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Archive for March, 2012

Eco-friendly Mazunte

Posted in Animals, Environment, Health, Nature & Science, tagged Anita Roddick, Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga, Cosmeticos Mazunte, Mazunte, Mexico, National Mexican Turtle Center, Natural Cosmetics Cooperative, Oaxaca, Tim Johnson, turtle hatchlings, turtles on March 31, 2012| 3 Comments »

Mazunte was the first beach on Oaxaca’s coast I visited. The beach is stunningly beautiful and uncrowded and accommodations lean toward the small and environmentally conscious.

In addition to the appeal of the warm clear waters of its beach and digging your feet in the sand as you dine on fresh fish tacos, Mazunte is home to the Natural Cosmetics Cooperative, established by Anita Roddick, founder of the Body Shop. The cooperative’s products (soaps, lotions, oils, mosquito repellent, etc.) are available in the city of Oaxaca at the weekly Friday/Saturday Organic Market in the plaza of Santo Tomás in the Xochimilco neighborhood.

Mazunte also houses the National Mexican Turtle Center, whose successful work is the subject of Tim Johnson’s recent blog post, Turtle Hatchlings Head for the Sea.

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Día de la Virgen de Dolores 2012

Posted in Celebrations, Holidays, tagged altar, animal figurines, Chia Pets, Día de la Virgén de Dolores, Mexico, Oaxaca, Our Lady of Sorrows, photos, popular travel destinations, virgen de dolores, Virgin of Sorrows on March 30, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Today, the 6th Friday of Lent, is El Día de la Virgen de Dolores, the Virgin of Sorrows.

Altars have been set-up in courtyards and businesses around town, including this one at Hotel Las Mariposas (butterflies).

It commemorates the pain suffered by the Virgin Mary on the death of her son.

By the way, note the “chia pets.” This is where the US entrepreneur originally got the idea in the late 1970s for the terracotta animal figurines planted with Salvia Hispanica.

Tonight, I’m headed to a special Día de la Virgen de Dolores program, including a concert of sacred music performed by the Coro de la Ciudad (chorus of the city of Oaxaca), at the Templo del Carmen Bajo.

(ps) Ooops! Apparently, the concert is tomorrow night.

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It’s all in the numbers

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged buildings, Chiapas, Coyoacán, Federal District, Mexico, Mexico City, numbers, Oaxaca, San Cristóbal de las Casas, street numbers on March 29, 2012| Leave a Comment »

In Coyoacán, Federal District of Mexico City…

San Cristóbal de las Casas, Chiapas…

And Oaxaca…

The zeros have it!

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Oaxaca bound!

Posted in Creativity, tagged graffiti, Mexico, Oaxaca, street art, wall art on March 28, 2012| 1 Comment »

After a delightful, but cold and wet (4-6″ of hail!) textile intensive 6-day visit to Chiapas, I’m homeward (as in, Oaxaca) bound!

I promise not to ever again complain about Oaxaca’s sun-filled dry season!

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Silence kills…

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Politics, tagged graffiti, Mexico, Oaxaca, street art, wall art, women, women's rights on March 26, 2012| 5 Comments »

For a whole variety of reasons, this is so appropriate not just here, but…

all over the world…

And, given the current war on women’s hard won reproductive rights, it’s especially pertinent during this “election” season in the USA.

Silence does indeed kill!

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California take note

Posted in Nature & Science, Science & Nature, tagged California, early warning system, earthquake, Mexico, Oaxaca, terremoto on March 24, 2012| 1 Comment »

As someone who spent most of her life in the San Francisco Bay Area and has experienced a fair share of earthquakes, including the deadly Loma Prieta quake in 1989, I think the Mexican government seems to take warning it’s population more seriously — placing a higher value on preventing the loss of life, in the case of earthquakes, than the powers-that-be in el Norte.

Though I didn’t hear the early warning siren in Oaxaca for Tuesday’s 7.4 earthquake (or, perhaps I wasn’t tuned in to what it was), I did hear it for a couple of aftershocks.

By the way, I arrived in Chiapas yesterday morning, and the talk is about the highly publicized drill that was conducted statewide, with sirens blaring, only minutes before our 7.4 terremoto hit.

Why California Lacks an Earthquake Warning System Like Mexico’s (via The Bay Citizen)

Early alerts gave people time to go to safe areas before large quake hit By John Upton, Matt Smith on March 22, 2012 – 5:43 p.m. PDT Alicia Montiel Rodriguez was in an office building in southern Mexico City Tuesday when alarms began to sound, piercing the air with beeping tones and recorded messages…

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The velaria saga continues…

Posted in Buildings, tagged Guelaguetza Auditorium, Mexico, Oaxaca, velaria on March 21, 2012| Leave a Comment »

With all the excitement about yesterday’s earthquake, I didn’t even notice the south wing of the infamous Guelaguetza auditorium velaria (cover) had been removed.

According to an article in yesterday’s Noticias, the central cover will be reinforced and remain through July’s annual Guelaguetza performances. After that??? The fate of the velaria is up in the air. 😉

And, yes, the sky is that blue today!

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I felt the earth move…

Posted in Buildings, Nature & Science, Parks & Plazas, Weather, tagged earthquake, Mexico, Oaxaca, press conferences, terremoto on March 20, 2012| 4 Comments »

…under my feet. Well, actually I didn’t feel the 7.4 terremoto (earthquake) about noon today. I heard it! I was walking up the Álcala and the windows on one of the university buildings started rattling and people began pouring into the streets, murmuring “un terremoto, un terremoto!”

The above photo was taken from above the Plaza de la Danza, outside the Palacio Municipal, about a half an hour after the initial shake and shortly before sirens went off and a 5.0 aftershock struck — which I also didn’t feel!

I continued on with my shopping and when I passed by the Palacio Municipal again, the media was all over the place, and more press conferences out on the sidewalk were being conducted. The fellow above is from the Proteccíon Civil Municipal of Oaxaca. The fellow below was speaking about the schools.

Though there is concern for the rural villages closer to the epicenter, currently all is well in the city. And one of the members of the municipal police force assured me the daughter of “my” president was fine.

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Thunder (and lightening) dome

Posted in Buildings, Weather, tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, rain, rain storms, Templo de San José, thunderstorm, weather on March 19, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Last night, if she is still in town, Malia got to experience one of Oaxaca’s dramatic rain storms. The circulation of high pressure over the Southeast of the country, interacting with moisture from both the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, resulted in a 1-2 hour (I lost track of time) torrential downpour and Mother Nature’s own spectacular sound and light show.

Dome of Templo de San José

Glowing Templo de San José last night, as sheets of rain bounced off the dome.

This was a welcome relief, as we are in the middle of the dry season, and my rooftop garden is extremely happy. However, along with the usual flooding and sporadic power outages, newspapers are reporting 10 homes were damaged by the heavy winds and rain in Ocotlán and a Jacaranda tree fell on an unoccupied parked car in the city.

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Spring break in Oaxaca for Malia

Posted in People, tagged Malia Obama, Mexico, Oaxaca, spring break on March 18, 2012| 1 Comment »

Sheesh, what is it about my friend, L??? Last year she arrived for her first visit to Oaxaca on the same day Mexican president Felipe Calderón was in town. This year, she is arriving Tuesday night and… guess who is in town?

Malia Obama, older daughter of U.S. president Barack Obama, is spending spring break here! Along with 12 friends and a 25 person security detail, she arrived Friday night, on the regular United/Continental Houston to Oaxaca flight, that most of the gringos who live here are very familiar with.

Malia Obama and friends

photo from Zócalo Saltillo

So that’s why all the federales, various other police forces, and people with cameras on the Álcala, yesterday…

According to reports, in addition to sights around the city, the group will see the famous El Tule (tree), the archaeological sites of Mitla and Monte Alban, the black pottery village of San Bartolo Coyotepec, and the wood carving village of San Martín Tilcajete.

This is exceptionally good news for Oaxaca and I’m not the only gringo blogger living here to be posting this news; most of us are doing it for the same reason — to let our readers know, Oaxaca is SAFE. So, come on down!!!

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St. Patrick’s Battalion

Posted in History, Music, tagged Batallón de San Patricio, Mexican American War, Mexico, St. Patrick's Battalion, St. Patrick's Day on March 17, 2012| 1 Comment »

David Rovics singing “Saint Patrick’s Battalion,” a song celebrating the Irish who deserted and fought alongside the Mexican army against the United States during the Mexican American War, 1846-1848.

Want to learn more?

Batallón de San Patricio: the Irish Heroes of Mexico by Martín Paredes
Saint Patrick’s Battalion from Wikipedia
One Man’s Hero feature film directed by Lance Hool and starring Tom Berenger

h/t Dave W.

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Water, water, everwhere…

Posted in Beverages, Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, tagged Agua de Jamaica, agua fresca, Chilacayota, Día de la Samaritana, Día de las Aguas, Good Samaritan day, Horchata, Lent, Mexico, Oaxaca on March 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »

…and, Agua de Jamaica, Horchata, and Chilacayota to drink! Yesterday, the 4th Friday of Lent, was Día de la Samaritana (Good Samaritan Day), an only in Oaxaca tradition.

Inspired by the Biblical story, in the Book of John, of the woman at the well who offered water to Jesus, long tables and small stands laden with massive containers and plastic cups are set up on sidewalks throughout the city by schools, churches, and businesses.

These “water stations” are decorated in purple, the color of Lent, symbolizing penance and royalty.

Crowds rapidly gather and wait to be served the agua of their choice and, despite hours of standing, ladling, and replenishing, all are served with a gracious smile and genuine joy.

By early afternoon the Alcalá was a sea of people.

This is definitely NOT a made for the tourist event.

This is Oaxaqueños practicing the sharing and hospitality that informs much of their culture.

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If it’s Tuesday…

Posted in Protests, tagged backpack, blockade, bloqueo, Mexico, Oaxaca, traffic, traffic police on March 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

it must have been another bloqueo (blockade).

On Morelos, traffic was rerouted.

Gotta say, I love her backpack!

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Left hanging…

Posted in Buildings, tagged Guelaguetza Auditorium, Mexico, Oaxaca, velaria on March 13, 2012| Leave a Comment »

From today’s walk…

Just a sliver of canvas (or whatever the stingray is made of) left hanging from the missing wing of the Guelaguetza Auditorium.

Chris, over a Oaxaca-The Year After, also has photos. This is big news!

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Now you see it, now you don’t!

Posted in Buildings, tagged Guelaguetza Auditorium, Mexico, Oaxaca, velaria on March 12, 2012| 2 Comments »

Remember the Guelaguetza Auditorium? July 25, 2011…

After moderate winds Friday night, Guelaguetza Auditorium, March 11, 2012…

Something missing here? “Stingray” missing a flap???

According to reports in Sunday’s Noticias, experts at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) will conduct an analysis re what happened to cause a part of this controversial and (seemingly) cursed covering to collapse. The report further states, there is a possibility that the warranty will “cover” a replacement and, no matter what the result, the annual July Guelaguetza shows will go on!

A poll on the Vive Oaxaca Facebook page is currently running about 2:1 against replacing the velaria (cover).

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