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Dancing the dance

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 13, 2015| 4 Comments »

After being rained out on Sunday, we picked ourselves and our rain gear up and returned to Teotitlán del Valle on Monday for the abbreviated version (4 hours instead of 8 hours) of the Danza de la Pluma — more of the multi-day fiesta honoring La Santísima Virgen María de la Natividad (the Sainted Virgin Mary of the Nativity).

As I’ve previously mentioned, the Danza de la Pluma is a ritual re-enactment of the Spanish conquest.  The full version is told in 41 bailes (dances) and lasts from early afternoon into the night.  It is danced by folkloric groups throughout the valley of Oaxaca.  However, in Teotitlán, Moctezuma, Danzantes, Subalternos, Malinche, and Doña Marina are selected years in advance and make a promise to the church and community to perform their roles for 3 years.  It is a great honor.

Malinche and Doña Marina

La Malinche (Juana Lizbeth Contreras Vicente), Doña Marina (Ailani Ruíz Ruíz), and Danzantes.

Moctezuma and the Danzantes.

Moctezuma (José Isaac Vasquez de Los Angeles) poised to dance the dance.

Moctezuma coming...

Moctezuma approaching… dancing the dance.

Moctezuma departing...

Moctezuma departing… dancing the dance.

Malinche (Juana Lizbeth Contreras Vicente) dancing the dance.

Malinche dancing the dance.

Doña Marina dancing the dance.

Doña Marina dancing the dance.

The Danzantes in action.

The Danzantes dancing the dance.

The rains came again and we missed the fireworks and castillo.  However, we are already plotting our return at the beginning of October for the Rosario de la Virgen María festival.

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Eyes of Kobe (not the beef)

Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on August 3, 2015| 4 Comments »

Last week, walking down Crespo, I spotted a mural at the turnoff to Calle Panorámicas del Fortín and discovered it was the work of Jesus Kobe.

Hmmm… Recently, I’d seen another of his works on Allende near Crespo.

I was familiar with the artist because last year, friends and I were walking along Panorámicas and stopped at this mural.

We walked further along to find another mural, but without a signature.  It turned out the artist was walking by and when he saw us admiring the work, he graciously stopped to chat.  It was Kobe and he explained that he only signs his work once it is completed.

Serendipity, why this place never ceases to surprise and delight!

And, watch and hear Kobe explain the inspiration that underlies the mural he created for Santa Fe Taqueria in Portland, Oregon:

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Missing but not forgotten

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, People, Violence, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 26, 2015| 6 Comments »

A pause in La Guelaguetza action to remember…

It’s been ten months since that unspeakable night 43 students from the Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero went missing in Iguala.  They are not forgotten.  On the lower block of the Alcalá, an exhibition of sculptures by two Oaxaqueño sculptures, Victor Robinson and Emmanuel Guzman Sanchez is on display.

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One of the pieces, Faltan 43 y Faltamos Más (43 missing and we are missing more) speaks to the 43 students and to the countless others who have disappeared.

Guzman explains, that he feels it is necessary to speak out on social issues.  “I’m also installing a piece by the 43 missing normalistas; in this piece we find human remains and missing persons who do not know where they are; others that have been found in mass graves, and a broken country.”

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Three other students and three bystanders were killed outright and two dozen people were taken to hospital that horrific night.  Today’s CNN Mexico profiles one of the hospitalized students, Aldo Gutiérrez Solano, who remains in a coma.  The family must travel seven to eight hours to go from their home in Tultepec, Guerrero to Mexico City to sit at Aldo’s bedside.  According to his brother, Ulises, the bullet damaged 65% of his brain and “The prognosis is very bad.  Still in that state, is not yet known what will happen, how it will be.”  His family hopes for a miracle and that he will awaken to end the nightmare of Iguala.

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Nine months…

Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, Tragedy, Travel & Tourism, Violence, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 26, 2015| 4 Comments »

It’s been nine months since 43 students from the Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero went missing — a traumatic, heartbreaking, and disgraceful anniversary that isn’t going unnoticed.  The Missing Mexican Students Case Is Not Closed For 43 Families, nor for the people of Mexico.

Yesterday, in Tlacolula de Matamoros, the signs were impossible to miss, as we walked down the main street.  The community continues to remember her son, Cristian Tomás Colón Garnica, one of the Ayotzinapa 43.

P1100112“His father traveled from their land when the abduction of the 43 young normal school students was first reported. ‘I am a day laborer. I make 600 pesos [USD$44.50] weekly, maximum, and that’s when there’s work, because sometimes there is no work. My boy wants to be a teacher. That is the job he wants, but they stopped him, they arrested him … What are we going to do?!'”  — from Mexico Voices.
P1100110On the wall, near the stencils above, posters announced events in Oaxaca city in remembrance of the students.  As the murals at the north entrance to Tlacolula de Matamoros proclaim…

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“VIVOS 43 LOS QUEREMOS”

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Going to the source in Tlahuitoltepec

Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, Textiles, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 22, 2015| 18 Comments »

Blogger buddy Chris and I have been talking about returning to Santa María Tlahuitoltepec since our first visit in May 2013.  Time flies when you’re having fun and it took the current Theft of a cultural kind controversy to motivate us to hit the long and winding road up into the Mixe.  To reach our our journey’s end in the Sierre Norte, our road trip took a little over two and a half hours from the city — on a much improved route 179, I might add.

179 to Tlahui

Reaching the center of town, known for its musical literacy and textiles, Tejas, a youth band, was warming up on the multipurpose municipal basketball court.

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Their performance was part of the Domingos de Concierto (concert Sundays).  We joined villagers to watch and listen.

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Most all of the women “of a certain age” were wearing the traditional dress that is a symbol of this community.

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However, our stomachs began grumbling and led us in search of comida.  The comedor we had been directed to wasn’t open but there were women sitting under the portales selling tamales.  This gal’s amarillo tamales (3 for 10 pesos) were muy sabrosos!

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Once we had eaten, fed a couple of street dogs the crumbs (until a woman walking softly and carrying a big stick, chased them away), and our energy levels were restored, we walked across the street to the sextagonal textile kiosk — the day’s destination.

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We headed to Artesanias Kojpk Okp, the tiendita of Doña Honorina Gómez Martínez, the embroiderer we had met on our previous visit to Tlahuitoltepec.  Ahhh, yes, she was well aware of the Inspiration or plagiarism dispute with French designer, Isabel Marant, that even Vogue UK has covered.  As I later discovered, she spoke for the embroiderers at the press conference held at Oaxaca’s Textile Museum ten days ago.

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This spirited, strong, and delightful woman has been embroidering for 46 years and, as she explained at the press conference, “my heart tells me what I’m going to embroider because I have it in memory, born with that idea or feeling, experience, it is the daily life as Mixe.  It is a representation of blood, food, and nature. ” [translated from the original Spanish]

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She recognized us and she and her assistant (husband? son?) were more than willing to plunge into piles of her creations, pull down blusas hanging on the walls, and dismantle displays.  Here is the blusa and ceñidore I came home with…

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Should you be inclined to go to the source, but can’t manage a trip up into the Mixe, as always, she will have a stall in July at the special artisan market in Oaxaca city during La Guelaguetza.  She can also be contacted by telephone:  01 283 596 26 05 and cell:  951 198 79 42.

Stay tuned for a blog post on Oaxaca-The Year After…  (Chris has a lot more photos to weed through!)

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Posters for Ayotzinapa

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, People, Politics, Tragedy, Violence, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 26, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Eight months and counting… Tonight, eight months ago, 43 students from the Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero went missing.  I am sadly resigned that marking this horrific anniversary has become a regular feature on my blog.  As a mother, a guest resident of Mexico, and someone who believes that the peoples of the world deserve social justice, I can’t ignore this tragedy.

I dare you to leave Carteles por Ayotzinapa, the current exhibition at Instituto de Artes Gráficas de Oaxaca (IAGO), with a dry eye.  The 49 posters on display are only a fraction of the over 700 posters submitted to the First International Poster Biennial 2014 Convocation Ayotzinapa, an initiative of Oaxaca’s internationally renown artist, Francisco Toledo.  In addition to Mexico, artists from Argentina to Greece; Iran to Lebanon; and Poland to the USA responded to his call, recognizing as Toledo explained, the tragedy of Ayotzinapa has outraged people from beyond the borders of Mexico.

Photo courtesy of Oaxaca Media

Photo courtesy of Oaxaca Media

Irwin Homero Carreño Garnica, a graphic design student, originally from Ocotlán de Morelos, Oaxaca, was awarded first prize for his heartbreaking work, “México fracturado por Ayotzinapa” (Mexico fractured by Ayotzinapa).  As you can see above, it is a map of Mexico in the shape of a skeleton, with a break in the femur, where Ayotzinapa, Guerrero is located.  Like the work of the Tlacolulokos, the use of an iconic image (skeleton) and a primary palette of black, white, and greys, increases the emotional impact, much like Picasso’s, “Guernica.”

Second place was won by Damian Kłaczkiewicz (Poland) and third place went to Daniela Diaz (Mexico).  The three winning posters will be reproduced for distribution throughout Mexico.

The exhibition runs through June 26, 2015.

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Ayotzinapa, an urgent anniversary

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Education, Music, People, Politics, Protests, Tragedy, Violence, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 26, 2015| 8 Comments »

Yesterday, the city of Oaxaca celebrated its 483rd birthday as a Spanish chartered city.  Early in the morning bells were rung, Las Mañanitas was sung, tamales and atole were served, an air force flyover buzzed the city several times, multiple musical events were held, a convite paraded through the streets, fireworks exploded from the Plaza de la Danza, and more, and it continues.  I was going to write about it, but…

Today a more urgent anniversary requires our attention:  Mexico Marks 7 Months Since 43 Ayotzinapa Students Disappeared.  Family, fellow classmates, friends, and supporters around the world keep their names alive and cry for justice.  And artists continue to reach into our minds and hearts through their music, artwork, and film making.

In the documentary, Ayotzinapa’s 43 Disappeared: Family & Friends Remember, we hear the voices of their classmates and relatives. They don’t trust the official story and are determined to find out what happened.

Near the end of the song, “La Patria Madrina,” from her new album, Balas y Chocolate (Bullets and Chocolat), Lila Downs chants the Ayotzinapa 43 mantra that can be seen and heard all over Mexico, ¡Vivos los llevaron, vivos los queremos!  (They were taken alive, and we want them back alive!)

And, on walls throughout Mexico, our attention is called to the missing 43 students from the Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos, teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero.

Oaxaca de Juárez

Oaxaca de Juárez

Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City

Mexico City

Oaxaca de Juárez

Oaxaca de Juárez

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Gasali Adeyemo, a life in indigo

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, People, Textiles, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on April 19, 2015| 3 Comments »

Today the Museo Textil de Oaxaca is celebrating its seventh birthday with live music (of course!), nieves (ice cream), and an expo-venta of tie-dye and batik textiles from Nigerian born, Gasali Adeyemo.  The exhibition and sale culminate a week-long artist-in-residence, in which he taught a 5-day workshop — I’m kicking myself I didn’t take it — and a Friday evening presentation, “African Blues, Mi Vida en Indigo” — which I did attend!  Gasali’s work is spectacular and his face glows when he talks about the traditions, technique, and love that goes into his work.

P1080889P1080985P1080984Note the orange blouse above; it beckoned to me and I couldn’t resist buying it.  The technique is batik on a brocaded cotton that has been dyed with the bark of a tree found in Nigeria.  The name of the tree in the Yoruba language is Epo Ira, which, according to Gasali roughly translates to, “tonic iron tree,” as it is also used medicinally to cure iron deficiency.

By the way, for those of you who are going to the International Folk Art Market in Santa Fe, NM in July, Gasali and his beautiful textiles will be there.

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The warp and weft of Arnulfo Mendoza

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, People, Textiles, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 28, 2015| 4 Comments »

It’s been one year since the passing of maestro Arnulfo Mendoza Ruíz.

Tejedor de los sueños by Charles Barth

Tejedor de los sueños by Charles Barth (alas, with reflections from other pieces)

To honor his life, an exhibit of works by his friends, colleagues, and family was inaugurated at La Mano Mágica on March 13, 2015.

ManoMagica exhibit

His older son, Gabriel Mendoza Gagnier, curated this amazing collection of paintings, weaving, and artesanía.

Homenaje a un gran artista: Arnulfo Mendoza by Taller Alfonso Castillo
Detail from Homenaje a un gran artista: Arnulfo Mendoza by Taller Alfonso Castillo
Templo de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo, Teotitlán del Valle detail from Homenaje a un gran artista: Arnulfo Mendoza by Taller Alfonso Castillo
Arnulfo at work detail from Homenaje a un gran artista: Arnulfo Mendoza by Taller Alfonso Castillo

Assisted by Arnulfo’s companion, Yukiko, the opening featured, not only amazing art, but also mezcal, tamales, and surprise entertainment by Carnaval dancers from San Martín Tilcajete, wearing masks carved by some of the well-known carvers from the village, including Inocenio Vásquez and Jésus Sosa Calvo.

Jésus Sosa Calvo had carved the signature entry sign for La Mano Mágica and recently, unasked, came by to freshen up the paint that had faded over the years under the intense Oaxaca sun.

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While, in the words of Manuel Matus Manzo,  Arnulfo Mendoza may have gone on “to meet the Jaguar and the god Murcielago,” the dreams of his magical hands remain.

Arnulfo Mendoza by Familia Aguilar
Diamante by Arnulfo Mendoza

Finally, this beautiful poem by Alberto Blanco from the exhibit’s catalog…

Mitades a Arnulfo

I
La mitad de la tierra
no sueña con la luna.
La mitad de la luna
no sueña con el sol.

Si la luna es la trama,
y si el sol es la urdimbre,
esa tierra es la tela
donde acaso se vive.

II
La vida es la comedia
ya la muerte es el drama,
pero el textil de siempre
es la urdimbre y la trama.

La mitad de la vida,
la mitad de la muerte:
una tela tejida
con un hilo de suerte.

 

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Rebellion shout the people

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Education, People, Politics, Protests, Tragedy, Travel & Tourism, Violence, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on February 26, 2015| 2 Comments »

It’s been five months since 43 students from the Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero went missing.  Their parents, the people of Mexico, and growing numbers around the world continue to ask, Who is Really Responsible?

A mural recently appeared along a very long wall at the entrance to Tlacolula de Matamoros.

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As I’ve previously mentioned, one of missing is Cristian Tomás Colón Garnica from Tlacolula de Matamoros.

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I realized, as I was processing the photos, each panel of the mural incorporates a letter.  One has to stand back (in the street) to see words materialize.  However, when we went back to Tlacolula on Sunday, there were cars and trucks parked in front of most of the mural and all we could see was, “Vivos 43.”  I would love to hear from you, if you know the full text.

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Two hours in Oaxaca

Posted in Culture, Libraries, People, Protests, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 30, 2015| 2 Comments »

4:40 PM - Bloqueo by motos at the corner of Morelos & Crespo

4:45 PM – Bloqueo (blockade) by moto-taxis at the corner of Morelos & Crespo

5:10 PM - Lucha Libre presentation at Oaxaca Lending Library by artist Charles Barth

5:10 PM – Lucha Libre presentation at Oaxaca Lending Library by artist and Lucha Libre fan, Charles Barth

6:50 PM - Fire above Xoxocotlán seen from Casita Colibrí.

6:45 PM – Fire above Xoxocotlán seen from Casita Colibrí.

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Sounds & sights of Oaxaca

Posted in Churches, Creativity, Culture, Health, People, Tragedy, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 17, 2015| 2 Comments »

Ahhh, it feels good to be back in the warm and wonderful Oaxaca.  There are the sounds…  I awake to church bells, followed by the loudspeaker cry of “Gas de Oaxaca” from the propane vendor.  Last night, as I was heading to bed, rockets exploded and, just now, the camote man’s steam whistle sounded, announcing tooth-achingly sweetened hot sweet potatoes and bananas.  Then there are the sights…

The walls continue to talk…  On Thursday, I saw this on Calle Morelos as I walked to the Alcalá and comida with friends.  It remembers Leonel Castro Abarca, one of the 43 still-missing students from Escuela Normal Rural Raúl Isidro Burgos teachers’ college in Ayotzinapa, Guerrero.

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On the way home from comida, I detoured to see what was to be seen on the zócalo.  Teacher tents remain pitched around the bandstand, but the walkways were free of ambulantes, and, as always, the Cathedral presided over the scene.

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Thursday, the familiar sounds of protest were irresistible.  I grabbed my camera and headed out the front gate to see a massive march by healthcare workers on their way to the Plaza de la Danza.  To be honest, tubas and cohetes would have had me out the door, too!  It was way too quiet in el norte.

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And, what can I say about last night’s sunset from the terrace?

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Naturally, a marmota and pair of monos were waiting on the plaza in front of Santo Domingo this afternoon, awaiting a bride and groom to emerge.  After all, it is Saturday — wedding day in Oaxaca!

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I wonder what my ears will hear and my eyes will see, mañana…

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Filling empty walls

Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 4, 2015| 2 Comments »

Instead of writing this blog post, I should be rendezvousing with gal pals at the de Young Museum for the Keith Haring exhibition.  However, this season it is a more perfect world for the flu virus.  Grrrr…

Thus, in the spirit of public art and social commentary, images from EmBe seen on calle Tinoco y Palacios in Oaxaca:

And, words from Keith Haring:

“One day, riding the subway, I saw this empty black panel where an advertisement was supposed to go. I immediately realized that this was the perfect place to draw. I went back above ground to a card shop and bought a box of white chalk, went back down and did a drawing on it. It was perfect–soft black paper; chalk drew on it really easily.”

“I kept seeing more and more of these black spaces, and I drew on them whenever I saw one. Because they were so fragile, people left them alone and respected them; they didn’t rub them out or try to mess them up. It gave them this other power. It was this chalk-white fragile thing in the middle of all this power and tension and violence that the subway was. People were completely enthralled.”2

“I was always totally amazed that the people I would meet while I was doing them were really, really concerned with what they meant. The first thing anyone asked me, no matter how old, no matter who they were, was what does it mean?”3

“The context of where you do something is going to have an effect. The subway drawings were, as much as they were drawings, performances. It was where I learned how to draw in public. You draw in front of people. For me it was a whole sort of philosophical and sociological experiment. When I drew, I drew in the daytime which meant there were always people watching. There were always confrontations, whether it was with people that were interested in looking at it, or people that wanted to tell you you shouldn’t be drawing there…”

“I was learning, watching people’s reactions and interactions with the drawings and with me and looking at it as a phenomenon. Having this incredible feedback from people, which is one of the main things that kept me going so long, was the participation of the people that were watching me and the kinds of comments and questions and observations that were coming from every range of person you could imagine, from little kids to old ladies to art historians.“

 

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Orchid enchantment

Posted in Flora, Gardens, People, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 13, 2014| 7 Comments »

Yesterday, I walked through an enchanted garden…

Along with about 25+ other people from the Oaxaca Garden Club, I made my way to an orchid garden in San Andrés Huayapam.

What a treasure the privately funded, Orquideario “La Encantada” is!  For owner/gardener/collector, Octavio Gabriel, it is a 40+ year old passion and labor of love — and it shows.

The earthen pathways lead one up and down, through dappled light, along the slopes of a babbling brook.  The orquideario is sanctuary to about 1,200 species of orchids, along with companion epiphytes, ferns, bromeliads, and even a bamboo forest.

Orquideario “La Encantada” is located at the end of a dirt road off to the right, about 1 km beyond the presas (reservoirs), towards the village of San Andrés Huayapam.

The 100 pesos admission fee helps finance the orquideario.  I plan to return!  Octavio Gabriel’s book, Algunas Orquideas de Oaxaca is available to purchase for 350 pesos.

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My new rug!

Posted in Creativity, Culture, People, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on November 10, 2014| 13 Comments »

When it seems as if we are surrounded by fear, hatred, and violence, it’s good to step back, look around, and remind ourselves that there is also generosity, love, and beauty in this world.  And so I give you my exquisite new mohair tapete (rug), custom woven for me by Antonio Ruiz Gonzalez.  It turned out even more beautiful than I imagined!

Antonio Ruiz Glz. and family standing in front of rug

Here is Antonio (on the left) in front of my new rug with his delightful family, including his brother Sergio (on the right) — from whom I’ve bought several small tapetes.  More about the latter, later!  Should you find yourself in Teotitlán del Valle, do stop by the family workshop (Av. Juárez No. 107), where Antonio, Sergio, and their father Zacarías weave their magic.

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