New Year's is a celebration of the passage of time, so it's the perfect occasion to reflect, and then look forward and plan for the best year ever. PV Pulse has compiled some popular resolutions, and paired them with local opportunities. We urge everyone to get involved in our community - it's one of the most diverse and unique in the world. 

Get fit/healthy:

Yoga with Davannayoga, 542 Calle Matamoros (at Corona), Centro.

Mari Torres de Gonzales offers holistic medicine services including acupuncture, phytotherapy, and magnotherapy. Cerrada de Cardenal 227-2, Frac. Las Aralias. 

Healing Hands spa specializes in Ayurveda, Panchakarma, Marma Point Massage, Shirodhara, Integrative & Restorative Muscle Therapy, Steams, Colonics, Ubvartan, and more. Ave Del Mar 302 Circuito de la Concha 13, Bucerias, Nayarit.

Contribute to my community/volunteer:

Children of the Dump helps the kids living in the Puerto Vallarta dump get an education.

Leer y Crecer is a reading advocacy program.

Make-a-Wish Mexico is the branch of the international organization that serves the Banderas Bay region. 

Support PEACE Mexico community programming by purchasing a 2011 PEACE calendar for $100 pesos, available at any PEACE event, at the PEACE headquarters in Punta de Mita, or by contacting becci@peacemexico.org. The calendar "showcases the pride and beauty of Mexican culture, landscape, wildlife and people and fully embodies what PEACE is working to foster and protect."

Help the environment:

Turtle releases are hosted by several local hotels and are a practical, hands-on way to make positive difference. Great for kids, too.

Learn a new skill:

PEACE Language School offers language instruction with partial proceeds going to PEACE Mexico.

Improve/Change home:

Pierrot Tessier offers high-end custom designs in the medium of your choice and takes commissions on artistic sculptures or furniture, storage solutions, or other items for your home. 

If you're thinking of buying or selling,start your search for real estate services with Prudential Realty or Sherri Narro and Associates.

Take a trip:

Destination: PEACE is one of the many programs delivered by local non-profit PEACE Mexico, with a focus on "voluntourism" opportunities in Banderas Bay. This is a great way to pair vacation time with community activism.

There is some controversy about whether the new Aztec year begins in February or March, but it is widely accepted that the Aztecs believed the first day of the year was indicative of the qualities and defects that would then characterize the whole year to follow.

The Aztecs had two calendars: Xiuhpohualli, “the year counting calendar”, and Tonalpohualli, “the destiny counting calendar”. The first was intended to explain and forecast natural phenomena, the movement of the heavenly bodies, and the changing of the seasons. The second, Tonalpohualli, was used to determine the destiny of every individual and the probabilities of luck for a particular enterprise.

Xiuhpohualli was divided into 18 “months” of 20 days each, resulting in a 360 day calendar. Five days named Nemotemi were added to each year in order to correct precision. Some years added 6 Nemotemi days much like we do with leap years. Xiuhpohualli represented the solar calendar, and every year was named after the first day of that year.

 The day name came from the Tonalpohualli calendar - the deity calendar - and whatever the symbol it carried was believed to be an omen that would dictate the nature of the year to come. The Tonalpohualli consisted in the union of 20 signs and 13 numbers which combined gave 260 distinct days, yielding days like “2 Deer” or “13 Death”.

Every 52 years completed a “Gavilla” (a 52-year century) for the Aztec calendar, and this called for the New Fire ceremony. All fires would be extinguished, and a new fire was lit. This fire would be transported to all temples to be tended continuously for the next 52-year Gavilla.

The great news for Mexico is that this January 1st – 2011 – will be a Coscacuauhtli day. Coscacuauhtli is the golden eagle named Aguila Real which is featured in Mexico’s flag, and symbolizes celestial strength, bravery, victory, and sun power. 

Further reading at: http://www.uaq.mx/ingenieria/publicaciones/calendarios/calazt.html
http://mx.selecciones.com/contenido/a2739_el-1-de-febrero-ano-nuevo-azteca
http://www.crystalinks.com/aztecalendar.html
http://pueblosoriginariosamericanos.blogspot.com/2007/09/los-dioses-de-los-antiguos-mexicanos.html
 

Last February, I was sitting at Steve’s Bar having some chicken quesadillas and my favorite Mexican pilsner, Pacifico. The winter Olympics were playing on the multiple TVs at the bar. Suddenly, there was a travel ad for Newfoundland stating: “Visit Newfoundland.” It was at this point that my mind started wondering who named the place Newfoundland. I know now that it was Giovanni Caboto, who was commissioned by the British to explore, and who named the land Terra Nova or “Newfoundland.” At Steve’s Bar back in February, however, I wondered how the people who lived there felt about a foreign “discoverer” calling them Newfound people. Did they need to be found? Were they lost? And, how did this name catch on? Anyway, the logical progression was to question the name of my country next. Where did it come from? Why Mexico? I figured these questions might be interesting for a more in-depth conversation.

The land of Mexico – which is now about half as large as it used to be (but that’s a topic for another day) – is named that way after the Aztec people the Mexicas. The Mexicas were the people of Tenochtitlan, the Mexica Tenochca who speak Nahuatl. Before it became “Mexico,” it was called “New Spain” by the Conquistadores. When New Spain gained its independence from Spain 200 years ago (as of this September 16th), we officially adopted the name “Mexico.”

 So why the Mexicas, and why not the Mayans or Tlaxcaltecas? The heart of the new civilization during Spanish rule was, in fact, the area where the Mexicas lived. Tenochtitlan was destroyed by the Spanish and the Cathedral in Mexico City was built on top of their Templo Mayor (“Great Temple”) with rocks from the temple itself. The destruction of Tenochtitlan was a statement. The Aztecs were feared throughout most of the continent, and certainly in the territories of New Spain. All other native tribes in the area were subdued by the military might of the Aztecs. Conquering the Aztecs was the tipping point in the conquest of New Spain. Geographically and tactically, a strong presence in the region was an advantage. Trade, government, and church were very much centralized in the area. Naturally, after the war for independence was won, it was the most important and significant city in the region, and so naming the country after Mexico City made the most sense.  

Additional Info on the word Mexico and its Nahuatl origins:

The word “Mexico” comes from the Nahuatl metzli which means “moon” and xictli which means “belly” or “center place.” Quite literally, the word “Mexico” means “belly of the moon.” It is believed that the lakes that surrounded Tecnochtitlan, the great city of the Aztecs, were shaped like a rabbit, similar to a silhouette found on the moon. The great city was located in the middle of the lakes, and thus, in the center of the rabbit, which was symbolically in the center of the moon.

Another explanation is that “Mexico” was derived from Mexictli, the name given to Huiztilopotchtli, the god of war that guided the Mexicas to the region in the center of Mexico where they found an eagle devouring a snake on top of a cactus (see the Mexican flag). The word Mexictli is derived from the words metl (“maguey plant”) and xictli (“belly”). Its translation then would be “the belly of the maguey.” This would justify the mythological significance that many pre-Hispanic cultures gave to this plant. Different maguey species provided fibers; needles for stitching, piercing, and rituals; and pulque, the alcoholic beverage of choice in Aztec culture.

Spanish historians during the conquest and the colonization used Castellano rules to transcribe words from Nahuatl. It is said that the “sho” sound in Nahutl was unknown at the time and that the letter "X” was used to represent this unfamiliar sound. The Real Academia de la Lengua Espanola considers both “Mejico” and “Mexico” as correct, but it suggests the modality of “Mexico” and the use of “X” in all its derivatives as proper use for all Nahuatl-derived words.

After Mexico gained its independence in the 19th century, the country was referred to as “America Mexicana” (even Morelos did not use the name “Mexico” in his book Sentimientos de la Nacion). The last debate on the matter took place at the congress of Chilpancingo in 1813, where some members proposed the name “Anahuac,” which was the name the Mexicas used to refer to their territories (Cem Anahuac Tenochca Tlalpan meant “The World, Earth Tenochca”). Finally, it was decided to use “Mexico.” In the Constitution of 1824, the official name was Nacion Mexicana, or “Mexican Nation.” Later, in the Constitution of 1857 it was changed to Republica Mejicana (note the use of “J”), and finally in the Constitution of 1917 the official name became Estados Unidos Mexicanos or “United Mexican States,” which remains to this day.

A special thanks to Professor Lic. Antonio Salgado, a dear friend, for sharing some of these valuable facts with us.