Greetings from Guadalajara!

Wow! What a whirlwind past several days! I arrived here in Guadalajara late on the night of Thursday, Dec. 27th. I have some friends here. He is Mexican and she is a gringa. For the sake of privacy, I'll refer to them as S and K. They picked me up at the airport and we talked until late into the night. Thursday morning we were off driving to the state of Michoacan, where S. is from and where his mother currently lives.
First we drove to Morelia, the capital of Michoacan. It has a marvelous old city center. The stone buildings are heavy, baroque, but fascinating. The city center is a World Heritage site. As we walked through the narrow city streets, the bells from the Cathedral were ear-jarringly loud. The cathedral, like the other public buildings is heavy, almost oppressively so. It struck me as a good representation of the Catholic sense of the sinful nature of humanity and the eternal punishment that awaits those who misbehave.
The stone blocks of these 16th century buildings are made of a local stone that I've heard described as "soft." Rain, wind, and the elements, al well as pollution, have worn away much of the surfaces. I found it a little worrisome that if the stone is wearing away on the outside, what is it doing on the inside. The buildings also contain mortar between the stones, unlike the Inca structures in Peru and Ecuador, where one carefully carved stone rests upon another.
S. told me that his mother told him that, "in the old days," there would be thousands of Indians standing with candles outside th cathedral on feast days. Apparently that doesn't happen anymore. I can't help but wonder if church attendance is a reflection of the economic and political climate of the country. Church attendance in affluent politically stable northern Europe is the lowest ever. In Venezuela, there's been a resurgence in church attendance since the rise of Hugo Chavez. There is no doubt that Mexico is economically on the upswing. Guadlajara at least is economically far above the places I've been in central and south america. I'm told there are half a dozen shopping malls in Guadalajara. The one nearest where I'm staying offers the biggest Wal-Mart I've ever entered, a Costco, Outback Steakhouse, Applebees, etc. The one supermarket I went into, something called Mega, was huge. And, unlike Costa Rica, where the shoppers just window shop, it seemed like the people were realling buying things.
The cars that people drive all seem to be relatively new and shiny. Like south america, they are a mix of the sensible European small economy cars and the American SUV's. There is much less of a police presence here than in south or central america. I also suspect there is a proportionately lesser amount of crime. The ATM machines are just out in the open. In south or central america, they were frequently behind locking doors, sometimes with a private security guard nearby with a submachine gun.
The street in front of S&K's house is quiet, residential. In the morning, the sounds of the birds chirping is peaceful. As Mexico's second city, Guadalajara is supposed to suffer from air pollution. But the air smells nice and fresh to me. Another day of temperatures in the 80's is arriving, and for the last days of December, this is my idea of winter! This is an upscale neighborhood, so I didn't even hear a rooster. Every 30 feet or so along the street is a large ficus tree. The city workers come by regularly and trim them into a barrel shape.
Until next time, luego!