Letter from the Editor
The following is from a fax I sent to a friend on October 15, 1997
just one week after hurricane Pauline devastated the coast - October
8, 1997. I came upon it by chance going through some old papers. Given
the recent heavy storm activity, I thought it would be of interest.
- - Warren Sharpe
I was about to launch the first edition of the English-language Puerto Escondido Sun from the Instituto Bilingüe de Puerto Escondido:
"Ah, yes, the Perils of Pauline. The lady made her entrance at about 4:40 p.m. The gates of the compound to the Institute got blown away, and, dodging flying trees and roof segments we took cover from the 120-plus m.p.h. winds and horizontal sheets of rain. The building sustained a few broken windows and some minor flooding and, miraculously, Puerto itself came through with its basic infrastructure intact.
"Hardest hit, of course, were the wretched communities that had so little to begin with. Entire villages were swept away by rivers risen to four times their normal size. What wasn't swept out to sea was buried in 7 to 10 feet of mud. We've been driving food and supplies out to some of the surrounding villages and the devastation is incredible.
"The official response has been amazing. Power was restored after five days, telephones two days ago. City water is problematic; the pumps and power plants were washed away. The relief effort goes on in high gear; the small local airport is filled with supply planes, helicopters and rescue personnel. Many now-isolated communities can only be reached by air.
"The Institute was used yesterday as a vaccination station by health authorities giving typhoid shots.
"My house, up where the po' folks live, fared less well. I lost some of my hard-earned comforts: fan, radio, dishes, clothes and all of my trees. I am only now able to sleep there, my bed having finally dried out."
The early decades of independence were troubled times for the new nation. The war had devastated the economy and political instability made effective government impossible and there were threats from abroad: Spain, refusing to accept the loss of its colony, blockaded the country. France and the U.S. pressured for compensation for losses suffered during the civil upheavals.
In what became known as the "War of the Cakes", Guerra de los Pasteles, the French seized Veracruz and forced the government to sign a treaty paying indemnification, including 60,000 pesos for a baker who had not been paid for cakes consumed by some soldiers.
Then it was the turn of the aggressively expansionist United States. With an ineffectual central government and an army poorly equipped and with unbelievably inept leadership (Does the name Antonio López de Santa Anna ring a bell?), Mexico was powerless to prevent the annexation of Texas and then the invasion by U.S. forces led by Gen. Winfield Scott.
But the defending Mexican forces did not lack courage. In 1847, in the capital, the cadets at the military school at Chapultepec offered their lives in a last ditch defense against the invaders.
On Sept. 13 these martyrs are remembered as the Heroic Children of Chapultepec. A flag-raising ceremony takes place at 7 a.m. and a civic ceremony eulogizing the national heroes begins at 8 a.m. at the Monument to the Heroic Children located in the Town Hall Plaza
Saturday 15
Ceremony of the Cry for Independence
Throughout Mexico, on this night before Independence Day, people
gather at the local government building to watch music and dance
performances, listen to speeches and the traditional ceremony
commemorating the Cry of Dolores, el Grito de Dolores, which launched
the struggle for freedom from Spain.
It was Santa Ana who initiated the reenactment of El Grito as part of Independence celebrations in 1853. But we probably have Don Porfirio Díaz to thank for establishing the event on Sept. 15 -- which happened to be his birthday -- at the glittering ceremony in 1910 marking the centenary of the Independence movement.
According to the historical record, Father Hidalgo called for "Death to the Spaniards! Long Live the Virgin of Guadalupe!" Today, the local head of government invokes the following:
"Mexicans, long live Mexico; Long live Independence; Long live Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla; Long live José María Morelos y Pavon; Long live all the heroes who gave us our country and our freedom.Long live Mexico! Long live Mexico! Long live Mexico!"
After the speeches are over, bells are rung and the fireworks are launched into the skies, it's time to dance into the wee hours. Many restaurants and hotels offer special Mexicana-themed programs.
Sunday 16
Independence Day
The 197th anniversary of the birth of the movement for independence
from Spain. The day begins with a civic and military parade at about
8:30 a.m., leaving the Benito Juárez sports fields near the market and
making its way down Av. Oaxaca to Town Hall.
There are always other activities to celebrate the national holiday: Rodeos, dances, carnival rides etc.
The bold, new ideas of the Enlightenment inspired both the American War of Independence and the French Revolution. Rationalism, the pursuit of science and the arts, the promotion of religious tolerance, and a desire for government free of tyranny - it was pretty heady stuff.
In New Spain it was the criollos, the native-born descendants of Spanish colonists who were stirred by these winds of change. They were the intellectuals and officials, clergy and merchants whose careers and opportunities were limited because they were not Iberian-born Spaniards.
Bridling under the reactionary and repressive political, economic and cultural control of a remote Spain, more and more they defined themselves as "Americans." In 1808 Napoleon invaded Spain and, forcing the abdication of King Ferdinand VII, placed his brother on the Spanish throne.
This was met with resistance in Spain and political confusion in the colonies and it offered the Independentistas the opportunity to meet and organize under the political context of expressing opposition to an illegitimate king, rather than to Spanish rule.
In 1810 the wife of the alderman of the town of Queretaro, doña Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez, along with Ignacio Maria de Allende, Juan Aldama, Mariano Abasolo among others planned an uprising for that October.
The parish priest of the town of Dolores, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a brilliant academic and fervent campaigner for social justice, was invited to join the group. Royalist authorities got wind of the plot, however, so it was decided to move immediately and on the night of Sep. 15, word was sent to Father Hidalgo.
At dawn the next day, as his parishioners began to arrive for early mass, Hidalgo issued his call to take up arms against tyranny and the war for Mexican liberation began. That day his forces, poorly armed, untrained and undisciplined, marched to Atotonilco and seized the standard of the Virgin of Guadalupe and made it the flag of the insurgent forces.
A series of rapid victories followed, but inexplicably the rebels did not press their advantage and march on the poorly-defended capital, which they probably could have taken. Instead, the Royalist forces were allowed to regroup and in the following months the original conspirators were killed in battle or captured and executed.
José María Morelos fought on until his capture and execution in 1815. The struggle was kept alive by small guerrilla groups, notably Vicente Guerrero's in the south and Guadalupe Victoriano's in Veracruz.
It would be 11 years and 11 days after Hidalgo's "Grito" - Sept. 27, 1821 - before the unlikely (and short-lived) "Trigarante" alliance of liberals, conservatives and radicals and entered the capital in triumph to finally proclaim Mexico and independent and sovereign nation.
Thursday 20 - Sun 23
Central Surf Longboard Tube Riding Contest
The final big event of the summer surf season, this now-classic
contest pits the skills of the world's best longboarders against the
capricious surf of Zicatela Beach. Longboards and Big Waves can make
for some exciting surf watching.
Thursday 20
7 - 10:30 a.m. Contest begins
8 - 9:30 p.m. Opening Ceremony followed by fireworks, calenda parade,
music and other entertainment.
Friday 21
7 - 10:30 a.m. Competition
Saturday 22
7 - 10:30 a.m. Quarter Finals
5:30 p.m. Surf Half Marathon, Bahia Principal
Saturday 30
7 - 10:30 a.m. Semifinal & Final
11 a.m. Miss Bikini Contest, Awards and Closing Ceremony
Saturday 22
First Day of Autumn
officially begins at 4:51 a.m.
Thursday 27 - Sat 29
Feast of St. Michael
Annual Fair in Puerto's colonia San Miguel, as well as many other
communities named for the Archangel. You can enjoy the usual
complement of parades, fireworks, dancing and rodeos. Details unable
at press time.
Friday October 5
Festival of Fandango
Villa Tutútepec
At the time of the Spanish conquest, the Oaxacan coast had long been
under the control of a dynasty based in Tutútepec, the town founded by
Mixtec invaders in 357 A.D.
San Pedro Tutútepec or Villa Tutútepec de Melchior Ocampo is famous for its Fandango de Varitas, a kind of chilena music which traditionally features five or six musicians playing guitar, violin, cajón (a percussion instrument fashioned from a wooden box), charrasca and a cántaro (a kind of bass made from a clay pot).
The Fandango is danced at all important fiestas; The first Friday of October is a mayordomía fiesta, dedicated to the Virgin of the Rosary. The mayordomo is the sponsor of the fiesta in which musicians and dancers perform Villa Tutútepec boasts an interesting museum that documents its rich history. It's a dozen km off the Coast Highway at about km 66 just past Santa Rosa de Lima. The festival is often repeated on the following Friday.
Friday 5 - Monday 8
Festival of Our Lady of the Rosary
Seems that Santa María Colotepec has a ton of Annual Fairs. Every date
on the liturgical calendar referring to St. Mary is occasion for a
full-blown fiesta. Nothing wrong with that, of course.
Santa María Colotepec
Sunday October 7
Municipal Elections
Oaxacans return to the polls today to choose the mayors and municipal
agents in the state's 570 counties or municipios. (An amazing number,
when you consider that the entire country has only some 3,000. This
reflects the cultural diversity of Oaxaca; of these 570 municipios,
418 govern themselves by the traditional indigenous system of
community assemblies.) The Dry Law will be in effect. This means that
all bars must close by midnight Friday 5th and no alcoholic beverages
may be sold or served until polls close at 8 p.m. Sunday.