Serendipitous News

I have a new blogging partner. His name is Javier Camarena. He is a native of my adopted city of Irapuato, Guanajuato, México which I like to characterize in Spanish as "mi patria chica", or in other words, "my little homeland" or "my little home turf". However, Javier now lives in Chicago, the city where I was born and raised and we have discovered that in effect we have traded places. He, like me, is very interested in history and he has begun a blog called "IrapuatoJaCa" which stands for "Irapuato - Javier Camarena" and it is written in Spanish. He is going to translate some of my blog posts into Spanish and place them on his blog in order to share with his family and friends various tidbits of Mexican history and culture that I have discovered. I welcome all of my fellow students of Spanish to visit his blog and see what he has to offer. It will be an excellent way to practice your Spanish and learn a bit of Mexican history and culture at the same time. I hope to translate some of his own original blog posts into English and post them here as well. You can access Javier's beautiful blog by clicking on this link: IrapuatoJaCa

Here is the introduction to Javier's latest blog post called "Muéganos" which I greatly appreciate. I have added an English translation below:

El presente post es una labor mancomunada entre el Sr. Bob Mrotek Autor del Blog “Mexicobob” y un servidor, resulta que Bob es nacido en Chicago y con sangre de ascendencia de Polonia, pero residente en Irapuato y con un cariño a nuestra tierra a prueba de balas pues se nota el corazón de fresa que lleva dentro, para nuestra desgracia él escribe en el idioma Inglés para su audiencia que es principalmente de Anglosajones residentes en México, dando a conocer aspectos de nuestra cultura y tradiciones que a veces son desconocidos aún por nosotros, los nativos de estas tierras, yo por el contrarios soy orgullosamente nacido en Irapuato pero radicado en Chicago y por medio de comunicaciones sostenidas hemos llegado a un acuerdo mutuo consiguiendo su aprobación para traducir algunas de la publicaciones que a través de los años ha sacado a la luz en su columna cibernética, la labor investigativa, el esfuerzo, la dedicación, y el contenido del presente reporte son enteramente producto de su dedicación y esfuerzo como autor del mismo.

A Quienes tienen la fortuna de dominar la lengua de Shakespeare les recomiendo que visiten su sitio, es fenomenal la labor investigativa que realiza y nos lleva a conocer aspectos desconocidos de nuestro terruño y nuestro estado. 

This post is a joint effort between Mr. Bob Mrotek, the author of the blog Blog "Mexico Bob" and myself. It just so happens that Bob was born in Chicago and is of Polish heritage, but is now living in Irapuato and has a bulletproof (See note 1 below) affection for our land because it shows the heart of a "Fresero" (Strawberry Head - See note 2 below) in him. To our dismay he writes in the English language to his audience that is mostly Gringos living in Mexico, revealing aspects of our culture and traditions that are sometimes still unknown for us, the natives of this land. I, on the other hand, am proudly born in Irapuato and based in Chicago and through sustained communications have reached a mutual agreement regarding approval to translate some of the publications that he has brought to light in his column through the years through cyber investigative work, effort, and dedication. The contents of this current posting are entirely the product of his dedication and effort as author.

For those lucky enough to master the language of Shakespeare I recommend you visit his site. The investigative work carried out is phenomenal  and leads us to knowledge of unknown aspects of our land and our state.

Note 1 - I sure hope that Javier is right about the term "bulletproof"!

Note 2 - People from Irapuato are known as "Freseros". Irapuato was the Strawberry Capital of the World for many, many years and the word "fresa" means "strawberry". Calling someone a Fresero is a term of endearment akin to calling someone from Green Bay, Wisconsin a "Cheese Head". By the way, it may be interesting to note that Irapuato and Green Bay are Sister Cities.

Rosalinda the Pretty Rose

Rosalinda (Pretty Rose) is the title of a Mexican Soap Opera that is available on You Tube with English subtitles. This is an excellent aide for English speaking people to learn how to speak Spanish as well as a tool Spanish speaking people who are learning to read English.

Rosalinda, starred by the very pretty Mexican actress Thalía, was produced by Televisa in 1999. It tells a story of this girl who sells flowers and decorates a restaurant. One day, she meets Fernando José, a man who plays the piano at the restaurant. They fall in love, get married, and have a child named Erika, but the villain,  Fernando's stepmother Valeria, desires to split the happy couple up as villains always do and...well you will just have to watch to find out what happens.

Rosalinda Part 1

Rosalinda Part 2

Rosalinda Part 3

Rosalinda Part 4

Rosalinda Part 5

Rosalinda Part 6

Rosalinda Part 7

Rosalinda Part 8

Men & Women of Science

Joseph Glanvill (1636–1680) was an English writer, philosopher, and clergyman. He was not a scientist, nevertheless he was very interested, and even excited, about scientific undertakings in the last half of the 17th century when for all practical purposes modern science was born. The following excerpt is from a book that he wrote in 1661 which he revised and expanded several times in the years following. Today I was thinking of something profound to say about the passing of Neil Armstrong and the other brave NASA astronauts (including Christa McAuliffe) who preceeded him in his next wonderful adventure to the great beyond.
For me, I think the words of Joseph Granvill say it all:

SCEPSIS SCIENTIFICA, Or THE VANITY OF DOGMATIZING 
By
JOSEPH GLANVILL
1661

"Methinks this age seems resolved to bequeath posterity somewhat to remember it: the glorious undertakers, wherewith heaven hath blest our days, will leave the world better provided than they found it. And whereas in former times such generous free-spirited worthies were as the rare newly observed stars, a single one the wonder of an age: in ours they are like the lights of the greater size that twinkle in the starry firmament: and this last century can glory in numerous constellations. Should those heroes go on, as they have happily begun, they'll fill the world with wonders. And I doubt not but posterity will find many things, that are now but rumors, verified into practical realities. It may he some ages hence, a voyage to the southern unknown tracts, yea possibly the moon, will not be more strange than one to America. To them, that come after us, it may be as ordinary to buy a pair of wings to fly into remotest regions; as now a pair of boots to ride a journey. And to confer at the distance of the Indies by sympathetic conveyances, may be as usual to future times, as to us in a literary correspondence. The restoration of gray hairs to juvenility, and renewing the exhausted marrow, may at length be effected without a miracle: and the turning of the now comparative desert world into a paradise, may not improbably be expected from late agriculture."