Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,777 Location: Mexico
ˇViva la independencia! « Thread Started on Sept 16, 2011, 4:58am »
September 15 is considered the beginning of Mexican independence, commemorating the Grito, or cry for freedom of Miguel Hidalgo. September 16 is celebrated as independence day, the beginning of the struggle that ended eleven years later, on September 27, 1821, with independence from Spain.
September is the month of patriotism, with green, white, and red displayed everywhere, and flags, bunting, whirlygigs, etc. for sale seemingly on every street corner.
When I went downtown the other day, I snapped some signs of September. Upon seeing my flag photo in Image Bank, Tod kindly shared some excellent information which certainly helps me out in this thread.
Bixa, as soon as I saw this photo I was reminded that 2 years ago I helped a student who had chosen the Mexican flag as his project/assignment. I spent hours copying and pasting pictures and information about the flag. It's quite interesting so here it is:
The Mexican Coat of Arms The Mexican Coat of Arms is taken from an Aztec legend which recounts the way in which the Aztecs came to choose the site where they built their capital city of Tenochtitlan (where Mexico City stands today). The Aztecs, also known as the Mexica ("meh-shee-ka"), were a nomadic people traveling from the north of the country. Their leader was informed in a dream by the god of war, Huitzilopochtli, that they were to settle in the place where they would find an eagle on a prickly pear cactus holding a serpent. The place where they saw this sight was quite inhospitable - a swampy area in the center of three lakes, but this is where they settled and built the great city of Tenochtitlan.
Thanks, Tod!
What follow is a bunch of photos taken in downtown Oaxaca on September 9. Click the youtube video below if you'd like background music. The music is not from 1810, but from the 1910 revolution.
The next two were taken from the north side of the cathedral.
These were all taken on my way to the bus stop.
The next two pictures are of the window of a venerable store specializing in items for horse riding.
Look, she is as patriotic as she is beautiful, bravely smiling and dancing despite that terrible foot problem!
Almost to the bus stop & it's getting dark -- my last chance to get a flag.
« Last Edit: Sept 16, 2011, 5:07am by bixaorellana »
Re: ˇViva la independencia! « Reply #1 on Sept 16, 2011, 5:35am »
Fantastic! I was glad to contribute in my small way Bixa I think the Mexican flag is one of the 'better' flags of the world. It isn't too fussy - has three clear bright colours - and an interest in the middle.
Re: ˇViva la independencia! « Reply #3 on Sept 21, 2011, 1:50am »
Great shots, Bixa. I love how the vibrant colors of photo #2 stand out against the grey sky. I also really like the ones of the cathedral, it looks so ancient. You got some good ones of the flags fluttering in the breeze.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 35,172 Location: Paris, France
Re: ˇViva la independencia! « Reply #5 on Sept 22, 2011, 4:59am »
I really like the buildings that are not afraid to wear colorful paint. While that would almost certainly not work in Paris, it seems perfectly appropriate under the Mexican sun.
I really like the buildings that are not afraid to wear colorful paint. While that would almost certainly not work in Paris, it seems perfectly appropriate under the Mexican sun.
Interesting comment. It also seems to work here for seaside towns.
On the other hand Lanzarote in the Canaries houses can only be painted white. Colour is not allowed.
I was in Holland Park in London last week, an expensive part of town with many 4 storey terraced properties from the mid 19th century and was surprised at how many have been painted in various colours with one having a huge green painted vine from ground to roof level.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 35,172 Location: Paris, France
Re: ˇViva la independencia! « Reply #7 on Sept 22, 2011, 9:57am »
All of France has colour codes as well, and Paris even has codes regarding the colour of neon or advertising lights depending on the neighbourhood. The only outdoor lighting colour allowed on the Champs Elysées is white (as in "the golden white arches of McDonald's"), with the exception of the green pharmacy signs. However, with all of the new lighting effects now available, more and more places are cheating with colourful displays behind the shop window and not technically "outside."
Re: ˇViva la independencia! « Reply #8 on Sept 22, 2011, 11:40am »
And to digress even further, if you flick up an image of Jodhpur in India you'll see numerous houses painted blue but many are just plain white - and no other colours.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,777 Location: Mexico
Re: ˇViva la independencia! « Reply #9 on Sept 22, 2011, 3:52pm »
Thank you, NYCGirl! I particularly appreciate what you said because I was worried everything was too dull because of the overcast day. The cathedral does look as though it's been there forever, but it wasn't completed in its present incarnation until 1752. Here's a closer look at it.
Thanks, HW. It's easy to keep both revolutions in mind here, as streets all over the country are named not only after heroes, but also for important dates in the revolution -- 20 de Noviembre, 16 de Septiembre, etc.
Interesting comments about how color is used around the world. I now take it for granted, to the point that when I go to the US I wonder why more color is not used. It seemed that all houses in Las Vegas -- also a brightly sunny place -- were painted a uniform earth tone.
I imagine historical areas try to preserve some kind of appropriate look, as in Paris, and to avoid the jumble of businesses vying for attention. But even what Mick cites in London (sans the vine) might be more historically accurate than we know. I knew a house renovator in New Orleans who said that when interior walls were taken down to the original colors, as often as not they were much deeper or brighter colors than considered "tasteful" in modern times.
Re: the white houses in Jodhpur -- could that be because white wash is the cheapest, most available covering? Certainly when I think of Greek islands, for instance, I think of white, white, white with touches of blue.
Don't remember which one it is, but one of the Caribbean islands is noted for having the houses painted in colors because an early governor there said all the white glaring in the sun hurt his eyes.
I just had a look through my photos & yeah, Mexico is brightly painted. If you all saw my Puebla thread or the one on the church in Ocotlán, they show the no-holds-barred uses of color.
Thank you, NYCGirl! I particularly appreciate what you said because I was worried everything was too dull because of the overcast day. The cathedral does look as though it's been there forever, but it wasn't completed in its present incarnation until 1752. Here's a closer look at it.
Thanks, HW. It's easy to keep both revolutions in mind here, as streets all over the country are named not only after heroes, but also for important dates in the revolution -- 20 de Noviembre, 16 de Septiembre, etc.
Interesting comments about how color is used around the world. I now take it for granted, to the point that when I go to the US I wonder why more color is not used. It seemed that all houses in Las Vegas -- also a brightly sunny place -- were painted a uniform earth tone.
I imagine historical areas try to preserve some kind of appropriate look, as in Paris, and to avoid the jumble of businesses vying for attention. But even what Mick cites in London (sans the vine) might be more historically accurate than we know. I knew a house renovator in New Orleans who said that when interior walls were taken down to the original colors, as often as not they were much deeper or brighter colors than considered "tasteful" in modern times.
Re: the white houses in Jodhpur -- could that be because white wash is the cheapest, most available covering? Certainly when I think of Greek islands, for instance, I think of white, white, white with touches of blue.
Don't remember which one it is, but one of the Caribbean islands is noted for having the houses painted in colors because an early governor there said all the white glaring in the sun hurt his eyes.
I just had a look through my photos & yeah, Mexico is brightly painted. If you all saw my Puebla thread or the one on the church in Ocotlán, they show the no-holds-barred uses of color.
Thanks for the excuse to post a few more pics!
Good point Bixa about historical accuracy of colour.
I have a client in Suffolk with a Tudor house and was surprised to find the inner walls painted, lime green, yellow and red but apparently these were typical colours of the times. The outer walls are pinky brown btw.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,777 Location: Mexico
Re: ˇViva la independencia! « Reply #13 on Sept 22, 2011, 8:43pm »
Do you think it's to indicate their caste, or merely that they can afford paint/better paint. Still, why blue, right?
As long as we're doing "just quickly" ( ), the ceilings of porches in New Orleans are often painted sky blue, supposedly because it helps ward off mosquitoes. I think it's probable that the custom came from the Caribbean. A friend of mine from S.Africa was surprised when she found it was for mosquitoes, as she'd assumed it was to keep away bad spirits, although I don't know the source of that belief.
Re: ˇViva la independencia! « Reply #15 on Sept 26, 2011, 8:16am »
Hey Bixa, Looking through your lovely photos again this morning I suddenly noticed something - vegetables in the form of Choko marrows - here we call them SuSu's. They are dangling down off the flat roof of the turquoise building..to high and probably too common for anyone to want to pluck them from their lofty perch!
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,777 Location: Mexico
Re: ˇViva la independencia! « Reply #17 on Sept 28, 2011, 3:21pm »
Tod -- that is really interesting. I don't know about other places, but the US now knows about "chayotes", the Mexican name for your Choko marrows or Su-Sus. I had no idea they were known in South Africa as well.
Long, long before I'd ever heard of a chayote -- my whole life, really -- I knew and loved mirlitons, which is what they're called in Louisiana. There is a good representative recipe here, although the writer falls down on the pronunciation, which is more likely to be mellytaw or murleetawn.
Chayote (chah yoh tay) are generally served boiled to death here, making me all the more glad I'm from Lousiana & know how to treat them right.
Re: ˇViva la independencia! « Reply #18 on Sept 28, 2011, 5:35pm »
Please could I ask you for your Louisiana recipe for Chayotes/Su - Su marrows? Could you post it in the recipe section - thanks. Here we peel, slice, boil, cover with a white sauce and bake for a little longer or not bother, just serve.
I went down in the garden today and saw the vine still trailing over the fence. My gardener reminded me it's not the season yet. A bit more rain and a bit more sun I think. Then I won't know what to do with them, hence the request for another recipe!
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,777 Location: Mexico
Re: ˇViva la independencia! « Reply #19 on Sept 29, 2011, 6:51pm »
Tod, you probably didn't see that there was a link in reply #17. No matter, because your comments proved that the many-named squash needed its own thread.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 25,777 Location: Mexico
Re: ˇViva la independencia! « Reply #20 on Sept 30, 2011, 9:33pm »
Today is the last day of this year's mes de la patria, so it's a good thing I just found this fabulous video & have an excuse to share it while it's still Septiembre. It was made by Banamex for last year's bicentennial. Fans of "playing for change" -- or of music -- will love this and everyone will recognize the song. Put it on full screen, please!
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I think the Mexican flag is one of the 'better' flags of the world. It isn't too fussy - has three clear bright colours - and an interest in the middle.
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), the ceilings of porches in New Orleans are often painted sky blue, supposedly because it helps ward off mosquitoes. I think it's probable that the custom came from the Caribbean. A friend of mine from S.Africa was surprised when she found it was for mosquitoes, as she'd assumed it was to keep away bad spirits, although I don't know the source of that belief.
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