Birthday party

I attend my first Mexican birthday party. You could say little Alfredo (2 years old) was ready to "head into" the fiesta (note:picture with face plant in b-day cake!). His cousin (with the major lip protruding) was not as happy!

The picture of the couple is of my friend's parents: Alfredo & Anna Marie

Hitting the old piñata...the kids and me

While I was staying with my Missionary of the Holy Spirit amigo in Guadalajara...they had a birthday party for his two year sobrino...Alfredo. You might notice in the second picture that not only did the piñata split in two...but so did the stick I was using... Aren't I tough!!

The song for the piñata:

Dale, dale, dale,
no pierdas el tino,
por que si lo pierdes
pierdes el camino.

The culture significance of the piñata: The original piñata was shaped like a star with seven points. The points represented the seven deadly sins, and the bright colors of the piñata symbolize temptation. The blindfold represents faith and the stick is virtue or the will to overcome sin. The candies and other goodies inside the piñata are the riches of the kingdom of heaven. Thus teaching that with faith and virtue one could overcome sin and receive all the rewards of heaven.

Real Street Sweepers in Morelia & Guadalajara

Well...the first week, I was noticing people in front of their houses and tiendas sweeping...but they were the owners...these folks are the city employed sweepers. Different than what we in the States are used to.

The trip to Guadalajara

I had a great opportunity this weekend to travel with a Missionary of the Holy Spirit (Chuy...though I sometimes call him Chubacca) to his home town of Guadalajara. Great guy, big city and interesting surroundings.

The streets are rock and dirt. The outsides of the buildings are almost all have graffiti and yet you walk into the local parish church...it's gorgeous inside!

I asked the father of Chuy (Alfredo) when we were leaving...of course all of this is in Spanish because nobody on this trip, nor at Chuy's house, could speak English, if the local area was safe to walk around alone. He said no, never. Lot's of stealing, breakins and murders, but he said there was no prostitution, that was an interesting point.


One of the pictures above, you'll see what the poor of the city live in...cardboard or tin "houses". This area of poorer folks was not far (about a 1/2 mile) from where we were staying.

The last picture was of me doing a little clowning around in downtown Guadalajara. I told the clowns, once in again only in Spanish, that I didn't know Spanish...they said they didn't know English...we both were in trouble!

The Basicilica of Zapopan

One of the places the brothers of the Missionaries of the Holy Spirit and I went to while I was in Guadalajara this weekend (May 1-May 2) was the Basilica of Zapopan, which Pope John Paul II visited in January of 1979 (the year I was born). There wasn't a lot of pews for folks to sit during the 12pm Mass...so we stood. The place was packed!

A couple interesting points...a collage of sorts about the first canonized Mexican...San Felipe de Jesus you can read a bit about him here: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12006b.htm

Also...a chapel devoted to confessions...with tons of penalty boxes and plenty of people waiting to get in...actually, it seems to me that I find the Sacrament of Penance a high priority for the Mexicans.