Cosas hacer en Morelia?

December 10, 2006 12:56 PM

I'm visiting Morelia, Mexico this week, arriving just in time to miss the Virgin de Guadalupe fiesta, and staying about a week. Suggestions?

Any suggestions for interesting things to do, places to go, stuff to eat? I'm planning to make day trips to the Monarch butterfly sanctuary and Patzcuaro. Is a trip to Tzintzuntzan worth it? Isle Janitzio? Quiroga? Volcan Paricutin? Good places to buy folk art?

Anyone interested in a meetup?

posted by Wet Spot to travel & transportation (5 comments total)

Patzcuaro is fantastic for buying all sorts of crafts. Janitzio is a boat trip from Patzcuaro and, in my opinion, it's definitely worth it, but try to take the last boat and stay the night there. Tzintzuntzan could be cool, though it isn't as impressive as other archaeological sites in the country.

Tlalpujahua might be interesting, though it may already be part of your plan if you are going to the mariposa monarca sanctuary.

Quiroga and Paracho (really close to each other) are lovely little towns known because their specialty is musical instruments. If you play any instrument you might be interested in checking them out, as you can get really good instruments for very reasonable prices.

Now, Santa Clara del Cobre is another place you might want to check out, there you can get a huge variety of copper crafts.

I haven't been to Morelia in about five years, and I hear that they've really put a lot of effort into restoring its original beauty, and it has also become more of a cultural hot spot, hosting a famous film festival now (but I think it took place a couple months ago).

While you are in Patzcuaro try to buy Pirekua records. It's the local music, sung in the local language (P'urepecha) and its beautiful. Very sweet and melodic, mostly played with two guitars and two voices. There is other variety of local music which is a bit more lively, the Abajeños, in which they use violin and other instruments, but I like the pirekuas better.

Enjoy it, it's a lovely region.
posted by micayetoca at 5:28 PM on December 10, 2006

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. After the Dia de la Virgen, and up until Christmas, all around Mexico they hold what they call Posadas, which is like street-theater representations of the trip Joseph and Mary did when Jesus was about to be born.

So, there are neighborhoods were the entire community gathers and they represent this "play," having all the neighbors go from house to house singing and asking to be put up for the night. They are rejected over and over, until the last house, where they are let in, and they serve food for everyone who is there, break piñatas, that sort of stuff.

Whatever your religion, if you take it as a traditional fiesta it will be very interesting, you'll have a blast and you'll eat great food till you drop, for free.

Another thing you might catch during those days is the Danza de los Viejitos, of which you can see a picture here, but for that sort of stuff you'll have to ask around. Ask people if they know any barrios where they are doing Posadas or if there is any place where you can see the dance. If you do catch them, post the pictures to flickr, yeah? I'd love to see them.
posted by micayetoca at 5:46 PM on December 10, 2006

My wife and I visited Morelia and Pátzcuaro in July of this year and we had just a lovely time. We became quite fond of the arts of the area, and the local history is rather interesting. We'd dearly love to spend more time in the area.

Morelia -

We found The Museo del Estado to be a bit more interesting than the Museo Regional Michoacano, though both are quite good if you're into that sort of thing, and have the time. A visit to the Museo del Estado at the start of your trip is probably a good idea to give you a bit of context to other things that you'll see on your trip; it has pretty decent signage in Spanish.

Just walking around the area near the zócalo is quite lovely - be sure to try and experience it both during the day and in the evening as the plazas fill up. It's also worth taking a stroll down Calzada Frey (maybe best avoided at night?), and follow the aqueduct down to Plaza Morelos. The Santuario de Guadalupe, in the NE corner of Plaza Morelos, looks quite dull from the outside, but the interior is quite stunning. The tourist information centre near the zócalo has some pretty decent maps and should be able to tell you about any events that are on; the Guía Turística de Morelia should also be consulted before leaving.

As vegetarians, we weren't particularly adventurous food-wise, but the restaurant of Hotel Casino (Best Western) really seems to make an effort to integrate local specialities into their menu, plus they're apparently part of the Slow Food movement. The whole strip of restaurants and cafés on the north-side of the zócalo is quite a gathering place, and great for people-watching. Be sure to have lots of delicious chocolate drinks!

The Casa de los Artesanías is a great place to both see and shop for folk art. On the lower floor, just inside the entrance, is the big mega-shop which has a range of wares from all over Michoacán, and some decent (Spanish) books about the crafts, too. It probably runs a little pricier than other places around, but most of the works they have are of great quality. If you go further into the building, and upstairs, there's a strip of variable-quality independent stores, each selling the produce of a particular pueblo (and maybe a bit more). Each store seems to run kind of random hours, so you might need to visit a couple of times to catch them all. Some of the stores even feature artesans producing their art (e.g., the mask makers and some weavers), and they seem happy to answer any questions you might have. Highlights there, for us, were the painted ceramics (from Capula), super-delicate rebozos and the masks. We found that the Casa de los Once Patios in Pátzcuaro had a better selection of gold-leaf-painted (maque) things and copperware than the shops in Morelia. The Mercado de Dulces is also worth a trip (try some of the ates, and pick up some chocolate!); there are also a selection of shops that sell cheaper and nastier folk art items there.

Pátzcuaro -

Quite a gorgeous town - we easily filled up an entire day there. We really enjoyed the Museo de Artes Populares - it lacks nearly any signage, but there was a guide in each room who gave us a tour of, and answered questions about, the items on display and were quite knowledgeable and proud of what they were showing. There's also a little outdoor area where you can see the rubble of a pre-hispanic structure that the colonial building was built on top of, which also happens to be where you can see the day-markings left in the walls by Jesuit priests that were locked up in cells adjacent to the building in the bad old days. If you're curious about the corncob and honey-paste figure in the Basilica, but squeamish about going behind the altar to see it, the museum also has an example of the same technique applied to a crucifixion figure. If your Spanish is up to scratch and you're a fan of folk art, this museum is a fantastic experience.

The Casas de los Once Patios houses a whole heap of shops selling folk art, and even a few workshops. It's a bit of a maze but you can pick up some great items there. When we turned up there around 2pmish, a group was starting a performance of a traditional dance (Danza de los Viejos), though I'm not sure whether that's a regular thing or not... maybe you could ask at the tourist centre.

Around the main plazas, there are a bunch of other stores, selling items like embroidered and crocheted goods and ceramic Day of the Dead statues. Try some of the Sopa Tarasca and some nieve (a little like gelato) for dessert at the many restaurants around the zócalo.

You might want to try and get to Pátzcuaro on a Friday, as there are tianguis/markets off one of the plazas, selling more local crafts and other things.

Isla Janitzio -

We didn't visit Janitzio. However, in discussing our trip to Morelia with friends and acquaintances who have gone, we've been assured that we didn't miss anything... it's quite tacky, apparently. If you were going during the Day of the Dead festivities, it might be more interesting. Of course, you might prefer to respect the opinion of someone who's actually been there!

Happy to answer any more questions... have a great time!
posted by bunyip at 7:20 PM on December 10, 2006

Thank you everyone! Your suggestions are most helpful and very much appreciated.
posted by Wet Spot at 11:16 AM on December 11, 2006

I dont know if you'll revisit this thread. The suggestions above are great!

My family is from this area but that actually makes me less qualified to comment from a visitor perspective. I will add however:

-Do take time to just walk around the villages like Paracho and Quiroga. Beautiful little towns. I dont know if you know the history here but these series of towns were an attempt by Quiroga to implement a Utopia, cribbed from More. Each town was assigned a specialty. Paracho, for example, is the guitar town and all the guitar craftsmen from the area converged here.

-Janitzio is sadly over-touristed. Its hard to resist this little island where Dia de los Muertos is celebrated. Despite the tourism its still worht a visit. Take a boat out and make the climb to the top. Dont spend too much time there though. Patzcuaro is just as interesting.

-Nobody commented on Paricutin I think. Its a neat place. You go out near some lava fields and then you rent horses to take you across the lava fields. You get to this area where a small town was engulfed by the volcano and all that managed to survive is the church steeple - makes for some great photos.

-Morelia. Beautiful colonial architecture. Just walk around plus you've gotten some great advice above. My advice to you is this: There are a couple large churches in Morelia. Make sure you go inside them. The amount of art and craftmanship will blow you away. Visit the University of Morelia too.
I recall there's also a Candy fair in Morelia where you can buy all sorts of exotic sweets.

There's a small community of ex-pats and retirees and Morelia and once you visit you'll understand why some have come and decided to just stay.

Have fun!
posted by vacapinta at 1:10 PM on December 11, 2006 [1 favorite]