Monterrey & San Luis Potosi

Sep 18, 2024

5 min read

Well, my goal of writing weekly posts sure got lost in the shuffle real quick! lol

There's so much to share and unpack since the last post... I apologize in advance for the very random selection of thoughts and info with no order whatsoever.

Monterrey (continued)

Week 2 in Monterrey was filled with cultural experiences. I went to the Museo de Historia and the Museo del Noreste. Both interesting, but the Noreste one really grabbed my attention since it focused on the Texas/Mexico history, how trade has affected the relationship of the two countries, and also gave me some insight into why my ancestors may have chosen to make the move to the USA.

I also got to spend more time with Fer and Marleny (thank you both so much for being excellent tour guides!), leading me to a super cool museum - La Milarca - which displays a private collection of random things, like a giraffe skeleton, dinosaur skulls, all kinds of fossilized things, an entire room of coins, pottery, and so much more! Oh, and most importantly THE sword used by Hernan Cortez during the concquest of Mexico (it's a big deal!). Another stop was Primos Tacos. Local goodness - yummm! The best tacos I've had so far :D And finally, a steep, annoying, yet totally-worth-it evening hike to the Cerro de la Silla for an awesome view of the city!

Free wakling tours have become my go-to in any city I'm new to, so of course I booked a tour to discover Monterrey's Barrio Antiguo (old town). The tour was SO good! My guide was super nice, knew so much history, and gave me a lot of tips on things to do and see in Monterrey, such as the sunday morning dance sessions in the plaza accopmanied by the local symphony orchestra, a few other museums, good food spots, and the sunday market. And yes, I went back and visited them all :D

On one of my last days in Monterrey, my host-mom Letty was gracious enough to drive me to the little town of Cadereyta, where my 2x and 3x great-grandparents on my great-grandma's side got married. I can't describe how special it was to visit the church they got married in. I felt so much in there: Happiness for being able to step in their footsteps, gratefulness for being able to make the trip to visit these places, and something else that I can't quite pinpoint... a mixture of sadness and relief maybe. Whatever that feeling was, I am so extremely happy to have been able to be there!

p.s. drinks by the liter are a thing here! So of course I had to have a liter of Michelada!

San Luis Potosi

Why SLP? It's my second and last family stop on this trip. It's where my 2x and 3x great-grandparents got married on my great-grandfather's side. And yes - I got to visit said church! Another amazing experience!

Santa Maria del Rio, which is a few hour drive from SLP, is where my great-grandfather was born and baptized. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to go because there aren't too many tours that go there. Good thing I opened my mouth and let the hostel owner know where I wanted to go. Turns out his dad does tours in this area and happened to be heading to Santa Maria del Rio the next day! So, I got to visit yet another important family history spot. I don't have details like street names or churches for this place, but just being there and getting to know more about the little pueblita felt great. Fun facts about Santa Maria del Rio:

They are known for their Rebozos. These are interacate scarves/ head coverings/ dresses that are hand made in town. It takes the artisans about 2 weeks to make just one scarf. They are absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately, a little too big to fit into my bag.
Of course they also have a local baked good they're known for, which are Campechanas. It's something like a Palmier - super flaky dough with carmelized sugar on top. Pretty tasty!

Hostel Life

My accommodation for this leg of the trip is a hostel that offers volunteering jobs through Workaway. I volunteer for 25h a week in exchange for room and board. A perk that comes with a stint like this, is being able to practice my Spanish in a work environment (like, first hand with guests checking in and out of the hostel!), and getting to know a whole bunch of cool people.

There are mostly Mexicans checking in, traveling into town for work. But also Brasilians, Hundurans, El Salvadorians, and Eruopeans (yes - even other Swissies lol). The humbling part is, the central and south americans I've met here are all on the same mission: to head to the USA for a better life. It's humbling, eye opening, and scary to think of the long journey they have made and still have ahead of them, the sacrafices they've made, and the acclimation process that stands before them once in the states. But their demeanor (for the most part) is uplifting, happy, friendly, and caring. The amount of sharing that goes on here is tremendous! Everyone seems to care about everyone else. It's heartwarming to see the love and support that people give oneanother.

Viva Mexico

September 15 is Mexican independence day. It's celebrated with lots of festivals, people selling flags, clothing and decorations to celebrate the day, food vendors EVERYWHERE (and there's already a lot of those on a regular day!), and the most important part: the "grito". Basically everyone gathers in the town plaza and the governor or local official yells out different chants like "Viva Mexico, Viva San Luis Potosi!" followed by concerts and festivities. At the hostel we celebrated with micheladas, Enchiladas Potosinas, traditional music (followed by some horrible kareoke lol), and then walked down to the square for the grito. Unfortunately, we got there too late for that, but did get to see the fireworks and the concert that followed. All in all a great time!

And to round it off, a few of my favorite words I've learned while here:

un ratito - a little while. But the way it's used, it could mean 5 minutes or 3 hours lol
aurita - now. But again, used for soon, now, now-ish, right now right now, etc.
chingon - awesome. But can also be a swear word so use only amongst friends!

That's all for now!

Hasta pronto :)

P.s. planning on leaving a comment below? Don't forget to add your initials or your name if you want me to know who you are!