Night owls and churches in Cholula

Cholula, Puebla is known as the town of churches, but to me it will forever remain as the land of night owls, and I’m not saying this because of the diversity of nocturnal winged creatures. I’m talking about other kind of creatures, human seekers of fun, to be precise, and I like being precise. The young-partier population here is phenomenal, so if you are looking for entertainment (whichever your intention is) this is the right place to be at. Cholula is famous for its nightlife, wether you are looking for a wild party or a relaxing gathering with your significant other, with live music and a romantic atmosphere, or simply a fine dinner. During daylight, you can enjoy a peaceful, but acculturating walk to visit all of the 365 old-fashioned churches looking for peace and salvation or join the clan of pedal-driven velocipedes and rent a bicycle to increase the level of fun during your enlightening absorption of Puebla’s culture, depending on your intentions, but when the face of the moon is completely set, lighting up your most attractive features, is when the real fun commences. And you sure will be wholeheartedly awaiting invitation into the soul-warming, entrance of one of its dance clubs, an elite bar (where only those that are really living the high life are), a sly, but non the less, coquet tavern, or a traditional Irish pub, right in the core of this picturesque little town.

I spent nearly two weeks here in the capital of night life impetuous merry, enjoying a bloody marry accompanied with green beans and Portobello mushroom sauté, conducting an after-walk horde of bikers  through the pyramids and painting a mural in the walls of a coffee shop-gallery.

Cholula is a small town about 15 minutes out of Puebla (15 by motor transportation), flanked by idyllic flower fields, lush, gorgeous architecture, blankets of fluffy clouds (the elevation is roughly 1.3 miles) and the solitary pyramids anyone will be having a chance to climb (or go in its insides).

Life here is easy but not simple. Fanciful residents and visitors adorn the streets at sunrise and until the place completely awakens to a day that for many of its residents predominantly consists of admiring the beautiful treasure its town is. Some folks step into Cholula seeking for fresh air and stick until their sprit is renewed by the never-ending happiness and fulfillment that is granted to everyone who dares to tame their thirst of living the life (which by the way is very accessible for the economy of a backpacker).

This was my first trip here, and my sense of satisfaction with the mission of making awesome memories completed is trumped by how very much more there is to be done in here. 

Dreaming big in The city of angels - Amparo Espinosa Rugarcía and the ESRU foundation

The concept of international volunteer work can conjure a number of different impressions. For Amparo Espinosa Rugarcía, founder of the ESRU  Foundation, the idea hits close to home, literally. After her father died in this small provincial city, leaving a legacy and his will to help.  She decided to take action and the Foundation was born.

Espinosa Rugarcía dreams big and wasted no time getting a staggering number of projects off the ground, granting all Puebla residents the opportunity to develop their highest potential, by including facilities, and programs for students of all ages, a several others education programs for those in need of prosperation and expanding the field for making the most of all individual talents [being erected as we speak], work favorable circumstances for all, and volunteer program for doctors, students, scientists and educators.

Warmly greeted everywhere it goes, the ESRU is a beloved foundation in México and rightfully so. Making Puebla one of the best places in Mexico to visit, subsiding and affirming that prosperity is ensured in this outstanding settlement. Signs of the foundation’s work are all around, from the improvement of quality’s education to the safety of it’s residence, being the state of Puebla. The city is transforming into a guarded substantial, flourishing zone, not only for it’s locals, but for every visitor and future inhabitants.

Puebla is, to have in mind , not only in the country, but around the globe, a potentially safe place to make a living, and totally worth consideration, for its education, its development as a society and what this can give as fruition, its magnificent sceneries, economical affluence, its activities and infinitum.

Learn more about how you can help Puebla grow at fundacionesru.org

Handicraft fashion & remarkable flavors at El Parián.

We might be cold in this early November, but just today I devoured my very first pre-hispanic Mexican candy, a turrón (a sweet, soft nougat cylinder, wrapped in colored cellophane or tissue paper that looks like an egg from Alien and tastes like a gift from the gods, mixed with a creamy honey feel), giving me yet another reason to warm up my heart in Puebla city. A turrón is just one of the hundreds of treasures spotted at El Parían.

“What’s El Parían  like in Puebla’s provincials mecca?” you might dubiously ask the screen, but un-wrinkle your nose and cast your fears aside – it’s actually pretty great. For one, there is a grand chance to meet our neighbors and the potential for human interaction, which can be a prized commodity in this decidedly pedestrian-friendly city. And in addition to rows upon rows of organic produce, candy made from amaranth and pumpkin seeds, using honey or the syrup of maguey, corn, or cactus fruit, there is a whole other section devoted to handcrafted jewelry, fashion, books, records and trinkets.

So once your totes are brimming with things like, candy repertoire, traditional Mexican dresses, colorful outfits and costumes with a strong influence of Mayan and Spanish culture in them, refuel with a fresh pulque (alcoholic drink made from fermented cactus sap) and walk over to the other side to feed your closet monsters. Unique, hand-made jewelry, wide-brimmed hats, comfortable sandals, ironic toys, dresses swirled in technicolor, leaves dipped in precious metals and the occasional pair of leather chaps are sure to sate and mystify into the afternoon.

El parían happens from 8:00am to 7:30pm and every day at 6 Norte 205 in downtown.

Celestial soil

To step on Puebla City is a transformative experience in itself – being immersed in a Colonial area with a capital “C” is the dream of any life-long urban dweller. Waking up to the songs and sounds of birds, the views of its clear kaleidoscopic, vivid skies and landscapes, and mystery personages setting up camp in its inviting cobbled streets served as daily conduit to the evidently beautiful architecture one never forgets  – supreme atmosphere that, here, can swallow us whole.

You might want to grab a chair, because I’m about to tell you a tale.

As the story goes, in the year of 1530 the bishop Julián Garcés had an enlightening dream in which a formation of seraphic angels took him to a magnificent open land with a crystal clear waterway right in the middle, and two more to each side. The field had all kinds of din insects, colorful, exotic flowers, and springs. The bishop cautiously observed how two of the winged seraphs outlined with strings the boundaries of what now a days is Puebla City.

Garcés woke up, and captivated in his early morning epiphany, narrated in detail his dream and lead an aggregation of Franciscan comrades to a place 5 leagues away from where he had slept the night before. Now known as Tlaxcala, it is precisely where he found the land he dreamed with, and is that exact place where Puebla was founded. According to the legend this is the reason why the city was called Puebla, ciudad de los angeles (city of angels).