Bush Visit to Guanajuato, Mexico- Barra de Navidad- Tortilla Soup Recipe

Bush Visit to Guanajuato- Immediate Progress Seen*
George W. Bush, forty-third president of the United States of America, is, as this is being written, in the final phases of preparation for his visit to Mexico. The site of the visit is el rancho San Christóbal, home of President Vicente Fox Quesada. The Fox ranch is in San Christóbal, a village that is a part of the municipality of San Francisco del Rincon located about ten miles south of Leon, Guanajuato. According to news reports here, San Christobal has become the lucky recipient of substantial improvements to the tiny village’s infrastructure.
The American advance party arrived in a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster and unloaded 70 tons of equipment, supplies, and, hopefully, enough purified drinking water for the President and his party. The plane was the largest to ever have landed at the Leon/Guanajuato airport, arriving here on the 6th of February. The American Embassy has secured reservations for 100 rooms at the Hotel Fiesta Americana in Leon for, as the Mexican newspaper, AM, put it, the premier group of collaborators. Neither members of the U.S. Supreme Court, nor the group from Florida, is expected, however.
The Mexican government is spending 7,000,000 pesos, about $750,000 to fix up the facades of 150 houses in the village. Two hundred new utility poles are being installed and strung to augment the one electric line to the village. Fifty-six new telephones are being added to supplement the one telephone that has served the village for the last ten years. One hundred gallons of paint have been purchased to paint all the buildings in the village. Trees are being planted, and little parks are being spruced up. An area has been cleared off to provide a heliport, and the town of San Francisco del Rincon has added a second police patrol to help in the security of the two presidents. While 7,000,000 pesos is not a great sum for Mexico to spend on a few hour visit, it is surprising to some observers that even this much money is being spent for such a brief occasion, especially in light of President Fox’s recent announcement that he was going to cut government expenditures 30% and return the money to the people.

Although I did not support Bush in the election, I thought that I could show belated support for him by offering to draft a speech for his arrival. After all, I am an American who has lived here for almost six years and have a special appreciation of the two cultures. Also, I followed the U.S. elections quite closely on TV and I believe I have grasped the special nuances of the Bush speaking style. I do not expect any remuneration, emoluments, or benefits of any kind except the good will of our new president and the un-spoken thanks of a grateful nation.

Text of State Address to People of Mexico:
Bweanos deeas amigos and amigas. (Wait for applause and cheers from audience. You can expect the crowd to enthusiastically cry out the endearing term, Pendejo! Pendejo! Now smile.) With your permiso I will now revert to my native lingua, or is it lingo? (Smile. Wait for laughter.)
I am a leader (Pause) and your great Presidente Vincenty Fox is a leader. (Pause and wait for applause.) Yes, as leaders we know that with leadership-yes, with real leadership, my amigos, that we can lead these two great nations of ours into a leading role in leadership. (Wait for thunderous applause and the crowd to enthusiastically cry out, Pendejo! Pendejo! Smile.) Yes, I say unto thee, what we have here are the leaders and the led. (Point first to yourself, then Fox, and finally to the audience. Smile. This could be a defining sound bite covered by the world press so deliver it slowly and distinctly. It should appeal to your religious right core because of the Biblical phrasing and to all Americans tired of the failed Clinton presidency who are looking for leadership.)
I love the Mexicans. I love their sense of family values. My brother Jeb married a Mexican. She’s legal, you know. And jest because we are here in the same state, the great state of Gwaniwhato, (Wait for applause) that her family lives in, and jest because we are not going to visit them on this trip, doesn’t mean we don’t love ‘em. No, not at all. Why, I ask, should Laura and I have to be the first Bushs to visit them when my brother Jeb has never come here? It’s O.K.; it’s O.K., though. I’ll send Dick Cheney down here to see them. That’ll really warm ’em up. (Wait for laughter.) That Cheney. What a guy! He’s not here but isn’t he sumthin? Let’s give a big hand for Dick Cheney. (Wait for thunderous applause and the crowd to enthusiastically cry out, Pendejo! Pendejo! Smile.) You know, Dick is back at the White House, that’s Casa Blanca in Mexican. He wanted to come to keep an eye on Colin. Hey, that Colin, isn’t he something?I want to thank Vincenty. What a guy! Isn’t he sumthin? (Point finger at Fox.) Let’s give a big hand for Vincenty! (Wait for applause and cheers from audience. Smile.) I know I am going to enjoy visiting his ranch. I’ve got me a little ranch in Texas, too. You can bet that George W. knows not to step in any caca de toro. I know words like that because Mexican is my second language. Yes, we got some of that stuff on my ranch and Colin Powel; well, he almost stepped in some caca de toro. That’s why he said, “I don’t do ranches.” (Wait for laugh. Smile.) Say, that Colin Powell, isn’t he sumthin? (Point finger at Powell.) Let’s give a big hand for Colin! (Wait for applause and cheers from audience. You can expect the crowd to enthusiastically cry out, Pendejo! Pendejo! Smile.)That cabinet of mine is a real crackerjack, don’t you agree? And my Attorney General, he’s the prize. (Wait for applause and cheers from audience. You can expect the crowd to enthusiastically cry out, Pendejo! Pendejo! Smile.)

Say, isn’t that reporter over there, the one from the Washington Post, isn’t that the one I called an ass-hole? Hey, Senor Translator, what do you call somebody like that in Mexican? Translator: Señor Presidente, you mean, pendejo?

Statement from Carole
Dear Friends,
Some of you have raised questions about my absence from The Newsletter. A few of you have even questioned if I may have “passed to the other side,” which in Mexico means to have crossed the border to the U.S. of A. Let me assure you I am sti ll here to keep Charlie in relatively good humor.
While “he who must be obeyed” takes much joy in putting out The Newsletter, I take “joy” in stapling and labeling. You’d be amazed what a postgraduate degree can do for you.
At any rate, I am alive and well in Mexico enjoying the hard labors of telling Chepa what to prepare for la comida, watching her clean, do dishes, iron, etc. When I am not too busy I feed our cats, dog, and see that the humming birds are adequately supplied with their comida of sugar water. So you will know that my life is not complete decadence, I do go to Spanish classes twice a week, spend a small amount of time cataloging books in the gringo library, reading whatever and whenever I care to when the selection of a U.S. president is not going on, but mostly I enjoy spending time with the friends I have been fortunate enough to make here. The hardest part of this retirement life is how busy it becomes and deciding where you want to vacation to rest up from the heavy schedule.
I do miss having you near but I do not miss the slipping and sliding that Wisconsin winters have to of-fer. So, dear friends, when you wish to escape the snowing and blowing remember you have a friend in Mexico. And now back to my Spanish homework- or may be a little siesta first.
As ever, Carole.

Guanajuato Friends Visits Barra de Navidad
On the Pacific coast of Mexico, south of Puerto Vallarta and north of Manzanillo, lies the sleepy fishing village of Barra de Navidad. (Named Christmas Bar in Spanish because the first Spaniards to arrive by boat landed at this inlet on Christmas day and presumably stopped at the local bar to slake their thirst.) Today, the not-so-sleepy villagers of Barra de Navidad fish mainly for tourists. For several years now, I have been saying that I don’t really care that much for beach resorts with their con ticky-con tacky atmosphere. Why is it that Americans and Canadians flock to the Mexican seashore each winter? Why did we choose to go there for the third winter in a row? When daytime highs in Guanajuato drop down to the low sixties and high 50's one starts to think of balmy beaches, surf and sand, so that may explain it. But it does seem that the natives are able to meet the American visitor’s desire for cheap junky knickknacks no matter how garish the taste. The main street of Barra is lined with trinket shops. We later learned that not all on the Mexican Riviera, as the Mexican tourist industry tags it, is cheap and garish.
This year, our traveling group consisted of Dr. Ward Mould and his wife Pat; Jim and June Jackson; Phil and Jan Contreras; Ron Mann, who kindly edits this newsletter, and his wife Sandra Ward; and Carole and me. All in our group are year-round residents of Guanajuato. With our van and the Mould’s car we caravanned to Guadalajara and then on to Barra de Navidad, about seven hours by way of the winding scenic route. Our return, by way of the toll road passing the Colima Volcano, was only six hours. I had volunteered to arrange for our hotel reservations for this trip. I picked out the Hotel Delfin on the Internet because I thought it was the same place that Mike and Maurene Torphy, of Madison, had picked out about five years ago when they came to visit Mexico and we joined them at the beach. This was a swell place on the ocean with a gorgeous pool and a nice beach. In the various calls I made to secure reservations for the Delfin, I talked to the owners of the hotel, a man and his wife with distinct German accents. I could only presume that they came to this remote Mexican village after World War II, probably war criminals that made it out just in time. I couldn’t understand how if they were war criminals they could be about twenty years younger than I am, but maybe they started young.

It turned out that the hotel I meant to book us in was the Hotel Barra de Navidad, not the Delfin. Phil Contreras is an ex-U.S. army artillery captain who commanded a battery in Germany armed with nuclear artillery shells. I thought it was a good idea that he volunteered and not I to talk with the German owners about the ten of us moving out of their hotel to the Hotel Barra de Navidad. As it turned out, the owners were very nice about it. If you should ever decide to stay at the Barra de Navidad Hotel make sure to ask for an ocean-side room with a balcony. The view, the balmy breezes, and especially the sunsets, are magnificent.

There is not a lot to do in these beach towns besides play in the water, sit beside the pool, play cards and read, but we managed to include a few gastronomic excursions. Walking a couple of blocks down the main street to the docks on the lagoon we all boarded a seagoing fishing boat instead of one of the small launches called pangas that are usually used to cross the lagoon to a peninsula named Isla Colimilla. There were several charming open air palapa restaurants. These structures consist of some vertical poles supporting what looks like a straw roof but is probably reeds or stalks of some kind. Of course the menu was virtually all seafood: shrimp, fish, squid, octopus, fresh and delicious. We were serenaded by some musicians that were not very good but I suppose that is the results having no competition on the Isla.

Dr. Mould, who has a few years on the rest of us, returned to the Village by means of a taxi, which took him past the beautiful 36-hole golf course of the Gran Bay Resort. The resort is on the same penin-sula as the restaurants but carries the name Isla Navidad, or Christmas Island. I think this is such a pretty name, although the place is a peninsula, not an island, and its real name is Colimilla and not Christmas, which in Spanish is part of the name of the nearby village, Barra de Navidad. Developers have always been good at enhancing swamps by calling them glens, and, calling flat areas, prairies, so I guess it’s O.K. that this place is Isla Navidad, Christmas Island.
On the return trip crossing the lagoon, Enrique, our boat operator, cruised into the sizable yacht harbor, which is a part of The Gran Bay Resort. We saw dozens of beautiful ocean going vessels from various ports of call along the Pacific seaboard. One rather large boat hailed from Sedona, Arizona, which made me wonder if our U.S. Corps of Engineers has been up to one of its little dredging tricks again. From the yacht basin we were able get a better view of the hotel, which seemed to consist of two large buildings or complexes. We later learned that the smaller of the two was the residence of the owner of the hotel. It all looked so beauti-ful that we decided that we would have breakfast at the very posh Gran Bay Hotel and Resort next morn-ing.

There is something soporific about warm salt air and our group turned in early, that is, all but Phil and I who decided to explore Barra de Navidad at night. We heard live music wafting down the street. Down one street, turn, walk some more, and turn again until we discovered the source of the music. The place was upstairs and we found ourselves in a large room with a long bar and some guy, well oiled, singing at a karaoke bar, reading the words off a TV screen. The singer was not very good, and probably was related to the musicians we encountered on the Isla. Phil and I had a deep discussion on the meaning of life after a couple of drinks. The drinks were generously poured and we decided to call it a night.

Breakfast at the Gran Bay was grand indeed. Everything was exquisite and we partook of a buffet served out of doors with a lovely view. The meal went on without end. Some of us realized that we were going to get nicked pretty good so we returned over and over again. When we received the bill for $16 per person and with our tummies full, we could smile with a degree of satisfaction that the Gran Bay Hotel and Resort had met its match.

Sitting around the beautiful pool of the Hotel Barra de Navidad we met a woman from Vancouver, B.C. who had been deep-sea fishing the day before and said she had done very well. “Was that your six-foot long swordfish we saw hanging up at the dock yesterday?” I asked. “Yes it was,” she answered proudly. We had been considering doing some fishing but this clinched it. We arranged with our boat captain, Enrique, to take Ron, Phil and me, out on his boat the next day.
This was my first experience at deep-sea fishing. Enrique was in radio communication with fifteen other sports fishing boats on the bay. No one, except parties in two larger boats that were out fifteen miles, had caught anything that day and the fish they caught were small. In an effort to help us catch something, Enrique took us within twenty feet of the beautiful jagged rocks forming the Barra coastline but our fishing poles saw no action.

Ron, who is an old trimaran sailor from his days in Hawaii, seemed to take to the up and down of the boat like a fish takes to water, so to speak, and Phil seemed all right, but I felt queasy all the time. Iron men and wooden boats, I believe is the expression. But this boat was plastic and my stomach was squish. On landing, our wives were there to great us. Carole had managed to buy the three smallest fish that she could find at the fish market, thus enabling our photo op on landing.

South of Barra and closer to Manzanillo is a beautiful restaurant called Le Recif, which is French for reef. This place is built on a promontory jutting out into the Pacific. Some of us had eaten there before on a previous trip to the coast and we were anxious to try it again. We arrived early but the guard at the gate said, it being Valentine’s day, the place was fully booked. After telling him that it was Dr. Mould’s 90th birthday, which was not exactly true, and that we had come all the way from Guanajuato to dine at this place, he let us in. Thanks to Ward’s willingness to add another year to his age they agreed to serve us. The waiters said that we were early enough and that they would serve our party of ten. The tables, next to the rail that prevented diners from falling into the abyss of crashing surf below, were all taken, so we sat near the center of the room and enjoyed our fine meal, beautifully served in this exquisite corner of the world. Ron remarked that it was the finest restaurant meal he had eaten in Mexico. Of course I agreed with this especially if you don’t count the meals concocted by Carole and Chepa served right in our own home back in Guanajuato. Unlike the Gran Bay, this restaurant was filled mainly with Mexicans enjoying a romantic meal on dia de San Valentino with their honeys.

The Train is coming!
A recent front-page article in the local paper described a project to bring passenger rail service to Gua-najuato. It’s been ten years since the city had regular train service. Today, regular passenger rail service has disappeared from Mexico save for a six hour run to a tiny town, Opal, Zacatecas, which is stranded and lacks any road connection. In 1970, Mexico’s peak year for train travel, there were 37.4 million pas-sengers. Today, there are hardly any. Under the proposal for our area, trains would serve Guanajuato, San Miguel, Queretero, San Luis de Potosi, and Zacatecas. All of these are beautiful Spanish colonial towns and, like the train that traverses Mexico’s famous Copper Canyon, these trains are meant for tourists. Unless the newspaper got the schedule wrong, one would get on the train in Guanajuato at an astonishing 3 am on Sunday morning, arrive at San Miguel fifty miles away at 6am. You can then leave at 5pm and arrive in Queretero at 6pm. You can return from Queretero, five days later on Friday at 7am, and arrive in Guanajuato at 8pm. The trip from Queretero to Guanajuato by car is about two and a half hours, so it would appear the train promoters have some kinks to work out of their schedules and perhaps they should speed the train up a little bit. A total of five days on the train takes you from Guanajuato to Zacatecas, via San Miguel, Queretero, and San Luis de Potosi, but the return direct to Guanajuato is only one day. You figure!

Sopa de Tortilla, A meal Fit for a President
As news came out about President Bush’s visit to meet President Fox in the state of Guanajuato, it was reported that the American president was going to be served sopa de tortilla, tortilla soup. Chepa, our maid, laughed at this and thought it was all pretty funny. But if one soup could be labeled the classic Mexican soup it would be this one. While I have never found anyone who did not like this dish, it seems to me that it is a little bit like offering a visiting dignitary a bowl of chile*. This soup is quite common and no two recipes of the soup are alike. It is easy on the tummy and quite delicious.
In the interest of bringing our two nations closer together I offer a recipe for sopa de tortilla. It is based on recipes from three different cookbooks and what I could learn from Chepa. Try it. I’m sure you will like it.

Sopa de Tortilla a la Casa Colobris (Tortilla Soup in the Style Served at Charlie and Carole’s House.)

6 or8 day-old corn tortillas
1 tablespoon salad oil plus oil for frying
6 cups chicken stock or canned broth
½ onion, cut in chunks
3 cloves garlic
3 ripe tomatoes
2 or 3 chiles pasillas (optional)
salt and fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 avocados
Cut the tortillas into strips about ¼ inch wide, and fry in hot oil turning them over until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towels, salt, and keep them warm. Try not to eat too many of them so that there will be some left for the soup.
Grill the tomatoes, garlic, and onions on a griddle until the skin is charred, turning as needed, and pourée in blender. Add 2 ounces of chicken stock if necessary.
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan over high heat and sauté the purée. Boil for two minutes, lower the heat, and cook for 5 minutes or until the purée thickens and changes color.
Add the remaining chicken stock and cilantro. Return to a boil, add salt and pepper to taste, and cook, covered, over medium heat for 15 minutes.
Cut the chiles into ½ inch rings and remove their seeds. Fry in the hot oil for 1 minute or until crisp. Drain and set aside. (The chiles are optional but really good.)
Five minutes before serving, reheat the soup, pour into soup bowls, and add the fried tortilla strips. We prefer to sprinkle the fried tortilla chips on top of the soup so they stay crisp. Garnish each bowl with a few chile rings and the avocado.
Serve and enjoy.

Giggle of Girls, Funicular, Animals, Something Extroadinary, Queen of England Visits

Giggle of Girls Sighted Entering Tunnel

I was on my way from Silao to Guanajuato about to enter the new tunnel entrance to the city when I found myself following a truck, the back of which was loaded with girls. They appeared to be about seventeen or so years old. Ah, I thought, I would once again be able to write about the girls of Guanajuato and use my own collective noun invention, “A giggle of girls,” to describe a truck-load of girls. Just before entering the tunnel on this bright sunny day, I saw the girls smiling and laughing. At the entrance there is a small hump in the road and as the truck entered the darkness of the tunnel there came a loud squeal from the girls, caused I suppose, from a combination of the surprise of unexpected blackness and from young bladders lifted in the air and let down suddenly, or whatever it is that makes young people go “Whee!” at carnival rides or when cresting a hill.

I smiled at hearing the familiar squeal. It was similar to the girlish and joyous screams we heard at the showing of the movie “Titanic,” a couple of years ago. Do you remember that scene where Leonardo DeCaprio, looking mighty fine in his tuxedo, stands at the top of the grand staircase of this ill-fated ship? All the girls in the theater at this showing in Guanajuato let out a spontaneous squeal of delight.

There is something about the girls of Guanajuato. They always seem to be smiling and laughing. Do they know something we don’t know? I wish they would let us in on it because they seem to be having a wonderful time. They hold hands a lot as they walk together down the street. You also see them holding the hands of their mothers, grandmothers, and smaller children. And when you see them walking with their boyfriend, they smile and look up adoringly at the guy. Yes, with adulation. Now this is where I have a little trouble with this behavior. The young fellows they are walking with have the bills of their baseball type caps turned to the rear. I have trouble understanding why boys wear their caps this way and I will never understand why girls would give these jerks the time of day. Of course, there is a little age difference between them and me, and I just can’t wear my hat that way.

Funicular Construction Halted

I thought by now I would be riding the new funicular, that cable driven car that is being constructed from el Plazuela de la Constancia to el Pipila monument. Now the word constancia in Spanish means certainty but the cable car project came to a sudden halt a few months ago. I read in the paper that the ecology department here had put a stop to it because the developers had cut down some trees. Usually these things get resolved by making the developers plant ten trees for every one cut down. I later learned that the developers faced a bigger problem. It seems that they were building the funicular on land that someone else owned. So the project remains on hold.

I have been told that property ownership records in Guanajuato are considered private and that the city cadastral office, the agency that keeps these records, will not release them to a non-owner. The consequence of protecting one’s privacy in this way is that arguments over who owns a particular piece of land are frequent. This is all the more the case because people can claim land by possession, or squatting on it for a certain amount of time. If you buy land here the safest thing to do is to build a wall or fence around your property, wait a year, and see if anyone shows up to claim your land. I am told that this is not the case in all parts of Mexico, although there is a term that one hears coming out of Mexico City-paracaidistas, which means parachutists. These are people that seem to come from nowhere, who somehow land on your property, build a little house, and then it’s “say hello to the new neighbors” time.

In my previous profession, regional planning, I sat in on a number of meetings discussing the problems of the cadastre, the official record of ownership of real estate. One meeting in Washington with the U.S. Geological Survey·, our nation’s premier mapping agency, officials there said yes, they knew the cadastre is of vital importance, but they didn’t want to get involved in any way with property ownership questions. I learned just how screwed up our land ownership records can be in the U.S., where at least the records are public and open. I wonder how they will ever straighten them out in a place like Guanajuato.

Animals

There are many pressing needs in Mexico and it is hard to know where one ought to lend a hand. I continue my interest in the Society for the Protection of Animals not because I think that what they are trying to do is the most pressing need but because it is so difficult to find people and resources to help in this area. In other words, animals are far down the line of priorities, as people perceive them. I think it is an area of activity that especially needs some help. The prevalent feeling here is that we ought to help people before we help animals, which misses the point that we can help people by helping animals. This is going to be a long struggle.

Bruce Feldman, a veterinarian from Berkeley, who is restoring a house in Guanajuato and occasionally visits here, recently sent me an article from a publication, Animal People-News for People Who Care About Animals. The article contained statements applicable to third world countries that illustrate just how difficult our task is.

Stabilizing numbers of street dogs or cats and beginning to achieve a reduction typically requires sterilizing approximately 70%. …until the rescuers reach 70%, sterilizing part of the population can actually increase the number of dogs and cats because there is less competition for food among pregnant females, who then bear more live young, and nurse longer, and because more puppies or kittens from each litter survive.

The article went on to explain that in parts of Asia, Africa and Latin America, millions of animals are being poisoned, shot, drowned, electrocuted, or gassed with car fumes, which are the typical fates of street dogs and sometimes feral cats. In those places rabies continues to kill thousands of humans each year, the majority of them children who play with street dogs. Conditions are not quite that bad in Guanajuato but the situation is not good.

We recently visited the city of Queretero. This is such an elegant city it is always a pleasure to visit there. The city supports an opera company, symphony orchestra, ballet company, several posh country clubs including a polo club, and it has a beautiful colonial historic district. We have not visited the posh country clubs, nor entered any polo matches but we do enjoy the colonial center of Queretero. Remember the song, Everything is Fine in Kansas City from the musical, Oklahoma? Well, that’s how I think of Queretero. Everything seems to be fine there. For one thing, they don’t have dogs running loose. The central historic district is as neat and as beautiful as can be. We asked at a shop where we were making some purchases how it was that there were no dogs on the street. La Señora, the shopkeeper, said that the city picked them up immediately and that if the dog had an owner, the owner had a few days to reclaim the animal.

The City of Guanajuato operates a perrera, a truck with a large cage in its bed that is used to round up stray animals. The animals are taken to the city of Leon and destroyed. Judging by the fact that one sees a fair number of dogs running loose I don’t think it is in constant use. I suppose when things get bad, the perrera is hauled out for a run to pick up animals.

I was told this story by a veterinarian in Guanajuto that I believe illustrates the problem. A few years ago in the nearby City of Dolores Hidalgo, which does not have a perrera, they asked the authorities in Guanajuato if they could borrow the vehicle to round up stray dogs. When the dogcatchers tried to capture the animals, people came out of the colonias with clubs and chased the animal control people away. No one was going to take there animal! I can’t be sure of this, but it is my belief that the success of an animal control program may be dependent on providing an opportunity for pet owners to rescue their animals if they should be on the loose and are caught. I know that putting down one’s pet, even when it is necessary, is an extremely painful event. I can only imagine the horror and rage that must come to a person whose dog or cat is picked up and destroyed before there is any chance to rescue it. Although it might take years, I continue to hope that we can build an animal shelter here in Guanjuato that will provide that second chance for animals. The need is great and resources are few. If you are interested in helping, send me a check in care of my son, Nathan, and I will see that it is converted to pesos and given to the S.P.A.

Our friend, Sandra Ward, is operating an interesting program that is dealing with the problem in a very direct way. With funds she has collected, she is able to subsidize the sterilization of dogs by cooperating veterinarians. This program is meant for people who cannot afford the cost of this operation and are committed to caring for their animal and keeping it off the street. A lot needs to be done. If you would like to help with this program you can send a check to: Sandra Ward

A.P. 3-7

36082 Guanajuato, GTO

Mexico

Something Extraordinary

A few weeks ago, Carole and I had the opportunity to meet Jan Copeland, a young American who is the pianist for the symphony orchestra here. During the conversation she mentioned that she had visited Salamanca, which is a town about fifty miles from Guanajuato. At one time Salamanca was probably very pretty but today it is blighted by fumes from the huge Pemex refinery located there. I asked why she had visited Salamanca, and she told us the story of the orphanage, which is called Ciudad de los Niños, of a concert she had heard performed by the children of the orphanage, of an idea and a dream she had that was quite inspiring. She told us that she had sent out sixty letters to music organizations in the United States telling them of her idea. I think her letter says it all quite well and I want to share it with you.

Dear Colleague:

I am the orchestral pianist for the Orquesta Sinfónica de Guanajuato, a full-time professional orchestra under the patronage of the University of Guanajuato, located in the capitol of the State of Guanajuato, México. In addition to Mexican musicians, our orchestra includes many European string players and U.S. wind and brass players.

Two weeks ago, while preparing the Mozart Coronation Mass for the inauguration of the new governor, we encountered something extraordinary, a children's chorus, 40 of more than 300 children from a nearby orphanage. Nothing extraordinary in that, right? But, we discovered that they had prepared this difficult music with almost nothing­¾just a little old padre who knows a little about music and who had a couple of recordings of the mass. We were amazed that they had accomplished so much with so little!

You probably receive dozens of letters each year asking for a donation of money for a charitable organization. I am not asking for money and I am not an organization; I'm just one musician with a dream that I hope will become a reality.

Several members of our symphony orchestra have pledged to give music classes to the children of the Ciudad de Los Niños (Children's Town - like the U.S. Boys' Town, only with girls too) and we are seeking a real chorusmaster for them. To begin a serious music education program, they will need chorus music, mostly ecclesiastical Latin, Italian or Spanish texts at first, basic elementary music methods, possibly with recorders for early training, and mostly¾instruments, including wind, brass and stringed instruments (full and reduced sizes).

I foresee the day when these children will not only sing the Mozart Coronation Mass, their own orchestra will accompany them! Yes, I know it's a big project, but not an impossible one. You can support this effort by spreading the word throughout your membership to help the dream grow beyond that of a sole musician into an organized, functioning body of fellow musicians who will know that they have helped create and nourish a community of young musicians where, before, there was nothing:

Yours truly,

Jan Copeland

P.S. Perhaps your local schools or churches could spare the parts to just one choral work, or you or your neighbors have an instrument gathering dust in the attic? I will be personally indebted to you, as well, for advice and logistical assistance.

PLEASE CONTACT ME:

Mtra. Jan Stella Copeland

Apartado Postal 561

Guanajuato, Gto. C.P. 36000 México

E-mail: Sisteregg@Yahoo.com

The initial response to Jan’s letter has been splendid. I have seen some of the e-mail messages coming in and this seems like the sort of project that people are interested in helping. A temporary collection point has been established with the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) in Virginia. Sue Rarus, MENC's Director of Publicity has been of tremendous help. If you can contribute instruments or scores please contact her.

It is hoped that we can obtain a collection site for the instruments on the U.S. side of the Mexican border, such as Laredo, Texas. One of the problems is to get these instruments across the border without paying duty. I know this sounds rather strange to Americans as to why there should be any problem with our sending orchestra instruments to an orphanage in Mexico, but the instruments are subject to duty. Jan Copeland and others involved in this project believe that we can enlist the help of the new governor and, if necessary, the new president, Vincente Fox, to get an exception. But chances are, we can only count on one, possibly two shipments. In other words, we can’t keep getting permission to transfer the instruments to Mexico.

Although Jan did not ask for money, some money will be needed. There is a need for such things as instrument reeds and repair materials. There is the cost of shipping and other expenses. The group doesn’t have an official name yet but it does have a treasurer, our friend, Bob Hawkins. I call the group, “Amigos de los Niños.” If you would like to make a contribution from Guanajuato, give the money to Bob:

Bob Hawkins

12 Plazuela Mexiamora

Telephone: 732-4704

(Special note: After a great start the project fell through because of problems on both sides of the border. The choir at the City of Chidren Orphanage is still going but without the improvements invisioned.)

Queen of England Visited Guanajuato in 1976. Is Bush Next?

Yes, it is true. Queen Elizabeth II visited Guanajuato twenty-five years ago. The city had just paved the Panoramica Highway that rims this beautiful city and the Queen was offered the opportunity of viewing Guanajuato from vantage points along this road. When Her Majesty stepped out of her vehicle her heals slowly sank into the fresh blacktop, making her, at least for a few moments, just another selected short subject. No one talks about this incident in Guanajuato, but the Queen, who was crowned in 1953 and became the legitimate monarch of Great Britain at that time, has not made a return visit.

Reports have been going around that Vincente Fox, who legitimately was elected President of Mexico last July may have a meeting with George W. Bush, who was, oh well… The meeting is scheduled for February in Guanajuato. Of course the Mexicans are very proud of Fox and the honesty of the election that brought him into office. Regarding Bush’s becoming president of the United States, the Mexicans, who have experienced decades of fraudulent elections, are very understanding and I don’t think they will hold it against him regardless of how he came into office. Choosing Mexico as the first foreign nation to visit was a very astute decision. Carole and I will probably miss this visit of presidents. With three other couples from Guanajuato, we will be visiting Barra de Navidad, a former Mexican fishing village on the Pacific coast, but which is now a favorite wintering place for Americans and Canadians. Guanajuato is expected to have a large turnout to see President Fox, who is from this state and is the former governor.

By the way, did you notice that after Chief Justice Rehnquist administered the oath of office, that Bush leaned over and quietly said to Rehnquist, “Thanks, thanks a lot, goodbudy.” I couldn’t see it but I think he also winked. Also, it is not true that Katherine Harris has been appointed ambassador to the Court of St. James. Some of Bush’s advisors thought that would be a little bit cheeky, so, they are proposing that she be appointed ambassador to the Republic of Mongolia where she is expected to be less visible.

O.K., I know this all sounds a little bitter. We supported Al Gore and were disappointed in his loss. It seems to me that inasmuch as we can’t do anything about it we might as well enjoy the humor that comes with George W. Republican supporters of George Bush should at least not begrudge us the only pleasurable thing coming from the conclusion of this election.

Our education president wants to know, “Is our children learning? (Grand Rapids, 1/11/00.)

He says, “My education message will resignate amongst all parents.”(New York Post, 1/19/00)

To the Boston Globe, he said, “A key to foreign policy is to rely on reliance,” (1/23/00)

The Associated Press quoted him, “There is madmen in the world, and there are terror.”

Oh, there is so much more. Let’s hope that they don’t script Bush too tightly so that we can get the real George W. and not some phony baloney puppet, and then, and then, we can enjoy the next four years. Another good one is, “Ha, ha, Ralph Nader, the joke’s on you! Now we know that it does make a difference who gets elected”

Comments on Visit to Spain Issue

Several of you wrote or e-mailed me to say how much you enjoyed the Trip to Spain Issue of Letter from Mexico. Thank you, thank you! It’s nice to know that someone is reading these things. Many of you commented on your own visit to Spain and compared your impressions with mine. I enjoyed receiving these remarks.

Ken Clark, of Madison, Wisconsin, said regarding the suit of armor with the peculiar extrusion that I encountered in the royal palace in Madrid, that this armor wouldn’t fit men from Wisconsin. To that, all I have to say is, that if they wore this armor in Wisconsin in the winter, it would fit just fine, with room to spare.

Peter Olmsted from Ann Arbor, Michigan, who frequently visits Guanajuato with his wife Ginny, wrote:

“Charlie, I remember seeing a suit of armor at the tower of London which had a protrusion similar to the one you describe in the palace of King Juan Carlos. The one I saw was said to belong to King Henry VIII. I know there was always competition going on between Spain and England. Could it be that one of these kings had heard of the other’s manly enclosure, and tried to outdo the other in splendor? I’m sure you will know the answer. Peter”

Yes Peter, I do believe I know the answer. The protrusion on the armor of Henry VIII was longer and thicker than on the armor I saw in Spain. That’s where the expression, “There will always be an England,” came from.

There was one little incident that occurred in Spain that I forgot to mention that may be of interest. Throughout the cities of Spain I never saw a monument of Francisco Franco, who was the Fascist dictator of Spain from 1936 until his death in 1975. He came into power by leading the rebel Nationalist Army to victory over the Loyalist Republican forces. Given my political orientation, I was pleased that there weren’t a lot of Franco statues around but I asked our English-speaking tour guide if I could ask her a political question. Our guide was a PhD major in linguistics and to me was expertly knowledgeable about everything in Spain. She sighed a bit and said, “Go ahead.” I asked her, what do the people in present day Spain think of Franco? How is he regarded? The answer was interesting. She said that the Civil War was terrible, just horrible. The killing, rape, atrocities, and torture among former friends were something awful. The old people, who experienced this, don’t want to talk about it. The young people, who did not live through any of this, don’t know what happened and so they don’t talk about it either.

Later, actually the last day of our trip, I came across a little kiosk that sold posters, pins, and souvenirs. I bought a poster with a picture of a Spanish lady dancer. Underneath it said, “Gran Festival de Baile, con la sensacional actuación de,” and under that the shop keeper printed, with stamped letters, “CAROLE MONTEMAYOR.” She was dancing¾Fandangos, Sevillanas, Rumbas, Seguidillas, and Tarantas.”

I also noticed a huge array of pins representing Spanish flags, sports clubs, and the like. I found a pin that I thought was quite handsome and would look good next to the pin given to me by the officials at the Village of Montemayor. I asked the shopkeeper what the pin was and he said it was some kind of club? The pin consisted of a cluster of arrows aligned vertically. “What kind of a club,” I asked. He mumbled something and finally said it was the Falange Española, the only legal party in Spain under Dictator Francisco Franco. I decided not to buy it.

---

· The U.S. Geological Survey is a marvelous federal agency that keeps track of our mineral and water resources in addition to producing maps. Someone has figured out a way to cash in on the work of this agency by selling topographic maps of locations where aliens have “landed” on earth. Now why didn’t I think of that? Check it out on the internet:

http://www.aliensonearth.com/catalog/pub/usgs/ufo