoztlán, was initiated for these events. Let's take a look at these two fiestas and how the new space was involved.

The Old Market (El Mercado)

Since I first started coming to Tepoztlán, in 1996, until recently, the major "permanent" market installation consisted of booths under large tarps. I did not realize how attractive this was until this was changed to a three-story brick building a couple of blocks away. The former one was attached to the Zocalo, or central town plaza.

The old market with booths under tarps.

Whenever there were fiestas celebrated in the center of town, the tarps were taken down, and the booths dismantled to make a space for dancers or a stage for performances.

Booths are dismantled to make a space of fiesta celebrations.

This process happened several times a year, but I did not hear of any complaints. The booths were relocated along the main streets nearby from this central space for the duration of a fiesta. For some, the old market was a health hazard, as there was no running water or sewage disposal. I did not hear of or experience any disease from this.

But as "progress" would have it, federal funds came in, and a three-story building was constructed to replace the old market with booths under tarps. Some argue that the new one is better for the health reasons mentioned. Others enjoy the views the new market provides. But I have heard that a lot of vendors complain that the new stalls do not have as much space as the older booths did.

The New Market

The Mercado Municipal: main entrance from the street

Entering the market (top right), you can climb the stairs (left) to get a glorious view (bottom right).

My favorite restaurant in the market is Fonda Isabel.

This is the sign for Fonda Isabel, including a partial menu. Do you recognize the items?

Seating for Fonda Isabel

The seating is the same as the rest of the restaurants in the market: picnic-style benches and tables.

At each end of the top floor of the market building are signs celebrating Tepoztlán. Notice the incredible views of the mountains behind them.

Here is a video I shot strolling through the market:

Annual Celebration of Tepoztlán

The yearly celebration of the town was one week prior to El Gritto (The Shout): Viva la Mexico! The latter honors Mexican independence from Spain. 

Here is what I translated from a Facebook events page:

Legend has it that one day, an elderly couple found a child alone and abandoned, and they took pity on him. They decided to adopt him, raise him and teach him everything they knew. Years later, the feared snake of Given this news, 𝙏𝙚𝙥𝙤𝙯𝙩é𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙡 decided to turn himself in at his place. Along the way, he was collecting 𝘢𝘪𝘻𝘵𝘭𝘪, small sharp pieces of obsidian, and, when he arrived in front of the snake 𝗠𝗮𝘇𝗮𝗰ó𝗮𝘁𝗹, it quickly devoured him, but he managed to escape by cutting the snake's viscera from the inside with his obsidian. 

There is also a play about natives criticizing Catholicism, but the Catholics win the argument.

The Chinelo Dancers are a tradition that mocks Europeans. This form is only found in the States of Morelos and Mexico, and in Mexico City. Here is a video from clips I took from this Facebook page:

Viva La Mexico!

Each year on Sept. 15, the President of Mexico initiates the following day’s independence ceremonies with a reenactment of a cry that originally rang out from the Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, in 1810, where the local Roman Catholic priest ordered his church bells to be rung to summon his parishioners. In a fiery address, Hidalgo excoriated the ruling Spanish government and urged the people to revolt. This was in Dolores, near Guanajuato.

All over Mexico this same "shout" calls out to remind us of Mexico's independence. Translated, it looks like this:

 Mexicans! Long live the heroes who gave us our homeland! Long live Hidalgo! Long live Morelos! Long live Josefa Ortiz de Domínguez! Long live Allende! Long live Aldama and Matamoros! Long live the nation's independence! Long live México! Long live México! Long live México!

You can learn more about this tradition here and here.

 This event also happens in the Mexican sections of major cities in the US, like Los Angles and Houston.

The Civic Plaza

In the first two sections, I told about a new market replacing the old one. Where the old one used to be is now the Civic Plaza. The Chinelo video (above) shows some of the dancers with a band in the plaza. Below are some videos depicting other events in the Plaza that took place during the week between the Tepoztlán Annual Fiesta and The Shout.

I hope you enjoyed this foray into the fiestas of Tepoztlán, and a view of the new construction to accommodate them.

Upcoming

By the way, Dias de los Muertos (The Days of the Dead), is coming up soon! It's November 1st and 2nd. This is my favorite Mexican celebration, and you'll understand why if you come join us and attend the special events. Along with the fiesta added to our regular schedule, we will give a special discount to those who mention the offer on this blog.

Please check out our site page and Facebook page. And tell friends and relative who might be interested. If you'd like, please give me some feedback on the program and how we've presented it.