Mosaic in Merida

This mosaic is one of my favorite sights in Merida. It's very dimensional and the use of the mirrored tiles makes it very glittery. It's located next to a store on the Prolongaucion (one of the main avenues in Merida) I don't know of any paricular purpose for it or if it's just there as part of the building. Whatever the story is, I always get a big kick out of it.

Beach Art

Weather

Dia de Muertos

Dia de Muertos, or Day of the Dead is a huge holiday in Mexico. It's celebrated on Nov. 1st and 2nd and focuses on family gatherings to pray for and remember friends and relatives who have died. Traditions include building altars, using sugar skulls, marigolds and the deceased's favorite foods and beverages. Sugar skulls are given to the kids and there's a festive atmosphere that includes parades and parties. We found some really neat material to make a tablecloth at Parasina (one of the really cool fabric stores in Merida and the rest of Mexico). All over town you see sculptures and banners and lots of places have big public parties. As one might expect, there is a ton of religious symbolism and it's all mixed up with ancient tradition going back way before Catholicism made its way to Mexico.

Cat Report

Wonder Woman Bracelet

Market in Merida

We went to a great artisan market in Merida yesterday. There was a wealth of beautiful cross-stitching, traditional dresses, guyabera shirts (a traditional Yucatanean shirt made from sisal fiber), crocheting, straw weaving and braiding, silk ribbon embroidery, and beading. We met a lady named Alma who talked us into a bright yellow dress with hand embroidery for me and a handsome Guyabera shirt for Chief. She was very typical of the ladies in the market and quickly wrapped us around her litle finger. We also saw a lot of herbal remedies and honey products. My very favorite were the shell sculptures made with local shells like we have on the beaches here. There were religious creches, barbie doll mermaids, and a very humorous wedding couple that looked like birds. Another favorite was the hammock seller. He had hammocks of all sizes, including one that a hummingbird would fit in. Very cute! I found a beautiful loomworked bracelet in glowing rainbow colors made from transparent seed beeds; for only 85 pesos, about 6 American dollars. There were a lot of ladies wearing the traditional dress, which is a white skirt and short sleeved, thigh length tunic loaded with lace and exquisite cross-stitch embroidery. A good portion of them were doing handwork including crochet, beadwork, silk ribbon embroidery and basketry. The embroidery was gorgeous and the ladies who were crocheting were doing it without even a look at their work. I really wished I had some knitting to whip out and sit with them as they were quite social. Maybe next time!
We had gone through about half the market when we turned a corner and were treated to a delicious Mexican food smell. Of course we were instantly starving and headed down to the food stalls which were manned by waiters each beckoning us to his particular booth. We chose one that looked good and got panuchos and cochinita pibil which is the Mexican equivalent of Kahalua pig. Two cokes and both our lunches cost about $10.00! And it was delicious.... All in all, the market was a lot of fun and we even found a parking spot across the street!
Sorry about all the pictures being a jumble; next time I'll start at the end so it makes a bit more sense-but you got the idea!