Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete, two giants of Mexican cinema

The two biggest icons of Mexican cinema, Pedro Infante (left) and Jorge Negrete (right), have both been dead for 50-plus years. Yet any discussion of Mexican cinema invariably gets into a disagreement regarding the merits of one versus the other. Why is this so?

One reason is that both of these screen stars have left their mark on Mexican popular culture and popularized the image of the charro or Mexican cowboy. It may also have to do with the fact that both died young and while still popular with the public. In fact, for many, Pedro Infante's tragic death in a plane crash in 1957, at the age of 39, signified the end of the golden era of Mexican cinema and the quality of Mexican film overall began to decline from that point on.

Another reason for the lively discussion is that both stars were good actors, had good singing voices and starred in many successful films. Pedro's immense popularity with the public is something that even Mexican film critics do not completely comprehend, except that the Mexican people identify with him strongly, especially as he came from a working-class background. It's undeniable that Pedro had enormous charisma and an extremely likable screen presence that elevated the quality of any film he starred in. His voice was as smooth as velvet and his popularity with the ladies undeniable. He had a wide range of acting ability and was also a daredevil, having a strong interest in motorcycles and airplanes. In fact he was in two plane crashes years before the third one took his life. One of his frequent co-stars, Blanca Estela Pavon, also died in a plane crash at the tender age of 23.

Jorge Negrete, with his powerful operatic voice, achieved stardom a few years before Infante became popular. His first film, "La Madrina del Diablo" (The Devil's Godmother), was released in 1937, but he really catapulted into the spotlight with his starring role in "Ay Jalisco, No Te Rajes!" (Jalisco, don't back down) in 1941. There were earlier films featuring the Mexican charro, but this one caught fire internationally and was in a large way responsible for the association of Mexican culture with mariachi music. (Though Infante first had starring roles in 1942, his first really successful role was in "Nosotros Los Pobres" or "We the Poor" in 1947.)

Taking advantage of the popularity of both stars, the film "Dos Tipos de Cuidado" ("Two Guys to Watch Out For"), was released in 1952 and is considered the best Mexican charro movie of all time. The director, Ismael Rodriguez, took great care in balancing the singing and acting strengths of both stars and succeeded marvelously. (The above photo is taken from the movie.) The success of the film spearheaded a two-week run of concerts in Mexico featuring both stars. It was an opportunity that was seized at just the right moment, for Negrete, already in declining health due to his hepatitis C infection, would die at the end of 1953. Infante, as a tribute to his friend, rode with the Mexican motorcycle patrol at Negrete's funeral.

See my previous blog entry on Jorge Negrete at http://latin-caribbean-travelblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/mexico-jorge-negrete-el-charro-cantor.html

Other websites:

Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Spain: Favorite foods in Seville

One of the highlights of Seville, and the rest of Spain for that matter, has to be the food. There are many specialties: paella and other seafood dishes, cookies and other sweets baked at convents and sold with the name "dulces del convento", gazpacho or cold soup with tomato and other ingredients, and much more. What I remember most, though, were the delicious tapas that are served in small portions at many locations in Seville.

Here we have a plate of the famous jamón serrano, which loosely translated means ham from the sierra or mountain range. This ham is also referred to as "pata negra" (black hoof). It is served along with other tapas such as queso manchego ("cheese from La Mancha"), olives, fried shrimp, and other foods, accompanied by a glass of sherry, particularly the variety of sherry known as manzanilla.


See my webpage on Spain at http://www.latinandcaribbeantravel.com/spain.html


Other websites:

Caribbean Folk Arts Network (Caribfolk) - Caribbean cultural network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribfolk/
Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Raicesnews - Latin cultural events in the Philadelphia area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raicesnews

Pictures of the Bahamas from the air

In any flight to Miami returning from the eastern part of the Caribbean, it's inevitable that part of the trip will take you over the Bahamas. As the Bahamas consist of hundreds of small islands and reefs in addition to the better known populated ones (Nassau or New Providence, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera and others), the colors of the sea are spectacular.

Technically, the Bahamas are not Caribbean islands as they don't border on the Caribbean Sea but rather on the Atlantic Ocean and are farther north than Caribbean islands such as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. The chain starts to the east of Florida (the closest island being Bimini) and extends on a southeastern angle until it comes close to the north coasts of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. At the southernmost part of the chain are the Turks and Caicos Islands.









Visit my webpage on the Caribbean at http://www.latinandcaribbeantravel.com/caribbean.html

Other websites:

Caribbean Folk Arts Network (Caribfolk) - Caribbean cultural network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribfolk/

Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Raicesnews - Latin cultural events in the Philadelphia area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raicesnews

The Lashing Dogs, a string band from the British Virgin Islands

Though I've never been to the British Virgin Islands, I learned about the folk group The Lashing Dogs, who hail from Tortola (the largest of the British Virgin Islands), while I was in Anguilla in 2003 and found their music in a record store. My experience has been, at least on some occasions, that you can't find the music from certain artists on the island they're from but rather come across it on another island. This was the case with a band from Anguilla called Happy Hits whose music I found at a store on nearby St. Martin.


My friend Carlson Velasquez, the guitarist I met in St. Martin (see my Oct. 13, 2007 post at http://latin-caribbean-travelblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/caribbean-st-martin-2002.html), was very familiar with them, as the string band tradition is common to the US and British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, St. Martin, Saba, Statia, St. Kitts and Nevis.

When Carifesta took place in Trinidad in 2006, The Lashing Dogs were one of the featured groups. The music, with its banjo at the lead, has an easy-going beat that is not as frenetic as modern Caribbean dance music.

Visit my webpage on the Caribbean at http://www.latinandcaribbeantravel.com/caribbean.html

Other websites:

Caribbean Folk Arts Network (Caribfolk) - Caribbean cultural network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribfolk/

Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Raicesnews - Latin cultural events in the Philadelphia area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raicesnews

Puerto Rico: Coffee fields between Maricao and Yauco, 2007

In Puerto Rico, there are plenty of coffee fields in the cooler highlands. When I was driving the route, the temperature in Mayaguez, on the west coast of the island, was 95 degrees, and in the hills went down to 77. This picture was taken while I was on the road between Maricao, considered one of the principal coffee towns of Puerto Rico and home to a coffee festival in February, and Yauco, which is closer to the south coast slightly west of Ponce.

In the picture the coffee plants are the dark green patches, with the bananas and plantains in light green (bananas and plantains are often planted in the coffee fields).

Puerto Rican coffee is strong; it reminds me of espresso. It's widely available in stores in the Latino neighborhoods of Philadelphia, which has the third-largest Puerto Rican population of any city on the US mainland.


See my webpage on Puerto Rico at http://www.latinandcaribbeantravel.com/puertorico.html

Other websites:

Caribbean Folk Arts Network (Caribfolk) - Caribbean cultural network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribfolk/

Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Raicesnews - Latin cultural events in the Philadelphia area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raicesnews

Colombia: Christmas in Bogotá, 1987

I've spent two Christmases in Colombia: one in 1980, and the other in 1987. In 1987 my wife and I were living in Bogotá, on winter break from our respective teaching jobs there, and because of the schedule the break lasted a month. During that time we often walked to one of Bogotá's principal shopping districts, called Chapinero. Outside one of the churches of the area, called Nuestra Señora de Lourdes, I took this picture of the church's large manger scene. People do have Christmas trees in their houses at Christmas, but in Colombia the manger scene (called pesebre in Spanish) receives the most lavish attention. The size of some of these reminds me of model train layouts, and often there are competitions to see who can create the most elaborate manger scene.

Christmas in Colombia and in other parts of Latin America has more of the feel of the Fourth of July or New Year's Eve than of quiet evenings beside a fireplace. The focus is more on December 24th than on the 25th, and the gifts are traditionally given at midnight after a long party on Christmas Eve, with plenty of music and dancing. The kids believe that el Niño Dios or the Christ Child brings them their gifts, though Papá Noel or Santa Claus is also well known.

In some houses a Nativity novena is recited starting on December 16, and the evening of the 24th is the last night of the novena, which celebrates the arrival of Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem and the birth of Christ. The novena is also accompanied by traditional Spanish Christmas carols or villancicos. Some of the foods typically served during Christmas are natilla, a dessert with a consistency like a thick pudding and usually flavored with cinnamon sticks; buñuelos or large round cheese fritters; and sabajón, a vanilla-flavored liqueur. Also popular are what Colombians call tamales, not to be confused with Mexican tamales. The Colombian tamales are made of corn meal with bits of chicken, pork and/or beef with carrots and yellow peas, wrapped up in a banana or plantain leaf. Also, in Colombia the singular of tamales is "tamal" not "tamale."

There are also plenty of fireworks the whole night, as well as pleas from the city for the public to exercise care to avoid injuries. I recall that when we drove someone home from our Christmas party, we would invariably see someone dart in front of our car to set off some fireworks in the street. Over the years more controls have been put in place to try to reduce the number of accidents with fireworks.

See my webpage on Colombia at http://www.latinandcaribbeantravel.com/colombia.html

Other websites:

Caribbean Folk Arts Network (Caribfolk) - Caribbean cultural network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribfolk/

Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Raicesnews - Latin cultural events in the Philadelphia area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raicesnews

Mexico: Pyramids at Teotihuacán, 1979

One of the biggest attractions of a visit to Mexico City is a trip to the pyramids that are located outside of the city at a place known as Teotihuacán. This location was not an Aztec site; the people in this area had abandoned the area centuries before the Spaniards arrived.

This was one of the trips that the school sponsored. As was explained to us, the pyramids, the ballcourts and other buildings in the area had religious significance, and those living in this area were of the priestly class. The two main structures are the Pyramid of the Sun and the Moon. Both are in the distance in the picture, the Pyramid of the Moon being farthest away. The Pyramid of the Sun is larger, though not as steep as the Pyramid of the Moon, and was a favorite spot for tourists and vendors.

I was familiar with the custom of negotiating a price for an item. I was shown a piece carved out of the black stone called obsidian, and as I was halfhearted about buying it, I was more successful in bringing the price down than if I had expressed a lot of interest.

After we were directed around most of the site and I saw that time was short, I practically sprinted to the Pyramid of the Moon to climb it as well before the bus was scheduled to leave.

Visit my webpage on Mexico at http://www.latinandcaribbeantravel.com/mexico.html


Other websites:

Caribbean Folk Arts Network (Caribfolk) - Caribbean cultural network: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/caribfolk/

Raices Culturales Latinoamericanas (Latin American Cultural Roots) - a nonprofit organization I founded in 1991 that presents Latin American cultural shows, exhibits, and workshops: http://www.raicesculturales.org/

Raicesnews - Latin cultural events in the Philadelphia area: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/raicesnews