Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged altars, bread of the dead, cempasúchil, Day of the Dead, Día de Muertos, flowers, marigolds, Mexico, Oaxaca, offerings, ofrendas, pan de muerto, photos, popular travel destinations on October 29, 2023| 15 Comments »
Oaxaca is alive with preparations for Día de Muertos and the Zócalo is filled with altars from her indigenous and Afromexican communities.
The scent of cempasúchil (marigolds) fills the air and beckons the difuntos (souls of the departed) to eat, drink, and be merry with their living loved ones.
Posted in Books, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Amate Books, Barrio de Jalatlaco, bookstores, Catrinas, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations on October 23, 2023| 17 Comments »
Attention residents and visitors: After a much lamented three year absence, Amate Books has once again opened its doors to book lovers — this time at Aldama 318, in the hip and happening Barrio de Jalatlaco. Yes, my neighborhood, so I’m especially happy.
The new store is bright and welcoming with well stocked shelves of (mostly) English language fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books. In addition, as in the past, there is a carefully curated selection of folk art, small gift items, and (drum roll, please) postcards.
Even La Catrina, in her sartorial splendor, has returned to welcome patrons, old and new.
Today, stepping through the door, being greeted by the smiling face of longtime employee Carmen, and surrounded by knowledge and imagination, I felt a sense of peace and tranquility from the chaos of today’s world. If or when you are in town, make sure to stop by and support this local treasure. The store is open daily. (I’ll post the hours when I know for sure.) In the meantime, a big thank you to Henry Wangeman for reopening Amate Books!
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Food, food festival, Travel & Tourism, tagged culinary traditions, Festival del Mole de Caderas, food festival, Huaxmole de Caderas, Mexico, Mixtec regional dish, Mole de Caderas, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, regional cuisine, traditional cuisine, video on October 17, 2023| 4 Comments »
This past weekend, the city held a three-day celebration of Mole de Caderas — a traditional seasonal Mixtec dish from Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca and nearby Tehuacán, Puebla. It is only served during the fall, when the goats are made to make the ultimate sacrifice — and it is absolutely delicious!
This special dish is made from the hip (caderas) and the spine of goats that have been raised for one and a half years. Starting in July they are fattened on the forage unique to the hills of the Mixteca, large amounts of salt, and a little water — this is what provides the meat with fat, softness, and juiciness and gives the broth its distinctive flavor. In early fall, when the shepherds have brought the goats back to the farms, there is a ritual filled celebration that includes offerings, incense, music, and dancing, including a dance with the goats — all in honor of the goats who were about to give their lives to feed the population.
At last Friday’s opening of the festival, there were dignitaries galore (including the governor of Oaxaca), multiple speeches, and a moving procession with two goats to the tune of Canción Mixteca, a song which always brings tears to my eyes. It was followed by a dance with the goats and a stylized reenactment of the ritual killing of the goats (no actual blood was spilled).
We were then funneled through a palapa decorated tunnel to the tented dining area, where traditional cooks from Huajuapan de León and Oaxaca city waited proudly behind booths displaying ollas (clay pots) filled with steaming Mole de Caderas and Huaxmole de Caderas. Hmmmm… I wondered what the difference was between Huaxmole de Caderas and Mole de Caderas.
Once home, a little research ensued (I am a librarian, after all) and I found that both dishes share common preparation and major ingredients. However, Huaxmole de Caderas is distinguished with the addition of toasted seeds from the huaje (also spelled guaje) tree — the tree that gave Oaxaca its name. Whereas, Mole de Caderas is prepared with green beans. However, if huajes are added to the latter, it is considered Huaxmole de Caderas. The herb, chepiche (aka, pepicha) is also used and, at the festival, both chepiche and huaje were used to garnish the plates.
By the way, there were also fresh tortillas, hot off the comal, and booths offering goat tacos, sweets, aguas, and mezcal from the Mixtec region.
References:
El mole de caderas, un plato insignia de la Mixteca
¡Ojo aquí! Estas son las diferencias entre el Mole de Caderas y el Huaxmole
Posted in Buildings, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, street scenes, walking quotes on October 8, 2023| 8 Comments »
Oaxaca is a walking city and, even when running mundane errands, there is always something to see, something to make me smile, and something to make me think.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” — Lao Tzu
“If you are in a bad mood go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood go for another walk.” — Hippocrates
“Walking is the rhythm of life.” — Gary Snyder
“An early morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” — Henry David Thoreau
“Walking takes longer…than any other known form of locomotion except crawling. Thus it stretches time and prolongs life. Life is already too short to waste on speed.” — Edward Abbey
Mexican Peso Converter
View From Casita Colibrí 