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As regular readers can attest, the publishing schedule of this magazine can be, let's just say, erratic. We have learned to accept the realities and the fates that surround us and control our destiny; no more anguishing to meet impossible deadlines.
This issue was even more frustrating than usual, because our sources whom we turn to to get the information that fills these pages were unavailable. They, like most everyone else in México, were consumed with two major obsessions: the Presidential Elections and the World Cup.
This month's X Games Surfing event was officially announced very late in our production schedule and it is still impossible to know how the Guelaguetza, Oaxaca's most important cultural festival, will be effected by the current chaos and disruptions in the state capital.
So, I beg your indulgence. And, ever the optimist, I trust the elections will take place in peace and tranquility, the Guelaguetza will be another stellar success and the México's national team will make into the World Cup finals.
That was then; this is now. Barra de la Cruz this month is the site chosen for a major WCT (World Championship Tour) surf tournament, the high stakes ($280,000 dllrs) Rip Curl International Pro Search.
Rip Curl is so caught up with Barra's secret mystique that its web site afforded us few details of the actual event somewhere in México , but the top rated 44 surfers in the world are expected to take part: they'll need to compete for the tour points in this major ASP tournament, not to mention all that cash.
Expect to see many of these athletes here in Puerto for the ESPN X-Games The Game (Page 8). So the secret of Barra de la Cruz is out, now -- and I didn't do it.
The fiesta formally begins with lively processions through town: the convite (in the late afternoon) and the calenda, which takes place after dark with candle-lit globes.
The parades are very festive, always lead by a brass band and monos de calenda, giant papier-mache puppets. Once, during a calenda in a nearby indigenous village, I asked a participant what they represented. We are humble people, we aren't important and others make us small, he replied. But during fiesta we are big, we are at the center of the world. The parades stop every few blocks to dance, shoot of rockets and drink shots of mezcal.
The night preceding the actual saint's day is the grand verbena, when the fireworks of the castillo are set off. The castle is a tower of cane and bamboo, or more commonly these days, milled wood laths. 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; just keep your distance.
Some fairs include horse racing (which in some communities involves teams of riders competing to grab the live chicken hung from a rope above the racecourse), cockfights and almost all offer the jaripeo, the local bull-riding rodeo. (See prior issues of El Sol for more on these activities, or check our web site
Itinerant merchants set up temporary markets, carnies provide midway rides and galleries, there are food and juice stands, often even makeshift cantinas, offering further profane temptations.
Important fiestas are often mayordomias, in which a mayordomo or sponsor is selected to host the festivities, extending hospitality to all the participants, a great honor but also a huge economic burden, although many people pitch in to help.
The fiesta is as grand or as modest as the town where it is held. It
defines its character and cements its cohesion. The fiesta is a
connection to the past, hope for the future and a marker in the
ageless cycle of the seasons.
-- Warren Sharpe, editor
Sunday July 2
Election Day
Today Mexicans go to the polls to choose their next President, as well
as federal deputies and senators. Mexican Presidents are limited by the
constitution to a single six-year term. This will be the first election
since the historic 2000 victory by Vicente Fox which ended over seven
decades of rule by the Partido de la Revolución Institucional, the
Institutional Revolution Party, the PRI.
President Fox ran as the candidate of the National Action Party (PAN), whose flag bearer this year is Felipe Calderon, a Harvard educated technocrat who served as Energy Secretary in the Fox cabinet. He is locked in a tight race against Andres Manuel López Obrador, former mayor of México City and stalwart of the center-left Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD), which is running as an alliance with the Workers Party (PT) Convergence for Democracy as The Coalition for the Good of All .
The candidate of the once-invincible PRI is Roberto Madrazo, a career politician, former governor of Tabasco and son of a former governor. His Alliance for México includes the Green Party Environmental México. In 1990 México's Congress created the Federal Election Institute (IFE) to oversee the democratic process and eliminate the fraud that had marred past elections. In 1996 it was made entirely independent of the executive branch and now monitors everything from campaign financing to fairness in campaign advertising and boasts a state-of-the-art results tabulation system. The electorate will also determine the composition of the federal legislature, crucial to the new President's ability to implement his policies.
DRY LAW ALERT:
One thing hasn't changed: the prohibition on the sale of alcohol for
the elections. Visitors in tourist hotels will still be able to imbibe,
but stores must seal up their beer and liquor shelves, most bars, clubs
and cantinas simply close to avoid steep penalties for contravening the
Ley Seca . It takes effect at midnight FRIDAY JUNE 30 AND ENDS
MIDNIGHT JULY 2. You have been warned
Sunday 2 - Tuesday 4
ESPN X Games, The Game
The X Games is like the Olympics of extreme sports, a competition
established by ESPN, the worldwide satellite sports TV giant in 1995,
it brings together the world's best action-sports athletes competing in
BMX Freestyle, Moto X, Skateboard, Wakeboard and such.
X Games added Surfing to the lineup in 2003 with a discipline called The Game . Developed by pro surfer Brad Gerlach, The Game places surfers into opposing teams - - East Coast versus West Coast - - competing for an overall highest score and the team victory.
ESPN's X Games are held in Huntington Beach, Ca. in August, but because surf conditions have been poor at this time in California, last year The Game was moved to Puerto Escondido. It was a success; good for Puerto, good for Mexican surfing in general and great for ESPN.
Although the surf was disappointing by Puerto Summer Surfing standards, the athletes had a blast, they put on a good show and ESPN ended up with hours of great surfing to broadcast.
In the end the East Coast team took home the gold for the 3rd successive year. But the real story was the amazing performance of the Mexican surfers, most of them from P.E., during their exhibition competition. Christian Corzo set the standard for the visiting all-stars with the first perfect 10 in the history of The Game.
This year local surfers will have their time in the limelight on Sunday, July 2. The invited pros of the two teams will take to the waves on July 3 and 4. The participants were announced just as we were going to press.
The East, looking to extend their dominance of The Game can count on Florida's López brothers (Cory and Shea) and rising star Ryan Helm, a rookie on The Game, but quite familiar with Puerto surf. Pat O'Connell of "Endless Summer" fame returns with the Westerners.
The other extreme events of the X Games take place in Los Angeles, August 3 - 6, when the Games will be broadcast globally on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC. The Game's surf action in Puerto Escondido will be condensed into a segment that will be slotted into the live action.
Tuesday 4
Independence Day, USA
Looking to celebrate the Glorious Fourth? IFOPE, Int'l Friends of P. E.
has prevailed upon Brad to open his Split Coconut Grill on his day off
to dish up hot dogs, along with the burgers and the regular Split menu.
Everyone is welcome (nationality not withstanding). And there'll be
karaoke (oh, no! Run for your lives). Did I mention the spiked
watermelon?
6 p.m. Split Coconut, at the Crucero.
Wednesday 12
Lawyer's Day
Every year, the lawyers are allowed to run the world for a day . . .
No seriously, in México every trade and profession has a designated day
on which they are saluted and their contribution to society is
acknowledged. Yes, even lawyers. Be nice.
Saturday 15
Secretary's Day
We all know who really run things around here. Felicidades to all of
them, most especially to my right hand: Flor Angélica Alvarado. Be
especially nice to her, should you be in the neighborhood.
Sunday 16
Fiesta of Our Lady of Carmen
Nuestra Señora del Carmen is patron saint of Puerto's Colonia Libertad,
Zapotalillo at Chacahua National Park and Candelaria, Pochutla. Real
big deal in the city of Oaxaca, where it determines the dates for the
Monday 17, 24
La Guelaguetza, Mondays on the Hill
The major cultural fiesta of the year in the city of Oaxaca, where the
sights and sounds, the flavors and colors from all the regions of the
state create an amazing mosaic of history, culture and tradition.
See our story
Tuesday 18
Anniversary of the Death of Benito Juárez
One of the colossal figures of Méxican history, Juárez died on this day
in 1872. Flags are flown at half-mast on all public buildings.
Thursday 20 - Sat 22
Fiesta of Mary Magdalene
This is the Annual Fair in Santa Maria Magdalena Tiltepec, near Santos
Reyes Nopala. This small Chatino village in the coffee-growing hill
country is best known for the slow-fired pottery produced by the ladies
of the village using techniques virtually unchanged in 2,000 years.
Here the make comales, the clay griddle so essential to Oaxaca cooking,
as well as pots, vases and decorative figures.
Monday 24 - Wed 26
Fiesta of Saint James
St. James (Santiago) the Apostle was the patron saint of the Spanish
conquistadors, so it isn't surprising that numerous important
settlements throughout the empire were named for him. Pinotepa
Nacional, Santiago Jamiltepec and Santiago Cuixtla are among the towns
which will host annual fairs to mark this week. The veneration of St. James is also an important
ceremonial occasion for fiestas in San Juan Lachao and Santos Reyes Nopala.
See El Sol de la Costa, August 2005 for a report on the festivities in
the Chatino community of Santiago Yaitepec.