A Roll-Back in Time

Sheesh, we feel like rusty old cars. Or at least our brains do! Yesterday was our first day of Spanish language school in La Paz. Neither of us has attended a formal educational program in the last 25 years, Spanish is brand-new for Bob, and Cathryn last studied it 35 years ago in high school. We arose before 6am, ate breakfast and made our lunches before leaving the RV at 7:40 to drive through town to “Se Habla . . . La Paz”. The experience conjured up images of kindergartners climbing the yellow school bus stairs, as did Adrienne’s wise-crack email about “have a good first day at school!” Bob will be in a 2-hour private class taught by Alexa, as he’s the only beginning student currently attending. Cathryn is in a 4-hour class with 2 other students who speak at her same level, taught by Merita and Orlando for 2 hours respectively. Bob’s instruction began with the alphabet, how to pronounce vowels, numbers, months of the year and a vocabulary list. Cathryn’s began with a vocabulary list and conjugating regular verbs in the past tense – a good thing, because all 3 of us students speak only in present tense currently. At the end of the day, we agreed: this is hard!!! The teachers are all Mexicans who speak varying degrees of English, which is irrelevant because the instruction is entirely in Spanish anyway. Bob seems unclear on how much progress he might make; Cathryn thinks an enormous amount of previous knowledge is returning quickly, and the benefit will be huge in terms of her comfort communicating. The school facility is a lovely 4-story home/building containing half a dozen small classrooms, a kitchen, dining room, salon, library and numerous beautifully landscaped and furnished outdoor terraces, one with a swimming pool. The owner’s home is on the upper floors. Wi-fi is available throughout the building.

We’d been told some school days would be extended to include a cultural presentation or event. Yesterday was a big and fascinating one! November 1 and 2 constitute “Dia de los Muertos”, or Day of the Dead, celebrated by Catholics, the predominant religion in Mexico. The first day focuses on children who have died, and the second on adults. We were given a 40-minute presentation on the meaning of Dia de los Muertos and the culture practices surrounding its observation. In short, they believe the spirits of dead relatives and friends return each year at this time and can communicate with the living. They build altars to enable the process. Following the presentation, a school van took us to a local cemetery to see how families have decorated their loved ones’ graves and tombs with flowers and altars, and some hold celebrations of the person’s return with music, food and a “party” of sorts. The return of the person’s spirit is a joyful event, not sad, so the air is celebratory.

Last night we drove to el Teatro de la Ciudad (City Theater) to attend the 10th Anniversary of the Celebration of Dia de los Muertos, a region-wide outdoor event in which groups compete well in advance to be selected to erect an altar for display. There were about 25 very elaborate altars constructed one next to another, and we spent an hour looking, taking photos, and occasionally talking to someone. In addition, there were vendors selling food, toys and trinkets with families roaming the grounds. There was a large stage with a sound and lighting system and groups performing dances, music, and plays every 20 minutes or so.

Several dozen elaborately dressed, beautiful young women in long dresses, fancy hats and with skeleton-like make-up on their faces and arms roamed the grounds posing for photos. We were told later in the evening they would each be presented on stage and judges would select the best costume. It was a happy, fun event with a festive air and we found it fascinating. Hopefully Bob’s photos can convey some of the sense of it all. We feel very fortunate that with no forethought or planning on our part, we’ve managed to arrive in La Paz twice now at the time of a major cultural event: Carnaval when we were here last March, and now Dia de los Muertos!