Voladores Fly in Cuetzalan del Progreso, Puebla, Mexico. So Do Bees!
Everything leading up to October 3 in Cuetzalan del Progreso is a preview for what’s to come. This is the day each year that the Voladores fly: Danza de Voladores. There is a huge carnival in the church courtyard and troupes of costumed, masked revelers come in from the villages to dance, sing and raise […]
A Day in Xochistlan de Vicente Suarez, Puebla with Merry Foss and Friends
Xochitl is the Nahuatl word for flower and Tlan de Totonaco is the literal meaning for beautiful place. Xochistlan is the beautiful place between the flowers. (You can tell if a word has a Nahuatl origin if it ends in tl.) Here in the Sierra Norte of Puebla state, a lush landscape of rugged mountains, […]
Cuetzalan del Progreso Hosts Annual Fair, Puebla, Mexico
It’s sunrise in Cuetzalan del Progreso, Puebla, Mexico. I’m high in the mountains of the Sierra Norte where the indigenous language of Nahuatl is spoken. Beaded and embroidered blouses are predominant here. This is one of the original ten Pueblo Magico‘s and my second visit here. Definitely worth the return! The triangular scarves and ponchos called huipiles […]
ExpoVENTA: Mexican Beaded Blouses & Jewelry, Saturday, September 17
RSVP Here!
Stopover Puebla: Taking a Break Between Mexico City and Oaxaca
Puebla, Mexico, has so much to offer that a two to four-day stopover going to or from Oaxaca to Mexico City is usually in my travel plans. I like to fly out of Mexico City back and forth to the USA (it’s cheaper) and usually plan a visit to this most original Spanish city in […]
Klezmer Music in Puebla, Mexico: Who-da Thunk It
We are wandering around the Saturday flea market at Plazuela de los Sapos in Puebla, Mexico, in and out of aisles filled with rusted iron butcher hooks, old painted pottery, antique furniture, glitzy glam rhinestone jewelry in dazzling day-glow colors, brass hand bells new and old, religious relics, doll heads, ancient detritus of Tia Maria’s […]
Masterpiece of Mexican Cuisine and Symbol of Independence: Chile en Nogada
It’s a Chile en Nogada kind of day here in Puebla, Mexico, where it was first prepared by Augustinian nuns, so they say, to honor the birthday of General Augustin Iturbide on August 28, 1821, who orchestrated Mexico’s independence from Spain on the same date. I ate one Chile en Nogada today here at El Mural […]
Tour Puebla, Mexico: Cooking & Culture, From the Humble to the Divine
August 13-18, starting at $895 per person double occupancy– Chiles en Nogada Cooking Class Sumptuous Dinner Party in a Private Historic Home Elegant Dining and Neighborhood Eating Flea Market and Antique Shopping Museums, Churches, Archeology, History Puebla, Mexico, is a short two hours from Mexico City by bus direct from the international airport. It […]
Adentro: A Glimpse Inside Puebla, Mexico
The Franciscans created Puebla as the first true (ha, ha) Spanish city in Mexico, building it from the ground up, not on top of destroyed indigenous religious sites as they had a habit of doing. The Paseo Viejo de San Francisco is a cobblestone walking promenade that connects the church named in honor of St. Francis of […]
The Cigar Maker, Puebla, Mexico
On a meander around the Sunday antiques flea market, for which Puebla is famous, I discovered another art form. The tobacco leaves come from del Valle de San Andrés, Tuxtla, Veracruz on the Gulf of Mexico. The skill is pure traditional Mexican — hecho a mano. The aroma is intoxicating. The light is mesmerizing. […]
Handcrafted Chips in Puebla, Mexico–Close to Heaven
We are getting down to the micro level when discussing chips. Not the taxi driver variety, but potato chips. These are not the store bought commercially made chips that we are familiar with in the USA. No. Potato chips are a fresh made delicacy here, prepared as you like them, while you wait, plain, seasoned […]
New Location for Puebla, Mexico Folk Art Cooperative Siuamej
After landing in Mexico City, taking the Estrella Roja bus (complete with WiFi, TV, and reclining seats) from the airport to Puebla, and a good night’s sleep, I set out to find my favorite folk art shop Siuamej, only to discover that they moved. First and foremost, here is the address: The corner of 4 […]
Puebla in the Rain
Puebla, Mexico, is my regular stopover between Oaxaca and Mexico City, D.F. Benito Juarez International Airport and my return to the United States, where I am now for the next ten days. I love the magic of this Spanish-Moorish inspired city, its Talavera ceramics, mole poblano, the season of Chiles en Nogada (available fresh only […]
Antiques & Folk Art in Puebla, Mexico–La Quinta de San Antonio
Directly across from our Hotel Real Santander is treasure trove of collectibles, antiques, folk art, sculpture, chandeliers, textiles, and jewelry. Everything inside La Quinta de San Antonio Antiguedades y Arte Popular is at least mid-century and much, much older. I would measure the contents in cubic rather than square feet. Look up across the 20-foot […]
El Mural de los Poblanos, Puebla, Mexico Restaurant Continues to Please
“It was wonderful, close to perfect.” That’s what I told NY Times travel writer Freda Moon this morning when she asked how my meal was at El Mural de los Poblanos. Hollie and I settled in after escaping a particularly violent thunderstorm, rain pellets pounding our umbrellas as we stepped carefully along the slippery paving […]
Flea Market and Antiques Finds in Puebla, Mexico
Shopping in Puebla, Mexico during Saturday and Sunday Flea Market days is a treasure hunt. Vendors begin to set up on the sidewalk around 11 a.m. each Saturday on Calle 6 Sur between Calle 7 Oriente and Calle 5 Oriente. This is a pedestrian walkway lined with open-every-day, higher quality antique and folk art shops […]
Faces of Puebla, Mexico
We’ve landed in Puebla! After settling into one of my favorites, Hotel Real Santander, Room #2, 7 Oriente #13, (Tel: 222-246-3553), my traveling companion Hollie and I walked two blocks to the Zocalo to extract ATM money (best exchange rate, which today is 13.78 to the US dollar), and settled into the sidewalk cafe at […]
From the Hip: The Church of Santa Maria Tonantzintla, Puebla
On the outskirts of the town of San Pablo Cholula, about 40 minutes from the City of Puebla, lies the Church of Santa Maria Tonantzintla. It is not to be missed and photography is verboten inside. There are two parts to my story today. First, it is a mecca for several reasons. The church […]
Shop Mexico: The Artisan Sisters
Welcome to our new online store — Shop Mexico: The Artisan Sisters. We are sisters in real life, Norma Hawthorne and Barbara Beerstein. We are passionate collectors and supporters of artists and artisans who express the creativity and vitality of Oaxaca and Mexico. Textiles and folk art are our passion. Because of this, we fall in […]
Puebla is the Perfect Stopover Between Oaxaca and Mexico City
The New York Times just published 36 Hours in Puebla, Mexico by travel writer Freda Moon, who did a similar feature about Oaxaca a few months ago. Freda listed many of my favorite things to do, see, visit, shop for and eat. Puebla is unique. The city is a blend of Spanish colonial with Moorish-Moslem […]
King of Mezcals: El Cortijo’s Pechuga de Pollo
You be the judge! Is Pechuga de Pollo (breast of the chicken) distilled by El Cortijo in Santiago Matatlan, Oaxaca, the best of the best? At 1,500 pesos (that’s $118 USD at today’s 12.65 exchange rate) for a 750 ml bottle in fine Mexican restaurants and far more in the U.S.A. (so I’m told by my in-the-know brother-in-law), […]
We Are in Tlaxcala Now: Archeology, Volcanoes, Great Food
Who could ask for more? We are in Tlaxcala (Tuh-las-cah-lah), the first city Cortes came to after landing in Veracruz. The oldest churches in the New World are here. The compact zocalo is ringed with 16th century buildings decorated with frilly stucco and carved stone. The town of 73,000, tucked into a hillside, is one […]
Magic Pueblo: Cuetzalan, Puebla, Mexico
Cuetzalan (Kwetz-ah-lahn), designated as a Pueblo Magico, is a mountain town in the Sierra Norte tropical rainforest, three and-a-half hours on the Via Rapido bus and 183 km from the city of Puebla and three hours from Veracruz on the Caribbean. The only months it doesn’t rain here are April and May. It is […]
Three Days in Puebla — An Easy Round Trip from Oaxaca
I love to visit Puebla. This Friday I will be making a repeat visit — the second one in two weeks. Puebla has a lot going for it, including a regal cathedral and friendly zocalo. This is a city built by Spaniards to replicate Old World charm. It has a European feel with wide pedestrian avenues. Ten […]
Chiles En Nogada: Tasteful Symbol of Mexican Revolution
Read travel/food writer Freda Moon’s sensuous tribute to the sublime red, white and green Chiles en Nogada and you will understand the heart and soul of a nation. Food is a commentary about culture and in this case, gender. Freda describes the role of the descendants of indigenous noble women who converted to Christianity, took […]
Three Days in Puebla, Mexico with Mari Seder
Puebla City of Angels—February 24, 25, 26, 27, $495 per person Either add this on to your Oaxaca art workshop adventure or meet us in Puebla! If you are adding on, you will travel by First Class Bus from Oaxaca to Puebla, Mexico, home of Talavera tile, the Mexican Revolution, and Mole Poblano. Your three-night […]
The McAllister Family Whirlwind Winter Holiday in Mexico
Walter and Annette McAllister took their family to Mexico during the Christmas holidays. Walter had subscribed to Oaxaca Cultural Navigator and did his homework. I’ve never met them, but Walt, a chef, would write me periodically with questions or comments. He even sent me his daughter’s blog to read during their trip. When they got […]
Puebla Textiles at the Arts Cooperative “Siuamej”
So far, I have discovered only one shop in Puebla city that sells high quality indigenous, handwoven textiles. Siuamej is a cooperative representing over 16 groups of women who work in local crafts from the various municipalities of the state of Puebla. The sales help contribute to the well-being of more than 600 indigenous women […]
Puebla: Undiscovered Tourist Destination
Chrissy Zenino authored this online magazine article on Suite 101 after traveling with me to the city of Puebla, one of my favorite destinations. Why? I love the European feel of this city — the Baroque and Rococo detailing of historic buildings and churches, the swirling stucco wedding cake embellishments that sit atop buildings that […]
Bus From Puebla to Mexico City Airport
We are on the Estrella Roja airporter bus that takes us directly to the international terminals One and Two at Benito Juarez Airport. We have been following the volcanoes for the past hour and a half. An impressive site with smoke. Idling from the cone of snow-capped El Popo. This bus is luxe complete with […]