Fiesta De San Sebastián Xolalpa 2023

[@williamwoods2547]

Hola Alberto. These two videos equal a movie about San Sebastian Xolalpa. Nice and very interesting. You are creating a useful history and record for future generations. It's very fortunate you are filming in the digital age. This much 16 mm film (I don't think 8 mm would provide the quality you get with digital) would be very expensive and bulky. Watching you stand in line for food made me hungry. Every barrio and nearby town must have brought their saints. A huge gathering. I wonder what the 16th century friars would have thought about their saints being blessed by "pagan" rituals. During the 16th and 17th centuries the friars were constantly discovering that the old gods and rituals were not as extinct as they had believed. I'm not sure the friars ever succeeded completely. Associating the saints with some of the old beliefs and gods made it easier to accept the new saints, but it also reinforced the old beliefs in the minds of some of the faithful. Fortunately Xipe Totec and Huitzilopochtli don't have any active adherents, although the latter seems to have many followers by a different name. The toritos and castillos in San Sebastian seem like a safer and saner version of those found in Tultepec. Have you ever been there in March for the St. John of God fireworks festival? It's so dangerous and crazy that they have ambulances and first aid stations standing by to treat the burns. Be sure your health and life insurance are paid up before you go.I've seen video. Wear old clothes if you are going to get close, since the sparks can burn holes in clothing. Wear goggles. And put a filter over your camera lenses. One person had the coating on his lens burned by a couple of sparks and it resulted in permanent black spots on his videos. Have you ever been to San Juan de la Vega, Gto. for the fiesta de los martillos explosivos? More craziness. Exciting to watch, like Tultepec. I suppose it is one way to burn up excess testosterone, and the videos are entertaining. I've recently become aware of some archaeological sites that I have not visited and wonder if you have. I forgot to check your videos before I started this comment. Zirahuato, Mich., about 8 kms south of Tuxpan. Teotenango, Mex., south of Toluca and west of highway 55. Cantona, Pue., northeast of Puebla City, off 140D (NE of 129, SW of 131). These are big sites. I think Cantona has six of its 27 ball courts restored. Calixtlahuaca, Mex., west of highway 55 and a few kms north of Toluca (I did visit here in 1974). Malinalco, Mex., east of Tenancingo (I was here in 1974 and again in 1977- amazing Aztec temple and Augustinian convento). Xochicalco, Mex., I think I remember you did a nice video of this site. Have you ever visited Santa Maria Rayon, Mex., sort of between Metepec/Toluca and Tenango de Arista. Apparently a center for molinillo making. I love molinillos and have a collection of 40 of them. Most are 40-50 years old, some older. If you haven't been there but are interested in going look up Don Juan Alonso Rodriguez, fifth generation molinillo maker with an international reputation, and Gualberto Campos Perez, who uses a stick and string to turn his molinillos (the way artisans did it decades ago). If you Google "Making molinillos" you can watch a video by Cynthia Palma, "chocolate- molinillo. el arte de hacer un molinillo" about Don Juan Alonso. Another video, by Sin Ruta, "asi se transforma la madera; torno de violin, arte con los pies" is about Gualberto Campos. This might be an interesting town to visit, especially since it is near several of the places mentioned above. Lots of interesting videos in one trip. I've learned that the wood used to make the molinillos is aile (Alnus acuminata). Two subspecies occur in Mexico, growing to a geight of about 80 feet. This wood is used because the wood leaves no aftertaste in the chocolate and is straight grained. Easily turned on a lathe. Anyway, thanks for the great videos. Stay safe. Stay well.

[@PuebleandoConAlberto]

Hello William, I hope you are very well, it is very interesting to see the pre-Hispanic dances honoring a saint and all the pagan traditions involved in these festivities, I also uploaded another video with the dances of the Moors and Christians as well as the Alchileos that according to that They waged battles to defend their religious preferences and also by means of terror forcing the indigenous people to adhere to the Catholic religion, the truth is that these types of events attract me a lot because one learns from all that history that was lived exactly on one side of the area archaeological site of teotihuacán, I send you greetings.