There will be parties with piñatas, sweets and toys for the kids. National and local Toy Drives help bring a smile today to the faces of some of the neediest youngsters.
But the Christmas celebrations aren't quite over yet; one of the traditions of day is the sharing of the Rosca de Reyes, a rich, sweet egg bread - more likely these days to be a sponge cake -- that contains a small plastic doll. According to the custom, whomever receives the piece of bread containing the doll must host a party on Candlemas (Candelaria) on Feb. 2. (See more below)
Nopala: The City of Kings
The three kings, Gaspar, Melchior and Balthazar, are the patron saints of Santos Reyes
Nopala, a picturesque town that throughout centuries has remained the important economic
and cultural center for the Chatino indians. This is the time for the annual fair with a huge
market, and all the other trappings of a traditional fiesta: processions, fireworks, dances, sports
events and rodeos.
Nopala is always well worth visiting for its history, its cultural richness and the beauty of its landscape.
From as far back as 500 A.D., the town's Chatino rulers intermarried with Mixtec royalty. You can see several archeological remains in Nopala itself. These stelae, large stone carvings, which date from around 600 to 800 AD, can be seen in the walls of the municipal palace, the kiosk in the main plaza, and in some private homes.
Nopala has a traditional Indian market, and small restaurants where you can sometimes find venison, quail or crawdads on the menu. You can walk along its lovely paths and marvel at the beauty of its streams, plains and the surrounding mountains.
You can visit a coffee plantations or the the traditional trapiche, a wooden mill, powered by oxen to crush sugar cane for the juice that is used to produce panela, a raw sugar and tepache, a bitter-sweet fermentation of the cane juice, imbibed at celebrations throughout the region.
Another ancient production process can be seen at Santa Magdalena Tiltepec, a village just 20 minutes away from Nopala accessible by a dirt road. Here you can observe the women making all kinds of pots and clay figures comal, the ungreased clay griddles essential to Oaxacan cooking.
More next month on Nopala's attractions, including the new "Modest Museum of Art" at the Posada Nopala.
Friday 17 - Monday 20
Annual Fair in Col. Lázaro Cárdenas
Lázaro Cárdenas is the original and most populous colonia (neighborhood) in
Puerto Escondido. Named for the immensely popular Mexican president who nationalized the oil
industry, it is located beside the army base and runs up the hill across the highway above Zicatela
Beach.
It is a modest neighborhood of fishermen and working people, so it is appropriate that, when a small chapel was built in the neighborhood in 1989, the Virgin of the Poor was adopted as the patron saint.
This week is the annual fair in honor of the patrona. It is a traditional fiesta with all the trimmings, but on a scale small enough to really enjoy. It begins with the traditional convite and calenda parades to invite everyone to participate.
A small carnival sets up, offering rides, a midway and haunted house. There are wild horse races through the streets and sports events.
A palenque is usually in place for the nightly cockfights, pitting teams from various communities in the region. A great deal of money changes hands during the course of these battles and the long intervals between fights are filled with invitations to wager more money on assorted card games.
The major night of entertainment is Sat. Jan. 18, when the fireworks of the castillo are
set off. The "castle" is a tower of cane and bamboo, or more commonly these days, wood strips. It
is rigged with a series of spinning, whizzing, exploding wheels that are set off in ascending
sequence from a single match.
It is a spectacular display of pyrotechnic magic, preceded by the running of the toritos, "little bulls", in which the local youths don a bull- shaped structure affixed with more fireworks and race around in a blaze of smoke, fire and explosions.
It's a great show and, while it's a far cry from "safe and sane" fireworks, you can enjoy it without qualms if you keep your distance.
The jaripeo is another fiesta staple. It is the local rodeo with bull-riding contests. There is normally a full band in attendance belting out the local music known as chilenas.
And that modest little chapel is undergoing a major rebuilding and expansion, thanks to the efforts of local residents, all of whom can show their pride in the colonia during their annual fair and would be delighted if you would join them.
Partial Program of Events:
Fri 17: Convite, 4 p.m.; Calenda. 8 p.m. Sat. 18:
Fireworks, 10 p.m., Dance with "Internacional Mar Azul". 11 p.m. Sun. 19:
Jaripeo rodeo, 4 p.m. Mon 20: Horse Races, 1 p.m. Greased Poll Contest,
5 p.m. Dance with live band, 10 p.m.
Saturday 18
Casino Night
A fundraiser for the International Friends of Puerto Escondido (IFOPE). Roulette, Black Jack,
Dice, Bingo, Wheel of Fortune. No cover; no host bar and food.
6 - 10 p.m., Hotel Fiesta Mexicana, Fracc. Bacocho
Saturday 18 Tuesday 21
Annual Fair in San Juan Lachao, Pueblo Nuevo
If you didn't get up to visit the Chatino hill country during the Day of Kings celebrations,
here's another reason. A full complement of events is slated for the annual fair in this town near
Santos Reyes Nopala.
Friday 24
Saturday 25
Meet your Embassy Officials
Consular representatives of the U.S., Canada, France, Germany and Italy will visit Puerto to get
to know the ex-patriate community and local officials and to discuss issues of mutual interest.
The program: Fri 24, 7 - 9 p.m. Cocktail Reception at Hotel Santa Fe, only for
members of Int'l Friends of Pto. Escondido (IFOPE), sponsor of the event.
(You can join the group for just $100 pesos)
Sat 25, 10 a.m. Meetings open to all: U.S, Hotel Santa Fe; Canada. Hotel
Mayflower; France. La Hacienda; Italy, Bananas; Germany, Great Britain, Hotel Inés.
More information: 582-1673
Sunday 26
Superbowl
The last professional football game of the season will be televised nationally. But to see the
game in English (plus the general Bowl Sunday hype and those great commercials), try Art & Harry's
on Zicatela. Get in on the pool and even a rout can be an interesting game.
The term comes from the old Spanish word for candle (in México the word vela is used more often than candela). In religious terms, it suggests that the child has been shown the "Light of the World" by being taken into the church.
In many communities, the doll representing the child Christ in the household Nativity is dressed up in elaborate satin clothing and taken to mass.
Annual Fair for La Candelaria in the colonia of the same name in San Pedro Mixtepec and in Candelaria, Loxicha.
Wednesday 5
Constitution Day
National holiday: Banks, government offices and some businesses will be closed.