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Archive for the ‘Culture’ Category

Tonight, from the valley where corn was first cultivated, I’ll be watching my San Francisco Giants play game one of Major League Baseball’s, 2014 World Series.

I was amazed to discover that one of San Francisco’s ace relief pitchers, Yusmeiro Petit, the Giants’ do-everything man, played for the Oaxaca Guerreros in 2011!!!   The Guerreros, a Triple-A team in the Mexican League play at Estadio Eduardo Vasconcelos, within walking distance (albeit, a long walk) from my apartment.  I attended several of the Guerreros’ games in 2011 and, who knows, maybe I saw him.

When I was in Mexico, I always said to myself, “This is going to be my goal, to go back to the United States and be successful,” said Petit, through a translator. “I always knew that this could happen. I didn’t know how it was going to happen, but I knew this could happen.”  (from article, Giants’ do-everything man Petit ready for any task)

 (AP Photo/Don Boomer, File)

(AP Photo/Don Boomer, File)

And, from another article:

Petit thinks his experience with the Oaxaca Warriors was crucial in his career surge.   In Mexico he learned to mix his pitches and mastered the curve.  “I was in a slump, which happens to anyone,” he said. “But in Mexico I learned that I had to work harder to keep going and to reach what I was looking for, which was to come back (to the majors) and stay here.”

¡Felicidades Yusmeiro Petit y vamos Gigantes!

 

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What can I say?  I guess I have become a true Oaxaqueña — at least when it comes to temperatures below 70ºF.  Doors and windows have been closed all day, I’m wearing wool socks and a sweater, and space heater is on.  (Note to self:  Heater and toaster-oven cannot be turned on at the same time.)  Oaxaca is being visited by Tropical Depression Twenty-e (now, upgraded to Tropical Storm Trudy), the temperatures haven’t risen above 64ºF, and it’s been drizzling ALL day!!!  Trying to channel butterflies, blossoms, and sun flowers… even if they are blue!

Mural on the wall across from the mercado Sanchez Pascuas on Tinoco y Palacios.

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Look what I came across today at Porfirio Diaz #102…

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Konexion Musical, a new record store.  And, I mean record — they feature vinyl!!!  There’s an actual turntable playing the vinyl.

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They also have CDs and even some cassette tapes.  Yes, Mill Valley peeps, that’s Huey and the boys in the photo below.

P1020876 copyAnd, like all good record stores, they have posters…P1020887 copy… and music magazines.  The Red Not Chili Peppers and Thelonious Monk, what’s not to like?

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It may not be Mill Valley’s late and very lamented, Village Music, but it’s a start AND it’s in Oaxaca!

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Many of you may remember Juan Martinez, mi amigo and carpenter extraordinaire of Adios mosquitos and A terrace transformed fame.  Well, he is a man of many talents — and one of them is building kaleidoscopes.  Given that his “day job” is working in the office of Gorilla Glass, he has come into contact with many of the hip, young, and talented artists currently creating in Oaxaca.  Thus, a natural collaboration ensued.   Juan + Gorilla Glass + Lapiztola stencil = an exhibition of the Lapiztola Collective’s artistry at Gorilla Gallery.

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Looking into the eye of the kaleidoscope.

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What do you see?

There is the second kaleidoscope — this one a hand-crank.  Come by Gorilla Gallery on one of the next couple of Thursdays from 2 PM to 8 PM, to give it a try.

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And, be forewarned, they are working on a special Día de los Muertos kaleidoscopic project.  Prepare to be amazed!

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Today, in Santa Catarina Juquila, about 200 km southwest of the city of Oaxaca, la Virgen de Juquila, is receiving a papal coronation.  Roads leading to this remote mountain village have been repaired and repaved and extra emergency services have been in place since Monday, all in anticipation of the thousands of pilgrims who were expected to descend on Juquila.

However, for those who chose to stay closer to the city, celebrations in honor of the Virgen del Rosario (Virgin of the Rosary) have been occurring for the past week throughout the valley of Oaxaca.

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Thus, blogger buddy Chris and I headed to Tlacolula de Matamoros on Friday for their annual procession.

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Beginning on the street in front of the panteón, young women wearing traditional red wool skirts and beautifully crocheted white cotton blouses…

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…danced their way through the streets balancing towering canastas (baskets) on their heads — the letters spelling out “Virgen del Rosario.”

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The arm and neck strength it takes to carry the canastas is phenomenal and can only come from years of practice.  As you can see, they begin early…

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Rockets announced the procession’s arrival.

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Bandas provided the music.

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And, “boys to men” carrying marmotas two-stepped and twirled their way along the route.

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Years of practice is required to do this, too!

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Participants stop at altars throughout the village, where prayers are recited, rest breaks are taken, and tamales, sweets, and beverages (yes, including mezcal) are consumed.

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This goes on until 1:00 or 2:00 AM.  We arrived at 4:00 PM, stayed for a couple of hours, carried nothing heavier than our cameras and daypacks, and were ready to call it a day!

However, this is a bittersweet post.  While we were reveling in the festivities, a family in Tlacolula de Matamoros was in agony.  It was reported last night that 18-year old, Cristian Tomás Colón Garnica, from Tlacolula de Matamoros, is one of the 43 students at Normal Rural ‘Raúl Isidro Burgos’ in Ayotzinapa who went missing on September 26 in Iguala, Guerrero after police opened fire on the students, who were soliciting funds for an Oct. 2 demonstration protesting funding cuts to their state-financed school.

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After a visit to Centro Fotográfico Manuel Álvarez Bravo, I’m seeing the color of Oaxaca in black and white…

“To see in color is a delight for the eye but to see in black and white is a delight for the soul.” – Andri Cauldwell

 

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My morning caller flew the coop and so did I.  After being confined to quarters for the past several days due to the rain and gloom, I walked downtown.

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Also, I was curious as to the state of the Zócalo, in light of the teachers, ambulantes, and the annual reenactment of “el Grito de Independencia” by the Governor, from the balcony of the Government Palace, at 11 PM tonight.

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I found, except for a handful of tents and tarps, the Alameda and Zócalo were back to normal.

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Castillos were being constructed on either side of the Government Palace.

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And, like every year, the Mexican flag was flying high, green, white, and red lights and banners were strung, and images of the heroes of the Mexican War of Independence from Spain decorated the front of the Palacio de Gobierno

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Most of the teachers and ambulantes have departed and all is being readied for el Grito de Independencia 2014.  And, nobody seems to miss the State Police, who are staging a “work stoppage.”   Ahhh, Oaxaca…  Ya gotta love her!

El Grito de Independencia
¡Mexicanos!
¡Vivan los héroes que nos dieron la patria y libertad!
¡Viva Hidalgo!
¡Viva Morelos!
¡Viva Josefa Ortíz de Dominguez!
¡Viva Allende!
¡Viva Galeana y los Bravo!
¡Viva Aldama y Matamoros!
¡Viva la Independencia Nacional!
¡Viva México! ¡Viva México! ¡Viva México!

In English
Mexicans!
Long live the heroes that gave us the Fatherland (and liberty)!
Long live Hidalgo!
Long live Morelos!
Long live Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez!
Long live Allende!
Long live Galeana and the Bravos!
Long live Aldama and Matamoros!
Long live National Independence!
Long Live Mexico! Long Live Mexico! Long Live Mexico!

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During the aforementioned convites, you will find the boys of Teotitlán del Valle, Standing On the Corner watching all the girls go by.  Not much has changed since The Four Lads had a hit with that song!

From my friend Samuel Bautista Lazo, who grew up in Teotitlán del Valle, “It’s funny to see boys with their cameras taking pictures and videos of the girls they like, often they watch the procession at one corner once they have seen everything, they run (or bike) as fast as they can to the other good spot to see all the girls again.”  And, he knows from personal experience!

Like Sam, I wonder how many couples have gotten together???  Perhaps meeting at the fireworks a night later…

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Defining the terms…

According to Harrap’s Spanish and English Pocket Dictionary, convite means reception.  However, if I drag my weighty Larousse Standard Diccionario down from the shelf, convite translates to “invitation” or “banquet.”  And, if one turns to Google or Bing translation programs, a convite is a “treat.”

All pretty much agree, the English translation for cochinilla is cochineal.  As Wikipedia explains, “Cochineal is probably from French cochenille, Spanish cochinilla, Latin coccinus, meaning ‘scarlet-colored,’ and Latin coccum, meaning ‘berry (actually an insect) yielding scarlet dye.'”  It has been called, A Perfect Red and was much sought after by Europeans.  Home to said insect is the nopal cactus and guess who and where it was probably first cultivated?  In the valley of Oaxaca by her indigenous people, long before the Spanish set foot on the continent.

Which brings us to last Saturday (September 6) in Teotitlán del Valle, under the watchful eye of el Picacho, the sacred brother/sister mountain, for the convite that precedes the Virgen de la Natividad (Nativity of Mary) festival day, held annually on September 8…

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It is the custom in this Zapotec village for the unmarried women of the village to process through the streets two days before this (and a couple of other) important religious festivals, elegantly balancing handmade canastas (baskets), decorated with Catholic and Zapotec imagery, on their heads.  They wear brightly embroidered blusas (blouses) and, in this village known worldwide for its weaving, enredos, hand-woven red wool wrap skirts — the yarn dyed red with cochinilla.  They are accompanied by bands, men carrying enormous (and heavy!) marmotas (cloth globes), little boys carrying poles topped with miniature marmotas, sheep, and airplanes (the significance of the latter is a mystery to me), fearless pirotécnicas announcing the convite’s progress by shooting thunderous rockets into the air, and the dancers who will be performing the Danza de la Pluma in the church courtyard during the following two days’ of festivities.

Borrowing from the definitions above of convite, I would like to think of these processions as a lovely treat, an invitation to the impending fiestas/feast (banquet) days for the saints venerated by the village.  The beauty of the welcoming faces of the young, old, male, and female in the convite provide a warm reception to villagers, visitors, Catholic saints, and Zapotec ancestors, alike.

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September is El Mes de la Patria in Mexico (the month of the homeland) and green, white, and red decorations have gone up all over the city.  The governor is scheduled to recreate “El Grito” (the Cry of Dolores) from the balcony of the Government Palace at 11 PM on September 15.  The following day, there will be an hour-plus long patriotic parade through the streets of the city celebrating Mexico’s independence from Spain.

Neveria decorated with green, white, and red

Neverías in Jardín Socrates

The teachers’ planton (encampment) on the zócalo expanded again to adjacent streets yesterday, though it is supposed to end by September 9.  Oaxaca is holding her collective breath.

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Under a cloudy sky, the faithful and their mascotas (pets) gathered in the plaza in front of the Templo de Nuestra Señora de la Merced for the Bendición de los Animales (Blessing of the Animals).
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This annual event, held on August 31, celebrates the feast day of San Ramón de Nonato (aka, St. Raymond Nonnatus), patron saint of women in labor, persons falsely accused, and keeper of animals.  This last, though not often mentioned, seems to come from the story that he was raised on a farm and, according to this website, “chose for his occupation the care of the sheep, in order to gain more time for prayer and meditation.”  Today’s El Imparcial states that La Merced is the only church in the city with an image of the saint.
Figure of San Ramón Nonato
Here in Oaxaca, instead of sheep, San Ramón was surrounded by dogs of all sizes, shapes, and temperament.  By far, they outnumbered all other animal species put together — except humans.  Over the past few years, there has been a noticeable increase in pet (as opposed to roof and street) dogs in Oaxaca.  Perhaps a sign of a growing middle class?  And, many dressed for the occasion.  However this dalmatian must have also paid a visit to a makeup artist.  Lipstick on the collar (muzzle, forehead, and ear) of a new friend tells the tale (tail?).
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There were also the other usual pet suspects — cats and kittens, though most looked like they would like to be anywhere else but there, and canaries and cockatiels, the latter both in cages and perched on shoulders.  This guy seemed more interested in the pin-up girl lining his cage than getting blessed by a few drops of holy water from the temple’s priest, Víctor Hernández Antonio.
Parakeet in cageHowever, my vote for the most exotic pet of the day goes to the hurón, known in English as a ferret.  Oh those piercing eyes and those claws.  I’d hate to get on her wrong side!
Ferret with red bow on head
I wonder…  What do you think the abuelas and abuelos, who remembered the old days when it was donkeys, goats and farm animals who were led along Oaxaca’s dirt streets to be blessed, thought?

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Yesterday, as I was walking home, the eyes of these guys caught my eye.

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More eyes beckoned me across the large driveway/parking area, that separated the mural filled walls from the sidewalk.

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A sign for Okupa Visual Oaxaca was pointing the way, so I figured I must not be trespassing and might even be welcome.

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More eyes drew me toward an open door…

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I peered inside the Taller de Grafica Experimental de Oaxaca and was greeted with the warm smile of artist, Guillermo Pacheco López.  He showed me around the light airy gallery and studio and explained the programs they offer.  We then proceeded through an open doorway into a another multipurpose space.

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Besides more gallery and workshop space, it is home to Café Panartesano and where his delightful wife, Kate, along with an assistant, bake brownies, blondies, chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, and other yummy looking sweets.  In addition, they make homemade pizza and tortas.

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As you may have guessed from the above menu, Kate is from the USA — San Francisco to be geographically precise.  We had much in common and I stayed for almost half an hour chatting with her.  Naturally, I couldn’t resist buying a chicken with zucchini and red bell pepper torta on focaccia, which was muy sabrosa!

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If you are in town, I highly recommend stopping by Taller de Grafica Experimental de Oaxaca and Café Panartesana.  They are located at La Noria 305 (at the corner of Melchor Ocampo).

Nourishing body and soul — that’s Oaxaca!

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Today, south of the zócalo, the streets were well protected…

Don’t tread on the women of Oaxaca!

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Feliz cumpleaños to Cantinflas.  Today, the beloved Mexican actor, comedian, writer, and producer, born Fortino Mario Alfonso Moreno Reyes, would have turned 103.  I’ll be waiting in line to the movie, Cantinflas, based on his life, when it opens in Mexico on September 19, 2014.  For those in the USA, you get first crack, as it is scheduled to open on August 29, 2014.

Cantinflas on a wall in Teotitlán del Valle

Image of Cantinflas on a wall in Teotitlán del Valle — painted by the lovely and multi-talented, Luvia Lazo.

I would also like to say RIP, Robin Williams, another actor with the gift of combining humor and pathos.  How blessed we are to have shared this planet with both and to continue to have the opportunity to experience their creative genius.

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After five days of being confined to Casita Colibrí — eating, inhaling, and choking on concrete and brick-dust and enduring the throbbing sounds of drills, hammers, and chisels — due to demolition of the old and construction of a new kitchen counter (still not finished), market day in Tlacolula de Matamoros was just what the doctor ordered.   Blogger buddy Chris offered and off we went.

The enticing aroma of tacos and gorditas at our favorite street stall beckoned and we quickened our step, until we came to this unexpected and powerful mural…

The mural is the work of Tlacolulokos, a collective that originated in Tlacolula.  According to this article, these self-taught artists explore the subjects of violence, the transformation of traditions, tourism, poverty, and social decay by referencing southern Mexican folk elements.  They use a variety of media and techniques, ranging from graffiti, easel painting, graphics and object, to video and sound.

And, Tlacolula worked her magic…  We ate, soaked in her color, stopped to listen to a youth band from Santa María Guelac (with a girl tuba player, no less!) play “New York, New York” and “Can-can,” and shopped a little (for me, a 5-liter plastic “gas” canister for our next mezcal run and red bananas).  Tlacolula never dies and never gets old.

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