TRAVEL – PUEBLA

By Nancy Seeley

We never really intended to spend a mini-vacation in Puebla. We thought it would be a convenient overnight stop on the way to Oaxaca, but we were so charmed by what we found that we changed our plans and enjoyed a long weekend in this city of 1.35 million people on the way back home to Ixtapa in September. Getting there was a breeze. We took a first class overnight Estrella de Oro bus to Cuernavaca from Zihua ($345 pesos), by 5:30 a.m. we were ensconced in a bus bound for Puebla ($135 pesos) and in less than three hours we were getting our first look at a strikingly clean metropolis perched nearly 7,000 feet above sea level about 120 kilometers southeast of Mexico City.

As we bounced along in a “combi” headed for the zócalo from the first-class bus station four kms. north of “el centro,” we couldn’t help but notice the refreshing lack of litter. Tall, slender cypress trees swayed in the breeze. Even taller palm trees crowned with swirls of bright green leaves atop polished-looking trunks provided a picturesque backdrop for more than 1,000 colonial style buildings in Puebla’s historic downtown, many decorated with “azulejos,” or painted ceramic tiles. There are churches galore (upwards of 70), and the overall impression is that postcard manufacturers would have a field day here.

We arrived when the city was getting into full swing for the Independence Day celebrations of September 16th, so Mexico’s green, red, and white colors were prominently displayed on buildings, lampposts, fountains, benches, and statuary. The Palacio Municipal was decked out in holiday attire, and the usual Sunday night zócalo activities were “kicked up a notch” with the addition of an impressive water fountain display. This gizmo spewed numerous jets high into the air under colored lights while keeping time with piped-in music ranging from American pop to funeral dirges. The Mexican spectators (we appeared to be the ONLY gringos!) were fascinated and stood ten deep to watch the spectacle. Combined with the screams of excited kids, the camote vendors’ steam whistles, the balloon hawkers, and the general crowd noise, the place was a-hoppin’ till nearly midnight.

You could spend a week here just touring the many museums which – besides those dedicated to art, cultural displays, Mexico’s struggles for independence, and pre-Hispanic artifacts – include one for autos, one for railroads, one for puppets, and one for live animals. If you had time to visit them all, you’d probably emerge an expert on this city founded by Spanish settlers in 1531 as “Puebla de los Ángeles.” But one has to pick and choose, and because of its unusual façade we were drawn to the Casa de Alfeñique ($15-peso entry fee), which means “house of sugar candy and almonds.” That’s exactly what it does look like from the outside. Built in the 18th century as a wedding gift from a happy husband to his much younger wife (that’s one story, anyway), the building has served as Puebla’s state museum since 1926, housing a collection of furniture, photographs, carriages, clothing, and other domestic paraphernalia dating back to the 16th century. The Amparo Museum ($25 pesos…free on Mondays) nearly knocked our socks off. This one is named for the wife of the philanthropist who underwrote its development. Open since 1991, its seemingly endless offerings take up about 15 rooms in two connected colonial buildings. A highlight is the illustrated timeline which, according to the explanatory brochure, “takes its visitors on an encounter with our roots,” letting viewers compare what was happening throughout the world from before the advent of mankind until the 17th century. There are several temporary exhibits and a topnotch library as well. Check it out at www.museoamparo.com on the Internet.

Don’t worry if you get to Puebla without a guidebook, because the historic downtown definitely caters to tourists with information kiosks, some English-speaking students staffing them, and the popular tourist trolleys one sees in more and more Mexican cities these days. Puebla residents – or “poblanos” – are proud of their city and do one heck of a job showing it off to maximum advantage. There’s a civic center, a planetarium, a massive library, numerous parks, ex-convents and a grand theater, among other things.

Another local attraction is Mercado El Parián, an artisans’ marketplace temptingly show-cased with talavera pottery and tile adorning the various stalls and decorative mosaic stonework shaped like a sun welcoming visitors along the walkway between them. Speaking of talavera, there’s so much for sale here it’s hard to choose. There’s also the usual assortment of trinkets, leather, textiles, miniatures, onyx, “trees of life,” and pottery.

While walking around downtown, we came across a candle shop called “El Faro,” and spent an interesting half-hour listening to Edgardo Gómez, the affable proprietor, tell stories about photos illustrating the shop’s heyday. Founded in 1910 by his great-grandfather when incandescent light bulbs were still not commonly used (especially in Mexico), the shop displays some mammoth 120-kg. candles standing about 12 feet tall.

And the food! We fell in love with “tacos arabe” – something like the traditional tacos al pastor you find here BUT with the seasoned pork stuffed into pita bread tortillas and seasoned with a piquant salsa different from anything I’ve sampled in Zihua. Then there are seven varieties of mole to choose from as well as “cemitas,” gigantic meat-and-cheese sandwiches served on sesame rolls and seasoned with the herb pápalo. We saw restaurants advertising “chiles en nogada” everywhere we went. Only available in July, August and September because that’s when pomegranates are in season, this delectable and uniquely Mexican dish features the colors of the Mexican flag: the stuffed poblano chiles are green, the walnut sauce is white, and the pomegranate seeds decorating this culinary specialty are red. We missed by a week the grand finale of Puebla’s 7th annual chiles en nogada cookoff.

I must confess that although I did chow down on a few breaded grasshoppers (and NO, they don’t taste like chicken) at the urging of a local purveyor, I wasn’t courageous enough to sample either the fried maguey worms or the ant larvae appetizers. Just seeing the live worms crawling around in boxes at the market, looking for-all-the-world like fish bait, was enough for me. Yuck! I opted for a Burger King $25-peso special instead.

We took a side trip to Cholula, west of Puebla, one day to see the world’s widest pyramid, Tepanapa, dating back to the 4th century. Although now completely covered over with grass and other vegetation, it’s still possible to tour about 280 meters of tunnels beneath it ($33 pesos). Crowning the hill the pyramid once dominated is a church dedicated to “La Señora de los Remedios,” built in the 18th century. You can see it from miles away. Cholula itself was another surprise. Once again, we hit it lucky and happened to visit during the 76,000-person city’s 55th annual 18-day fair. You could barely thread your way through the stall-to-stall vendors selling miniatures, embroidered blouses, beautiful shawls, and baskets of fried foods and fresh fruit. Although tour agencies offer more upscale trips, we opted to use Puebla’s 2nd class bus station, shelling out the princely sum of $5 pesos apiece each way for transportation.

The hotel options in Puebla are far too numerous to mention, but there’s a dynamite website at www.hotelesenpuebla.com which caters to any budget.
Although we had no complaints anywhere we stayed, our favorite place was a $355 double at Hotel Santiago (01-222-242-2860) because of its rooftop terrace with a spectacular view of the city’s cathedral on the main plaza half-a-block away. For trivia buffs, this is the cathedral appearing on Mexico’s $500-peso bill. It boasts the highest twin spires in the country, looming 69 meters above street level. That rooftop terrace also offers a splendid view of Mexico’s most famous volcano, snow-covered Popocatépetl (“Popo”), which thrilled us by erupting while we were looking at it.

Here’s a tip if you speak Spanish: Try calling 01-800-849-2793 toll-free to book rooms at a whole bunch of Puebla hotels. They say an English-speaking operator is in the works.

All in all, it was a wonderful three days and there’s still so much more to see if we have a chance to return. I’m already hungry for another pan arabe taco, so this could be happening sooner rather than later.

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