Puebla de los Ángeles

[bixaorellana]

You are so kind, Lola ~~ thank you!

The tree is a jacaranda. The intense light of the afternoons made so many colors more intense.

I'm sure those poor souls are in Purgatory, not The Other Place.

I was going to apologize for mocking the statue group. Then I looked at it again.

We wound up at the Hotel Royalty, and were nicely satisfied with it, although we did have to look at several rooms before finding one that wasn't too tired and grim.

Well, there's more to see, so let's get going .........

[bixaorellana]

Well, in terms of this narrative, it's still Saturday the 26th. That was a fun and well-filled day for me. My friend didn't feel well, but I was out and about all day. Let's stroll some more, please.

Perhaps you all have noticed that many of the elegant or frou-frou buildings have some mundane use. This was one of the things I liked so much about the city. In the midst of all that beauty, nothing felt mothballed or too venerated to be used.

Here's a shoe store on the ground floor of this lovely building ~


I'd love to see the interior of the upstairs ~


A shirt store & other shops below and apartment(s) above ~


This is the entrance to a bank. There are two of these huge doors.
Puebla has a great deal of beautifully executed woodwork, something seldom seen in Oaxaca ~




The walls on either side ~






The ceiling ~

[bixaorellana]

Okay, there is a window of time here wherein [Bixa goes into cathedral. Takes many, many pictures]. Those pictures will go into a separate thread, so consider that I'm now exiting the cathedral.
Finally, many unhappy days of internet problems & visits by técnicos later, I made a thread on the cathedral! It is here.

Look at the time, still early. (Mexico didn't Spring forward until April 3.)


I can't get over the light here, especially in the afternoons ~


Let's hit the zócalo to see how people are enjoying their Saturday °






Ahhhh! Look at the light hitting the lacy white art thingy in the middle of the zócalo ~






Can you tell I really, really like the white thing?

[tod2]

At last!! I have been popping in for a few minutes everyday to see this WONDERFUL report!
Unfortunately something always drags me away before I can comm >:(ent

Bixa, you are doing a splendid job and the photos are so glorious! Please tell me about the lower half of the trees painted white? I was wondering if it is the same 'chemical' that was used here some years ago to combat ants?

Hope there is lots more photos to come!

[bixaorellana]

Oh, fine praise indeed, especially coming from such an ace report maker. Thanks, Tod!

Funny you mentioned the white-trunked trees. I used to notice them all the time when I visited Mexico from the US. However, that white paint on trees is so ubiquitous in this country that I've ceased to see it. I've always been told it's a bug deterrent. It may just be whitewash, I don't know. We do have vicious cutter ants here, so it's likely it's to combat them.

Yes, please come back. There is still Saturday evening to go, plus Sunday morning, one of the most tantalizingly frustrating few minutes of my life. Oh yeah, there will also be that full separate report on the cathedral, a place truly worth seeing.

[onlymark]

Sunburn.
That's a clue.

[bixaorellana]

Eh?

Moving, or rather drifting right along here ........

I wandered off to find the crafts fairs again, and to see what I could see.

On the way there, I passed by a plaza where a wedding was getting ready to take place. (there's a church directly to the left of the man in the gray suit)


There were several living statues plying their trade, although you can only see two of them here ~


And something was going on over in the corner of that plaza. This little guy was not interested ~

These little fairs feature all kinds of things, from hippie-style stuff, to excruciatingly cutesy country craft, to handmade jewelry of all levels of workmanship and materials. You could buy bottle cap earrings with pictures of Ché for under three dollars, or coral from the Antilles, or onyx bangles (super cheap!). Vendors are there from other parts of Mexico, too. I was tempted by the woolen felt animals from Chiapas.

g

And hey, it's Mexico, so of course there's always something to eat ~

[bixaorellana]

Then it's back to the zócalo to meet my friend for coffee. I have to mention one negative thing about Puebla. It's lovely in the afternoons, but weekend nights under the arches around the plaza are unbearable. I don't mind the crowds, as I think it's great that everyone gets out and about. But each of the many cafés has live music with over-amplification. It's jarring and way too loud. Friday night we'd chosen a table at the Italian Coffee Company as its distance from an adjacent warbling guitarist made it bearable. But no sooner had we given our order than a group of young guys with dreads, bongos, and other drums planted themselves between the café wall and our table and began pounding away. We fled.

Once coffeed up, I'm off to La Parián market, as I need to buy a gift. You saw a glimpse of that street before, with the table setting crucifix. We'd walked down it the first day, then sort of avoided it because of the intensity of tacky souvenirs. However, it also features scads of Talavera work, some of which is quite lovely.

Oh, let's just point the camera around a little bit ~






municipal palace ~

[bixaorellana]

This is the street of sweet treats, adjacent to La Parián. Puebla is known for its variety of candies, many based on seeds and fruits and the sweet potato.
They're yummy and quite old-fashioned. Many of them were originally made in convents to raise money.


I stole this excellent photo from the web. (source)


I love Mexican cities at night, with whole families out strolling, chatting, snacking, and generally enjoying themselves.

I headed down the long street perpendicular to the zócalo. It's closed to vehicular traffic and was lively as all get-out. There are regular stores on either side, many with loudspeakers, and vendors of the local tortas and cemitas. I think the only difference between the two sandwiches is the bread, but they're both on dense buns. I stopped at a place because the guy hawking its wares hurled himself in front of me. Two tortas or cemitas for nine pesos! They were interesting -- meat carved off the spit with a sauce somewhat reminiscent of sweet US barbecue sauce.

I kept strolling, partly because I wanted to try one of the empanadas sold at night. Gad, it was huge.
They didn't have savory ones, like in Oaxaca, just sweet ones. I chose the custard. They're sold still warm and are quite good.

I'd been up and down this street more than once, in the day and in the night. Every time I passed the little metal altar, there were flowers but no saintly image.
But look, tonight here she is ~





       

And that's it for Saturday. We had to leave mid-day Sunday, but I did get some pics of the most wonderful two things that I didn't really have time to enjoy.

Please come back later to see what I couldn't have!

[Deleted]

I'm like tod2. I keep coming back to admire the report but my comments are not arriving yet except to say that this is your best thread ever, Bixa.

[foreverman]

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful display Bixa, makes you feel as if you are there..........thank you for taking the time to show us your trip............

[mich64]

Bixa, there are so many photos I enjoy, so many things I have learned, thank you for sharing your trip to Puebla de los Angeles. I kept turning my laptop to show my husband photos. Particularly anytime there was a purple vine, tree or bush, so much that he finally said to me, "honey, we will get some lilac bushes in the spring, okay?" I think that is the only purple specimen that would grow here. He is so good to me!

I also like the permanent seating running vertically in the middle of the street, how convenient.
Cheers,
Mich

[bixaorellana]

Hello, kind and encouraging anyporters. Your comments mean so much to me. I was worried about maybe having gone overboard with all the architectural pictures. I could just feel a group eye roll and feared being branded as Bixa, the building bimbo.

Sorry about tarrying over the final stretch. Had some things to do, but I think all the photos are whipped into shape & I will show them to you shortly. Thanks for coming this far with me. I hope you all will join me for the two wonderful markets I didn't have time to fully take in and for the ride home.

Your husband does sound like a real sweetheart, Mich. You know, lilacs have that fabulous scent, whereas the purple plants I'm showing do not.

[hwinpp]

I like those concrete benches in the couple of last pictures in the pedestrian zone.

That's what I often miss when in town.

[bixaorellana]

HW, they don't have park benches in Phnom Penh? That surprises me.

Come to think of it, I've never seen that kind of long configuration before. It's pretty nifty.

Well, Sunday morning has come and we have to leave downtown by noon to catch our bus home.

Once again, the day is bright and beautiful, but considerably less crowded than yesterday evening.


I haven't devoted any space to this fountain yet, which is a classic of its kind ~


As far as I can find out, it was installed in the mid 16th century.


Did I say classic? Even the statue on top has the obligatory classic pigeon ~

[bixaorellana]

Because of some other stuff we had to do, I didn't get away until around eleven to go see the antique market about which I'd heard so much. On the way there, I asked directions and was told that there was also a big market on the other side of the highway from the antiques. Yikes, frustration upon frustration!

Well, the antique market is the quintessential flea market of mixed junk and good stuff. It's held in the plazuela de los sapos -- plazuela being a little plaza and sapos are toads.

Some of the goods are exactly the same battered items you'd walk past at your hometown flea market, but the fact that it's foreign junk makes it somehow more interesting. You all need to know that Oaxaca has nothing like this and, as I was a keen haunter of yard sales and flea markets when I lived in the States, I'm extremely excited to be here.

I guess after what we've seen of Puebla, it's not that surprising to find an old prie-dieu for sale in amongst the Spanish-language Reader's Digests ~


Why don't I have more time?!

Look ~~ now we know where colored baby chicks (OP, pic#8) come from!










Anyone wondering where their old record collection is?

[bixaorellana]

And then it happened. That thing that we all simultaneously hope for, yet fear in a place like this. I fell in love.

As I pointed the camera around, looking for good tacky stuff and photo ops,
my eyes lit upon this statue and I was transfixed ~




Just a gorgeous, graceful bronze piece. I asked the man how much the statue was,
simply assuming he could see the dotted lines going from my eyes to the object of my desire.

He said, "The man?" Huh -- what man? I clarified which statue interested me.
(25,000 pesos, if anyone is wondering, but he'd be happy to make me a deal. Oh dear, too dear.)

Then, as I stood back to admire it yet again, I saw the man statue to which he'd referred, and was genuinely shocked.


I've seen versions of this statue my whole life, usually made of cement, and now universally considered a symbol of racism.
Here was the same thing, yet skillfully rendered in bronze. What does it all mean (& where's the fishing pole)?

This dealer's array of stuff was pretty interesting ~


Is this a homage to Nina Simone? The chin's not quite right, but it's reminiscent of some of her publicity pictures.
Whoever she is, she's keeping company with Napoleon.


Now, I was too fixated on the bronze lady to notice much of anything else.
But when I was processing these photos, I was surprised to see a mini version of this old friend (OP, first pic after the ovals) ~

[bixaorellana]

Cheesecake & obscure rum ~


You just know some of these flicks can be found in Bombay videos!






All Beatles, all the time ~


*sigh* All those clocks and the watch on my wrist are reminding me I have to hurry back to the hotel.
Goodbye wonderful flea market!

[bixaorellana]

I can see the other market, just on the other side of the mult-lane highway. It was be a shame not to just peek in for a second, wouldn't it?

All I can see at first is "crafts", with a kapital K.
But then I spy this remarkable indigenous dress ~






I asked, and one of the women told me that they're from Orizaba, which isn't that far from Puebla.
Someplace else to add to my next, already yearned-for visit to Puebla.

Do you all remember that I said part of the reason for our visiting this city was to try to get to the plant nurseries?
That's because many of the cacti and succulents sold in Oaxaca come from Puebla nurseries. I also said that we'd been pretty disappointed.

Well, just as I looked at my watch yet again, then prudently turned to go, I caught sight of a stand of plant pots: the mother lode of my heart's desire.
Not only that, it turned out that the vendor is highly knowledgeable. So unfair! A couple of quick pics, and I had to fly back to the hotel.


Note that he had bonsai, too.


¡Adios, ciudad bella!

[bixaorellana]

And we're on the road again ~


Look at those clouds. It would be great if it were raining at home.


Nice landscaping at some of the toll booths and inspection points ~

                      And here we have one of the most remarkable, yet common sights on any Mexican highway --
                      the vendors who come out of nowhere:
                     

The big first class buses won't let them on to peddle their wares, more's the pity. There are also signs on the highway work areas, telling motorists not to cause line-ups by buying from itinerant vendors. The highway department must be out of touch with the national character.

This is officially the middle of nowhere, isn't it?

My goal is to get a photo of the toy trucks for sale. You'll be barreling down the highway, nothing but steep rock walls on either side, and no shoulders to speak of. Then you go around a curve and suddenly, right on the verge of the road, there will be some brightly colored wooden toy trucks lined up for sale. How do they get there? How does anyone stop to buy them?

I love this picture, as the landscape tells me we're getting close to home ~


Just a little way to go yet. The trip is really over.

[bjd]

What a shame that you couldn't buy that statue, Bixa. It's really nice -- looks like 1930s style. It might have been heavy to lug around though if it's bronze.

Thanks for this report. Such a pleasure to see and read stuff about Mexico that isn't about people being murdered by drug dealers.

[mickthecactus]

This is the very best travelogue I have even seen.

Some superb pictures too, my favourites of course being the arum lilies in the vases early on and that tree Bougainvillea.

The cactus and succulent pics are fascinating (to me anyway). From what I can see there are some real desirables and that second picture seems to be a grafted Astrophytum caput-medusae - a very difficult plant to get hold of.

[Deleted]

I was very disappointed to see this come to an end even though I was still lingering back at the wonderful architecture, concerning which I made my own investigation thanks to Wikipedia. All of the architectural evolution over the centuries is completely fascinating and even more so because it seems to be remarkably preserved. Is there a modern part of town where all of this is left behind and the gods of glass and steel have been honored?

The flea market is magnificent as well -- a real feast for my eyes, making me so happy that I never actually buy anything anyway. However, I have accompanied friends on a number of occasions when their eyes suddenly lasered onto an item, turning me into both a voice of reason or sometimes helping to encourage them to make a decision on an item that they may eternally regret if they don't get it. I have even been quite useful in certain cases, because I always act detached and appear to be telling them not to bother with the ovepriced item, unless of course a new financial agreement can be made.

I estimate my presence to be worth a 25-40% discount when bargaining is truly an option.

[mich64]

What a wonderful trip that was Bixa and nice to hear you have already plans for another town. The architecture in many ways was quite ornate. The flea market...... well, what can I say, I would have made that the whole mission of my trip, a varied amount of displays. I would have taken one of the doorknockers, some of the plates and some jewelery. Hopefully I will get some of my pictures of the antique markets we visited in Ottawa loaded onto my laptop soon and also show you what I had to buy.
Thanks Bixa!
Hoping you will be taking another trip real soon.
Mich

[hwinpp]

Very nice trip report, Bix.

The pix from the bus trip back are a fitting ending. Good one!

[bixaorellana]

Thanks, Bjd ~~ I'm gratified that you like "my" statue, too. Ah well, maybe it will be there when I get back. I would be embarrassed to show what I did buy, another must-have item that is so terrifyingly kitsch it almost scares even me.

The thing is, most of Mexico is so unlike the horrors seen in the news about the northern part of the country. I still feel totally safe here, certainly safer than I ever did in any US city.

Oh Mick, I am extremely flattered, even if honesty forces me to say that anyport is full of reports that put mine in the shade.


Sorry about the blurry picture of the spiny delights at the market. And yes, that's exactly what the prize is he is holding out. I was crushed that I didn't have more time. I will go back, and next time will make sure not to be in such an all-fired hurry.


Thanks, Kerouac. I know this thread was skimpy on documentation, but I mostly wanted to convey my enthusiasm and pleasure in the place, even though I still know hardly anything about it.
I did not notice any sleek, good modern architecture, which doesn't mean there is none. I'd like to visit the university areas, as there must be new buildings there.

You can go back to Puebla with me. If my method of bargaining doesn't work, I'll send you into the ring. Hey, at least I could promise you good bread, not a promise I'd lightly make to someone visiting from France.

Thanks, Mich. You would be such a wonderful companion to have at the flea market. I can see us meeting at the ends of the aisles, panting "Whatcha get? Whatcha get?!" I surprised myself liking such ornate architecture, but it was just SO pretty. It was a real treat to travel somewhere close by that was so very different from where I live.

Thank you very much, HW. It was funny taking pictures in the bus. Every time I snapped I could see people around me peering out the windows, obviously thinking, "What? What's she photographing? There is nothing out there!" ;D

[mich64]

Yes Bixa, we would have so much fun together as we would both be so excited probably not knowing where to start and when to finish. I am not good with bargaining though, I do not do it, I pay what is marked or asked. Although on our recent trip when we stopped at the Antrim Flea market I was fortunate to receive a 30% discount on my first purchase. I think it was due to me asking her to put an item aside so that I could look at more booths to see if I found something else. The second lady gave me a discount and then took an additional five dollars off when I paid her? I have no idea why, but I appreciated it. I bought two pieces of antique china, a creamer and sugar bowl, that are marked on the bottom, made in Occupied Japan. I had so much fun Bixa and I think we would have a very enjoyable time together exploring Flea Markets together.

Such a fun report and I agree with hnwipp that photos on the bus ride home where a nice finishing touch. My photo albums each start with postcards of the airport we depart from and end with the one we return home from.
Cheers Bixa!
Mich

[bixaorellana]

That was lovely of the people at Antrim to give you unsolicited discounts. They probably just liked you and appreciated your appreciation of their wares. If When you come, I'll help you bargain. I like my method and think it works well. I generally tell the vendor their item is worth more than they're asking, that I totally love it -- even pointing out exceptional features -- but can only pay X amount. I hate that bargaining ploy of denigrating the merchandise in order to get a cheaper price.

Thanks so much for all the positive feedback.

Oh, incidentally ~~ I found the pages on Puebla I'd torn out of an old Lonely Planet, then forgotten to take with me. Indeed, they don't make the place sound very enticing. My sister and I use two different guidebooks when we travel. We finally decided that the more boring a place sounds in the guidebook, the more likely it is to be interesting in real life. This was after we'd almost skipped visiting Xalapa because of its bland depictions in the guidebooks.

[bixaorellana]

Just wanted to add that I will be posting a separate thread devoted to Puebla's cathedral, but am having trouble with my internet connection at the moment.

In the meantime, those of you who liked looking at this thread may enjoy the excellent text of Francine Prose, lovely photos of Landon Nordeman, and the music of Silvestre Garcia with his Mariachi Monarcas -- all brought to you by Smithsonian.com ~~
www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/Savoring-Puebla.html?c=y&page=1#

[Kimby]

Oh my, and to think I almost missed this wonderful pictorial. You must have had your camera glued to your forehead the whole time! Thanks Bixa.

I absolutely MUST get back to Mexico. Mr. Kimby has soured on travel lately, but perhaps I can find a girlfriend who wants to come with me. I "need to" replace the photos from Oaxaca and surrounds that were lost by the processor or the post office in the early 90's, and now I "need to" see Puebla, too. And it would be an absolute pleasure to meet you.