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Archive for the ‘Signs’ Category

Hitchin’ a ride

Posted in Culture, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on December 10, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Going my way?

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Is there gas in the car?

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Yes, there’s gas in the car.

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Get your motor runnin’.

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Hitchin’ a ride on the class divide.

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Retail ritual

Posted in Celebrations, Culture, Economics, Holidays, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , on November 23, 2012| 2 Comments »

Signs reading, “Buen Fin” began to appear on shop windows around town last week.  How nice, I thought, with a 3-day weekend coming up (Monday, 11/19 was Mexican Revolution commemoration day), the stores are wishing one and all a “Good Weekend.”

Sign on carved wooden door reading, "Buen Fin. El fin de semana mas barato del año."

I’d only glanced and didn’t come close enough to read the smaller and more important print, “Weekend:  Cheapest of the Year.”  What’s it all about?  Last year’s LA Times article, “A ‘Black Friday’ shopping ritual coming to Mexico?” explains it all.

Apparently, I’ve been oblivious or this newest US export has taken a while to make its way all the way down to Oaxaca.  But, make its way down to Oaxaca, it has!  According to Monday’s Noticias, “This weekend hundreds of Oaxacans went to department stores and shops of all kinds in the city, to stock up on essentials and electronic products, mainly taking advantage of ‘Good Weekend’ promotions.”

Depressing, is all I can say…

 

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Scenes from election day…

Posted in Parks & Plazas, Politics, Protests, Signs, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 2, 2012| 4 Comments »

Yesterday, I walked down to the zócalo twice; once in mid-morning and again late in the afternoon.  My Spanish teacher had advised her students of the probable presence of army trucks, soldiers, and federal police; but to be assured this was standard operating procedure on election day.  However, all I saw were the normal transit police directing traffic and only 2 federales.  From my terrace, I did watch a helicopter circle the zócalo a few times.  A friend filmed a tussle re lack of ballots about the same time as my helicopter siting.

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To begin to understand the Mexican electoral system, the Instituto Federal Electoral has a FAQ page, in English, where it answers, 30 Essential Questions.  In addition, readers might be interested in Robert Pastor’s article, 8 things the U.S. election system could learn from Mexico’s.  While I don’t agree with some of his points (his conclusions re the PRI and the issue of voter ID cards in the US; problematic given its troubling history), I think the article is worth a read.  By the way, the Yo Soy 132 movement was present yesterday on the zócalo and vows to continue.

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Its going to be a dry Sunday

Posted in Contradictions, History, Politics, Signs, tagged , , , , , , on June 27, 2012| 4 Comments »

… and I’m not talking weather!  Today, I headed down to Soriana for a major restocking of the empty larder.  As I was perusing the wine section, a new sign caught my eye.

Sign - "Estimada clientela: Anticipe sus compras de vinos, licores y cervezas ya que el fin de semana habra ley seca por disposicion oficial por motivo de las elecciones federales.

(Translation: Anticipate your purchases of wines, spirits and beer for the weekend. There will be an official prohibition on selling because of federal elections.)

In the event you were unaware, there is a big election in Mexico this weekend; on Sunday, July 1, Mexican voters elect their next president.  In anticipation, the above sign went up and Noticias reported that Oaxaca’s governor, Gabino Cue, announced on Monday that alcohol sales are forbidden from midnight June 30 through midnight  July 1 — the entire 24 hours of election day.  This, he said, was in compliance with the provisions of the Federal Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedures, “thus ensuring the safe and harmonious development of the Federal Election Day on Sunday 1 July.”

I’m confused!  According to an article in NOTIMEX and other sources, the 1915 federal law prohibiting the sale of alcohol 24 hours before the elections and throughout election day (Paragraph 2 of Article 239 of the Código Federal de Instituciones y Procedimientos Electorales (Cofipe) was repealed prior to the 2006 presidential election.  It was a nod to the states with a heavy-duty tourism industry.  No cervezas and no margaritas for 24 hours equals unhappy campers at Mexico’s popular resorts!  Regulation was left up to the individual states.

So I ask, is Oaxaca’s ban a state statute?  Or, has the federal law changed again?  Or, has word of the 2006 change not reached this far south?  Hmmm…

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Separated at birth?

Posted in Restaurants, Signs, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 11, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Italy…

Oval sign: Il Fornaio biologico

California…

Oval sign: Il Fornaio Authentic Italian Restaurant and Bakery

Oaxaca…

Oval sign: Il Fornaro Cucina Italiana Oaxaca - Mexico

Triplets, separated at birth?

 

 

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I command you to…

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Religion, Signs, tagged , , , , on May 18, 2012| 1 Comment »

 

Concrete trough, coming out from stone wall. On the trough: an encircled cross with the word "Think" written under the cross.

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Touch and go

Posted in Buildings, Libraries, People, Places, Signs, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on March 11, 2012| 3 Comments »

About two months ago, new street signs began appearing in Oaxaca on each side of each street corner.  Eight signs per each 4-way intersection, in Spanish and Braille, are at hand touch and wheelchair eye level, and provide arrows to make it clear if the traffic flows this way…

Mariano Matamoros; esq. M. Garcia Vigil; circulacion -->

… or that.

M. Garcia Vigil; Esq. Mariano Matamoros; Circulacion <--

By the way, Oaxaca has a library for the blind and visually impaired — the Biblioteca Jorge Luis Borges, housed in the Biblioteca Infantil in the Barrio de Xochimilco.  Named after the blind Argentine writer, the library was founded in 1996 by world-renowned Oaxacan artist, Francisco Toledo.  It houses his collection of books in Braille, a permanent workshop teaching Braille, computers with special programs for the blind, and scholarships to outstanding visually impaired students.

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