Nanciyaga is possibly the only place around Catemaco, Veracruz that retains a commercialized version of the mystery of the Los Tuxtlas magic. Founded in the early 1980’s, this small Laguna Catemaco enclave gained publicity and funds with the filming in its reserve of the movie Medicine Man with Sean Connery. Since then Nanciyaga has turned itself into an ecology reserve and a small Disney World of magic.
The owner was recently interviewed in a Mexican newspaper. Unfortunately that link has disappeared, but was stored on an older blog. Here is GOOGLE garbled translated version.
to read the original Spanish - click here.
Here are asleep to the music of the jungle.
Carlos Rodriguez 'Caco' environmentalist: "He lived the destruction of forests in Latin America and eventually became a pioneer of eco-tourism. Black Sheep from a family of tobacco, Carlos Rodriguez, known as Caco, 62 years old, bought a 40 to the marsh area on Lake Catemaco (Veracruz) and created the ecological reserve of Nanciyaga, park and living a kind of spa prehispánico with baths temascal (with the red volcanic rocks), mud, massage and fair brujeriles.
Its cabins are among the most coveted rooms of Mexico .Always thought that one day would have a jungle, and when I was niño. So everything was beautiful, everything was bush and jungle. Although my grandfather told me that there was so many animals as before.
Ibas by the sea and everything was jungle arroyitos crystalline, there was no garbage or plastic. Nanciyaga was a need to always, I could make tarde.-His tenacity born of a kind of youthful trauma, right?-Studied veterinary and came back. The government began to distribute land, until there was a national commission for clearance and a law that you could accuse of having vacant land if there were jungle on your ranch. Not measured the consequences. Some lands used for agriculture, for other livestock, but the minute the quality of livestock was bad and corn no longer functioned.
The land failed to survive and what was left was jungle. He saw the mountain-born mechanical… - I see that touched click invention of the chainsaw, that sawmill tátil by allowing end everything. Progress was to finish on Sunday with the last group of mountain and organize matazón of animals who had taken refuge allí.-So left the guild ganadero.-Vendí my ranchito and with that I bought this place. They had to do something productive and show that the forest serves more than topple trees and make a pasture. And the idea worked, but everyone told me I was crazy and that it was not feasible. --
Have you helped the Government?-Rather resisted accepting that this was a reserve, saying it was too chiquito. After thousand red tape was recorded as educational ecological reserve. But we are showing that there are options productive in the jungle .-
And education?-We have important environmental education. They come to discover many children in the jungle areas that I knew both jungles enormous. Now living in the midst of ill meadows, cattle bad, bad agriculture. There are many animals prinicipio feared that the man, and now we see them moving out, we are not afraid, you can portray almost tocar.-
Nanciyaga also gives trabajo.-We have recruited 60 people, a payroll frightening, particularly at this time of storms and cyclones, which we must continue gándoles jam. In holiday hire students as guides. --
What does Nanciyaga?-Welcome tourists and make them a tour of the jungle, which are reproductions of antiquities, our work. They are going to a spring of mineral water and drink a glass pocito using as a piece of the plant apiche. They made a mask of mud mineral… - has a theater inside the selva.-We have come to Mozart or Beethoven, and percussion music from Senegal or Cuba. We have also represented Cervantes. The musicians gave them fear meter instruments in the humidity of the jungle, but now everyone wants to come to play .- "If you can enter the temascal sail with the wind," writes Laura Esquivel in his novel Malinche.-is a bath steam, culture of ancient Mexico. Every house had its temascal and had a ritual, another to make decisions for the tribe… tried to approach the tradition. You can not describe, we must get into it. Yes, I can say that it is very healthy: remove toxins, cochambre one, and far, there is a growth-born espiritual. a river water-carbónica. Upon leaving the temascal, you sink into a spring of mineral water, a gift special we have here. We do not sell mineral water: we dip into ella.-
The gem is the 10-cabañas. It is incredible that people coming from Spain, or Israel, only to the cabins. The magazine Mexicana we cited as one of the 10 rooms most quoted of Mexico. And, yes, we have gotten many times in distress because, although they are more expensive than those of hotels, are always filled and reserved months in advance. Rooms are privileged because it sleeps cradled by the music of the night-selva.-chamán. They do not want problems, and our only makes a shaman swept aura with herbs from the forest. There is engaged, as Catemaco, ills loves brujerías or black. The magic is not given by witchcraft, but by the natural magnetism of the region Los Tuxtlas.
Feb 28, 2008
Nanciyaga owner interview
Feb 27, 2008
Wooden Catemaco
Tlacotalpan, about 90 minutes away from beautiful downtown Catemaco, Veracruz is a World Heritage site, primarily because its inhabitants tired of seeing their houses burn and instituted a building code prohibiting wooden buildings.
Catemaco is known as the place of burned houses. (Nahuatl language reference). This is possibly a reference to a fairly recent eruption of San Martin Tuxtla Volcano. Since those eruptions, Catemaco's inhabitants happily lived in wooden houses for hundreds of years and never reported a fire conflagration.
Locally it is said that when a Catemaco home owner wanted to move to another location, he simply dismantled his house and reconstructed it in his choice of plot. Noone here apparently heard of insurance fraud.
About 7 years ago, the State of Veracruz did one of those surveys and proposals that the Mexican bureaucracy is famous for, and apparently only found 6 worthwhile items to consider preservable in Catemaco, dating to the late 1890's.
The town may not have visible roots beyond 1890, but anywhere the earth is turned, there are shards of prehispanic occupation. The big shards have magically disappeared.
Photo: one of the few remaining wooden homes
Feb 26, 2008
Thursday Brujos of Catemaco
The local government, in spirit with the event, but too dispirited to call it "Congreso de Brujos" (Convention of witches), in the last few years has titled the event "First Friday in March". And if you do not show up by Thursday, you will miss most of the fun.
Highlights this year are a midnight black mass on White Monkey Mountain, and an afternoon of spiritual cleansing on the laguna beaches north of downtown Catemaco.
For the complete schedule of the event in Spanish, see http://www.catemaconoticias/
Photo: White Monkey Mountain
Feb 24, 2008
New Catemaco historic neighbors
The Tepango Valley (northwest of Catemaco, near San Andrés Tuxtla) Archaeological Survey (TVAS) was undertaken of 120 km2 within the Tepango River valley in the Tuxtla Mountains, southern Veracruz, México to gain an understanding of the occupational history of this important area. Data are used to retrodict the political organization of the Tepango Valley during every major epoch of pre-Columbian occupation. These data are then briefly compared to settlement in the neighboring Catemaco River valley. While materials and settlement analyses are still underway, this report comes to the conclusion that El Picayo (the primary center within the Tepango Valley), Matacapan (the primary center within the Catemaco Valley), and their corresponding hinterlands evolved simultaneously into relatively equal, but distinct, political entities. However, political authority within each valley appears to have been based on different themes. This has implications for the evolution of both valleys, particularly the role of Teotihuacán in the development of the Matacapan and the Catemaco Valley.
Source: FAMSI
Feb 22, 2008
Catemaco Brujo Circus
CATEMACO: "I will not participate in the First Friday in March event (Annual witch convention on first Friday of March), to be undertaken by the city council", said Apolinar Gueixpal Seba, better known as the brujo mayor (chief warlock) of Catemaco.
He added that the main reason why he will not participate in the event that the city council plans to carry out with 12 other brujos is because witchcraft deserves to be respected and that a mass black must be performed in private and not in the presence of the public. Brujo Guexpal, known as the Tiger's Leap said that the city council is making a circus of witchcraft with the first Friday of March event, but despite this, he respects his fellow brujo colleagues but does not agree with this type of celebration.
"The real witches, as did our ancestors, need to provide witchcraft as a service to the people and not as a business. There is now a lot of charlatanería (false witchcraft), and that is why I say to people not to be fooled and also ask people to tell the municipal authorities that witchcraft be given the respect it deserves and not to be used to deceive people", said Apolinar Gueixpal.
Source: Loose translation from Politica en Los Tuxtlas
Catemaco Earthquake
The Catemaco area experiences earthquakes several times a year. Usually the seismic centers are far away enough not to feel anything. A few days ago a Oaxaca quake came to visit and I actually felt my first earthquake in Catemaco.
On the other hand:
A big earthquake with the strength of 8.1 on the Richter scale has hit Mexico.
Two million Mexicans have died and over a million are injured. The country is totally ruined and the government doesn't know where to start with providing help to rebuild. The rest of the world is in shock.
Canada is sending troopers to help the Mexican army control the riots.
Saudi Arabia is sending oil.
Other Latin American countries are sending supplies.
The European community (except France) is sending food and money.
The United States, not to be outdone, is sending two million replacement Mexicans.
God Bless America
Feb 20, 2008
Catemaco Airports
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The two airports serving Catemaco are Veracruz and Minatitlan. At present both are about 3 hours drive from Catemaco. Car rental is available at both.
An airfield is under construction in San Andrés Tuxtla, but probably will not be in service for several more years.
On a direct route the Canticas airport is considerably closer to Catemaco and with decent roads would be accessible within 1 1/2 hours. At present access is only via Mex 180 via Acayucan and dependent on using the tollroad because the free road is usually choked with traffic, and takes almost 3 hours.
Several projects have been played with for many years to improve the situation.
1. Access via Soteapan
This is actually doable now, but only via dirt roads, and a long detour around Laguna Catemaco because the Tepeyaga peninsula still blocks fast access to Catemaco. Funding is in place to pave the "Brecha de Maiz", a road linking Soteapan to near Las Margaritas. The Tepeyaga link (from near Las Margaritas to Catemaco via Pozolapan is also approved but is in the usual nevernever land of Mexican politics.
2. Access via the coastal Highway
Another dream project has recently received new attention. At present there is no road connecting Catemaco to the southern coast from La Barra via Arrecifes to Tatahuicapan.
The dirt road from Arrecifes is now under construction and several miles have been paved. The stretch from Arrecifes to La Barra or Sontecomapan is basically a horse trail usable only by high lift vehicles preferably with 4x4 and equipped with a snorkel during rainy weather.
Stay tuned in 2015!
Feb 16, 2008
San Andrés Tuxtla Regional Museum
Feb 15, 2008
Butterflies of Los Tuxtlas
Photo by bevscott107.
This lady has photographed and identified 95 butterfly species in Veracruz, mostly around Xalapa. Most of these beauties also reside in Catemaco and Los Tuxtlas.
http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/562101628fRgRxX
Feb 13, 2008
Catemaco dictionary
There is no book version of a dictionary of Mexican Spanish available that I know of.
Spanish dictionaries are virtually useless to understand the vibrant nuances of the Mexican version of Spanish.
Here is a website that is a fabulous compendium of words as used in Mexico, not in Spain.
Unfortunately it is useful only to Spanish readers.
http://www.academia.org.mx/dicmex.php
While on the subject of words. Catemaco has possibly the largest English library on the Gulf coast north of Merida and south of the border.
The Tepetapan RV park in Catemaco, Veracruz has a book exchange program and has accumulated perhaps 1000 English titles, mostly composed of what road warriors and other casual readers like to snack on.
Some of the same titles are available at most Sanborns, costing above 120 pesos each.
This library alone makes Catemaco a MUST stop for anyone traveling along the Gulf.
The Tepetapan website http://www.gaudis.com/ is unfortunately not viewable in Mexico. So here is a photo for you to grab a book and sit in the wading pool while reading it.
Feb 4, 2008
Catemaco ranching - 3
Sometimes very early in the morning the view from mi rancho in Sontecomapan near Catemaco is a bit foggy, and I think my eyes are getting old.
My gay rooster apparently had a sex change. His harem produced the first batch of eggs. Unfortunately one of his hens escaped and my dogs killed her.
Now I wonder whether to let the fowl run free and cage the dogs.
