Two weeks in sunny, colorful Mexico: a wonderful "Mandalas in Mexico" workshop, and delightful food, fiestas, and ancient archeology to boot! Near Guadalajara is Mexico's largest lake, Lago Chapala. The villages around the lake are quite old, and each has its special festivals. In the village of Jocotopec we strolled the streets near the Cathedral during the festival of El Senior del Lago, and admired the mandala that the locals call "pan de fiesta," or fiesta bread. (See the pic nearby) On another day we went in the opposite direction to the village of Mezcala, a community of "indigenous", or native peoples. Mezcala is also an important archeological site where objects dating to 1500 BC have been found in the nearby mountains and caves. In the small local museum I saw photos of pictographs found in caves, and actual stones incised with concentric circles still showng traces of white and bright pink pigment. So, the tradition of mandala making in Mexico dates back thousands of years, and lives on in the daily lives of the Mexican people in their art motifs, crafts, and foodways.
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