Scenes from Hallowe'en / Dia de los Muertos in Zihuatanejo

 I've never been here in time to see the preparations for the next few days of celebrations. The schools are closed, there's the feeling of a big fiesta in the air,....and people are scurrying around shopping for the big event. We've bought our candies in case we see some kids out trick or treating tonight, apparently our Canadian/American customs are taking hold. But until then, here's some photos of the street scene today in Zihua! It's all about flowers, , candles, special foods, colors and life honoring death...

The meaning of "Home" - Security and Peace

I never realized until I returned to Zihuatanejo this time, how much I count on things being the same as we left them when we return.  Perhaps I shouldn't say things, but more importantly, I count on the people being the same....I count on the familiar faces who we've come to know in our community.  And they are not only the faces of the ex-pats who make this their home in winter; almost more importantly, it is the faces of the locals who live their lives in a quiet routine that hasn't changed much that I can see since I starting coming here 7 years ago.   We know many of them because we do "business" at their establishments, but we know others because of living in the neighborhood, I consider them our friends and neighbours.    Of course, we are becoming even closer to one special family who now consider us "Familia"...the family of our Nino's Adelante student Doraliz who came for cake and icecream and a "pool party" for her actual birthday - the quinceanara is next weekend and we are excited to see the dress and enjoy this special celebration.

This year, we had heard that there was a period of time during the summer where local businesses were being held hostage by demands for "protection money" - some of the owners had chosen to leave because they wouldn't play the game and feared for their safety.   So when we returned this year, at first glance it seemed like there were a few of our familiar favorites missing.    Now after one week of being here, we have discovered that some that we feared were missing have simply moved.  In a country where many people cannot afford to buy homes and business locales, they are victims of the landlords who, if a business is successful, often double or triple the monthly rent, forcing businesses to relocate. 

Yesterday when walking back into our apartment complex, I ran into Raul, the owner and developer of our two condominiums.  He asked me if I was happy to be back, so I told  him how important it is to me to see the same people, to feel like I "know" what and where to expect things and in the usual wisdom of Mexicans' he said "but of course,  this is your "home"" and I realized that he is right.  I truly do think of this as home and I want to feel comfortable, I like knowing and being known.
So when Gene told me that he had heard from a rather reliable source that the 7 bodies that were found executed and left by a busy roadside were reportedly the extortionists who were terrorizing local businesses, it all seemed to make sense.  The rumor is that they were killed by the locals in order to put an end to their reign of terror.  Regrettably, these summer time murders had been broadcast on network news globally, and added to the fear people have of visiting our area.  Rather than being horrified by what could be called 'vigilante justice", I am in fact almost glad  that the locals found a way of ending the terror that was preventing them from earning a living and feeling safe and secure.   This is a complex society, with old world formalities and modern attributes.  People play by age old rules and when broken, justice is swift and often not in line with what we might experience back in Canada.

But many things here aren't what we experience in Canada, in good and bad ways.  On our first major stock up trip to our large grocery retailer here, Commercial Mexicana,  we were greeted by a store employee, a "gringo customer relations'  person who strolls the store asking us "is there anything you are looking for that I can help you with" or "if there is something that you would like, let me know and we'll bring it in for you" - this is a place that is trying hard to win back our loyalty and cares about my having a great experience in my home.

Security and peace are an important goal, but having my grocery store bring in my favorite foods comes a close second!

Just like the birds it was time to head south

 

We made our decision to return to Zihuatanejo a couple of weeks earlier than usual this year.  We wanted to be here for a some special people we care a lot about.  Our sponsored student in "Nino's Adelante" has a special birthday on October 29th and we are invited to be part of her quinceanara - you may have read about that last Spring when I wrote about saying "Yes to the dress".   And we also had news that my dear friend Monica's daughter Jimena would be married in October.  If we could by chance by here for both...well that would be so much fun!

So with seat prices at an all time low, we purchased our tix, arranged our home rental in Victoria and then found out that both the quinceanara and the wedding were delayed.  But in the meantime, the dull rains of Fall on Vancouver Island moved in and we felt very smug about our decision to be away early. 
As always I will miss my friends and family, so our final week was spent seeing all the people who are special to us in Canada. 

Our last night was spent in Vancouver and we had the good fortune of being able to see our 3 adult children and their partners for a final dinner.  Because our second home and our life takes us away from Canada at Xmas time, I was very happy to hear that each of our kids is hoping to come to Zihua for a visit this winter and we will be happy to see them, and above all else, it takes the guesswork out of what to buy them for Xmas!

I have felt a little guilty escaping Xmas for the past 3 years, but during my last few weeks in Victoria whenever I headed into a store for yet one more thing to bring here, I cringed inwardly when I saw the growing stocks of merchandise all designed to help people celebrate Xmas with some new "Made in China' decorations that are so beautifully displayed everywhere.   I felt so happy to be going to a place where people don't have the same capacity for purchasing and the huge pressures of commercialization are a little more remote.   Today when I took my first stroll along Calle Cocos, the street of the food merchants, I was surprised to see the 2 women from the Montanas of Guerrero were already set up selling their cornhusk wreaths and decorations...In Canada I would think..."it's not even Hallowe'en"...and today I found myself thinking "it's not even Dia de los Muertos". 

We are gradually reconnecting with our Mexico amigos.   The streets, beaches and shops are quiet and many of the previous businesses have closed.  Only a few restaurants are open...the town is only just recovering from the heavy rains that drenched the streets no less than a week or two ago.  Together with a summer of threats and some actual violent altercations between two opposing drug cartels vying for turf here, the locals seem a bit embarrassed by the quietness of our chosen home, but with that they greet us with warm "bienvenidos" - welcoming back our familiar faces.  Our first days are spent trying to remember all the details of how to do the things that make our life here so easy.  Cell phones, bank cards, food storage, flea/tick medications for Cori, groceries...I can honestly say this is no laying in the sun Mexican vacation...this is life! The damp days of summer take a toll on all things electrical so we are mired in a bunch of repair problems, but as always, the people here make it all seem like "no problemo".  Trades people appear after only just mentioning the problem to our fabulous Vanessa...

But it can never be all work and no play with a dog like Cori, so late Monday afternoon, with dark clouds threatening yet another tropical rain, we headed to Playa Madera to play a little ball and see the water.  We were not disappointed as Cori worked his magic with the children, and the frigates and pelicans glided overhead skimming down to try to snatch the fish from the waves.  We all came home a little sandy, but ever so glad to be back on "hometurf" in Mexico! 

Postscript  Tuesday p.m. :  Today the sun is shining brightly.  I ventured back to Yoga class with Paty at La Ropa Beach.  There are only a few people walking along that magical strip of sand - everywhere you look is blue, blue sky and blue, blue ocean.   The colors of Mexico are bright and I hope today we'll chip away a little bit more on our long list of "to do's".  I'm finding my reasonably newly made resolution of being a "non drinker" a lot more challenging here than in Victoria - this is the place of Corona commercial dreams