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Archive for the ‘Travel & Tourism’ Category

I read the walls today…

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on June 2, 2021| 4 Comments »

It feels so good to be back in this walkable city where simple errands offer the opportunity for exercising one’s body and mind.

“Free Palestine! Colombia lives!”

Connections are made and internationalism lives.

Reading the walls of Oaxaca is like reading the news.

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Back in Oaxaca

Posted in Casita Colibrí, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged , , , , , , , on May 27, 2021| 7 Comments »

Alive, well, back in Oaxaca, and enjoying the views from Casita Colibrí.

Looking west at Templo de San José and the Basilica de la Soledad with Monte Albán in the distance.

I arrived three days ago and, unbeknownst to me (as it was supposed to go all the way through to Oaxaca) my checked bag was held up in customs at the Mexico City airport. I can’t imagine what the problem was. Perhaps 5 dry sticks of Sure deodorant? 4 pairs of gardening gloves (1 for me 3 for gifts)? 3 used books? Or, maybe the 15 used compost-able plastic bags I brought back to line my waste baskets? No explanation was forthcoming, but they did put my suitcase on the next flight that evening and delivered it to my apartment around 9 PM — nothing confiscated, no customs fee, and NOTHING missing!

Looking south toward Oaxaca’s airport.

From the evening I returned, I began sneezing, nose began running, and I developed a head-crushing sinus headache. Except for a quick trip to the pharmacy to buy an allergy medicine, I spent all Tuesday in bed. This has never happened before, but everyone is telling me that this season, this year is really bad for allergies. By Wednesday, I was feeling a little stuffy, but much better.

Sunset looking north.

The rainy season was just beginning when I left six weeks ago and now, the hills are turning green, the garden is lush, and tonight, as the sun sets, thunder is rumbling, lightening is flashing in the distance, and a few raindrops have fallen. It’s good to be back!

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Here and there critters

Posted in Animals, Gardens, Neighborhoods, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on May 23, 2021| 2 Comments »

My trip to el norte is drawing to a close and tomorrow morning, before the sun rises, my day-long journey back to Oaxaca begins. After being away for 5-1/2 weeks, I wonder what changes I will see. In the meantime, a couple of cute animal photos from here and there…

Chipmunk that perches on this rock every morning at my son’s house in upstate New York.
Squirrel feeding station set up by neighbors in Barrio de Xochimilco, Oaxaca.

Now that I am fully vaccinated, I’m looking forward to venturing out and about a lot more and hopefully having more fodder for the blog!

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Here and there walls of art

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 13, 2021| 5 Comments »

In Oaxaca, murals, stencils, and other forms of street art are ubiquitous — and often with cultural and political themes.

The same is true for San Francisco and her neighboring cities of Oakland and San Jose — primarily thanks to significant populations of color and the cultural expressions they bring.

However, in my white-bread hometown of Mill Valley, it’s only in the past several years that murals have begun popping up and they have seldom addressed social and political issues — until now.

In response to the killing of George Floyd and a controversy in the town regarding the tone-deaf attitude toward the Black Lives Matter movement and its own issues of racial discrimination and profiling, artist Wesley Cabral painted these two murals which now adorn a prominent wall in downtown Mill Valley.

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Happy Mother’s Day

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 9, 2021| 2 Comments »

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers and mother figures out there!

“Mi Segunda Madre” woven by Mario González Pérez using wool dyed with natural dyes.

The above wall hanging (photographed in February 2021) was part of the art exhibition, “Sangre y Herencia” (Blood and Heritage) at Hotel CasAntica. By the way, Día de las Madres is celebrated in Mexico on May 10.

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Thanks to the workers

Posted in Celebrations, Churches, Holidays, Labor, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on May 1, 2021| 3 Comments »

On this second Día del Trabajo during the pandemic, let us recognize and give thanks to the workers of Oaxaca and the world who continue to keep the wheels turning.

Repairing the bell tower of Templo de San José.
Digging out the roots of a fallen Indian Laurel tree on the zócalo.
Preparing to sweep the sidewalk in Barrio de Jalatlaco.

Happy International Workers’ Day!

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Missing mi cocinera

Posted in Casita Colibrí, Culture, Food, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 26, 2021| 12 Comments »

As I mentioned in my last blog post, I’m alive and well and, at long last, in California — my childhood home, to be exact. While I’m loving spending time with family, seeing friends, and happily able being able to wash my clothes in my own washer and dryer, it also means I’m having to cook. Looking back with envy at the meals prepared by my amiga, vecina, and cocinera extraordinaire, Kalisa.

February 12 2021 – Vegetables, queso panela, and basmati rice.
February 15 2021 – Codillo, mole, beans, and salsa.
February 24, 2021 – Eggplant and spinach lasagne.
February 28, 2021 – Duck pozole.
March 2, 2021 – Duck tostada.
March 7, 2021 – Leftovers of chard, broccolini, potatoes, and black beans.
March 8, 2021 – Chicken mole.
March 12, 2021 – Salad of Pochote bounty.
March 25, 2021 – Marinated chicken, green salad, basmati rice, and green salsa.
April 7, 2021 – Michoacán tacos with flores de frijol.
April 10, 2021 – Michoacán las corundas.
April 11, 2021 – Chicken tacos.

As you will note, the occasional vegetarian meal popped up over the past couple of months on Kalisa’s menu, along with inspiration from the recent visit to Oaxaca by Cynthia Martínez, chef owner of La Conspiración 1809 in Morelia, Michoacán. All delicious and works of art!

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The art of marketing

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Food, Markets, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 21, 2021| 7 Comments »

For the first time since February 25, 2020, I ventured out of Oaxaca city. The pull of my fully vaccinated family in el norte and with no word regarding when the second Pfizer vaccine would be given in Oaxaca, I booked a flight up to California for April 15 (five weeks after my first jab) and a 10:00 AM vaccination appointment at CVS for the next day. Needless to say, I was very grateful to not have to stand in line for hours. However, I am already missing my weekly Friday morning hike up to Pochote Xochimilco Mercado Orgánico y Artesanal.

Click HERE for close-ups of the art in the last photo. Nothing like a little culture to add to the shopping and dining experience!

By the way, the city began offering the second dose of the vaccine the day I left.

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Yellow to green

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Health, Politics, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on April 11, 2021| 1 Comment »

The headline in NVI Noticias announced, despite an increase in COVID-19, the federal government declared that, as of tomorrow, Oaxaca will move from semáforo amarillo (yellow traffic light)…

Art by Berza and ARCH on the Calle Constitución side of El Tendajón.

… to semáforo verde (green traffic light).

Mural signed by Hiko in Barrio de Xochimilco.

Inquiring minds are wondering if the downgrading of COVID-19 risk has anything to do with the upcoming elections on June 6.

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Sound of silence

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Holidays, Neighborhoods, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on April 3, 2021| 4 Comments »

Alas, another silent Viernes Santo in Oaxaca due to the pandemic. No early morning processions from churches throughout the city converging in front of the Cathedral to reenact the encuentro where Jesús meets María going towards Calvary. No worshipers praying and reciting appropriate devotions as they moved from one sidewalk Estación de la Cruz (Station of the Cross) to another. And, no rhythmic beat of a tambor, high-pitched tones of a chirimía, and the sputtering sounds of rachets punctuating the hush of the crowds gathered along the route for the early evening Procesión del Silencio (Procession of Silence).

Only silent sacred vignettes accompanied yesterday morning’s Good Friday walk through Barrio de Jalatlaco…

Unlike last year when church doors remained closed and services were broadcast remotely, the Archbishop announced that this year the churches will be open for liturgical acts on Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, albeit with a “limited presence of the faithful.”

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Cactus down!

Posted in Casita Colibrí, Flora, Gardens, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged , , , , , , , on March 27, 2021| 2 Comments »

It’s the time of year when late afternoon winds come up, landing patterns change to often bring planes very low over the city, and the occasional top heavy plant topples over.

Tuesday morning I came out on the terrace to find my Euphorbia Trigona down. Prone, though it was, neither it nor its beautiful old maceta (flowerpot) suffered any damage. Both are now safely cradled in a wrought iron plant stand.

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Indomitable bugs abound

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on March 23, 2021| 2 Comments »

In varying states of repair and disrepair and in a rainbow of colors, old but indomitable VW Beetles (known as Vochos in Mexico) are still seen tooling and sputtering their way around Oaxaca — an ideal car for navigating the narrow streets and limited parking in the city.

As the old Timex watch commercial used to say, “It takes a licking and keeps on ticking!”

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Celebrating artisans in three huipiles

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Textiles, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 19, 2021| 12 Comments »

Today, March 19, we celebrate Día de las Artesanas y los Artesanos. Apparently anticipating this day, in less than one month I have purchased three beautiful hand woven blouse length huipiles — and they each have a story.

On a walk up Macedonio Alcalá, en route to somewhere else, my neighbor Kalisa and I stopped to say hi to her favorite textile street vendor, Vicente, at his stall just beyond Santo Domingo. My eye was immediately drawn to the subtle color combination and style of the huipil above. As it turns out, it, unlike most of the textiles he had in stock, was dyed with natural dyes (including the rare caracol) and woven by his mother who lives in the Santiago Juxtlahuaca, in the Mixtec region.

The indigo and coyuche brocade huipil above is from the Mixtec village of Pinotepa de Don Luis and was the first in my trio of purchases. It was woven by a woman named Sebastiána and I bought it in response to an appeal by Stephanie Schneiderman to help support the weavers of that area during these pandemic days. It spoke to me the minute I saw it among the selection of huipiles for sale. Stephanie helped facilitate shipping it from Pinotepa de Don Luis to Oaxaca city and within a couple of weeks, it was hanging in my closet.

The third of my huipil purchases was another impulse buy. For several months, on Friday mornings, Kalisa and I have been making the trek up to the Pochote Xochimilco Mercado Orgánico y Artesanal in Colonia Reforma to stock up on fabulous fresh produce from the Sierra Norte, the occasional duck and chicken, cheeses, and fun shaped clay garden pots. However, the vendor of the plants and pots also sells a selection of huipiles from the Papaloapan region of Oaxaca and I fell in love with this Chinanteco one.

¡Feliz Día de las Artesanas y los Artesanos!

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Fluttering in the wind

Posted in Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Looking up never ceases to make me smile, especially when papel picado (cut paper) garlands flutter in the breeze — images with holiday themes, celebrating rites of passage, and advertising local products.

They are even imprinted on walls.

We are in the midst of Cuaresma (Lent), though pandemic restrictions have canceled most public celebrations, we have the Liturgical colors of violet and white papel picado to remind us.

Even the neverías of Jardín Sócrates have gotten into the act.

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Mighty women of Oaxaca’s walls

Posted in Celebrations, Creativity, Culture, Politics, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on March 7, 2021| Leave a Comment »

March 8 is International Women’s Day. In the words of a recent article by Nancy Rosenstock, a woman I knew back in the day, “In these challenging times, all women — from those of us who were involved in second-wave feminism to those just entering the struggle — need to come together as equal fighters and chart a course forward.”

We may have come a long way, but the struggle for equal rights, respect, freedom from violence, and control of our own bodies continues and the women of the walls of Oaxaca are not silent.

Many of the images also carry a written messages. Below, Nuestros sueños no caben en sus urnas / Our dreams do not fit in their ballot boxes carries an indictment against the capitalist political parties.

The next one lets the symbols of the ancestors speak.

From a women’s graphic campaign that seeks to express “what our bodies go through every day and what we are seeking when we scream: Vivas Nos Queremos / We Want Ourselves Alive.”

And, a promise that women will not be silenced and will march forward Sin miedo / Without fear.

Then there is the mural, La Patria / The Homeland, which adorns the wall of a school in Barrio de Jalatlaco. La Patria, originally a painting by Jorge González Camarena of an indigenous woman surrounded by patriotic imagery, graced the covers of textbooks from the 1960s into the 1970s.

To honor and celebrate International Women’s Day, on March 8, La Mano Magica Gallery/Galería inaugurates an exhibit of women artists, Exposición de Arte Colectiva Mujeres Artistas, curated by Mary Jane Gagnier, at their gallery in Oaxaca and online on their Facebook page.

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