Tag Archives: Christmas/La Navidad

The People You Touch

DSC_0808 Faces and Places of Colonia San Antonio

Every year we are privileged to be able to help the Medina family and all the others who help out with Desayuno de los Pollos. This year, thanks to help from so many of YOU, we have already been able to purchase 2500 whole chickens and pack up 1500 packs of despensas, or 10 days worth of food. This should feed about 13,000 families this year. We also take gently used clothes, toys and candy to share. In the slideshow below are photos of just a few of the people you touch. And, of course, they are people who very much touch us back in turn, making our holidays bright. (Click the arrows in the slideshow below to view photos more quickly. Please let me know what you think of these portraits! Thanks!)

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Yesterday I went out, as usual, with Yolanda and Jorge, to meet with community leaders of Colonia San Antonio. We handed out about 900 (!) tickets for food to members of the community. Why is this important? Because Colonia San Antonio, as so many other colonias on the outskirts of town (we give out food along 7-9 routes every year; San Antonio is just one of them), is an invasión. This means that the land on which the houses are built is privately owned, and the people living there are squatters. Normal procedure in these circumstances is that poor people move in, “squat” on the land, build homes out of pallets, recycled tarp, or even cardboard or metal. Eventually they band together and string electrical wire for themselves, and lay pipes for water. They have now done this in Colonia San Antonio.

Five or so years ago, when we first started going there to hand out chickens, they had neither water nor electricity. Now they do. I don’t see any transformers or breakers or anything, pretty much just a very long extension cord running from house to house. But, they do have electricity. Once the community grows large and successful enough, the city, or municipio, decides to access the colonia. The city pays the landowner for the land, and the people living in the invasión are required to start paying taxes.

The good news is, the squatters get to own their land and their homes. Some of the people who occupy the land in these invasiones, however, do not live there full time. Some come out to visit the homes they have only on the weekend, like a (very basic) country house. Others farm the land, but live in town. They basically squat as a way of making (a bit of) money, eventually, when the city decides to give the squatters a deed to the land they occupy.

Yolanda, Jorge and I go out here to meet with community leaders, so that they can take us around, home to home. They can tell us who lives here full time, and who only happens to be here once in a while. The community leaders tell us which families are most in need (maybe they need two chickens or packs of food, or extra clothing), and which are doing better than others. In this way, we can be as equitable as possible in what we hand out. This week, we were there from about 10 am till 2:00 pm.

It is one of my favorite days of the year. I am able to meet with incredible community leaders, people who themselves have fallen on hard times, don’t have much in the way of money, but who have the caring and the fortitude, the vision and the sense of justice, to better their communities. I also have the privilege to meet the people I’ve met with over the past five or so years that we’ve been going to Colonia San Antonio. I get to visit with people we know, and get a glimpse into how people there live.

This year, I made a point of taking photos of two things: the faces and the places of Colonia San Antonio. The first slide show, above, is of some of the faces of this invasión. You can see the joy, the dignity, and the difficulty these people experience every day. I have so very much to learn from so many of these people. I am so grateful to be able to meet with them and, hopefully, share with them a bit of joy and ease their burden just a bit.

The second slide show, below, is of the places: the homes, stores, and plazas of this colonia. It amazes me how simply people here live, how hard they work for what they have, yet how clean they keep their homes, the care and love they bestow on their children. How, despite the dust EVERYWHERE, most everyone has clean clothes and skin and hair. Nearly every home is decorated for the holidays, and many of them have beautiful demonstrations of religiosity as well, especially for the Virgen de Guadalupe. (Click on the arrows in the slideshow below to view all photos more quickly.)

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You are most welcome to join us on Christmas Eve morning, Wednesday this week, to caravan out to the 7-9 routes we’ll go on and hand out chickens, food, clothes, toys and candy. We’ll meet at Quince Letras downtown, 6:30 am if you have a pickup truck, 7:00 am if you are coming to help out. We should be finished by noon. Merry Christmas and see you Wednesday morning!
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Part of the #MyGlobalLife Link-Up.

Where and When to Hand Out Chickens

Quince Letras, corner of Tampico and Francisco Villas streets We load from either side of this "Coca Cola" store on the corner

Quince Letras, corner of Tampico and Francisco Villas streets
We load from either side of this “Coca Cola” store on the corner

THANK YOU all for joining us on the 24th of December, the morning of Christmas Eve day, to hand out chickens, food, clothing, toys and candy! It’s a terrific event and very, very memorable. It has been a family tradition of ours for many years now; even our son very much looks forward to it.

Don’t worry if you don’t speak Spanish; we’ll pair you up with a group that has someone bilingual. Please bring your pickup truck or large vehicle if you have one. Also, wear your Santa hats and Desayuno de los Pollos t-shirts if you have them!

Are you wondering what time to show up on the morning of December 24th in order to help load the trucks and deliver the goodies out to the invasiones? Those who have worked in the past and know the drill, please plan to show up about 6:30 am. Those of you who are first-timers, coming by about 7:00 am will put you there just in time to help us load. We make lines of people to pass the foodstuffs/despensas into the truck, and able-bodied guys load the boxes of frozen chickens.

If you have used clothing, toys or candy that you want to be sure gets handed out, please take it over to the Medina family this week so we can get it sorted. Any donations you have will also be appreciated in advance, so we can buy more chickens! Just take whatever you have to the wrought iron shop where Jorge works. It’s open every work day.

DATE: December 24th

TIME: 6:30 am if you are driving a truck, 7:00 am if you are helping us load and deliver. We usually finish by 11:30 or noon, but some years it’s taken longer (depends how many routes you participate in).

LOCATION: 15 (QUINCE) LETRAS, corner of Francisco Villa and Tampico, just down the hill from the Church of Cristo Rey (Christ the King)

  1. Turn East at the Fisherman’s Monument.
  2. Go to the first light and turn right.
  3. Proceed one block and turn left (Francisco Villa street, just before the Pemex station).
  4. Go two blocks.
  5. If you are NOT driving a truck or transporting supplies, please park in the next block. This will give us room for loading. Once you’ve parked, walk another block down, past the iron works business called “Quince Letras.” On the corner of Francisco Villa and Tampico you will see a small store with a bright red “Coca Cola” hand painted on the outside, across from a tortillería. A door next to the Cocheras Automaticas business will be open. That’s Yolanda’s mother’s house, and it’s from there that we’ll be loading.
  6. If you ARE driving a truck or transporting supplies, please drive up to Tampico street (the “Coca Cola” store on your right on the corner), turn right, and park. We will be loading right there.

IMG_0669If you can’t find it, just ask someone for “Quince Letras” or “Desayuno de los Pollos/Medina family.” Everyone in the area will know. It is just down the hill from the Cristo Rey Church (photo at left).

Merry Christmas to all! And see you there!

What Do Mexican Nativity Sets Have That Mine Doesn’t Have?

my nativityGrowing up in Wisconsin, our nativity set looked a lot like the one at left.

In Mazatlán, most of the nativities (nacimientos) do include these basic items that I grew up with — Mary and Joseph, the baby Jesus, shepherd and sheep, 3 kings, a camel, a donkey, an angel. But they also include a WHOLE lot more!

Here, nativities always seem to have turkeys. Why? Because we eat pavo on Christmas? Mazatleco nacimientos also seem to always have chickens.

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And a well. Almost every Mazatleco nativity we’ve seen has a well. Again, why? Because Jesus asked a lady for water at a well, like, 30 years AFTER he was born? The wells are pretty. People did need to drink.

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The nativities I grew up with had pine trees. I always thought that was a little weird. As a kid I imagined that where Jesus lived, maybe palm trees would have grown, but pine trees? Well, Mazatleco nativities have cacti. Lots of different kinds of cacti.

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The shepherds in Mazatlecan nativities often wear sombreros. And they may carry tropical fruits. Or beans. Traditional Christmas foods. They may be miners. Or carry really heavy loads.

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Mary and Jesus may have a comal alongside the manger, for cooking fresh tortillas for all those visiting kings.comal

There are usually a lot of tropical birds in a Mazatleco nativity, and often times a waterfall or water feature. We do live on the ocean, after all. And we are blessed with loads of gorgeous water fowl.

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A nativity here might not be complete without a burro carrying beer, or a lady handing out avocados. Christmas is a cause for getting together with family and friends and celebrating, that’s for sure.

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There are often barnyard animals in a nativity here, including cows, pigs, and geese.

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And, usually, the nativity includes a devil. Sometimes one, sometimes quite a few. The nativities I grew up with included lots of angels, but never, ever a devil.

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Nativity sets here grow so large, over several generations, that many of them become small cities filled with people doing all sorts of different things. Nacimientos are yet another reason to LOVE Mazatlán! 😉

Could You Cook Your Holiday Dinner Here?

foodWe recently had the very good pleasure of traveling to our friend’s hometown, San Ignacio, Sinaloa. It’s just over an hour from Mazatlán. On the way we stopped for one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in a long, long time. The meal was at Cuata’s, just south of San Ignacio. I had stewed ribs with nopales, and Greg had carne asada/grilled beef. It was accompanied by the most marvelous queso fresco — panela cheese, and the mooooooosssst glorious homemade blue corn tortillas ever!

Now, surely this wonderful meal, made with items from a stew pot, griddle, and grill, came out of a well stocked and well staffed kitchen. Indeed it did, though it was a kitchen that many chefs might find challenging to work in. More power to the cook! Cuata’s kitchen, without gas, electricity or running fresh water, was a Christmas reminder to me that sometimes simple is best!

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To keep Cuata company as she cooks, there are several pet pericos.

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Heartiest of heartfelt holiday wishes to all our readers. I am grateful for good friends, beloved family, open-air awesome restaurants like Cuata’s, the good health to be able to enjoy food like she serves, and the ability to share a bit of our lives with you. Thank you for being here with us!

Entrega de los Pollos/Handing out Chickens — Where/What Time

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Quince Letras, corner of Tampico and Francisco Villas streets
We load from either side of this “Coca Cola” store on the corner

Many, many thanks to all of you who attended the Desayuno de los Pollos/Breakfast of the Chickens earlier this month, who have donated money, collected clothing and toys, and who have worked hard this week packing up rice, beans, coffee, tomatoe paste, pasta, etc. Your kindness and efforts will help improve the lives of over 2000 families in Mazatlán who are less economically fortunate than ourselves.

I was over at Yolanda’s today, and they need a few more pickup trucks or even larger trucks to help us haul the frozen whole chickens. Please, if you have access to a truck and are willing to drive it on December 24th, would you contact Jorge Medina on his cell at 669-110-07-44 and let him know? Thank you! Please pass this request on to anyone you know with a truck. All who are driving: please have your trucks at Quince Letras downtown by 6:30 am on the 24th, latest by 7:00 am.

Several of you have asked us what time to show up on the morning of December 24th in order to help load the trucks and deliver the goodies out to the colonias. Those who have worked in the past and know the drill, please plan to show up about 6:30 am. Those of you who are first-timers, coming by about 7:00 am will put you there just in time to help us load. We make lines of people to pass the foodstuffs/despensas into the truck, and able-bodied guys load the boxes of frozen chickens.

That morning, please bring any additional used clothing in good condition that you have assembled (it’s best to take clothing over to Yolanda’s for sorting before that morning, if possible), any candy or toys you have for the kids. Donations that morning will also be welcome, as Yolanda has signed for some of the food on credit/faith.

DATE: December 24th

TIME: 6:30 am if you are driving a truck, 7:00 am if you are helping us load and deliver

LOCATION: 15 (QUINCE) LETRAS, corner of Francisco Villa and Tampico, just down the hill from the Church of Cristo Rey (Christ the King)

  1. Turn East at the Fisherman’s Monument.
  2. Go to the first light and turn right.
  3. Proceed one block and turn left (Francisco Villa street, just before the Pemex station).
  4. Go two blocks.
  5. If you are NOT driving a truck or transporting supplies, please park in the next block. This will give us room for loading. Once you’ve parked, walk another block down, past the iron works business called “Quince Letras.” On the corner of Francisco Villa and Tampico you will see a small store with a bright red “Coca Cola” hand painted on the outside, across from a tortillería. A door next to the Cocheras Automaticas business will be open. That’s Yolanda’s mother’s house, and it’s from there that we’ll be loading.
  6. If you ARE driving a truck or transporting supplies, please drive up to Tampico street (the “Coca Cola” store on your right on the corner), turn right, and park. We will be loading right there.

IMG_0669If you can’t find it, just ask someone for “Quince Letras” or “Desayuno de los Pollos/Medina family.” Everyone in the area will know. It is just down the hill from the Cristo Rey Church (photo at left).