21 June 2009

Uriangato revisited...

Last September I posted a Spanish Dialog called "Shopping for Clothing" that was inspired by one of our semi-annual visits to the factory outlet clothing stores in the twin cities of Moreleón-Uriangato. Yesterday we went back to Uriangato to buy some clothing for my wife Gina for her birthday which happens to be June 24th, the feast day of San Juan Bautista. We had a wonderful time just like we always do on one of these trips. This time we took the new autopista which is a very scenic drive and it got us there quickly and safely and returned us home the same way. I brought my camera along because you never know what you might run into in Uriangato and this time was no exception.

The first thing that I noticed was a sign over a rack of children's socks that said, "Seven $5". You can see it in the pictures below. Here are some of the possibilities that I thought it meant:

1.) Perhaps it was a corrupted short form of "Se vende" which means "for sale", 5 pesos.

2.) Perhaps it was written in English and meant "Seven pair for five dollars" but that would be very rare indeed in Uriangato.

3.) Perhaps the people who wrote the sign thought that "5" is written "Seven" in English.

Then I saw another sign that said: Seven (Años) Pares - $ 1 - 5 10 - 4.8 100 - 4. I didn't know what to make of thas sign until I started examining the socks and discovered that the brand name for the socks was "SEVEN". The socks were grouped in a variety of sizes and then I figured out that the size was generally determined by the age of the child and so "años" or "years" determined what size sock would probably be required to fit the child. The numbers indicated the discount rate for volume of socks of the same "años". In other words, if you bought one pair the price was 5 pesos each but if you bought five pair of the same "años" the socks were only 4 pesos, 80 centavos each. "Ohhhh", I said to myself, "Now I get it". I think that one of the things that made it a little confusing was that the proprietors of the shop are Korean and speak "Spanglish". It was my odd Spanish lesson for the day.

After we walked a couple kilometers and Gina had bought what she wanted we arrived at the town center and I plopped myself down at a convenient coffee shop and ordered a "café americano bien cargado" (a strong cup of American style coffee) to recharge my batteries and Gina ordered a cappuccino. While we were sitting there I noticed some new sculptures in the "jardín" and so after we finished resting up we went over to check them out and take some photos. Then we noticed that there were some exhibit booths set up from the state of Michoacán and we went over to take a look. We encountered a delightful gentleman named Felipe de Jesús Horta Tera who is a well known regional mask carver from Tocuaro, Michoacán, near Pátzcuaro. We had a very nice chat with him and we also got to know his wife Elia who served us some wonderful sopa tarasca, corundas, and a beef soup/stew like dish called Churipo. The food was out of this world. We also met Raúl Díaz and his wife from Pátzcuaro and sampled some of his sweet delicacies. Check out the photos below. Click on pictures to enlarge.



11 comments:

GlorV1 said...

I love the arts and crafts they have there. The sculptures are great. The jardin is very nice. Everything looks so clear. Great pictures. Looks like you all had a great time. Glad you are enjoying life. Take care and have a great week.

Christine said...

Your descriptions and pictures are always delightful. Thank you! Christine

Don Cuevas said...

We passed through Uriangato on our Friday bus ride to Irapuato and Guanajuato. I was surprised to see so many clothing shops and factories.

I have wondered for some time, where does the accent fall in the word," Uriangato"?

Saludos,
Don Cuevas

Unknown said...

Bob,

What a coincidence, I do have a devil's mask from the Horta family. They are in Tocuaro, closed to the lake. The father of them had just recently passed away when I visited them. They were all sad of course but, their carvings very beautiful. I did take some photos of them. Nice family they are.

Could the "seven" mean the brand of a very expensive jean? Here in the States there is a brand named "seven" who only Microsoft employees could buy. Maybe is the counterfeit of it. ¿?

Saludos cordiales,

Alfredo.

Bob Mrotek said...

Gloria,
I think you would be delighted with many of the places here. They are simple yet elegant just like you :)

Christine,
Thank you for the thank you :)

Don Cuevas,
There are four rules for accents depending upon what syllable the accent falls on. They are "aguda" (last), "grave" (second from last) "esdrújula" (third from last) and "sobresdrújula (more than third from last). Uriangato is a "grave" like the majority of Spanish words which take no accent mark (tilde) except those that don't end in "n", "s", or a vowel. So then, Uriangato is pronounced uur-ee-ahn-GAH-toh.

Alfredo,
Yes the Hortas are nice people. Felipe is one of the most personable people I have ever met and his wife is soft spoken and intelligent. I hope to see them again sometime. It is nice that you and I seem to travel the same paths. You are probably absolutely right about the Seven. I think the socks must have been knock-offs :)

YayaOrchid said...

Bob, I am so loving the apron the lady serving soup is wearing! I take it aprons abound in your neck of the woods? I'd have a field day! LOL!

The soup and sweets look good too!

GlorV1 said...

Bob you are so kind dear sir and yaya, I knew you would take a notice on the apron. :)Oh...I forgot, this is Bob's blog, not mine....walking out quietly....

YayaOrchid said...

Gloria, you're such a charming character!LOL! I'd probably be laughing half the time if we met in person. You have such a way with making things so light and friendly!

YayaOrchid said...

OOps! I guess I too forgot I'm only a guest here....;)

Bob Mrotek said...

Gloria y Yaya. You aren't guests. Están en su casa :)

Don Cuevas said...

Thanks for the Spanish lesson, Bob. That was very edifying.

Where I come from, a "strudeleh" is a nice piece flaky pastry with a filling.

Saludos,
Don Cuevas

Blog Archive

About Me

My photo
I was born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. I have been living in Mexico since January 6th, 1999. I am continually studying to improve my knowledge of the Spanish language and Mexican history and culture. I am also a student of Mandarin Chinese.