Fifteen years ago we hosted a 14 year old student from Puebla, Mexico for a full school year. Two years ago he saw pictures that Albert posted showing us in Baja, Mexico. “When are you coming to Puebla?”, was his comment. This year we were able to say February 25.
Alejandro and his new bride, Ivana, met us at the bus station. His parents have an apartment that becomes a guest suite in the suburbs where we were invited to stay while we visited.
Fast forward and we learned, as we reminisced, that he had great memories from his time with us, our kids, my dad and our friends that, as he recalled, had an influence on his life after his stay with us. While catching up with Alex, we were struck by the detail of memories he had of his stay in Parksville. We listened intently to him as he related his memories of events and family outings such as snowboarding in the central Okanagan and thoughtful discussions he had with Deb’s Dad. When he arrived we were happy to be the family he had been scheduled to arrive to. This bright, easy going 14 year old exchange student from Puebla fit quickly into our family home. For us, two working parents of (now) 3 kids including Alex, many of those memories had faded into the recesses of busy day to day lives lived fully during the intervening years. We also became reacquainted with the stories of his mother’s family that have Talavera pottery factories (we still have the coffee cups made at one of the factories that he gave to us when he arrived at our home). His auntie is still involved in the factories located in the region and they are now UNESCO listed heritage sites. We also caught up on news that his father had recently retired from a thriving professional practice that spanned many decades. His heritage is Lebanese with the original migration in the early 20th century. Lebanese food influence is seen in tacos Al pastor where layers of pork, originally lamb, are cooked vertically like shawarma, and topped with pineapple , cilantro and salsas. We were excited to finally be able to meet his parents during our stay with them in their beautiful city.
Pueblans are known as poblanos. Like the chili pepper. But even more so the dark mole sauce that has fruit, nuts, chilis, chocolate, tomatoes etc called Mole Poblano. So many ah-ha moments!
Puebla, a World Heritage Site, predates Mexico City, is advantageously located between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean and was founded in1531 between two much older Nahutal indigenous settlements called Tlaxcala and Cholula. From the earliest times right through to modern times Puebla has benefited by it’s location between Vera Cruz on the Gulf Coast and the mega city of CDMX (short for Citudad de Mexico or just Mexico City). Evidence of numerous Mesoamerican indigenous cultures, including Aztec, with their pyramid base temples and the Spanish arrival in 1519AD is preserved in collective memory, excellent museums and comfortable public spaces.
The predominant landscape feature of active volcano Mount Popocatépetl, known locally as Popo, can usually be seen spewing steam and volcanic dust from the steps of Santuario Nuestra Senora de los Remedios church. The church is built on the ancient temple/ pyramid base in the town of Cholula. This practice of building temples and churches on top of ancient pyramid bases became a surprisingly common thread during our travels, not just throughout the era of conquistadores and colonialism but in the pre-contact history specifically the waves of warring civilization spanning ancient history. Expand your territory by conquering the neighboring towns and villages and “renovate” their temples to suit your religious purposes. Alex and Ivana took us to a favourite restaurant in Cholula, and after, to watch the sunset on Popo.
Next day with the kids working, we Ubered into the old city centro and once again we had been dropped into Renaissance Spain. The twist was that Puebla is where the Mexican revolution started. Evidenced by bullet holes on the house that is now the Museo of the Revolution.
Cinco de Mayo also originated here one of the times when Mexico gave the French the boot. It is celebrated more abroad than in Mexico. Everyone needs a party!!
Our immersive Puebla visit was just 4 short days. Thanks to Alex and his warm, welcoming family, we saw so much beauty, fascinating relics, remnants of dramatic human resilience and tragedy that once again we found ourselves drawn into the rich setting like the infamous, ghostly shadows cast on the walls of history that encompass Puebla.
We will have to return…and visit longer but Mexico City beckons!!
The Grape Escape 