Morelia

For nearly one week I stayed in Morelia, the capital of the state of Michoacán. Morelia is a beautiful old town with its aqueduct, cathedral, churches and plazas. I met a lot of amazing people during my visit and on some days I went on excursions to the magical villages of Pátzcuaro, Santa Clara del Cobre, Quiroga and Tzintzuntzan. Furthermore I had the chance to watch traditional dances of various groups of different Mexican states which had come to Morelia for this specific event.

In Morelia I stayed with Nicte who showed me around many parts of the city and introduced me to her friends Perin and Zzcema with whom I had a lot of fun. We visited a neighbourhood with a lot of wall paintings designed by Colectivo Tomate and the Palacio Clavijero, an impressive building which offers a lot of different art exhibitions for free. Further on we spent some time at the cathedral and the aqueduct of Morelia. By the way this aqueduct is depicted on the 50 pesos bill. During my stay in Morelia there was a protest of many teachers and students next to the cathedral as they were claiming for better payment conditions. Because of that they had been camping for almost two weeks. Another day I visited the Casa de Artesanias (House of Handicrafts) which offers a wide range of artworks produced in different regions of the state of Michoacán. One afternoon I went with Nicte and Perin to the café Taller de Tagle, the most beautiful café I've ever visited. It offers a variety of tiny lounges indoor as well as in its little patio area. We had a frappé of taro with Oreo and a cake with a liquid caramel layer which tasted absolutely delicious.

With Majo, another Couchsurfer I met in the city, I watched la Danza de los Viejitos, a traditional dance which once formed parts of a religious ritual to honor the gods. Another interpretation of the dance says that it was a mockery of the Spaniards as the indigenous population wasn't able to make fun of them in an open manner. The Viejitos are white and have blond hair as they represent the Spaniards. Due to the fact that they couldn't stand the sun their masks are painted red. The dance originates in Jarácuaro, a village at the side of the lake of Pátzcuaro and quite close to Morelia. The dance is accompanied by Purepechan music. Purepecha or Tarascans are a group of indigenous people centered in the northwestern region of Michoacán.

We furthermore watched el Encendido de la Catedral de Morelia, a spectacle which takes place every Saturday in the evening. The cathedral is illuminated piece by piece, music is played, its story is announced over loudspeakers and fireworks are ignited. The night I spent with friends of Majo in the bar Punta Cometa and the disco Sense Club where we had a lot of fun dancing. On the way back home we passed an intelligent tope. All over Mexico you will find different kinds of topes, little hills built into the road surface to reduce the speed of approaching vehicles. This one includes cameras, it measures the speed of the vehicles and it moves the tope up or down depending on your current speed. I definitely wasn't driving to fast in Morelia as I just went on a little bicycle tour one afternoon in a tandem for 13 persons as Zzcema invited me to join this tour but apart from that I explored Morelia on foot.

I also tried the cuisine of Michoacán like e.g. gazpachos. These are fruit cups which include mango, jicama, pineapple, onion, serrano pepper, orange juice and cheese. It's definitely a weird combination but it tastes fantastic and is definitely a dish to go for on a hot day. I furthermore had some curundas (a triangular form of tamales), enchiladas plazeras (rolled, deep-fried and salsa-soaked tacos, served with all kinds of vegetables), tamales de zarzamora (small dumplings made of corn with blackberry flavour), tortas de tostada (bread rolls with mayonnaise, paste of beans, tomato, lettuce, onion, chili perón, cabbage, red sauce, head cheese and of course tortilla chips), charanda (a typical liquor within the region) and some other specialities of Michoacán. A good place to try some local cuisine is la Inmaculada, a dining hall built in the basement of a church.