This 2019, I took a trip to a small pueblo by Puebla, Mexico called Ixamilpa De Guerrero. It was such unexpected trip since it was a surprise from my mom. My mom wanted to take my little sister and me, to learn more about where she grew up as a little girl.

Ixamilpa is much smaller compared to Los Banos; it is so small you can walk almost everywhere! The shops are almost a three minute walk from where my grandma lives. The population is very small with about 1,300 people in total.

Another reason why my mom wanted to take us is because every year in January, there is a huge fair. There are rides, dances, and stands from different places around Ixamilpa. There was a dance called the Jaripeo, where people wore flannels and cowboy boots. They also had a contest on who could stay on the bull the longest. There was a total of ten bulls. The whole event started at 11:00 p.m. and was over at around 5 in the morning.

That morning, all the people have this tradition to walk to the Virgen of Guadalupe statue that is in the main entrance of the little pueblo, where they sing “Las Mañanitas” to her. From the main entrance, all the people walk to the church, where the mass takes place. Throughout the whole day there are masses every two hours, and when it gets dark outside, there are huge fireworks in honor of La Virgen De Guadalupe.

The whole little festival that takes place is originally for celebrating the new year, and being thankful for another year.

Overall my trip to Mexico will be one I will never forget; I got to see where my mom grew up, and I got to see my part of my family that I’ve never gotten to see before.