yay for snow!

it is snowing in dallas right now. that's all i am going to say!

la quemada + jerez (zacatecas, mexico)

so my plan to go to real de catorce fell through for lack of bus connections and lack of time on my behalf...so my plan B for the day was to go visit the ruins of La Quemada, which is an archeological site that used to be inhabited by the first inhabitants of mexico, who later on went to found teotihuacan (spelling?)...anyway, ít has such a name because it burnt down, and what was left is what i saw today: a couple of good-sized pyramids, the outer walls, what is believed to be the first roofed building in mexico, and scattered clusters of stones on a hill overlooking the whole desertic valley...then from there i hitched a ride from a mexican-french mormon couple all the way to jerez on the back of their pickup truck...that was fun! now i am here in jerez, which is a nice small countryside town, pretty quiet, yet lively and there's even an abundance of internet cafes! i slurped on several "paletas" (popsicles) and got some bread and pastries for my ride back to zacatecas tonight...hopefully i will also make it to this discotheque in zacatecas which is inside a mine...one of the few in the world apparently! then tomorrow it's time for going back already, slowly but surely...too bad i won't be able to make it to real de catorce this time!
highlights: the state band playing a concert in a square in central zacatecas; riding in the back of the mexican-french mormon couple's pickup truck!

zacatecas, mexico.

2450 meters above sea level right amidst a desert in the center-north of mexico lies zacatecas, the city i am in right now, after a 20-hour total bus ride from dallas. because of the altitude and since it in winter time it is freezing at night, but still nice during the day...my hosts S and P have been wonderful so far, including an awesome night tour that included 2 of the best hotels in town: one used to be an arena for bullfights (the infamous "corridas"), and has rooms in the "stadium" part of the arena, while the pit is still there and the whole structure is untouched. the other one is a giant complex of hoses, alleys and balconies that used to be painted all different colors and used to host multi-family housings for the poor people of zacatecas...now it's been re-modeled and painted all red and yellow and it looks very romantic and different! other highlights included the UNESCO world heritage list cathedral that looks so insane it makes you wonder if it's real, a lot of other churches, an old acqueduct, and narrow, colonial streets full of baroque buildings...today i am set to explore it all, starting by what used to be one of the most important silver mines in the country.
tomorrow i am trying to go to real de catorce, once the silver capital of the region, now a ghost town that seems full of italian restaurants and artsy expats and not much else...well, besides being famous for an annual pilgrimage of the huichol indigenous people, who are famous for using peyote...but more on that tomorrow or the following day!
i also learned that "vengo de dallas" (i am from dallas, i am coming from dallas) can have a double meaning with sexual connotations to the youngsters here, so i am better off just saying i am italian but i am living in tejas right now! :)