I don’t have words to express “being” last night in the Panteón of Santa María Atzompa…
Feeling so incredibly privileged.
Archive for the ‘Celebrations’ Category
Magical and mystical…
Posted in Celebrations, Holidays, tagged cemetery, Day of the Dead, Días de Muerto, Mexico, Oaxaca, panteón, photographs, photos, Santa María Atzompa on November 1, 2011| 2 Comments »
Bread of the dead
Posted in Celebrations, Food, Holidays, Religion, tagged Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, Días de Muerto, dead bread, Mexico, Mitla, Oaxaca, ofrenda, pan de muerto on November 1, 2011| 2 Comments »
Pan de muerto is the traditional Days of the Dead sweet yeast bread. It is decorated and placed on ofrendas (altars), along with candles, flowers, fruit, pictures, mementos, other foodstuffs, and beverages, as offerings to the departed.
The intricately decorated pan de muerto are from the Tlacolula Valley, and reference the geometric designs and mosaic fretwork found in the archeological sites in and around Mitla, a photo of which I’m using as browser background on this blog.
Rugs of sand…
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Holidays, Parks & Plazas, tagged Day of the Dead, Días de Muerto, Mexico, Oaxaca, Plaza de la Danza, sand paintings, tapetes de arena on October 31, 2011| 3 Comments »
The tapetes de arena are finished and cover the stone flooring of the Plaza de la Danza. Always difficult to photograph, the following are an experiment in cropping.
Centro de Educación Artística Miguel Cabrera
Casa de Cultura de Tlacolula de Matamoros
Escuela de Bellas Artes de la Universidad Autónoma Benito Juárez de Oaxaca
Several other organizations participated and among the unsigned are tapetes de arena from Casa de las Artesanías de Oaxaca, Sociedad Civil de Maestros Oaxaqueños del Arte Popular, and Grupo Colectivo Camaleón.
Walk with us…
And for those in el norte…
A happy and safe Halloween!
Painting the sand
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Exhibitions, Holidays, Parks & Plazas, tagged Day of the Dead, Días de Muerto, Mexico, Oaxaca, Plaza de la Danza, sand paintings, tapetes de arena on October 29, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Work on the Días de Muerto tapetes de arena (sand paintings) began this morning…
By the way, this year they are in the Plaza de la Danza and, as I write, the music of the Orchestra Infantil Libertad (a children’s orchestra) is serenading the completed tapetes de arena, the audience gathered at the Plaza de la Danza, and yours truly, sitting comfortably at her desk.
Los Días de Muertos are coming…
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Holidays, Religion, Restaurants, tagged Day of the Dead, Día de los Muertos, Días de Muertos, decorations, La Olla, Mexico, Oaxaca, restaurants, skeletons on October 25, 2011| 1 Comment »
Decorations have begun going up around town and, at this time of year, La Olla offers the complete dining experience…
A warm welcome from the hostess.
Waiters standing ready to take your order.
And, una mariposa hanging out, ready to wish you “¡buen provecho!”
Señor del Rayo
Posted in Celebrations, Churches, tagged Catedral de Oaxaca, flowers, lilies, Mexico, Oaxaca, Señor del Rayo on October 23, 2011| 2 Comments »
6 AM this morning, I awoke to fireworks and riotously clanging church bells coming from the cathedral, calling my attention to the October 23rd annual fiesta of Señor del Rayo. Like Guelaguetza, Noche de Rabanós (Night of the Radishes), and Día de la Samaritana (Good Samaritan Day), it is an “only in Oaxaca” celebration.
This image of Christ on the Cross was brought to Oaxaca during the 16th century. It was placed in the temple of San Juan de Dios, a church which had adobe walls and a straw (or possibly wood) roof. Legend has it that lightning struck the church and everything was destroyed, save for this statue. Un milagro!
The statue became known as Señor del Rayo (Lord of Lightning), eventually was moved to his own chapel in the newly built cathedral, and has been much venerated ever since. However, on October 21, in anticipation of his special day, the statue is moved to the main altar of the cathedral, the cathedral is filled with lilies (the scent “breathtaking”), and the faithful flock to pray before Señor del Rayo.
Flowers are daily sprayed with water, to keep them fresh… BUT, as the signs say, please do not uproot and carry them away.
A pause in the action…
Posted in Celebrations, tagged Danza de la Pluma, Fiesta de la Virgen del Rosario, Mexico, Oaxaca, Teotitlán del Valle on October 4, 2011| 6 Comments »
Sunday, Oaxaca blogger buddy Chris (Oaxaca-the-year-after) and I returned to Teotitlán del Valle for the Danza de la Pluma. Another day awash in sights and sounds. As I discussed in July’s post, Danza de la Pluma, it is a multi-layered ritual reenactment of the Conquest. And, like the Passion Play in Oberammergau, Germany, the Danza de la Pluma lasts 7-8 hours!
Obviously, the performers occasionally need to take a break…
Soldaditos, need nourishment after all that marching around…
Banners need to chill on a chair…
Cortes needs to take a breather from all that conquering…
Danzantes need some male bonding time…
Their feathered headdresses need time off for good behavior…
Malinche and Doña Marina need to share some giggles…
And, even tubas need a nap…
There are no small parts…
Posted in Celebrations, tagged convite, Fiesta de la Virgen del Rosario, Mexico, Oaxaca, Teotitlán del Valle on October 3, 2011| 6 Comments »
To borrow from Russian actor and director, Konstantin Stanislavsky, “there are no small parts, only [very] small actors.” And the children of Teotitlán del Valle begin learning their lines at a very young age.
They were in full view Friday night as the convite (parade) of unmarried young women and girls opened the multi-day Fiesta de la Virgen del Rosario.
Young boys, carrying marmotas led off the parade, that began at the pueblo’s Sangre de Cristo church.
They were followed by traditional indigenous drums and a band.
Then the stars of the evening took center stage. From the oldest to the youngest, all were wearing the traditional red woolen skirt (woven in the village, of course!) and blouses painstakingly and lovingly hand embroidered.
Arms above head, balancing their canastas, they wound their way through the slick (it was drizzling) cobblestone streets of the village for an hour, before eventually returning to the church.
I don’t know how they did it; even the dogs were in awe!
Sunday’s events to follow…
Hanging out in Teotitlán
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, parade, Teotitlán del Valle, wall art on October 2, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Hanging out In Teotitlán del Valle…
On a rainy day…
Waiting for a parade to pass me by…
Ahhh, the exuberance of youth!
Posted in Celebrations, Education, tagged COBAO, Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Oaxaca, education, Mexico, Oaxaca, parade, students on September 23, 2011| Leave a Comment »
What a difference 5 days make…
Early Wednesday evening, the unmistakable sounds of a desfile replaced the usual background noise of commute traffic. Bands (yes, more than one), cheers, and cohetes (all bang, no bling fireworks) got louder and louder. I had to come down off the rooftop to see what was happening.
The energy, enthusiasm, creativity, and laughter of thousands of young people filled the street, brightened, what had been a gray day, and provided a stark contrast to the serious military pomp of the Independence Day parade only 5 days before.
The occasion was the 30th anniversary of the Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Oaxaca (COBAO), an academically rigorous and successful high school system in the state. In thirty years, this public school has grown from a single campus with 400 students to 64 campuses educating 45,000 students.
Students, faculty, alumni, and dignitaries gathered in the Plaza de la Danza for presentations and speeches. According to Noticias, it was noted that the event coincided with the approval of two amendments to the Mexican constitution making secondary education mandatory, beginning next year. Naturally, the event concluded with the requisite fireworks display, which I happily enjoyed from the terrace!
(ps) Alvin Starkman has written an article in English, Oaxaca Public School Education Targets Student Success: COBAO, about a young girl, from a small village and family of potters, who was recently accepted into COBAO.
201 years of independence
Posted in Celebrations, History, Holidays, tagged Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Oaxaca, parade on September 18, 2011| 6 Comments »
On the morning of September 16, the sidewalks of Trujano, leading to Oaxaca’s Zócalo, were lined with people. Traffic was blocked on Trujano and many of the side streets, as contingents of soldiers, state police, municipal police, transit police, fire fighters (bomberos), paramedics, schools, and charros gathered to participate in the desfile cívico militar (civic and military parade) marking 201 years of independence from Spain.
Like most patriotic parades throughout the world, the military component dominated the civic. And here, even the school contingents march in military fashion. The use of Mexico’s military is controversial, not to mention the roles played by the state and municipal police in Oaxaca. Onlookers clapped for various contingents, but I didn’t catch the subtleties of support, other than the big hand the bomberos received.
This was the other side of the green, white, and red fervor, and I’ve spent a lot of time contemplating what I thought of the parade and what I wanted to say. However, as a guest in this country, I’m going to let the photographs speak and readers may interpret them as they wish.
Mas verde, blanco y rojo
Posted in Celebrations, Holidays, tagged El Grito, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Oaxaca on September 17, 2011| 1 Comment »
More color from around town this past week…
Paz on independence movement
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, History, Holidays, People, Politics, tagged El Grito, Grito de Dolores, José Clemente Orozco, Labyrinth of Solitude, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Oaxaca, Octavio Paz on September 15, 2011| 2 Comments »
Octavio Paz, writing about the Mexican independence movement in The Labyrinth of Solitude:
The eighteenth century prepared the way for the Independence movement. In fact, the science and philosophy of the epoch… were necessary intellectual antecedents of the Grito de Dolores. [p. 118]
…the insurgents vacillated between Independence (Morelos) and modern forms of autonomy (Hidalgo). The war began as a protest against the abuses of the metropolis and the Spanish bureaucracy, but it was also, and primarily, a protest against the great native landholders. It was not a rebellion of the local aristocracy against the metropolis but of the people against the former. Therefore the revolutionaries gave greater importance to certain social reforms than to Independence itself: Hidalgo proclaimed the abolition of slavery and Morelos broke up the great estates.
Banner on Oaxaca's Municipal Building; reproduction of mural by José Clemente Orozco of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla.
The Revolution of Independence was a class war, and its nature cannot be understood correctly unless we recognize the fact that unlike what happened in South America, it was an agrarian revolt in gestation. This is why the army (with its criollos like Iturbide), the Church and the great landowners supported the Spanish crown… [p. 123]
Paz, Octavio. The labyrinth of solitude, the other Mexico; Return of the labyrinth of solitude; Mexico and the United States; The philanthropic ogre. New York: Grove Press, 1985
Ready for El Grito
Posted in Celebrations, Holidays, tagged Chiles en Nogada, El Grito, Government Palace, Grito de Dolores, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, military, Oaxaca, parade, security checkpoints on September 15, 2011| 4 Comments »
Let the celebrations begin! This morning, enroute to the library, I ran into a pre-school parade coming down the Alcalá…
These two were bringing up the rear because they kept pausing for photos, and I couldn’t resist, either!
Going to the zócalo this afternoon more resembled trying to get to an airport gate, than strolling into a town square. Security checkpoints, with metal detectors, have been set up at 10 intersections. According to an article in this morning’s Noticias, security cameras are also in use.
All is in readiness for tonight’s festivities… another sound and light show projected on the cathedral, fireworks, and the Grito de Dolores from the balcony of the Government Palace.
However, tonight I’ll be eating the traditional Chiles en Nogada, listening for the bells at 11PM, and then watching the fireworks from my ringside seat on the rooftop. ¡Viva Mexico!
(ps) Portrait on the left is of Vicente Guerrero.
Fuegos Artificiales, Oaxaca Style
Posted in Celebrations, tagged fireworks, fuegos artificiales, Guelaguetza, Light and Sound show, Mexico, Oaxaca, Sinfonía de Luz y Sonido, video on September 8, 2011| Leave a Comment »
As I mentioned a few days ago, El Grito and Mexican Independence Day are coming and, besides flags and green, white and red decorations, it also means parades and fuegos artificiales (fireworks). The latter will, no doubt be grand and, if last year is any indication, the rooftop with have a ringside view.
In anticipation, I thought I’d share a video from the rooftop of the nightly fireworks during July’s Sinfonía de Luz y Sonido throughout this year’s Guelaguetza.
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