Erongaricuaro

Eronga's Red Star Café is now OPEN!

I am in Erongaricuaro, in the mountains of Michoacan in a village more or less on the shore of Lake Patzcuaro (the lake itself is two km away by canal). I recommend Michoacan to you wholeheartedly. Very little glitz and lots of quality. Michoacan is probably the most wildly beautiful of the states. (I may be prejudiced!) Our beaches are exquisite and unspoiled. Our coast faces south. As a matter of fact, if you look on the globe, the next stop south is Antarctica. Apparently, that makes for great surfing. The coast mountains plunge right into the Pacific--very dramatic. The beaches are like brilliant white crescents lined with coconut palms and mango plantations. And enramadas where you can enjoy seafood that was swimming two hours before you order it.

The beach I like better than any other is Nexpa, but there are others up the coast (further out west) that are brilliant, too. Nexpa is about five hours by car from where I am. There are any number of little beach communities along the coast, all with their tiny hotels and B&Bs. I am going to the coast in the next few weeks so I will be able to give you a fuller report once I am back at my computer.

The mountains in Michoacan are beautiful, too, virtually all volcanic, except for the aforementioned coastal range. I read once that Lake Patzcuaro is surrounded by a thousand volcanoes, but I have not counted. Suffice to say that whatever mountain you see in this part of the state is going to be volcanic in origin. None that I know of are active at the moment. The elevation of my village is 2080 meters, quite high, and people with breathing problems probably shouldn't try to make it home. I don't know about visiting. Ask your doc.

Some of the villages in this state are deeply indigenous, and that means they do not want outsiders. A few want you to come and buy, and then get out. You can usually tell by looking. The indigenous villages simply do not have any place for you to stay. Period. Nor would you want to stay in them, because the people will be seriously uncomfortable; not unfriendly, just cool and distant. I do not recommend trying to stretch the "rules."

The village I live in is completely mestizo, but it is surrounded by indigenous villages. The indigenous people come to town on market day to sell their produce and buy staples. They also come here to get their every-other-monthly checks from the feds and to join in the health fairs on the plaza. This village is friendly and busy, and you can still find relatively cheap, comfortable, and safe lodgings, although we have a real lack of decent restaurants.

You really have to search for houses to rent because, as I said elsewhere, villagers are not accustomed to renting out their houses. Many houses here are very primitive by US standards. There are exceptions to this, of course. Our house on the plaza is traditional but nicely updated. You have to get used to the fact that here we live mainly outdoors since the weather is so pleasant most of the year. Our house has two patios, one is a gorgeous and messy garden, and the other is my studio and a place for the washer and dryer and a little cabaña for visitors. Fireplaces are good to have in the winter. Kitchens are often not furnished with anything--no stove, no fridge, nothing. Sometimes they don't even have sinks because you have to wash up in the pila. Depends on what you want. I could do without a lot to get to live here.

I don't want you to think I am neglecting Patzcuaro, one of the most beautiful cities on Earth, really, but it is being overrun with tourists and traffic and the gringo population is growing and prices are going way, way up. We make the 17 km trip on special occasions, like to Rick's Cha-cha-cha restaurant or for mariscos at La Guera. My good friend Monica rents out apartments in an overgrown and beautiful compound about a fifteen-minute walk from the Plaza Chica. I do not know about availability (they are longer, rather than short term) or cost anymore, but I could ask if you or anyone was interested. We used to jokingly call the compound Gringolandia, but it is really a pleasant little community of wonderful and artistic characters. (Hi Molly! Hi Carol! Hi Charlie! I love you guys!) David and I rent the house we occupy on Eronga's plaza from Monica, and we are happy to have her for a landlady.

I am overwhelming you, so I will quit and see if you have any other questions.

Carlos

Lake

Patzcuaro

Red Star Café

Central Plaza in Eronga, looking north!

Red Star Cafe is the red star on the left side.

Welcome!

Erongaricuaro, which means "place of waiting" or "place of the watchtower" in the Purhépecha language, is a village in the state of Michoacán, Mexico. It is located about an hour and a half drive from Morelia and Uruapan, and just 20 minutes from the famous colonial town of Patzcuaro. The estimated population is 5,000 people.

Eronga, lies just across Lake Pátzcuaro from Pátzcuaro and the farthest Left Bank of the Lake. The native Purhépecha from the pueblos near Eronga come to market day on Tuesdays. This ancient town was one of the critical trade points for the Purhepecha empire. Friendly to outsiders, Eronga has hosted artists such as Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera along with the fathers of surrealism, Andre Breton and Leon Trotsky. Former president Lazaro Cardenas used it as his hideway across the lake before the road arrived to Eronga. Today Eronga hosts ex-patriots from Argentina, the United States, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy.

The lively Eronga plaza has many exotic trees displaying the area's tolerant climate.

Altitude above sea level: 2,100 meters or 7163 feet

Temperature: Maximum 24°C or 75°F;   Minimum 6°C or 43°F

Erongarícuaro is hidden high in the mountains of Michoacán at 2200 m (7130 feet) of elevation. To the East is Lake Pátzcuaro, one of Mexico's highest lakes.

The town retains its ancient atmosphere. It consists of largely one-story adobe or plaster-over-brick buildings with red tile roofs. The streets are dusty cobblestones traveled by horse and car. The plaza has a fountain, stage and amazing collection of trees. Wandering the streets uphill, there is a cemetery and a chapel.

The pretty Purhepecha village of Eronga lies on the west side of the lake about 17km/11mi from Pátzcuaro. During the Second World War a group of French Surrealists found refuge in Eronga.

Notable residents of Eronga

Lázaro Cárdenas The popular President of Mexico, was rumored to take his boat across the lake where no road reached. He began from his large mansion in Patzcuaro, which now houses CREFAL  and upon reaching Erongaricauro was free to make fiestas with his girlfriends in Mansion Las Rosas, right on the plaza.

During Mexico's postwar art scene:

Trotsky, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, Jean Charlot, Andre Breton.

Roberto Matta, Remedios Varo, Esteban Francis, Pierre Mabille, Benjamin Péret

Gordon Onslow Fordand his wife Jacqueline Johnson, an American writer.

Peruvian poet César Moro, anthropologist Miguel Covarrubias, painter Carlos Mérida

Surrealist painter Wolfgang Paalen with painter and poet Alice Rahon, and photographer Eva Sulzer.

Don’t miss these Eronga attractions:

The Plaza.

The furniture factory.

The Church The naturalistic crucifix above the altar is known locally as 'El Señor de la Misericordia'. It is an example of 16th century "Pidgin Plateresque" architecture, a style unique to highland Michoacán.

The large plaza hosts large Banda concerts.

Monastery. The Church and monastery was founded by the Franciscans. Occasionally the door to the seminary is open and you can see the gardens and views of the lake. Occasional concerts.

Red Star Cafe

Congratulations on the opening of the Red Star Café.  Located in the middle of the right portal, as you face the plaza in Erongarícuaro. The address is Portal Hidalgo number 3. Cafe will be open for breakfast from

9 am until 2 pm and closed Monday and Tuesday.

At the moment the cafe is restricting the menu to breakfasts and Italian-style espresso and cappucino, plus apple pie, homemade flan, and cookies. You can also order a Negra Modelo, teas of all sorts, hot chocolate, and soft drinks.

The house that is home to the café is around 400 years old, and it is a good example of the mixture of colonial and indigenous architecture that is prevalent in our pueblo.

Next time you find yourselves over here on the Left Bank, we hope you will stop by and enjoy a visit to Cafe. And remember, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

The theory behind the Red Star Café, which they sincerely hope infuses their praxis, is that food should be carefully prepared from local, fresh, and organic ingredients when at all possible. They are advocates of the worldwide Slow Food Movement, although that does not mean you will wait hours for your food to arrive at the table. The fastest item on our menu, however, is our Italian style espresso, which should get to you at the exact temperature at which you can comfortably sip it.

Another of the ideas behind the café is that all the workers in it should own the "means of production." This gives us all pride of ownership, and it is probably the reason the service at Red Star is the best anywhere, right up there along with the food. The ambience is relaxing and beautiful.

The Cafe is available for art shows, as well as musical and dance performances, study groups, play readings, and anything else you can come up with that is free and open.

Red Star Café

Another project of Las Rosas Collective

Erongaricuaro, Michoacan

Across the street from the Plaza, enjoy the outdoor Red Star Café.

Inside the cafe,  drink espresso  at the open-air patio tables.

Eat homemade flan at tables inside and under the portal.