Lion Sex

I'm in the process of creating a photo book about our trip to Kenya a few years ago.  I like to tell stories with my photos, so even though an individual photo might not be an award winner, together they tell a story.  Here is a fun example. Normally we are not voyeurs, but we watched with no shame whatsoever as this amorous pair enjoyed some morning sex.

First they shared a meal.

Then they got down to business.

After a brief rest, they did it again.  This looks like simultaneous orgasms.

I think it was good for her.

A bit of rest and then some foreplay.

Doing it for a third time.

Basking in the afterglow.

Eventually, there may be some babies

Our new book: Guide to Foods of Mexico

We did it!  After 10 months of research, my husband, Erich Almasy, and I published our new book called Guide to Foods of México.  It is a glossary listing over 3,300 Mexican-Spanish food and beverage terms with English translations.  For many of the items, we provide some history about the food and how it is used.  The book is designed for English-speaking foodies, tourists and foreigners living in México.  It is a glossary and reference book, not a cookbook, so that you can look up unfamiliar food terms. You can flip through a sample of the book on our website: https://guidetofoodsofmexico.com/.

We wrote the book because we think that to truly understand and appreciate a country, you must learn about it's foods, cooking methods and culinary history. We love living in Mexico and have enjoyed eating in wonderful restaurants, taking cooking classes in person and online (over 140!!), and discovering the delights of Mexican cuisine from pre-hispanic days to the present.

The book is available as an instantly downloadable ebook or as a print-on-demand paperback (printed in the U.S. and shipped to you). Our website has links to different book sellers including Lulu (a large independent online bookstore), Amazon, and Kobo.  Others will be added soon.  https://guidetofoodsofmexico.com/

Here are some samples of alphabetical listings:

Chicharo – The Mexican word for "pea," referring to both green peas and chickpeas, although the former is usually Guisantes and the latter are traditionally Garbanzos. In Spanish, the verb "chichar" means to have sexual intercourse, and in México, it can mean to get drunk.

Guajillo Chile – When fresh, this Chile is called Mirasol ("sunflower or looking at the sun"). When dried, the name changes to Guajillo; in this form, it becomes the second-most used chili in Mexican cooking. It is red-brown in color and about three to four inches (8-10 cm) long. It has a sweet, spicy flavor and moderate heat of 2,500-5,000 SHUs.

Xoconostles – "Prickly pear" fruits from the Nopal cactus. Generally green inside and out, they have a subtly sweet red seed center used to color and flavor drinks and desserts. The flesh is very sour with the consistency and flavor of pear, and the fruit is very high in Vitamin C.

Here is a sample of a geographic listing:

Chihuahua – The largest Mexican state, "El Estado Grande," Chihuahua is larger than the United Kingdom. Derived from a Nahuatl word meaning "where the waters of the rivers meet." Chihuahua has extensive forests, prairies, rivers, México’s largest desert, and the Copper Canyon, which is larger and deeper than the Grand Canyon of the United States. Chihuahua borders Texas and New Mexico and benefits significantly from NAFTA factory investment. Agriculture is less critical but still the largest producer of oats, cotton, apples, pecans, and quince in México.

• Among famous local dishes is Sopa de Oso ("bear soup") containing red chiles and fish (but no bear meat), so-called because after eating it, you will sleep like a hibernating bear.
• Enchiladas Coloniales consist of a fried corn tortilla topped with shredded chicken covered in chili peppers, garlic, onions, and tomato sauce. The tortillas are folded, topped with Crema ("acidulated cream") and grated cheese, and baked until the sides are bubbling.
• Chile Pasilla con Queso is a traditional recipe made by rehydrating dry Pasilla peppers and then roasting them with onions, tomatoes, and olive oil. Once cooked, Oaxaca or mozzarella cheese is added on top and melted into the rest of the dish.
• Carne Asada makes use of the state’s bountiful beef herds. The meat is marinated in Tequila, then grilled and served with onions, Chorizo, potatoes, and chili pepper sauce.

Authors Bio

Erich Almasy and Cynthia J. Blanton met and became a couple at Harvard University over 50 years ago. After completing their undergraduate degrees, they attended Harvard Business School, where they received their M.B.A.s. For many years they worked as management consultants for large and small firms, including their own company. In addition, they worked in banking, investment banking, and executive education. They lived and worked all over the United States and spent twenty years in Canada. They are now retired and live in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, México. 

They have visited over 65 countries worldwide, and to pass the time during COVID, they took over 140 online cooking classes. They love to cook and explore new cuisines. It would be fair to say that they "eat to live but, as importantly, live to eat."

They have three miniature schnauzers. They are citizens of the United States and Canada, and Erich is also a citizen of Austria.  

Trip to Uruapan

One of the pleasures of traveling through Mexico is experiencing different types of terrain and varied climates. On a recent bus tour, made special by the beautiful purple jacaranda trees in full bloom, we went from the dry, hilly, cactus-filled high desert of San Miguel de Allende, through the Cuitzeo Basin, a large flat area with a lake that varies greatly in size depending on rainfall, through the Trans-Mexican Volcano Belt with many extinct, but some active, volcanoes, and on to Uruapan with its humid, subtropical climate, lush forests, and avocado plantations. (iPhone photos.  For larger versions, click on photos. Best viewed on large screens.) (Blue links lead to Wikipedia articles.)

Jacarandas were in bloom everywhere

Volcano Cerro Culiacán

Lake and mountains near Yuriria

Lago de Cuitzeo. A lake with no outlet, it will fill during the rainy season.

Avocado plantation taking over forest

Closeup of top of hill

On the way to Uruapan, we stopped for lunch and a quick visit in Morelia, the capital and largest city in the state of Michoacán, founded in 1541 and a UNESCO World Heritage site known for well-preserved colonial buildings, cathedral, wide streets and plazas. ( Morelia )We had a very pleasant three hours strolling around the historic center, visiting the cathedral and being entertained by dancers in one of the plazas. The dancers, bent over like old men, wore flat wooden sandals that they clacked on the pavement.

Cathedral

Interior

Plaza near the cathedral decorated for Easter

Bougainvillea infiltrating the bell tower

Uruapan (ooh-ru-AH-pan), the Land Where Everything Blooms and the second largest city in Michoacán, is the center of Mexico's avocado growing region. ( Uruapan ) It is not one of Mexico's "magical towns" and is not very attractive, but during Semana Santa, Holy Week, it is home to perhaps the largest craft show in Latin America with 1000 to 1600 vendors selling their wares. The show takes over the large Plaza de Martires de Uruapan in the center of the city, and the show and parade were the reason for this trip. The vendors come from many villages in Michoacán, and for those from the more remote villages, this is the one time during the year when they can sell their crafts.  Many, if not most, of the vendors are indigenous people from the Purépecha, Otomi and Nahua populations.  

Here are some samples of the crafts:

Cooking Pots

Wooden Utensils

Painted Pots

Big Pots

Ceramic pineapples of all sizes and colors are very popular

Beads

Baskets

Catrinas

By the end of the day, we were as tired as this little boy

By far, the most fun part of the trip was the parade on Saturday. The artisans, dressed in their native costumes, marched and danced behind banners proclaiming their town and their crafts. Almost every group had its own band. The artisans carry examples of their wares and even hand out little samples. It was the happiest, friendliest and most colorful parade we have ever seen, and we stayed for the entire two hours it took for everyone to march by us.  In the video, note the gorgeous outfits the women are wearing.  Each town has its own take on the Michoacán skirt and apron combination. The skirts are flat in front and closely pleated in back, and the apron ties over it.  They are heavy! In the past, the skirts were made of wool, but now many are made from very colorful synthetic fabrics with sequins and lace in addition to cross stitch designs.  I've condensed two hours of parade into 4 and a half minutes in this YouTube video. 

Parade Video

 (Apologies for the steady stream of onlookers walking past my position.)

The nicest part of Uruapan is the Barranca del Cupatitzio National Park. ( Barranca_del_Cupatitzio_National_Park ) It encompasses the headwaters of the Cupatitzio River which emerges from a spring in the park, and the volume of water is amazing.  It is a very large and lovely, cool, shaded area filled with waterfalls right in the city.

Because Uruapan is the center of the avocado industry, it is no surprise that many of the restaurants in town offer all kinds of drinks and dishes using the fruit. In fact, Gratissima - La Casa del Aguacate serves almost everything made with avocado including beer.

Salad with avocado and cheese balls

Stuffed avocado and sweet potato fries

 

Beer

Frappe

After a great time in Uruapan, it was time to board the bus to go home.  On the way, we made a stop in Santa Clara del Cobre, the copper town.  Many small towns in Mexico specialize in certain crafts or industries, and in this town, the specialty is all kinds of copper items.  There is even a museum about copper.  According to Wikipedia, (Santa_Clara_del_Cobre) the Purépecha people have been working with copper since the pre-Hispanic era. After years of dominance in copper crafts, economic reverses led to the near demise of the industry until the 1940s and 1970s when efforts brought the work back.

Even the bank sign is in copper. (customers and pedestrians let sleeping dogs lie)

It was a good trip.  Thanks to Janice and Dennis for all their work to organize it.

Day of the Dead 2022

At last, things are almost back to normal in San Miguel de Allende, and we were able to celebrated El Día de los Muertos in great style.  The origins of the holiday are ancient.  From the History Channel website: "The roots of the Day of the Dead, celebrated in contemporary Mexico and among those of Mexican heritage in the United States and around the world, go back some 3,000 years, to the rituals honoring the dead in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica.  The Aztecs and other Nahua people living in what is now central Mexico held a cyclical view of the universe, and saw death as an integral, ever-present part of life."

The Aztecs honored the dead for an entire month in August, but when the Spanish came to Mexico, the Catholic Church moved the celebrations to November 1st and 2nd to coincide with All Saints Day and All Souls Day.  On the 1st, the spirits of children are allowed to visit their families for 24 hours and the same happens for adults on the 2nd.  

In addition to the skulls and other symbols and rituals used over the years, the Catrinas and Catrins were added to the celebrations.  Catrinas, modeled after cartoons drawn in 1910 by Mexican illustrator Jose Guadalupe Posada and later incorporated into a huge mural by Diego Rivera, were satirical jabs at upper-crust Mexicans and their obsession with European high society.  Tom Wolfe's skeletal "social x-ray" bears a striking resemblance to a Catrina.

This year we were able to take a tour with a guide who explained the rituals to us and took us to special places around town.  Our first stop was the crypt under the local parish church, the beautiful and famous Parroquia de San Miguel Arcángel.  The crypt is open only one day each year on November 1, so we were delighted to go inside.  It is a fairly large chamber with many tombs where several heroes of the revolution and members of prominent families are buried. There are large tombs under the floor and small ones in the walls.

Click on photos for larger versions. Crypt: Table is directly under the altar above

Many tombs line the walls

Several priests who died during the revolution are behind this wall

 We were treated to bells at the Parroquia. Play the video to listen.

There were lots of decorations around town in addition to the many doorways surrounded by garlands.

Bright flags flew over the streets

Workers placing marigolds, the symbol of Day of the Dead, around a monument   Garlands around doors. This shop is advertising makeup for Catrinas

One of the most important rituals for this holiday is the building of ofrendas.  These are shrines to 
the departed and must include photos as well as the favorite foods of the deceased.  They can be inside people's homes or like this one, on the steps of the home.

A large ofrenda outside the home

Favorite food of the departed

The very old cemetery, Antiguo Cementerio de San Juan de Dios, is sometimes opened for Day of the Dead, but for some reason, it wasn't open when our tour went there.  The cemetery is no longer in use, but if you have an ancestor buried there, you can get permission to enter.  I took one photo through the gate.

Lots of marigolds decorating the graves

On both November 1st and 2nd, the area around the Jardin, the central garden, was filled with makeup artists painting people's faces for the evening Catrina Parades.  Some of the designs were quite lovely.

I did my own makeup, but my husband, Erich, had his done at one of the booths.