THE MARIACHI, Culture of Mexico

By Gabriela Cecilia López Alvarado

 Laura Alejandra López Alvarado

There was carried out the last one of the cycle of conferences of 2009 that organized the H. Zihuatanejo de Azueta's town hall in the Hotel Barceló this November 06 of the year in process at 19:00 o’clock. In this occasion the topic of the magisterial conference was The Mariachi for the investigator of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the Anthropologist, Dr. Jesus Jáuregui who gave his conference accompanied of live music with a local mariachi.

After been presented credit he initiated his conference speaking about the importance of the mariachi in the musical Mexican culture but beyond the musical thing, the process of social development and to develop historically of Mexico might explain without the mariachi and his musical genre.

Breaking with the usual scheme of the conferences, after this brief explanation, he went to the public and invited them to take part in a session of questions and answers.

The public assistant expressed some questions as: How did it be that the mariachi originated?, in what moment does woman join the mariachi?, wherefrom does the gown of the mariachi come?, Jalisco or Cocula?, how many persons agreed to the mariachi in a beginning?, in what type of social class do I develop? And, which is the etymology of the mariachi?

Continuation...

Aniela Arzate Castelán, Gabriela Cecilia López Alvarado, Laura Alejandra López Alvarado, students of the Preparatory of the Institute Lizardi-UNAM, and the Lic. Rodrigo Campos Amaro accompanied by the prestigious lecturer, anthropologist, Dr . Jesus Jáuregui.

PLEASE, PULSATES HERE AND LISTENS:
SON DE LA NEGRA with the Mariachi Vargas of Tecalitlan

Fountains:

Confers (notes of passbook)
Channel of the Mexican Music  ( http://www.youtube.com/user/solitariodark )

ALTAR OF DEAD IN ZIHUATANEJO

By Rosa Elena Alvarado and

Laura Alejandra López Alvarado

"Now near centenary of the Mexican revolution it is more than indispensable to remember the heroes who allowed that ideal this one should turn a fact, a fact that mark the Mexican history. Those who dedicated life and work to liberating the Mexican people. That better way of honoring the fallen in the Mexican Revolution, more than with a Tzompantli a native tradition of the mexicas; an altar where there were placed the crania of the sacrificed ones, generally captive of war, in order to honor his gods, and it was the most evident manifestation of the political-religious control. The Mexican Revolution as the Tzompantlis it has as purpose demonstrate the supreme authority, the last word. This way in the Mexican revolution there is recaptured the control of our lands and of our freedom, same that had been it snatches years behind. In this offering also a return is tried to our roots to remember and especially to admire the big battles that had to be freed to achieve the Mexico of today."

This one was the argument with which the group of students of the Preparatory of the Institute Lizardi-UNAM, shaped by Laura Alejandra Lopez Alvarado, Aniela M. Arzate Castelán, Gabriela Cecilia Lopez Alvarado, K. Ximena Niño de Rivera Burgueño, Darlene Vanessa Siécola Rangel and Alfonso Duarte Sanchez (dressed misses of adelitas and he guerrillero) was giving the welcome to the visitors who with interest were approaching to observe the offering that were exposing, answering to a summons on the occasion of the celebration in Mexico of Day of Dead.

Exactly to promote this tradition that has been a part of the Mexican culture, the H. Ayuntamiento Municipal de Zihuatanejo de Azueta town hall called for all the preparatory ones of the municipality to taking part in a contest of Altars that would be carried out these Tuesday, the 02nd of November of the year in process, in the kiosk of the square that is located in the former facilities of the local government.

The only school that answered to these summons registering and taking part it was the Preparatory one of the Institute Lizardi assigned to the UNAM across the group of 5to Semester who elaborated an altar inspired by the Tzomplanti representing with this work worth to your school to which a special recognition was granted across of the director, Lic. Leticia Gómez Vaillard. The Group of students was advised by Paola Uribe Gaudry and Cristóbal Cortés Eslava, both teachers of this educational institute.

There was very interesting the work of the Institute Lizardi and a sorrow it was worth being going to the socle to observe and interacting with the students, but the lack of participation on the part of other schools allowed a rare sensation and many questions before the almost void response to a summons that was waited out very crowded.

THE CATRINA by Mauricio López Moctezuma

By Mauricio López Moctezuma
Translated by Laura Alejandra López Alvarado

The Centro Cultural Lizardi of Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, where I am giving a  of lessons of Shaped in Mud, requested me a special piece for the Altar of Dead that it will put this year on the occasion of the celebration by Day of Dead (November 2th) and I thought that The Catrina, work of the teacher José Guadalupe Posada, engraver Mexican (1852-1913), is a symbol that expresses with great clarity the cultural idiosyncrasy of the Mexican with regard to the death, then inspired by the bust of this famous catrina that he engraved, I worked a piece in mud, that now I present them and that it took an average to me from 84 to 90 hours deferred in approximately four weeks. Call to her with the name of The Catrina of the Rose and I wait could enjoy it so much like I.

I want to show some photos of the process of elaboration of this piece that that it was a complicated sculpture, with multiple details and a challenge in the personal thing for the size since it measures  approximately 97 centimeters of height per 45 centimeters of width and must weigh an average of 40 kilos already dry and baked. These challenges, in the personal thing, it is exactly what more I enjoy since it implies the exploration of new technologies and skills to obtain the results that I want.

If you wants to know more of Mauricio Lopez Moctezuma's work, visit please my blog: http://arteenbarro.blogspot.com

FRIDA KAHLO Museum

Text by Gabriela Cecilia López Alvarado

Translated by Laura Alejandra López Alvarado

Many years I have admired the work of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera, but also I have felt attracted by the intense life of these two important prominent figures in the cultural life of Mexico. Two important modals in the Mexican plastic arts(sculpture), fundamental Diego Rivera to understand the Mexican Muralismo and its transcendency in the socialization of the pictorial art, in the development of the technologies of the muralismo if there is remembered that the muralismo already was practised from the pre-Columbian epoch (Teotihuacán's murals) and the emergence of the new one technologies as the acrylic painting. Diego discovered in Frida a woman with talent, but she was something more than a painter that express her reality across her works, was a fundamentally brave woman, luchadora social, proud of her roots, tireless promoter (and she will continue being) of the Mexican culture.

My desire for knowing Coyoacán's casona, the Casa Azul, the home of Frida and Diego, the house where Frida was born and died, finally made real and it could not conceal my enthusiasm and happiness. The emotion is incredible that full me on having enjoyed this beautiful garden and its courts surrounded with very much color, intense blue mixed with the colors of the mud of pieces of great beauty that adorn the courts and the grey of the volcanic stone that prevails in the construction of the house that it appreciates to the bottom of the property.

When one initiates the interior tour of the house one feels inevitably its presence. It is easy to guess the taste of the couple for the art and the culture of our Mexican people and the kitchen is a clear sample of it. To see so closely her bedroom and her personal objects touched my heart and I remember the lesson of life that Frida left us surviving bravely to the tragedy that accompany her from six old years and up to her death. The home guards still works of her authorship jealous protected and is a privilege to know them and to admire them first hand. Her clothes are a collection invaluable that involves history, art, culture, tradition and Mexican custom. The beautiful dining room with view to the garden this one richly decorated with handcrafted ceramics that it sends us to many Mexican towns with tradition in the pottery.

Finish the tour with my family and we remain silently for one long time sat in a narrow flowerbed in the garden. The tranquility that was breathed allowed us to assimilate little by little all the emotions that this visit left us. We have returned and every occasion is the unique experience that leaves us a clear desire to return again.

VISITS THE BLUE HOME - MUSEUM FRIDA KAHLO

Bibliography:

http://arte.laguia2000.com/pintura/el-muralismo-mexicano
Photos, Notes and Recollections

Notes on the Mexican Spanish

By Gabriela Cecilia López Alvarado

Magisterial conference carry out this Friday October 09th at 19:00 hours in the Hotel Dorado Pacífico in Ixtapa for the Dr. Jose Guadalupe Moreno de Alba. The Conference Notes on the Mexican Spanish as part of the cycle of Conferences organized ones for the Government of Zihuatanejo de Azueta, had a great assistance where emphasize the assistance of numerous pupils of the schools public and deprived of Zihuatanejo, specially of high schools.

With a long path, the Dr. Jose Guadalupe Moreno de Alba director of the Mexican Academy of the Spanish Language Member of number of the Mexican, integral Academy of the Meeting of Government of The College of Mexico and secretary of the Association of Linguistics and Philology of Latin America; author of fifteen books and of more than 70 scientific articles published in specializing magazines was hotly applauded. Later he gave his gratefulness to the public for its assistance as well as also to feel astonished at the abundant hearing that came to listen to him.

He gave opening at the time to the topic, of which it refers first to the languages of the world and the perfection that exists in them, contextualiza certain aspects of the language as method of communication as well as also the evolution of the man and his aptitude to speak, to communicate. He explains to the languages as submitted also to the social prejudices, of which every language has a different end, the diplomacy, the philosophy, the business etc. Exposing that these for reasons extralingüísticas and historical they are fastened in different degrees of importance in the world since the principal reason takes root in the demographic question, in which there decides the number of speakers and dependent countries. This one is the reason for which, he explains, the Spanish is the fourth language most spoken in the whole world since this one is official in more than 20 countries of which Mexico is the country with major number of Spanish speakers in the world. Another origin of which some languages predominate more that it resides in that so much it lacks unit a language, and it is here where he mentions "Divide and rule" what it relates to the fragmentation of the language; on having lacked this one of unit will be easier than this one tend to separate and consequently it goes to desparecer. Such it is the case of the French, who though it is the same language lacks unit.

Dr. Moreno de Alba referred also to the indigenous languages, which it determined they are in agony since these are contaminated increasingly by words and concepts of the Spanish. Later he read to his public termsused in Mexico with indigenous origins, organized in different semantic fields, the same method that he use to compare the lexical differences between the Mexico and Madrid, Spain.

Towards the end of this one illustrative conference and with the participation of some persons of the hearing, the Dr. Moreno de Alba stress the importance of knowing the language that one speaks, not only for studying and to obtain a major knowledge of the language that is a part of the culture but because this was providing Mexico and to one itself a better quality of communication, it made clear the Doctor that the education is going to be a determinant aspect and of supreme importance to achieve not only a better communication but also the economic one to achieve an improvement in all the aspects certainly, since it is not possible to industrialize to a country without education, as well as neither this one to be able to be acquired by art of magic, one has to be employed at it; another fundamental aspect that makes one very effective hobbles is to foment the reading in the children and young, nevertheless not as an obligation like it is accustomed to do it very much, but as one more pleasure of the life, that at the end of you count it is, in order that this way an advance exists really, so much culturally as of any other nature.

Bibliography:

http://dgapa.unam.mx/programas/r_perpae/eme2006/6_eme_morenodealba_2006.html

Notes of passbook.

That are Literary Skulls in México?

La Catrina of José Guadalupe Posadas

By Rosa Elena Alvarado

It approaches November two, Fieles Difuntos day,  at present better call as Day of Dead (Día de Muertos), a date of great importance for the Mexicans across which there are remembered the family, friends and deceased beings by different activities by altars (altares) in honor to its dead, in homes ó in the pantheon where they lie buried and elaboration of offerings (ofrendas) with all the elements that were pleasing in life its deceased.

In these dates gets used also for many years, to elaborating and publishing the Literary Skulls (Calaveras Literarias), which are an expression of the mexican identity, a species of epitaph with jocular sense in the shape of verse, irreverently and with the crafty character of the Mexican.

The Mexican engraver José Guadalupe Posadas used the figure of the pre-Hispanic death and the medieval one to draw a death with festive character, mocking, popular that disguises the Mexican to celebrate more than the death, to the life itself.

Across the literary skulls, from the century xx, the Mexicans use these tenths ó couplets as a forum of social expression, in more of the anonymous times, to do social critique that is directed principally politicians, people who uses the power to offend the society.

 

Would you like to know an example of a CALAVERA LITERARIA in Spanish? ... Please go to the next link:
LITERARY SKULL DEDICATED TO OAXACA STATE