C.E. Flores's Blog, page 53

Buying Clothing in Mexico

Truth be told, I find buying clothing in Mexico the most difficult shopping experience of all. I am never happy with neither the fit nor the quality of my purchases. I often can’t find anything suitable at all even after hours of searching. However, not having much of a choice, I’ve had to persevere.

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Shoes can be bought at a zapatería. Having enormous feet (size 7 1/2 US) or at least compared to local residents, means that I am not able to find my size in the style that I want. Fortunately, our area has a Coppel now and it carries a larger variety of shoes in my size. There’s a little tradition when new shoes are purchased. It’s customary when you show off your new shoes, the person admiring them will step on your foot, leaving a shoe print mark, sort of like that first dent in your new car. It’s just an expected action. Get used to it.

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You can get your shoes repaired, and find shoelaces, at the reparadora de calzado. Tio Felipe, when he wasn’t selling moonshine and Pepsi, worked as a cobbler until his eyesight became too bad.

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Undergarments, bras, panties, slips, girdles, and such, can be found at the bonetería. This word very possibly comes from the whalebone corsets imported with the Spanish into Mexico. I’m not entirely sure, but I don’t think undergarments were of high enough importance to rate their own specialty store, or even used for that matter, before the conquest. Be warned, bigger sizes of bras are hard to find, which I don’t understand since there are all sorts of boob sizes in Mexico, but be that as it may, the standard size and cup is 34B.

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If you need a hat, head to the sombrerería. Western style hats, Easter hats, gardening hats and chachuchas (caps) can all be found here.

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Our pueblo (town) is particularly known for its rebozos (traditional Mexican shawls) and there are specialty stores called rebocerías where you can find a multitude of thicknesses and patterns. Some rebozos are hand-made, others are manufactured, but all of them are lovely.

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For scarves, accessories and handbags, head to the accesorios shop. Again, each shop is stocked with what the owner most likes, so you might have to go to more than one to find something that you like.

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Jewelry can be bought, sold or repaired at the joyería, watches at the relojería. If you want to sell your jewelry items look for signs that say “se compra oro y plata.” (Gold and silver bought here.) They buy by the piece or some will just buy the gems (pedacería). If you just need repairs, take the item to the taller de joyería or relojería, but only a place that has a good reputation otherwise your grandmother’s diamond might be replaced with cubic zirconia and you’re none the wiser.

There are special stores to find a first communion, 3-year presentation outfits, Quinceañeras or school uniforms. Wedding dresses and funeral clothing (yes there are special outfits for the dearly departed) also have their specialty stores. Suits for Quinceañeras or weddings or other formal occasions can be bought or rented.

Our town and the neighboring town co-host 8 km of clothing shops. Talk about shopping overload! Each shop carries whatever it wants and has the sizes that the shopkeeper feels will sell the fastest, which usually isn’t the sizes I’m looking for. Women’s sizes are not the same as in the US, although men’s clothes seem to match. Anything over size Woman’s 12 is considered are talla extra (extra big size).

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The weekly tianguis always has at least one vendor with huge piles of second-hand clothes you can dig through. This is a great place to find good quality children’s clothes at a reasonable price, however it is time consuming. Best to take a few of your lady friends and divide and conquer the mound.

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You might also be able to find used clothing at bazaars. It’s quite a lucrative business to import second hand clothing and resell it here, mostly because the quality of the second-hand goods is far superior to the locally manufactured clothing items

There are also places that specialize in saldos, which are like outlet stores. Although you think you might be getting a good deal, these clothing items often are flawed in some way. Perhaps they are sized correctly or maybe the inseam was cut just a little bit too small. Let the buyer beware in this case.

Lest you think all hope is lost, if you head to larger areas, you may just find a store that sells clothing like Liverpool, Sears, and maybe even a Walmart, if that’s what you like. Of course, the prices are astronomical, imported goods and all, but it may be worth it to find long-lasting, comfortable and stylish clothing.

How has your shopping experience been in Mexico?

Inspiring Authors in Mexico–Daniel T. Gair

Daniel T. Gair is originally from Maine, U.S.A. and is currently living full time at Rancho Sol y Mar in Jalisco. Here’s what he has to say about his life.

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Mexico had loomed large in my mind since, in junior high, a friend’s older brother came back from a trip to Mexico with his buddies, and regaled all of us younger boys with stories of the adventure. Just the word itself “Mexico” seemed larger than life while growing up. In many ways, it has remained so to this day.

The property we bought in Jalisco was a catalyst for a total makeover of Holly’s and my life. We’ve transitioned from a norm of black-tie fundraisers and cocktail parties to shoveling goat poo and tending chickens. Perhaps the largest transition is that I’ve gone from a life of jetting around the world, to living quite simply, and swearing off red meat and all unnecessary plane travel in an effort to limit my carbon footprint. My main focus in life has become the pursuit of a more sustainable lifestyle, and Mexico, with its ample sunshine, and relaxed regulations, has been the perfect place to follow that intention.

Other than the above practical day-to-day belief system changes, I don’t think my underlying spiritual beliefs have changed any. My beliefs are pretty standard issue Buddhist: Live with integrity. Be as present and in-the-moment as possible. Don’t harm other living beings unnecessarily. Be kind and truthful.

I’ve gotten calmer and more disciplined in my approach to things. I’d like to believe I’ve gotten softer and kinder. I’m trying to live less in my head, more in-the-moment, and to go easier on myself, but that is still a work in progress.

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Achieving basic fluency in Spanish has been a big challenge that I have overcome. I have also overcome a lot of my core, day to day fear. I’ve had a good life. What comes now is the icing.

I’d say that other than all the challenges described in the book, the most intractable challenge is breaking through culture and language barriers to achieve the fullest assimilation possible. That and reducing my carbon footprint to as close to zero as possible, which, I’m finding, is a much, much larger challenge than I had anticipated. Creating community at the property is an ongoing challenge. Other challenges I face include missing friends and family and having good pavement to ride my bike on.

I try to take care of myself by eating well, meditating, and getting some good aerobic exercise daily.

I’m deeply proud of my daughter Aja who is one of the smartest, compassionate, and well-adjusted people I know. I am proud of how well Holly and I have dealt with mountains of stress getting to this point in our lives, and, even though the tracks of our lives have diverged a lot, especially with my current self-imposed travel ban, I’m proud that we have still remained committed to keeping our love intact and growing. I’m proud of what we’ve created here at the ranch. It makes me feel hopeful when I see young people get excited by the Permaculture Principals we are practicing, and I feel empowered to see the efforts we’ve made beginning to bear fruit (literally and figuratively). Lastly, I have to say, I’m proud of the book. I think I’ve transmitted a fun, insightful read, and that the stories carry with them a deeper message of respect for culture and nature.

The day we found the ranch was the defining moment in my life in Mexico. Where we’re becoming more and more self-sufficient, I no longer care much about all the consumer choices that we’ve left behind. Part and parcel with that, I barely ever worry about money anymore. We live off a combination of investments, social security, and rental income from a couple of properties, one here, and one in the States. I also have a dribble of photography residuals. As a retired photographer, Mexico has always provided me with visual inspiration. The country folk of Mexican, with their grit and positive attitude, despite so often having the deck stacked against them, are a constant source of inspiration.

I spend my free time reading, listening to and playing music, bicycling, horseback riding, swimming and taking walks with Holly.

As for writing aspirations, for now, it’s all about pushing this little bird, The Mexico Diaries, out of the nest, and seeing if it can fly. I’ve also begun writing regular articles and book reviews for Permaculture North America Magazine, and I intend to continue with that. I am re-working one of the chapters in the book, The Ride To Talpa, into a submission for Outdoor Magazine, or possibly others. Depending on how the book is received, I may begin a follow-up. Just a few weeks ago we had a story-worthy incident where a volunteer we had headed here turned out to be on the Atlanta Top Ten Most Wanted list and was being sought by both the FBI and U.S. Marshal’s Service. We helped stall him until his capture by U.S. agents posted in Mexico city. Seriously, this shit keeps writing itself! Lastly, I have a couple of fiction book ideas that I’m kicking around.

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Take it from me, you won’t want to miss out on the adventures found in Dan’s book The Mexico Diaries: A Sustainable Adventure available now at Amazon!

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Inspirational Writers in Mexico–Jennifer Robin Lee

Jennifer Lee wrote How to Not Run Away to Mexico and from her experience designed an eCourse to help people NOT repeat her mistakes. Here’s what she has to say about that process. [image error]

I use my branded name Jennifer Robin Lee online but most of my friends and close ones call me Jenn.

I’m originally from Edmonton but my heart is in Mexico City. I spend my time between these two places these days. I am a completely different person because of Mexico. I don’t even know how to describe it. I’m more relaxed, more discerning, less naive, as well. I’m always changing, regardless of whether of I’m in Mexico or not. I’ve had quite a bit of challenges in Mexico which you can read in my book.

I joined the circus in 1994 in Monterrey, Saltillo. And then I ran away from the circus. The way I got started writing my book was for at least 20 years people have been telling me I should write a book. I went to the circus at 17 and now I’m in my 40s. I’ve been coming and going to Mexico for a long time. So finally I was like how am I going to get this book started? I’ve got two little children and I want to get this thing off my bucket list.

I saw a website online, Stefan James, talking about how to write a book in 24 hours. I also got a professional life coach. That’s when I set up the e-Course, in May 2017. So I decided to write a book. Then I bought the domain names and set up the website. Then I helped people with some immigration questions on the site because I was having the same problems.

After the site was developed, somebody approached me to see if I needed some videography done. I met with this Mexican guy and we ended up working together and filming at least half of what is in the intro course.

The accomplishment that makes me the proudest is building this e-course. I’m excited to get up in the morning. I feel I have a purpose. I have more emotion now as I’m growing through success than no emotion when I’ve been unsuccessful or failed. It’s just more emotional when you’re like Wow! I did this. I accomplished this. I created this. I had this idea and it came true. You have to create things in your mind before you can create them in reality. That’s the hardest part. People can’t think about what they want and then they can’t express what they want.

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When I moved to Mexico the second time, I had a 6 bedroom character home. It was beautifully renovated. I just gave the keys to the neighbor, and my cat, and said I was going on a trip to Mexico. I sold it while I was gone with everything in it. It felt so freeing.

Before that, I had downsized a lot. And really cleaned up my environment, cleaned up my things, got rid of all the junky little things and everything I had was in good condition. I’ve learned that is more of a headache to have all this stuff.

There have been many moments that have defined my character in Mexico. Because sometimes there will be moments when the situation defines you. Mexico really tests your patience.

I don’t have a lot of free time. I schedule in every moment something that can be done that I enjoy doing, like going and visiting my friends. But my friends have the same kind of interests as me when it comes to business and stuff. So I’m always talking about my business and sharing ideas.

Helping others. When they have trouble, I’ll share what helped me. So that’s what I do in my spare time. I’m living my business but it’s not like I have to escape from it.

I work online. I have a certification in e-commerce. I have a specialization in SEO from the University of California-Davis. I’ve been a geek since I was 7 years old when my dad gave me my first Texas Instrument 100 computer where I learned programming at age 7. There were video games on it but I had a programming book that my dad gave me that’s what got me really into computers and I’ve been a geek since. I don’t program now, I just do web development but nothing complicated like Java. I’d love to meet more people in that work role.

My services are mostly consulting for clients who have at a sizeable amount to spend on a project. I used to do hourly, I still have some clients like that but I don’t accept any new web development work where I’m actually customizing for clients anymore.[image error]

My current goal is to help people move to Mexico and be a mentor or role model in helping others achieve success online whether it be writing, e-course development, web development, search engine optimization, networking, making videos and whatnot. Every day I work towards this goal.

Make sure you don’t miss out on either the eCourse or the hysterical roller coaster of a ride Jennifer writes about in her book How to Not Run Away to Mexico. 

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Are you planning to move to Mexico? Are you ready yet? This course takes you through the baseline planning you’ll need to make a successful transition to Mexico. Don’t wait! The price goes up in a few days! https://courses.movetomexiconow.com/c/intro/a/cpmYFEtYV

Review of Beat Self-Sabotage: How to overcome the emotions that are holding you back by J. Byrne

Today I’d like to feature yet another gem I discovered in the Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle!

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Are you letting emotional baggage keep you from becoming the person you want to be? Consider taking a look at J. Byrne’s workbook Beat Self-Sabotage: How to overcome the emotions that are holding you back.

Each page focuses on one emotion or behavior that might be holding you back and includes information on the psychology about that emotion or behavior, an inspirational quote, a link to a short video, recommended readings, a link to online support resources, and blank areas to record your reflections as you work through the book.

Emphasis is given to procrastination, self-doubt, overcoming being overwhelmed or indecisive, stress, depression, anxiety, anger, vengefulness, and tips to finding a more peaceful existence.

Lately, a number of personal and business ventures have fallen from the sky and I’ve been naturally feeling a bit overwhelmed. Therefore, I thought it would be best for me to begin this workbook with the Overwhelm or Indecisive unit.

First was a reference from an article entitled “Overwhelmed much?” published by Psychology Today which highlights 9 reasons most of us are more overwhelmed than we should be.

A nice quote from Paulo Coelho is the next resource for the topic.

[image error]Then there is this short video made by John Tayles discussing Cures for Indecisiveness.

For further reading try Eat the Elephant, Overcoming Overwhelm by Karolyn Blume where the author shares time-tested tools for eliminating overwhelm and perfectionism. [image error]

If a book seems too overwhelming, there’s a blog resource which breaks it down into bite-size bits. Here’s the link for Steve Andreas’s NLP Blog and the post Overcoming Overwhelm.

As if these resources weren’t enough, there’s also a link to Stop feeling overwhelmed and get things done printable planner available at Etsy.

[image error]As wonderful as this personal development workbook is, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. J. Byrne also hosts a micro-mentoring course to help you define what you want from life and carve out the time to create it.

See why I’m enjoying the latest Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle? Make sure to get yours before it’s too late!

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Book Review– Creating Your Off-Grid Homestead: Radical Inspiration and Practical Advice by Terri Page

This is just one of the amazing reads found in this year’s Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle!  Here’s what I thought about Terri Page’s book, Creating Your Off-Grid Homestead: Radical Inspiration and Practical Advice.

If you’ve read my book La Yacata Revolution, you may already know that being off-grid homesteaders was not our plan. Things just worked out that way and I can’t say that we’ve had many regrets because of it.

Mostly we didn’t want to be off-grid homesteaders because of our preconceived notions of the hardships, cost, and feasibility. Reading articles, watching DIY videos, and researching options made it seem incredibly overwhelming.

That’s why I loved Terri Page’s off-grid homesteading story. She made homesteading seem accessible to everyone without mincing words about the hard parts. As you’ll see, some of her story mirrors ours!

She and her husband built a tiny house in Missouri. (My husband built ours and Mexico has a far better climate). They use rainwater for most drinking, cooking and personal hygiene needs but also have access to a pond. (Water is our biggest challenge living in La Yacata.) They cook using a combination of woodstove, propane burners and solar cookers. (We cook in a very similar manner.) and have no refrigerator (just like us). They do have a root cellar to keep food longer and in in Missouri this is a great option. No so much for Mexico. After living without any electricity for a year and a half, they set up a solar electricity system for their house. (We lived 11 years without any electricity and have recently installed a small solar system ourselves.) Laundry is sometimes hand scrubbed and wrung out, sometimes is done at a laundromat 12 miles away. I can’t imagine scrubbing in the midst of a Missouri winter, so that’s understandable. (We have hand washed for years and not so long ago purchased our first washer in Mexico.) And they have animals! Terri and her family raise chickens, ducks, bees, cows, sheep, goats, and pigs. (You can read about our animal homesteading efforts in Wascally Wabbits and Zombie Babies. We’ve never kept bees.)

In addition to creating this off-grid lifestyle, which sometimes meant living in tents and hauling buckets of poo, they are raising two children, (We only have one.), running an Etsy shop, teaching homesteading ecourses (I teach English) and blogs at Homestead Honey. (Obviously, I blog too!)

At the end of each section, Terri has a list of questions for you to think about when considering off-grid living. To give you a better idea what I mean, here are the questions after the electricity chapter:

Is solar electricity the best option for your homestead?
Have you considered other alternative energy sources such as wind power or micro-hydro?
Do you have adequate southern exposure for solar electricity?
Do you plan to be grid-tied or completely off-grid?
What is your budget?
Can you purchase a small system now and add to it later?
Are rebates or credits available in your area to help you with the initial investment?
Who will do the installation?

Of course, each off-grid life will be as unique as the individuals creating it, so there’s not a lot of explicit how-to sections in this book. Rather, Terri highlights the things that have worked for them and talks about the things that didn’t work out so well so that you can learn from her family’s efforts, much like I try to do.

So, if you are at all considering an off-grid homestead, you ought to check out Homestead Honey and see what useful tips you can learn as you make the transition.

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The Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle

I have to say that there is a glut of stuff in this year’s Ultimate Healthy Living Bundle!

62 eBooks, 12 printable packs & workbooks,
20 eCourses and 2 membership sites

96 products worth $2,235.92 

There were so many amazing things to digest in this bundle that I was initially overwhelmed. I decided to start with one book, one workbook, and an ecourse. I felt like I had gotten my money’s worth with just those three. I can’t wait to explore the rest of the bundle. I’ll fill you in on my review as I work through all this stuff!

Learn more here.

Don’t forget the amazing bonuses!

FREE Eyeshadow Duo from Redeeming Beauty Minerals, a $29.90 value
50 FREE Loads of Laundry Wash + FREE Washing Machine Cleaner from MyGreenFills, a $36.00 value
FREE BeeSilk Lotion Stick (.6 oz) and Foot Rub Stick (.6 oz) from MadeOn Skin Care, a $16.50 value


FREE Hannah’s Special Kombucha Tea Blend (4 oz.) from Kombucha Kamp, a $16.95 value


FREE 2 oz. Bottle of Teeth Tamer from Earthley, a $14.99 value
FREE 2-pack Soap Bundle from Puro Co, a $15.00 value
FREE 2 oz. bottle of Select Liquid Herbal Formulas from TriLight Health, a $12.95 value


FREE Nosey Plush Toy Aromatherapy Diffuser with Soother Holder from Essential Bracelet, a $14.95 value

As with all ultimate bundles, there is a deadline so make sure you get yours before September 10.

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Buying Sewing Notions in Mexico

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You would think that buying sewing notions would be a no-brainer, but let me tell you, it isn’t.

We live in an area where the main source of revenue is textile. Other areas might not have the same variety that we have here, but I expect will have the same hassle.

[image error]Suppose you want to buy a spool of thread. You can’t just waltz into Parisina (a fabric store) and pick one up. NOOOOO. That would be too easy. First, you have to get the attention of one of the attendants. Then you indicate what spool of thread you wish to purchase (or length of fabric or ribbon). The attendant will take your purchases and write up a purchase order, giving you a copy. Then he or she will take your things to the bagging area. You will take the copy of the purchase order to the cashier hidden somewhere behind the rolls of fabrics who will take your money and give you a different receipt which you will then take to the area where your things have been bagged for pickup. You hand the receipt to the attendant there who will check it against the items in the bag and then and only then will you be able to take possession of your purchase.[image error] The only difference I’ve seen with smaller fabric stores is the number of the employees. There is still this whole purchase order before payment process, like back in the old days at the dry goods store.

The lengthy fabric shopping experience has put me off buying new material for projects. Instead, I have been slicing and dicing our old clothes into squares which I turn into patchwork pillows or tablecloths, nothing fancy mind you. I just LOVE my treadle sewing machine!

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Se hacen moldes de ropa (patterns made)

You can’t just buy a pattern envelope like at Joanne’s fabrics. That would be too easy. You can, however, have a pattern made from a particular clothing item where you see a sign that reads “se hacen moldes de ropa.”

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Alterations done at the Sastreria, sometimes while you wait.

You can have your clothes tailored at the sastre (tailor) or the (tailorsastería ‘s shop). If your scissors are dull, you can take them to places that advertise “aflilar de tijeras”. In our town, we also have a scissor sharpener that roams the streets periodically with his pan flute. Places that advertise “se bordan nombres” will embroider your child’s name on his or her school uniforms, which I highly recommend because it will save having to buy a new sweater or jacket every few months when your kid leaves it at school. With an embroidered name you can just waltz in the school office and rummage through the “lost” sweater pile and reclaim in.[image error]Fabric and ribbons and lace are sold by the meter rather than yard, which isn’t a hard conversion. If you need beading, zippers, buttons and such not, you will need to go to a mercería although larger stores like the above mentioned Parisina have a small inventory of these items. At either location, you can buy just one or by weight or count, depending on the item.[image error]If you need parts for your sewing machine, there are parts stores. You might even find a stand at the weekly tianguis (market). Some only carry parts for certain companies, like Singer, Brother, and so on, while others have a little bit of everything. There are also sewing machine repair shops as well, at least in our area. Like I said, 80% of the town work at some sort of clothing manufacturing. We took my treadle sewing machine to one recently. (See Getting some repairs done.)

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Instead of a revolutionary war hero statue, Moroleon has Los Conos–three huge cones of thread–at the entrance to the town.

If you are looking for something that the store doesn’t have, you might be told “Se me acabo” (I just ran out) or “Viene manana” (The shipment comes tomorrow). Most of the time, this isn’t true and you should look for the item in another store rather than wasting your time returning tomorrow when the shipment is “supposedly” coming in. You could leave your phone number and have the store call you when that item does come in though if you are willing to wait.[image error]Knitting (tejido de dos agujas or tejido de punto) isn’t very popular here, although most older ladies know how to crochet (tejido de un aguja or de ganchillo). If you need yarn, be aware that it’s pricey and not as easy to find as you might think. There are however, stores, that only sell yarn, so not all hope is lost.  Don’t even try to find organic and natural yarn. Everything is mass produced importation. There are a few stores that sell crocheted baby clothes, which are just adorable.

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Embroidery (bordado) is very popular and you should be able to find patterns and embroidery floss at the market. The women who run these stands also sell their finished products like embroidered tortillas servilletas (napkins) and crocheted doilies if you aren’t inclined to make them yourself.

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So, now I hope you are a little more informed when heading out in search of sewing notions in Mexico.

Book Review–The Mexico Diaries by Daniel Theodore Gair

A few months ago I was privileged enough to be a Beta reader for The Mexico Diaries: A Sustainable Adventure South of the Border. What a read![image error]

The adventure for empty-nesters Dan and his wife Holly begins in 2005 when they began their search for that little bit of heaven everyone hopes to find in Mexico. Making a real estate purchase on the strength of a handshake and a scrap of paper from a less than emotionally stable guy named Steven, Dan and Holly struggle with completing the purchase long-distance, wading through the quagmire of ejido land grants, and the agonizing slow legal process Mexico is famous for.

These aren’t the only challenges. There are language and communication issues, both locally and further afield. The internet being what it is in Mexico has Dan climbing trees looking for a strong enough signal to complete important financial transactions. Then there is the constant battle with the local wildlife, snakes, iguanas, lizards, and tarantulas, that just don’t agree with the new rule that their place is OUTSIDE the house. Repairs and new construction projects are stubbornly done the Mexican way, much to the new owners’ bafflement while baby goats dance merrily on the top of vehicles.

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Four years, a heart attack that nearly ends the deal for the would-be eco-warriors (spoiler alert–neither Dan nor Holly had the heart attack), and a few headaches later, 40 hectares of Mexican paradise is theirs and the real work begins. A whole slew of unimaginable characters, both human and animal, make their entrance (and sometimes spectacular exits) into Dan and Holly’s lives as they endeavor to create the self-sustainable lifestyle they envisioned.

Over the next few years, Holly becomes a goat-wrangler and Dan becomes the mascot for the yearly Mayto Calbalgata horseback pilgrimages. There’s no doubt in my mind that when the time finally comes for their Mexican adventure to end they’ll be able to say that they took to heart Hunter S. Thompson’s concept of life.

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So if you are looking for a whirlwind Mexican journey to sustainability and beyond I’m positive you’ll enjoy the stranger than fiction story found in The Mexico Diaries: A Sustainable Adventure by Daniel Theodore Gair. Available free for a limited time at Amazon!

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Failing at your own business–Buy Me A Coffee Crowdfunding

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So you know I like trying out different ways to make a bit of cash. And here’s my latest find. Although I warn you, I can’t imagine how this particular setup will make millions for you.

[image error]Buy me a coffee

Here are the basics.

Buy Me a Coffee is a crowdfunding platform for creators, artists, and writers. I’m a writer now with actual books, so I qualify! Fancy that. In case you didn’t know, you can find my currently available books listed here.

Here’s my Buy Me a Coffee page.

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The idea is that instead of buying that overpriced Mocha Cappuccino Caramel Frappe today, you donate $3, $4, or $5 to the creative genius of your choice via Paypal.

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You can also “purchase” exclusive material for the cost of the donation. Right now I have one section of the book I am working on available here.

I’ve set up a low-level goal of $15 just because I never seem to have any luck with crowdfunding efforts. And I’ve added the button to the sidebar on my page and Tumblr.

And that’s pretty much it. I know my current writing endeavors aren’t nearly as important as say the Guatemalan volcano survivor assistance project Genesis is doing here, but nothing ventured nothing gained right?

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Grandparents’ Day in Mexico

Extended family is important in Mexico. Grandparents often live near their grown children if not in the same house and as a result, are part of the daily lives of their grandchildren.

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In our family, my son’s abuelo (grandfather) lives just up the road.  My husband lived with his grandmother, Mama Sofia, for a time as a teenager. We visited Papa Rique and Mama Vira regularly. Mama and Papa are the shortened forms of Mama Grande and Papa Grande which are the terms used in Cerano for grandparents rather than abuelo/abuela.

So it’s no surprise that Mexico has a day to celebrate grandparents. Most Catholic nations celebrate Grandparents’ Day on July 26 because this is the feast day of Joaquin and Ana whose feast day is July 25.  Joachim and Anne were Mary’s parents and therefore Jesus’ grandparents. But not Mexico. According to some sources, under Porfirio Diaz (which incidentally is my husband’s grandfather’s name and my son’s middle name) events and activities to honor the elderly in the community occurred during the celebration of the feast day of Agustin de Hipona on August 28. Another source credits the idea of Grandparents’ Day to Lazaro Cardenas. Apparently, he made mention that there should be a holiday to celebrate grandparents, but I wasn’t able to find any proof that he actually established a day.  A third story says that Edgar Gaytan Monzon, a radio announcer, developed the idea of Grandparents’ Day because he felt that the UN’s International Day of Older Persons excluded those who were grandparents in their 30s, 40s or 50s.  Being a younger grandparent is not uncommon in Mexico. The average age of a woman having her first child is 21.3 years, although in our area it seems the average age is about 18. So if a woman has her first child at 21 and her child has his or her first child at 21, the woman will be a grandmother at 42.  My husband’s sister became a grandmother this month. She’s 40.  The dates don’t make sense for this last one to be true.  International Day of Older Persons was established after Grandparents’ Day.

What’s more likely is that Mexico saw that the US had a day for Grandparents established in 1978 and thought it was a good idea.  Regardless of whose idea it was, since 1983, Grandparents’ Day has been observed on August 28 in Mexico.

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Mama Vira and Papa Rique with some of their great-grandchildren.

It’s customary for grandchildren to make a card or other small craft to give to their grandparents. Sometimes a special meal is prepared.  As with the other family holidays, the most important thing is to spend time together.