May | 2019 | View From Casita Colibrí

Archive for May, 2019

Doorway into Zaachila

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Black and white photography, Fabián Calderón Sánchez, mural, Oaxaca, Sanez, street art, Villa de Zaachila, wall art, YNKL, Zapotec culture on May 28, 2019| 4 Comments »

From the land of Zaachila yoo (house of Zaachila)…

Villa de Zaachila pride in black and white by YNKL/Sanez.

Read Full Post »

Still life in black & white

Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, tagged Black and white photography, Casita Colibrí, container plant, Crown of Thorns, Euphorbia milii, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, succulents on May 24, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Stepping outside my front door, sometimes the play of light and shadow in Oaxaca takes my breath away.

Crown of thorns (aka, Corona de Cristo, Euphorbia milii) taken November 2018.

Read Full Post »

Miscellaneous messaging

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged graffiti, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, wall art on May 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Within a few blocks from home…

Miscellaneous messaging brought to you by the streets of Oaxaca.

Read Full Post »

International Museum Day

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Travel & Tourism, tagged batik, color blue, Día Internacional de los Museos, exhibitions, indigo, International Council of Museums (ICOM), International Museum Day, Intervención Índigo, Mexico, Museo Textil de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, photos, Textile Museum of Oaxaca on May 17, 2019| 2 Comments »

May 18 is Día Internacional de los Museos (International Museum Day). Instituted in 1977 by the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the goal is to raise awareness of the role museums play in “cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples.” Traditionally, the primary mission of museums has been collecting, conservation, communication, research, and exhibition. However, according to the ICOM:

Museums have transformed their practices to remain closer to the communities they serve. Today they look for innovative ways to tackle contemporary social issues and conflict. By acting locally, museums can also advocate and mitigate global problems, striving to meet the challenges of today’s society proactively. As institutions at the heart of society, museums have the power to establish dialogue between cultures, to build bridges for a peaceful world and to define a sustainable future.

The museums of Oaxaca seem to have embraced this expanding and dynamic role — exemplified by this past winter’s exhibition at the Museo Textil de Oaxaca, Intervención Índigo, created by Laura Anderson Barbata, in collaboration with The Brooklyn Jumbies, Chris Walker, and Jarana Beat.

Performance and textiles meld the Zancudos (stilt walkers) of Zaachila, Oaxaca with the Afromexicano devil dance of Guerrero, the color indigo (a natural dye important to indigenous cultures in both Mexico and Africa), batik and beading techniques of Africa, with political commentary about the realpolitik of the African diaspora in North America.

Indigo is one of the oldest natural plant based dyes, used all over the world and ritually embedded with symbolism and spirituality; power and nobility…. Barbata employs textiles hand woven and dyed in Burkina Faso,Guatemala and the United States. The color historically represents absolute truth, wisdom, justice, and responsibility.

So, get thee to a museum near you — you will, no doubt, be enriched, enlightened, and maybe even empowered.

Read Full Post »

Kites over the callejon

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Anais Nin quote, kites, Mercado Sánchez Pascuas, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, trees on May 13, 2019| Leave a Comment »

On the way Mercado Sanchez Pascuas to restock the larder, for the past several months, this colorful scene has greeted me at the entrance to Callejon Hidalgo.

“Throw your dreams into space like a kite, and you do not know what it will bring back, a new life, a new friend, a new love, a new country.” — Anais Nin

Read Full Post »

Bicycles R Us

Posted in Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged bicis, bicycles, bikes, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, San Juan Guelavia on May 10, 2019| 2 Comments »

Need a bike?

Need parts for your bike?

Need to have your bike repaired?

San Juan Guelavía has just the shop for you!

Read Full Post »

Love among the ruins

Posted in Creativity, Culture, tagged Efedefroy, graffiti, Judy Garland, Mexico, Oaxaca, Pedro Infante, photos, popular travel destinations, stencil art, street art, wall art on May 7, 2019| 2 Comments »

Dorothy and Pedro spotted on Calle Murguia, Oaxaca.

Another mashup by Efedefroy.

Read Full Post »

Tis the season…

Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Travel & Tourism, tagged Cabellos de Ángel, Epiphyllum hookeri, flowers, garden, Mexico, Night Blooming Cereus, Oaxaca, photos, pistachio, popular travel destinations, Pseudobombax ellipticum, Shaving Brush Tree, Spring, trees on May 4, 2019| 4 Comments »

The thermometer hovers in the low 90’s (F), a very occasional late afternoon thunderstorm clears the air and cleans the sidewalks, and the high-pitched song of the cicadas (aka, cigarras and chicharras) add to Oaxaca’s soundtrack.

In addition, “shaving brushes” are seen springing from the branches of the Pseudobombax ellipticum trees — commonly known here as Cabellos de Ángel (angel hair).

In my garden, the night blooming cereus (Epiphyllum hookeri) have been greeting me early in the morning.

And, my pistachio tree, which the leaf cutter ants stripped of all its leaves eight months ago, has rebounded and produced its first nut. Such is spring in Oaxaca!