Mexico Fiesta: Ucazanaztacua Day 1

Sunday: Fiesta in Ucazanastacua - Day 1
High Mass, Juego de Basketbol, Castillo, y Baile

Sheer amazement at this ancient pueblo on the lake (population: about 125 souls) carved out of the mountainside. Its tiny (20' x 30'?) church, with its Moorish style dome of blue and white tile, was built around a huge boulder, which forms one wall and juts a bit into the church space.

All the houses are connected rabbit-warren style by means of stone stairs and paths; outhouses; running water is to a big tub on outside of house; Spanish moss on the trees! (See explanation below)

High Mass (priest sang; incense used) was celebrated outdoors in part of the stone plaza in front of the church. The Mass combined Pentecost Sunday and First Communion for about ten young people. The Holy Spirit is the patron saint of Ucas, so this was a celebration of it's patron saint. Don Jorge (here on the left), is a padrino, godfather, of one of the girls taking first communion and therefore sponsored her. (Our friend, Alejandra, is at center. She was taking pictures for Don Jorge.) The total length of the mass: 2 hours, this included a rain shower!

Comida (dinner) was served at 2 pm at the casa of our friend, Don Jorge el padre (to distinguish him from Jorge el joven -young). We enjoyed beef-stew and corundas, which are a corn-based, seasoned cereal-like substance baked in cornstalks -- kind of like the corn-meal part of a tamale pie. We were served at a long table (sat eight on a side). The etiquette is to leave when you have finished the meal, so the next rotation can be seated.

Then we embarked on half-mile walk along the Lake shore to reach the cancha or basketball court where young Jorge and his younger brother, Hugo, our English students, were playing in a basketball tournament.

Don Jorge (ecology specialist), told us that Ucazanastacua benefits from a microclimate such that during the winter months (when the sun is in the South), the pueblo receives the sun's rays in two ways: 1) Direct sunlight; 2) Reflected sunlight: during the winter the lake is often as still as a mirror. Given the sun's winter angle, the sun's rays actually reflect off the lake and hit Ucas -- hence the Spanish Moss.

We saw a Great Blue Heron-like bird; white egrets; ducks -- and we passed by numerous grazing cows. Words almost fail me: how to describe the views along this lake with its ranges of cerros ("hills" that are really mountains). The rains have cleared the air of dust and smoke (wildfires) so these ranges are visible again. We counted five ranges of mountains reaching up toward the Purépecha Meseta (Mesa or High Plain).

Clearly, this footpath is the "main road" to the basketball court (cancha), where we went to see Jorge's sons play. I've always wanted to walk along these foot paths, which crisscross Michoacán near Lake Pátzcuaro -- and I did!
 

Young Jorge was the organizer of the tournament. Unfortunately, Jorge's and Hugo's team didn't win. We left after their game in order to have sunlight to guide us back to the pueblo. The path crossed five or six cercas (stone walls). At each cerca, some stones had been removed to allow walkers to cross -- in effect, a stile.

When we got back to Don Jorge's house, his wife and daughter, Erica, were sitting on their porch chatting and enjoying the lake view. We had a wonderful conversation with Erica, who has just earned her Licenciatura (Bachelor's degree). More on this conversation later. They offered us posole, a delicious corn-based soup with ham bone. Mmmm good!

Everyone else arrived just as we were finishing, so Reed and I vacated the table and went to sit on the terraza (front porch). The sunset colors were remarkable, but Mother Nature was just warming up. Shortly after dark, we began to see sheet lightning in various colors so far in the distance we couldn't hear the thunder. Then the lightning strikes began -- what an incredible light show it was! At various times, we were joined by a variety of small children -- all of whom had something to share and seemed to enjoy just interacting with us. It was great!

THEN at about 11 pm, we went to the little plaza, just outside the church (where Mass was celebrated) for the baile (dance) and Castillo (Castle). The castillo is a constructed frame (this was the biggest I've ever seen, maybe 3-4 stories high) where various fireworks displays (pirotécnica) are arranged. Each display picture is an image elaborated in fireworks; these images, such as a rooster, a man doing something (forget what), etc. These "pictures" are on arms that spin on different planes -- much spinning!

Folks -- you have no idea how close everyone was to the fireworks! Liability? Forget about it!!! I'd say, about ten to twelve feet más o menos. We thought the show was over when young Jorge (our English conversation student), more or less grabbed me and pushed me away from the front of the church. He rescued me just in time, because an entirely new "wheel" began to go off on a spinning picture above the door of the little church!!!!! Much excitement.

We finally left at about 12:30 in the madrugada (between midnight and dawn).

We slept.

Ucazanaztacua Day 2: Jaripéo