Where in the World?
THE CITY Our first year and a half in Mexico, we have been living in Cuernavaca, a city about an hour south of Mexico City. The city is nestled in the mountains, so the climate is very temperate--much like Arequipa, Peru, where we served before. It has felt just like home to us since the day we arrived! Now the time has come for us to move to Uruapan, Michoacan, which is like a doorway to the Purepecha people group with whom we will be working. Click here for images of Uruapan, Michoacan, Mexico OR click here for ministry pictures in our MSN Group.
Uruapan is considered the second most important in the state of Michoacan. The name of Uruapan comes from the Purepecha word Uruapani, which means “the flowering and bearing fruit of a plant at the same time”; this has been translated as “place where everything blooms”. Truly Uruapan lives up to its name, and is known as “the orchard of Michoacan” or “Avacado capital of the world.
Uruapan is also the entry to the Meseta Purepecha where you can find an extensive natural region of antique towns, where indigenous hands elaborate multicolor and majestic handicrafts. In the distance we can see the magnificent Volcano Paricutin, which is considered the youngest of the world and the only one that the human being has seen born. The natural beauty of Uruapan shines uniting its folklore, dances, gastronomy, and traditions.
Fray Juan de San Miguel, a Franciscan monk, is considered the founder of the city in 1534, due to his evangelizing labor, the unification of the towns of this region, his town-planning work and the creation of the districts of Uruapan.
Altitude above sea level: 1,620 meters
Temperature Maximum: 38° C Minimum: 8° C
Moderate and tropical with rain in the summer
Handcrafts:
Pieces of Work in shellacs, plates, trays, and wooden boxes are artistically decorated with a technique that goes back to the pre-Colombian period, wooden masks, textiles, cane paste, and cloth fabric toys.
THE COUNTRY: Mexico is a traveler's paradise, crammed with a multitude of opposing identities: desert landscapes, snow-capped volcanoes, ancient ruins, teeming industrialized cities, time-warped colonial towns, glitzy resorts, lonely beaches and a world-beating collection of flora and fauna. The bursting megalopolis of Mexico City is a one-hour flight from the tropical rainforests and Mayan villages of Chiapas. Up along the northern border, Mexico's tumult of heritages merge with the air-conditioned cultures of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.
Mexico's profusion of people and landscapes reflects the country's extraordinary history - part Amerindian, part Spanish. One look at this country is enough to remind visitors that there is nothing new about the so-called New World. Despite the considerable colonial legacy and rampant modernization, almost 60 distinct indigenous peoples survive, largely thanks to their rural isolation.
LANGUAGE:
Spanish is Mexico's predominant language, but Mexican Spanish differs from Castilian Spanish, the literary and official language of Spain, in two respects: in Mexico, the Castilian lisp has more or less disappeared, and numerous indigenous words have been adopted. Around 50 indigenous languages are spoken by about 7 million people in Mexico; 15% of these do not speak Spanish.
RELIGION: Although Mexican governments since the revolution have been unsupportive of religion, 90% of the population professes to believe in Catholicism. While most of the indigenous people are Christian, their Christianity is usually fused with more ancient beliefs. Whole hierarchies of 'pagan' gods sometimes coexist with the Christian Trinity and saints. Since 1531, the most binding symbol of the Church has been the dark-skinned Virgin of Guadalupe, who is regarded as a link between Catholic and non-Catholic indigenous worlds.
CUISINE: Mexican cuisine is centered around three national staples: tortillas, beans and chili peppers. Tortillas are thin round patties of pressed corn or wheat-flour dough cooked on griddles. Beans (frijoles) are eaten boiled, fried or refried, in soups, on tortillas or with just about anything. Apart from an astonishing array of freshly squeezed fruit juices (jugos), which are readily available from street stalls, Mexico is also famous for its alcoholic beverages - mezcal and tequila in particular. Pulque is a mildly alcoholic drink derived directly from the sap of the maguey.
CULTURE: Mexicans have had a talent for art and color since pre-Hispanic times. Today, Mexico is covered with murals and littered with galleries of contemporary and historic art, which are a highlight of the country for many visitors. Mexican creativity is also expressed through the country's vibrant folk-art tradition. Notable examples of pre-Hispanic art include the Olmecs' monumental stone heads, the early Paradise of Tláloc murals at Teotihuacán and the Mayan murals at Bonampak in Chiapas.
The art of the colonial period was largely religious and Spanish in tone. The influence of indigenous artisans can be seen in the elaborate altarpieces and sculpted walls and ceilings that decorate the country's many churches. The arts were regarded as an important part of the national revival after the revolution.
Mexico's ancient civilizations produced some of the most spectacular, eye-pleasing architecture ever built. Sites such as Teotihuacán, Monte Albán, Chichén Itzá and Uxmal are fairly intact examples of pre-Hispanic cities, with their ceremonial centers, pyramids, temples and ball courts. One of the first preoccupations of the Spanish was to replace these pagan structures with Christian churches. Plazas were now the focal point of each settlement, and the churches that replaced the temples reflected European styles such as Gothic, flamboyant Baroque, plateresque, Churrigueresque and neoclassical. Post-revolutionary Mexico saw a return to pre-Hispanic roots, known as Toltecism, exhibiting colorful murals and stocky Aztec architectural forms.
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