Returning home from the trip to el norte, I discovered an animal crossing in the works near my local Pitico.
Thanks to the artist, Waffloide, it’s a jungle out there!
Now I can’t get The Lion Sleeps Tonight out of my head.
Archive for the ‘Signs’ Category
Animal crossing
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Music, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged crossing sign, Mexico, murals, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, The Lion Sleeps Tonight (song), urban art, Waffloide (artist), wall art on June 14, 2022| Leave a Comment »
Empty streets, closed parks, and…
Posted in Flora, Gardens, Parks & Plazas, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged closed signs, Conzatti, coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, El Templo de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo, empty streets, flamboyantes, Jardín Conzatti, Llano Park, Mexico, Oaxaca, Parque Juarez El Llano, photos on May 11, 2020| 4 Comments »
Sunday morning’s walk found empty streets…
Looking south on Calle Macedonio Alcalá.
Looking north on Calle Macedonio Alcalá.
Closed parks…
Jardín Conzatti.
“Parque Cerrado” – Parque Juarez El Llano.
And, beauty.
Templo de la Preciosa Sangre de Cristo seen from the atrium of Templo Santo Domingo de Guzmán.
Flamboyant trees from the atrium of Templo Santo Domingo de Guzmán.
Yesterday, there were 25 new Covid-19 cases in the state of Oaxaca, including the first two in Tlacolula de Matamoros.
Signs of Covid times
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Markets, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, Mercado IV Centenario, mercados, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos on May 8, 2020| 8 Comments »
Informational: Symptoms and methods of prevention.
Advertising: Stay at home, Café Lavoe offers you home delivery.
Service: A hand washing station at the Av. de la Independencia entrance to Mercado IV Centenario.
It’s my favorite — a quintessential example of the Oaxacan ingenuity and creativity!
When all is over…
Posted in Culture, Food, Restaurants, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged Catedral Restaurante, coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, culinary lovers, Gastronómicos, Mexico, Oaxaca, photos on April 27, 2020| 4 Comments »
Painted on the front of Catedral Restaurante, a message to Oaxaca food lovers…
When all is over, I will look for you and I will hug you so tight that we will forget time.
When all is over, I will need you more than ever.
When all is over, I will need you more than ever.
Open and closed
Posted in Churches, Flora, Health, Religion, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged activities suspended, Basilica de la Soledad, churches, closed church doors, closed signs, coronavirus fallout, COVID-19 fallout, grocery shopping, Holy Week, markets, pandemic precautions, photos, quantities limited, religious celebrations canceled, Semana Santa on March 31, 2020| 10 Comments »
We couldn’t put it off any longer, non-perishables were needed! Thus, instead of another long leisurely Sunday stroll like last week, my neighbor and I walked (keeping two meters apart) down to Soriana, our local supermarket. We went early in the morning and the streets were mostly empty — making it a piece of cake crossing a particularly dicey intersection. Ready to do battle with the virus, we came armed with alcohol wipes and shopping, paying, and bagging strategies. However, Soriana also was on emergency preparedness alert. Once inside the door, hand-sanitizer was pumped into our hands and the handles of our carts were wiped down with disinfectant.
As we had hoped, there were very few other customers and most seemed very conscious of maintaining social distancing protocol, — the workers stocking the shelves, not so much. There were signs posted limiting the quantities one could purchase of certain items and there were taped lines on the floor in front of the check stands indicating how far apart to stand. Though, one guy didn’t get the message and cut in front of me. I snapped, “sana distancia” at him, he glanced back at the crazy gringa and went to a different line.
My route to Soriana, usually consists of cutting a diagonal across the Plaza de la Danza, walking down the ramp to Jardín Sócrates, and crossing the atrium of the Basilica de la Soledad before tackling the steep stairs down to Av. de la Independencia. Alas, this trip, it wasn’t to be — the atrium doors facing the Jardín were locked up tight, as were the ones at the top of the stairs on Independencia.
Signs were tacked to the massive doors indicating all masses had been suspended until further notice. It was all quiet on the church front and the realization hit me that I hadn’t heard a single church bell in days, if not a week — which sounds about right because, on March 21, the Archdiocese of Oaxaca announced the suspension of all Eucharistic celebrations, including Easter. In addition, the Archbishop has called on Catholics to stay home during Holy Week, in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 between people and communities.
Health officials have been running public service announcements on the TV telling people to stay home and advising them, if they must go out, on methods to avoiding catching and spreading the virus. And, yesterday the Mexican government declared a state of health emergency and ordered a suspension of all non-essential businesses and activities until April 30th. For businesses, the restrictions are mandatory, however for people it is an “emphatic invitation.” President Andrés Manuel López Orbrador’s gradual approach to the pandemic has been highly criticized in some quarters, though the strategy has been praised by representatives of the World Health Organization. However, most agree that stricter measures will have to be implemented once the pandemic really hits.
Just say no!
Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged abandoned buildings, blog 10th anniversary, blogging, crumbling buildings, dilapidated buildings, DNL UNKLE, murals, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, wall art on March 28, 2020| 35 Comments »
Remember the Not for sale! building at the corner of Matamoros and Crespo? It’s been one of the buildings in a “mal estado” (bad state) since long before my first visit to Oaxaca in 2007. A portion of the Crespo facing wall finally collapsed at the end of an extremely wet 2012 rainy season. And, following the September 2017 earthquakes, what remained of the wall gave way, necessitating a barricade along the sidewalk.
As last Sunday’s stroll in the time of… showed, the barricade was in the process of getting its own facelift. It’s finished and it looks terrific.
However, as the owner, with the help of the artist, continues to make clear, the answer is NO. The building is not for sale!
By the way, while trying to locate the oldest photo I have of this wall, I discovered that I had missed the tenth anniversary of View From Casita Colibrí. It was March 25, 2010, with the post, Awake at 4:30 AM, that I began this blog. Its last line reads, “Whatever the reasons… here’s hoping I become a little braver in revealing myself, don’t let my perfectionist streak get in the way of posting and I stick with it!” I’ve definitely stuck with it, have overcome my fear of the writing and photos not being perfect (though I try to maintain my librarian commitment to accuracy), and have hopefully allowed a bit of “who I am” to be expressed in these ten years of blog posts. Here’s to another ten!
Not for sale!
Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged abandoned buildings, crumbling buildings, dilapidated buildings, murals, Oaxaca, photos, popular travel destinations, street art, urban art, wall art on February 7, 2020| 14 Comments »
I am, at long last, back in home sweet home Oaxaca. The weather is warm, the garden looks great, and the building at the end of the block that has looked to be on the verge of collapse since I first laid eyes on it thirteen years ago, has had a new paint job — announcing in a very creative way that, despite its dilapidated condition, it is not for sale.
And, don’t just take my word for its neglected and decrepit condition. There is a precaution notice from the city of Oaxaca warning passersby that the building is in a bad state.
All one has to do is peek through one of the broken windows to see there isn’t much there, there.
Located at the corner of Crespo and Matamoros, it is one of the more than five and a half thousand historic structures in the state of Oaxaca listed by the Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Historia (National Institute of Anthropology and History).
There is currently a building boom going on in the city, especially of upscale hotels, to meet the snowballing tourist demand. I suspect that restrictions and costs related to remodeling these cataloged buildings is why the much-needed renovation to this one hasn’t happened.
However, the owner of this building, whoever she or he may be, has let it be known, in a variety of designs, fonts, colors, and in no uncertain terms, that it is NOT FOR SALE!
The artwork covering the building is quite an improvement. However, I can’t help thinking of one of my grandmother’s sayings, “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”
Bus doesn’t stop here
Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Signs, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, poster art, posters, street art, street signs on May 27, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Sorry folks, the bus doesn’t stop here. Why? You ask. Doesn’t red mean “stop”? Not here. Not now. There is DANGER; this edifice is in a bad state!
And, make sure to produce, disseminate, and teach about the dangers of buildings in hazardous states of disrepair. As Mother Nature has reminded us twice within the past week, this is earthquake country.
Sign painting, Oaxaca style
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged Calle Matamoros, Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, shops, sign painters, signs, store displays on May 12, 2017| 3 Comments »
Thinking of all the sign painters I used to know back in the day, up in el norte.
At a time ruled by the industry and advanced technologies of all kinds, it’s easy to forget that once many things were done by hand. One of these things would be sign painting…. However, like many crafts and trades, hand-made sign painting was taken over by computers and printers, which promised cheaper and quicker solutions to its curious customers hungry for the wonders of the new era. As a result, these creatives lost their jobs, like many of their fellow draughtsmen and handymen. — The Nostalgia of the Sign Painting
But, here in Oaxaca…
We’ve got the ladder, the brush, and the artist.
The hand-painted artistry continues and leads to…
The creation of a beautiful and unique sign on Av. José María Morelos in Col. Centro.
¡Vive los artesanos!
Update: The sign painter (rotulista), Arturo, can be reached at: 951-201-3527
To and from the market
Posted in Animals, Culture, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged bugs, cross, iron gate, June bug, Mexico, mi casa es tu casa sign, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, tire on June 12, 2016| 4 Comments »
This morning, up Tinoco y Palacios…
Inside an open door.
At the tire repair shop, “My house is your house.”
Down Callejon de Hidalgo…
Behind the iron gate.
A June bug in June.
Walking anywhere in Oaxaca, there is always something to see.
Old is new barber shop
Posted in Culture, Oaxaca, People, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged barber pole, barber shop, Mexico, Oaxaca, peluqueria, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations on June 7, 2016| 6 Comments »
Even in Oaxaca, when it comes to peluquerias, old is new again…
If you want to see an old, old-school Oaxaca barber shop, check out Chris’s barber.
Number’s up
Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged blogging challenges, Mexico, numbers, Oaxaca, Photo challenges, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, street numbers, Weekly photo challenge on June 3, 2016| 6 Comments »
Returning home from a reconnaissance mission at Llano Park’s Friday tianguis: Hot and humid, helicopter circling overhead, another maestros march along Juárez, I cut over to Garcia Vigil — needing to pay my Telmex bill, anyway. I flashed on (yes, I’m a child of the sixties) this week’s WordPress photo challenge and began noticing Numbers…
And, just one more for mi amiga, Lanita…
Can’t you just hear Moby Grape singing, 8:05 ? Ahhh, those harmonies… I told you I’m a child of the sixties!
Follow the arrows
Posted in Buildings, Geography, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged Mexico, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, popular travel destinations, street signs on April 15, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Everyday, I see something new or different or odd or… Yesterday, at the corner of Av. de La Independencía and Calle Xicoténcatl, a couple of unfamiliar signs caught my eye.
High up on the corner of a building, in the middle of the city, road signs pointing to the Istmo and Tuxtepec. Just a word of warning, you are in for a long and winding drive, no matter which destination you choose.
The Istmo de Tehuantepec region of the state is approximately 250 km southeast of the City of Oaxaca. Though if you decide on Tuxtepec, it’s only 220 km northeast. Either way, head east on Independencía. ¡Buen viaje!
All against Dengue
Posted in Creativity, Culture, Health, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged Chikungunya, community education, Dengue, Dengue vaccine, education, health, Mexico, mosquitoes, Oaxaca, photographs, photos, wall art, Zika on April 4, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Mosquito borne diseases like Dengue, Chikungunya, and Zika continue to plague the planet. Today’s good news is a Dengue vaccine proves 100% effective in human trials. Let’s hope so!
In the meantime, understand the life cycle of mosquitoes and follow the instructions on a wall in Tlacolula de Matamoros…
Wash, cover, turn over, and eliminate!
No parking
Posted in Signs, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged Black and white photography, brooms, escobas de otate, Mexico, No parking sign, Oaxaca, partial color, photographs, photos, street sweepers on February 17, 2016| 4 Comments »
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