Friday, December 20, 2013
Triqui, shoeless Mexican team, plays basketball exhibitions in LA
Triqui, shoeless Mexican team, plays basketball exhibitions in LA
WOODLAND HILLS >> The boys had arrived from their remote Mexican pueblos the day before and had gotten about four hours of sleep but the “barefoot champions of the mountains” had come to do what they love the most: play basketball.
And they didn’t disappoint. In their first visit to Los Angeles, the children from the indigenous Triqui region of Oaxaca played two thrilling exhibition games Wednesday against their U.S. counterparts in the Woodland Hills-based Top Flight community basketball club.
Although many members of the Triqui kids basketball team, which is famous in Mexico and other Latin countries, have received donated athletic shoes to participate in tournaments, they prefer to practice and often play barefoot to avoid ruining their shoes and because they have grown accustomed to training without them.
With several players shoeless and the electrified crowd chanting “Triqui, Triqui” and “Si, se puede!” a team of the Oaxacan boys ages 10 and 11 defeated a Top Flight team by a score of 31-29 in their first scrimmage at the Pacific Lodge Boys Home gymnasium.
“They come out here with no shoes and play their hearts out,” Top Flight player Derek Morhar of Calabasas said shortly after the game. “They’re really good.”
Morhar, a sixth-grader at Alice C. Stelle Middle School, said he learned from his Mexican counterparts, most of whom were significantly shorter than their opponents, how “to play with heart” since they fought again and again for control of the ball.
“If we got the rebound,” he said, “they would slap it out of our hands.”
But Morhar, who aspires to play college and pro basketball, said he also enjoyed hearing about life in their Mexican villages, how they are so poor they often eat just one meal a day and play basketball barefoot, which he found “really inspiring.”
Speaking his indigenous language, Triqui player Melquiades Ramirez de Jesus, 10, said through an interpreter before the game that they appreciated everyone coming out to see them play.
“For them, this is a way to get out (of the country) and they’re amazed by all the things that they have here because in their town, they don’t have them,” said Triqui coach Guillermo Merino Ramirez in Spanish. “For them, it’s a big deal to be here and a dream come true.”
The Triquis, who are on tour in the U.S. through Dec. 29, are one of many indigenous groups that inhabit the mountainous region of Oaxaca, where so many young men and adults have crossed the U.S. border to work that many of its communities are left mainly with children and seniors.
The Triqui kids basketball team is famous in Mexico for discipline and for fighting for what they want, said Gerardo Vasquez, president of the Federation of Oaxacan Communities and Indigenous Organizations in California, which sponsored the Mexican children’s trip to Los Angeles.
“Poverty doesn’t stop them,” he said in Spanish. “With or without shoes, they are always fighting to move forward. This is what inspires us.”
The kids, who won an international basketball championship in Argentina in October, will be playing additional exhibition games and attending a Lakers game during their visit. There will also be a large Christmas party in their honor at the federation’s headquarters downtown.
Top Flight player Mason Oppenheim, 12, who played the first game said it was “really tough” to play the boys from Mexico since they played very aggressively.
But “it felt really good to give them gifts,” he said, “because I know I’m really lucky to have all the things I have.”
The next match by the Triqui team is Friday 10 a.m. at Toberman Park, 1725 Toberman St., in the Pico-Union district, where they will play one match against adult members of the media and another against a team of young local immigrants.
On Saturday, they will play against teams affiliated with the Federation of Oaxacan Communities and Indigenous Organizations in California at 10 a.m. in Toberman Park. The second part of that tournament will take place at 10 a.m. on Dec. 28.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Christmas Traditions in Mexico - Posadas and Nativity Scene Las Posadas and Nativity Scene - Mexican Christmas Traditions
Sunday, 15 December 2013
http://tenekmaple.blogspot.com/2009/12/las-posadas-and-nativity-scene.html
Christmas Traditions in Mexico - Posadas and Nativity Scene
Las Posadas and Nativity Scene - Mexican Christmas Traditions
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| Mexican Nativity Scene - Nativity Scene Exhibition - Virreinato Museum in San Luis Potosi - Photo: Casa Las Margaritas |
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| Nativity Scene Exhibition Virreinato Museum in San Luis Potosi - Courtesy Casa Las Margaritas |
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| Mexican Nativity Scene - Nativity Scene Exhibition Virreinato Museum in San Luis Potosi - Photo: Casa Las Margaritas |
Posadas can be organized by families, friends, neighbors, churches, companies, etc. The following is the program of the Posadas organized by the Church in Barra de Navidad where everybody is welcome to participate.
Traditional Mexican Posadas in Barra de Navidad barrio "San Felipe de Jesus", Jalisco, Mexico
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| Poinsettia, Christmas flower, Cuitlaxochitl or Nochebuena is a flower or Mexican Central American origin |
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| Devil figure in Nativity Scene - Nativity Scene Exhibition Virreinato Museum in San Luis Potosi - Photo: Casa Las Margaritas |
Visiting Barra de Navidad? Stay at Casa Las Margaritas
Posada del Arquitecto El Rinconcito Mazunte www.posadadelarquitecto.com Lonely Planet can't book you a room here, but want to make sure you find the best hotel possible. That's why we've included contact information so you can call or email yourself. Lonely Planet review Built around the natural features of a small hill by the beach, this popular Italian-owned place provides a variety of airy accommodations on several levels. Options range from hilltop open-air hanging beds with mosquito nets, known as estrellas, to attractive cabañas and casitas (bungalows) built with mostly natural materials, some of which can accommodate six. It has a beachfront cafe, and at the rear of the property Sahuaro serves up Baja-style shrimp, veg and fish tacos, Argentine empanadas and homemade ravioli. Our independent authors have visited Posada del Arquitecto and selected this as one of our recommended hotels in Mazunte. Services & facilities Wi-Fi/internet access Wi-Fi Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/mexico/oaxaca-state/mazunte/hotels/posada-del-arquitecto#ixzz2ntW48RfS
posada del arquitecto
Our cottages, cabins and public spaces are created with an organic conception. They are solid and secure, and
once opened and in interaction with nature around. We hope you enjoy your
stay!
Take a good breakfast or juice in the
Café Bar Terrasse "Chez l'Architect"
Café Bar Terrasse "Chez l'Architect"
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Relax with massage in our private space or in your cabin.
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Las Posadas Mexico’s Christmas Tradition
By Neal Erickson
Posada in Spanish can mean inn, lodging, shelter, boardinghouse, home, etc., depending on
context. Traditionally in old Mexico, when people were traveling, at the end of the day they
would seek a place to spend the night out of the elements. When no inns or hotels were
available, travelers would seek “posada” in private homes, asking for their hospitality and
kindness and sometimes receiving a meal with the resident family. Often they simply slept
on the floor. As the population became converted to the Roman Catholic faith by the Spanish
Conquistadors, a tradition developed based upon the Biblical story of Joseph and Mary
arriving in Bethlehem on the eve of Jesus Christ’s birth.
context. Traditionally in old Mexico, when people were traveling, at the end of the day they
would seek a place to spend the night out of the elements. When no inns or hotels were
available, travelers would seek “posada” in private homes, asking for their hospitality and
kindness and sometimes receiving a meal with the resident family. Often they simply slept
on the floor. As the population became converted to the Roman Catholic faith by the Spanish
Conquistadors, a tradition developed based upon the Biblical story of Joseph and Mary
arriving in Bethlehem on the eve of Jesus Christ’s birth.
In neighborhoods (barrios, colonias) across Mexico, beginning on the 16th of December
you will find groups of friends participating in the tradition of “La Posada”. Each night for
nine nights, a different home is selected as the “Inn” for that evening, and the other participating
members of this group gather at another place and proceed through the streets to the
selected “Inn”. Sometimes they are carrying images of Joseph and Mary, and other times
they have two of their members dressed in costumes representing them. The hosts have
prepared their home for that night’s gathering, usually making tamales, ponche, atole and
other food and refreshments for the participants, a piñata with candy for the children, and
other festive decorations.
you will find groups of friends participating in the tradition of “La Posada”. Each night for
nine nights, a different home is selected as the “Inn” for that evening, and the other participating
members of this group gather at another place and proceed through the streets to the
selected “Inn”. Sometimes they are carrying images of Joseph and Mary, and other times
they have two of their members dressed in costumes representing them. The hosts have
prepared their home for that night’s gathering, usually making tamales, ponche, atole and
other food and refreshments for the participants, a piñata with candy for the children, and
other festive decorations.
The “travelers,” representing Joseph and Mary seeking a place to spend the night, begin to
sing outside the chosen host home. The traditional song has twelve verses that are sung back
and forth in a question/response format between the people outside and the people inside,
plus a final verse they all sing together as the travelers are finally invited into the host home.
The English translation is available online here:
http://gomexico.about.com/od/christmas/a/posada-song_2.htm
and the Spanish lyrics are also available through a link on that page.
sing outside the chosen host home. The traditional song has twelve verses that are sung back
and forth in a question/response format between the people outside and the people inside,
plus a final verse they all sing together as the travelers are finally invited into the host home.
The English translation is available online here:
http://gomexico.about.com/od/christmas/a/posada-song_2.htm
and the Spanish lyrics are also available through a link on that page.
It is said that the nine nights of Posada represent the nine months that Mary carried
Jesus in her womb, and also represents the nine days she and Joseph traveled to get
to Bethlehem. The final night of Las Posadas is Christmas Eve, referred to in Mexico as
Nochebuena.
Jesus in her womb, and also represents the nine days she and Joseph traveled to get
to Bethlehem. The final night of Las Posadas is Christmas Eve, referred to in Mexico as
Nochebuena.
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