The Art of the Zirahuen Ladies Sewing Circle in Michoacán, México

It's amazing what can happen when two people, from very different cultures, come together in a shared purpose. It happened a couple of years ago when a young man named Franco from the P'urépecha community of Zirahuen, Michoacán, returned home after spending time in Houston, Texas, which just happens to be the hometown of artist Debby Breckeen.

They met after Debby had been living in Zirahuen for about a year. As Debby tells it,

"Franco seemed as anxious as I was to 'energize' his time in Zirahuen. He was learning how to work with the government of Michoacán. He had developed a government project to add bedrooms to houses where people were sleeping in smoky kitchens. Since most cooking is done on wood stoves, bedrooms reduce health risks associated with inhaling wood smoke."

After a couple of years, Franco approached Debby. He wanted to let her know that he had interested the Michoacán government in funding a project to develop a collective embroidery piece depicting scenic Lake Zirahuen. The finished piece would hang in the tenencia, government office.

Franco asked Debby to teach a class of crewel embroidery to a group of women and manage the collective project. The government would pay for the supplies.  

On Mother's Day a year ago, Debby joined a large group of women and children for a movie and snacks. Before the movie began, she showed her crewel embroidery, and Franco announced that Debby would teach a class at the tenencia beginning the following Tuesday.    

'Temporary', Crewel Embroidery, Debby Breckeen

Here's Debby's account of what happened next:

"The next Tuesday, 43 women signed up! 

"I asked that there be four, one-hour classes twice a week—two classes per day.   

"Then I noticed that the young woman who was organizing the ladies into groups was taking great care to assure that no one would be in a group with anyone she and her family had 'issues' with. Seeing her distress, I realized that collaboration on a common project was not likely.  

"The government support never materialized. But the ladies came!"

P'urhépecha Artisan Tradition

It bears mentioning that the P'urhépecha people, a proud and linguistically distinct people, were never conquered by the Aztecs, who were given to regular military forays onto P'urhépecha lands in search of slaves and victims for sacrifice.

The Purhépecha are also a pragmatic people. When the P'urhépecha king learned that the Spanish had defeated the Aztecs, he sent a delegation with a message for Cortés, "We do not want to fight you. We accept your god and your king." 

Their cooperation, alas, did not inoculate the P'urhépecha people from the worst excesses of the Spanish military. Fortunately, Vasco de Quiroga arrived to become the region's first bishop. 'Tata Vasco' ['Father Vasco' in P'urhépecha] was a humane man who sought to protect the indigenous people from the Spanish soldiers. He is beloved, even venerated, to this day.

To leaders of the P'urhépecha community, Bishop Quiroga explained that it was essential for them to learn how to become self-sufficient under Spanish rule. To accomplish this goal, he assigned a craft to each pueblo in the Lake Pátzcuaro area. Present-day P'urhépecha artisans say that Bishop Quiroga merely formalized pre-existing craft specialties—the pueblo of Santa Clara del Cobre, for example, had been working with copper long before arrival of the Spanish. 

The artesanía [folk art] of Michoacán enjoys an international reputation. In Morelia, the state capital, the Casa de las Artesanías showcases and sells the work of the state's artisans. 

The Spanish also introduced European materials, tools and techniques to indigenous artisans. Guitars and other stringed instruments of international quality, for example, are now made in Paracho located up on the P'urhépecha Meseta, or Highlands.

Creating Something Different....

This is the artisan tradition that Debby was entering, but as she writes:

"Most of the embroidery in this area is deshilado (Pulled-Thread) in which fabric threads are pulled or bundled together by embroidery stitches, creating an open, lace-like effect."

Detail: Deshilado,
'Pulled-Thread' embroidery

"And also punta cruz bordado (Cross-Stitch or Cross-Point) in which the stitcher makes a pattern by carefully counting the threads of fabric in each direction so the stitches are of uniform size and appearance."

Detail: Punta de cruz bordado,
'Cross-Stitch'

Detail: Cross-Stitch

"Most P'urhépecha women are skilled at these two methods of embroidery. They make serviettes, napkins, for christenings and birthdays that are usually cross-point done with synthetic thread on synthetic fabric with a bright crochet border. Many people use them to cover tortillas served from a special pot. But most of the women had never tried to invent anything from fabric and thread."

During a recent chat, Debby mentioned that her intent in teaching the classes was to offer the ladies of Zirahuen a way to distinguish their bordado, embroidery, from the bordado produced in other pueblos.  Then she added, 

"I teach crewel stitches, but I don't mess with their kick-ass aesthetic. I love their creativity so I just stand aside and watch it flower."

Classes Began Last June (2011)

Debby supplied patterns and fabric, the local muslin called manta. The ladies bought their own hoops, needles and thread. Debby made only two strong 'suggestions', that the women, please:

• Use cotton thread and material—no synthetics; and
• Avoid Disney characters in their patterns—Mexico's pop culture is fascinated by Disney.

Under Debby's direction, the ladies learned how to trace a pattern by taping the pattern to a sunny window and placing the fabric over it. They learned about four crewel embroidery stitches per class.

Since the groups were large, Debby taught three women the more complicated stitches. They would then go back to the circle and teach another three. Everyone became a teacher.

Learning by doing...and learning from each other

Debby recalls,

"Many women dropped out. Four groups became two….then one two-hour class each week. Today a core group of fifteen women, aged from 20-something to 83, meet weekly for two hours.  

"The class became a circle. Ana Lilia keeps the library of patterns and fabric at her house. Each person chooses how to use her time and the available materials. If she needs new supplies, she knocks on Ana’s door to get to the library.  

"After we had a sampler of about twenty different stitches, we began sewing a simple pattern of a single flower. Each person could choose whatever color and stitch she wanted."

First Simple Pattern already shows the inherent creativity.

"Then we worked on larger, more complicated patterns. The ladies began to join patterns together and invent some of their own imagery. Their skill was incredible and becoming more personal."

Cuca's Tablecloth
Fishing in Lake Zirahuén is an important part of
Zirahuén culture, so it isnt surprising that many women are
embroidering fish. For Cuca, a field of fruits and vegetables
is surrounded by water...and fish.

Detail: Cuca has surrounded her field of fruits and
vegetables with a verdant border labeled Refugio, refuge.
In this work, Cuca has created a sanctuary—a quiet
place set aside from life's daily chores and cares.

"But every Tuesday we gather in the tenencia and sew together. I come at 4:00 PM and leave at 6:00 PM. If no one is there at 4:30, I go home. So usually one or two women come before 4:30 and report who will be coming later to 'hold the class'!"

Berta has just removed her bordado from the embroidery hoop.

"When we had been sewing together for six months, I took twenty-two pieces of their work to The Alternative Fair in Erongarícuaro."

Esmeralda: Stitching'n ... chatting...a
welcome break from daily chores

Detail from Esmeralda's Fish
The colors are knock-your-socks off alive!

Prices ranged from 80 pesos [about US$6.00] for their first small design to 350 pesos [about US$26] for larger, more personal pieces. 

Detail from Ana's fish
So different from Esmeralda's fish,
more introspective, reflective....

Ires's Cross
The creative and cultural complexity of this piece is stunning.
The basic shape is that of a quincunx—the form traditionally used to
represent the Mesoamerican cosmovision. The top point of the vertical represents
east (rising sun); the bottom point represents west (setting sun). The
horizontal line represents the earthly plane, where daily lives are lived.
The point where all lines intersect at the center represents the
axis mundi, world axis, center of the world. According to traditional
beliefs, priests in altered states of consciousness pass along the axis mundi
between the three planes of existence: Earthly plane; the Heaven (above), and the Underworld (below).
Ires has even stitched the three concentric circles that represent the 'center' in the
Mesoamerican tradition. It fascinates me that inside the circle—as if it were being
viewed through a magnifying glass—the horizontal band is slightly elevated.

"We sold almost all the pieces! This money would recoup the cost of the more expensive thread and fabric. And it would do more than that….  

"The circle now has a purpose. It is not a cooperative that wholesales and sews collaboratively designs made by others...where one woman does the clouds, another the water, another the fish, etc. It is a chance for each stitcher to sew what she likes at her own speed with the possibility of making a small profit to buy more thread. 

"What attracts me about crewel work is that it is a freer type of embroidery. Once the pattern is chosen, the piece is completed by drawing on the stitcher's imagination in choosing colors and stitches...perhaps even building a texture relief on top of the fabric...like what the ladies have done with their fishes.

"That’s where we are now. Hopefully, we will all return to The Fair together for a fun day of music, food and profit."

Debby Reflects Back....

"As an immigrant, I am not allowed to make money in Mexico. But the commitment to this group has given me the structure and responsibility I had been craving since I retired in 2007. I now feel more embedded in the community. When I drive through town, people wave and call out, 'Buenos días'. 

"I have to think in Spanish in order to communicate (awkwardly, but surely) with this group of ladies. I ask them to correct me when I err (often), and they do! At least once a month, I am asked to relate yet again the tale of why and how I am here without children or a husband.... 

"And the children…at least two accompany each lady to the group. They play with each other while we sew. When the group began, Claudia sewed while nursing Antonio, her six-week-old baby. He will walk soon."

Antonio is almost the same age as the group...
One Year in June!

Ana says Nancy (sporting sunglasses and a broken cellphone) and her sister, Daniela, are always jumping on the bed saying…"I’m Devi!" - "No…I’m Devi!"  

Jenny's Note: As Debby and I were putting finishing touches on this post, I almost had to write to her calling, "Uncle"! What on earth is 'Devi'—then it came to me: Devi is Debby spelled in phonetic Spanish. "B" and "v" are pronounced exactly the same way in Spanish, so when Mexican schoolkids are learning how to spell, they quickly learn to ask, " 'b' as in burro, or 'v' as in vaca (cow)"?

Then Debby wrote to tell me that the group had written on her birthday cake, Felicidades, Devi—'Happy Birthday, Debby'.  Is anyone else getting the idea that Debby is a beloved figure in this group?

Children of Zirahuen: Daniela and her friend,
Nancy pestering her cousin Daniel, and
Carlos, looking a bit stunned.

Guapo, 'handsome', Daniel...is forever bringing
Debby 'stuff' he finds in the street...an
abandoned dinosaur sticker or lost gold star.

 Augustine is so small the kids all make fun of him calling him bebesota, little baby. 

Elia has four daughters, Juliana, Andrea, Iris and Claudia. They all have children who sometimes come. Elia’s grandchildren are very quiet just like their mothers.   

So today, after many spent ink cartridges, hours spent on the internet searching for new patterns, failed negotiations for exhibition venues, and letting go of all kinds of expectations, I now relax and let the group be itself. 

Sometimes we’ll be quietly sewing and someone tells a story that gets all sorts of snorts and whistles. Sometimes there are questions and reviews. Everyone seems normal….sometimes tired, sometimes nervous, sometimes agitated with their children.

But we are together...trying to make something personal and beautiful.

Ladies Sewing Circle of Zirahuen, Michoacán
First Row (left to right): Ana Lilia, Debby, Chelo
Back Row (left to right): Lupe, Carmela, Cuca, Mireya

Still Curious?

Related Jenny's posts:

• Art and Friendship in Zirahuén, Michoacán introduces the crewel-embroidery art of Debby Breckeen.
• Debra Breckeen's Embroidery Art and the Art of Seeing is a review of the exhibition at the Cultural Center at the Former Jusuit College held April 4 to May 4, 2014, in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán. 
• Teotihuacán II: The Shape of Space and Time explains the role of the form of the quincunx in Mesoamerican culture.
• Jenny's Neighborhood: Making Friends Mexico City-style has a short description of Debby's recommended method for framing embroidery pieces (bordados) for optimal effect.
• Alternative and Organic Fair in Arocutín describes the fair—since moved to nearby Erongarícuaro—where Debby and the ladies found eager buyers for their bordados. 
• Multicultural, Multidisciplinary Art Show: Artists and Indigenous Bordadoras (Embroiderers) Join Aesthetics describes the exhibit titled Hasta Mostla, Until Mostla, scheduled to open August 23, 2012, at the Spanish Cultural Center in Mexico City. The exhibit is a multidisciplinary project that gathers together the drawing, photography and video contributions of seven artists from Mexico, Spain and Latin America, who lived for two months in the traditional community of Joltocán in the Huasteca Region, State of Hidalgo. The focus was on traditional indigenous embroidery; the artists focused their artistic creations on the interactions within this group of women from very different backgrounds who nonetheless share the same need to communicate their surroundings through their art.

For more about Debby Breckeen's life in Michoacán, including videos of parades in Pátzcuaro, Google this—d.breckeen@Flickr—then take your pick...and Enjoy!

From the international citizen's blog Global Voices comes this post:

• English: Embroidering for Peace: Threads, needles and fabrics have become warriors for peace in Mexico. In cities like Monterrey, Guadalajara and Mexico City, men and women of all ages have decided to speak out and share their thoughts and experiences on violence by participating in a collective relief effort through embroidery.
• Español: México: Bordando por la paz: Hilos, agujas y telas se han convertido en guerreros de la paz en México. En ciudades como Monterrey, Guadalajara y Ciudad de México, hombres y mujeres de todas las edades han decidido hablar y compartir sus ideas y experiencias sobre la violencia participando en un esfuerzo colectivo de labor humanitaria a través del bordado.

El Tajín II: On Ants, Gods and the Hill of Plenty

As I was finishing up the first post on El Tajín, the Totonaca ceremonial center in Veracruz state, I found myself poking around on the Internet just checking to see what else was available. Startled, I came upon a more or less recent report of a new hypothesis regarding the site's design issued by El Tajín's Academic Archaeologist—who among us US-ians would believe that such a post might actually exist? I couldn't resist checking it out.

Mantenimiento at...El Tajín?

The report first piqued my interest when I read about a cerro de los mantenimientos—"hill of maintenances?" 

My mind jumped to how, while working at Pemex (Mexico's oil company) over twenty years ago, I struggled to pronounce the word 'man-ten-ee-mee-YEN-toe'—where, of course, every other word uttered by the oil company's engineers was about plant maintenance!

Launching yet another Internet search, I found a delightful Mesoamerican legend that read like a fable: set in Cem Anáhuac (Nahua name for Mexico, which means "land with water all around"—the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans), the legend has starving Humans, talking Red Ants, a greedy, defiant Red Ant Queen, a furious Tlaloc (god of water) and a somewhat clueless Quetzalcóatl (feathered serpent who, in his manifestations as Ehécatl, is god of the wind). 

I was enchanted, and I hope you are, too. A summary of the hypothesis is followed by the legend. I translated both. Here are links for those of you who might enjoy reading these pieces in Spanish:  

• Hipótesis de la traza de El Tajín, and 
• La leyenda de los mantenimientos. 

New Hypothesis Regarding the Design of El Tajín

At the 2010 Annual Meeting of the Society for American Archaeology in St. Louis, Missouri, El Tajín's Academic Director, Archaeologist Patricia Castillo Peña, announced that an interdisciplinary team of specialists from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have developed a new hypothesis regarding the design of the Totonaca archaeological site at El Tajin, Veracruz.  In Castillo's words, 

"...so far we have addressed the importance of this city beginning with its architecture or size, but our proposal is that its appearance as a city around 600 AD was determined by symbolic aspects of the Mesoamerican tradition."

Given all I've written about the role of metaphor in Mesoamerican culture, especially its cosmovisión (worldview), you can understand my interest. Archaeologist Castillo links their new hypothesis to the work of renowned archaeologist Alfredo López Austin:

"...in his book El mito del tlacuache (The Myth of the Opossum), López Austin asserted that 'under the mountain’s crust of stone and earth are the abodes of gods and the dead, realms of freshness and vegetation forbidden to man (...) Conversely, the people would  replicate the sacred hills, ... they would build the pyramids, artificial mounds whose summit would be inhabited by the gods'."

Castillo explained that the new hypothesis arose from pinpointing a hill whose location just East (Rising Sun) of El Tajín makes it a likely sacred hill. 

Cerro de los mantenimientos, or 'Hill of Plenty', located East of El Tajín.
The red lines identify three buildings thought by archaeologists to relate to the sacred hill in the "emulation of concepts linked to fulfillment of the [Mesoamerican] 'vital' cycle." 

Subsequent archaeological investigations have uncovered a series of altars half-way up the hill and at its summit—findings that seem to substantiate the archaeologist's hypothesis that the hill was perfectly sited to perform the role of the cerro de los mantenimientos recounted in the Mesoamerican legend.

The Spanish word mantenimientos doesn't have a good direct English equivalent. It is usually translated as sustenance or provisions, but these words lack poetic impact. Reed suggested plenty—Hill of Plenty, as comparable to the Horn of Plenty. Although an atypical translation, plenty conveys the sense of fullness, completeness, that is suggested by the Spanish word.  

Traditional Legend of the Hill of Plenty

Here is the legend as retold by Oscar Méndez Luna:

Long ago, when men still did not have houses or temples, food was not found as it is today. It is said that the gods arranged the plants, seeds and fruits in the world so every man and animal might have food to eat. This is the story of how it happened. 

The gods had created the new world, and there were plants, and there were people and animals. But the gods saw that their creations were not happy as they had left them. Then they decided to send one of their own to see what was happening, and their choice was Quetzalcóatl. 

So, the deity came down from heaven and walked about the world, he felt the sun, he breathed our air, and he enjoyed what he saw. But there seemed to be no trace of the seeds, grains or fruits that the gods had created for the earth. 

As the gods had arranged everything in one place in the world, Quetzalcóatl searched for the culprit, dazed by all he saw, but he found nothing until his eye fell to the ground, and there he beheld a strange and wonderful spectacle. 

Thousands of busy red ants were walking by Cem Anáhuac with small seeds, grains, etc., forming a long line that disappeared into the distance. The god decided to investigate this matter thoroughly. 

He walked with the ants and suddenly found himself facing a huge hill, which the little ants were entering. Quetzalcóatl decided at that moment to continue and find out what the ants were doing with everything they were stealing, since they were taking over the god’s divine powers. The god turned himself into a small black ant. 

As an ant, Quetzalcóatl approached the line. One of the ant guards yelled at him: “Sister, what are you doing hanging around when we have a hill to fill?” 

The god quickly got in line and helped another ant load something heavy. Then he presented himself inside that he might be assigned a new job. 

Quetzalcóatl continued with the game. He helped another ant and began to walk toward a small entryway that existed in that mysterious mountain. 

     “I've never met an ant like you,” said the ant to Quetzalcóatl, who could only respond, “I got too close to a fire and got roasted.” 

      The other ant said, “That's interesting, now you load so we don’t waste any more time.” 

When he entered the hill, Quetzalcóatl marveled. The hill was hollow and had served as home to the ants. There were thousands of interconnecting tunnels. At the bottom of the main chamber of that hollow hill, he found a small lake that was like a sea for the ants. On its shores were planted small plants and seeds, although the vast majority of things were stored in thousands of chambers that served as warehouses. 

Thousands of ants lived in that small city, but while they enjoyed the benefits of these precious foods, the other animals were suffering hunger. 

Quetzalcóatl knew that something was not right, so without further delay he went to seek out the ruler of that place. Despite many setbacks owing to the ants’ persistent efforts to put him to work for the enterprise, he arrived at the Queen's chamber, guarded by soldier ants who blocked his way. 

But Quetzalcóatl was firm: he wanted to enter. The god didn’t want to waste any more time, so he used his magic to destroy the guards and doors. Then he entered and found a giant ant that was being fed unceasingly by others. 

     "Who dares enter my room without being invited?” shouted the Queen, much annoyed. 

     “Keep silent in my presence,” shouted Quetzalcóatl in reply, “for I am one of the creator gods. I am Ce Acatl Topiltzin Ehécatl Quetzalcóatl, and I demand to know why you intend to fill this hill.” 

     “If you were really ‘roasted’ Quetzalcóatl, I myself would welcome you with a fiesta full of good food, but you cannot come here to demand anything. Catch him and kill him! We will feed him as porridge to new workers!” 

Annoyed when the ants tried to attack, Quetzalcóatl just suddenly vanished into thin air. Then as the wind [Ehécatl], he swept swiftly up the hill and ascended into the heavens where the other gods awaited his return. The god told them what he had seen, and all the gods turned to Tlaloc. 

The rain god was also responsible for keeping watch and making sure that all the hills in the world stayed filled with water. The hills are like huge water jars, hollow and filled with the essential fluid, which is why clouds rise up from the hills on hot days, like steam from a pot on the fire. 

Tlaloc got really upset because the ants had made an unforgivable mistake. Thus, the two gods returned to the world, but before Quetzalcóatl could do anything, Tlaloc took his staff of thunder and divided it into four pieces. 

The four Tlalocs (blue, red, yellow and black) each took one of the four canes of thunder and placed each one at a corner of the hill (north, south, east, west). They aimed and fired a tremendous lightning bolt that blew the hill apart from its base. Absolutely everything blew away—plants, seeds, fruits and grains along with the terrified ants flew through the air. 

So for the wrath of Tlaloc, all the natural ‘provisions’ came by way of this explosion to each corner of the world, thus giving man and all the animals an opportunity to make a living anywhere in the world. 

What happened to the ants? They survived, and they were also dispersed into the entire world. However, by the same explosion, many of them turned black like black ant Quetzalcóatl. That's why when red ants see black ants, they run to attack them because they think the black ants are the god that removed them—the ambitious ones with power over the food for the entire world. 

And the hill that was destroyed was known as the “Hill of Plenty”. It was the site symbolically represented on the right side of Templo Mayor, which was the side of Tlaloc. 

Thus, the Templo Mayor of México-Tenochtitlan was the mythical representation of two sites at the same time: the hill of the serpents [Quetzalcóatl] and the hill of provisions. Although the site of the Templo Mayor might also have its own interesting history. [END]

Still Curious? 

Jenny's Journal has several posts that discuss the design of urban centers as replicas of the Mesoamerican cosmovision, which remained remarkably consistent across the entire region:

• Mesoamerican God-Kings as City Planners; 
• Teotihuacán II: The Shape of Space and Time; 
• Mexico Culture: Quetzalcóatl at Xochicalco and other symbolism;
• El Tajín: Beauty and Mystery. 

Mexico Writer and Intellectual Carlos Fuentes died today

Carlos Fuentes died today in Mexico City. He shared with Octavio Paz the distinction of being one of Mexico's two greatest writers and intellectuals. Reed and I feel his death in a personal way, as we have relied on his works to gain understanding of Mexico, her people and culture.  

In our Spanish class, we read and discussed the monumental history Fuentes wrote to mark the Five Hundredth Anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Western Hemisphere. Our teacher had a video produced to accompany the book, "El Espejo Interrado" (The Buried Mirror: Reflections on Spain and the New World). I have a vivid memory of Carlos Fuentes, with superb posture and athletic grace, walking us viewers through the magnificent architecture that is the Alhambra in Granada, Spain--last Moorish holdout before they were driven off the Iberian Peninsula by the Spanish.    

And, of course, there is "Aura", whose magical realism took my breath away...and others. So it seems fitting to publish this piece by the Spanish newspaper El País, which features reflections of Fuentes' friends and colleagues.     

Milenio: Mexico City • Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature for 2010, Mario Vargas Llosa, said today that Mexico's Carlos Fuentes was "a universal man", connoisseur of many languages ​​and literatures, who lived committed to all the major political and cultural problems of his time.

Carlos Fuentes (1928-2012)

In a short note published by the online edition of the Spanish newspaper El País, the Peruvian writer said that the death of Fuentes on Tuesday has given him much pain, because "with him disappears a writer whose work and whose presence has left a deep mark."

The Nobel laureate stressed that the stories, novels and essays of Fuentes, who was born in Panamá in 1928, are inspired principally by the history and problems of Mexico:

"But he was a universal man, who knew many literatures, in many languages, and who lived in a committed way all great political and cultural problems of his time," added Vargas Llosa.

Moreover, Vargas Llosa maintained that Fuentes was always a great promoter of culture and worked tirelessly to bring together writers and readers of Spanish language on both sides of the Atlantic.

Vargas Llosa called him "a hard worker, disciplined and enthusiastic, and at the same time a great traveler, with a universal curiosity." He stressed that Fuentes was a person who was interested in all manifestations of the cultural and political life and who, above all, wrote a brilliant and especially good prose.

"Not only his friends, but also his many readers will miss him," he explained.

The director of the Cervantes Institute, Victor García de la Concha, emphasized how Fuentes always defended Spanish as the language of the territory of La Mancha, an expression of La Mancha that has remained as one of the great statements of Spanish culture.

"Furthermore, Fuentes was also one of the great defenders of the Panhispanic language policy of the Academies. It affects me emotionally to remember his defense of the Spanish language as a unifying factor for a whole diverse cultural community," he told El País newspaper.

For his part, the writer Juan Goytisolo says he is deeply affected by Fuentes' death, "in the fullness of his gifts." The news makes it impossible for him to summarize the sixty years of friendship that united them.

"I have followed with attention all his work, and I have written essays on a dozen of his books, especially on 'Terra Nostra'. For me, it is his masterpiece and one of the best novels of all time in the Spanish language," he told El País.

For the Brazilian writer Nélida Piñon, America loses with Fuentes a great intellectual, a creator whose imagination unveiled places and thoughts, and that "the world chose as a model of its reflections." Spanish original

Max Returned to His Room: a Eulogy for Maurice Sendak, from Mexico

Maurice Sendak, author and illustrator of children's books, famous for, among other things, "Where the Wild Things Are", died on Tuesday, May 8 at age 83. His legacy? Books. Books for people. Here is a eulogy from Mexico, written by Jorge Flores Oliver. 

Also known as 'Blumpi, Flores Oliver is an illustrator, drawer of comics, essayist and culture journalist. He has been published in many Mexican newspapers and periodicals. He has a blog of his comics at http://sarcomic-strips.blogspot.mx/ 

by: BLUMPI

Milenio: Jorge Flores Oliver:

After a day's work, Mary Joseph, my three-year old daughter, when not asleep, hopes that for at least a few minutes she can continue with any of the activities with which she is entertaining herself. She can be playing with the dogs, painting or playing soccer. Or reading. Like Olivia, the little pig created by Ian Falconer, she takes four or five books in her hands and pretends to read them all. I, like Olivia's mother, negotiate with her until I convince her that she only read one or two. To see her running toward my room with a book under her arm is one of the scenes that produces the greates pride in me. And also that she does not like Disney princesses. Sometimes one of the books she chooses is 'Where the Wild Things', a book that at first disconcerted me, but which helped me learn to appreciate the different.

'Where the Wild Things Are´ (1963) is a difficult book. It doesn't begin as books often begin, but in an abrupt manner, a bit like the tales of a young child who daydreams and invents stories. It's a challenging book. I bet many parents are startled and do not know what to do when they read it for the first time to their children and get to the part where

His mother called, "MONSTER!" 

and Max said "I will eat you!"

And I also bet that, in many cases, it is the first and last time they open that book. Thus it is that the literature of Maurice Sendak transgresses in a special way. Sendak leads you to see things from a perspective that is hardly traditional, fulfilling what he said to Steven Colbert in an interview just earlier this year: "I do not write for children. I write," What this statement implies is that he wrote with all the obstacles and all the facility that could occur to him, because his readers are not idiots.

That's a lot of respect to have for the reader, but no pity. Because, as he explained to Spike Jonze, "I don't believe in children; I don't believe in infancy; I don't believe in this demarcation, "Oh, you ought to say this to them! You ought to say that to them." These are the words of Sendak in a part of 'Tell Them Anything You Want: A Portrait of Maurice Sendak,' the documentary that--oh, damn chance (or life, or luck, or death), was produced by the likewise recently deceased Adam Yauch.

But Sendak elaborated this theme of childhood a bit more in a conversation with Art Spiegelman (hey, I've already written too many articles about him, so I'm not going to go back and say who he is). Published in 1993, in The New Yorker, it is presented as a comic drawn by the two artists, who walk near Sendak's country home in Connecticut and carry on a talk about the creative process and children's books. "CHILDREN are cannibals and psychotic; They vomit on you with their mouth!" exclaims Sendak, but before arriving at that, this dialogue occurs:

MS: Books for children ... books for adults ... that is nothing more than marketing. Books are books! 

AS: I suppose so. But when parents give their children 'Maus', my book about Auschwitz, I think it is child abuse ... I want to protect my children! 

MS: Art, you cannot protect children ... they know everything! ... In fact, childhood is deep and rich. It is vital, mysterious and intense. I vividly remember my own childhood ... I knew terrible things ... but I knew that the adults ought not to know ... because it would scare them.

• • •

What did Sendak know? He knew of death. He knew, too, that sometimes there is nothing more to do than disappear, to close the door of mother's house behind you, to embark to an island inhabited by wild things and not return until they bring dinner to your room. These are the things that children do, they walk around the house wearing outlandish pajamas, naked, scaring the dog, shouting: "I don't care!"

• • •

One minute you're alive and the next, not. One minute your parents are at your side and the next, someone has eaten them and, in the next, three cooks are baking you, and the next you're celebrating your birthday. The title of the documentary by Spike Jonze sums up all this. Children (such as Pierre, Max and Mickey, protagonists of Sendak's books) have to know everything, because they understand and are not idiots. "Tell them what you want. If it´s true, tell them."

What do children do? To what are they devoted? You have to take a look at Sendak's alphabet book "Alligators All Around". Some examples, F: Forever fooling, P: Pushing people, U: Usually upside down, T: Throwing tantrums. But all these are activities that not only children do, we all do, including alligators.

Sendak was a complex child: sickly, homosexual and Jewish, and he lived traumatized by events he encountered in his childhood, one of them, the death of much of his family during the Holocaust. But to live without vital worries does not produce good art, or it produces bloodless art. At the age of four he found out about the sad case of the kidnapping of the 20 month-old son of aviator Charles Lindbergh, who was kidnapped and was not found until two months later, dead, with a fractured skull, near the house of his parents. Childhood terror.

But Sendak, rather than hide it, revealed it (albeit partially, we'll see why). If children are rebellious, relentless, cruel, nasty, arrogant and difficult, rather than sweeten the reality, he displayed it as it is. If his character Pierre walks around naked through the "Night Kitchen", it is because "children are not only learning about their body, but adjusting themselves to it." Sendak unveiled partly because he never dared to come out of the closet. Instead, he always tried to appear to be very heterosexual (if that's possible) in the eyes of his parents.

Maurice Sendak (1928) died in a hospital in Danbury, Connecticut, at 83 years of age, after suffering a stroke. In his home you can see a cardboard cutout of Barack Obama standing, together with his collection of Mickey Mouse toys. Obama paid ​​him one of the best compliments there could be: reading to a group of children "Where the Wild Things Are" (if George W. Bush had done the same, it would have been an insult; moreover, he would have read it standing on his head. Well, as we know, this is the world upside down).

God bless milk and God bless Maurice. Spanish original. Translated by Reed

El Tajín I: Beauty and Mystery

El Tajín is on the coastal plain of Northern Veracruz, about forty miles from the Gulf of Mexico. The city of Poza Rica, newly created from oil revenues, is nearby, as is Papantla. 

This post owes a great deal to the insights of Leonardo Zaleta in his meticulously researched, highly readable introduction to the site, titled 'El Tajín: Misterio y Belleza' (El Tajín: Mystery and Beauty). In quoting Zaleta's superb sources, I have translated from the Spanish and appended the original text to this post. 

Now's a good time to mention that I've made a 'Translate' feature available to readers. Go to the side tabs; the first tab shows an "A". Click to translate Jenny's Blog into another language. I checked it by translating English to Spanish. The result was surprisingly good.

El Tajín is a beautiful archaeological site slightly off the beaten tourist path in northern Veracruz.  For us it translated into less hassle, more tranquility...reflected, I believe, in this post. Enjoy!

To walk onto the grounds of El Tajín is to enter another world. It had rained a couple of weeks before our arrival, so both the jungle surrounding El Tajín and the grassy site itself were cast in the emerald green of early spring. There were few visitors. We practically had the place to ourselves.

Looking down into the center of El Tajín from the upper city.
The temples built close together reminds me of Palenque (Maya site on the Yucatán Península).
Photo: Reed

And it is beautiful! At Teohihuacán, we climbed up to the massive gran plataforma then descended down onto the Avenue of the Dead, but it is different here at El Tajín, which rose to prominence as Teotihuacán fell and Monte Albán (built by the Zapotecs in Oaxaca) was enduring a long, slow decline.

Arroyo Group

At El Tajín we entered a ground level area that enclosed and embraced us. This area is called the Arroyo (Stream) Group because two small streams surround the space on three sides. The oldest part of El Tajín, its temple buildings were erected between 300 and 600 C.E.

Chronology studies suggest the area has been occupied at least since 5600 B.C., with nomadic hunters and gatherers eventually becoming sedentary farmers, building more complex societies prior to the rise of the city of El Tajin. The first settlement was established in the first century C.E.

Monumental construction started around 300 C.E. and by 600 C.E., El Tajín was an urban ceremonial center. Like Xochicalco, El Tajín rose rapidly because of its strategic position along the old Mesoamerican trade routes, which gave it control over the flow of commodities—both exports such as vanilla, and imports from other locations in what is now Mexico and Central America. 

From the early centuries, objects from Teotihuacán are abundant at El Tajín, which suggests at least strong trading relationship between the two ceremonial centers. It is believed that the area's large, central open space might have been the marketplace, which would have been lined with vendors' stalls.

Stairway to a temple now lost to time...has nonetheless not lost its ability to define the space as we enter the ceremonial center
Photo: Reed

But today, the space enchants...like this....

We probably walked a good 100 yards (roughly 92 meters) through the Arroyo Group before we reached the next group of buildings, which includes the Pyramid of Niches.
Photo: Reed

The walk is a transitional space in which the newcomer leaves behind the ordinary world and prepares physically and emotionally to enter a sacred space...set apart from the tasks of daily life.

Awed and pensive, Blogger Jenny enters El Tajín's sacred space
Note the temple in the background.
Photo: Reed

Unlike most other Mesoamerican sites, El Tajín has a labyrinthine feeling....

Many temples were constructed almost on top of one another
Photo: Reed

El Tajín: What Does It Mean?

Veracruz is subject to frequent hurricanes and lightning strikes. In the Totonaca dialect, the name El Tajín means thunder, hurricane, lightning. Remember that during the rainy season (June to October), the Gulf Coast region is subject to cyclones and extremely heavy rains, which means that annually the people faced the destructive threat of fierce winds and flooding.

This three-sided, column sculpture is possibly a representation of the deity, Tajín, god of thunder, lightning, or hurricane—or possibly all three!  Photo: George DeLange

This sculpture was thrown down from the top of the pyramid and broken, possibly by the Chichimecas who drove out the Totonacas and sacked the ceremonial center. Archaeologists reassembled the sculpture at the spot where it was found.

Given the people's dependence on agriculture, it stands to reason that their economic and religious life was focused on influencing the meteorological phenomena that determined whether the crops were to be magnificent harvests leading to abundant life, or catastrophes that could spell death. Above all, like all the peoples of Mesoamerica, they honored the water deity in all his forms.

It is noteworthy that in the Totonaca dialect "Taajín" can also be translated as "Place of Smoke" or "Place that Smokes". As a dedicated ceremonial center where torches were lit and incense or copal were burned, El Tajín presented never-ending columns of smoke ascending to a cerulean sky, the Heavens, that arched over and enclosed the verdant countryside.

Surely, the sight impressed itself upon the psyches and imaginations of those living in the surrounding countryside. It certainly impressed the poet who wrote these words that come to us from a fragment found at El Tajín (Lazara Meldiu):

Tajín; I am your race
and for your race I come
with the voice that fell from my lips
with the word that flows blood
on the first day of your history.

With your splendid stone you yourself tell your elegy
Strung together in the night of the centuries;
Hard and beautiful expression
in the hidden code of your rituals.

Over a hundred years ago, renowned archaeologist W.H. Holmes observed:

"In the art of [the Mesoamerican] peoples, no motiv or artistic labor lacks allegorical meaning, an 'aesthetic myth'...."

Pyramid of the Niches

Today the Pyramid of the Niches presents itself in the sandy color of its aged stones, but it was originally plastered over and painted red. Centers of the niches were painted dark red. Niche frames (easily visible) were painted blue. Undoubtedly, the Totonaca people approached this pyramid with awe.

Pyramid of the Niches
Notice the niches set in the center of the staircase.
Niche openings measure 52 x 61 cms. (20.5" x 24") and 55 x 70 cms. (21.5" x 27.5") 

What does the Pyramid of the Niches represent?

The short answer is the pyramid is a visual-spatial representation of the solar year. In earlier posts [click on live links], I have written about the use of visual-spatial metaphors in the design of Mesoamerican ceremonial centers. From Teotihuacán to Monte Albán, from Xochicalco to Palenque, the intent of the planners and architects was always the same: to construct a ceremonial center in the image of their cosmology—their view of the universe.

Paul Westheim, German-born art historian who fled to Mexico from Nazi Germany, made intensive studies of Mesoamerican art, and his conclusions are held in high esteem by Mexican experts. Of El Tajín, Westheim speculates:

The Grand Pyramid at El Tajín is organized geometrically, but it is also organized in harmony with astronomic principles....

• The original number of niches was 364, which is the number of days in the solar year;  

• The Grand Pyramid is structured in 7 zones [6 levels topped by a temple now lost to time] as is the pyramid at Yohualichán (State of Puebla); hence, we have to suppose that the number 7 was a magic number for the Totonaca people; 

• The Grand Pyramid's 7 zones contain a total of 364 niches, or 7 times 52 niches [7 x 52 = 364].  Setting aside the fact that we have 52 weeks in our year, the El Tajín Pyramid established a relationship with the Mesoamerican calendrical cycle of 52 years: 52 serpent heads have been found at the pyramid at Tenayuca, and 52 tableros have been identified at the pyramid of Kukulcán at Chichén Itzá; 

• The 18 niches of the staircase at El Tajín correspond to the 18 months of the solar year.

The Pyramid of the Niches at El Tajín was, in effect, a three-dimensional, climb-up, walk-in, walk-around solar calendar that represented the Totonaca's cosmology, their view of the universe.

There is some speculation that at one time each niche housed an object, such as a palm, axe, statue of a deity or incense-burner. The object might have been related to the specific day represented by each niche. It is impossible to confirm or refute such speculation because the objects were destroyed by Chichimeca invaders who drove out the Totonacas and sacked the site.

Others take a more personal approach, seeing in these niches a chiaroscuro grounded in the Mesoamerican concept of the essential duality of all life: light/darkness, day/night, wet/dry, and time itself, that is, life/death.

 El Tajín's famed Pyramid of the Niches
Also notice the niches embedded in the stairway.  Photo: Reed
(Left click to enlarge image)

Octavio Paz, winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, had these thoughts about El Tajín:

The art of the Totonacas rejects the monumental because it knows that true grandeur is found in balance... These stones are alive...and they dance [Emphasis added].

Two buildings at El Tajín epitomize Paz's description. The stately geometry of Building 5 (below) is an elegant statement of architectural, even geometric balance. The stones constituting the Pyramid of the Niches (above) do indeed seem to dance. How were these effects achieved?

The classic design of Building 5' is remarkable. Note the three-sided sculpture is at the base of the broad staircase, atop the level with niches.  Left click for details, including niches, flying cornices and greca escalonada (described later).
Photo: Reed

Flying Cornices

One of El Tajín's distinguishing architectural features are its 'flying cornices'—diagonals that jut outward, 'fly', from the vertical face of a building layer. Their shape animates the building with movement, creating in the mind's eye the sense of dance that Paz describes.

Here's a bit of architectural history: The Pyramid of the Niches was constructed in the Talud-tablero style typical throughout Mesoamerica.

Figure 1: Talud creates the diagonal of the pyramid; Tablero is a vertical level bounded by a horizontal 'floor' and 'roof' that serve to  stabilize the Talud levels.  (Source: Wikipedia, public domain)

At El Tajín the niches were set into the vertical face of the Tablero, and the Tablero's 'roof' took the distinctive form of 'flying' cornices, as shown on the drawing below (Middle Row, Second from Left).    

Figure 2:  Talud-tablero styles used at major Mesoamerican ceremonial centers
El Tajín is middle row, second from left
(Source: Wikipedia, public domain)

Reed took this corner shot of the Pyramid of the Niches, with its prominent 'flying' cornices.

Flying Cornices are clearly evident in Reed's corner shot of the Pyramid of the Niches
(Left click to enlarge image—you'll be glad you did!)

On the enlarged image, it's possible to see that the diagonal of each cornice is formed by three stone layers—each stone layer stepped out from the preceding, supporting layer.

Reed reminds me that although the Maya lacked knowledge needed to build true arches; they nonetheless were able to construct 'false arches' (corbel arches) by stepping each successive block, from opposite sides, closer to the center, then capping the structure at the peak to close the arch. The flying cornices at El Tajín are a variation on the Maya technique and reflect Maya influence.

Greca Escalonada

Another architectural feature that distinguishes El Tajín is the greca escalonada:

The black, geometric, spiral figure at the right is the greca; the staircase at the left is the escalonada. The complete figure is known as a greca escalonada. 

Okay, I admit it, I've spent way too much time figuring out what exactly this term means. Arte Historia has the shortest, best definition:

• Greca: Meandering or undulating line with corners or right angles; this line is so typical of the Greeks during their Geometric Period that art historians refer to this shape as greca.
• Escalonada: Architectural ornament that combines a greca with a figure in the form of a staircase.

German linguist and archaeologist Edward Seler would take exception to the notion that the greca escalonada might be 'ornamental'.  Here are his reflections on El Tajín:

...with difficulty we are able to think that one of the principal ornaments of the precortesian world might have been merely decorative. In the first place, the frequency with which the greca escalonada appears and its preservation across centuries and millenia contradicts this thesis. A solely ornamental form would have worn itself out in time, as has happened with the 'dying' styles of Europe. It would have lost its attraction and been replaced by new forms to provide revitalized fascination and suggestive force. 

If the greca escalonada were not replaced with new ornaments, it is because, for the peoples who first employed it, it had a psychological or magical value beyond the aesthetic. Just as the cross isn't a purely decorative form, neither is the greca escalonada. 

Experts differ on the meaning of the greca escalonada. For Octavio Paz, it symbolizes the serpent who comes from the earth. But most experts, persuasively, agree that the spiral greca signifies the whirling winds of the hurricane or cyclone.

The staircase is sometimes interpreted as 'falling rain'—a concept that had me puzzled until I figured out that stairs may be descended! Archaeologist José García Payón spent forty years guiding restoration of the ruins at El Tajín. Here are his thoughts:

The greca escalonada is the product of a profound rootedness in meteorological phenomena, in religious sentiment, in the twin concepts of the economic necessities [balanced with] the most urgent, collective longings and anxieties. That is to say, it seems that the greca escalonada, which probably was originally in the form of a spiral before it became the familiar geometric form, represents to us the wind and the rain. Or even better, it symbolizes the deity of the hurricane with the name Tajín. 

But other experts suggest that the staircase represents the earth itself, which may be the more plausible explanation. A terrestrial staircase allows for priestly, ritual ascent to the top of the pyramid—where the gods descended to meet the priestly intermediary who petitioned the gods. Petition completed, the priest descended down the same staircase to the earthly plane.

Mexican historical investigator Leonardo Zaleta writes:

Understanding the symbolism behind El Tajín requires us to keep in mind a fundamental principle: the prehispanic peoples were eminently theocratic. For the original people, man was impossible in a world without deities.

Now is a good time to return to the photographs of the Pyramid of the Niches and Building 5. Left-click to enlarge the image and note the prominence of the greca escalonada figures. This symbol was part of El Tajín's symbolic and architectural vocabulary from the culture's earliest days.  

Tajín Chico

The last part of El Tajín was built behind a retaining wall that was back-filled to create a level area, which is sometimes dubbed an acropolis. The buildings at Tajín Chico were not temples, but palaces that housed Tajin's priestly and ruling elite, and civil structures that were used for administration.

Building in Tajín Chico.
Note the flying cornices and greca escalonada figures. Interestingly, the staircase is 'upside down' (wide above; narrow below), which gives the impression that it is falling (rain?) from the flying cornice above, thus supporting Payón's interpretation. 

But there's more...Great Xicalcaliuhqui

Just below Tajín Chico to the east is a labyrinthine temple complex built to imitate the hurricane's swirling winds—either Xicalcaliuhqui, god of thunder who lives in the sea; or Quetzalcóatl, the feathered serpent deity (also god of wind) revered throughout Mesoamerica.

Reed photographed the sign to show the layout of the complex, which is one of the last set of buildings constructed at El Tajín.

Built as a 360 m (1,181 ft) structure covering 1 hectar (2.5 acres) shaped as a squared spiral, or greca; the escalonada, staircase, is the entrance at the left. 

The labyrinthine, temple complex in the form of a spiral recreates on the earthly plane the whirling winds of the hurricanes. Given the prominent appearance of the greca escalonada on El Tajín's earliest buildings, we can assume that construction of this complex was simply the most mature expression of a cosmology, view of the universe, that was an essential component of Totonaca culture from its earliest days.

The wall has 158 niches, which equal the number of days of hurricane season (June to October). Tellingly, pilgrims arrived at El Tajín and fiestas were held during the hurricane season. As Reed observed elsewhere, "Myth arises when man confronts the forces of nature," and so it must have been at El Tajín.

The exterior wall of the Xicalcaliuhqui complex; the center is totally overgrown. 

Here is the staircase entrance:

Stairway entrance to Xicalcaliuhqui complex; the modest size of staircase and doorway invites speculation that access to this 'inner sanctum' was tightly controlled.

Final Reflections 

During a ride in the countryside near Papantla, Veracruz, I was startled to see the windows of an upscale house under construction styled in the same proportion as the niches at nearby El Tajín. It's remarkable to see that the ancient style lingers as a contemporary architectural motiv. Edward Seler would say, "Of course!"

In March of each year, the Cumbre de El Tajín is held in Papantla, Veracruz, and at the archaeological site itself. One of cumbre's meanings in Spanish is high point, or outstanding (another is summit). The purpose of the week-long cumbre, or fiesta, is to reinforce ancient Totonaca traditions, including the Danza de los Voladores (Dance of the Flyers).

Site Map of El Tajín

I didn't want to interrupt the flow by putting this site map earlier. Sorry.

Taken from Andrew Coe's Archaeological Mexico.
Left-click to enlarge.

Still Curious?

Here's the link to Reed's Photo-Essay of our visit to El Tajín.

Here's the link to the latest archaeological findings—including the legend of the "cerro de los mantenimientos" ("Hill of Plenty"): El Tajín II: Of Ants,Gods and the Hill of Plenty.

Beautiful photographs on a sunny day: Slide Show of El Tajín.

Good description/good pics of El Tajín by George DeLange, who has "thirty years experience in astronomy"; his comments on the subject are intriguing.

George DeLange's account of the legend surrounding the origin of the Dance of the Voladores (Flyers) of Papantla is well-told and accompanied by a good video. My palms start sweating just thinking of their 'dance'—which occurs atop a 100' pole!

MexConnect has an excellent article on Dance of the Voladores, including the numeric symbolism, which is remarkably similar to the numeric symbols found on the Pyramid of the Niches.

These links are both to Spanish-language sites, but the content is mostly visual and hence nearly 'language-free'; the photos are worth giving the sites a shot:

• Tourist-taken, good pics of the Voladores (flyers) of Papantla.  
• Here's another link to the Voladores (flyers) of Papantla.  

Great photos of archaeological site at Yohualichán in state of Puebla, which reflects major architectural influence of El Tajín. It's interesting to see the architectural vocabulary repeated, i.e., the niches.

Web site provides images of greca escalonada on contemporary pottery, woven rugs, textiles, etc. The greca escalonada figure is alive and well, which would undoubtedly also please Eduardo Seler!

Terrific web site about the Maya developed by Jeeni Criscenzo del Rio, author of Place of Mirrors, a novel about the ancient Maya. I haven't read the novel, but the web site is surprisingly useful.

Biography of Paul Westheim. 

In Spanish:

Cumbre de El Tajín 2012, as reported by the Mexican newspaper Milenio.

Appendix: Original Texts in Spanish 

Octavio Paz, Risa y Penitencia: "El arte totonaca rehúsa el monumental porque sabe que la verdadera grandeza es equilibrio... Estas piedras están vivas y danzan".

Fragment found at El Tajín:

Tajín; yo soy tu raza
y por tu raza vengo
con la voz que cayó sobre mis labios,
con la palabra que brotó la sangre
en el primer día de tus anales. 

Con tu roca soberbia dices tú mismo tu elegía
enhebrada en la noche de los siglos;
ruda y bella expresión
en el códice oculto de tus ritos.

Eduardo Seler:

"...con dificultad podremos pensar que uno de los ornamentos principales del mundo precortesiano hay sido mero elemento decorativo. En primer lugar, la frecuencia con que aparece la greca escalonada y su conservación a través de centurias y milenios se oponen a esta tesis. Una forma sólo ornamental se habría gastado a través del tiempo, como ocurrió con los estilos 'agonizantes' de Europa. Habría perdido su atracción y habría sido substituida por nuevas creaciones formales, de renovada fascinación y fuerza sugestiva. Si la greca escalonada no fue reemplazada por nuevos ornamentos, es porque, para los pueblos que primero la emplearon, tenía un valor psíquico o mágico más allá de lo estético. Así como la cruz no es una forma puramente decorativa, no lo es tampoco la greca escalonada".

José García Payón:

"La greca escalonada es el producto de un profundo enraizamiento en la fenómena meteorológica, en la emoción religiosa, en los conceptos mutuos, en las necesidades económicas y en los anhelos colectivos más angustiosos y apremiantes. Es decir, parece que la greca escalonada, que probablamente fue de forma espiral y se transformó en su forma geométrico conocida, nos representa al viento y la lluvia. O más bien simboliza al huracán deidificado con el nombre Tajín."