To see photos of Pachuca’s main plaza and its people, visit:
http://homepage.mac.com/rachelsair/fulbright/PhotoAlbum25.html
To see photos of the foods throughout Pachuca and its market, visit:
http://homepage.mac.com/rachelsair/fulbright/PhotoAlbum24.html
Karina, the woman who is in charge of the Fulbright program here in Mexico, invited Andi, the other American teacher working here in Mexico City, and me to go with her to Pachuca, Hidalgo. While Karina spent her day at a conference, Andi and I ate our way through Pachuca.
Pachuca, the state capital of Hidalgo, is in Mexico’s important silver belt of the Sierra Madre Oriental. Mining has been the most important industry there since 1534, before the Spanish came. Pachuca has also been highly influenced by the British, since many were miners living there in the late 1800s. The British brought soccer and “pastes” (pasties) – little pies traditionally stuffed with minced meat and vegetables. In Pachuca one can find “pastes” stuffed with a number of different ingredients like meat, chicken, potatoes, cheese, beans and even dessert ones with pineapple, pudding or rice pudding. I started with a bean and cheese filled “paste” and took home another and one filled with rice pudding.
Andi and I began the day walking around the Plaza de la Independencia, taking photos of all of the people and of the 40-meter-high Torre del Reloj (Clock Tower), decorated with four carved statues and a bell imported from Austria. As we walked around the market, I snacked on a cup of barbequed “elote” (corn), which I prefer to the boiled kind. It is sold on the cob or with the kernels cut and mixed in a cup with the “toppings” of lime, mayonnaise, chili powder and cheese. When I began to tear up and my nose started to run and I was downing my water, I finally tossed my small cup – the chili powder was too powerful for me. Later on we had very rich chocolate ice cream from Helados Santa Clara.
We met up with Karina after her conference for our adventure home, as we had a flat tire along the way. Bus after bus zoomed by, paused just beyond our car, deposited a passenger and continued on its way. We could have changed the tire (fine, Andi and Karina could have), but the flat tire was in a less than ideal position, right next to the highway with the cars whizzing by. One woman, carrying her baby in a thick fleece blanket, walked over to us to say that she knew someone who could help us change the tire. Karina bravely went with her and brought back two young men who quickly went about the business of changing the tire. When they were done, and I tried to give them the tip they absolutely refused – even after I tried to shove it in their hands. I just saw the movie “Pay It Forward,” on cable here with Spanish subtitles, and while I’m not sure if they did too, I know they have great karma coming their way.
