Bola Suriana in Patzcuaro, Mexico

A couple of weekends ago, I was in Patzcuaro with a good friend of mine. Patzcuaro is located in the state of Michaocan and is a beautiful, three hour drive south from San Miguel de Allende. Being one of my favorites towns, I was in that state doing some research for a "once in a lifetime" tour of the area and its crafts that I am planning on putting together for 2011.

The architecture is completely different from that of San Miguel. I find it to be more like that of Toledo, Spain with is tile roofs, white and reddish, rust painted walls, wood spindles instead of wrought iron in the windows and huge columns and beams everywhere.


We were sitting under the portale above, having something cold to drink. I shot this photo the next morning and the little table and chairs had not been set out yet - with my camera in tow, I was up taking advantage of the morning light and the town was just waking up. (Last time I was here, I was with my husband in August and it was raining "gatos y perros." We sat here for a while until the rain subsided and warmed up with a healthy shot of Jose Cuervo Traditional.)
Back to cooooooling off with my lemonada. This interesting looking gentleman came walking by and I could not help myself but to ask about his attractive clothing. He was so happy to stop and chat. He told us that he is part of an older men's dance group, that they had won first prize in a competition in Morelia and he was on his way to the Casa de la Cultura for an event that started at 7:00. I think his main motivation was that there was going to be free food! He was very impressed and excited about that. This beautiful, old building was constructed over a prehistoric temple. Originally, it was the second Jesuit college in Mexico, Mexico City having the first. The white structure on the left is the Cultural center.


The interior patio was being set up for a performance. What a treat to be here! We sat on the half wall under the arches. It was just a beautiful evening. People kept filtering in and eventually it was a full house. The group, Bola Suriana, playing that night were incredible. They are from the nearby capital of Michoacan, Morelia and have been together for 18 years. Over time, they have developed their own style, a variety of Mexican and Latin American folk music with an emphasis on their own heritage from Michoacan. Many of the songs relate to the Mexican Revolution of 1910 and the name of the group was taken from Zapata's army.

Bola Suriana in Patzcuaro Click on this to check out one of their performances that evening.