Last night was the Hood Happening, the culmination of many days of preparation and celebration was the placing of the baby Jesus in the manger where Mary, Joseph and the three Wiseman have been waiting, this all in porcelain figurines.

As explained this wasn’t the first of such events, rather the grand one at the Capilla Shrine at the top of our driveway. Hundreds of folks lined our road as far down as you could see – way more than the expected 200 or so people – probably double that. They waited in a quiet procession to kiss the porcelain baby Jesus.

But let me go back to the beginning of the day. In the morning the mujers gathered together to make Atole. Mean while the men supplied firewood for the fires that would heat the huge pots. They attended to final details at the Capilla securing electric connections and setting up a few chairs for the virgins that would arrive at 8 PM. Days before candies, popping corn, bags, and many ingredients for tamales and Atole were garnered.

At Lidia’s casa the activity was furious with two pots on fires enclosed by cement block. Rosie stirred a vat while another woman coated the outside of the big pots with some reddish clay like substance to keep them from being burnt by the licking flames.

Inside a younger set of girls and Lidia’s son Esteban cut up pineapple into chunks, squeezed and strained it, blended it in one of several liquidoras (blenders). To this they added masa and water to get the concoction ready for the cauldrons. This wasn’t all work. Esteban laughed and blushed as he rubbed elbows with a little heart breaker wielding a long knife to cut pineapple – something she wouldn’t need to leave a trail of broken hearted chamacos as she grows up.

Meanwhile at our casa Anita bagged the hot popcorn that I was making in our machine. Marvin, Milton, George and Jasmine arrived on the scene to talk real estate deals and then headed up to our Rancho del Cielo area to look at land.

Sooner than we thought it was time. The large pots were brought over to the Capilla; the lights turned on and tubs with hot tamales arrived on the scene. Shortly thereafter the throng of people swarmed in like so many bees.

I stood on the balcony of my second floor oficina to capture some pictures. In thirty minutes it was over. The street was empty save for a few who stayed around to discuss the events success and perhaps drink a tequila or cerveza.

Tonight the Hood will ring and explode in the New Year – we will need a vacation to Puerto Escondido just to rest up from all the celebration. Stay Tuned!

Ursulo Galvan, Xico, Veracruz, Mexico, Earth

This morning about 6:20 I headed outside to do something and see what the weather might be. It was crisp and clear out – I looked up at the moon which was high in the sky towards the south. Nearby was what I first thought to be a star; but it was moving.

It must be a plane I thought. In Colorado we were under a flight path. It was common to see planes up at thirty to forty thousand feet – but this seemed higher, brighter and way faster than any plane. And our Mexican skies have revealed few planes, an occasional helicopter – but we aren’t in any low or high flight paths.

Once in Colorado I had seen the Space Station briefly, but this bright star passed over me from south to north for nearly five minutes. I walked up into the street to tell anyone that might be there – but on a Domingo at 6:25 in the morning no other soul was there. It was an amazing sight unshared.

I returned to the camper where five minutes earlier I had wished Anita a Happy Anniversary as this day is ours. I told her that I think I just saw the Space Station or a Shuttle and it was a magnificent sighting all the way across the sky directly overhead. I noted that the time had been about 6:27 AM.

I got on the web to NASA – no Shuttle it had been delayed. There was an unmanned supply ship but it was docked. Then I Googled Space Station sighting and found this LINK. You enter your Country and then State – Mexico, Veracruz – Back came this:

A lucky sign I thought to be there just at the right moment and then to get on the Internet from our Developing Country and confirm the sighting – cool – Happy Anniversary to me – oh and to Anita.

PROSPERO AÑO NUEVO Stay Tuned!

Bueno Juju!

Yesterday we made a trip to the Mercado in Coatepec. We have been conscripted to make 200 more bags of popcorn for a celebration at the capilla at the top of our driveway. Apparently the popped corn was a hit the other night – the officials approached us with a request for more.

Off we went with the Camacho family to get fresh pineapples, popcorn bags, 20 lbs. of popcorn, oil and cups. We first stopped and bought 15 kilos of green coffee beans for Lidia’s mother the coffee roaster – then on up to the Mercado where we were to meet Vicente who would walk there from his work place to meet us and his family.

We were standing at the designated meeting place. The Mercado is a wild place – commerce at its Mexican best. We were in front of one of my haunts – a little outdoor café that serves up a delicious shrimp cocktail. I have enjoyed many there washed down with a cool beer.

Not far from the little outdoor tables off to the side were a couple of hombres with tall stacks of little bird cages. I should say birds are my weakness. I have owned many pet birds of all kinds’ parakeets, parrots, and even a large macaw.

We recently gave away and sold three birds to move here – getting birds across the border and then back is a most difficult task.

So I sauntered over to the bird vendors quite innocently. As I was saying hello to the many and varied birds one seemed to gravitate to me – ah-oh! A pretty little frosty looking blue parakeet moved close to me – that was it – I had to take him home. “Quanto Questa?”

The vendor replied, “Cien pesos.” ($9.20US). Lidia became my financial advisor suggesting that is too much. I thought it was quite a bargain as parakeets are $20.00 and up in the U.S.

As she was advising me the bird salesman listening in explained that was for two – you have to buy two as one will get lonely. Anita explained we wanted only one that would be a talker and singer being just our friend.

Would this be 50 pesos? ($4.60) – “Si.”

The little parakeet and I were bonding as all the negotiations were going on. “He” had a very purple nose above his beak usually indicating a male.

I asked Anita if we could get him – she said we travel around how we would deal with that. I suggested she ask Lidia if she would take care of the little bird when we were traveling – she agreed; that was that – the little bird was going home with us.

The bird vendor had small brown paper bags to deliver our new pet – this simply would not do – I just couldn’t face traumatizing my new friend with a dark brown paper bag. I told him we definitely wanted him, but we were going to go and get a cage – “Si”.

Anita remembered seeing bird cages at a store in the Mercado – off she went – then she came and sent me there. We ended up with a lovely little yellow and purple cage with water and food cups for $5.00 U.S. dollars – a beautiful bird and cage for under $10US – We bought a half kilo of bird seed for 60 cents and a piece of cuddle bone.

So we brought home a new family member. His name is Bueno Juju (Good Juju) – Juju for short .

Last night we attended a celebration of placing the baby Jesus in the manger. I had thought this was done universally on the 25th – but no. I still am not sure how this is decided – but there are a lot of manager scenes here in the Hood.

We were all issued candles. A group of 25-30 people gathered and marched down to the rio’s edge, then back over to the hosts casa where there was some praying and the baby Jesus was rested in place. We were then served Atole (an oatmeal drink in this case) and small cups of Rompope (a rum spiked Mexican eggnog).

Later we headed over to Vicente’s casa where we polished off the night with a shot of tequila. This morning we are getting acquainted with our new family member – good juju. Stay Tuned!

Top area is raw cement – below the red brick – Mexican Yellow (needs another coat)

As the holidays drive on here – things have settled down getting ready for the next volley of parties and activities.

I have been refining our emergency water system so that we can do wash without hauling water etc. Today we have had some water where we had none for the last 24 hours.

Also been working on my book, “Building in Mexico” (a working title). This while I have my “Mexico Living Melodrama” (another working title) on hold. The building book includes sorting through hundreds of photographs. I think I need a writer’s assistant – anyone want to spend a couple months in Mexico for room and board and…. Also looking for some beta test readers.

Yesterday I got back into the bodega building project. If you remember I was letting the poured cement floor dry and popping popcorn. I bought a cheap-cheap-cheap 19 liter container (5-gallons) of “crema” Mexican paint. This from our local Chedraui for 88 pesos back in February. We painted the wall area around the stairs in the Casita; using very few of the liters.

I decided I like this paint. I would use it for the bodega’s inside walls. There was some discussion on the Forum about Mexican paint and painters (not the Frida and Diego type). Pretty universally the Forum contributors wanted and used higher grade paint than that which you can get at Chedraui (our local Walmart like grocery store). They talked about Comex best quality. Jonna likes Sherwin Williams. And CiscoHiker reports,” We have been using Berel from Home Depot.”

I have a hard time with spending $200.00US to paint the inside of our $1000.00 bodega project. But the real truth of the mater is how wonderful I find the cheap Chedraui paint. I like the very Mexican yellow it becomes. There is very little pigment in the mixture. It needs little stirring probably because it lacks in pigment ;-0 and the best part is I got 19 liters (5-gallons) for 88 pesos on sale. That was a cool $8.00 US when I bought it.

Now I know I am going to have detractors on this one. But when in Mexico…

Stay Tuned for more pithy commentary and complete building bulletins.

Miércoles Morning, Xico, Veracruz – We are gaining ground on rest. In our part of Mexico Christmas Eve is the celebration – Christmas Day recovery time.

If you are like us you have to push to make it to midnight New Years Eve – at least that has been our pattern for many years now.

We were invited to a party for Christmas Eve at our friend’s hotel ballroom. It was to begin at 10 PM! I took a nap and then got on the computer about 9 PM. We didn’t arrive until after 11.

There was great food and drinks – single malt scotch at the self-serve bar no less. There were many tables setup with lighted Christmas villages, candle heat driven wooden windmills with figures skating or dancing. Incense filled Santa’s with smoke spewing from their pipes and mouths. A large scale train chugged around the Christmas tree. A life sized Santa wished us “Feliz Navidad” as he wriggled and twisted, every where you turned it was an eyeful of Christmas.

After a terrific midnight feast we all sat down to listen to Christmas fables about how Saint Nicolas and the song “Silent Night” came to be. Then we were provided with lyric sheets. We all sang Christmas songs in German, Spanish and English.

Anita and I, two that run and hide at the mere suggestion of a Karaoke performance, sang a duet of “Silent Night” being the only English speaking people in the hall. Please forgive us Father Joseph Mohr. Still a good time was had by all.

We rolled back into the Hood after 3:30 AM. The action was fast and furious at that hour Christmas morning. There were fireworks and people on the streets everywhere. As we drove up Benito Juarez Calle I had to slow down for a hombre retrieving his shirt from the middle of the street? Sparklers were swaying and bright Catherine Wheels were twirling every which way around the street. There were no signs of it being nearly 4 AM.

Christmas afternoon I drank wine as a single malt chaser with Vicente and Javier as we lazily watched the animated film “Ratatouille” while the ladies prepared a terrific Christmas Day dinner.

They don’t have big brown roasted turkeys on Christmas Day in the Hood – we had a delicious Mexican squash concoction stuffed into chili seco laden tortillas; more scrumptious than it might sound. A good time was had by all.

We made it home more in our accustomed time frame, falling asleep on “Shrek III by 10 PM. I know – a couple light weights – Stay Tuned for an exciting Nuevo Años evening!

Sometimes all it takes…

ENLARGE 

Should be ENLARGED
Stay Tuned
FELIZ NAVIDAD
y PROSPERO AÑO NUEVO!

A Holy Place in the Hood (ENLARGE)

“Yo tengo…” in Es Spanol means, “I have [something].” If you read here often you know I come from a “I have a lot of things” place. While more limited on this front it is still the case here in Mexico – certainly relatively anyway.

Yesterday I was working on processing family photos; not my family but those of our friends and neighbors. I usually carry my camera to the many events we attend. Not to the more religious activities that we are on the fringe of, but to the Quinceñera, Christening parties, birthdays, showers, weddings and even an occasional funeral or remembrance vigil.

Anita’s friend Lidia is one of five siblings. They all have husbands or wives and children; and they all live on contiguous pieces of property that were divided up for the lot of them by their parents. The block of humanity lives a few doors down from us. I thought that I would compile some of the many photos I have of their family members, produce a CD with the “processed” photos and give copies to the families.

From my second floor office in the process of this I hear pounding and activity nearby to the north in the street. I walked down the stairs and peaked out. There was bustling activity going on at the Capilla. This is actually a small shrine that sits at the top of our driveway in the road more or less.

We live near the end of Benito Juarez Calle; where it has turned to dirt and continues a mere 50 feet past our Casita.

Capillia is Latin for “hair”, but in this case for chapel. I can only guess it got there as a word for a “strand” of the Church? Someone will have to help me out with that one.

Again if you have been following along for the two-and-a-half years I have been writing here you are familiar with this little shrine. Early on it was a bone of contention. It was pretty shabby when we got here at the end of 2004.

Our infamous Hood neighbor, the one that got us here and then immediately fled the scene, had started conversation with the Hood hoods about getting it removed. After the neighborhood council got together someone came with an offer of $400.00 US dollars to move it up and across the road; I agreed.

A few days later someone came back with an $800.00US removal fee. I could see where this was going and told them that we would learn to love the little shrine at the top of our driveway. I think they were surprised – but life moved on.

In June of 2005 we had finished a first stage remodel of our Casita that included a new roof. There were metal trusses in the scrap pile – nice ones. We donated them to the shrine for a better roof system. Julian, our son, and Antonio, the next-door-neighbor, rebuilt the roof and painted the little shrine.

Over the last couple of years we have continued to contribute bits and pieces and pesos to the maintenance and remodeling of the little Capilla. When we arrived here in early October there were considerable improvements that had been done while we were in the States. New block walls, some actual electrical work; even a light switch and two AC sockets.

Word has it that they will eventually put a cement roof in place of the asbestos corrugated paper material. One day we will probably have a shrine to be admired just outside our Casita door.

The pounding and activity was at this Capilla where it was being decorated for the Holidays (that will continue until the beginning of February).

I got involved.

They needed some clavos (nails) – “Yo Tengo!” Off go I to the Casita – back in a flash with a bag of nails.

Funny thing here in Mexico – nails are highly valued. They straighten them, recycle them and usually only have a very limited few. You North of the Border fellows probably think as I did – straighten a nail? – just get another. The extra 80 leftover in the bag of nails bought to build the dog’s house end up in a mayonnaise jar in the garage; not so here. They only buy enough to do the job and usually they are scrounging for them at the end of any project – to the point of Western Man’s frustration – ten minutes to remove some rusty nails from some old boards, then pound them straight – ugh!

Go to any construction site in the U.S with a dumpster – I can guarantee you will find bags and or boxes of left over nails heading to a landfill.

Alejandro climbed up to the second floor balcony of our next-door-neighbor Jose Louis’ casa and connected two wires to the electrical lines passing next to the Capilla. For the Shrine to a Higher Power they steal the lower power -electricity- off the passing power lines.

I asked him if he had to strip back a covering on CFE’s wires thinking this was pretty invasive. “Si”, he replied. He made it very clear to me that this is only done here at God’s casita – not to be done as a common practice – I think I had asked too many questions about the process and he thought I might try this at home.

Now he needed some strippers to prepare the wires – “Yo tengo!” Then some sandpaper to clean the copper – “Yo Tengo!”

They had a straight home made wood ladder that Alejandro would dutifully hold in place in the sky while Rosy his esposa climbed to hang colored bulbs. “Dude – yo tengo an escalera” (step ladder in this case).

During the process they also needed an extension cord, some wire, another hammer, screw driver, some Romex and electrical tape – “Yo tengo!”

I suggested some colored lights might be nice – they agreed – “Yo tengo!” Out came three strings of colored lights. They did a masterfully creative stringing job I thought.

After about an hour the ceramic Three Wise Men were in place in the manager setting – it was complete. A job well done if I say so myself – the best yet.

We had a Christening party to go to – so off I went. Later late in the night I stood up in the road and looked at the lovely little shrine with the colored lights blinking away – it was peaceful and warmed the neighborhood in a way.

Hands and hearts across borders – a job well done. Guys if you are heading down here – bring some nails and a few extension cords and by all means practice up on the phrase “Yo tengo…” You will be using it a lot I think. Stay Tuned!

We are getting a slow start after the Posada activities last night. Not being Catholic we usually don’t attend. The first year we were here we walked with them every night (9 nights) to learn what it was all about. Still each year we have joined in when it is our street that sponsors the event.

There is quite a bit of preparation – making large vats of hot drink – this time it was a fruit tea – huge caldrons; days before we had been shopping with the organizers (we had the truck) to get bags of candy and “Pepe Charro” packets – sort of a spicy little Cheeto. We had the porcelain baby Jesus repaired at the Baby Jesus Repair Shop (really there are several of these tiendes around here).

Thereafter small bags are filled with one each of the various treats. The day of the event Anita and I were to pop popcorn with our commercial popper and create 200 bags of palamitos. Here is Geraldo, one of the neighborhood chimacos who we really like. He lives in a barn. Each of six children has their own stall, one stall is occupied by a horse – all this on a dirt floor; their father sells bailed hay and straw – but that story is for another day. Geraldo – poor in the world but happy as can be in spirit.

Geraldo at the Popper (ENLARGE)

We bought the popcorn maker back in 1993 or so when we had coffee carts (in another lifetime it seems). We have been hauling it around for years. Occasionally we would make family popcorn with the beast – but it was overkill – lets face it.

The Corn Popper in Action (ENLARGE)

Here was our chance to really use it. I should explain that I had this idea to roast coffee in it or I probably wouldn’t have risked stuffing it into our truck undercover.

Why would two gringos on vacation to Mexico bring a huge commercial popper they might have asked – had they been able to actually see it.

Early on in the project we realized we didn’t have near enough popping corn. Anita had already scouted out the only source for popcorn in the Hood – we bought all they had.

Basically it took nearly twenty pounds of popping corn and two bottles of oil and some sea salt to prepare 200 small bags of popcorn – now you know more than you ever wanted to know about making a HUGE batch of popcorn.

At 7 PM we loaded the truck with all the stuff and drove the quarter mile to the other end of our street where we unloaded at the house where the Posada march would end this night placing large ceramic statues of Mary and Joseph in a colorful decorated and lighted manger of sorts in the front yard.

Preparations complete we headed up a few blocks and over a few more to the house where Mary and Joseph had been set the previous night. The street was vibrant with activity. I usually see a lot more of my neighbors than any other time – at least as condensed.

A half a dozen little hombres always gather around us – they stay close by hoping to hear us utter some English. Often they use what little English they know. Two or three start counting, “One, two, three, four” or they say “Hello!” We try to move about and lose the ninos, but they manage to stay nearby.

One of the organizers gives us a candle. Anita having been here before gives me a small piece of aluminum foil to serve as a wax collector and it acts as a nice reflector of the candle light. A guitar player arrives and singing begins. Someone, usually the host of the house where this is all going on, has a large incense cup that is fuming at the brim. The porcelain statues are bathed in the incense smoke – all the candles are lit and the kids quiet down as the singing continues.

The throng of people now numbering by my estimate about 300 slowly walk in mass down the street. A few more hundred line the sides of the roadways as the procession walks the six or seven blocks to the next stopping point.

Occasionally a car, truck or city bus encounters the street full of Catholic Faithful. The crowd spreads a little and envelopes the vehicle until it squeezes out the other end. During this time of year one simply must account for these possible interruptions in travel – in fact this happens a lot any time around here – funeral processions or a Saints day (most days have a Saint attached).

We arrive at the house and I estimate there are about 350 to 400 people in the street and on the front lawn of the manger house and those on either side. More singing and more incense. Again Mary and Joseph are bathed in incense smoke and then placed in position in the manger setting. The 30 inch tall or so statues have been carried in the procession by two authorized virgins. I’m not sure how they qualify but you can be assured the boy and girl bearers are young. A few years ago our son was one of the carriers. The two represent the physical living version of the porcelain statues they carry.

This is all very orderly having been past down for generations. Now that Mary and Joseph are in the manager and three or four songs sang the treats come out and the street is back to chaos.

At the last minute someone got some Holiday pangs and donated two piñatas. These colorful paper machete vessels are designed to house candy and small toys. You know the drill –blindfolded children flail a stick at the piñata as a hombre pulls it up and down and it twirls around. The crowd supplies hints to the “batter” – “Abajo, Abajo, Abajo” – “En Frente, En Frente” – “Alto, Alto.” Usually by the time the crowds clues reach the mind and then swinging arms the piñata is some place else. Until finally some one gets in a lucky swing and candy is strewn all about at which point the kids swarm like cockroaches in the dark.

When the treats are gone and the piñatas destroyed the crowd disperses in matter of two or three minutes – the cleanup crew starts to work – we help a little, gather our spent Rubbermaid popcorn bag carriers and head the long few blocks home.

Later the tired Camacho family (Vicente, Lidia, Stephen and Vince) pile into our Lance camper where we have beer, tequila sunrises and shots while they unwind and discuss the success and the trials of the event. It was a job well done – but Lidia thinks maybe Vicente should stop volunteering for the organizer job – I doubt this will happen. He just completed his ninth year.

I should mention we had water when we got home. Our tank filled. This morning the water is off. Apparently this will be the drill for a time – fill at night – off in daylight.

A Holiday day in the life in Colonia Ursulo Galvan, Xico, Veracruz, Mexico. Stay Tuned!

Yesterday was one of those days all the other days wish they were. The weather was quite simply as good as it gets – and this on December 20th – you gotta love it!

Today we will prepare for the Posada Adventure procession tonight as our block is the designated sponsor. Weather is predicted to be again very good – sunny and 75 F (24 C).

Yesterday I took photos of Marvin’s lovely 2000 Porsche Boxter for sales promotion (example above). A fine car it is with very low mileage and almost like new. Contact me if you are looking for one. I am trying to stay outside of the Boxster on this one – Anita keeps pushing my practical buttons when I get weak in the knees about how this would be a fun car to own.

There were reports of some minor bickering amongst the administrative hombres for tonight’s Posada event. I think it can be said cooperative management, volunteer or otherwise, faces strife in any language and country.

Staying out of the fray as little more than Norte Americano outsiders we will pop and bag our corn as a show of hands across borders and stay way away from any political aspects of the Posada organizers in our poor community in southeast Mexico.

Speaking of staying out of the fray – this just in (note I edited this for the ‘high’ points):

By Anna Cearley
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
December 20, 2007

ROSARITO BEACH – A day after gunmen stormed the Rosarito Beach police station, killing one officer and wounding another, dozens of soldiers stood guard around the building and work crews started repairing the broken glass and bullet-nicked walls.

The attack’s apparent target, Public Security Director Jorge Eduardo Montero Alvarez, was being shuttled around the city under heavy guard as funeral arrangements were made for his fallen bodyguard, Officer Guillermo Castro Corona, 35.Montero’s other bodyguard, Leonel Pizaña Trip, was recovering from the attack. Information on the conditions of two other injured people, unidentified civilians, were unavailable yesterday.

Tuesday’s attack occurred at 12:40 p.m. It was the third attack in recent weeks against
people who were named to high-level public security positions in new administrations in
Rosarito Beach, Tijuana and Tecate….

…The motive of the attack was unclear. The post of public security director is similar to that of a police chief in the United States.

“It appears the drug traffickers are reaffirming their power over the territory they
dominate,” said Victor Clark, director of the Binational Center of Human Rights in Tijuana. “They are showing that they continue controlling the zone and have power above the law.”

The Arellano Félix cartel has controlled the region’s drug trafficking for several decades.
Many of the cartel’s top leaders have been arrested in the past few years, though it
remains a major force along this section of the border. Competing drug groups are posing
a larger threat to them, however, and the additional players could create havoc in police
agencies where traffickers typically form alliances with certain officers.

From a distance it really seems that along the Frontera (Border between Mexico and the U.S.) there is a lot of trouble. The civil unrest that seems to be going on between the drug lords and the Mexican government and press is really disturbing. It is outside our lives here in Xico, but we live in the Country. Much of this problem is occurring near the border along with the immigration problems at the border.

The other day I actually saw an ad on Chicago local television encouraging cold Chicagoans to vacation in Oaxaca and in particular Puerto Escondido where my amigo Harvey reports the hotels are empty and the tourist dependent community is greatly concerned over low visitation numbers.

I have no idea what is required – but it seems that Mexico is going to have to get a handle on all this before Americans and Canadians are going to want to have some fun in the sun south of the border.

Two news events around here: We now have water on again and off again after three days of NO water. At 10:30 AM we do not have running water. As previously reported the Calypso family did have water – but the community water system has been down for three days. Usually unlimited water arrives at our property line for 70 pesos every six months – that is $6.45US for six months worth of household water (not drinkable – potable) but essentially clean usable for showers and all except human consumption. But the way they operate the water supply they could hardly charge more.

The other bit of local news is the bridge that was out due to massive amounts of rain and just plain old age is now totally open with a new two lane operation. This single lane bridge has been a bit of a bottleneck for more than 150 years. The entry to and from the bridge has been two lanes – so people had to self regulate crossing the single lane just after a curve heading into Xico. The luck of the washout is now the bridge is two lanes – progress – will this change the fabric of our little area – all this additional access – not likely.

And I should mention that while Mexico is threatening to some – Bill Gates just bought 3 per cent of Femsa, the world’s second largest Coke bottler and Mexico’s second-largest brewer.

As of September 30 2007, Bill and Melinda Gates’ charitable foundation was the largest
institutional holder in Coca-Cola Femsa, according to data provided by Reuters Company
Views. A Charitable foundation selling coke – hmmm; Femsa has three divisions: its soft drinks unit, Coca-Cola Femsa, , its beer subsidiary, and also a retail operation, which runs Latin America’s largest corner store chain, known as Oxxo.

If you are here in Mexico drinking the lagers Sol, Dos Equis, Bohemia, Tecate and Carta
Blanca be confident in the fact you are helping the richest man in the world get richer. Bill mi amigo!

In other news the completion of our newly constructed bodega has been slowed by all the Holiday activities. We are about 85% complete. I have actually moved 5 gallons of paint into the shell and will be painting any day now – but first – popping corn. I will have photos of that and the Posada march tomorrow so Stay Tuned!