Friday, December 19, 2008

Away in a Manger


I loved the old Christmas nativity scene in the zocalo on Isla Mujeres. It's a little different than any I've seen in the U.S. Did you ever notice the bunnies, turkey, rooster, and other animals in the nativity?

This nativity scene, located at one of the dockside restaurant on Isla (either Picus or Mininos), is really hard to see, but I can pick out a turkey, elephant, horse, chickens, and even a lion! I thought maybe the 'animals gone wild' nativity was the Mexican cultural norm, but last year when we were in Cabo around Christmas, I noticed the nativities there are similar to ones in the U.S. The nativity below in a Cabo restaurant just had a donkey and some lambs! So now I'm wondering if Islenos aren't just particularly creative!


Here's a U.S. version with a funny contemporary twist. The nativity below was in an Old Town Albuquerque shop window. Notice the dogs! :)

4 comments:

Vee said...

Those are great, Beck. Have you seen Isla Gringo's photo of this year's nativity scene? Not as creative as in the past. One of these years I must go to the island during Christmas!

Life's a Beach! said...

Vee, I saw that post with the new nativity scene. And it's sad. No baby Jesus! They're throwing a lot of money at modernization projects with repaving, new square, etc..., and they're stripping away all the character. Of course, that's from a visitor's perspective.

Unknown said...

Good showing. Have you seen Jacinta's weird nacimientos from Honduras? I have seen others that resemble those of Mexico but her pictures are interesting. http://jacintamucosa.blogspot.com/

Life's a Beach! said...

Laurie, I checked out those Honduran nacimientos and those are very strange! But cool! :)