On this gray Valentine’s Day in the “City By the Bay,” I left my heart in Oaxaca…
¡Feliz Día del Amor y la Amistad! Happy Day of Love and Friendship!
Archive for the ‘Holidays’ Category
Hearts of Oaxaca
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged Day of Love and Friendship, Día del Amor y la Amistad, hearts, Mexico, Noel Gómez Lorenzo, Oaxaca, Paulina Solís Ocampo (choreographer), photos, popular travel destinations, street art, urban art, Valentine's Day on February 14, 2024| Leave a Comment »
Neighborhood of kings, cakes, kids…
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Neighborhoods, tagged Barrio de Jalatlaco, cake, El Día De Los Reyes Magos, Epiphany, los tres Reyes Magos, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, Rosca de Reyes, Three Kings cake, Three Kings Day, Wise Men on January 6, 2024| 3 Comments »
Speakers blared through the streets of Barrio de Jalatlaco yesterday morning announcing a celebration of Día de Reyes Magos in the church atrium at 5 PM. There were photo-ops galore as neighbors gathered; Melchor, Gaspar, and Baltazar posed; boxes of Roscas de Reyes (Three Kings cake) were delivered; politicians spoke; cake was eaten; and toys were distributed.
Tradition dictates the person(s) finding a baby Jesus figurine hidden in their slice of cake must host a tamalada (tamales party) on February 2nd, Día de la Candelaria (Candlemas). As always seems to happen, I was a “lucky” recipient of the plastic Jesus. Alas, I will be in California. Hmmm… maybe a shopping trip to Cardenas Markets is on the agenda.
Looking back on 2023
Posted in Agriculture, Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Food, Holidays, Museums, Sports, Textiles, Travel & Tourism, tagged construction site cross, food festival, José Garcia Antonío, Mexico, Mitla grecas, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, Teotitlán del Valle, views on December 31, 2023| 13 Comments »
Jean-Baptiste Racine’s quote, “Life is a comedy to those who think, a tragedy to those who feel” comes to mind when I reflect on 2023. Looking at the state of the world, I think many of us have spent the year vacillating between laughing and crying. However, on this New Year’s Eve, I prefer to remember the celebrations and places I experienced with family and friends, old and new. These are the times that nourish my soul and empower me to welcome 2024.
Many thanks to all the wonderful readers of my blog; I am constantly amazed and gratified you choose to stop by. On this New Year’s Eve, with a renewed appreciation for the small things that bring joy and give life meaning, I wish you all, ¡Feliz Año Nuevo!
Radishes and the artists who love them
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged Mexico, Night of the Radishes, Noche de Rábanos, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, radish carving, radishes on December 23, 2023| 7 Comments »
If it’s December 23, it must be the “only in Oaxaca” Noche de Rábanos. I love going in the morning to watch these skilled artists and their imaginations at work creating exquisite sculptures out of radishes — of all things!
And, there weren’t just radishes. Creations of totomoxle (dried corn husks) and flor inmortal (dried flowers) were also on display. Stay tuned…
A bounty of gratitude
Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged El Día de Acción de Gracias, guajolotes, Little Amal, markets, Mercado Hidalgo, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, produce, Thanksgiving, turkeys on November 23, 2023| 11 Comments »
I’ve always liked Thanksgiving — and not just because, after I turned 12, my aunt would pour a little red wine in a shot glass for my cousin and me. It’s one of the least commercial US holidays, if one discounts the whole “black Friday” phenomenon. And, it isn’t wrapped in flag waving. It’s a day set aside for a communal sharing of Mother Nature’s bounty, counting our blessings, and acknowledging and giving thanks for the assistance of the dark-skinned original human inhabitants of the Americas. What a novel idea!
I will be sharing this day with my apartment complex neighbors and some of our favorite friends. We have completed our major shopping expeditions in search of fresh cranberries, brussel sprouts, Vidalia onions, and other ingredients not commonly found in Oaxaca to contribute to our feast. (Thank you, Mercado Hidalgo!) Two small turkeys (2 because none of our ovens are big enough to fit a 20 lb turkey) have been purchased and we will all be contributing a side dish or two. It’s a busy day in this neighborhood!
Besides being thankful for my loving and supportive family, wonderful friends (both old and new), dedicated and encouraging blog readers (Yes, you!), I’m extremely grateful for having the privilege of having a home living among people whose ancestors first cultivated corn 10,000 years ago in this beautiful valley.
And, not only corn, archaeologists have discovered evidence of turkey domestication 1,500 years ago in the valley of Oaxaca’s Mitla Fortress. According to Gary Feinman, Field Museum curator of Mesoamerican anthropology, “It’s a bird very, very similar to what a lot of people are going to eat on Thursday.”
My cranberry/pear relish is in the refrigerator chilling. However, before making the dressing, I’m headed off to join with Little Amal in a calenda down the Macedonio Alcalá from Santo Domingo de Guzmán to Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción — bringing her message of “hope for displaced people everywhere, especially children who have been separated from their families.”
¡Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!
Floral artistry for the dead
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged cemetery, day of the dead bread, Día de Muertos, flor de muerto, flowers, Mexico, Oaxaca, panteón, photos, popular travel destinations, San Antonino Castillo Velasco, tombs on November 16, 2023| 6 Comments »
On November 3rd, K and I headed to San Antonino Castillo Velasco — a Zapotec community 24 miles south of Oaxaca city. It is a village known for growing flowers and for the floral embroidery decorating its traditional blouses and dresses.
Their difuntos (departed souls) understand their families are busy providing flowers for altars and tombs in the surrounding villages in the valley and wait until November 3-4 to return and spend time with their living loved ones. Because floral design plays such an important role in the traditions and commerce of the village, it is carried over to the elaborate decorating of the tombs in the panteón (cemetery).
One of the flowers grown is the “flor inmortal” (immortal flower), so named because, even when dried, it retains its brilliant colors. Artisans in the village use these flowers to create intricately designed figures on display December 23 in the city of Oaxaca during Noche de Rábanos and to decorate the graves of loved ones during Día de Muertos.
In the cemetery villagers mix the area’s very fine dirt with water, cover the graves with this damp mud, and use a trowel to smooth it. Once dry, they outline designs and religious imagery into this mud canvas and use flowers (fresh and dried) to paint the scene. Entire families are involved — male and female, young and old. It is a labor of love and incredibly moving to behold.
Far from the madding muertos crowd
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged altars, Day of the Dead, Day of the Dead decor, Día de Muertos, Mexico, Oaxaca, offerings, ofrendas, photos, popular travel destinations, San Pablo Villa de Mitla, Teotitlán del Valle, Tlacolula de Matamoros on November 7, 2023| 5 Comments »
There is a duality surrounding the celebration of Día de Muertos (Days of the Dead) in Oaxaca. While most every home and many public buildings and businesses construct altars with ofrendas brimming with flowers, candles, bread, chocolate, fruit, nuts, beverages, copal incense, and often photos of the departed, there is a distinct difference between the traditions of the more mestizo communities (Oaxaca city and the Etlas, for example) and those of the indigenous communities. The former often includes raucous comparsas (parades) called muerteadas with costumes, masks, painted faces, music, and “adult beverages.” According to the book, Day of the Dead: When Two Worlds Meet in Oaxaca, the muerteada allows the dead “to ‘occupy’ a living body, either a muerteada participant or an audience member, for a time, and therefore enjoy the entertainment directly rather than vicariously.”
However, in the indigenous villages these days are more solemn, filled with ritual, and are family oriented. I lean toward this more spiritual observance, so I escaped the craziness of the daily comparsas and drunken crowds in the city and went to stay in the Zapotec village of Teotitlán del Valle with my compadres (including comadre K) and to shop in Tlacolula for pan de muertos (bread), candles, and flowers to take to the ofrendas of families K and I have a relationship with in Teotitlán and San Pablo Villa de Mitla.
While the Día de Muertos observances may differ, the bottom line in both city and pueblo is to provide a welcome worthy of both the living as hosts and the dead as honored guests.
Exposition of altars
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.
¡Viva México!
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged Día de la Independencia, El Mes de la Patria, Mexican flag, Mexican Independence Day, Mexico, Oaxaca, patriotic decorations, photos, popular travel destinations on September 16, 2023| Leave a Comment »
Last night El Grito de Dolores, also known as El Grito de la Independencia (the Shout of Independence), rang from government buildings throughout the country — recreating Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla’s call to arms in 1810 announcing the start of the ten-year long war for independence from Spain. In my neighborhood, green, white and red decorations can be seen around every corner and flying from rooftops.
Today, crowds will line sidewalks from the Palacio de Gobierno to Parque El Llano to cheer on their favorite contingents as a patriotic parade takes to the streets of Oaxaca. Mexican pride on display. ¡Viva México!
Everything is coming up green, white, & red
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Food, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged Barriio de Jalatlaco, Chiles en Nogada, Cristina Potters, El Mes de la Patria, Mexican flag, Mexican Independence, Mexico, Mexico Cooks! blog, Oaxaca, patriotic decorations, photos, popular travel destinations on September 4, 2023| 4 Comments »
Here in Mexico, ’tis the season for displaying the green, white, and red colors of the Mexican flag. The entire month of September, Mes de la Patria (the month of the homeland), Mexico celebrates her successful war of independence from Spain — a war which began on September 16, 1810 and finally ended on September 27, 1821. Late at night on September 15, throughout Mexico bells will sound as the Grito de Dolores will echo from government balconies — mayors, governors, and the president recreating Father Hidalgo’s call to arms for independence.
In the meantime, beginning at the end of August, everything is coming up green, white, and red…
There will also be a patriotic parade through the main streets of Oaxaca on September 16. However, for the foodies among us, the best part is the fleeting presence of Chiles en Nogada on restaurant menus. As Cristina Potters of the Mexico Cooks! blog explains, this is the season when its iconic ingredients are harvested and we are presented with the green of a poblano chile stuffed with a picadillo of seasonal ingredients (not to mention, green of the parsley garnish), covered with a white walnut sauce, and topped with bright red pomegranate seeds.
PS: Cristina also provides a recipe in the link above. ¡Buen provecho!
Happy Father’s Day 2023
Posted in Celebrations, Children, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged Día del Padre, Father's Day, fathers and children, Mexico, Oaxaca, parades, photos, popular travel destinations on June 18, 2023| 5 Comments »
To all the fathers and father figures, I wish you ¡Feliz Día del Padre!
May you find joy in your role and continue to share your wisdom, traditions, and love.
Honoring the mothers
Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged Día de la Madre, Mexico, Mother's Day, murals, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, urban art, wall art on May 9, 2023| 7 Comments »
May 10 is Día de la Madre in Mexico and to honor the mothers, grandmothers, mother figures, and the daughters, whose future is in their hands, some recent murals seen in the city and countryside.
The celebration of Mother’s Day migrated south from the USA in the early 20th century and was embraced and promoted by the Catholic Church AND the anticlerical Revolutionaries. Their reasons being:
around the 1850s the Liberals… were nervous about women’s growing participation in the public sphere. Establishing motherhood as venerable and the home as sanctified… would give women a sphere of their own where they could be boss. Also, it would keep them off the streets and out of the workplace where they had begun to compete with men for jobs. Under their watch, everyday motherhood became an exalted madre-hood…. The twentieth-century Revolutionaries who succeeded them took the idea and ran with it, adding in 1922 a ritual, Mother’s Day. [Madre: Perilous Journeys with a Spanish Noun by Liza Bakewell, p. 84]
As for keeping them out of the workforce, according to a report citing the 2010 census, 33.3% of women work and this doesn’t even include those working in family operated enterprises. However distasteful the reasons behind the establishment of Mother’s Day in Mexico, it does nothing to diminish the need to honor these beautiful, hardworking, formidable, and loving women.
And to the girls and young women, may you be empowered by the strength and love of the maternal figures in your life to reach for the stars, live without fear, and be whatever you choose to be.
Honoring and including the children
Posted in Celebrations, Children, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged celebrations, Children's Day, Día del Nino, festivals, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations on April 30, 2023| 2 Comments »
The United Nations declared November 20 as World Children’s Day. However, that is Día de la Revolución in Mexico, thus in 1924, President Álvaro Obregó and Minister of Public Education José Vasconcelos designated April 30 as Día del Niño — the day Mexico celebrates and honors her children. Schools organize parties with games and treats, communities organize special activities, and parents may give their hijas and hijos gifts. However, one of the features of life in Oaxaca that I most appreciate is the way children are included all year round in celebrations.
“… the objective of this [Día del Niño] celebration is to dedicate a moment to understanding the child population, promoting their social inclusion and carrying out activities to promote their well-being and the rights to which they have access as human beings.” (Google translation from this article)
Jalatlaco prepares…
Posted in Celebrations, Churches, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged Alfombristas Mexicanos, cross, Easter decorations, Lent, Mexico, Oaxaca, olive trees, papel picado, photos, popular travel destinations, purple, sotol flower art, street art, tapetes de arena, Templo San Matías Jalatlaco, urban art on April 6, 2023| 11 Comments »
Purple papel picado (actually, plastic) began appearing above streets a month ago. And, in the past few days, the atrium of Templo San Matías Jalatlaco has been decorated with olive trees, sheaves of wheat, and crosses embellished with flowers woven from the base of Sotol leaves.
Yesterday, Calle de Miguel Hidalgo in front of the church was closed to traffic and the Alfombristas Mexicanos colective from Huamantla, Tlaxcala began creating a beautiful tapete (rug) made of colored stones along the length the block.
Purple decorations can also be seen festooning the fronts of homes and businesses in the neighborhood.
You might ask, why all the purple? According to the Ecclesiastical Sewing website, purple symbolizes “the royalty of Christ, His passion and death for our sins, and the coming of spring.” For more of an explanation, click on the link to their website.
Palms for Palm Sunday
Posted in Celebrations, Churches, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged Domingo de Ramos, Lent, Mexico, Mixteca palm weavers, Oaxaca, palm fronds, Palm Sunday, photos, popular travel destinations, woven palm fronds on April 1, 2023| 3 Comments »
Despite the construction on the Alameda across from the Cathedral, the palm weavers from the Mixteca region of Oaxaca are back to sell intricately woven palm fronds to be blessed and carried on Palm Sunday.
And, like most artisan traditions, it’s a family affair.
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