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Archive for the ‘People’ Category

We’ve only just begun

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Food, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 20, 2013| 10 Comments »

Yesterday, we began the marathon than is Guelaguetza in Oaxaca.  First on the day’s agenda was a morning trip to Reyes Etla.

The Señor de las Peñas church sits atop at hill and views of the lush green fields (gracias, rainy season) and the mountains were breathtaking.

Cactus, farmland, mountains

Impossibly adorable children danced and shared, in the spirit of Guelaguetza.

Boy and girl in traje throwing candy to audience

We were in the heartland of Oaxaca cheese country for the crowning of  Jimena Santiago Vasquez, as queen of the third Expo Feria de Queso y Quesillo.

Girl with crown and red sash

Did I say cheese?  Oh, yes — stalls and stalls of yummy cheese.  The fair runs through Monday and we will be back!

Woman selling cheese

Next on our itinerary was a return to the city for a little (?) gluttony — the Festival de los 7 Moles opening banquet on the grounds of the Jardín Etnobotánico de Oaxaca.  Botanas Oaxaqueña (cheese, chicharrón, chiles rellenos), followed by Sopa de Fandango, 15 (not 7) Moles, 4 Tipos de Arroz, followed by a platter of pastries and scoops of Leche Quemada and Tuna nieves (sorbets).  Oh, and did I mention, cervesas and mezcal?

Lines of serving platters and people

We even got a little culture, as author, Laura Esquivel (Like Water for Chocolate) spoke, though it was a little hard to hear her, with all the eating, drinking, and related conversations!

Profile of Laura Esquivel

Moving rather slowly, we pushed back from the table and headed down to the Alameda (oh, it felt good to walk!) to take in the last stage of the Diosa Centéotl competition — the chosen “Goddess” presides over Guelaguetza.  However, the area surrounding the tented stage was a mass of people by the time we arrived and the best I could do was see the backs of the magnificent traje.  (See Chris’s blog for close-ups from the stage one competition.)  And, the winner is…  Dulce Yanet Grijalba Martínez, from the Zapotec community of San Pablo Villa de Mitla.

Backs of women sitting in traditional dress

After a brief siesta, I rendezvoused with some young friends and we walked over to the Plaza de la Danza for a free performance by Alejandra Robles, one of my favorite Oaxaqueña singers.  (For video from the last time I saw her, click HERE.)

Alejandra Robles

The night was still young for my young friends and they were off to get a nieve at Jardín Socrates.  I was off to bed, because I’d already had my day’s allowance of nieve AND we’ve only just begun!

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Awesome abuelas

Posted in Education, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 27, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I adored my maternal grandmother.  She was short and plump with a crown of white hair framing a broad round face.  Her life wasn’t easy and years of hard work lined her face, but it was a face dominated by wise and remarkably kind eyes.  I see the same strength and wisdom and loving presence in the abuelas of Oaxaca.  Across years and miles, they bring a little of my grandma back and it makes me smile.

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And, speaking of Oaxaca’s awesome abuelas…

Mexican grandmother graduates from primary school at age 100

By Luc Cohen

MEXICO CITY | Wed Jun 26, 2013 11:30pm IST

(Reuters) – You’re never too old to learn: Mexican grandmother Manuela Hernandez has finally graduated from primary school – at the age of 100.

Born in the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca in June 1913, the year before World War One began, she left primary school after just a year to help her poor family with household chores.

Hernandez only resumed her studies in October at age 99 at the recommendation of a grandchild, and she was handed her diploma at a celebration on Saturday.

“I liked school very much, but I could not continue studying,” she told Uno TV. “By the next year I could already wash and iron.”

Hernandez will continue her studies in secondary school.

More than half of Oaxaca state residents older than 15 have not completed primary education, the second-highest rate in the country behind neighboring Chiapas, a state education official said. (Reporting by Luc Cohen; Editing by Simon Gardner and Cynthia Osterman)

You might want to also take a look at this brief video of Manuela Hernandez explaining why she had to leave school as a child.

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Merced to Mitla – sustainable gardening

Posted in Agriculture, Environment, Food, Gardens, People, Science & Nature, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 13, 2013| 1 Comment »

A recent article from California’s Merced Sun-Star addresses an issue many in Oaxaca’s ex-pat community have been discussing.

Exchange student learns sustainable gardening

By RAMONA GIWARGIS – rgiwargis@mercedsunstar.com

MERCED — In the small town of Mitla Oaxaca in Mexico, a little girl drew inspiration from her grandmother’s colorful garden more than 10 years ago.

Though the family wasn’t very wealthy, the dinner table was always filled with fresh and nutritious foods.

“When I was young, my grandma always had a garden,” said Xochitl Juarez, now 26. “She was really poor, but she always had fresh fruits and vegetables.”

(photo by BEA AHBECK - bahbeck@mercedsunstar.com) Xochitl Juarez of Mexico planted a 10,000-square-foot garden in the shape of a circle because 'everything in life is a cycle,' she said.

(photo by BEA AHBECK – bahbeck@mercedsunstar.com)  Xochitl Juarez of Mexico planted a 10,000-square-foot garden in the shape of a circle because ‘everything in life is a cycle,’ she said.

After falling in love with agriculture at a young age, Juarez sought to help her community learn new farming techniques to become more sustainable.

“A lot of people that come here are from small towns and they have to grow their own food,” she said. “If they have the opportunity to be sustainable, we’ll have a better life with more healthy foods and better nutrition.”

Juarez left her hometown of about 10,000 people and traveled to the United States for the first time as part of the Multinational Exchange for Sustainable Agriculture program.

[Click HERE for full article]

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Sanez, street rolling man

Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 10, 2013| 4 Comments »

One can see his art all over the city.  I’d first been wowed by the scale, symbolism, and style of his work early last year, when walking up Matamoros to meet a friend who was staying at Hotel Azucenas.  At Calle Prof. M. Aranda, I was stopped dead in my tracks — the entire front of the building next to the hotel had been transformed. Using a roller, not brush or spray can, the artist known as Sanez turned it into a work of art.

In September 2012, Sanez again worked his magic on this tired old building — this time creating “El Canto del Agua” (The Song of Water).  According to the article, Mesoamerican Peoples Express their Solidarity by Jonathan Treat, using “symbols of the Aztec god of rain, fertility and water—Tláloc, and corn, forests, animals, campesinos and campesinos and traditional Oaxaca fiestas… Sánez honors indigenous peoples struggling to defend their territories:  [The mural is] ‘Dedicated to the peoples who organize to defend their commons and the common good—Mexico and Canada.’”

Another close encounter with the work of Sanez occurred last month when I ventured across Republica into Barrio de Jalatlaco.  Besides its un-city-like tranquility and quaint tree-lined, but treacherous, cobblestone streets, this bucolic neighborhood always has great street art.  However, I didn’t expect to find the restaurant, Fuego y Sazón, playing host to the unmistakeable style of Sanez.  Wow!

And then…  Just a few days before this current trip to California, I was at Gorilla Gallery (Crespo 213) talking to Jason Pfohl (glass artist and guiding spirit behind Gorilla Glass) when Sanez came in.  He came to discuss plans for his live painting on glass event at the gallery.  Alas, I was already in the US on May 31, when it occurred.  However, if you are currently in Oaxaca, you can see the finished piece at the gallery on Thursdays between 2 and 8 PM.  Besides the immense glass canvas, the gallery is featuring prints by Sanez — and I’m sure Jason would be happy to discuss the distinctive tattoo work of Sanez.

In addition, you might want to slow down when driving along Constituyentes behind Mercado de Abastos — that giant billboard mural towering above the weeds and refuse is another of Sanez’s masterpieces.

 

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Almost like being there

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Food, Markets, People, tagged , , , , , , , , on June 7, 2013| 12 Comments »

I’m in the San Francisco Bay Area for a lengthy stay — a necessary trip to el norte to sell my grandparents house.  I’ve only been here for three weeks but I’m missing Oaxaca, already!  However, driving up Solano Ave. on my way to Berkeley, a storefront caught my eye.  Skeletons, tapetes, a riot of color…

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Where am I???

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Casa Oaxaca is a gift shop featuring arts and crafts from Southern Mexico.  Artesanía from Chiapas, Guerrero, Puebla, and (of course) Oaxaca cram every nook and cranny of the store.

Casa Oaxaca’s delightful owner, Guillermo (“Memo”) Robles, was born and raised in the city of Oaxaca and he returns frequently on buying trips.  All items are carefully (and lovingly, I think) bought directly from crafts people and artisan collectives.

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I stood talking with Memo for almost 30 minutes and, surrounded by the artesanía I have come to know and love, it was almost like being back in my adopted city.  Ahhh…  If you go, don’t forget to look up!

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I’ve also discovered Mi Pueblo Food Center in San Rafael, one of a small, privately owned, chain of supermarkets in Northern California.  I came home with Tajin seasoning, a bag of still warm tortillas, a whole roast chicken, quesillo, along with fruit, fresh herbs, vegetables, and a case of Modelo Especial (the latter especially for my son, in whose home I’m staying) — all for a better price than the unnamed, but well-known, big chains.  On my next visit, I’ve got to try their tamales.

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Memorial days

Posted in People, Tragedy, tagged , , , , , on May 27, 2013| 4 Comments »

It’s been two years since he fell asleep at the wheel, slammed into a tree, and was killed instantly.  A memorial plaque and flowers soon appeared.  There were rumors of intoxication, but that doesn’t lessen a mother’s pain or love.  And she continues to come weekly to place fresh flowers at the site where he died.

Though I didn’t know Víctor Damián Díaz González, I too continue to remember him every time I walk down the street.

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Matria, 3 weeks later

Posted in Agriculture, Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Environment, Gardens, People, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

On this Earth Day, I thought I’d post photos of the Matria, Jardín Arterapéutico project.  These were taken 3 weeks after my previous visit.  Despite 90+° (F) temperatures since the garden was planted, it is thriving and very few plants have been lost.

The key to the garden’s success?  Megan Glore and her team of volunteers are listening to what the plants are telling them and responding accordingly — just as we should all be doing with Mother Earth.

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To everything a season…

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Gardens, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 22, 2013| 3 Comments »

Do you remember December’s abandoned building that artist Mauricio Cervantes transformed into Hope amidst decay with his El Sueño de Elpis?  Bringing together artists, gardeners, and community members, he is again working his magic at Casa del SXIX.  Honoring sustainability and reuse, Matria, Jardín Arterapéutico is a year-long multidisciplinary installation that will grow and change with the seasons.

Appropriately, on the first day of Spring — the season of rebirth, resurrection, and renewal — I was invited to wander through the site and watch as life was emerging from the decay.

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Primavera, the beginning phase of Matria, Jardín Arterapéutico will be revealed to all on Saturday, March 23 at 2:00 PM.  The building can be found at Murguía 103 (between Macedonio Alcalá and 5 de mayo).

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Living close to the source

Posted in Agriculture, Creativity, Culture, People, Science & Nature, Textiles, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 10, 2013| 5 Comments »

A mile or two from the city are fields of corn; a recurring reminder of where the masa used to make tortillas, tamales, and other mealtime staples, comes from.  Livestock roam the hills and are often seen being herded down the streets of local villages.

Goats being herded down dirt road

And, at the foot of the stairs of my new apartment is a coyuche bush — the brown cotton plant that has been cultivated in this part of the world for thousands of years.

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The ripe buds of the coyuche have been harvested, cleaned, spun, and woven into huipiles and cotones (men’s shirts) by countless generations.  However, like many textile traditions, industrialization has taken its toll.  The cultivation and use of coyuche is literally hanging by a thread, mostly confined to the Mixteca and Costa Chica regions of Oaxaca.  As a result, besides just liking the design and color, I have a profound appreciation for and treasure this old huipil that was given to me a couple of years ago.

Embroidery detail of huipil made of coyuche

It’s in desperate need of repair.  My friend and Mexican textile collector and chronicler, Sheri Brautigam, advised me to take it to Odilon Merino Morales, who is from San Juan Amuzgo and leads an effort to revive the use of coyuche.  I will ask him if he knows of someone who could give my huipil some tender loving mending.

Living close to the source — there is something wonderful about the coyuche plant’s daily reminder of the origin of one of my favorite huipiles.

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Sign of the times

Posted in Churches, Creativity, Culture, People, Religion, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Today, Pope Benedict XVI, the head of the Roman Catholic church rode off into the sunset.  (Actually, he flew off in a helicopter.)  And, naturally, the walls of Oaxaca had something to say…

Black and white skeleton portrait of pope

This was pasted on a wall right across from the south entrance to Santo Domingo de Guzmán.  The walls are never silent.

By the way, I did a Twitter search for the hashtag afterPopequit, but came up empty.

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Stuck on you

Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, Signs, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on February 21, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Pop culture stickers are, “ubiquitous in urban centers around the world. Often seen at eye level or just beyond reach, stickers grace most every imaginable surface of the built environment.”  [Digital Collections Street Art Graphics]

As you can see, Oaxaca is no exception.

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Jimmy and María Sabina, I know. — even got to see Hendrix perform twice, back in the day.

Stickers on window panes behind iron grating

But, that qualifies me as being “certain age” and so most of the references escape me.Stickers on the back of sign on lamp post

And, what’s with the skull and cross-bones?  Rebellion?  Symbol of a toxic culture??  Perhaps.  But, like Che, one now sees them everywhere — even on toddler clothes.  Co-opted, again!

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Pottery in motion

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Gardens, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 10, 2013| 2 Comments »

One of the biggest challenges of the recent move was carrying 150+ potted plants down two flights of stairs, across the driveway, and up a flight of stairs.  They ranged in size from eight to eighteen inches across and ten to twenty-four inches tall.  Needless to say, major respect was given to the cactus and their perilous spikes.  However, I also gave special care to my two pots by the late potter, Dolores Porras.

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Growing up and spending her life in one of the villages of Oaxaca known for working in clay, Santa María Atzompa, her style was unique in the use of color and imagery — a touch of whimsy wherever her pots are found.

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If you will be in Oaxaca tomorrow (Feb. 11, 2013), be sure to stop by the Oaxaca Lending Library to see Michael Peed discuss and show his documentary, Dolores Porras: Artista Artesana de Barro.  And, if you’re not lucky enough to be there, check out the website for the film’s trailer.

Porras blurb

 

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Juan Alcázar Méndez, RIP

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, People, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on February 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Oaxaca is mourning the loss of painter, Juan Alcázar Méndez, who succumbed to complications related to diabetes yesterday.

Juan Alcázar Méndez. Photo from Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes

Juan Alcázar Méndez. Photo from Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes

Alcázar was born in Guadalupe Etla, Oaxaca in 1955 and entered the School of Fine Arts at the University Benito Juarez of Oaxaca at the age of 13.   He became known for his unique magic realism style.

Painting from fundraising auction by the Oaxaca Lending Library, 2010.

Painting from fundraising auction by the Oaxaca Lending Library, 2010

He was the founder of the Taller Rufino Tamayo, el Taller de Gráfica en la Casa de la Cultura, and the Taller Libre de Gráfica Oaxaqueña.  He was also one of the artists exhibited in the at the Mexican Consulate in San Francisco in 2012.

"El Rapto" at the The Magic Surrealists of Oaxaca exhibition 2012, San Francisco, CA.

“El Rapto” from the The Magic Surrealists of Oaxaca exhibition 2012, San Francisco, CA.

RIP, Juan Alcázar Méndez.  You will be missed but your magic will live on.

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“The only job I can do”

Posted in Agriculture, Economics, Food, Immigration, Labor, People, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2013| 2 Comments »

Sunny, warm, and dry, Oaxaca’s sidewalks, mercados, restaurants, and zócalo are filled with “snowbirds” (the human variety) escaping the bone-chilling and wet wintry weather of el norte.  Alas, almost immediately after the previously mentioned “big move” next week, I’m heading in the opposite direction — to the bleak gray north for several weeks to visit family and friends in California (it’s not all bikini beaches and blue sky) and then east to celebrate my first grandchild’s first birthday — the best and maybe only reason to visit upstate New York in the dead of winter!  And, if previous return trips to el norte are a predictor, I’ll be missing the warmth and color of Oaxaca almost from the minute I step off the plane.

The “snowbirds” and I have the luxury of coming and going.  Some people do not.  One of my favorite journalists interviews a young Oaxaqueña trying to support her young daughter by working the fields in Madera, California.  As the title suggests, it is a poignant story…

The Only Job I Can Do–A Young Mother’s Farm Work Story

Editor’s Note: Lorena Hernandez is a young farm worker and single mother from Oaxaca, Mexico. Today she lives in Madera, Calif., with her daughter and aunt. She told her story to David Bacon.

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Lorena Hernandez picking blueberries   [photo by David Bacon]

MADERA, Calif.–To go pick blueberries I have to get up at four in the morning. First I make my lunch to take with me, and then I get dressed for work. For lunch I eat whatever there is in the house, mostly bean tacos. Then the ritero, the person who gives me a ride to work, picks me up at 20 minutes to five.

I work as long as my body can take it, usually until 2:30 in the afternoon. Then the ritero gives me a ride home, and I get there by 3:30 or 4 in the afternoon. By then I’m really tired.

Costs of Rides, Childcare on Little Pay

I pay $8 each way to get to work and back home. Right now they’re paying $6 for each bucket of blueberries you pick, so I have to fill almost three buckets just to cover my daily ride. The contractor I work for, Elias Hernandez, hooks us up with the riteros. He’s the contractor for 50 of us farm workers picking blueberries, and I met him when a friend of my aunt gave me his number.

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No Vision of My Future

I don’t have friends, just acquaintances from work. They don’t have responsibilities like I do, so they go out on the weekend. They share their stories with me because since I have a daughter, I don’t go out. I just stay at home.

I wash my daughter’s clothes on the weekends because during the week I’m so tired. There isn’t time to clean the house during the week either. That’s what we do on the weekends.

I don’t have a vision of my own future. I don’t really think about it. I know I want to work every day. I don’t think I’ll ever return to school because of my age. My job will be working in the fields. I’m at peace with my current situation. I would love to go back to school, but it’s too late for me. Perhaps one day.

Please read full story HERE.

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¡Próspero año!

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Holidays, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , on December 31, 2012| 19 Comments »

To the wonderful readers of my blog and to the beautiful people of Oaxaca, I wish you good health, safety, peace, and a 2013 that is filled with joy.

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Bless you wherever you are
Windswept child on a shooting star
Restless Spirits depart
Still we’re deep in each other’s hearts

~ Bless You by John Lennon ~

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