Friday August 20, 2010

Today is the feast of St Bernard. He was born near Dijon, in France, in 1090, of a noble family. In 1112 he joined the new monastery at Cîteaux. This had been founded fourteen years before, in a bid to reject the laxity and riches of the Benedictine Order (as exemplified by great monasteries such as Cluny) and to return to a primitive poverty and austerity of life. Bernard was a man of great holiness and wisdom, and although he was often in very poor health, he was active in many of the great public debates of the time. He strongly opposed the luxurious lives of some of the clergy, and fought against the persecution of the Jews. He was also a prolific writer, of an inspiring rather than a technical kind. The Church is always suffering from corruption and always being renewed. If St Bernard, so often ill, could take a leading part in this renewal, what excuse do we have?

‘Love God and love your neighbor.’ Matthew 22:34-40.
These two greatest commandments seem simple enough, yet can be difficult to follow. What does it mean to love fully? A little child might know a parent’s love by cuddles, kisses, quality time spent together. Loving and affectionate attention. When I find peace and space in my heart, I am able to give loving attention to God.

In the moments between busy doing, we try to give space to God. But are these scraps of ‘in-between’ time enough? Can we do more? Can we live our life continuously in an attitude, an intention of love?

If we breathe love for God and all God’s creation, then surely loving our neighbor—all those we meet in life—will flow from this. We will have our bad days, Lord, our ugly thoughts, but let us keep listening to you, watching for your familiar face, giving you our loving and affectionate attention.

I live in one of the oldest colonias in Merida, the Santiago district is to the west and north of Plaza Grande. The church, founded in 1637, was once much grander; now little remains of the original structure other than the modest sanctuary with a baroque statue of Santiago and the dated inscription above the entry. The front of the church and the main nave, supported by buttresses, not necessarily flying, was built in the 19th century. There is a park in front of the church and a market next to the church, with fruits and vegetables, meats, and a good flower selection.
There are a host of excellent cocina economicas, sundries stores and an ice cream store. There is also a children’s playground in the park, and a large concrete area used at various times for skateboarding, big band music (Tuesday nights), dancing, fairs and temporary markets. Surrounding the park you can find a grocery store (Aki), a drugstore, a movie theatre and a branch of Mexico’s pawn shop chain, Nacional Monte de Piedad. Behind the church are a number of hardware stores, paint stores, a bicycle store and Flor de Santiago, a bakery, cafe and restaurant. And on the other side of Calle 59 are two large schools, one public and one private, in beautiful buildings both built during the Porfirio Era (early 1900s).

Originally (350-400 years ago), Santiago was the area relegated to the indigenous indios and artisans. Due to its close proximity to the central square, Santiago was one of the first areas to expand in population. It quickly became the shopping area for residents of San Sebastian, Ermita and other areas who wanted to avoid the downtown. Famous figures hailing from Santiago include Manuel Cepada Peraza (a governor of Yucatan in the 1860’s), composer Guadalupe Trigo, Crescencio Carrillo y Ancona (a bishop of Yucatan who grew up in Santiago) and the ducator/writer/reporter Rodolfo Menéndez de la Peña who died in Santiago in 1928.

Santiago was once the German district, with the building on the corner once known as Quinta Los Alemanes. Santiago was the nicest place to live in Merida, before Paseo de Montejo was built around the turn of the century (1900), and Calle 59 was the main formal entrance into Merida after Porfirio Diaz built the Centenario Zoo and Parque de La Paz. In 1914, Santiago got its movie theatre, then called La Frontera, which also had a hotel and was also located on the west side of the park. That building eventually became the supermarket that is there today. Another theatre, called the Salon, was built in 1915 on the north side of the park. It was later called the Apolo, and presented zarzuelas (Spanish musical theatre) and operettas, as well as films. In 1922, it was renamed the Cinema Rivoli and was also called the Cines Hollywood and today is simply known as MM Cinema. After some remodeling of the plaza between 1982 and 1984, the park began the tradition of holding Remembranzas Musicales every Tuesday night. This event brings residents and tourists together to dance the cha-cha, the mambo, salsa and more to live, Big Band music under the stars and remember the good old days.

For extranjeros, Santiago is one of the most desirable downtown neighborhoods and there are many American and Canadian-owned colonial homes in this area, and I am one of the owners.