WEEKEND

OMG this weekend!
It started really really early on Friday when we got on the camioneta from hell to drive out to San Pedro y Pablo de Whatsit-tec, a little town in the far north of the state. We were there to witness the festival de nuestro Señor del Perdon, which is the big local fiesta. Basically they have a Christ figurine there that grants miracles. Because in Mexican Catholicism there is no separating the statue from the actual God thing. Anyway, we had this crazy bus/van ride over super curvy hills and when we got there we were faced with the most unintelligible human being I have ever met. Like, I feel awful because she’s educated and doing great things for her community, but even when she was trying to talk slowly for us no one could understand what she was saying at all. There were some teeth at interesting angles and some slurring going on that just wasn’t working out. It was pretty depressing and kind of put a damper on most of the day, since Ramsay was getting annoyed that we weren’t being all involved and asking questions. Because we couldn’t understand what we should be asking questions about.
BUT that night we saw the most amazing fireworks ever! Like the huge ones at Fourth of July only super close—so close it was almost scary!—and then these crazy spinning ones that made pictures of the cross or flowers or whatever. The big finale was a giant tower of spinny-wheels at least 2 stories high! At the very end this angel/symbol for the eucharist/flower (we disagreed) started spinning around super fast and flew a couple hundred feet into the air!
We spent the night in the house of a super sweet lady who kept calling us “mi niñas” and generally being the opposite of bad-teeth lady, and after a brief stop at the community museum we were back in the camionetta. There were also religious processions and social observations… but basically the fireworks were the important part. For this blog at least.

Saturday night started out as one of my best nights in Mexico so far! I was a little worried about being stranded because Marina had potential plans with her new novio, and the people I was going to meet up with don’t have cell phones/any other way of getting in touch with them. But miracles happened and Marina, Ashley, Olivia, Abby and I went downtown to watch this group of Flamenco dancers. So cool! They were on tour from Spain and were really, really good at what they did. Lots of foot stamping and pretty dresses.
We wandered about for a while afterwards, looking for somewhere to get deserts, and randomly stumbled across this group of amazingly talented breakdancers. We probably watched them for half an hour because it was so good—flips and spinny-things, and this guy who did the most amazing robot I have ever seen. So after basically two awesome dance shows, we got some cake to go and sat in the zocalo chatting and such. We’ve been having cold nights here despite the fact that this is México, but last Saturday was perfect weather.
Around ten Ashley, Marina and I headed over to Bar Central (aka my favorite place ever) expecting to meet up shortly with Marina’s Chicago housemate Bonnie and co, and much later with the novio. Bonnie didn’t show for a while, but right away we ran into this guy we met on Tuesday night. I’m not going to even try to spell his name because he is Indian of the India variety and my attempts would just be insulting. But anyway, last Tues Marina and I went to this café for a poetry slam and ended up running into our potential novios from my birthday (only mine was pretty much an asshat) BUT they had this born-in-India-lived-everywhere-else friend with them, and his older gentleman buddy of the UK-by-way-of-NZ persuasion. And India buddy was totally at Bar Central when we got there. For a while us girls just chilled and gossiped and Beau and Charlotte showed up and it was a Linfield party at our table. Then India friend got Marina and Ashley I to dance with him and his friend/boss from Colombia and some other bloke. Ashley and I sort of had planned at leaving around one or two, but there was all this really cool world music going on, and the guys were being so fun that we kept pushing it back, and didn’t even get in our taxi until quarter to three. So Ashley got dropped off fine and dandy, and as soon as I step onto my curb the taxi speeds away, and—are you ready for it—my gate is locked. From the inside. And I can’t get in.
After a mini panic attack (my cell phone is dead so I don’t even have it with me) I start walking down Juarez (which is a totally busy street). It takes me a couple blocks to flag a taxi, and for a while the driver mistakes “Bar Central” for “el centro” but I make back there okay. Lucky for me Bar Central doesn’t really close, so I can totally get in even though it’s after 3:00 am at this point… I just have to pay double cover to do so. The last of my money gone, I push through crowds of Mexicans and gringos (there were sooo many white people that night!!!) and luckily Marina is totally where I left her, making out with the boyf.
I go into the bathroom to hide out on the sweet red couch and try to wipe the omg-freaked-out off my face, when some woman comes out of a stall. Character sketch would be something like—gorgeous, Mexican, drunk. She comes right up to me and starts asking in Spanish why I am sad and if I am crying, while trying to fix me hair (umm it’s 3 am, the hair died a long time ago). Then she takes me by the hand and drags me out of the bathroom, across the dance floor, and up to the bar. To “make friends.” So I get introduced to her friends, who are pretty rough looking considering a lot of the Mexican men wear actual shirts and slacks/nice jeans when they go out—one’s about 6 feet tall, torn t-shirt, long curly hair and big muscles, the other is smaller with some interesting ponytail action going on. They do a good job of trying to cheer me up, but really I just want to a) go to sleep and b) not have another Bar Central run in with the assistant director, who is like 3 people away. After lots of “you can’t be sad—it’s Saturday night, there is beer and music, we’re your friends!” I slink away and find a corner to hide in… so I think.
But apparently it is cheer up/flirt with the sulky white girl day because three more men try to get me to dance, or laugh, or “smile, you look like an angel.” Bueno, no gracias. Four am comes around and Bonnie is ready to leave, but of course we have to find Bonnie’s friend, and find a taxi, and Marina needs to say goodbye to her novio…
At about 4:40 we got to Marina’s house. Of course when I got home the next morning the gate opened fine. My family was gone and I got really hungry so eventually I left them a note and went to coffee. So this mysterious gate situation didn’t really get addressed until Sunday night. As far as I can tell the dealio was that they thought I was already asleep (I guess a valid assumption—I had closed my door to keep them from seeing the mess—but I had told them I was going out that night).
Monday when I came home for comida there was a new statue where my missing angel used to be. A shepardess…which I take to mean a gesture for forgiveness, even if it’s not a full restoration of my angel privileges.



(when the internet is less lame there will be firework pictures. maybe even a movie. also to come: graffiti and politics)