A Canadian writer's life

Friday, October 31, 2014

Día de Los Muertos - a family feast and celebration

Patricia, Luci, and Yani

“Do you have a kiss for Grandma?” Yani Medina asked her granddaughter, Luci, as she reached to hold the little girl.

Her outdoor kitchen is buzzing with conversation and laughter as family members come and go, checking on the progress of Yani's preparations for the upcoming family celebration.

Yani - chopping, chopping, chopping

Yani is making the traditional “pibe” - similar to a very large tamale - for the Mayan Hanal Pixán celebrations, otherwise known as the Día de Los Muertos. Delicious smells float through the warm tropical air, coming from the various pots and pans on the gas stove.

Across the street at the middle school, the students are boisterously departing for a three-day weekend away from their studies. They carry bunches of flowers and other gifts, decorations for the temporary Hanal Pixán altars honouring their departed family members. The students will celebrate Hanal Pixán again with their families on November 1^st and November 2^nd, eating special foods, and visiting family graves in the cemetery.

Preparing the banana leaves

By the time I arrived in her kitchen, Yani had already been working for a few hours, preparing the chicken and chopping vegetables and was ready to show me the more intricate details.

First, she removed the cooked chickens from the huge pot, and then added chopped tomatoes, onions, handfuls of an herb called ezapote, salt, and a red spice called achiote to the broth.

Mixing masa, a cornmeal dough that takes time and special techniques to create, she thickened the chicken broth.

Eduardo and Patricia, decorations for the birthday party

As she worked, her teenage daughter Cristina stopped by to chat, and her mother, Norma Figueroa Paz, came to check the proceedings. Then her son Alex dropped in.

Next came older daughter Patricia with her husband, Eduardo, and their two sweet little girls. October 30th is Luci's second birthday, so in addition to creating the Hanal Pixán feast, Yani was working on eighty tamales for the party.

Manual - starting to cook the "pibe"

A few minutes later, while her husband, Manual Punab, prepared the charcoal BBQ to cook the “pibe”, Yani's brother Freddy Medina stopped to add his humorously helpful suggestions.

By now, there are eleven people, spanning four generations of the same family, supervising, chatting and laughing while Yani serenely carried on with her project.

Stripping the tough outer edges off the banana leaves to use as a natural string for her “pibe” parcels, she explains in a mix of Spanish and English what she is doing. Next, she pats the masa dough into a circular shape and adds the upright borders that will contain the yummy mixture of chicken, vegetables, and spices. In keeping with tradition, some of the chicken bones are included in the “pibe.” They represent the bones of the departed.

Norma, helping with spicy "pibe" for Manual

With the addition of the K'ol – the chicken mixture – more vegetables, and a sliced hard-boiled egg, Yani's creation was finally ready for the top crust. Everything is parcelled up with banana leaves and tied securely. It's a work of art. She then creates a special “pibe” for Manual's upcoming birthday. He has requested his usual twenty Serrano chilli peppers and a K'ol mixture including multi-coloured, Xpelón beans. This dish is too spicy for most of the other family members, and he will likely savour his fiery treat all on his own.

All set for the top crust to go on

By now, three and a half hours have quickly passed. Yani asks me to come back in another hour when the “pibe” will be ready so that I can see the finished product.

She also sends me home with a yummy dish of the chicken mixture, and a handful of fire toasted tortillas to snack on.

Oh my goodness! Good! By the time I drove back to our house, the dish was empty. Lawrie was only able to run his finger around the bowl, tasting the residual flavours in it.

Packaged in banana leaves

What a great experience; learning a bit more about our local friends, and having a chance for a relaxed chat. For those of you who frequent our favourite bar, the Soggy Peso, Yani's son Alex is their newest employee. His uncle, Freddy Medina, is the manager of the bar, and his cousin Joao (YoYo) has worked there for several years. Next time you are in the Soggy Peso, make sure you say hi to Alex.

What a lovely family! We know they will enjoy their celebrations this weekend: Hanal Pixán, Día de Los Muertos, and two birthdays.

Yani - all done!

Hasta luego

Lawrie, Lynda, Sparky, and Thomas

Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.

Sunset at Casa de Los Sueños

Friday, October 24, 2014

Live like a Rock Star, on Isla Mujeres Mexico!

“Holy moly!” Gail exclaimed, “That is my handwriting. I won! I won!”

Convinced that an email she had received was a scam, perhaps a sales pitch for a timeshare hotel, Gail Stewart refused to believe she had won the fabulous prize being offered. To assure Gail that the offer was genuine, the hotel owner sent a second email, containing a photo of a local child holding the winning ticket; that's when she recognized her own distinctive handwriting.

2700 Square Foot Presidential Suite

The prize was a complimentary week in the 2700-square-foot Presidential Suite at Casa de Los Sueños on Isla Mujeres, plus a $500.00 credit towards food and beverages. She had purchased the raffle ticket many months before from the hotel owner, who was independently raising funds for the Little Yellow School House. As a middle school educator for thirty-eight years in Westchester County, New York, Gail is an avid supporter of the education of children. The LYSH is a local school for children with developmental disabilities; all of their funding comes from various fundraising events on Isla.

Food for the sunset cocktail party

Gail Stewart and Mike Davanzo, or as she calls him, “her partner in crime,” recently enjoyed their complimentary week at Casa de Los Sueños, enthusiastically telling friends that everyone at the hotel was treating them like they were rock stars.

They wanted to share their good fortune with island friends and arranged a sunset cocktail party for Wednesday evening. Lucky for us, we were included on the guest list!

Guests arriving for the party

According to Gail, the hotel manager was exceptionally helpful – suggesting food items that fit her budget, and organizing all of the party details. One fun twist was that the table and chairs were set up in the shallow end of the suite's private swimming pool. What a great idea! And Mike, an old-time rock-and-roller, played lively and familiar tunes for our foot-bouncing enjoyment.

Mike Davanzo, TGarcia photo

Originally from Queens, NY, Mike Davanzo has been playing in rock bands since high school, later playing professionally for more than 40 years in the eastern US and Canada. He is currently featured at Casa de Los Sueños on the weekends from 4:30 to 6:30, during Happy Hour.

Mike's music is another good reason to stop by Casa de Los Sueños for a sunset beverage or two, and while you are there, purchase a raffle ticket for the 2015 Grand Prize.

Hotel staff setting up the buffet for the party

As Gail said, “It was a magical week, and everyone who worked there treated us like we had actually paid to stay in the Presidential Suite.” Although with Gail's many years of experience as a President for the Teachers' Union and as a Union Contract Negotiator, I noticed she kept a supervisory eye on every detail of the party. When you are accustomed to being in charge, old habits die hard.

Thanks again, Gail and Mike, for the invite to share in your good fortune.

Presidential Suite - private pool

Lawrie and I bought our ticket; hopefully it's the winning one!

Maybe next year we will be living like rock stars for a week in the Presidential Suite of Casa de Los Sueños.

Hasta Luego

Lawrie, Lynda, Sparky, and Thomas

Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.

Friday, October 17, 2014

Finding Paradise in 1993, Jackie Conlon

2005 Boat found drifting after Wilma.Sergio used as a bar

“So, you're from Wisconsin?” The woman queried, puzzled.

“No, no, I live in Oregon. I said Milwaukie, Oregon.” Jackie Conlon replied, a tiny bit frustrated that no one seemed to grasp the concept of a city named Milwaukee that was actually located in Oregon, not in Wisconsin. True, Milwaukee, Oregon, had only about 22,000 people, while Milwaukee, Wisconsin, had about 600,000, so one was definitely more famous than the other, but neither city could be considered “paradise.”

1993 Na Balam Hotel

Jackie first discovered her version of paradise in 1993. She was looking for a new adventure, a new place to relax after a strenuous six months of commuting between Oregon and Colorado for her job in telecommunications. She was tired of the Mazatlan – Puerto Vallarta area, and suggested to her travel agent that she was ready for something new: maybe Belize. “Un-uh! No, a woman travelling alone in Belize is not a good idea,” the agent said. “I think you would like the Playa del Carmen or the Yucatan area of Mexico a lot more.”

1993 El Presidente Hotel damaged.

So her first trip to the Caribbean side of Mexico included two nights in Cancun, then ten days in Playa del Carmen, and another ten days on Isla. Unfortunately, her first visit to Isla Mujeres included breaking her toe on arrival, limiting her island experiences to the hotel, beach, and restaurant. However, the turquoise water, soft white sand, and charming locals hooked her on the island. In the next twenty-one years, she returned time and again to her island paradise, bringing family members and friends to share the experience.

1996 Garrafon Park

Now a confirmed Islahólico – a true fan of Isla Mujeres – Jackie is a longtime member of the Isla Mujeres Scholarship Group. The group was formed in 2005 to provide financial assistance to qualified students who wanted to continue on to college or university. Jackie told me that this is a personally satisfying venture, one that gives her close contact with the students and their families. She can see how her monthly contributions are improving the life of the student and of the student's family. Whenever one of the students graduates, she is happy to sign up to assist another one for the four or more years needed to complete their education.

Island youngsters

Jackie is also an avid supporter of local businesses and enjoys promoting them. She created a Facebook page for a local restaurant to help them market their business. And, if you are her personal Facebook friend, you will see a variety of “food porn” photographs, promoting various local restaurants, but she confesses, until very recently, she had never tried the wonderfully decadent Mexican specialty – marquesitas. Marquesitas are the crepe-like confections cooked on a large pan, filled with sliced bananas and chocolate sundae sauce, then rolled into a tube shape and handed to you with a small paper serviette wrapped around one end. Heavenly!

October 2005, high seas before Hurricane Wilma

Even though Milwaukie, Oregon, may not be a tropical paradise, Jackie has discovered her own paradise here on Isla Mujeres.

She is a big-hearted addition to the island.

Hasta Luego

Lawrie & Lynda

All of the photos are from Jackie Conlon's collection

Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.

Guillermo Ruiz de Teresa & Roberto Borge Angulo

Friday, October 10, 2014

Yeah! The new ferry terminal is open, sort of

Ribbon cutting - photo Municipality of Isla Mujeres

At last, after many false starts and delays dating back to December of 2013, the new ferry terminal was officially inaugurated by a large group of dignitaries on Saturday, October 4^th.

(Updated: Roberto Borge was charged with fraud in 2017 and imprisoned. Link below.)

Every level of government was represented, from our own Municipal President Agapito Magaña Sánchez, to the Governor of Quintana Roo Roberto Borge Angulo, to the Federal General Coordinator of Ports and Merchant Marines Guillermo Ruiz de Teresa, the President of Cancun, the President of Cozumel, our Naval Vice-Admiral Juan Ramón Pigñol, plus a host of other dignitaries.

Waiting for the event to start

A good crowd of islanders were on hand for the celebration. A large white tent was quickly erected in the new parking lot. It sheltered two massive video screens and a convention-style raised platform for the honoured guests, plus dozens of white slip-covered chairs for the general public. It was a classy event.

Appreciative crowd listening to Agapito Magaña

But, you know, everything runs on Mexican time. The event was supposed to start at 10:30 in the morning, but didn't get started until the last dignitary arrived via helicopter around 12:30 in the afternoon. And as always, everyone waited patiently for the commencement. The only people checking their wrist watches with mild irritation were us, the ex-pats. (We are learning, slowly, very slowly, not to fuss over start times.)

Governor Roberto Borge & Presidente Agapito Magaña

Finally the event started. Municipal President Agapito Magaña Sánchez called it “a historic day” for Isla Mujeres to have this new 700-thousand square-meter terminal. The new structure is fantastic, with plenty of room for the two plus million visitors that Isla Mujeres will host this year. Of course, the smaller vendors, eating establishments, and tour operators will take a little time to settle into the new facility, but be patient; eventually it will happen.

Some of you will say that the old, quaint facility had character, befitting the island; however, one visit to the washrooms or the waiting area would have put paid to that idea. Isla Mujeres is a world-class destination - funky, quaint, rustic, fun, beautiful, romantic, or hip - but it is that first impression that grabs the newcomer, creating a yearning, a compulsion to return again and again to this beautiful little island. This gleaming white facility, with its Mayan architectural influences, is a dazzling new entrance to paradise.

Governor Roberto Borge

Governor Roberto Borge also promised in his very popular speech, the completion of the Cultural Centre, completion of the ongoing hospital project, more utility services on the mainland portion of Isla Mujeres, upgrading the car ferry terminal at Punta Sam, and last but not least, the repairs and upgrading of the popular Isla Mujeres baseball field.

Whew! That's a big list, hope it happens.

Hasta Luego

Lawrie, Lynda, Sparky, and Thomas

2020 Borge linked to organized crime

Murder. Mayhem. Revenge. Romance.