Journey Without - Mexico Dance Retreat

Last year I stumbled onto a pdf poster for the Mexico Dance Retreat. It sounded amazing so I tracked down the organiser so that I could be on the mailing list for info on the 2015 retreat. Of course, somewhere in the back of my mind, I thought I might be living in Canada again by that time. That would make the trip a bit easier to justify. But that was not the case.

In November I started looking into flights from KL and found that they were too expensive and/or too long. I couldn't justify it. But the thought of the retreat would not go away....so in January I looked at flights again and found cheaper and shorter ones. Somewhat easier to accept. So I booked tickets!

The Retreat
The retreat was held at the Monasterio Benedictino in Ahuatepec, near Cuernavaca south of Mexico City from Feb 21 to March 1. There were about 100 people there, men included, to learn folk and sacred circle dances. Our instructors came from the US (Steve and Suzy Kotansky), Canada (Yves and France Moreau) and Brazil (Cristiana Menezes).....all with different styles and very different dances....and we had about 8 hours of classes with them each day!
Classes were held in a tent on a field, although sometimes towards the end of the afternoon, we moved to a space outside, and evenings we took over the dining hall.

There were a few points during the week when my brain just couldn't comprehend even some simple steps for dances, so I knew that I just had to step away from the circle and take a break.

Mornings started in the open with Paneurhythmy....slow, symbolic, meditative dance. It was a lovely way to start the day. There were more than a few tears being shed on the last morning when we realised that was our last Paneurhythmy together.

Each day ended with a Baile....or party....from 10 until late to simply dance old and new favourites. To be honest....I only made it to one of these and only lasted until just after 11 pm. I was too tired from the long intense day!

We had a couple of days during the week for excursions and breaks. One day I went with a group into the nearby town of Tepotzlan for market day. Snooped around the market and shops on the main streets, had some chicken fajitas and a margarita for lunch, ice cream for dessert and then back to the monastery. Some people made the strenuous climb to the top of the mountain to see a small ancient pyramid that had been constructed there and to get a great view. I decided that knees and ankles might be happier NOT making that trek, and I would prefer to injure them dancing, rather than hiking! Reports from some were that it was a tougher climb than they had expected....and they were younger and more fit! Someone did hurt themselves on the climb and spent the rest of the week with a bandaged foot and ankle, unable to dance. That would have been heartbreaking!





Xochicalco
The other day 'off' we had a choice of going to a river park or seeing some pyramids. I chose the pyramids at Xochicalco (Sho-chee-cal-co), an ancient civilisation built on hilltops about an hour away from Cuernavaca. It is a huge complex and it sounds like only about 10% of the entire city has been excavated.....much more work to do, but no funding.

Xochicalco was a centre for astronomy and apparently held a huge conference of all astronomers in its day. In the civic square, there is a pillar with some astronomical calculations and dates on it. There is also a small indentation carved out for the astronomer's head to rest in when he was seated at the pillar, looking to see the sunrise on the equinoxes or solstices through different points on the building opposite the pillar.

Our group of twelve danced a sacred circle dance around the pillar and our guide even joined in!

The square and the buildings around it have been constructed in such a way that the acoustics are much like an amphitheatre, so that the governor could easily make speeches from his pyramid on the square.

There is a temple to Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god. In many of the ancient cultures, duality is very important and the snake was considered the best representation of this. Its tongue is forked. It lives on land and in the water. It goes from old to new by shedding its skin. It lives in hot and in cold......
BUT, the snake is not a particularly attractive creature, so it was 'decorated' with feathers to make it more beautiful!

There is a special Observatory in the city, too. A small hole in the roof allows sunlight to enter into a chamber below and it comes down in a ray of light during a certain time frame of about 104 days, coinciding with planting and harvesting. The astronomers would be able to 'read' the light and its path to determine events and activities. The other 260 days of the year, the chamber is in darkness or has very diffused light coming in. This time of darkness is compared to the time in the womb....a very cool concept. Since we were too early in the year for the bright ray of light, we only saw the eerie diffused light coming in....still fascinating, though!

Xochicalco has several playing fields for the ancient ball game that was played (it has different names...), using a rubber ball that weighed between 6 and 9 pounds, and could only be moved up and down the field with the forearms, thighs and hips. Some accounts for other locations show that the game was also played with sticks, but not here. Occasionally, someone would manage to get the ball through the stone hoop that was placed on the wall several meters above the field! Imagine tossing a bowling ball with your forearms or hips 2 storeys up.....AND getting it through a hole only slightly larger than the ball itself! Sometimes the game was played purely for recreation and fun, but it was also played as a means for volunteers to determine how they would be sacrificed. Winners of these games had the honour of having their hearts cut out and offered to the gods. Losers had their heads chopped off.
Some game.

After the retreat, I headed up to Yucatan for a few days in Progresso. I made the special side trip to meet with a realtor that I'd been in contact with and who was going to set up some viewings for me in nearby Chelem and Chuburna. Unfortunately, and very disappointingly, she waited until after I had arrived to tell me that she wouldn't show me any places because I wasn't in a position to buy right then and there, and showing places 'on spec' wasn't appropriate or fair to her sellers. Say what?? Never mind that she mislead me to believe that I could see and get a feel for some places.... How appropriate was that? She knew before I booked my tickets that I wasn't in a buying position and only coming to look. Had she informed me of her new position beforehand, I might have made different plans.

I am hoping that Karma will catch up with the realtor real soon....

At any rate, I had a relaxing time in Progresso wandering about and swimming in the ocean. Stopped in at a local bar for lunch one day for some fajitas and beer. I used some of the habanero hot sauce, expecting it to be devastatingly hot, but it wasn't. I asked the waiter about it and he was impressed that I didn't find it too hot. He came back with thinly sliced and diced habaneros in lime juice and salt for me to try on toritillas. Delicious! Progresso is a cruise ship tourist town and there was a definite difference in the feel and the action of the place with and without a cruise ship in port.


Teothihuacan
At either end of my trip, I had a day in Mexico City. The first day, I booked a tour to Teothihuacan (tay-oh-tee-WHA-can) to see the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon.
I climbed them both.....many high stone steps.....many short breaks to catch breath on the 248 steps of the Pyramid of the Sun! Amazing structures and a huge complex. Some of the buildings had well or partially preserved frescoes and carvings, but not all. Much was destroyed by internal conflict in the city. As with many of the ancient cultures in Mexico, human sacrifice was essential to ensure that the sun would rise and that life would continue. For some there was no choice, but for others, it was an honour to give one's life so that life could continue for those left behind. Excavated chambers beneath the Citadel at Teothihuacan housed sacrificed victims or volunteers...maybe volunteers as they seem to have been dressed as warriors.

We stopped at a rock carving factory at a village just before the pyramids. Statues are carved out of obsidian and inlaid with lapis lazuli, tiger eye, malachite, shell, jade and all kinds of other wonderful semi-precious gems that are found in the area. While we were there, we learned about the multiple uses for agave...besides tequila! Paper can be made from the branches and each branch has a spiky tip connected to fibers that can be used as a needle and thread. We got to taste several tequilas, pulque (a fermented cactus juice...bordering on beer) and some pear cactus liqueurs. Learned that it is Mescal that has the worm in the bottle...not tequila...and that to Mexicans, the national drink is pulque!

Part of this tour included a visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadelupe (the Virgin Mary). Apparently, a poor man, Juan Diego, in the 1500's saw and spoke with a vision of Mary on a hill. The bishop demanded proof and Mary sent Juan back with roses from the hill....where previously there had never been any.....and a miraculous image of her appeared on his cloak, which is now on display in the new Basilica behind the altar. People-mover conveyor belts were installed in front of the cloak so that people would not stop and stay! You have to snap your photos quickly.....or take several rides back and forth to get the best shot!
Here's more to the story if you're interested:
http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/2614-our-lady-of-guadalupe-tonantzin-or-the-virgin-mary

Cultural Day
On my other day in Mexico City, I went to the Museum of Anthropology and History to learn more about the ancient cultures. I had been told by a fellow dancer that there was a lot of information in English, but mostly it was in Spanish.....so I didn't get as much info as I was hoping. Still....it was amazing to see the artifacts and read whatever there was in English! It is a huge museum and I only saw a few of the rooms on the main floor....the introduction to anthropology, Teotihuacan, Aztec and Mayan rooms. And that was more than enough for one day.

In the evening, I went to the Ballets Folkloricos, a presentation of folkloric dances. Fabulous costumes.....and the skirts....2- or 3-circle skirts that whirled and flowed....in white and stunning colours.....gorgeous!

I went early by subway, since there was a station right near the hotel and one right near the theatre....and it was cheap....5 pesos to wherever no matter how many stops (about 40 cents). An experience. Not very clean. Not as much signage or maps as I would have liked in the stations.....and there were NO line maps in the cars. (I was happy to have sort of memorized the stops and transfer points from my internet search earlier!)
And VERY crowded. At one point I managed to squeeze off the train to wait for the next one because there were just too many bodies squished too tightly together and too many hands needing or finding places to go. Eww... Decided that I would NOT take the subway back to the hotel. Taxi at any cost would be much better.

The Ballets performed in a beautiful building...very ornate and classical on the outside, but more art deco on the inside. Stunning stained glass ceiling in the theatre itself depicting the muses, I believe.... Music was provided by a mariachi band complete with a couple of harps!

Although it was a crazy trip to make, I LOVED being at the retreat and dancing, dancing, dancing. Being with all the other dancers and new-age people was like finding my tribe...at least one of them! It was fabulous and I would certainly go again! Plus Mexico is a physically and culturally colourful place to visit!