Tequila, Dia Cuatro

NOTES FROM THE FIELD: Today really is Thursday. I’m not confused anymore. I am now acclimatised to the Mexican way of life (including what day it is). This morning was the start of something that we soon learned would unfortunately continue for the rest of the week.

Firecrackers for a wake-up call

At around 5:15a.m. we all woke up to what sounded like canons being shot off a roof. At first I was nervous it was something bad, like a shooting or actual bombs being thrown, but after about the 25th “bomb,” I decided to just cover my ears and repeat to myself for them to stop… as if they would hear me. I heard Zack and Jeff out in the hallway, which reassured me we weren’t being attacked. The loud bangs were really just firecrackers. Today was a religious holiday.

Ceremony taking place in ancient ruins / Photo by Michelle Rodrigues

Today was also an adventure to a different town outside of Tequila - Teuchitlan, to visit two accommodations. One hadn’t received any information yet about Project: Exposure, and the other hadn’t made a decision whether they wanted to be involved or not.

Wrong car Jeff

On the way there we stopped at a railway crossing while a cargo train passed through. Jeff, being the photographer he is, stepped out of the car to take a few shots of the surrounding area. Once the train had passed, he came back to the car, only it wasn’t our car he returned to. Unbeknown to Jeff he was actually trying to get back into the car in front of us. He began pulling forcefully on the door handle, as if his life depended on it, wondering why he couldn’t get back in. As he started pounding on the window Zack honked the horn, which seemed to make him even more frantic, and scared the man inside the car.

We could not stop laughing. Not only because he went to the wrong car, but because he didn’t notice the very obvious Mexican man as the driver and the fact that I wasn’t in the back seat.

Ancient ruins and a ceremony

After visiting the accommodations we went to the ancient temples nearby and saw some ancient ceremony grounds, elevated in the shape of squares and circles. Whilst we were there a group of six women appeared, pretty much dressed all in white and about to perform a ceremony. I asked if we could watch and maybe take a picture and they said of course. As they were setting up and about to sit, the teacher invited me to sit around the circle with them.

I sat and listened, watched as she motioned through the steps for her students. She always mentioned how they were honoring and offering things to Mother Earth. Each side represented an element – earth, wind, fire and water – and each woman presented an offering.

We returned to Tequila to watch a parade

Eventually the three of us headed back to Tequila where we started to hear more of the “bombs” that had woken us up so effectively early this morning. Around 6:15p.m. people started to gather in the streets, sitting on curbs, standing in any spot possible. I grabbed a spot by a tree when I realised that a parade was coming. There was a marching band, a float, dancers that seemed to be dressed in traditional Native American apparel and people holding different banners of saints. A pick-up truck held a flower arrangement on a wooden medallion the size of a 42″ TV. It pulled up at the church and a group carried the flowers inside. Check out this video I took…

Further Information:

Firecrackers for a wake-up call

Wrong car Jeff

Ancient ruins and a ceremony

We returned to Tequila to watch a parade

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