2010

The Long Trip was revived in 1998 by Fern Khan, then Dean of Continuing Education, and Carol Hillman, a Bank Street alumna and former Board of Trustees member. Attendees to these "new" Long Trips include students, alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of Bank Street. The eleventh of these trips took participants to Patzcuaro, Mexico in 2010.

Visit the 2010 image gallery to see pictures from the trip.

A town in the state of Michoacan in southwestern Mexico, Patzcuaro is one of the United Nations’ “100 Historic World Treasure Cities,” and one of Mexico’s “Pueblo Magicos” (Magic Cities). Founded in the 1320’s, Patzcuaro has kept its traditional colonial-indigenous character, has numerous archeological sites, and it and the surrounding area towns are widely renowned as artisan and cultural centers. This was the destination for Dean Fern Khan, alumna Carol B. Hillman, and eleven other people on the 2010 Long Trip, from March 22 - April 4.

First on the agenda was to learn about Patzcuaro’s history by visiting Tzintzuntzan, the archeological site near Lake Patzcuaro that was the capital of the Tarascan (or Purepechan) state until it was conquered by the Spanish in the 1520s. Today, most of the people speak and write Purepechan, and the language is taught in the schools.

Visits to local artisans steeped in the traditions of the Purepechan were the focus of the next few days. At Tocuaro, the group viewed the workshop of one of Mexico’s most respected ceremonial mask carvers. His and his colleagues’ masks are widely sought by collectors. In Jarcuaro, they toured a factory that made sombreros and other kinds of hats. The group also visited Santa Clara Del Cobre, the center of a renowned artisan copper community producing objects ranging from bathtubs and huge jars to jewelry and exquisite sculptures and bowls. In various workshops, they saw raw copper (and silver) being smelted and then beaten into flat, round, thin disks.

Since the trip took place during the Christian Holy Week, the group was able to see traditional observations of the “Passion of Christ” on Good Friday - processions and passion plays staged in the street. On Holy Saturday, some group members watched the Procession de Silencio, a parade honoring the dead Christ and his grieving mother, performed in total silence before a similarly silent audience.

The group also met with local educators and with a group working on recycling and other environmental issues. A last visit was to Ucasanastacua, a community on the shore of Lake Patzcuaro. There the group met at a clinic with traditional healers and herbalists Jorge Cira Ramos and his mother, Consuelo Ramos, and learned about the treatments and ceremonies the healers use. The group also visited the herb garden and learned about the healing properties of various plants.

To view a timeline and map of the newer Long Trips, visit the Bank Street Continuing Professional Studies site.