The Days of Our Lives

There's Father's Day and Mother's Day, of course, but there's also a Day of the Child. Seniors' Day, Students' Day, even a Prisoners' Day. Lawyers, cowboys, musicians, soldiers and sailors, they all get a turn.

This month alone includes the following: Aug. 1, phone operators; Aug. 4 is Day of the Priest; Aug. 5 is Day of the Fisherman; Aug. 8 is Street Sweepers' Day; Aug. 17 is Veterinarians' Day Grandparents' Day is Aug. 29. On Aug. 12, Taxi Drivers' Day, when the cab fleet parades through town. And Aug. 22, Day of the Firemen, many families drop off dishes of food and other gifts during the celebration at the Fire Station.

Our main stories this issue deal with the fascinating Mixtec town of Huazotitlan.
- - Warren Sharpe, editor

Calendar

According to legend, the figure of the black Christ, laboring under the weight of the cross, was found on the Lord's Rock, Piedra del Señor, a hill near the town's cemetery. August 5 is the anniversary of that discovery.

There is chapel on the hill, but the main statue of Tata Chu is housed in the town church, a handsome structure with magnificent carved wooden doors.

An important Mixtec market town, its present Nahuatl name means Hill of the Lizards. Specific details on the fiesta programming were unobtainable, but you can count on e traditional Mixtec dances, carnival rides, fireworks, rodeos (Jaripeos) and a giant bazaar, with vendors stalls spilling out onto the coast highway.

Saturday 5
Book Sale
Duplicate books and some videos on sale for just 10 pesos.
10 a.m - 3 p.m. Int'l Friends of P.E. (IFOPE) library, Rinconada

Sunday 6
Karaoke Night
First Sunday of every month.
Split Coconut, Hotel Vista Hermosa

Monday 7
Birthday of Emiliano Zapata
The icon of the Mexican Revolution was born on this day in 1879 in San Miguel Anenecuilco, Morelos.

Wednesday 9
Birthday of Vincente Guerrero
The hero of Mexico's Independence struggle was born on this day in Tixtla, Guerrero in 1782. As the early leaders of the 1810 insurgency were captured and executed, it fell to Guerrero to keep the uprising against Spain alive.

Friday 11, Saturday 12
Perseid Meteor Shower
The Perseids come every year, beginning in late July and stretching into August. Perseid meteors fly out of the constellation Perseus, hence their name.

The source of the shower is Comet Swift-Tuttle. Although the comet is nowhere near Earth, the comet's wide tail does intersect Earth's orbit. We glide through it every year in July and August. Tiny bits of comet dust hit Earth's atmosphere traveling 132,000 mph. At that speed, even a tiny smidgen of dust makes a vivid streak of light - a meteor - when it disintegrates. The best time to watch is during the hours before sunrise when Perseus is high in the sky.

Sky watchers outdoors at the right time can see colorful fireballs, occasional outbursts and, almost always, long hours of gracefully streaking meteors. Among the many nights of the shower, there is always one night that is best. This year: August 12th, between 2 a.m. and dawn. The moon (three nights past full) might take away some of the lustre, but if you can get away from the city lights, could be good show.

Saturday 12
Day of the Taxi Driver
Following a special mass and the blessing of the cabs, Puerto's taxi fleet, decorated in ribbons and bows, parades through town for few hours and then the cabbies are treated to a lunch and party. You might have an extra wait finding a taxi today.

Saturday 12 - Tuesday 15
Feast of the Ascension of the Holy Virgin
This feast of the Ascension is celebrated in many towns and colonias, most named for Santa Maria, including Santa María Colotepec, Santa María Tonameca (near Pochutla), San Pedro Mixtepec and the Mixtec community of Huazolotitlan (see below)

The traditional fiesta is a mixture of the religious and the profane, solemnity and revelry. Parades, processions, fireworks, dances, rodeos, carnival rides, big markets, sometimes cock fights and horse races, as well as the religious observations.

The lighting of the castillo (castle or tower), spectacular fireworks, always takes place on the eve of he saint's day eve (Aug. 14). Santa María Huazolotitlan Santa María Huazolotitlan or Huazolo, as it commonly referred to, is just 4 km from Huazpala (See Aug 5 and 6), located in a lovely verdant valley. Huazolo is picturesque and notable for the production of elaborately embroidered huipiles and carved and painted wooden masks and figurines, many of which are still used in the traditional dances of the region. The town is also known for its delicious sweet egg bread, much prized throughout the region.

Huazolo is one of our favorite indigenous towns to visit, and readers who have attended the fiesta in past years report that they were made to feel like honored guests. (See the guest article by Patrice Perillie on her visit last year).

There will be the lively calenda and convite processions, the bull riding rodeo called jaripeo and their amazing, colorful traditional dances, especially the Chareos Dance) See here.

Sunday 27
Grandparents Day
The city often hosts a special program to honor its seniors
5 p.m. City Hall Esplanade.

Sunday 27 - Mon 28
Martyrdom of John the Baptist
Important festival in the Chatino town of Lachao Pueblo Nuevo, on the road to Oaxaca vía Sola de Vega. (There are some cool waterfalls nearby.)

Sun 27 - Thursday 31
Santa Rosa de Lima Fiesta
Beyond the wetlands complex of Chacahua National Park, Santa Rosa de Lima is a major center for the cultivation of limes, the all-purpose seasoning and astringent that is a local staple. Look for the friendly, country-style restaurant named Doña, it's in itself worth a trip for lunch. There's also a Santa Rosa near Pueblo Nuevo Lachao.

Read This Month's Feature Articles:
Annual Fiesta in Huazolotitlan
Day-trippin' in Huazolo