Halloween in Tulum

Halloween in Tulum is defiantly celebrated. Mexico in general celebrates the holiday of Dia de los Muertos. The Day of the Dead. I will write that post in a little bit. But whether it is because of the large number of ex pats that live in the area or a trend through out Mexico- Halloween was in full force.

The festivities started as early as Friday. We chose to head north to Puerto Morelos where some friends live. It was a fun day in the main square- kids and adults all dressed up and artisans selling all of the traditional artisan favorites. One of my favorite bands was playing and that was great. The name of the band in Bandicaro. I need to check the spelling and get a cd of their music. They are great. After a great night in Puerto Morelos we headed back to Tulum.

Saturday was the big party day for Halloween in Tulum. There were parties heard all over the main avenue and the beach. We chose to head to Pepenero's first. We all got dressed up and headed out to town. Pepenero's was filled with many of our favorite people. And we all had a great time- dancing and laughing. There were many other parties this night as well. It was our plan to go to more then just 1 but we had such a good time we stayed in Pepenero's.

On Sunday all of the adults and kids in Tulum geared up for a big night! We chose to blow off some sugar induced craziness with a jont to the beach. You have to love a few hours at the beach. It just re centers you.

We had a large group of people meet up at our house to send the kids out for trick or treating. The band of kids that we had were like an army marching up the streets taking no prisoners. New kids seeing that they were clearly out numbered joined our brood. It was a great site.

As the evening went on it was time to rinse off the crazy make up and get the kiddies into bed and let the grown ups go out to play. Great costumes could be found all over the place. Great music and laughter could be heard from bars and restaurants all over the avenue and Bar 307 was no exception. That is where we chose to go. There was a cover which is not the norm in Tulum but on a night like this it is to be expected.

A good time was heard by all and we danced until the early morning hours. I did not hear any reports of craziness or any unsafe behavior. It seems that all Tuluminarians celebrated without any major problems and you have to love that.

Next up is the Day of the Dead- and that is 1 more excellent tradition. Stay tuned.

Dia de la Independcia!!! Viva Mexico!! Viva Yucatan!!!

As every single person in the country knows... yesterday (Sept. 16th) was Independence Day in Mexico! The whole country, the entire state and everyone in Tulum was all set for the festivities.

First a bit of history. El Grito! On September 16th Mexicans everywhere take the time to celebrate Mexico's liberation from Spanish control. The Spanish who had came to the shores of Mexico in 1521 began their rule over Mexico and the indigenous Mayan and Aztec civilizations that lived here. Jump ahead to 1810- after much of the native population had been devastated from illness, heavy work load and mistreatment by those that ruled- the seed of revolt began to flourish.

As Spain was taken by Napoleon in 1808, the people within Mexico began to see the opportunity to sever from Spain and gain their independence. In the morning hours of September 16th father Hidalgo and others first rang the bells at a small church at Dolores Guanajuato. The chime of these bells, that night began the Independence War that lasted for over 10 years.




As my husband is from Guanajuato, he loves to always point out to me that Guanajuato is where the Independence started. After the bells rang out, Hidalgo gave orders to his followers to retaliate against every native Spaniard in Dolores.





The same "Cry of Dolores" that was heard that first night can still be heard in every small town at midnight on September 15th. A reminder and an homage to the impulsive yet critical actions of Father Hidalgo and his parishioners that fateful night.

El Grito de Dolores, "Mexicanos, viva Mexico,"

Now that the stage is set... Here in Tulum the festivities were just as they are in every other town. centro was all set with lights that shine in the expected red, white and green. Stages were ready for the wonderful bands that would be going on in the early hours on the morning.

Armed with the kids and an expectation of a patriotic evening, we set out to centro. the kids in their traditional wear all set out to make themselves sick on rides and dulces and agua frescas.

In addition to the festivities in centro there were many wonderful parties all over town. From Ocho Tulum and Om with their VIVA MEXICO parties to Ultra lounge in pueblo. Everyone offering great specials on traditional drinks and food.



We began our night watching the wonderful performances from the classes at "la casa de cultura." I was very impressed with the young ladies and they did a wonderful job. I was very impressed by the traditional bottle dance during which the young lady must dance in a very long dress with a glass bottle on her head.




Although there continued to be wonderful performances on the stage, we strolled over towards the rides and food!!! The kids went immediately to the bounce house. This is a clever contraption basically of 4 large trampolines connected by little slide and a passage way. Well worth the 40 pesos per kid for 10 minutes and I must say a smart business idea. Other then traditional inflatable bounce houses that we are used to that use a ton of energy to operate.


The kids went on a few rides and I watched in horror wondering if they were going to make it off. My son, the crazy one, full of the spirit of Achilles himself, jumped onto the moving carousel ride and then as I ran after him frightened out of my mind--- he dove off!! AHHHH! Ninos!!! But all was well and we had a great time.

The men pretty quickly ran over to find the drinks and in 1 of the largest cups I have ever seen was my margarita on the rocks. Many other options were also available. I do not quiet understand some of the glassware choices and I am not sure what I would do if I saw someone licking the chili and salt from this glass but I am sure it was happening with out my paying attention.


The kids did their best to make themselves sick on rides that went around and around - on cars that went up and down and stuffing themselves with carnival treats.

The festivities in the central park got more and more active as the 11:00 hour approached. The music from the marching band sang out as the marines stepped forward on stage and waved the Mexican flag. The state song of Quinatna Roo rang out among the crowd and was followed by the exhilarating Mexican National Anthem.

The Presidente then stepped forward to recite El Grito. The crowd did as it was supposed to and responded with an animated and lively VIVA!!! After each name was called of the heros who first began the Independence from Spain the crowd grew louder and louder.



After all the "VIVA MEXICO"s were shouted the traditional fireworks began. It was a beautiful site that made the first Independence Day celebration from the newly created municipality of Tulum of total success.



As the mother of 2 young children that were at this point only being held awake by the loud blast of the fireworks above I was the honorary person who got to go home while all the boys continued their adventure.



The next day there was not shortage of celebration. Although the crowds around town and on the beaches were more tranquil from the success of the night before, Dia de la Independencia is in Mexico much the same as in the USA... the perfect opportunity to take the day, celebrate with friends and family that you are in your country... that it is YOUR country... and that you get to be part of such a special place.

We spent our morning at the beach party at Ocho Tulum. The music could be be heard pumping prideful music as we sipped our margaritas and snacked on Ocho's amazing food.

The rest of the day was spent swimming, bbqing, eating, drinking, laughing and just enjoying being Mexican. just as Father Hidalgo would have wanted it I am sure! The pride that has been felt through out Tulum, Quintana Roo and the whole great country of Mexico can be felt everywhere you go.

Viva Mexico!!!

Cinco de Mayo en Tulum

This morning started like many other. Akilean came into our room and curled up next to me and Ruben curled up on the other side. It was quite the Rosas boy sandwich. After a little while of my not being able to move I made them both get up, although I did wait a while because we ran out of coffee the other day and there is no rush for me to get out of bed when we do not have coffee. First thing out of Ruben's mouth, "Happy Cinco de Mayo" to me.

Now first of all, I am sure everyone who reads this knows, but Cinco de Mayo is not Mexican Independence Day. That is on the 16th of September. Cinco de Mayo is a celebration from when Mexico defeated the French army is 1862. This is also important for America as Mexico kept the French, specifically Napoleon III, out of the United States who was already very busy fighting its own Civil War. Had Mexico not been successful at defeating the French, the end of the Civil War could have gone very differently.

the kids and I walked to town, stopping off to pay our water bill. Here the bills are not delivered via the post office. The are delivered by a company hired driver to drop off each bill. When you want to pay, you go to the office and pay in cash. You can also pay at the bank. This is very different then in the USA. But I really like it. Then it was off to the park.


The kids and I had a great time at the park in town. This park has become one of our all time favorites. I am so glad that something was finally done with the space. When we first moved here it was a broken down park with hardly any working equipment that was all old splintery wood and a dirt parking lot. Once the election had been won and the former head of Tulum was on his way out, this park and the road through town got transformed with lightning speed. It is now a great space. We came here to see the Governor speak at the transition of power.

After playing for well over an hour the kids and I went to go ask the nursery a question about our tomatoes and why nothing seems to be growing. The were so nice and gave me a whole can of fertilizer. These guys are always so nice. They also gave me a house plant for Kennedy and Akilean's room which made them very happy.

We were walking over to the polloria to buy our chicken, we were all the way at the other end of town and here there are many pescaderias (fish stores) I decided that since Ruben was going to be home for dinner tonight (he was asked to come in and help for an AM shift) I thought that I would make his favorite fish Red Snapper. WE are trying to buy as much of our food as possible from only the fruiteria and the polloria or pescaderia. That way we only need to stock up on the milk, brown rice, wheat pasta, yogurt and coffee at the regular super. Although I am really excited because all of a sudden our super has brown rice, wheat pasta and now even wheat flour. YEAH!!!! the guy at the pescaderia cleaned and gutted the fish for me and gave me the idea of stuffing it. I then bought a fillet of grouper for the kids.

When I was visiting my grandmother in Fresno her gardener gave me a beautiful cookbook. It is actually called Mexico, The Beautiful Cookbook. I made a corn pudding, a zucchini something or other and the fish. Recipe and details are on my other blog

I got everything all set to put in the oven and waited for Ruben. I started to get really scared because he was not home yet and I thought that maybe they had asked him to stay. We do not have a Mexican phone number so he would have no way of calling me and telling me. But soon after I started to worry, in he walks.

The kids loved every bite of dinner which was great because it had tons of veggies and good foods. With a big "Salute!" we all finished our dinners. One thing that I am just getting more used to is that with the fresher the items (usually meat) there is a lot more work involved. We are much more used to ripping the chicken off the bones and sucking on the tiny fish bones. But that is a small price to pay for fresh caught Red Snapper. To finish the evening we had a dessert of vanilla ice cream, fresh mango and cajeta sauce which is a Carmel type sauce that was made famous in Ruben's state of Guanajuato.